Ron's Log

Code Enforcement Boards Up House At 12th and West!

Tonight at the meeting of the Public Safety Commission Fred Andree completely failed to mention it, so the delightful announcement came from Chief Williams that this morning code enforcement boarded up the broken windows at 66208 12th Street in Desert Hot Springs, thereby giving Karl Baker one less thing to complain about. Naturally I hightailed it to the scene while there was still some light in the sky.

More photos here, including photos I took back in April.

In addition, code enforcement is proceeding to get an abatement warrant, which will allow them eventually to demolish the house. Marilyn Heidrick said the house has been a blight since she first moved here in 1996.

Blight in Desert Hot Springs

Councilmember Betts frequently cites the dead palm tree near the former Blockbuster Video as an example of non-existent code enforcement, so I went to get a photo of it. There are actually several dead palm trees to pick from, but this looks like the right one:

Yes, that is a Save A Lot shopping cart, about two miles from home. Unlike this K-Mart shopping cart which is not out place, but seems to be filled with nothing more than trash. Do K-Mart employees use their carts to clean up the parking lot?

By the way, next to that dead palm tree is this horizontal dead palm tree. There's a little divot in the ground nearby that might have been where the palm tree used to be, or maybe somebody hauled this tree in from somewhere else.

But all of that pales when you turn around and find this public bedroom.

All of this is along the drive-up lane for Starbucks, but not on Starbucks property.

Mayor Pro Tem Baker has his favorite blighted house, the one at 12th and West. Here's my favorite.

It's on the south side of Estrella between Cactus and Tedesco Park. The yard is packed solid with burnable junk. The house might be unoccupied, as the front door is boarded up, but there is electricity - the front porch light is on 24/7. I wonder if the fire department can do something independent of code enforcement. The neighbors are so close that a fire here could spread easily.

Todos Santos Plaza

The Thursday before July 4, Todos Santos Plaza in Concord, California, was full of people listening to a concert, shopping at the farmer's market and admiring the cars parked around the perimeter.

1955 Chevy Belair.

1955 Cadillac Coupe de Ville.

$3,406.20 for a 1970 Mustang. That price includes $565 in options, one of which was a $61 AM radio.

More photos here.

Plans For Passenger Rail Into Las Vegas

There is talk of two plans to build a passenger railroad into Las Vegas. I guess no one is talking about reviving the old Amtrak route, since that involves Union Pacific rights of way, and Union Pacific has a history of being non-cooperative. Both proposed railroads parallel I-15 across the Mojave and go into Las Vegas, but that's where the similarities end.

One proposal is, of course, the maglev train which would cost billions and travel from Las Vegas to Anaheim, via Ontario. At Anaheim passengers could potentially transfer to the future California high-speed rail.

The other plan is one put forward by DesertXpress which is a private company (good) proposing to build a railroad with NO government subsidies (very good!) using off-the-shelf technology (good) from Las Vegas to Victorville (FAIL!). The Las Vegas Sun has an article comparing the two proposals.

When I first heard of DesertXpress's idea to terminate at Victorville, I assumed they must also be proposing some cool bus system or light rail or similar to connect from Victorville into Los Angeles. But no. Their proposed solution to get you from downtown Los Angeles (or Anaheim) to Victorville is to get in your car and drive. Due to traffic congestion and the climb over the Cajon pass half of your travel time from LA to Vegas can easily be spent just getting to Victorville. Once you've gotten out into the free and open spaces of I-15 across the Mojave, will you really want to park at Victorville and take a train the rest of the way? Maybe. Maybe not. Depends on price and scheduling. Depends on whether you'd like to start drinking in Victorville or wait until you get to your hotel.

Basically, the DesertXpress concept is simply a Las Vegas commuter train to their newest bedroom suburb: Victorville.

To assist the geographically-challenged, here's a map highlighting Las Vegas (upper right) and Los Angeles and Anaheim (lower left). You can see where Victorville sits out in the desert. Ontario is the small red dot.

The main reason they give for not extending the DesertXpress route to Anaheim or Union Station in Los Angeles is the difficulty of negotiating the steep Cajon Pass on steel rails, which would be no problem for a maglev. Now when they say Cajon Pass is a problem for them, I assume they mean they couldn't negotiate Cajon Pass at their proposed 150 MPH. Obviously, regular railroad trains can get over the Cajon Pass. You'll see several of them creeping up or down the winding route any time you drive that way. Or, it could be that Union Pacific controls that narrow right-of-way and won't share.

As for connecting to the future California high-speed rail, DesertXpress says this: "The DesertXpress line could be extended over approximately 50 miles to interface with the inter-modal facility planned in Palmdale on the voter-approved California High Speed Rail Project." It's only 50 miles more of desert. Why not just plan to make it a Las Vegas-Palmdale train from the very start? At least then it looks like it makes a little sense. Maybe they're scared of the San Andreas fault which runs along that 50 miles.

Marijuana Ad

This rather unexciting videdo is too much for KTLA and KABC to broadcast. The ad was produced by Marijuana Policy Project which seeks to legalize and tax marijuana in California. Neither TV station gave a reason for the rejection to the L.A. Times.

Massachusetts Sues U.S. Over DOMA

The Commonwealth of Massacusetts is suing the federal government, saying the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional.

Massachusetts risks losing millions in dollars for MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program for the poor, and for veterans’ cemeteries overseen by the state Department of Veterans Services, unless it obeys the Defense of Marriage Act. The federal government has told the state that it cannot provide federal funding for MassHealth benefits given to same-sex spouses. It also informed the state it will lose Veterans Affairs funding if it buries the same-sex spouse of a veteran in a cemetery, as the state does for heterosexual spouses of veterans.

Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter

Originally designed in 1943 as a cargo version of the B-29/B-50, a flying boom and tanks in the fuselage were added and it became an in-flight refueler. Only 74 cargo variants were built, while 816 were tankers. It was capable of off-loading 15,000 gallons of fuel. Jet engines were added on the outboard wings to enable it to operate from shorter runways with a full load. The aircraft in this photo saw service with the Strategic Air Command and, after the jets were added, with several Air National Guard units before being retired in 1977. It was retrieved from an Air Force storage facility in Arizona, restored to flying condition and flown to join the Castle Air Museum collection. A civilian version, the Stratocruiser, was used by several airlines, including Pan Am, Northwest and BOAC.

More photos here.

A Couple Of The Great-Nephews

Crassula portulacaria

Flowering for the first time, this is also known as "elephant jade" or "baby jade."

DHS City Council July 7

The audio recording of this meeting of the Desert Hot Springs City Council is available in two parts: part 1 and part 2.

Officer Steepleton Returns

He never left, but last night he returned to the city council meeting to be upgraded to a full time police officer. Back in March he was sworn in as a "Level 1 Reserve Officer." Here he is after being pinned by his girlfriend Traci.

Budget Review

Then, mostly for the benefit of the home TV audience, Finance Director Jason Simpson ran through a review of the 2009-'10 budget which was approved at the last special meeting of the city council in June. The word "fluid" was never used, but City Manager Daniels reminded everyone that the budget gets reviewed at least quarterly and can be adjusted.

DHS Aztecs

Mayor Parks recognized and presented certificates to members of the DHS Aztecs AYSO team as division winners of the Redlands Citrus Classic Soccer Tournament. Here's a photo of just four of the members:

They also were all-star champions, select regular season champions, select returning champions, and semi-finalists in section one.

Public Comments

Dot Reed rose to speak against California Senate Bill 268 which would require "applicants seeking a license for a recovery or treatment facility from the Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs to certify that the facility is in compliance with local zoning ordinances." Ms. Reed said this bill is a waste of time and money by Senator Tom Harman from Orange County. She said the bill would shut down virtually every such facility. Here are arguments for and against as presented in the bill analysis:

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: Supporters argue that this bill will protect the integrity and accountability of the facility while help ensure the safety and beauty of neighborhoods is preserved. The City of Newport Beach, the bill's sponsor, argues that this bill will ensure that operators of group care facilities will receive an updated fire clearance from a local fire marshal or the state fire marshal when operators renew their license with DADP. They note that DADP can renew a license with a very old fire clearance form. They argue that clients deserve to be in a place that reflects current standards for life safety protections. The City also supports the bill because it will ensure that operators comply with their existing responsibilities of complying with zoning laws, and notes that currently DADP does not verify compliance. They also state that the bill does not apply to small facilities of six or less individuals because they agree that local governments must treat small licensed facilities as they do a typical single family use.

ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: The Western Center on Law and Poverty (WCLP) argues that it is not in the state's interest to allow local governments to erect barriers to housing for persons with special needs. WCLP contends that the state has a serious shortage of specialized housing, and many of these individuals are leaving state institutions of care. WCLP argues that successful reintegration into the community is crucial to helping those with special needs make a transition to a productive life, and it is crucial for the state to have such persons succeed to reduce the burden on taxpayers.

Ms. Reed went on to say that this Saturday there will be the first meeting for next year's Relay For Life. It will be a brunch at Skyborne. If you are interested in helping to shape next year's Relay, call Rossi Stobbs for more info and to make a reservation at 760-333-4811.

Bruce Barret told us he had just returned from Michael Jackson's funeral in Los Angeles. He held Michael Jackson in high regard and drew a parallel with the regard he holds for councilmember Scott Matas who, he said, gives 125% every time we need him. He said he considers Mr. Matas a friend and that his credibility should not be in question. He then walked to the dais to shake Mr. Matas's hand.

Jeanette Jaime from the Boys & Girls club came to the podium accompanied by twin boys, Ron & Jon who are seeking donations to fund a trip to Guadalajara to participate in a soccer tournament. Here is a handout that Ms. Jaime provided:

BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF DESERT HOT SPRINGS

June 23,2009

Ronald & Jon are a set of fourteen year old twins born and raised in Desert Hot Springs. The boys came to the Club to complete community service hour that the school district had assigned them for their bad behavior. Summer 2008, the boys were suspended from the Club for disrespecting staff and treating other kids at the club bad. Their mother & father work very hard to care for their four young school aged children. Last year about this time, the twins were a handful for mom & dad. Ron & Jon were constantly getting into trouble at school and very disrespectful to their parents.

Early in the 2008-2009 school year, the boys were kicked out of school for fighting and cursing the school staff. During that time mom & dad had to keep them busy, so they signed them up for the new soccer year. Ron & Jon have played soccer for the past five years for the Coachella Valley, AYSO soccer league. Their coaches say they are "the best on every team they play on". There is something about them that truly stands out when on the field.

Their mom, shares with me that the boys were able to enroll back into school and complete the school year averaging a "C" in grade. No longer are they disrespectful to their parents or hanging out with the local gang members. The boys are now talking about future goals in life. Their dream has always been to play pro-soccer and now they will hove the opportunity to show their skills this summer. Chivas USA San Bernardino Youth Soccer Academic CD has chosen 4 youth from the Coachella Valley to participate in a Soccer Tournament in Guadalajara, Mexico July 18th. - August 2nd. We are proud to say, that Ron & Jon are two of the youth chosen!

The Boys & Girls Club of Desert Hot Springs is asking for a donation to help the dreams of these two boys come true. The total amount they are in need of is $2,800.00. Such a small amount to contribute to an awesome cause!

Let's support the parents of these talented young boys!

Peace & Respect.

Mz. Jeanette M. Jaime
Targeted Youth Outreach Coordinator for the B&G Club, DHS
760-329-1312

Jjaime69@yahoo.com

They have already raised $800 and still need $2000. Contact Ms. Jaime if you want to contribute. The deadline is Friday!

Russ Augustine from the Chamber of Commerce told us that this Friday at the Miracle Springs resort the Chamber will be holding its 60th anniversary dinner. A new website will be unveiled, awards will be presented, the band "Epic Surrender" will perform. Tickets are $40. You can call the Chamber at 760-329-6403 to reserve your tickets.

Roger Rice from AYSO expressed appreciation for the chance to raise money via fireworks sales. He said it was the best fundraiser they'd had in their 20 year history.

Sign Ordinance

Much as we all wanted to see the new sign ordinance passed into law, staff requested that consideration be delayed until the August 4 council meeting so that directional signs for the city's spas could be incorporated into the ordinance. The proposed revisions will be presented to the planning commission at their regular meeting Tuesday next week. Planning Commissioner Gabriel King rose to comment:

I was the chairman on that [sign ordinance] committee and we put an enormous amount of effort into that. We announced all the planning commission meetings where everybody who wants to be involved can show up. I reached out to the spa community. I emailed some of the sign ordinances to members that requested it and asked them to please appear. Some of them did appear from the hoteliers.

My only concern is that the city has a history of passing things by going through the normal democratic process in open session and then right when we get ready to pass it - pass something good - somebody puts the brakes on.

This sign ordinance to me is an excellent one. My thought was to pass it because we desperately need that now before we get commercial stuff coming in. And we can always fine tune it later. There's no problems.

This was news to me. I trust that you guys will do that quickly because I really that when I drive around the world and I drive into Desert Hot Springs that I see how we sometimes look - parts of our city looks like third world. I so want our city to be nice. At least as nice as everyone else's. I want to be proud of my city. And this is a positive thing. You design something for years and years and years - sometimes it's better just to pass it, get it done, do a few revisions later on. We can always fine tune it later. I just don't want this to turn into a delay after delay after delay. Because this will be really positive for you not to sit on. So that's all I'm asking, that this does not get delayed more than a very short period of time. And we'll do whatever it is.

Sign ordinance was designed to take into consideration the old signs. We just want professionalism. We want something that looks good, that's not overly restrictive. I think it's fair to businesses. The BIA was also involved in the process. The spa people weren't as involved as I think they maybe should have been. We gave them plenty of time and to wait after we've done all this to delay it so they can be involved when they had plenty of opportunity prior to be involved, I think is not right, at least in my estimation. So this stuff is really positive. We need [unintelligible]. And I beg you guys not to delay this because this is important for how the city...I mean, Scott told me how he had to spend big bucks for his sign to look nice, and I think that we need everybody to be treated the same, fair and equitable. Thank you very much.

City Manager Daniels explained that the proposed ordinance has no provision to allow for signs in the public rights-of-way that promote private businesses - which is what spa directional signs would be.

The motion to continue this item to August 4 was approved 5-0.

Landscape and Lighting and Drainage District Assessments

The most interesting thing about this part of the meeting was that all five city council members had potential conflicts on each of these three votes, so City Clerk Hammers was required to have them draw straws (three long, two short) on each item. Short straws left the room and bought candy from the AYSO.

Mayor Pro Tem Baker asked about Hidden Springs where he lives. There are only 7 occupied homes there, 19 empty homes, and 29 undeveloped lots. The bank foreclosed on the developer and the FDIC has taken the development away from the bank. The capital improvements in the development were secured by bonds. Public Works Director Hoy explained that the city has already begun the process to trigger those bonds. When we get the cash, we can go in and complete streets, lighting and landscaping. After that we can levy assessments on that landscape and lighting district.

Leasing Ace Hardware Back To Ace Hardware

This was passed without fuss. There was a question about whether Ace would be paying a security deposit. The answer was "yes," but we haven't determined how much yet.

The Homeless Center

Or, more precisely, funding The Desert Resource Center. In case you've been under a rock, the question is where to find $50,000 to pair with $53,000 from Supervisor Marion Ashley to make up our $103,000 share of this year's funding for the new homeless resource center near I-10 and Indian.

Hank Hohenstein rose to remind us of the bad economic conditions. He said that Mayor Parks and Mayor Pro Tem Baker were both correct that the funding allocation determined by CVAG is not right. He listed the different reasons people become homeless and the different local resources to help the different kinds of homeless people.

First Community Baptist Church Pastor Tahlib McMicheaux who is the chair for the DHS Human and Community Resource Committee (AKA, "the homeless committee") got up to say that support for the Desert Resource Center was important to help change the image of the city. He asked that the DHSHCR Committee be allowed to raise money to cover our city's share of the contribution.

Bruce Montgomery shared several Bible quotes about charity. He announced that his congregation, Grace Church, pledged $5,000 toward funding the Desert Resource Center.

Councilmember Scott Matas reminded us that Dr. Ron Stewart had already promised to contribute more than $2,000.

Mayor Pro Tem Baker himself wrote, without legal assistance, a resolution to authorize the DHSHCRC to receive donations which would then go toward the Desert Resource Center. Here is the resolution:

City of Desert Hot Springs Resolution

Whereas it was determined by the CVAG Human and Community Resources Committee that there was a significant need to address the plight of the homeless in the Western Coachella Valley, and

Whereas, a Homeless Committee was created by CVAG to address this problem, and

Whereas the homeless committee voted to create a service center for the homeless in the Western Coachella Valley, and

Whereas a subcommittee was directed to find a location for this service center, and

Whereas, ultimately a site was selected on McLane Road near the Intersection of the I-10 and Indian Canyon, and

Whereas the County of Riverside purchased a 44,000 square foot building at this site for the establishment and operation of a homeless service center, and

Whereas, the the County of Riverside also built all of the tenant improvements necessary for the operation of the shelter, and

Whereas, there became a need to fund the operational costs of the shelter, and

Whereas it was determined that the annual operational costs would be approximately $1.8 million, and

Whereas, CVAG does not have the financial resources to fund the operational costs, and

Whereas, a decision was made by the executive committee that each CVAG member is to contribute $102,000 per year for ten years, and

Whereas, The City of Desert Hot Springs does not have the financial resources to fund this amount as part of its regular budget, and

Whereas, the unanimous vote of the Desert Hot Springs Community Resources Committee - a committee made up largely of faith-based organizations and other volunteers - determined that the proposed Resource center was a necessary and vital element for the betterment of the Community, and

Whereas, the Community Resources Committee agreed that the City of Desert Hot Springs was financially unable to support the Desert Resource Center, and

Whereas, the County of Riverside donated $52,000 to the City of Desert Hot Springs to help fund the operational costs of the Desert Resource Center, and

Whereas the remaining balance of the City of Desert Hot Spring's funding responsibility is approximately $50,000 for the current fiscal year, and

Whereas, the Desert Hot Springs Community Resource Committee felt that given the importance of the Resource Center that contributions from a variety of sources could be sought out to raise the remaining funds, be it therefore

Resolved that the City Council of the City of Desert Hot Springs authorizes and encourages the Community Resource Committee to pursue raising these funds, and be it further

Resolved that any funds collected by the Desert Hot Springs Community Resources Committee be made payable to the City of Desert Hot Springs with a memo notation - "DRC Contribution Account" which will then be forwarded to CVAG, and be it further

Resolved, that the City Council of the City of Desert Hot Springs applauds and commends the Community Resources committee for voluntarily taking this on this responsibility.

Dated: July 7, 2009

The resolution was approved 5-0. During the discussion, Alibaba Farzaneh handed what appeared to be a business card to Mayor Parks who announced that Mr. Farzaneh had pledged $2,000 for the Desert Resource Center.

JAS Pacific Code Enforcement Services

This was a proposal to extend our consulting contract with JAS for another year at $610,000. Chief Williams requested that this item be continued to the August 4 council meeting. A representative from JAS rose to say that JAS has worked with the city on and off over the last ten years. They hope to present a "Powerpoint" at the next council meeting to show what they've been working on since code enforcement was transferred to the police department.

Mayor Pro Tem Baker took this opportunity to lay into code enforcement, saying they were ineffective and hung up in bureaucracy. He said we want results, not excuses. Councilmember Matas expressed some disappointment with code enforcement as well. He asked Chief Williams to present options in addition to simply continuing the contract with JAS at the next meeting. Councilmember Betts wanted to know why this contract wasn't put out to bid. He specifically suggested County code enforcement as another possible contractor. He also brought up the shopping centers that are out of compliance, specifically the K-Mart shopping center - which is not owned by K-Mart. Dead trees have stood there for years. He also pointed out the shopping cart ordinance. Only Stater Bros. have complied with that ordinance and only after Mr. Betts himself brought it to their attention. He wanted to know why a city councilmember was required to make sure a law is enforced and why isn't code enforcement getting Vons and Save A Lot to conform. Councilmember Pye said she didn't know where to point a finger and didn't want to point a finger. Nonetheless, her finger did physically point at JAS. She requested benchmarks be established for any company that is contracted with for code enforcement.

Mayor Pro Tem Baker expressed his support for Chief Williams, calling code enforcement a "ball of snakes." Nonetheless, Chief Williams accepted responsibility.

Mission Springs Park Contract

Local firm Tri-Star Contracting came in with the low bid of $1,371,315.12 to do the whole shebang at Mission Springs Park (4 soccer fields, irrigation, lighting, walking track, landscaping, parking lot, Park Lane - but not the playground equipment which is being put off to a later date). That's about $262,000 cheaper than the next closest bidder, R. Moody Contruction who bid $1,633,743. The field will be playable when soccer season opens in late September.

The city leases the land from the water district for $1/year. The lease has about 45 years to run. Councilmember Betts had a question about the maintenance expense. Jason Simpson explained the expenses to maintain the park come out of the lighting and landscaping district. Maintenance expenses of the improved park may actually be lower than they are now. City Manager Daniels said the water district claims to have been spending $30,000 - $50,000 per year to maintain the park. He said the city will ask the water district to give that money directly to the city, suggesting without saying that either we will get the money or the water district will back down from its ridiculous claim.

The award was approved 5-0.

Wackenhut

We contract with Wackenhut to provide jail security services. This item was to extend the contract for another year at $75,000. Mayor Pro Tem Baker asked what it would cost to hire a police officer to do the job. Chief Williams said the job would be the equivalent of a Community Services Officer, which also would cost the city $75,000, not counting overhead. However, Wackenhut provides the services for 60 hours per week, while a CSO would be for only 40 hours. IOW, it's cheaper to go with Wackenhut. Approved 5-0.

Code Enforcement Law Services by Glen E. Tucker

Mayor Pro Tem Baker wanted to express his disappointment with the legal services provided by Tucker, saying they need to go to "junk yard dog law school" and learn to be mean and nasty. Councilmember Betts suggested continuing this item to August 4. Chief Williams said that the price is very reasonable and that their prosecution rate has risen considerably. The expenditure was approved 5-0.

Acceptance of the Slurry Seal

Public Works Directory Hoy explained that the contract with American Asphalt South includes a provision for them to maintain the slurry seal for a year. They will return in November to repair any flaws. Councilmember Betts said there were several places with worse than merely superficial problems. He said it was a large problem. Mr. Hoy said that no repairs could be made in the heat of summer, regardless of how bad the problem was. Mr. Betts expressed his opinion that the city would have greater leverage over the contractor by withholding payment until the city is satisfied.

Mayor Pro Tem Baker expressed faith in city staff's ability to know what needs to be repaired and how to get it done. He didn't use the word "micromanage," but that seems to be what he had in mind. Mayor Parks said she had heard from knowledgable parties that this was a good slurry seal. Councilmember Matas said the contractor is a reliable company and he thought we could count on them to come back and complete the repairs.

Marilyn Heidrich said she had seen garbage trucks on her street causing serious damage to the slurry seal.

The acceptance was approved 4-1 with Mr. Betts voting against.

Consent Calendar

Also approved without discussion:

• $3,992 for last minute improvements at Cabot's new restroom, which have already been completed by the contractor;
• Selection of Pearson Architects for the facade improvement program and allocation of $65,340 for their architectural services.

Council and Staff Comments

Mayor Parks said DVD will conduct a bulky item pickup starting July 20. On Saturday July 25 you can drop off bulky and electronic waste at the city yard from 8 AM to 2 PM.

Councilmember Pye said the YMCA is funding free swimming lessons at the pool in Wardman Park, but registration is at the Y in either Palm Desert or Palm Springs. Ages 1-12. Four 2-week sessions extending into August.

Councilmember Betts mentioned the art in public places program in Brea. Information here. Virtual tour here. Here in their list of requirements for the artists you will see they accept only full-time local sculptors, so I suppose they accept only sculptures as public art. Over here you'll see that their AIPP applies only to developments with a value of $1.5 million or more. I'm sure Mr. Betts is not suggesting the DHS revise our AIPP to emulate Brea's, but it would be nice to be rich and have a lot of local full-time sculptors.

Mr. Betts reported positive feedback from citizens about the fireworks, even from people who had been opposed to fireworks sales initially.

Councilmember Matas reported that the board of the Coachella Valley Boys & Girls Clubs had voted to merge with DHS Boys & Girls Club. That concludes the merger, and our B&G Club is now part of Coachella Valley's.

He visited each fireworks booth and reported they were all successful. He asked for a city council debriefing by staff and TNT.

Mayor Pro Tem Baker did a ride-along with police Sergeant Hanson who, he reports, never ate or took a bathroom break during his entire shift. He also expressed pleasure that DHS has an AIPP program and looks forward to its success.

City Manager Daniels: three major public works projects going out to bid next week. They are: (1) Hacienda east street and sidewalk improvements, storm drainage at Corsini school; (2) Palm Drive landscaping; (3) Palm & Pierson street improvements. Some of the "garnish" is being taken off the design of the new Boys & Girls Club to cut the cost. Hacienda Street rehab (west of Palm) has been completed and striped with a bike lane. The redevelopment bonds (for neighborhood stabilization and renewal) have been sold.

The county clinic project has been slow. Mr. Daniels has been in touch with a private, non-profit, non-governmental organization that is willing to establish a clinic, bringing in 3 doctors in October after acquiring and renovating a facility. Within a year they would be up to ten doctors.

Public Works Director Hoy provided an update on I-10 interchange projects. Construction on the Palm Drive/Gene Autry/I-10 interchange will begin in November 2009. Indian and I-10 will begin in August 2010. No one mentioned what I thought was the elephant trying to get into the room, the county's notion that it would be "more fair" to let Desert Hot Springs try to pick up $1.6 million in funding for the interchange, so I asked Mr. Daniels about it after the meeting. He said the city's message back to the county was to "pound sand."

Chief Williams reported that Gus Paiz has been transferred full time to the detective bureau. There have been seven street crimes recently, five in DHS, one in Palm Springs, one out in the county. Various agencies are working together to try to "connect the dots" on these.

Public Comment

Donn Sholty reported that he and his wife had made a large purchase at K-Mart resulting in several hundreds of dollars in sales tax. K-Mart told Mr. Sholty that it was an "out of city" sale and the sales tax would go to the city of Ontario. He asked that the staff follow up on that and find out why in-town sales tax would go out of town.

Upcoming Meetings

July 8 Community and Cultural Affairs Commission 6 PM, Wednesday
July 9 Public Safety Commission 6 PM, Thursday
July 13 City Council Special Meeting 4 PM, Monday
July 14 Planning Commission 6 PM, Tuesday
July 15 Fire Ad Hoc Committee 5 PM, Wednesday
August 4 City Council 5 PM, Tuesday

This Is How Creative Commons Works

All of my photos on both Ipernity and Flickr are tagged with this Creative Commons license which basically says you are free to use the photos so long as you (1) give me credit and (2) don't make any derivative works without my prior permission. If I had a strict copyright on the photos, then people would have to get explicit permission from me before they used them.

Here Curbed L.A. has done it perfectly. They grabbed a bunch of my photos of the Palm Springs Elvis Presley house for their website and gave credit to "Ron's Log" down in the fine print. Happiness and joy abound.

Medical Marijuana Delivery in L.A. County

A Fox News article about the Artist Collective marijuana collective in Hollywood. They deliver, but we don't get many details on that. They've got a very nice website with a highly descriptive menu. But what may be most unusual is that they Twitter (at http://twitter.com/artistscollctve - note the spelling difference) with little notes like this one: "Now in... A plethora of medicated cookies and brownies...Also Blackberry Kush half gram joints. Proceeds go toward art opportunity grants."

Consolidated B-24M Liberator

This version was the last produced by Consolidated Aircraft. The B-24 was the only combat aircraft to serve in every theater of operations in World War II. More Liberators (18,481) were built than any aircraft in history. B-24s were built in 5 plants, with over 8,000 built by Ford at Willow Run, Michigan. They equipped 45 bombardment groups plus several special squadrons in 1944 and 1945. Fully loaded with 8,800 pounds of bombs, they could fly 1,590 miles with maximum speed of 290 MPH and reach 28,000 feet. Most were out of service by the end of 1945,. The Indian Air Force used Liberators received from the RAF in maritime patrol service into the 1970s. The B-24 at the Castle Air Museum carries the markings of the 329th Bomb. Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group, 8th Air Force.

More photos here.

Home Invasion in Desert Hot Springs

CITY OF DESERT HOT SPRINGS POLICE DEPARTMENT

PRESS RELEASE

INCIDENT: Home Invasion Robbery
DATE: 07/07/2009 at 1:35 AM

DESCRIPTION OF INCIDENT:

This morning at 1:35 AM, two suspects committed a home invasion robbery at a residence in the 9800 block of El Mirador in Desert Hot Springs.

The victim was in his garage, with the garage door open, when two men arrived in an unknown vehicle. One of the suspects initially asked the victim for directions. Then he brandished a handgun and forced the victim to lie face down while they tied him up. Both suspects then went inside the residence, woke two sleeping subjects and forced them at gunpoint into the garage area where they were also tied up.

The suspects took miscellaneous property from the residence as well as the victim's white 2006 Nissan Titan p/u truck. It had a white "Disciple" sticker on the back of it. The last three numbers of the license plate are 904.

No one was injured and no shots were fired. The vehicle was last seen travelling south on El Mirador towards Mission Lakes Boulevard.

These subjects appear to be responsible for several recent armed robberies. Their descriptions are generally as follows:

Male Caucasian, 20's, shaved head, slight goatee, blue eyes and a round face. He is described as being of medium build and between 5'-8" and 6'-0".

Male possibly Caucasian, possibly light skinned Hispanic. Medium height and thin build. Brown eyes. He was wearing a black baseball cap and black shorts. He has a tattoo that covers most of his calf.

This investigation is ongoing and anyone with information regarding this crime or any of the recent robberies is encouraged to call the Desert Hot Springs Police Dept at 760-329-2904. You can also reach Det. Essex at 760-329-6411 ext. 322, Sgt. Bressler at ext. 315, or the Watch Commander at ext. 302. You can be anonymous if you wish.

Dispatch Tel: (760) 329-2904

Oakland To Vote On Local Tax

Oakland is holding a special mail-in vote that ends July 21. One item on the ballot, Measure F, would raise an estimated $294,000 in tax revenue, which one city councilmember says is enough for five or six police officers. Measure F would impose a 1.8% levy on gross receipts of medical marijuana dispensaries. The measure seems to have broad support, even among the operators of the dispensaries. The text of Measure F can be found in this PDF on the website of the City of Oakland.

Some people are saying that the marijuana coops are "recession proof," but here's an article that says otherwise. Bay Area Safe Alternatives says sales are down 60% this summer. Green Cross says "sales are down 25 percent in the past 40 days, and dropped 45 percent in the past two weeks."

Green Cross in San Francisco delivers marijuana, just like THC Take Out in Orange County. This article includes reassuring information that is missing from THC Take Out's website. The Green Cross deliveries arrive in Smart Cars and carry your marijuana in a plain white paper bag. The driver doesn't wear a uniform and the article doesn't say if they carry special ID, but they must if they're driving around with a car load of marijuana. Customer patients write on Yelp that the drivers carry debit card readers, so you don't have to have big piles of cash on hand.

The Green Cross website.

Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress

The Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress at the Castle Air Museum:

Probably Boeing's most famous bomber, the B-17 flew mostly out of England, equipping 26 of the 40 bombardment groups of the 8th Air Force, based in Italy. It will be forever associated with the Allied effort to defeat Nazi Germany. Until the advent of long-range fighter escort, many were shot down on daylight bombing missions over Germany. General Frederick W. Castle, for whom Castle Air Base was named, was shot down in a B-17 while leading the 8th Air Force on 24 December 1944. The aircraft was heavily damaged by fighter attack. He refused to jettison the bombs as he was over territory held by our forces. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor (posthumously). The B-17 on display at Castle Air Museum last flew as a borate bomber at Tulare. It carries the WW II markings of the 94th Bombardment Group, 3rd Division, 8th Air Force.

More photos here.

Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird

At Castle Air Museum in Atwater, California.

From their visitor's guide:

Designed by Clarence "Kelly" Johnson and Lockheed's "Skunk Works," the Blackbird was designed to look at the Earth from over 80,000 feet and to fly fast (over Mach 3.3 or 2,350 MPH). One flew from Los Angeles to Washington, DC, in 64 minutes, 5 seconds, at an average speed of 2,153 MPH. This aircraft on display at the museum flew the most operational missions of any SR-71. It was the first to fly over Vietnam and it flew photo reconnaissance over Libya in 1986. Thirty-two were based at Beale AFB, California, on Okinawa and in the UK. Though they were shot at over 1,000 times, none were ever lost to hostile fire. The SR-71 was retired in 1990, but three were refurbished and returned to service in 1995 and again retired at the end of 1997.

More photos here.