SOUND OFF SANTA MARIA

MIYOSHI DEMANDS ATTORNEY GENERAL INVESTIGATION

Toru Miyoshi, former Santa Maria City Council member and Santa Barbara County Supervisor, submitted an opinion piece to this week's Santa Barbara Independent newspaper. 

Miyoshi compellingly states, "It's possible that our city bureaucracy is engaged in a cover-up.  Under these circumstances, a thorough investigation of all the allegations should be conducted by the State Attorney General to preserve the integrity of our local government."

Miyoshi charged that the current negative changes in our city have come about as the result of a series of decisions made by the Santa Maria City Council, former City Manager Tim Ness and Police Chief Danny Macagni

First, the City Council.  Miyoshi said that by changing the office of City Administrator to City Manager, the council effectively gave Tim Ness complete hire and fire power over city department heads, who are not protected by employee unions.

Miyoshi feels that when Tim Ness fired former Police Chief John Sterling, despite the upswelling of support from the police officers in his department and a great outcrying by the citizens themselves, the message to all other city department heads was clear -- the city council will not intervene on your behalf.  Department heads knew that Tim Ness now had complete power over their jobs and their pay checks, and they would need Tim Ness' approval before submitting recommendations to the City Council.

Next, Tim Ness.  After terminating Chief Sterling, Tim Ness, in his now complete power to hire and fire, didn't advertise to hire an experienced, trained, gang suppression expert as the new police chief.

No.  Instead, he promoted Danny Macagni into that position, an officer who, according to Miyoshi, "had no experience as a department head [emphasis added] . . . and used racial slurs ("wetbacks", "chinks", "niggers") and made no apology for such demeaning conduct."  [emphasis added]

Miyoshi continues detailing allegations against Ness' chosen police chief by pointing to 2 areas.

First is the enormous sums of money paid by the city for a court case brought against Chief Macagni by an officer on his own force for biased hiring practices. This law suit cost the Santa Maria taxpayers over $115,000.

Miyoshi says, "It's worth noting that there is yet another lawsuit against Chief Macagni pending."[emphasis added] This one involves denial of civil rights.

Second is the complaint filed with the City of Santa Maria by a former SMPD officer, alleging serious misconduct on the part of Chief Macagni regarding the reporting of drug thefts by police officers in the department.

The details of this drug theft complaint and Chief Macagni's refusal to properly refer the allegations to the Internal Affairs department for investigation is fully detailed in this blog's entry Chief Macagni Cops Out.

Back to city administration mis-steps, Miyoshi points out that as a result of the complaint against Macgani regarding the drug thefts, an "independent" private investigator from the Los Angeles area was hired. 

Miyoshi states, "I was informed by two sources that the 'private investigator' worked for the law firm that was defending the chief."

No wonder City Attorney Gilbert Trujillo, in response to this complaint, wrote, "...the investigator determined that your allegations of misconduct on the part of Chief Macagni were unfounded."

How can this be, when Miyoshi reports, "I was informed that the police officer who witnessed the alleged drug stealing was not even interviewed by the 'private investigator' ".

Miyoshi ends with the statement, "The high standards of law enforcement maintained by the late Chief Sterling must be re-established to reverse the corrosive trend corrupting our city."

Adding the recent botched arrest and killing of Officer Albert Covarrubias to the above allegations only makes the whole situation in Santa Maria worse. 

Miyoshi's demand for a thorough investigation by the State Attorney General's office is clearly needed, to stop the cover-ups by the people who are supposed to be serving the citizens of Santa Maria.

 

SMPD OFFICERS ACCUSE MACAGNI

The regular Santa Maria City Council meeting last night, February 7th, was anything but "regular", with the clear subject on most of the attendees' minds being the firing of Police Chief Danny Macagni.

The meeting was ostensibly set up to give Chief Macagni yet another opportunity to justify why a member of his own police force was killed by another member of the force.  His statement added  no more information than has already been reported and is spread all over the Internet -- 20 to 30 pages deep on Google.

Yet Chief Macagni's words did nothing to calm the attendees, with emotions from the audience spilling over into the hallway outside the council chambers.

Although there were some people in attendance who came to back the chief, the majority were there either to verbally demand Chief Macagni's firing or to just sit quietly in the audience, holding signs calling for his resignation and applauding in agreement with the speakers.

Three current and former Santa Maria Police Department officers, including members of the Police Officers Association who have previously filed complaints against the department, blamed not only Chief Macagni, but city administration and government for the tragic killing of Albert Covarrubias, Jr.

Two of the officers, Greg Carroll and Tim Radzyminski, claimed there have been repeated complaints to city personnel and the City Council against the chief.  [See this blog's post: Chief Macagni Cops Out and the Santa Maria Sun articles Betraying the Badge and A Department Divided] 

The particulars of those ignored complaints, they charged, ultimately led to Covarrubias' death.

"This lack of discipline, this lack of ethical leadership from the top, created an undisciplined department that is now in chaos.  It is no surprise today that it all led to this ultimate tragedy," Carroll charged.

One Tin Soldier is pleased to learn that in addition to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Association investigation of the circumstances surrounding Covarrubias' death, the "independent investigator" reported previously by Chief Macagni is a respected organization known for its past investigations of other law enforcement agencies. 

The Office of Independent Review, a body created by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, is the organization requested to do a second investigation.  This office was originally formed to review complaints against the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.  It now also does independent investigations of other law enforcement agencies when requested.

Too bad Greg Carroll and Tim Radzyminski weren't able to present their previous complaints against the Santa Maria Police Department and Chief Macagni to this Office of Independent Review. 

Perhaps the death of Covarrubias could have been prevented, and the men and women on our police force would have been spared the agony they're now experiencing.

 

MACAGNI'S PROCEDURES SET COVARRUBIAS UP

In 2006, current Willows Police Chief Bill Spears left the Santa Maria Police Department, "over concerns about low morale and differences he had with the chief [currrent Chief Danny Macagni]", according to an interview with Spears printed recently in the NNN Reporters Newsroom Forum online web site.

Early Sunday morning, January 29th, 2012, Spears learned that a Santa Maria officer he had once commanded was forced to shoot and kill a fellow officer, a former Police Explorer scout Spears had once mentored. 

"I got a call about an  hour after it happened," Spears said.

Spears said that although he was getting his information second-hand, from verbal reports and news articles, he doesn't believe he would have handled the officer's arrest in the manner it was handled.

Spears said he helped develop the Police Explorer program in Santa Maria while he was on the force and always insisted on the "two-deep rule".

"That means two officers must be present at all times during Explorer functions, just so something like this can be avoided, or halted before it becomes an issue."

Well, there's a concept.  One Tin Soldier wonders at what point, after 2006, when Chief Spears left the Sana Maria Police Department, did Chief Danny Macagni change the "two-deep" rule so as to set Covarrubias up to fail?

It certainly wasn't a conscious plan on Chief Macagni's part.  However, the clear Santa Maria Police Department "lack of ethical leadership from the top" (as charged by former Santa Maria Police officer Greg Carroll at the February 6th  Santa Maria City Council meeting) created almost an internal sting situation where somewhere, sometime, an officer would trip.

An officer did trip . . . and he paid for it with his life.

And his fellow officers will pay for it also. 

Spears said, "This could cast a shadow over the officer who shot Covarrubias and some of the other officers for the rest of their careers." (Ed. note:  There are 100 officers in the Santa Maria Police Department.)

"I feel bad for everyone involved in this, but I'm especially worried about the officer that did the shooting," Spears said.  "It's bad enough for an officer to have to shoot anyone [emphasis added] on the job, but killing a fellow officer, under any circumstance, makes it much more traumatic," Spears stated.

Spears added that he wouldn't be surprised to see some officers resign in the wake of what he called "a gut-wrenching tragedy."

Gut-wrenching indeed.  And the wrenching will continue, as Santa Maria residents continue to put pressure on the Sana Maria City Council to fire Chief Macagni.

 

DEMAND FOR MACAGNI'S RESIGNATION

Albert Covarrubias, Jr., was buried today, in a plain black suit, rather than the uniform he wore as an officer for the Santa Maria Police Department. 

No members of the Police Department were in attendance, as Police Chief Danny Macagni said on the day of his shooting death that he would not receive an honorary funeral.  The Covarrubias family responded in pained anger that the funeral would be private and that no members of the Police Department would be welcome.

However, people in atendance at his funeral today wore buttons pinned to their clothes, displaying his portrait in the dark blue police officer's uniform he had worn before he was killed on Saturday, January 28th, 2012, in a poorly conceived and planned arrest by his colleagues in the department.

Today's Santa Maria Times printed a letter from Helen Galvan, stating that "Chief Dan Macagni should be asked to resign, effective immediately."

Galvan stated in her letter that, even without the results of an official investigation of the shooting, it's clear that:

"The most glaring demonstrationof poor judgment was [Macagni's] decision to arrest an armed officer on duty at a public place.  The decision, supposedly based on facts that showed it was serious enough to warrant arresting him at a public place, rather than at the station or his home, and the chief's statement --"Who would ever have expected this type of outcome?" -- do not connect well to justify the end result."

Galvan goes on to say, "They do, however, point to the inept manner of investigating internal police matter, and lack of preparation in considering possible scenarios before going out to a public place to arrest an armed man."

Galvan concludes by saying, "I believe we will be much safer with a leader in the SMPD who displays greater concern and colmpassion for the community, and makes adminhistrative decisions after considering all possible ramifications."

"For these reasons, I feel strongly that Chief Macagni should be asked to resign, effective immediately."

One Tiin Soldier agrees.

 

SM TIMES RE MACAGNI

The top brass of the Santa Maria Times weighed in today about the tragic shooting death of Officer Albert Covarrubias, Jr., titling the opinion piece Don't Make a 'sad day' even worse. 

Atempting to calm the community and asking us all to "take a deep breath," the editor agrees with the community's questions of "Why was such an arrest attempted in a public place?  Why was information about the situation given to every officer at the scene, including Officer Covarrubias, prior to the arrest and shooting?  Why try to arrest an armed officer on the street rather than call  him back to the station and disarm him there?"

Referring to the investigation of the incident by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office, the opinion piece states, ". . . the deputies' report had better be thorough.  The public won't accept any conclusion that sounds like a whitewash, and a report without enough factual backing and explanation will only make the community's suspicions worse."

This is all well and good, but really, what more is there to "investigate"?  "Factual backing and explanation"?  Most of what happened that night is already public knowledge.

What "happened" is not what should be "investigated".  What's needed in order to judge the actions of Chief Danny Macagni (in ordering this arrest and the circumstances under which it was to be held) are the opinions of educated, experienced, seasoned  personnel at the highest levels of law enforcement. 

The wisdom of these personnel should be consulted as to how an arrest such as that of Covarrubias' should have been carried out. 

Many of those high level law enforcement personnel have already spoken up with their opinions.  Tom Parker, retired FBI agent and former Santa Barbara Police Commissioner, stated in this blog's post (SB Independent Implicates Macagni) that sending 2 Police Department supervisors to the site where Covarrubias was working ". . . was one of the department's many mistakes in handling the situation."

Furthermore, Parker said, based on what he knows about the case, that "only a few trusted individuals should have been brought into the investigation " and "that the arrest of an armed officer has to be one of the most carefully planned things you do.  You have to get the person into a position where you can neutralize them.  Out in the public, armed with a gun, is not that type of situation."

This is the kind of information required in order for Santa Maria's "city leaders" to "sit down" . . . and decide whether Chief Danny Macagni should be asked to resign -- or be fired, as many in the community are requesting.

If the opinions of seasoned, respected leaders in the law enforcement field aren't consulted for the Sheriff's Department's investigation,  the Santa Maria Times' concern of a report that's a "whitewash" may come true.

 

 

 

CHIEF MACAGNI DEFENDS HIMSELF

Okay.  Officer Albert Covarrubias, Jr., is dead, slain at the hand of his fellow officer, best friend and best man at his wedding -- in what looks like an ill-conceived, poorly planned arrest that resulted in his death and endangered the public.

And he wasn't given the special memorial service traditionally awarded to law enforcement personnel.

What does the person who approved this planned arrest fiasco -- Police Chief Danny Macagni -- say in his defense?

The statement Macagni released to the Los Angeles Times said, "Our goal, as it is in every situation (emphasis added), was to secure the accused officer with minimal risk to everyone involed."

Really?  Arresting that officer in full view of the public, with lots of that public in the vicinity of the arrest, provided "minimal risk to everyone involved"? 

One Tin Soldier doesn't think so, nor do the people of Santa Maria.

Macagni went on to state that the department had "credible information" that Covarrubias "likekly was about to harm  himself and also a member of the public." 

An Associated Press article said that the department intercepted a text message from the officer, upon suspicioning that he might be under investigation, stating that he might "kill" himself.

Shouldn't that have been a red flag that this arrest must be made carefully  . . out of the vicinity of the public . . . in a manner that assured safety for all concerned?  That "minimal risk for everyone involved" department goal he cites?

Macagni stated to the Santa Maria Times that "In an effort to protect the officer and the public, we felt we had to move as quickly as possible to detain somebody who we believed posed a dangerous threat to hiumself and others.  Police work is never easy and judgment calls must sometimes be made quickly based on circumstances presented at the time."

". . . dangerous threat to himself . . . ." Covarrubias was calmly packing up the DIU (Driving Under the Influence) checkpoint equipment, and the arresting officers say to themselves, "Hey, this guy might commit suicide.  Let's rush him now and stop him."  That doesn't make any sense.  He could have been arrested back at the station, when he was finishing up his duty for the evening.

Which makes One Tin Soldier wonder -- was Macagni in constant contact with his officers at the arrest scene by phone, monitoring the events as they evolved?  Did he approve the officers rushing this potentially "suicidal" officer -- or did they have to make last minute decisions on their own, without the necessary oversight by the police chief who should have been monitoring the situation?

Macagni says, "We will continue the process of reviewing our policies and procedures to ensure they meet the highest possible standards." 

Too bad that wasn't done before Covarrubias died and before an FBI Crisis Management Team had to come in to "work with department personne" and "additional crisis counselors" were needed to assist the FBI. 

What a mess.  The news of an officer being killed while on duty, by one of his own colleagues, is all over the Inernet, published in what looks like every newspaper in the country. 

One bright spot on the horizon is that the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department is handling an investigation of this officer-involved shooting, with their findings to be reviewed by the District Attorney's office.

In addition, an expert on internal affairs, from outside the Santa Maria Police Department and the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department, has been hired to conduct an independent administrative investigation.  One would think this report will go to the Santa Maria City Council, the people who hire and fire department administrators.

Heads might roll.

 

 

 

SB INDEPENDENT IMPLICATES MACAGNI

The Santa Barbara Independent newspaper jumped in this week with their coverage of the Santa Maria Police Department's attempted arrest of Officer Albert Covarrubas, Jr., which resulted in his being shot to death by another officer on the force, his best friend and best man at his wedding.

According to the Independent, the Police Department had specific information about Covarrubias, which led them to believe that it was necessary to immediately arrest the man. 

So the department "sent two supervisors to a DUI (Driving Under the Influence) checkpoint" where Covarrubias was on duty.

The Independent quotes Tom Parker, retired FBI agent and former Santa Barbara Police Commissioner, as saying, "That was one of the department's many mistakes in handling the situation." 

Based on what he knows about the case, Parker said that "only a few trusted individuals should've been brought into the investigation" and that "the arrest of an armed officer has to be one of the most carefully planned things you do."

Parker stated that he wondered  (like the people of Santa Maria are wondering) why the department didn't wait for a safer situation. 

"You have to get the person ihto a position where you can neutralize them," Parker explained.  "Out in the public, armed with a gun, is not that type of situation," he said. 

Parker also wondered why more people weren't involved in the arrest.  "You have to overwhelm them," he said.

The Independent noted in its article that Covarrubias was the 3rd Santa Maria Police Department officer to be killed since December, 2011.

The article noted that officers last month were attempting to disarm and arrrest a suspected drug dealer when 2 officers -- and the suspect -- were shot. 

It was later determined that the 2 officers had been killed by 'friendly fire' -- their own colleagues had killed them.

That leaves 3 officers in the Santa Maria Police Department shot and killed with bullets fired by their own colleagues in just over a month's time.

One Tin Soldier thinks that it's no wonder the Police Department has had to bring in members of the FBI's Crisis Management Team, with additional crisis counselors, to work with the personnel.

The whole department must be decimated.

The Independent closes wth, "The citizens of Santa Maria are wondering what is happening in the department that is supposed to protect and serve the public."

As Catherine Lombardo, a Los Angeles-based attorney and legal expert with a background in Internal Affairs, stated in the post CHIEF MAGANA COPS OUT, "The buck stops at the chief's desk." (emphasis added)

 

CHIEF MACAGNI COPS OUT AGAIN

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY DEFINITION OF "COP-OUT":  A failure to fulfill a commitment or responsibility

                         **********

After purportedly ignoring complaints (properly prepared by 2 officers) about the stealing of drugs by 2 officers in the Santa Maria Police Deartment and not referring them to Internal Affairs (see Chief Magana Cops Out), Police Chief Danny Magani is once again in hot water -- his actions this time possibly resulting in the death of a 4-year veteran of the Santa Maria Police Department.

Chief Magani approved what appears to be an ill-conceived ambush on a a law enforcement officer on his own force, whose behavior had been stellar up to that point.  At the end of this poorly-planned action, the result was the death of that officer.

Officer Albert Covarrubias, Jr., was fatally shot by a colleague (his best friend and best man at his wedding) about 1:30 am Saturday, January 28th, 2012, while on duty at a DUI (Driving Under the Influence) checkpoint here in Santa Maria. 

It had been reported that Officer Covarrabias had been having an illegal sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, for which he was to be arrested.

The arrest of an officer, on duty or off, is serious business -- certainly an action that should be taken with care for the dignity of the officer, an awareness of the shock and shame the officer would experience, and extremely careful planning as to the where, when and how of the arresting moment, for the safety of everyone involved, particularly the public.

Yet Police Chief Danny Macagni sent 2 of Officer Covarrubias' own colleagues (one of them Covarrubias' cousin) to arrest him -- wile on duty in a public place.

Officer Corrubias' father lamented in an Associated Press article, "What happened to procedure?  Why did they go to arrest him in the field?  If it was so urgent, why didn't they just say there was a family emergency and he had to come to the station?"

Toru Miyoshi, former Santa Maria city council member and Santa Barbara County supervisor, stated in the same article, "They could have waited for a more controlled situation.  A DUI checkpoint does not just put the accused at risk, but it puts the public at risk as well."

Preserving this man's dignity (and well-trained planning in how to accomplish such a sensitive arrest) would have been a responsible step in preventing the furious, frightened, knee-jerk, reaching-for-his-own-gun behavior that caused Officer Covarrubias'  own death.

Why didn't Police Chief Danny Macagni protect Officer Covarrubias?  Why did he send the man's own friends, colleagues and relatives (!) out to arrest him, in effect ambushing him in plain sight of the public?  Why didn't he think of protecting one of his own men and the public?

Adding insult to injury (death is quite an injury), Officer Covarrubias and his family will not be given the special memorial service traditionally awarded to law enforcement personnel.

Officer Covarrubias desered better.  And community policing, practiced by law enforcement to gain the trust of the communities they serve, has just taken a huge step backward in Santa Maria.

Former Police Chief John Sterling must be turning over in his grave.

 

 

 

CHIEF MACAGNI COPS OUT

WEBSTER'S  DICTIONARY DEFINITION OF "COP-OUT":  A failure to fulfill a commitment or responsibility

                         **********      

It all started innocently in the predawn hours of April Fools Day, 2004, with a woman renting a room from someone, frighteningly awakened with the Santa Maria Police Department's detectives, along with the Santa Barbara County SWAT team, banging the door down to her room, hollaring "Get on the ground!"  They were searching the home for a suspected drug dealer.

After they left, her room was torn apart -- mattresses, closet, drawers, "everything".

Recovering from a major knee surgery, she had filled her doctor's prescription for 80 hydrocodone tablets -- a synthetic opiate -- the night before the raid.  After the officers left, only 15 pills remained in the bottle.

And so started the long saga of the reporting and subsequently claimed mishandling in reputed prescription drug thefts by an officer of the Santa Maria Police Department. 

The Santa Maria Sun published their cover story about these events -- Betraying the Badge -- on August 3rd, 2011.

The woman whose room had been torn apart reported the theft to now retired Santa Maria Police Sgt. Greg Carroll.  Upon investigating, Carroll felt the complaint was valid.

His investigation ultimately centered on an officer named "Joe Friday" in the Sun's article.

At the request of his supervisor, Larry Ralston (now captain with the Lompoc Police Department), Carroll wrote up a routine citizen's complaint.  Ralston, following protocol, forwarded the complaint of an officer possibly stealing drugs to Police Chief Danny Macagni.

According to Carroll and Chuck Rylant, a former Santa Maria Police detective who served for 15 years, instead of sending the complaint to Internal Affairs for investigation, per usual procedure, Macagni showed the complaint to Friday and asked him if he had stolen the drugs.  Friday denied the accusation.

Carroll knows the report was shown to Friday, because he afterward came "ranting and raving" into Carroll's office, claiming no involvement in the alleged theft. 

Carroll later heard it wasn't the first time Friday had been suspected of such behavior.  At the time of the suspected thefts, Friday was dealing with an injury that required doctor-prescribed medication.

According to Rylant, who also worked in the officer bureau, it was believed around the station that the accused officer had an addiction to medications, which caused no small amount of concern. 

Another Santa Maria officer had reported suspecting Friday of stealing prescription drugs during a previous search warrant, served in 2003.

Months passed, and Carroll claims whenever he inquired about the status of the 2 complaints, he was told by Macagni that he was taking care of it.

                         **********

On June 17th of 2011, angry that no proper action had yet been taken by Macagni to inquire into the reported drug thefts, former SMPD detective Rylant filed a citizen's complaint with Santa Maria city attorney Gil Trujillo regarding the allegations against Friday. 

The complaint accuses Macagni of violating California Penal Code Sec. 832.5, a state law requiring police departments to conduct prompt investigations of suspected employee misconduct.

"This is the most serious allegation I've ever been privy to during my 15-year law enforcement career.  However, it was brushed under the carpet as being insignificant," Rylant wrote in the complaint.

"If you study police corruption such as the famous Rampart scandal, it was City Council and City Management overlooking these serious seeds that led to even more serious corruption (emphasis added), such as drug sales and murder by police officers."

"This is where it begins, with small crimes," Rylant told the Sun.  "When you overlook that kind of stuff, it keeps going and going."

The Sun noted that in the highly pulicized Rampart scandal, uncovered over the course of a decade in the early 2000s, more than 70 officers in the LAPD Rampart Division's anti-gang unit were implicated in crimes ranging from stealing and planting evidence, to dealing drugs and gang activity.

The Sun contacted Catherine Lombardo, a Los Angeles-based attorney and legal expert with a background in Internal Affairs investigations regarding this case.  Lombardo said she was "shocked" that the suspected thefts appear to have never been subject to an independent probe.

"Absolutely it should have gone to Internal Affairs" she said.  "It should be thoroughly investigated.  If the case isn't investigated, then the system is broken."

In a smaller police department such as Santa Maria's, Lombardo said, "the buck stops on the chief's desk." (emphasis added)

So where is Rylant's official complaint now? 

According to Trujillo, the city retained a third party independent investigator, a retired Orange County sheriff's lieutenant named Art Romo, to examine Rylant's allegations against Macagni and determine whether the complaints against Friday were ever seriously investigated.

Romo has until June 17, 2012 -- this year! -- to complete this inquiry.

Attorney Lombardo says that, "If there's dirt inside a police department, a dirty cop, a dirty higher up (emphasis added), they bury things.  Was this buried?  Maybe.  Will the officer eventually be punished if the facts come out and it's true?  Absolutely."

LOMBARDO'S BOTTOM LINE:  "The entire department is going to be subject to ridicule, scrutiny and questioning.  Now, all the focus is going to be on the department."

Heads may roll.

 

 

 

TORU MIYOSHI: Marty Mariscal Grandstanding for City Council Seat

(NOTE:  The link to Toru Miyoshi's letter to the editor seems to have been dis-connected.  So this post is being re-posted, with the link re-established.)

Looks like the citizens voted former Santa Maria City Councilmember Marty Mariscal off the council last year, but he can't resist hanging around and giving his $.02. 

Seems former Santa Maria City Councilmember and former County of Santa Barbara Supervisor Toru Miyoshi was at a recent city council meeting to again represent the local citizens in demanding that the city refund the money it collected from all of us as we took our trash to the dump over the past few years. 

Miyoshi feels that if the city's going to receive money from Chevron to accept the diluent-contaminated dirt from Guadalupe to cap the landfill, the citizens should be reimbursed for the funds the city collected from them for this purpose.

Makes sense to the Tin Soldier. 

The issue of a refund is material for another post.  What's important here is that former City Councilmember Marty Mariscal felt it necessary that he should stand up at the city council meeting and attempt to refute Miyoshi's demands, implying that he was giving the public misinformation.

Did the city council ask Marty Mariscal to do this?  Has Marty Mariscal now appointed himself the Official Spokesperson for the city council?

Miyoshi succinctly responds in his April 3, 2007, letter to the editor in the Santa Maria Times, "I will not be a candidate for City Council in the next election.  What are Marty's political plans?"

(September 30, 2010:  When re-linking Miyoshi's letter, a letter to the editor from George Dailey on the same subject was discovered.  Mr. Dailey says, 'Marty Mariscal should remember he's no longer a councilman and has no more rights or privileges than those granted to average citizens.")

CITY COUNCIL ELECTION: Mariscal and Patino Decline to Attend Forums

(NOTE:  Since the links to the letters mentioned below are no longer available at the SM Times, this 2006 comment is being re-posted with the added correct information.)

Well, it's been an interesting week in Santa Maria.  Two evening candidate forums were scheduled this week by the League of Women Voters.

One Tin Soldier is informed that both of the two incumbent city council members who are up for election in November (Marty Mariscal and Alice Patino) declined to attend these meet-the-candidate events.

Well, that spurred another flurry of letters to the editor of the Santa Maria Times.  League of Women Voters President Jennifer Barber wrote on September 27th, 2006, that for the live TV debate to be held on public-access TV, "Six council candidates were invited . . ., and only three will be attending."

She didn't mention which three.

We didn't have to wait long to find out which 2 candidates were blackballing the event.

 Lynn Melville previously wrote a Santa Maria Times letter to the editor on September 24th, citing Councilman Marty Mariscal's recent commentary "defending the City Council's decision to accept $28 million from Chevron, in exchange for allowing the toxic, diluent-contaminated soil from Guadalupe to be transferred to the Santa Maria landfill."

Hearing that Candidates Marty Mariscal and Alice Patino were refusing to appear at this live, public access television Meet the Candidate night (!!), Melville chimed in with another letter to the editor.

This time Melville asked, "What are Marty Mariscal and Alice Patino afraid of?" 

Melville asks if Mariscal and Patino are afraid they'll be asked about their approval of the diluent-contaminated soil from Guadalupe being transferred to the Santa Maria landfill.

Or perhaps they don't want to admit their past support for the county split movement, after studies showed it to be a losing proposition, that Santa Maria would end up being a banana republic if it passed.

Or maybe they don't want to talk about the fact that the citizens of Santa Maria haven't been able to vote for their mayor in the last ten years (due to mayors resigning mid-term and the current sitting council just appointing one), or the forced retirement of former Police Chief John Sterling, despite hundreds of citizens pleading that he be retained.

Melville concludes by saying that, "The citizens of Santa Maria deserve city council members who are willing to attend public meetings and be accountable for their actions."

One Tin Soldier agrees.

(September 29th -- Tin Soldier has just been informed that Mariscal decided to attend the Thursday night event -- and both Mariscal and Patino attended the live TV debate on public-access TV Friday night. 

Democracy in action.)

ANONYMOUS COMMENT: "Police Chief Danny Macagni Should Resign"

Under Recent Comments in the right column of this blog, you'll find this comment (referring to the November 30, 2006, Santa Maria Sun article about Police Chief Danny Macagni's racist slurs, demeaning language and use of patronage to officers showing blind loyalty to him):

     "This is shameful language from our police chief and he should resign at once.

     "The most telling part of the article is this . . .

     "At first, when asked if he has ever made derogatory remarks toward different races, Macagni declined to answer the question.

     " 'You know its wrong, you know it's absolutely wrong to even ask these questions, ' he said, 'because it's none of your business.  It's a personnel issue.'

     The anonymous poster said:  "Personnel issue?  I am afraid it is a public issue if the highest ranking police officer makes derogagory remarks against members of our community and members of his own department."

The Tin Soldier agrees.  Where was the public outcry for Danny Macagni to either be fired or resign?  Were we all too busy getting ready for the holidays to care about supporting the men and women of our police department to bring this behavior to light?  These are the men and women who risk their lives every day to protect us.

And most of all, where is our city council in doing its job to represent the citizens of our town?  Oh, yes, this is that 'do nothing council' George Dailey referred to in his September 10, 2006, letter to the editor in the Santa Maria Times during the recent city council election, when he urged citizens to vote for Joan Leon and Hilda Zacarias.

These are the same city councilmembers who washed their hands (like Pontius Pilate) when former Police Chief John Sterling was forced to retire because City Manager Tim Ness wanted his own way.

Pity the poor men and women of the SMPD who risked their reputations and careers to speak truth about their boss, Police Chief Danny Macagni. 

At least One Tin Soldier and an anonymous commenter salute them.

POLICE CHIEF DANNY MACAGNI IS SANTA MARIA'S DON IMUS

The April 13, 2007, issue of the Los Angeles Times published an insightful opinion piece by Tim Rutten regarding Don Imus and his racist comment on his radio program about the Rutgers University women's basketball team.

Imus' vulgar and racist insult to the women triggered a national level of outrage, forcing the American public to look more carefully at his history of insulting and disparaging not only African Americans but Jews and gays. 

The responsible consequence of looking honestly at Imus and his demeaning behavior has justifiably resulted in his being fired.

Again, the Tin Soldier asks where the citizens of Santa Maria were last December, when the men and women of the Santa Maria Police Department felt their only recourse regarding the racist behavior of their boss, Police Chief Danny Macagni, was to go to the Santa Maria Sun with the story.

Danny Macagni's comments on what he called "stupid wetbacks, damned Mexicans, niggers and chinks" were far worse than what Don Imus said.

We have an Imus among us.

POLICE CHIEF DANNY MACAGNI: "Stupid Wetbacks" - "Damned Mexicans" - "Niggers" and "Chinks"

What does a person even begin to say after the revelations in the November 30, 2006, issue in the Santa Maria Sun about the racist comments of the current Santa Maria Police Chief, Danny Macagni?  

The accusations are shocking and take one's breath away.  "Wetbacks"?  "Niggers"?  "Chinks"?  Has this man been living under a rock somewhere to think that in this day and age the public would condone and look the oher way when a person of his position speaks this way?  How ignorant.  How arrogant.  How heartless.  And really, how stupid.

In the big cities, this kind of behavior would have a police chief fired in 24 hours after the report.  The public wouldn't stand for it.

But, oh, yes, the public in Santa Maria didn't hear about the complaints when they were earlier reported to the City Council by the Police Officers Association.

The council members hid behind the screen they used when they forced former Police Chief John Sterling to retire in 2003 -- their standard excuse that only City Manager Tim Ness hires and fires the Police Chief, so it was theoretically out of their hands.

The Sun article states that a third-party examiner was hired to investigate the POA's complaints against Macagni and Ness regarding instances of retaliation and harassment, unfairness in promotions and assignments, discriminatory comments and interference in an ongoing investigation.

When asked by the Sun reporter, Kirsten Flagg, about the city's investigation, Danny Macagni said, "You should stay away from that completely . . . .  You have no right to even pry into that."

When asked by Flagg if he had ever made derogatory remarks toward different races, Danny Macagni responded, "You know it's wrong, you know it's absolutely wrong to even ask these questions, because it's none of your business."

Excuse me, Danny, it IS our business.  In case you don't remember, you work for us -- the citizens of this town.

SM TIMES Never Reported on Police Chief Danny Macagni's Racist Comments

Donna McCoy recently commented on this blog about Police Chief Danny Macagni's racial slurs of "stupid wetbacks", "damned Mexicans", "niggers" and "chinks".  She came to the defense of citizens who didn't object loudly and demand Police Chief Danny Macagni's resignation because, "It's more a case of ignorance, especially if one has to search for an independent paper to learn about it."

The Tin Soldier agrees heartily.  What would we do without the Santa Maria Sun?  (See excellent article by Kirsten Flagg on Macagni's racial slurs.)

In case my readers didn't notice, the Santa Maria Times would not touch the Macagni story with even a ten foot pole.  There was absolutely no mention whatsoever in the Times about it -- ever. Total blackout from the only daily newspaper in the city of a huge story about the Santa Maria Police Officers' Association so upset at Police Chief Danny Macagni that they went public with their concerns.

Ignoring the Macagni racial slur story by the Santa Maria Times is not only unprofessional, it does an outrageous disservice to the citizens and smacks of cronyism at its worst.   

Another example of main stream media thinking they can continue to spoon feed to the people whatever they want them to know -- and bury truths they don't want exposed to the light of day.

Golly, gee. Just what might we do with truthful knowledge?  Could it be that we might be informed voters?  What a concept. 

LARRY LAVAGNINO: "As long as I'm physically able," I'll remain mayor

Will he or won't he?  What an interesting couple of weeks it's been.  It seems folks in Santa Maria aren't as forgetful -- or as stupid -- or as forgiving -- as Mayor Larry Lavagnino and Supervisor Joe Centeno thought they were.

In fact, it looks like the citizens are still angry over being ignored in 2002, as they watched Centeno and Lavagnino run the City of Santa Maria like it was their own personal property.

First came Deborah Brasket's November 24, 2006, guest commentary in the Santa Maria Times, saying that Supervisor Joe Centeno's refusal to resign as mayor in 2002 was "perfectly legal but perfectly odious."  (Odious:  another word for 'stinkey') (See Tin Soldier commentary DEBORAH BRASKET:  Rumor That Mayor Lavagnino May Resign)

Interestingly, just the day before Brasket's column was published, Lavagnino and Marty Mariscal were quoted in the County Lines of the Santa Maria Times, denying the rumors, saying they hadn't even heard them.  In fact, Lavagnino stated that he'd remain mayor "as long as I'm physically able."

If Lavagnino and Mariscal hadn't even heard the rumors, why were they denying them?  Sounds like there's a leak at the Santa Maria Times. 

But I digress.  Back to the story line here.  Next up is Lavagnino's very own guest commentary in the Santa Maria Times on November 29th, attacking Deborah Brasket for her having the gall to even mention the rumors in her column.  Lavagnino stated that the rumors categorically did not exist and that they were a figment of Brasket's imagination.

Lavagnino must not get out much.  The Tin Soldier even overheard people talking about it at the Golden Donut shop.

However, the people hearing (and believing) the rumors have been busy.  Immediately after Lavagnino's November 29th commentary (only an unbelievable 24 hours later), the November 30, 2006, issue of the Santa Maria Sun hit the stands.

In this issue was a hard-hitting opinion piece about the rumors from Rebecca Carey, vice-chair and past chair of the North Santa Barbara County Women's Political Committee.

Carey pulls no punches in her commentary.  After alluding to Joe Centeno's "gambit" in 2002 when he refused to resign as mayor after he was elected supervisor, she lays right into Lavagnino and his well-known health condition (past heart bypass surgery). 

Noting that Lavagnino still has two years to serve in his term as mayor, Carey states that, "My concern is that poor health could be a reason presented by Lavagnino in the next two years to allow the above rumor scenarios to actually happen." 

(Tin Soldier:  As Lavagnino said in his statement to the Santa Maria Times, "as long as I'm physically able . . . ."  He's already laid the groundwork for retiring before his term is up, if he thinks he can get away with it.)

Carey was very clear in her message.  She said, "My purpose in writing this opinion piece for the Sun is to put the mayor, the full City Council, City Manager Tim Ness and any other city personnel involved on notice that the citizens of Santa Maria want to be fully involved in the choice of the people who represent them -- their mayor and their City Council members.  We don't want any more appointments from within a small circle of people."

Carey ends with, "We want to elect the people who serve us, no matter what the cost of the election will be."

Way to go, Rebecca.  Thanks for standing up for all of us.

TORU MIYOSHI Demands City Council Suspend Guad Soil Program

The Monday, November 27th, issue of the Santa Maria Sun again proves how valuable it is to have an independent newspaper in our town.  It contains a letter to the editor from former County of Santa Barbara Supervisor Toru Miyoshi, lobbing several grenades back at Mayor Larry Lavagnino.

In a recent issue of the Sun, Lavagnino submitted a long commentary, once again defending the city's program to transfer toxic Guadalupe soil to the Santa Maria landfill.

Miyoshi details in his letter to the editor how the city has recently changed its acceptance criteria for PCBs at the landfill, increasing the level by 500 percent. 

PCBs ???? This is the first time that toxic chemical has been mentioned.  Lynn Melville told us about the 1998 Environmental Impact Report that detailed the BTEXs (benzene, toluene, xylene and ethylbenzene) in the Guadalupe soil -- and now we have to look forward to drinking PCBs in our water in the future also?

Most importantly, Miyoshi refers to the recent lawsuit brought by 18-year-old Scott Chenoweth against several oil companies, claiming that his diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia is directly caused as a result of living in a neighborhood contaminated by past oil drilling.  (See November 3, 2006, Santa Maria Times article.)

(Chenoweth has grown up in Santa Maria's Sunrise Hills neighborhood, where 17 residents have recently filed suit against the same oil companies over cleanup of contaminated sites within the development.)

Citing concerns for the city workers who will be handling the toxic Guadalupe soil (which contains the same chemicals as found around the Chenoweth home), Miyoshi demands that Mayor Larry Lavagnino and the city council suspend the transfer of the toxic Guadalupe soil to the landfill until the outcome of the lawsuit has been determined.

While feeling grateful that watchdog Miyoshi is still working on behalf of the citizens, one wonders why the officials elected to do that very job -- the Santa Maria City Council members -- aren't doing the same thing.

DEBORAH BRASKET: Rumor That Mayor Larry Lavagnino May Resign

Just when we were starting to relax from a hard-fought city council election, here comes the rumor swirling through town that current Mayor Larry Lavagnino will resign, allowing Alice Patino to be appointed as mayor and currently unelected Marty Mariscal to be re-appointed to the council. 

Whispers say this will all be accomplished before recently elected Hilda Zacarias has been sworn in to the council on Tuesday, December 19th -- and votes no on the issue.

Wow.  Thank goodness Deborah Brasket took the council to task in her November 24th, 2006, commentary in the Santa Maria Times -- Stop the Rumors, Change the Charter.

Brasket cites what happened in 2002, when then Mayor Joe Centeno was elected supervisor.  Even though a general election was scheduled for the following November, allowing plenty of time for the citizens to elect their own mayor, Supervisor Joe Centeno refused to step down from his position as mayor.

Centeno held on to the position until December 2002.  He thus created a vacancy in the mayor's position after the November election, which then allowed the sitting city council to appoint a mayor of its own choosing - rather than one elected by the citizens the mayor would be serving.

Brasket points out that what was done by Supervisor Joe Centeno was "perfectly legal", but it was also "perfectly odious". 

Brasket believes that the only way to keep this "culture of corruption" from happening again is to change the city charter. 

The commentary ends with, "I hope that when Hilda Zacarias takes her seat on the city council that we will have a chance to revisit the City Charter and make the changes that will keep these kinds of rumors from every flying again."

 

LYNN MELVILLE Says Guad Dirt Not Just "Dirty Dirt"

As was mentioned in an earlier post on this blog (SANTA MARIA TIMES BLACKOUT ON CANCEROUS GUADALUPE SOIL), the Santa Maria Times refused to print Lynn Melville's commentary that quoted the 1998 Environmental Impact Report as saying that the thinner (diluent) added to the Guadalupe oil -- and spilled for 38 years -- is cancerous. 

Melville also quoted the 1999 California Coastal Commission report, which stated that 60 percent of the soil in Guadalupe is contaminated with diluent.

Thank goodness we have an independent newspaper in town that isn't afraid to print the truth.  The Santa Maria SUN ran Melville's opinion piece this week.

TIM NESS: "Should Be a Tobacco Executive"

Well, well, well.  More skeletons are coming out of the closet about Santa Maria City Manager Tim Ness.

From person to person to person -- and finally handed to me -- comes an article published in 2000 in the news articles of the Legal Defense Fund of the Protecting the Rights of California Public Safety Employees (PORAC) --  regarding Tim Ness' actions in an appeal filed by Santa Maria Police Officer Tom Radzyminski. 

Superior Court Judge Zel Canter, in denying the city's motion for a new trial, and describing Ness' "disingenuous" behavior as he "went out of his way to find that the police officer lied," concluded that Ness "should be a tobacco executive."  (emphasis added)

It seems Judge Canter had  granted on January 5, 2000, Officer Radzyminski's writ of mandate to overturn his termination by the city.  Radzyminski, who previously served with great distinction in the U. S. Marine Corps and the LAPD, was discharged for backing his unit into a mailbox while on his way to an urgent call, and allegedly lying about it.

The article states that, "Judge Canter . . . stated that Ness 'went out of his way to find that the police officer lied.  I found that to be abhorrent and rejected it out of hand.'  Ness, he said, was 'a corporate man, ready to sacrifice the individual's rights . . . in my opinion the worst kind possible to be in any position of a judicial office of any sort.'  Ness' tortured reasoning was 'so faulty that it was an abuse of his powers."

"Abuse of power " . . . where have we heard that before about Tim Ness?  Oh, yes.  It was the report of the 2004 - 2005 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury.  Check out Tim Ness' Hit List on this blog for the full version of what the Grand Jury said about Ness' abuse of power.

The August 11 - 18, 2005, issue of the Santa Maria SUN newspaper summed up the Grand Jury's report by noting, after "20 interviews, 15 subpoenas for sworn testimony and three subpoenas for personnel documents," the Grand Jury found, among other things, that the "City Council is not exercising sufficient oversight of the city manager."  (emphasis added)

In granting Radzyminski's writ to overturn his termination, Judge Canter cited "the pathetic lack of justification given by Ness for the termination" and found no merit to the findings of Ness, "whose decision was rubber-stamped by the Santa Maria City Council."  (emphasis added)

Sounds like more reasons for George Dailey and Lynn Melville to point to when they say Santa Maria's residents should vote for Joan Leon and Hilda Zacarias in the upcoming Santa Maria City Council election.

MARTY MARISCAL: His Wife Loves Him

A-a-h, the night before the election, and the letters to the editor at the Santa Maria Times just keep coming.

First there's the letter on November 6, 2006, from Nancy Orchard, a Santa Maria property owner who lives in Solvang.  Even from that distance, she can see that up for city council re-election Marty Mariscal isn't representing the Santa Maria citizens well when he allows the city water bills to continue to climb. 

Orchard details the history of state water in Santa Maria.  It seems that since the early 1990s, the City of Santa Maria has raised rates annually to pay for anticipated state water.  Now that state water is being piped into the city, the city has turned around and is selling water to other cities in the Central Coast -- for a profit.

Orchard states that everyone in Santa Maria has already financed the state water.  If the city is going to make money on something the citizens have already purchased with their hard-earned dollars, why aren't the citizens being reimbursed for their investment in this profit-making venture?

Orchard critizes Marty Mariscal for his "scheme to take state water sale proceeds and give it to businesses for loans," instead of returning the profits to the citizens who funded this little water-selling business.

But wait !  There's a letter on November 6th in favor of Mariscal -- his very own wife, Marye.  She relates how she and Mariscal were, "and still are," high school sweethearts; that Mariscal didn't come from an affluent family and that over the years, he "has worked very hard."  They went to college together, got married, moved to Santa Maria and had a family.  Pretty normal stuff here.

Marye relates how they became involved in the community and the leadership roles her husband has taken on.  "I know how hard he works," she says.  "I love, trust and believe in Marty.  I know you can, too."

I don't know about "loving" Marty.  The Tin Soldier does know that the citizens have been upset since the acting City Clerk, Stephanie Swarner, was relieved of her duties; since the city council (including Marty Mariscal and Alice Patino) ignored the hundreds of citizens who pleaded that former Police Chief John Sterling be retained; since the city council began building equipment to add fluoride to the city's water supply before the citizens had a chance to vote on the issue.

And don't forget the issue of the citizens being denied their democratic right to elect their mayor, with the last three city mayors being appointed from within the ranks of the existing city council, due to the then sitting mayors conveniently resigning in order to allow the appointments.

And then there's the Mother of All Issues -- the contract between the Santa Maria City Council and Chevron to truck toxic contaminated soil from the Guadalupe Dunes to the Santa Maria landfill, which sits over the water basin for the whole valley.

I don't know, Marye.  I think it's probably a good thing you love him.  The rest of us are ticked.

ALICE PATINO: Pretends She's a Democrat

Looks like up for Santa Maria City Council re-election Alice Patino must be getting pretty desperate. 

I've been handed a mailer that landed in Santa Maria residents' mailboxes November 4th.  It's titled "Attention Democrats !!" -- with a big picture and bio of Alice Patino directly under the title.

Attention Democrats ?????  Check www.santabarbaragop.org to see Alice Patino clearly registered as a Republican.

The mailer is basically a Democratic voter guide, saying, "The Team for Democratic Voters -- Take this guide with you to the polls."

Listed on the mailer are Democratic candidates for Governor Angelides, Lt. Governor Garamendi, Treasurer Lockyer, etc.   

Not only does Patino have her picture and bio at the top of the mailer -- she lists her name as a candidate for Santa Maria City Council, in the lower portion of the mailer, along with all the other Democratic candidates.

A wolf in sheep's clothing?  A Republican in Democratic clothing?  Demo-drag?

Most interesting is Patino's urging the voters to vote for encumbent U. S. Congresswoman Lois Capps.  Wonder what GOP candidate Victor Tognazzini would say about that? 

And the whole Central Coast GOP, for that matter.  One would presume that funds donated by Republicans were used to promote Democratic candidates.  Smooth move, Alice.

Up for re-election Marty Mariscal has made a number of mis-steps this election season (see other Tin Soldier commentaries about Mariscal).  Looks like Patino has been taking lessons from Mariscal.

MIYOSHI, BRASKET, MELVILLE: Vote for Joan Leon and Hilda Zacarias

Well, it's been a busy couple of days here in our little town.  In two days, Deborah Brasket, Lynn Melville and Toru Miyoshi all chimed in with their voices to urge citizens to vote for Santa Maria City Council candidates Joan Leon and Hilda Zacarias on election day, Tuesday, November 7th.

Lynn Melville's Santa Maria Times letter to the editor on Thursday, November 2, 2006, detailed the 1999 California Coastal Commission's report that the diluent contained in the Guadalupe Dunes soil ". . . contains several compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylene and xylene, aka BTEX) that are known to the State of California to cause cancer or reproductive harm." 

(And yet this week's Santa Maria SUN had Mayor Larry Lavagnino telling us once again that "There's Nothing Hazardous About the City's Plans".  Can you believe?)

Melville noted that the 1999 report also referred to 60 percent of the Guadalupe oil field being contaminated with diluent. 

In addition, Melville stated that Chevron could really just truck its contaminated soil up the road to a Class "A" dump in Kettleman City or Buttonwillow -- and the City of Santa Maria could simply cap its landfill with its own fill dirt from the Santa Maria River bed, for free.  What a concept.

Then came Friday's letter to the editor from former Santa Barbara County Supervisor Toru Miyoshi.  Miyoshi accused the Santa Maria City Council of not returning state water funds to the citizens when new houses (developments) are built, as had been promised. 

Miyoshi notes that the new state water in the city is expensive water.  When the Santa Maria City Council agreed to bring in state water (charging the citizens much more than they had been paying for water before), the citizens were told that as new homes (developments) were built, the funds would be applied to the water bill, thus lowering it in the future.

Miyoshi notes that now the City Council is using the additional water funds from the new developments for other purposes.

Miyoshi also applauds the City of Santa Maria employees for their courage in expressing their displeasure with the leadership of the current city council by not endorsing the encumbents, Marty Mariscal and Alice Patino. 

In addition, Miyoshi touches upon the city council's approval of City Manager Tim Ness eliminating the elected city clerk position, along with the council's indifference to the citizens' health by recently allowing the city staff to lower the safe criteria for PCBs to be dumped into our landfill (as if cancer-causing diluent weren't enough).

PCB's???  Where did that come from?  Those things are cancer-causing, too.  Hopefully Miyoshi will tell us more about that in the future.

Whew.

Then came Deborah Brasket's Friday commentary, titled It's Time for a Change at City Hall.  Brasket describes the city council's votes as being more aligned with the "interests of wealthy developers and landowners than with the needs of average citizens and small business owners of Santa Maria."

Pointing to the city council's failure to "listen to the people they were elected to represent," Brasket hearkens back to 2003, "when the community turned out in full force to protest -- in vain -- removal of a very popular police chief" (former Police Chief John Sterling).

Brasket also points to the city council's agreement "to haul tons of contaminated soil through our streets without giving people the opportunity to voice their objections."

Wow.  Santa Maria's waking up and standing up for itself.  Very satisfying to watch.

P.S.  Check out the Santa Maria Times November 3, 2006, article titled 'Local Teen Files Lawsuit Over Cancer'.  It seems 18-year-old Scott Chenoweth has filed suit against Unocal and five other oil companies, "claiming his diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia was the result of living in a neighborhood [Sunrise Hills] contaminated by past oil drilling."

And Mayor Larry Lavagnino still says "There's Nothing Hazardous About the City's Plans."  Hogwash.

SM TIMES BLACKOUT ON CANCEROUS GUADALUPE SOIL

I've just been handed the smoking gun material on the issue of the diluent-contaminated Guadalupe soil being transferred to the SM landfill, which sits over the water basin for the Santa Maria Valley.

It seems up-for-re-election City Councilman Marty Mariscal wrote a guest commentary to the Santa Maria Times on September 24, 2006, titled Tainted Soil Program Win/Win for City, claiming that the Guadalupe soil is "safe".

On September 28, 2006, Lynn Melville submitted a guest commentary to the Times, in rebuttal to Mariscal's claims.  As she tells it, she was first told by the Times that her commentary couldn't be published for 30 days, because a letter to the editor from her was published on September 28th.

On September 27th, she was informed that no, even though 30 days were up the next day, they weren't going to publish her commentary. 

The Tin Soldier has been given a copy of Melville's commentary, which breaks open the news that the 1999 Coastal Commission report stated that 60 percent of the Guadalupe Dunes soil is contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals.

(See Tin Soldier post:  GUADALUPE DUNES SOIL IS CANCEROUS)

No wonder the Santa Maria Times readership has been declining.  Who wants to read a paper that doesn't print the truth?

GUADALUPE DUNES SOIL IS CANCEROUS

Up-for-re-election City Councilman Marty Mariscal wrote a guest commentary in the Santa Maria Times on September 24, 2006, claiming that the diluent-contaminated Guadalupe Dunes soil is "safe". 

Lynn Melville wrote a guest commentary in rebuttal which the Santa Maria Times refused to print.  (See Tin Soldier post SM TIMES BLACKOUT ON CANCEROUS GUADALUPE SOIL)  For some reason, the Times doesn't want the residents of Santa Maria to know the truth.

Melville's commentary details quotes from the 1999 Coastal Commission report:

          "Diluent contains several compounds (Benzene, Toluene, Ethylene and Xylene, aka BTEX) that are known to the State of California to cause cancer or reproductive harm." (emphasis added)

"Guadalupe oil field encompasses approximately 3,000 acres . . . 60 percent of which is now believed to be contaminated with diluent." (emphasis added)

In her commentary, Melville challenges Marty Mariscal to prove that the cancer-causing chemicals have been removed from the Guadalupe Dunes soil.

The Melville commentary which the Times refused to publish then details the fact that "NHIS" ("Non-Hazardous Hydrocarbon Impacted Soil") which Mariscal (and also up-for-re-election Alice Patino) have touted as safe, is nothing more than petroleum that has been removed from the soil by a heat process (steam).  This removes the hydrocarbons. 

However, the heat process does not remove cancer-causing diluent.  It's all still sitting there in the Guadalupe Dunes soil, waiting to be transferred to our landfill. 

When the landfill leaks (see Tin Soldier post SM LANDFILL: Plastic Liners Always Leak), our water supply will be contaminated.

At that point, the citizens will be stuck with the clean-up bill.  Melville notes in her commentary that the current city council has been warned by the Regional Water Quality Control Board that the board will hold the City of Santa Maria completely liable for any future groundwater liability as a result of the diluent-contaminated soil being transferred to the landfill.

And oh, yes, there's the issue of the contract between the City of Santa Maria and Chevron.  Melville states that there's that standard 'hold harmless' clause in there, where the city holds Chevron harmless for any future liability either.

What a deal.  Chevron gives Santa Maria $28 million (of which the city will net only $16 million after costs) -- and the citizens get to pay for the millions (billions?) of dollars in clean-up later.

Remember to vote November 7th for the candidate you feel will best represent the interests of the residents of Santa Maria.

SM LANDFILL: Plastic Liners Always Leak

I've just been handed a document titled The Failure of Plastic Liners in landfills.

Anyone reading the Santa Maria Times or the Santa Maria SUN will remember the voluminous articles that have been printed praising the transfer of (what we now know as toxic) Guadalupe soil into the SM landfill. 

City Manager Tim Ness -- with the full approval of the city council members (one would presume) -- was adamant about the complete safety of the plastic liner in the landfill -- a high density polyethylene (HDPE) liner.

In other words, the assertion has been made by the city that even if something were to be transferred into the landfill that wasn't environmentally safe. the HDPE liner they're using is so strong that it will never leak into the water basin for the entire Santa Maria Valley which sits below the SM landfill.

The document I've been handed states:

"Plastic liners, whether the state of the art HDPE liners (emphasis added) or the inferior liners, are manufactured in a manner that ensures they are never totally impermeable.  The manufacturing process for plastics always creates 'defect points' . . . .  As time passes, the plastic molecules begin to spontaneously decompose . . . .  All plastics age in this way:  they become brittle, weak and break up.

"This process can begin within only a few years and will almost certainly be underway within a decade."

Swell.  Should we call Tim Ness and tell him the news?

The document also emphasizes:

"Besides the inherent defect points, researchers have found that 'pinholes' often develop during manufacturing and that seams created through joining sheets (by welding or gluing) regularly leak.  According to a study by the U. S. firm Geoservices, 'an average of one leak per 1,000 feet of seam can be expected with reasonably good installation, adequate quality assurance, and repair of noted defects.

"Geoservices calculate that . . . a 10-acre landfill will have a leakage rate of up to 3,650 gallons of toxic fluid per year, seriously threatening ground water quality."  (emphasis added)

"Seriously threatening ground water quality."  Isn't that what we're all concerned about with the transfer of the diluent-contaminated Guadalupe soil to our landfill -- which sits over our water basin?

Perhaps we should let our current city council in on this news also. 

Remember to vote on November 7th for the candidate you feel will best represent the interests of the residents of Santa Maria.

JOAN LEON: Police Officers' Association Endorses . . . sort of

How very interesting this year's Santa Maria City Council race is.  Now we have an October 22nd, 2006, letter to the editor in the Santa Maria Times from the Santa Maria Police Officers' Association regarding challenger Joan Leon.

After noting that the POA held a candidates' night on October 9th, they state that Joan Leon, "the candidate who did not request an endorsement, came closest to seeing the same issues facing our city we see as a law enforcement organization."

Continuing, they note that, "Leon presented creative and novel solutions to address these issues.  Her grass-roots approach to growth in population, housing and business makes her ideas and philosophies a breath of fresh air to a city in need of new leadership to better prepare for the future."

They finish with the statement that, "Although Joan Leon would not accept an endorsement, the members unanimously (emphasis added) voted to recognize her as a valid candidate for City Council."

So the POA gave an endorsement to someone not requesting one -- and the Santa Maria Times withheld its endorsement of the encumbents, which it normally gives.

Such an interesting election year.

SM TIMES: Marty Mariscal and Alice Patino Not Endorsed

The Sunday, October 22, 2006, issue of the Santa Maria Times held an interesting opinion piece from the editorial staff. 

For the first time in all the years the Tin Soldier has lived in Santa Maria, the encumbent Santa Maria City Council members were not endorsed for the November 7th election.

The paper spoke about how well-qualified all candidates were to serve as city council members. 

The unendorsement stated, "We would not be at all disappointed to see (Marty) Mariscal and (Alice) Patino returned to office, but we also believe voters and the city would be well-served if (Hilda) Zacarias or (Joan) Leon are elected."

How interesting it is to read between the lines.

MARTY MARISCAL Says Toxic Guadalupe Soil is "JUST DIRTY DIRT"

I can't resist this.  Someone by the name of 'Conroy' posted an email comment on this blog regarding George Dailey's letter to the editor printed in the Santa Maria Times a couple weeks ago.  (Read Conroy's email in its entirety by clicking on Recent Comments to the left of this commentary.)

Dailey was quite up front in his thoughts about the incumbent Santa Maria city council members.  He said, "In view of what this council has done, why would anyone in their right mind vote to retain them in office?  Santa Maria deserves better representation than this."

It seems Marty Mariscal didn't like this example of citizens exercising their freedom of speech rights.  Conroy says in his email that Mariscal personally called Dailey, angry about his county split comment and said that "the soil from Guadalupe was NOT contaminated."

Conroy says Dailey asked Mariscal why the soil had to be moved if it wasn't contaminated.

Mariscal said the soil was just "dirty" soil. 

So Mariscal is saying that the California Water Quality Control Board was wrong when it stated that the diluent in the Guadalupe soil, ". . . contains carcinogenic, chemical solvents, including benzene, toluene, xylene and ethylbenzene (often referred to as BTEXs)."

I guess Mariscal is also disputing the Guadalupe Oil Field Environmental Impact Report of March 1998, which said, "Diluent contains several compounds (Benzene, Toluene, Ethylene and Xylene, aka BTEX) that are known to the State of California to cause cancer or reproductive harm."  (Appendix C, page C-3)

This report also states that, ". . . from a scientific viewpoint, the diluent contamination is likely to persist for centuries or millennia . . . ."  (Appendix D, page D-56)

Tsk, tsk.  Dirty dirt, indeed.

HILDA ZACARIAS: Endorsements from Santa Maria Police Officers' Association and City of Santa Maria Employees' Union (S E I U)

Looks like Hilda Zacarias has racked up some more supporters.  My informants tell me that the Santa Maria Police Officers' Assocation voted this week to endorse Zacarias for election to the Santa Maria City Council in November.

The POA held a Santa Maria City Council candidates' night on October 9, 2006.  As I understand it, each candidate was interviewed separately by the POA.  Thus no candidate had the advantage to rebut or counter what other candidates might have previously presented to the members.

It's interesting that the POA didn't have trouble getting current City Councilman Marty Mariscal to attend their forum, as the League of Women Voters did for their candidates' night two weeks ago.

Guess it's easier to shine on a club full of women than it is a room full of cops.

(Breaking news:  The union for the City of Santa Maria employees (S E I U) has also endorsed Hilda Zacarias for city council.  Let me repeat:  the employees of the City of Santa Maria are not endorsing current encumbents Marty Mariscal and Alice Patino for re-election.  And neither is the Santa Maria Times.  The message from these decisions is loud and clear.)

LYNN MELVILLE ON CONGALTON SHOW RE GUADALUPE SOIL

I heard Lynn Melville on the Dave Congalton talk show last Wednesday, lambasting the city again for allowing diluent-contaminated Guadalupe soil into the Santa Maria landfill.  She revealed information that should concern us all.

Listen to the interview yourself at www.920kvec.com -- Click on Programming, then Listen Live, then Listen to Podcasts.  Scroll down to Wednesday, October 4 -- Lynn Melville on contaminated soil being dumped in Santa Maria.

Noting that the 1999 Coasal Commission report stated that PCBs were found in Guadalupe, with current estimates being about 10 percent  PCB contamination there, Melville also detailed the toxic chemical 'ezenes and BTEXs contained in the soil. 

Quoting a 2004 document from the Regional Water Quality Control Board, she stated that in 2002, the City of Santa Maria had been denied  permission to accept the diluent-contaminated soil from Guadalupe into its landfill.  High level testing criteria had been used, since the landfill sits over the water basin for the entire valley.

However, the city reapplied in 2004 (with, presumably, new Water Board members).  The Water Board decided that the previous high level testing criteria had been too "conservative" and dropped the standards 50 percent, thus allowing the city to then accept the diluent-contaminated soil into its landfill.

Melville added a kicker that the Water Board was very clear in its warning to the City of Santa Maria that it held the city entirely responsible for any groundwater impacts as a result of the soil transfer program.

She also stated in the  interview that the City of Santa Maria had signed a contract with Chevron for the soil transfer, with a clause that released Chevron from any future liability as to leakage into the water basin.

So diluent-contaminated Guadalupe soil is now officially being transferred to the Santa Maria landfill -- which sits over the water basin -- and the City of Santa Maria is entirely responsible for any future water basin contamination. 

"City of Santa Maria" means its citizens -- we the citizens will have to pay for the clean-up.

JOAN LEON: Candidate for City Council

JOAN LEON -- Candidate for Council Member -- City of Santa Maria (Check Smart Voter's web site for full biographical highlights and political philosophy) -- Contact Joan at www.joanleon.com

Biographical Highlights

          (1) Occupation:  Writer/Researcher

          (2) Member of League of Women Voters since 1969

          (3) Served as LWV president in Santa Maria Valley

          (4) Awarded national League fellowship to participate in government for a month in Washington, D. C.

          (5) Served two terms on the county civil grand jury

          (6) Write a monthly column about local issues in the Santa Maria Times

          (7) Graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a degree in English

Top Priorities as City Council Member

          (1) Return direction of the city to the elected council, not the city manager

          (2) Have an open government informing the residents of city issues

          (3) Be independent of special interests by conducting a clean money campaign

Position Papers

          (1) Take Back the City -- The city council hires only the city manager and city attorney.  The council follows the direction of the manager and staff.  There is a need for more leadership on the council.  I will speak out, ask questions and provide new energy to the council.

          (2) We Need a More Open City Government -- Residents are not being fully informed about issues in the city.

          (3) Clean Money Campaign for a Conflict-Free Elected Official -- By NOT accepting money and endorsements from businesses, groups, unions, or political parties, I will be free of conflicts of interest.

In addition to advocating After Work Town Hall Meetings for citizens to stop by and voice their concerns, Joan feels the city "should make every effort to inform the public, not just the minimum notice required by law."

"Did we have a voice about the contaminated sand being trucked through our city to the landfill for the next five years?" she asks. 

She also asks, "Why did the grand jury in 2004-05 have to issue 18 subpoenas to investigate the city government?"

Joan states that as a candidate free of self-interest conflicts, she "will continue to speak out and ask critical questions at city council meetings."

HILDA ZACARIAS: Candidate for City Council

HILDA ZACARIAS -- Candidate for Council Member -- City of Santa Maria -- Contact Hilda at www.hildaforcitycouncil.com

Hilda's accomplishments and accolades go on forever.  She seems to be particularly shy about tooting her own horn, as her web site doesn't list anywhere near the achievements noted in her official Biography -- which I picked up somewhere in my travels around Santa Maria.

(Note to Hilda:  Add this stuff to your web site.  The citizens of Santa Maria need to know how much you've accomplished and given to the city.)

I may get carpal tunnel entering all her accomplishments, but here goes:

Hilda grew up in Santa Maria and graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, with an emphasis in accounting.  She recently completed her Masters Degree in Public Administration at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Her bio says she "attended as a Harvard Presidential Scholar Fellow".  This means scholarship -- free money -- funds given to support a student who the school thinks is particularly valuable.  Rumor has it that Hilda graduated from this program with honors . . . .  Again, she doesn't mention this on her web site.

Hilda owned her own accounting and tax firm in Santa Maria for 12 years, as well as working as an auditor of non-profits for a Santa Barbara based CPA firm.  She taught taxation and accounting at Cal Poly.

Public Offices Held & Appointments

          (1) Santa Maria Joint Union High School District Board of Directors (1993 - 1998)

          (2) Santa Barbara County Commissioner: Affirmative Action (1991 - 1993) & Women's Commission (1999 - 2000)

          (3) Santa Barbara County Children & Families Commission Leadership Team

Recognitions

          (1) County of Santa Barbara Human Relations Commission Honoree (2003)

          (2) California Polytechnic University -- Distinguished Service Award (1993)

          (3) Allan Hancock College Distinguished Alumni (1995)

          (4) Latino Today -- Influential Latinos of the Central Coast of California (2006)

          (5) Santa Barbara Hispanic Achievement Council Annual Achievement Award (2004)

Community Activities & Board Associatons

          (1) National Conference of Communities & Justice, Central Coast Region (2002 - 2005) -- Founding Board Member and Co-Chair

          (2) Santa Barbara Community Foundation (1999 - 2000) -- Chief Financial Officer

          (3) Santa Barbara Community Foundation (1994 - 2003) -- Trustee; Present -- Trustee Emeritus

          (4) Future Leaders of America, a leadership develpment program for teens (1994 - 2005) -- Founding Member, Santa Barbara County Future Leaders, Regional Director (1995 - 2004) -- Trustee (2000 - 2005)

          (5) Alpha Resource Center of Santa Barbara County (1998 - 2000) -- Board Member

          (6) Camp Fire Boys & Girls (1995 - 1997) -- Treasurer / Board Member

          (7) Santa Maria Valley Boys & Girls Club (1992 - 1994) -- Board Member

          (8) Santa Maria Noontime Kiwanis (1994 - 1998) -- Member

          (9) St. John Neumann, Santa Maria, & Our Lady of Sorrows, Santa Barbara (1992 - 2005) -- Catechism Instructor and Lector

Professional Business Associations & Activities

          VITA -- Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program -- California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo (1993 - 2002) -- Provided over 350 families per year with free icome tax preparation at the Santa Maria Town Center mall.

(Wow.  350 tax returns -- per year -- from '93 to '02.  That's 3,150 tax returns.  And I have trouble getting mine in by October 15th.)

CITY COUNCIL ELECTION: Melville Letter to Editor

The drum beat continues, as Lynn Melville chimed in with her Santa Maria Times letter to the editor on September 24, 2006. 

While agreeing with Dailey's previous letter regarding the "county split debacle and the trucking of contaminated (Guadalupe) sand to our landfill, which sits over our valley's water basin,"  Melville focuses on the fluoridated water issue in 2003.  According to Melville, the Santa Maria City Council went forward with building the equipment to add fluoride to the city's water supply before the citizens even had a chance to vote on whether they wanted it.

Melville also angrily cites the issue of the citizens "being denied their democratic right to elect their mayor."  It seems the last three city mayors were appointed from within the ranks of the existing city council, due to the then sitting mayors conveniently resigning in order to allow the appointments.

And then there's the Sterling issue.  Melville cites the actions of current council members Marty Mariscal and Alice Patino in allowing the "public humiliation and firing of former Police Chief John Sterling . . . despite hundreds of citizens deluging the council with phone calls, letters and public testimony at council meetings, begging the council to find a way to retain the man who had done so much to unite the city."

Melville ends with, "As Joe Furcinete said in his recall movement against the council in 2003, 'They're not listening to us.' "

CITY COUNCIL ELECTION: Dailey Letter to Editor

Well, it looks like the Santa Maria City Council election is off and running.  The first cannon shot has been fired. 

George Dailey states in his Santa Maria Times letter to the editor of September 10, 2006, that both Joan Leon and Hilda Zacarias should be voted into office, replacing current council members Marty Mariscal and Alice Patino.

In addition to citing the "well-entrenched interests in Santa Maria behind anything of consequence for developers and big money," and "the county split initiative that cost local taxpayers millions of dollars to defeat," Dailey also mentions the "ill-conceived notion that trucking thousands of loads of contaminated (Guadalupe) sand through our city . . . to cap an old landfill was an easy way to make money for the city coffers . . . ."

Dailey concludes by saying, "In view of what this council has done, why would anyone in their right mind vote to retain them in office?  Santa Maria deserves better representation than this."

One Tin Soldier agrees.

COUNTY SPLIT: SM Times Comes Down Hard

With June 6th right around the corner, the Santa Maria Times has done a thorough job of looking at the proposed Mission County split proposal.

Starting with Randi Block's Creation of New County Would Trigger Big Changes on May 16, 2006, the voters were informed that not only would the proposed new county have a $30 million annual operating deficit, there would also be the necessity for a $5 million loan from Santa Barbara County to pay start-up costs. 

In addition, Santa Barbara County Executive Officer Mike Brown stated that for the first two years of the proposed new county's existence, the County of Santa Barbara would be expected to cover services until the new county officials determine they are ready to take over.  The proposed new county would have to compensate Santa Barbara County for those services.

This article also mentions that the new county would have to face the lack of a jail, probation and social services.  While the state provides some revenue, it wouldn't be enough to fund all services, Brown said.

Brown also stated that the remaining Santa Barbara County would be forced to lay off approximately 2,000 employees because of a shrinking work load.  "Most of these people would probably seek work in other comparable jurisdictions and move out of the area," he said. 

The clear implication here is that the bedroom communities to Santa Barbara, all of them existing in the proposed new county, would experience a glut of houses on the market -- at a time when there's already too many homes for sale, with interest rates creeping higher.

On May 17, 2006, Quintin Cushner wrote Courts Have No Map If County Splits, with Gary Blair, executive officer of the Superior Courts of Santa Barbara County, stating that, "The statutes are extremely obsolete (dealing with the creation of courts in a new county), and there would have to be new legislation to take into account what takes place in a modern day court."

On May 18, 2006, Michelle Hatfield wrote Educators Worry About Duplication With County Split.  The article states that Mission County would have to swallow a lot of start-up and transition costs, which means either cuts in programs or higher taxes.  Jeff Hearn, superintendent of the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District, stated that, "I've never really felt that we lacked representation.  Bill Cirone and the county education office staff have always reached out."

On May 19, 2006, Mark Baylis wrote Sheriff: Services Would Suffer With Split, with Sheriff Jim Anderson saying that North County residents would likely see a drop in service levels from their sheriff's department if Mission County is created.  "We'd be going back in time 30 years," he said.

The Mission County Formation Review Commission found in its report that a new revenue source would have to be found or a current source increased (taxes) in order to properly fund the sheriff's and probation departments.  The report concluded the proposed county would require a 25 percent drop in full-time sheriff's positions and a 46 percent drop in full-time probation slots.

On May 20, 2006, Malia Spencer wrote City Concerned About Grant Funds If Voters Split County.  According to Celeste Coelho-Hudson, the city and Santa Barbara County work together to receive federal grant funds, with a county split having the potential to disrupt that flow.

For Fiscal Year 2006-07, the consortium of the city and Santa Barbara County received roughly $1.4 million in federal funds.   Coelho-Hudson said that she was unsure if the city on its own would qualify for the program. 

Randi Block concluded the series on May 21, 2006, with County Split Backers Remain Silent Supporters in Campaign.  Although the Citizens for County Organization (CFCO) have not advertised through signs, television promotions or brochures for a measure that could redirect the entire future of Santa Barbara County, CFCO chair Jim Diani said, "You can't educate people to any depth by putting signs up.  Will we lose because of this decision?  I don't know, but I'm not playing the manipulation game."

Diani said that he's counting on residents coming out of the "woodwork" to vote to split the county.  (One Tin Soldier is dying to comment on those North County people living as Diani suggests, but will remain a gentleman.)

Joyce Howerton of the Coalition Against the County Split said the lack of advertisements is due to a shrinking support base.  "It's just a small group of people who brought us the issue, but the majority of Santa Barbara County just think it's a bad idea," Howerton said.

Dave Cross of CFCO chimed in again in support of the split, stating that, "It doesn't matter whether the extra vote (on the current Santa Barbara board of supervisors) is for the north or south, because it's a constant battle for power," adding that cutting bureaucracy in the proposed county by reducing the number of people receiving high salaries will compensate for reductions in general fund dollars.

For the split to be approved, a majority of voters in the entire county as well as a majority in the new county -- essentially land north of the Gaviota Tunnel -- must vote to support it.

And then finally, on May 21, 2006, the editorial at the Santa Maria Times was titled County Not Broken; No Need to Fix It.

Enough said.

    

COUNTY SPLIT: Jim Diani is Major Financial Backer

Well, at last we know.  County Split opponents Joan Leon and former County Supervisor Toru Miyoshi called a press conference recently to announce that the 2003 and 2004 income tax statements had become available for Citizens for County Organization (CFCO), the North County group behind the movement to split the county.

According to the April 14, 2006, article in the Santa Maria Times, in October, 2003, CFCO took out a loan of $212,500, money that primarily went to fund the collection of signatures to trigger the study into the feasibility of a county split and place it on the June 6 ballot.

The big news here is that Leon and Miyoshi report that Jim Diani, of A. J. Diani Company, personally backed this $212,500 loan.

Then, in February, 2004, Diani loaned CFCO $19,000 to fund operating expenses.  (See also the May 8, 2006, Santa Maria Sun article.)

Leon said that "CFCO passed off its efforts as a 'grassroots campaign,' so she was surprised that almost all of the funding had come directly from Diani and a large loan personally backed by Diani."

Diani said, "Regardless of the circumstances, this isn't an issue that Jim Diani created . . . ."

Sure looks like it from here. 

                                                 One Tin Soldier

GUAD DIRT: Lavagnino Undermines Kirk

Bad news for Santa Maria citizens -- On February 7, 2006, the San Luis Obispo board of supervisors voted unanimously to deny the appeal of Santa Maria resident Dan Kirk to prevent 860,000 cubic yards of oil diluent-contaminated soil from Guadalupe from being transported to the Santa Maria landfill.  The denial was reported in the February 8, 2006, issue of the Santa Maria Times.

Kirk's appeal was filed on the basis that proper public notification was not given by San Luis Obispo County to the public in Santa Barbara County.  Therefore, the Santa Barbara County citizens were denied their lawful right to comment on the proposal. 

Public notification and opportunity to have input on the project is required by law in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).  There are many Internet choices to read about CEQA.  Google it and find section 15087 -- Public Review of Draft Environmental Impact Report, where it says:

          "Notice shall be . . . given by at least one of the following procedures:

          "(1)  Publication at least one time by the public agency in a newspaper of general circulation in the area affected by the proposed project.  If more than one area is affected, the notice shall be published in the newspaper of largest circulation from among the newspapers of general circulation in those areas." (emphasis added)

The newspaper of largest circulation in both San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties is clearly the Santa Barbara News-Press.

However, the SLO supervisors publicized the project in the SLO Tribune, which has a readership of 450 people in all of SB County. 

Clearly, the citizens of Santa Maria, whose landfill is slated to receive the oil diluent-contaminated dirt, were never notified.

However, isn't it interesting that Santa Maria's own mayor, Larry Lavagnino, went to the trouble of attending the same SLO board of supervisors meeting where Dan Kirk was presenting his appeal -- on behalf of the SM citizens. 

Lavagnino was there in opposition to Kirk's appeal, reassuring the SLO board that they'd performed everything they were supposed to do correctly. (One Tin Soldier:  "And please give us the $6 million in unmarked bills . . . .")

Way to go, Larry.  The citizens of Santa Maria really want to thank you for going out of your way to work on our behalf. 

The Santa Maria Sun's March 8, 2006, issue reported that Dan Kirk will appeal the SLO supervisors' decison to the California Coastal Commission.

                                       One Tin Soldier

Posted March 31, 2006:  Today's issue of the Santa Maria Times details the appeal to the Coastal Commission.  Four Santa Maria residents are listed as having signed the appeal:  Dan Kirk, Thomas Gibbons, David White and Raymond Alexander.

COUNTY SPLIT: CFCO Board Members Revealed

The September 3, 2002, article in the Santa Maria Times revealed the names of the Board members of the Citizens for County Organization (CFCO) -- the same names that Jim Diani refused to reveal in recent County Split forums in our community.

You can read the details of who these people are by clicking the above Santa Maria Times address, but here the names are, in the order presented in the article:  Chairman Jim Diani, Vice Chairman Bob Hatch, Mayor Joe Centeno, Harrell Fletcher, Dan Lopez, Gilbert Armijo, Gail Tissier, Trent Benedetti, Bob Morrison, Ed Andrisek, Sam Arca, Paul Curtis, Lompoc Mayor Dick DeWees, Jason Diani, Ron Fink, Willie Galvan, Nina Garrett, Dan Hoback, Barbara Hunt, Dale Jackson, Bob Royster, Jack Pellerin, Richard Russell, Joe Sesto, Jim Small, Mark Smith, William Snelling, Sharon Steele, Ray Tosti, Doug Troesh and Pastor Roger Wheeler.

God bless the Internet.

COUNTY SPLIT: Jim Diani Fudges

The September 3, 2002, article in the Santa Maria Times quotes Jim Diani as saying that "The organization (Citizens for County Organization -- supporting the proposed County Split) will back off from the split movement if the study finds a split to be economically unreasonable." 

The Times quotes Diani as saying that "the role of the organization will be to educate the public on the results of the study."

Joan Leon's commentary of May 5, 2006, in the Santa Maria Times reminds us that this original study found that a new county would face an $11.5 million deficit, with raised taxes and reduced government services as the only way to overcome this deficit. 

Yet Diani's organization continued on, with a second study concluding that the deficit would be even more -- $30 million.

What happened to your promise, Jim?

COUNTY SPLIT: Joan Leon Says "No Grassroots Effort"

Friday's May 5, 2006, issue of the Santa Maria Times presented an interesting commentary from Joan Leon titled County Split:  No Grassroots Effort.

She begins her commentary by pointing to the example of government process in the movement of Measure D from public meetings to placement on the ballot.  She cites the many public meetings, workshops, people speaking for and against, and the April 21st hearing.  "All this happened before any decision was made to put the item on the November ballot," she says.

She then compares the above process to that of the proposed County Split.  She mentions the original $25,000 paid by the Citizens for County Organization (CFCO) to fund an 18-page study. 

Interestingly, this original study came to the conclusion that a new county would face an $11.5 million deficit and suggested raising taxes or reducing government services to overcome the deficit.

Yet CFCO continued forward with a petition drive anyway.  Not being able to make the signature deadline, they stopped the drive.  Jim Diani, owner of A. J. Diani  Company, obtained a loan of $212,500 -- "on his own personal guarantee" -- to pay for professional signature gatherers, and the petition drive was on again. 

When the commission was appointed to study the feasibility of a County Split (for the second time), this new group came to the conclusion that the new county would not be facing an $11.5 million deficit -- it would be $30 million.  This study had cost the county -- as of April 2005 -- $623,700.

As Leon says, "CFCO did not trust us to be involved in deciding if we needed to undertake this expensive process that is costing our county so much money.  Now they are asking us to approve a new county that would begin with a  huge deficit and an uncertain future. 

". . . The desires of a few people is an expensive process that we are all having to pay for."

COUNTY SPLIT: Joan Leon and Don Ward Sound Off

Today's March 19, 2006, issue of the Santa Maria Times contains more anti-County Split sentiment.  Joan Leon has a commentary titled Split a bad idea, for many reasons, while Don Ward chimes in with his letter to the editor -- County split a bad deal.

COUNTY SPLIT: SMTimes and Board of Supervisors Vote No

The Santa Maria Times has issued its recommendation:  Vote no on the County Split (March 12, 2006).

Also mentioned in this opinion piece is the fact that the five-member Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors also recently unanimously recommended a no vote on the County Split.

MORE DIRT: A. J. Diani Co. Advertises Landfill to Accept Other Cities' Hazardous Waste

Toru Miyoshi, former member of the Santa Maria City Council and Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, landed another bombshell in his commentary published in the Santa Maria Times on December 20, 2005.  It seems Santa Maria's City Council has a contract with Central Coast Remedial Resources, Inc., 2325 Skyway Drive in Santa Maria, to "accept Non-Hazardous Hydrocarbon Impacted Soil (NHIS) as foundation layer material" in the Santa Maria landfill.

In the August 25, 2005, article in the Santa Maria Times, John Zhao, Santa Maria city solid waste and utilities engineer, stated that, "Santa Maria has been accepting what is called Non-hazardous Hydrocarbon Impacted Soils (NHIS) for three years." 

What wasn't mentioned in that article is that CCRI (which is co-owned by A. J. Diani Company) is actively advertising our landfill across the Western United States as the answer to other cities' hazardous waste problems.

CCRI's advertising brochure (in an 8" x 11" tri-fold, ready for mailing, inside/outside views of brochure) states that "NHIS material includes, but is not limited to (emphasis added), soils from oil field sumps, tank farm locations, pipeline leaks, or petroleum product spills.  Call today for approval criteria (emphasis added) . . . . For information on NHIS acceptance criteria, profiling requirements, and pricing, please contact:  Don Vossler, CCRI,  . . . ."

Miyoshi asks, "Why would the city hire a private firm to solicit more hazardous waste from all over the Western states under the guise of NHIS to dump in our city landfill?"

Miyoshi also wants to know, "Why is Santa Maria so anxious to use contaminated soil when they have the funds to do it right?  The city of Santa Maria has millions of dollars in its post-closure fund account.  They can do it right by bringing in clean foundation materials to make the proper grade for drainage and final clay cap to seal the site."

The tin soldier agrees.  Why would the City of Santa Maria risk poisoning our future water supply?

COUNTY SPLIT: SM Times Wonders Why We Need It

In its January 15, 2006, opinion commentary on the county split, the Santa Maria Times states that the ". . . reason for splitting appears to have diminished if not evaporated."

After stating its concern that, "The idea that a Mission County would begin life $30 million in the hole certainly has to give one serious pause about the wisdom of creating a new county," the Times goes on to state that, "This all began as a response to North County citizens being tired of being pushed around politically by South Coast interests."

The Times continues with, "But with the swing of population and political clout to the north in the past couple of years -- three of the five members of the county Board of Supervisors live in the North County -- that reason for splitting appears to have diminished if not evaporated."

One Tin Soldier agrees.

COUNTY SPLIT: Proponents Refuse to Disclose Names of Donors

The February 17, 2006, Looking Forward commentary in the Santa Maria Times by Deborah Brasket, North County vice-president of the Santa Barbara County Action Network (SB CAN), brought to light an interesting issue regarding the proponents of the proposed county split.

The Santa Maria Times article reporting on the February 2nd, 2006, county split forum hosted by SB CAN in Santa Maria stated that several people in attendance asked the pro-split presenters to disclose the names of those who funded the split effort.  Toru Miyoshi, former Santa Barbara County supervisor, specifically asked to see a list of contributors.

However, Jim Diani, owner of A. J. Diani Construction and chairman of the pro-split organization, said that the identity of his organization's backers was "irrelevant".

Brasket brings this issue up as a legitimate concern of the citizens.  She states that, "It's only reasonable that voters would want to know about any special interest groups that stand to profit from a county split.  CFCO's claim that it doesn't matter where the money came from seems disingenuous at best."

"What are they trying to hide?" Brasket asks.

In detective stories, they always say, "Follow the money."  It seems the proponents of the county split don't want anyone to be able to "follow the money".

COUNTY SPLIT: Brasket Says, "We Don't Need It!"

In her well thought-out Looking Forward commentary in the Santa Maria Times on January 20, 2006, Deborah Brasket, North County vice-president of Santa Barbara County Action Network (SB CAN) poses important questions for citizens regarding the proposed county split.

In her commentary, she reminds us that the most important question to be considered is the motive for splitting the county. 

Originally, according to Brasket, back in February, 2002, when the Citizens for County Organization (CFCO) was first formed, the basic reasons given for splitting the county were irreconcilable economic, political and philosophical differences between the north and south county.

"The main problem," Brasket states, "seemed to be that North County supervisors did not have enough votes to pass regulations and ordinances they wanted."

"However," Brasket continues, "four years later, the politics of the county have changed.  Now, North County supervisors, with the help of the newly elected third district supervisor, have the majority."

Brasket asks the obvious question:  "Why would North County residents want to split away from the south at a time when North County interests have a majority in county politics?"

Why would they, indeed?

                                                                                              One Tin Soldier

COUNTY SPLIT: New County Would Pay Employees Less

At a January 18, 2006, meeting in Buellton where proponents of the county split were presenting their views, the Santa Maria Times quotes Dave Cross as saying, "Mission County could likely do things cheaper [than the current Santa Barbara County] and would hopefully pay county employees less."

The election to decide on the county split proposal is fast approaching -- June 6, 2006 -- and the group advocating the split (Citizens for County Organization -- CFCO) has started beating its drums.

CFCO members businessman Jim Diani, Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce CEO Robert Hatch, former county supervisor Harrell Fletcher, and former Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce President Dave Cross appeared in Buellton before the members of the Committee to Improve North County, a nonpartisan group that examines local issues.

During the meeting, CFCO members appeared to be of the opinion that the six-month, 490-page Mission County Formation Commission study they persuaded us to pay $1 million for was worthless and that their quarter-inch-thick response really contained the true facts about the proposed Mission County.

Even though the Mission County Formation Commission determined that a new county would face $30 million in debt if the split passed, the pro-split presenters stated that those numbers are inaccurate. 

Why do they believe they're "inaccurate"?  CFCO states that the Commission used the current cost of existing services in Santa Barbara County.  As Cross stated, the CFCO feels that cutting employees' salaries will help Mission County "do things cheaper".

If the CFCO is willing to cut employees' salaries to reduce that $30 million debt, what else will they cut?  Social services?  Education?  Roads? 

Interestingly, at the February 2nd, 2006, county split forum hosted in Santa Maria by the Santa Barbara County Action Network (SBCAN), Cross is quoted again by the Santa Maria Times as saying, "Mission County would use the money more efficiently and set new priorities (emphasis added)."

To take effect, the split will have to be approved by 51 percent of the entire county of Santa Barbara and 51 percent of the proposed new county. 

The citizens of Santa Barbara County need to think long and hard about this decision.

                                                                                       One Tin Soldier

GUAD DIRT: Dan Kirk Appeals Contaminated Dirt Decision

The Santa Maria Times noted in its August 25, 2005, article that Santa Maria city officials had agreed to receive 860,000 cubic yards of contaminated dirt from the Nipomo-Guadalupe Dunes, dumping it at the city's landfill.  According to retired attorney, Dan Kirk, the San Luis Obispo board of supervisors had agreed to pay Santa Maria $12.5 million for this service.  The Tin Soldier commented on this in the post titled SLO Dumps Toxic Dirt on Santa Maria.

The Times noted in its August 25th article that, "One group of residents has filed an appeal with the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors because they feel residents of Santa Barbara County were excluded from the decision-making process." 

Kirk said, "Basically [we filed] because the public did not get any notice of the EIR and its effects."

City Council Appoints Ness as City Clerk

When the Santa Barbara County Grand Jury filed its recent report, its main criticisms were that city manager Tim Ness had assumed too much power and that the city council had not overseen him properly.

Retired City Clerk Dorothy Lyman added her very strong feelings about Ness' power grabs in her August 30, 2005, Letter to the Editor in the Santa Maria Times.

Detailing how the electorate denied the city council's request in 2000 to make the city clerk an appointed position, she goes on to tell the story of the subsequently elected city clerk, Stephanie Swarner, being fired by Ness from her supplemental income position as head of the department of records. 

She notes that the city council then appointed Ness as city clerk in Swarner's place, effectively succeeding at what they'd tried to achieve on the ballot in 2000.

When the Recall Our City Council (ROCC) committee complained loudly about Ness' appointment in 2003, Ness was interviewed on local television.  He stated that the city clerk position was purely "ceremonial" in nature -- that it wasn't really a very important position for the functioning of the city.

The Tin Soldier disagrees.  As Toru Miyoshi stated in his Santa Maria Times commentary of June 18, 2003, "This change of authority [Tin Soldier:  from the elected city clerk to Ness] eliminated the principle of checks and balances in our city government and opened the door to the tampering of public records without independent oversight."

In addition to eliminating checks and balances, it also gave enormous power (there's that power word again) to Ness to interfere with citizens exercising their democratic rights.  Russ and Pachy Weed's Letter to the Editor in the Santa Maria Times on July 7, 2005, details a case in point.

The Weeds refer to the SM VOTE committee which attempted in 2003 to get a measure on the ballot to restore the mayor's term to two years. 

The committee was trying to prevent the repeated appointments to the mayor's office from within the city council which had been happening, effectively denying the citizens their right to elect the mayor of their choice.

The Weeds state, "We failed to acquire the required number of signatures because of the extraordinarily short time frame mandated by the acting city clerk."  (emphasis added) 

The "acting city clerk" was Ness, "acting" to protect the city council.

No wonder Ness still has his job.

                                                                                                           One Tin Soldier