Ron's Log

Palm Springs Veterans Parade

More photos from the Palm Springs Veterans parade here.

Saline Valley Calendar

"Tom" is selling a 2010 calendar of Saline Valley photographs for $24.

Best Panorama Ever

Click for the full size image of the KXJB-TV mast in Traill County, North Dakota. It's the third tallest structure in the world, 2060 feet. The mast is, I mean, not the photo.

California Death Row

An L.A. Times article about the ridiculous state of things on California's death row in San Quentin where 685 prisoners wait for an execution that will probably never come, while enjoying relatively greater comfort than other prisoners. Each death row inmate lives alone in a cell that is larger than the standard two-man cells in the rest of the prison. They are given better phone access and receive visitors under better conditions than the general population.

Since 1977, 13 executions have been carried out. In the same period, 71 death row inmates died from causes other than the hand of the state (old age, suicide, murder).

The article compares the $49,000 per year spent for ALL prisoners to the figure of $138,000 per year for death row inmates calculated by "a state commission of experts." That $138,000 figure includes legal costs as well as the additional security and privileges in prison. I'd like to see those separated out so we could make a fair comparison.

According to this article in OC Weekly, Bily Joe Johnson, convicted murderer, intimidated a Santa Ana jury into giving him the death sentence so he could enjoy the greater comfort and safety of death row.

I'm sure a lot of people take this info and conclude that we need to do something to speed up the execution process. Try that and I imagine you'll simply find yourself in an endless legal battle that accomplishes nothing but costing the state more money.

Better to put an end to the death penalty and return these people to the general prison population.

Dan Savage Makes It Clear

Defining marriage.

Another Victory For The Charpieds Against The Eagle Mountain Landfill

Today the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Kaiser Ventures in the 20-year legal battle to create America's largest landfill in an iron mine surrounded on three sides by Joshua Tree National Park. Google satellite view of the Eagle Mountain iron mine.

Judge Harry Pregerson wrote in the opinion that BLM's environmental impact statement failed to evaluate alternative sites, did not adequately consider the public's interest in balancing ecological protection with waste management and did not fully address the effect of nitrogen and other chemicals from the dump on the desert.

The court also found that BLM undervalued the public land to be traded. An appraisal set the price at $77 an acre, as if it were remote land scarred from mining, not the site of a potentially lucrative business.

The Los Angeles County Sanitation District has an agreement to buy the land from Kaiser at $8,800 per acre, if litigation is settled successfully.

Bootable SD Card for Mac OS X

An article that explains how to create a bootable SD card for your Mac. The article suggests it can only be done with the iMac or MacBook Pro that have the built in SD card slot. But in the comments at the bottom of the article, the author admits it can be done with a USB flash drive, or an SD card in any card reader. Strangely, the article twice refers to the need for the "Mac OS X installation DVD that shipped with your Mac." I'm sure that any any Mac OS X installation DVD for either Leopard or Snow Leopard will work, whether that DVD shipped with your Mac or not. You must have an Intel Mac. The author doesn't actually say that it won't work with versions prior to 10.5.

DHS Planning Commission - November 10

Here's the audio recording of tonight's Desert Hot Springs Planning Commission meeting.

YK Spa

This was a proposal for a new hot water spa to be constructed on the southeast corner of Hacienda and LaSalle.

Red outline indicates the future location for YK Spa on this Google map.

The site is currently 5 empty lots which will have to be merged before a building permit is issued. The area of the project is 0.8 acres. The buildings will cover about 12,500 square feet and include 9 guest rooms and 1 manager apartment. Each of the guest rooms will have an indoor private hot water spa. There will be two outdoor pools. Pedestrian entrance will be on Hacienda, driveway on LaSalle leading to 16 parking spaces. It will be a "private" spa with NO signage! I don't know how you get to be one of the elite guests, but the developer wasn't handing out any free passes tonight.

Ken Brown who owns the spa immediately east of the proposed YK Spa got up to comment. He said that the developer had never contacted him. His main concern was whether the planning department had examined the project's financing and the developer's experience.

Later Martin Magaña explained that a developer is not required to contact neighbors, that the planning department notifies neighbors and will make the plans available for review by any interested citizen who comes in. So far, he said, no one had contacted the planning department with any comments. Financing and experience are issues beyond the scope of the planning department and planning commission. Developers are still free to go broke, so long as we've got their bonds for infrastructure improvements.

Commissioner King said it was a beautiful project and listed several improvements that the Design Review Committee suggested for the project. Paul Lee, the lead man for the developer, readily agreed to all the suggestions.

Commissioner Romero suggested that the developer consider replacing the planned areas of real turf with artificial turf, as it is more environmentally friendly in the desert.

Commissioner Gustafson asked if the project would be LEED certified. The answer is no.

Chairman Gerardi was concerned that guests might stay long enough that the units would become apartments, not guest rooms, and the city would lose the bed tax. Attorney Davtyan assured him that the project was a hotel by definition of the zoning code and that no further conditions were required. TOT will be collected!

Susan Miller rose to make a comment. She said that when she saw well diggers in Desert Hot Springs she would ask them where they were from. Some came from Riverside. Some, she said, get permits in Riverside and some get them right here in Desert Hot Springs. Some people say the hot water aquifer is rising, others say it is dropping, and she would like to hear something from the water district about our hot water.

I will definitely let you know when I see her at a water district board meeting. Attorney Davtyan, in the interest of perfect thoroughness, asked that the record show that Ms. Miller's comment had no bearing on the subject at hand and should have been heard in the general public comment period at the beginning or end of the meeting.

The YK Spa project was approved 5-0.

Subdividing Assessor Parcel Number 514-260-002

Staff recommended this item be continued to the next meeting of the planning commission as further research was needed. The commission voted 5-0 to continue it. The area is described on the agenda as a 79.8 acre parcel 1½ miles east of the intersection of highway 62 and Pierson Boulevard, which seems an odd way to identify it, to me. That would put it just east of Skyborne. But there are streets east of Skyborne, so why not describe it as at the intersection of Karen or Sunset Way or whatever?

I plugged the APN (514-260-002) into the county's APN lookup website and it says the property is at 59651 Pierson Boulevard. The parcel map (dated 1969) isn't any help since it doesn't show any features other than what may be a road, but the text is too small to read. The really interesting thing is when I plug the address 59651 Pierson Boulevard into Google maps, it points right to the gate on the road to the Nude Bowl west of the Snellenberger project. That spot is roughly 1½ miles west of Pierson and highway 62.

So is that a typo on the agenda? Did they mean west rather than east? Or did they get the APN wrong (very unlikely). Or is there something screwy about the county's APN lookup and it's giving me bad data? If somebody can straighten this out for me, I'd appreciate it. OTOH, if somebody is planning on subdividing the property where the Nude Bowl is, that would be even more interesting.

Tattoos

Martin Magaña is looking at ordinances regulating tattoo parlors from several other cities. He said the range of oversight is large. Some cities specify the color of the table surface and how needles are to be maintained. Other cities simply issue a business permit and let 'em have at it. In December he will return with a summary of what he has found, see what the sense of the planning commission is, and then return in January with a proposed ordinance. If approved, that ordinance could be brought to the city council in January or February.

General Plan Update

Progress continues. Feedback from the City West Visioning project will be brought back to the planning commission in December and the commission will be asked to make a recommendation which will be incorporated into the general plan.

Economic Development

Commissioner Versace gave a presentation on Technology-Led Economic Development. She said it is of vital importance that the city create an economic development department and hire an economic development director. Easiest for you to just listen to it. It's about 15 minutes long and begins with a little confusion as the slide presentation got out of control.

Assistant City Manager Comments

The Palm & Pierson streetscape project should be complete by the end of February. A project office has been opened in one of the RDA-owned storefronts on the west side of Palm. Mr. Acosta has asked public works to come up with some signs directing people on alternate routes if they want to avoid the congestion around the construction.

BTW, here is a photo of a portion of the landscaping plans for downtown. This is the same plan that's been around for quite awhile. You will see it calls for Mexican Fan Palms at intersections, but no where else.

The official opening of the buildings in Tedesco Park will be on Saturday, but the Lozano Community Center will be used tomorrow, November 11, for a meeting with still-Senator John Benoit.

The health and wellness facility will meet LEED standards, but the city will not seek official LEED certification because that would (A) slow down construction and (B) cost $85,000!

In response to a request from Commissioner King, Mr. Acosta gave us the story on that "Hacienda Realty" building on the northeast corner of Palm and Pierson. Yes, it's true there are AT&T cell phone antennas on the roof, and true that the building is full of mold (and asbestos). RDA had been talking to the owner's legal representative for the past 18 months. The owner released that legal counsel not long ago, so RDA is now talking directly to the owner and has established a good dialogue. The civil suit by the owner against AT&T will be coming to court soon. The fact that the building is unsafe, unfit for occupation, a nuisance, a hazard and an eyesore is not enough to condemn and demolish it since it is unoccupied. Mr. Acosta said that he prefers to continue to work with the cooperative owner for a resolution.

I wonder what the chances are that a truck carrying several poorly closed gas cans and a box of illegal fireworks might go out of control while driving down Palm, jump the median and crash into the building, perhaps just as the driver is lighting a cigar.

Google's Holiday Gift To U.S. Travelers

Free wi-fi will be provided at 47 American airports from November 16, 2009, to January 15, 2010, courtesy of Google. The 47 airports:

• Austin (AUS)
• Baltimore (BWI)
• Billings (BIL)
• Boston (BOS)
• Bozeman (BZN)
• Buffalo (BUF)
• Burbank (BUR)
• Central Wisconsin (CWA)
• Charlotte (CLT)
• Des Moines (DSM)
• El Paso (ELP)
• Fort Lauderdale (FLL)
• Fort Myers/SW (RSW)
• Greensboro (GSO)
• Houston (HOU)
• Houston Bush (IAH)
• Indianapolis (IND)
• Jacksonville (JAX)
• Kalamazoo (AZO)
• Las Vegas (LAS)
• Louisville (SDF)
• Madison (MSN)
• Memphis (MEM)
• Miami (MIA)
• Milwaukee (MKE)
• Monterey (MRY)
• Nashville (BNA)
• Newport News (PHF)
• Norfolk (ORF)
• Oklahoma City (OKC)
• Omaha (OMA)
• Orlando (MCO)
• Panama City (PFN)
• Pittsburgh (PIT)
• Portland (PWM)
• Sacramento (SMF)
• San Antonio (SAT)
• San Diego (SAN)
• San Jose (SJC)
• Seattle (SEA)
• South Bend (SBN)
• Spokane (GEG)
• St. Louis (STL)
• State College (SCE)
• Toledo (TOL)
• Traverse City (TVC)
• West Palm Beach (PBI)

But wait, that's not all! This free offer also applies on every Virgin America flight. And there's more! While using that free wi-fi you can make a charitable donation to any of these non-profits (The Climate Savers Computing Initiative, One Economy Corporation, and Engineers Without Borders USA) and Google will match your donation up to a max of $250,000. In addition, the airport with the greatest amount of contributions will get $15,000 to give to a local charity of their choice.

The Sanctity Of Funeral Arrangements

Last June we warned you that Rhode Island was about to extend the right to make funeral arrangements to domestic partners. Praise be to God, Governor Carcieri has vetoed that sinful bill.

The bill...would add "domestic partners" to the list, in current law, of people who can legally make arrangements for a deceased person's funeral, cremation or burial to include domestic partners if the deceased person left no pre-arranged funeral contract.

The legislation defines a domestic partner as someone who was in an "exclusive, intimate and committed relationship" with the deceased and had lived with him or her for at least a year prior to the death; is at least 18, not married to anyone else, not related by blood and who was financially "interdependent" with the deceased as evidenced, for example, by a joint mortgage, shared credit card or domestic partnership contract.

In his veto message [PDF] the governor says one year is too short and the definition of domestic partnership is vague and ill-defined, also this is an erosion of the principles of traditional marriage.

At a hearing this year on one of the stalled bills to allow same-sex marriage, Mark S. Goldberg told a Senate committee about his months-long battle last fall to persuade state authorities to release to him the body of his partner of 17 years, Ron Hanby, so he could grant Hanby's wish for cremation -- only to have that request rejected because "we were not legally married or blood relatives."

Goldberg said he tried to show the police and the state medical examiner's office "our wills, living wills, power of attorney and marriage certificate" from Connecticut, but "no one was willing to see these documents."

He said he was told the medical examiner's office was required to conduct a two-week search for next of kin, but the medical examiner's office waited a full week before placing the required ad in a newspaper. And then when no one responded, he said, they "waited another week" to notify another state agency of an unclaimed body.

After four weeks, he said, a Department of Human Services employee "took pity on me and my plight ... reviewed our documentation and was able to get all parties concerned to release Ron's body to me," but then the cremation society refused to cremate Ron's body.

"On the same day, I contacted the Massachusetts Cremation Society and they were more than willing to work with me and cremate Ron's body," and so, "on November 6, 2008, I was able to finally pick up Ron's remains and put this tragedy to rest."

Thank goodness Rhode Islanders will be spared the horror of the decent treatment of the bodies of gay people. More business for Massachusetts.

Riverside Police Using YouTube

Here citizens can view videos posted by the Riverside, California, police that show suspects caught on surveillance cameras. The police are looking for more information in all these cases. You don't always get to see the crime, but you do get to see the suspects. For instance, here are the suspects in a strong arm robbery of a CVS store:

Two suspects are seen at the front entrance of the store after committing a theft "Beer Run". They were followed out by the clerk who tried to retrieve the stolen beer.The suspects beat the clerk, then threw a bottle through the window of the business. A few seconds later, a third suspect enters the store with one of the first suspects and they vandalize the store.

If you have any information that could help us identify these suspects, please contact the Riverside Police Department at 951-787-7911. You may remain anonymous.

From the Press-Enterprise:

Police in cities such as New York, Salt Lake and Dallas have had official YouTube profiles for years. But no other department in either Riverside or San Bernardino counties appears to be posting directly to the wildly popular video sharing site.

"It's critically important that we start embracing these technologies, because that's what people are using and spending time on," said Redlands police Chief Jim Bueermann, who said his department is considering launching a page. "With the proliferation of smart phones and video cameras in our society, I think you'll be seeing more and more of this."

Conflict Between Medical Marijuana and Concealed Carry Permits?

At least a couple of Sheriffs in Oregon think you can't have a concealed weapons permit if you are a medical marijuana user. Specifically, it's the Sheriffs of Jackson and Washington counties. The Sheriffs' positions are that federal gun laws prohibit illegal drug users from possessing handguns. The linked article doesn't say if the Sheriffs think the marijuana user first has to be convicted of breaking some marijuana law, or if merely having registered as a medical marijuana patient is sufficient.

Courts have twice overruled the Sheriffs, restoring weapons permits to medical marijuana patients. One, Steven Schwerdt, explains that he needs a weapon and marijuana for the same reason: he has severe arthritis and gout which would prevent him from running away from someone who tried to attack or rob him.

Five Juveniles Arrested By DHS Police

An example of what can be accomplished with good police and some citizen cooperation:

CITY OF DESERT HOT SPRINGS
POLICE DEPARTMENT

PRESS RELEASE

INCIDENTS: Five in Custody, One Stolen Vehicle Recovered and at Least Two Residential Burglaries Solved

DATE OF INCIDENTS: Monday, November 9, 2009

DATE OF PRESS RELEASE: Monday, November 9, 2009

LOCATIONS OF CRIMES: 66900 block of Ironwood, County Hills Apts.
11700 Blk Foxdale Dr.
11800 Blk Verbena Dr.

LOCATION OF ARRESTS: Pomelo Dr., North of Pierson Bd. (suspects 1, 2)
66900 Blk 3rd St. (suspects 3, 4 & 5)

[Names withheld on all five suspects because they are juveniles]

SUSPECTS/CHARGES RE: THE STOLEN VEHICLE:

1) Male Hispanic, 15 years, 5-8/160, blk/brn, address in Buena Vista Apts on Ironwood Dr. Charges on him: Car Theft, Possess Stolen Property, Resisting Arrest; as well as a No Bail Warrant charging the same charges as he picked up for himself today.

2) Male Hispanic, 15 years, 5-8/145, blk/brn, address on 66900 block Acoma. Charges on him: Car Theft, Possess Stolen Property, Resisting Arrest, Lying to an Officer, Possession of a Dangerous Weapon (knife); as well as a No Bail Warrant charging Car Theft and Possession of Stolen Property

SUSPECTS/CHARGES RE: THE BURGLARIES:

3) Male Black, 14, 5-7/180, blk/brn, address on 13300 block of Verbena. His charges: Burglary, two counts, and Possession of Stolen Property

4) Male Black, 15, 5-7/180, blk/brn, address on 13300 block of Verbena. He is the brother of Suspect #3 above. His charges: Burglary, two counts, and Possession of Stolen Property

5) Male Black, 17, 5-7/160, blk/brn, address on 66700 block Two Bunch Palm Blvd. His charges: Burglary, two counts, and Possession of Stolen Property

DESCRIPTION OF INCIDENTS:

At 6:30 AM, the owner of a red 1994 Nissan P/U truck reported his truck stolen from the Country Hills Apartments at 66900 Ironwood Dr. It was not known how the suspect/s accessed his truck.

At 12:19 PM officers received a residential burglary alarm in the 11700 block of Foxdale Dr. Officer Paul Tapia responded to the alarm. One street west of Foxdale, on Pomelo, Tapia saw two young Hispanic males driving away in the red Nissan P/U truck he knew to be stolen because he is the officer who took the initial stolen vehicle report. When he turned to stop the truck the occupants pulled over and took off running.

In the meantime, another officer reported the alarm on Foxdale was a good alarm. Suspects attempted entry by smashing a rear sliding glass bedroom door. Apparently hearing the alarm, they fled. Because the stolen truck and the burglary happened so close in proximity and so close in time, officers felt the two subjects in the truck could possibly have been responsible for the burglary.

Officers set a perimeter up around the Foxdale and Pomelo residential area and eventually located the two young Hispanic males who they’d seen running from the stolen vehicle. They were hiding outside a residence on Pomelo. Officers took them into custody and transported them to jail. The truck was returned to its owner.

At 1:27 PM, a little over an hour after the attempt burglary on Foxdale was discovered, a citizen reported seeing three suspicious young Black males, at least two of them carrying backpacks, enter a house in the 66900 block of 3rd St. The citizen thought it suspicious because there have been thefts and trespassing events in that area recently. Officers responded and while checking around the perimeter of the house heard voices inside. Sgt. Radamus Gil and other officers entered the residence and found three subjects dividing up obvious stolen property. The spread of property included a flat screen TV, cash, jewelry, a playstation, cameras, credit cards and other obviously stolen items. They took the subjects into custody without incident.

From these recovered items they found identifying information leading them to a house on the 11800 block of Verbena. Officer Raul Sandoval went to that residence and found that house had recently been broken into. The owner, just arriving home, hadn’t yet known of the break in. It turns out nearly every piece of property taken from his residence was now in the custody of our officers.

Officers and detectives are still investigating these crimes. It does not appear the suspects who ran from the stolen car knew of the suspects caught with the stolen property.

Of the five arrested, two of them already had no bail warrants for car theft and receiving stolen property. We plan to transport all five of them to Juvenile Hall.

Any information regarding this press release should be directed to Desert Hot Springs Police Sergeant Dan Bressler at 760.329.6411 x315.

Dispatch Tel: 760.329.2904

"A Single Man"

Coming December 11.

The film adaptation of the novel by Christopher Isherwood. Eventually to become a Santa Monican, friend to W.H. Auden and E.M Forster, Mr. Isherwood may be best known as the author of Goodbye to Berlin, upon which the musical Cabaret was based.

Palm Springs Pride Parade

Surely the least imaginative participant, an undecorated beer truck.

LAPD.

More photos from the Palm Springs Pride parade.

Jumping Rope

A lot of the jumping is so fast I can't even see what's happening.

They neglected the one obvious variation: turning out the lights and using electric ropes.

Weight-Loss Coffee

The Desert Sun briefly mentions "Boresha's Bskinny Coffee," saying its being sold by Gina Wilkerson. The distributor says it's a weight-loss coffee, and that she dropped 7 pounds in 3 months. Another distributor lost 20 pounds. There's nothing in the Desert Sun that says what makes this coffee more weight-lossy than any other coffee.

And neither does the coffee's website. But we do learn that "boresha" is "Swahilian" [sic] for "to make excellent." If there were only an Englishan word for that. We also learn that the coffee is organic and they are a Fair Trade certified business, meaning they pay more to the coffee farmer.

And, if you watch the video on their home page, you will learn about the benefits of becoming one of their distributors. In fact, if you go look at their testimonials page you'll see the words of "Mabel" from Walnut Creek.

One day, I was in the middle of writing a business plan for a new business venture, when my computer froze. I took my computer to the repair shop, and upon my arrival, I was offered coffee; but this was no ordinary cup of coffee. It was a a smooth, full-bodied creamy-like coffee and I savored evey drop. While enjoying this coffee, I learned that I could purchase directly from the repair shop owners, as they were distributors. But that's not all, I learned that I, too could increase my income by becoming a representative myself.

So, if you are the sort of person who, when your computer freezes up, you immediately bundle it into the car and make a run to the repair shop, then you too will probably be interested in investing in this business. BTW, the headline on that testimonials page includes the words "Amazing Products*" with that asterisk, which leads you to the only statement I could find about weight-loss:

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration(FDA). The products contained herein are not intended to treate, cure, or prevent any diseases. Fat burning, weight loss, increased energy, reduced stress-related eating, and hunger control results may vary dependent on the individual and as such are not guaranteed.

Weight-loss, if any, probably comes from running around all day, carrying heavy boxes of coffee and drinking dozens of cups a day with other potential distributors.

Vonda

Dean Gray has written a humor piece for the Desert Valley Star about our friend Vonda Pate-Davis, who he calls just "Pate," like "my ol' pal Pate," or "my trusty steed Pate." Part of his story concerns the authorship of an anonymous email that many people received Tuesday. Dean Gray attributes that letter to Vonda, but that's probably just his way of joshing. I thought the authorship of the letter was fairly obvious, but the author has told me that if Dean really thinks Vonda wrote it, then it's best to let them all keep guessing.

The story wraps up with this brilliant paragraph:

A month prior to the election, another letter was circulated attacking Betts. It was postmarked from San Diego and was sent anonymously and circulated to all council member and city employees. There is no proof Pate was the author of that letter.

I was like ROFLMAO at that. Such a good paragraph, he could use it over and over again with almost any story. Here are some suggestions:

• "A typhoon struck Japan, drowning hundreds. There is no proof Pate caused the typhoon."
• "Thousands have died of starvation in Africa. There is no proof Pate is withholding food."
• "Unemployment exceeds 10%. Why doesn't Pate get a job?"

Vonda seems to have seen less humor in the article than I did, but that would be how a power broker and "accomplished local land developer" would think, isn't it? She vented to me:

Ron -
Well, Dean lived up to his word. He was going to do an article on me that would expose. I did not see anything in the article that had any truth to it or did any exposing. I could care less what he writes. I told him when he called me that I did not know anything about any rumor going around about Betts. I also told him I was not going to discuss it with him or anyone else. If Betts says there is nothing to any of it, then that was good enough for me and it was a closed issue. I have not discussed any of it with anyone other than the original email I sent to Dean asking if the stuff on the internet was what was being referred to about Betts. I don't even recall how the incident came up, but Dean was saying someone was trying to discredit Russ. I did not know what he was referring to, but ask him in an email if the stuff on the internet was what was being referred to and was it the same Russell Betts in Pennsylvania.

And, I love the part about him saying I and other big developers contributed to Yvonne's campaign. Wow, I am now in the company of big developers. Maybe I will get invited to some of their lunches. For Dean's information I have not contributed to any campaign here but Scott. I gave him $20.00. I sure hope Scott reported that.

I spent time and some footwork, but no money in Yvonne's campaign and nothing to Jan. As a matter of fact, the $20.00 I gave Scott was the first campaign money I had done for many years, except I may have contributed $20.00 to Scott when he ran the first time. The only campaign participation was a Scott and Yvonne sign in my yard and a letter I wrote to the Editor of DS. Also, I went out in my own neighborhood the day after election and took down all the Scott and Yvonne signs I could find.

Vonda

Downtown Desert Hot Springs Streetscape Under Construction

Thank goodness they are carefully working around this clock.

Septic System Ban Approved in Malibu

In two articles (one, two) the L.A. Times reports that the L.A. Regional Water Quality Board voted on Thursday during a 10-hour meeting (!) to ban new septic systems in Malibu. Commercial area owners will have 6 years to convert, residential owners 10 years.

Testimony from surfers seemed to carry the day.

They told of bouts of diarrhea, conjunctivitis that wouldn't heal and heart-damaging Coxsackie B4 virus. Some talked of inhaling the pervasive Malibu stench and watching raw sewage pour through the city's streets and parking lots.

Surfer Ken Seino, a member of the Malibu Surfing Assn., pulled open his shirt to show a scar on his upper-left chest, where he had a pacemaker implanted. That was necessary, he said, because of the viral myocarditis he contracted after paddling through raw sewage at Surfrider Beach in the summer of 1997.

"I smelled it, I tasted it, and it was ugly," Seino, 53, said. "I regurgitated before I could paddle to the sand." He said he eventually needed a pacemaker.

Chris Edelson Talks About The Republican Party

The Republican party that has allowed itself to become a vehicle piloted by the stupid and insane.

The Republican party stands for absolutely nothing other than the pursuit of power. For 30 years, the Republicans have claimed to stand for 3 things: (1) small government (2) family values and (3) strong national defense. They don't actually stand for any of these things, and it's not clear that they ever did.

Rober Ebert Brings Us Entertainment

On three subjects:

1. Batman,
2. Teenage vampire lust, and
3. Atheism.

Those Solar Roof Tiles Again

Back in June the Desert Sun had an article about a test installation of solar roof tiles on a house in Bermuda Dunes. It left questions unanswered. That article is no longer available from the Desert Sun, but now there's an update.

It's a 1.5 kilowatt system. Their summer electric bills dropped from $800 to $440/month. The family is all excited about it. Theresa Thomas, owner of the home along with her husband Bill, exclaimed, "We've been changing all our light bulbs." How very 21st century! Most of us already changed our light bulbs, long before we started thinking about solar roof tiles.

"The company has yet to publish test results, she said, but plans are under way for the tiles to hit the market in February." Oh, okay, so this is still a puff piece. Near the end of the article it says "The Thomases, who own a roofing company, Roof Tile Specialty, think the tiles will find plenty of customers in the Coachella Valley's upscale communities, where tile roofs abound." The purpose of the "test" and these articles becomes more clear now. The Thomases are not just randomly chosen tree-hugging citizens. They hope to be selling these tiles some day. Which is not to say there's anything wrong with the tiles, nor that they won't deliver as promised.

In 100 square feet these roof tiles can produce 500 watts, costing $10 to $12 per watt, churning out 860 kilowatt hours per year.

Standard flat panels, the article says, covering the same area could produce 1,350 to 3,000 watts at $6 to $8 per watt, with a total of 1,700 kwh to 5,000 kwh per year. The advantage to the roof tiles, at this point, is that they look better.

Here's the website for SRS Energy solar tiles which they call "Solé Power Tile™."

"Bird In Mountains"

Apparently a bird has come to the mountains. But there's only one, so it shouldn't be too difficult to deal with.

Desert Sun RSS Feeds Change

If you, like me, prefer to monitor the Desert Sun via its RSS feeds, you should know that they've changed. If there was any notification of this change in the newspaper, I didn't see it. Some time on Wednesday or Thursday the feeds just stopped. The current feeds are at the link above.

DHS Police Arrest Robber

CITY OF DESERT HOT SPRINGS POLICE DEPARTMENT

PRESS RELEASE

INCIDENT: 211 PC – Armed Robbery

DATE: 11-06-09 DAY: Friday / TIME: 3:30 AM LOCATION: El Cajon at Ironwood (of arrest)

DESCRIPTION OF INCIDENT:

On Friday, November 06, 2009, at approximately 3:45PM, the victim came to the Desert Hot Springs Police Department to report that he was robbed at gunpoint early this morning by three subjects in the area of Hacienda and Don English. After making the report the victim left the police station, and moments later he spotted the suspect vehicle when he was driving home. He followed it while contacting the police.

Officers located the suspect driving the vehicle. A felony traffic stop was conducted and the subject was taken into custody without incident. Property belonging to the victim was located on the suspect. The victim positively identified the suspect. Two suspects are still outstanding. The victim does not know the suspects and was approached in the early morning hours when his car broke down.

The suspect, Robert Steinureck, 34 years old, is on parole for robbery and is facing a 3rd strike. He was transported to the RSO Banning jail after processing at the Desert Hot Springs Police Department.

The Desert Hot Springs Police Department would like to remind all citizens to be aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious activity, including any vehicles or persons to the Desert Hot Springs Police Department by calling 911, or calling our dispatch center at (760) 329-2904 option #2.

Any questions regarding this press release should be directed to the Desert Hot Springs Police Department. Anyone with any information regarding this incident should also contact the Desert Hot Springs Police Department and ask to speak with Detective Paiz or Sgt. Bressler.

Dispatch Tel: (760) 329-2904

California Timelapse

Timescapes Timelapse: Mountain Light from Tom @ Timescapes on Vimeo.

Glenn Beck's Health

As examined by Jon Stewart.

The 11/3 Project

www.thedailyshow.com

Two Tales Of Automotive Window Glass

Andrew Burwitz, Jr., age 20, Appleton, Wisconsin, has been arrested for shooting a firearm at his ex-girlfriend's house. He forgot to roll down the window in his car before firing the gun, leaving a pile of broken glass on the street. Later that day police learned that Burwitz had gone to an auto glass shop to get the window replaced and filed an insurance claim to cover it.

The image of Jesus appears in the morning dew on the driver's side window of an Isuzu pickup truck owned by Jim Stevens of Jonesborough, Tennessee. The image looks a lot like the ones you sometimes see stuck onto automobile headlights. It's important when a newspaper sends a photographer out on a mission like this to publish only one photo, and that one from an odd angle. By all means there should be no photos of the window when dry, nor should a photo from the interior of the vehicle be shown, and don't come back the next day to see if it is there again. The owner of the truck says "he believes strange things happen." That's a philosophy that will get you through life very well. The article pointedly mentions Mr. Stevens's "bum shoulder," but doesn't say whether the Jesus image has healed it or not.

Faithful Steed Returns After 35 Years

"Steed" being a 1965 VW Van, stolen July 12, 1974, in Spokane during the World's Fair (Spokane had a World's Fair?!). Found in Los Angeles October 19, 2009. It was being shipped by a restorer to Europe, so it's back in near-cherry condition. Allstate Insurance owns it now, and the value is estimated at $25,000. Photo.

Mormon Style - How To Get It

That bearded "Mormon missionary" wouldn't fool me!

Nude Bowl, Revisited

You can go read my March 28, 2008, post about the Nude Bowl for more information. But the quick summary is that it's on the western edge of Desert Hot Springs, was a nude resort some time like the early 1960s, and it had a great kidney-shaped swimming pool. Years pass. At some point skateboarders discover the abandoned resort and consider the pool to be an ideal skating venue. Legends develop. Skateparks around the country, including Palm Springs, copy the shape. There are law enforcement problems. The pool gets filled in. The pool gets emptied out. The pool gets filled in again. And that's how things stand today. The DHS Historical Society is always seeking more information about the Nude Bowl. If you can fill in the gaps in history, if you have photos, if you were one of the Sheriff's Deputies called to the scene (boy, that would be great!), if you stayed at the resort (!!), the historical society would like to hear from you.

I visited the Nude Bowl again today with brighter light than my earlier visit. Some photos:

Panorama looking out across the valley from the slab that was the foundation for part of the resort.

There used to be a large stand of native desert Cathode-Ray Tube Display trees in this area. They've all died, possibly due to the drought. All that's left now are the empty husks of their fruit.

Looking down on the remains of the pool from the upper level of what was the resort.

View of the former resort area from a distance.

Much too small for a helicopter. I can't guess the reason for the "X."

The pool apron.

The pool apron.

These are laid out in a rectangle. I didn't notice them on my previous visit here.

More photos of the Nude Bowl and the area around it can be seen here.

DHS City Council - November 3

Here is the audio recording for the Desert Hot Springs City Council meeting on November 3.

H1N1

Barbara Cole (RN, PHN, MSN) made a presentation about H1N1 (swine flu). A few of the facts she presented: California usually suffers 4,500 influenza-related deaths from seasonal flu every year. Riverside County usually has about 375 deaths. As of October 17, California has seen 233 deaths due to H1N1, 16 of them in Riverside County.

Those who are ill with something that looks like the flu should not attend community events and should NOT go to an emergency room unless very ill. Students should stay home until they are free of symptoms for 24 hours. "Free of symptoms" means no cough and no fever without taking fever-reducing medication.

Precautions (you've seen this before):

• Frequent hand washing,
• Covering coughs and sneezes,
• Proper disposal of tissues,
• Stay home if ill, and
• Use appropriate "personal protective equipment." (I suspect that is jargonese for wearing a mask)

The California Department of Public Health H1N1 Hot Line is 888-865-0564. Websites:

• California Department of Public Health
• Riverside County Department of Public Health
• CDC "H1N1 Flu ('Swine Flu') and You"
• CDC "La influenza porcina y usted (gripe porcina)"

Marilyn Heidrick

Marilyn Heidrick was sworn in as Alternate Public Safety Commissioner.

Police Cameras

Police Chief Pat Williams presented an update on the police cameras that are being installed around the city right now. Seventeen are (or very soon will be) in place, including one at Hacienda and Mountain View. Three network towers have been erected: at police headquarters, at the watertanks at the east end of Mission Springs Boulevard, and at the watertanks at the east end of Desert View. They are looking at sites near Palm and Dillon and at Indian and I-10 for additional towers after the annexation is completed.

Installation of a camera at the skate park on November 3.

The camera in front of the library.

Mayor Pro Tem Baker asked about alarm-triggering beams that might be used around the perimeter of a park to detect anyone entering a park during hours when it is closed. Chief Williams said it is certainly possible and described how such a system is used in Chicago to trigger lights, a siren and a voice message. Desert Hot Springs has not ordered any equipment like that, but it could in the future.

There will be 16 cameras in police cars plus a total of 30 cameras mounted around the city. Ultimately the system could support as many as 150 cameras. Negotiations are continuing with Southern California Edison to get an agreement where we could put the cameras on their poles. The seventeen that are already in place are mounted on city-owned poles. Cabot's is an example of where there are no existing city poles with electricity, so the cooperation of Edison is needed — or the city will have to install a pole and run power to it.

Public Comments

Bruce Montgomery announced the Party In The Park which is being organized by churches in Coachella Valley. It will take place in Tedesco Park on Saturday, November 14. At 11 AM things will begin with the ribbon-cutting at the new community center and police office. Food, games and music will be provided until 5 PM at no charge.

Eric Pontius reminded us that November 10 will be the anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Marines Corp in 1775. In recognition of that, Playoffs (Acoma and Palm) will be hosting a fundraiser on November 10 from 4 PM to 7 PM. Proceeds will go the DHS High School JROTC program. There will be raffles and and autographed NFL equipment. Bring your wallets.

Naming Policy for Public Parks and Facilities

This came up because there was a proposal to name to the newly renovated community center in Tedesco Park and city staff saw that there was no written policy to guide the city on this. Discussion focused on the list of 13 criteria in the proposed resolution. As I read that list I see that some are criteria for who or what can be memorialized, while others are simply rules about construction and maintenance, plus there's one screening criteria. So I have separated them. Here, from the proposed resolution, are the criteria upon which a naming could be based:

4. NAMING

Requests for the naming of public facilities including, but not limited to public parks and facilities including, buildings, support facilities and recreation facilities; and the placement of dedications or memorial objects or symbols (plaques, living trees, public benches, rocks, memorial flagpoles and sculptures) in, or on, public facilities in honor of individuals (deceased or living) or community organizations (active or non-active) may be considered if at least one or more of the following eligibility criteria below is satisfied. However, all requests shall require City Council approval.

A. The individual, their family or a community organization has made exceptional contributions to the City, including, but not limited to, financial gifts, public service, dedications, contributions, etc.

B. Individual and organizations that have made contributions of regional or community wide significance may be considered for naming of public facilities that serve the region or community. Individuals and organizations that have made contributions of area- or neighborhood-wide significance may be considered for naming of public facilities that serve areas or neighborhoods within the City, including recreational facilities and amenities within public parks.

C. The individual was/is a resident of the City of Desert Hot Springs, which includes the area comprising the Palm Springs Unified School District for at least fifteen (15) years or more.

E. Individual: The person for which the public facility is being named, died in the line of duty serving the City of Desert Hot Springs or the United States of America; died while performing a heroic act (e.g., saving the life of another person); or served his country through military service.

F. Active Organization - Signed letterhead with approval from Board of Directors or similar authority. stating their approval for the naming of a park, facility or specific facility.

G. Non-Active Organization - City Council will have FINAL approval based on recommendations.

You see that it was written to require only one of the criteria be met, but the final resolution that was passed requires that THREE criteria be met. Also, one additional criteria was added: deceased for 15 years.

Here are the other elements in the list that I think should be separated out since they are not criteria for the award:

D. The individual must not have been convicted of a felony.

H. Public facilities or portions thereof may be dedicated in memory or honor of, individuals or organizations and are encouraged to be in the form of facility improvements or enhancements.

I. Dedications may be in recognition of an outstanding service, a donation or contribution to the facility or community or, may be in memory of someone who has made a substantial contribution to the facility or community,

J. Any individual, family, group or organization sponsoring a dedication or memorial must provide sufficient funds to purchase, install, and maintain any plaque or other form of label associated with the recognition. The City wit! make every effort to preserve any dedication plaque or memorial through regular standard of landscape care. If necessary, due to repair of surrounding areas, construction or redesign of a facility, the dedication or memorial object may be relocated at the City's expense. If the plaque or other dedication object cannot continue to be reasonably maintained, it may be removed by the City and returned to its owner.

K. If the dedication includes the gift of a tree or plant, the City will provide its regular standard of landscape care for the tree or plant. If the tree or plant does not survive, the City is not obligated to provide a replacement. If so, the sponsor must provide sufficient funds to purchase and re- install said tree or plant.

L. If the dedication includes the gift of an object (e.g. bench, picnic table, play ground equipment), the City will provide its regular standard of care and maintenance for the object. If the object is damaged due to vandalism; becomes unusable due to age, wear and tear or is stolen, the City is not obligated to replace or repair the object. If so, the sponsor must provide sufficient funds to purchase and re-install said object.

M. Dedications and memorials must blend with or compliment the existing public facility.

The first one, "D. The individual must not have been convicted of a felony" should be a screening-out rule. Obviously, we are not going to start naming facilities after people only because they have not committed a felony (okay, let the jokes begin).

The inclusion of PSUSD in this item "C. The individual was/is a resident of the City of Desert Hot Springs, which includes the area comprising the Palm Springs Unified School District for at least fifteen (15) years or more" seems odd to me. Why include the entire PSUSD, which besides DHS and unincorporated area includes Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert and Cathedral City?

Also, I think this one: "E. Individual: The person for which the public facility is being named, died in the line of duty serving the City of Desert Hot Springs or the United States of America" should be expanded to include the state of California. I can imagine a DHS resident who is a firefighter or in the National Guard going to some far off place in California and dying in the line of duty might be deserving of memorialization this way.

The resolution was passed 5-0 with the only changes being the ones I mentioned above: adding that the person has been deceased for 5 years and requiring that 3 criteria be met.

During the discussion Mayor Pro Tem Baker raised the issue that after renaming Arroyo Park to Tedesco Park a plaque was discovered honoring L.W. Coffee, the founder of Desert Hot Springs.

Naming The Community Center In Tedesco Park

A proposal to name the newly renovated community center after Henry Vellore Lozano who died December 19, 2001. Here is what District Attorney Rod Pacheco said on the day of Operation Falling Sun, March 27, 2009:

Shortly before Christmas 2001 a young man named Henry Lozano left his girlfriend's house and was ambushed on his way home to his father and mother's house. That was here in the City of Desert Hot Springs. Henry was a Corporal in the Marine Corps of the United States of America. That case had numerous challenges from the very beginning, and unfortunately was not solved even though the suspect was the leader of the West Drive Locos gang here in Desert Hot Springs. I did not know his parents Henry and Donna Lozano until one day a few years ago she called me in Riverside and spoke to me and asked me if we could look at her son's case and see if we could re-open it. Our office then contacted Desert Hot Springs to begin working with them to re-open that case. Shortly thereafter - actually, it took a little bit of time to put that case back together - but at some point we arrested the perpetrator of that murder, the leader of West Drive Locos. Emilio Avalos now sits in custody in our Riverside County facilities facing the death penalty. It was during those many conversations I had with Ms. Lozano about her son that I learned about Desert Hot Springs and the troubles that were facing this fine city. She filled me in. She also expressed a great deal of frustration. But today's a new day and I think today Henry Lozano is looking down and smiling.

More info on Henry Lozano here.

Donna Lozano, Henry's mother, got up to speak. She pointed out that naming the community center after him met all the criteria of the resolution just approved. She also said he would be a good role model for the youth of the city. She asked that "USMCR" be added after his name.

Hank Hohenstein also rose to express his support for the measure.

Marilyn Heidrick recalled when she and Mr. Heidrick volunteered to delve through the city records in 1998 to find out exactly what the city owned. The very first deed the city received was in November 1956 (7 years before incorporation) from L.W. Coffee for the "Desert Hot Springs Community Park" which was Arroyo Park, now Tedesco Park. (In January 1959 Wardman Park was deeded to the DHS Athletic Association.) Mrs. Heidrick suggested that the police substation in Tedesco Park be named after Henry Lozano while the community center be named for L.W. Coffee.

Councilmember Scott Matas said that eventually a building at Cabot's may be named for L.W. Coffee. Councilmember Pye said that naming the building in Tedesco Park after Henry Lozano is the best affront to the gang that tried to take over the park.

Councilmember Betts suggested the entire park be renamed the "Henry J. Lozano Park."

Mayor Pro Tem Baker pointed out that Gary Bosworth and L.W. Coffee have yet to be recognized.

Councilmember Pye singled out Hank Hohenstein for recognition for supporting the Lozanos during this whole effort. Then Chief Williams recognized Radames Gil who was at the back of the room and has brought so many gang members to justice. Mayor Parks also recognized Michael Jeandron in the audience who is from the District Attorney's office.

The resolution was approved 5-0 to name the community center after "Henry Vellore Lozano USMCR."

And as for L.W. Coffee, in my opinion you could justify memorializing him on almost structure in the city, since he's responsible for the whole shebang. He's been waiting since 1957 for that, so a little longer won't hurt. That halo they're going to build at Palm & Pierson. That hasn't been named for anyone yet.

Consulting Agreement With Bauer and Wiley, Jones & Jones

You will recall (actually, you probably forgot) that at the October 20, 2009, city council meeting this item came up. By a 3-2 vote, staff was instructed to first submit the proposal to the Miracle Hill committee. The two voting against were Mayor Parks and Councilmember Matas who are both members of that committee. Whadda ya know, it came back from the committee (which is made up of nine people) with unanimous approval!

Michael O'Keefe got up to say that an investment in Cabot's is an investment in the future of the city and the citizens of Desert Hot Springs, and that this was a stellar firm.

Approved 5-0.

Changing Skyborne Bonds to Liens

Scott Matas recused himself from this discussion because he rents a home in Skyborne.

Skyborne Ventures LLC bought the Skyborne development from D.R. Horton last year. D.R. Horton has secured the construction of infrastructure with bonds. Skyborne has to change that security to something in its own name, new bonds, an infamous letter of credit, or a lien. Skyborne proposes a lien in the amount of $10,012,585. As infrastructure is completed and accepted, the amount of the lien would be reduced. Plus, Skyborne would pay the city a fee equal to 1% of the value of the lien annually (payments made on a quarterly basis).

Prior to the meeting Mayor Pro Tem Baker had submitted several questions to City Manager Daniels who replied directly to Mr. Baker and then provided written copies to the council and the public at the meeting. Here is that Q & A:

From: Rick Daniels
Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 3:33 PM
To: 'Karl Baker, Jr. Cc: Jonathan Hoy; Jason Simpson; Ruben Duran

Subject: FW: Skyborne liens

[Rick Daniels] Councilor Baker,

Please see comments below. In order to avoid a serial e-mail communication Brown Act violation I am not copying the other Councilors at this time, but will have copies available for them at the meeting and available for the public.

Rick Daniels, City Manager City of Desert Hot Springs, CA
760/329-6411 x101 Office
760/251-6857 Fax
760/408-4350 Mobile

[Karl Baker] From: Karl Baker, Jr.
[mailto:BakerKarljr@aol.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 12:45 PM
To: Jason Simpson; Rick Daniels
Subject: Skybourne liens

In anticipation of tonight's meeting and in response to some of the uninformed criticism from the local press, here are some questions I hope you might be able to answer tonight:

1. There are several ways to secure performance either in completion of an engineering project, a street improvement or a development - infrastructure build out- project.

a.) Deposit all of the funds for the entire project in an escrow account

[Rick Daniels] Yes this is considered the cash option. The risk is that construction costs increases between the time the money is deposited and the time of the construction a cost escalator could be added to keep up with inflation.

[Karl Baker] b.) Provide a performance bond where the contractor purchases a bond to guarantee that the job will be completed within a certain time frame. This bond is for the projected cost of the work minus any inflation? Is this correct?

[Rick Daniels] Yes. It is akin to an insurance policy.

[Karl Baker] The holder of the bond may be a variety of financial institutions - correct?

[Rick Daniels] There are special firms that only deal in performance bonds. See the list of existing bonds on Skyborne. They tend to be the biggest insurance companies. The City would only allow admitted carriers approved by the State of California and with a FSC category of V (5) or higher.

[Karl Baker] If the holder of the bond Becomes insolvent via a number of reasons - the bond funds will no longer be available? - correct?

[Rick Daniels] Yes. Additionally "calling" a bond for lack of performance can be a three month to a two year exercise depending upon the firm involved and scale of the project. There is a lag while they determine if the work was covered by the bond, the work was not done, the work was required, and the developer was provided adequate opportunity to complete the work.

[Karl Baker] c.) A first place holder lien against the property where the work (contract) is to be carried out. The security for this work is a lien that must be satisfied before the property can change hands - correct?

[Rick Daniels] Yes, it is a lien against the property.

[Karl Baker] In the event that the contractor/developer becomes insolvent through bankruptcy the lien follows the property - correct?

[Rick Daniels] Yes.

[Karl Baker] Therefore, unless the dirt disappears, e.g.an earthquake, the lien will still be in place - correct?

[Rick Daniels] Yes. In this case the City would be the only party that could release the lie[n.] the process to foreclose on a lien is often a time consuming expensive litigation.

[Karl Baker] d.) Why is a bond or letter of credit the usual means of securing construction performance?

[Rick Daniels] Because most if not all developments have already fully burdened the property with debt in order for the developer to acquire the property and process the entitlements and there is no available equity in the property to put up as collateral. In this case the property was purchased with cash and is not burdened at all. This is a very unique situation. Also because it is a known quantity; i.e., most City engineers know the process to trigger a lien.

[Karl Baker] On to another example:

It has been stated in the press that "liens" were the securitization of the Vintage [sic, he meant "Village"] project. Is this true?

[Rick Daniels] If you mean the Village at Mission Lake, then no. The problem with the Villages is that the staff unilaterally and without Council consideration and review accepted a letter of credit from the lender to the project [underlining added by Ron's Log]. All paper assurances such as Letter of Credit or Performance Bond not backed by the collateral of the property should be by a third party not directly involved in the transaction of the development with publicly available ratings.

[Karl Baker] Was there any recourse for the completion of the infrastructure and development requirements for that project?

[Rick Daniels] The City has a letter of credit from the same lending institution that funded the project (not a third party) and also went bankrupt.

[Karl Baker] Is there any similarity between the l/c ["letter of credit"] securing the Mission Lakes shopping center and this proposal?

[Rick Daniels] No. The Villages project was all financed by loans whereas this project is completely owned outright by the landowner-Strategic Land. Another key difference is that this decision is the Council's to make in an open forum.

[Karl Baker] How was the $20 million valuation for the property arrived at?

[Rick Daniels] The developer provided an appraisal that was required by your staff and reviewed by them. I will have full copies available tonight and will send your Council an 8 page summary shortly. It is being scanned.

[Karl Baker] How does this compare with the recent purchase price of the property?

[Rick Daniels] According to the appraisal the original property owner (D.R. Horton) purchased the property and constructed infrastructure totaling $110M and sold it to Strategic Land for $7.8M. The property has already experienced a 92.1% drop in value during the last year. While much is not known about future property values in this recession, in all likelihood there is very little chance that it will drop significantly further. In accord with the appraisal the landowner has already realized a $12.2M gain or underpaid by approximately $12.2M below its real value.

[Karl Baker] If the property sells in the future for less than $10,000,000 will the $10 million lien still be satisfied?

[Rick Daniels] We set a 2:1 value to assurance ratio in order to protect against that likelihood. We would not allow the property to sell before we were satisfied by one of the parties providing the City with $10M or we would take title to the land in order to satisfy the lien obligations. We would own the land and either sell it or it would make a great regional park.

[Karl Baker] Under what circumstances, if any — that have not been addressed above — could a lien become "worthless."

[Rick Daniels] If the landowner was [1] fraudulent in his representations to the City that the land is free of any obligations, [2] the City did not assure themselves that the property is free and clear of obligations, and [3] developable and fully entitled land was worth nothing.

[Karl Baker] Currently, the City is receiving no income from the bonds for the property.

[Rick Daniels] Correct. The cost of a performance bond is 1% of the amount covered. For a Letter of credit it is usually 2% depending upon the landowner's credit rating. Currently the landowner is paying 1% to the bonding company. Under the scenario proposed the landowner has accepted the City's insistence that the landowner pay the City that fee equivalent. There would be hardly any circumstances where income would be derived from liens.

[Karl Baker] Can you think of any reason why a project secured by a lien against property would be worth anything less than a bond for the same amount?

[Rick Daniels] No. Any financial assurance instrument requires the City to release it. Whether a lien, bond, or letter of credit it is the land is the asset value that is being sold/purchased. Bond is not tied to value of the property, but rather it is tied to the cost of the improvements.

[Karl Baker] Lastly what is the value of the current bond?

[Rick Daniels] There are multiple bonds on the property as shown on the previously provided list of bonding companies and their rating. The amount of those bonds are the same as the proposed lien because that is the engineering derived obligation to provide the infrastructure required.

If you skipped reading all that, one thing to take away from it is that a lien is nothing like the worthless letter of credit that we have on the Village at Mission Lakes shopping center. Also, liens like this are not common because most developments are already encumbered with other debt. Skyborne Ventures bought from D.R. Horton with cash.

James Kozack from Skyborne got up to speak. He talked about upsets and changes in the bond market over the last year.

Mayor Pro Tem Baker asked if the Terraces project had been secured with liens by the city. The answer from Public Works Director Hoy was that the Terraces was NOT secured with liens.

Councilmember Betts said this was a very bad deal for the community. He said the city would get nothing in return for this deal. He said having the lien doesn't guarantee the infrastructure gets done. He complained that the appraisal for the property had just been handed to the council at this meeting and he had had no time to study it.

Councilmember Pye started out by saying that the developer had contributed to her campaign. She thanked Hank Goodreault for the conversation she and he had had on the subject. She agreed with Mr. Betts that she had not gotten enough information to make a decision on this issue.

Hank Goodreault got up to comment. He said this subject should be covered in a study session. He thinks that the appraised value of roughly $20 million is too high.

Charles Purty commented that he lives in Skyborne made the point that if the property is really worth $20 million and the developer bought it only a year ago for about $7 million, why isn't he selling it and walking away with a good profit? He cited the "bird in the hand" saying.

Paul Markoo, another resident of Skyborne got up to comment. He said even Phase I is not yet complete.

Robert Bentley said the city would be turning down a guarantee of the completion of the project and taking an ownership stake instead.

There was a motion by Ms. Pye, seconded by Mr. Betts to continue the item. Mayor Parks asked that the item be discussed at a study session before coming back to the council for a vote. City Manager Daniels began to speak, "I will check...Madam Mayor, members of the Council...I will check availability on...I don't know what is scheduled for the 10th or the...excuse me?"

He was interrupted by Councilmember Betts who had attempted to speak over him. He said "We made a motion to continue. I don't know if we had set a date in the motion."

Attorney Duran and Mayor Parks confirmed that there was no date in the motion.

City Manager Daniels resumed, "I believe it will be either the 10th, the work session, or the 24th, so if you would set it for the next meeting following..."

He was interrupted again by Mr. Betts who asked "Are you making that as an amendment to the motion?"

Now that is clearly an attempt at some kind of sniping at Mr. Daniels. Everyone knows that no one but a member of the council can make a motion or an amendment to a motion, and I'm sure that even Mr. Betts knows this. This gave us a little hint of what a Betts mayoralty would have been like...if Mr. Daniels had stayed around long enough to see him sworn in.

Mr. Daniels replied, "No, I'm trying to get clarification as to when you want to continue it to."

Councilmember Pye said she just wanted enough information and tools to intelligently make a decision. Mr. Daniels replied that a safe date would be the first regular city council meeting in December, since that allows two possible dates for a study session in November.

Mayor Pro Tem Baker said he thought the council had enough information and would vote against the continuance.

Councilmember Pye pointed out that AIG holds only $33,000 in bonds on the Skyborne development. There had been a lot of discussion of the shakiness of AIG versus the fact that it is backed by the U.S. government now. But another company, not backed by the government, has over $3 million in bonds on the project. She said she doesn't know the solvency of that bondholder.

The motion to continue was approved 3-1 with Mr. Baker dissenting.

Traffic Safety Ad Hoc Committee

The subject of this committee is solely to look at the issue of automobiles that have been impounded after a traffic stop. Mayor Parks appointed Scott Matas, Jan Pye and Jeff Bowman to the committee. Mayor Pro Tem Baker wondered why this couldn't be handled by the Public Safety Commission itself.

The motion was carried 4-1, Mr. Baker voting against.

Second Reading of Sex Offender Ordinance

Approved 5-0 without discussion.

Landscaping and Irrigation at Cabot's

This was a contract with Land Concepts for $138,651.78 to install landscaping and irrigation designed by Ray Lopez Associates (contract awarded in August). Councilmember Matas cited and praised the many hours of volunteer labor spent keeping the landscaping at Cabot's alive using hoses and buckets.

Michael O'Keefe came forward to comment and recalled July 17, 2007, when the temperature was 117° and Alta Hester was suffering with the heat and low water pressure trying to keep things alive with an old hose. He urged the council to vote yes.

The item was approved 5-0. For those who want the details on the landscaping and irrigation, here are the schedules of plants and materials to be supplied to the five different areas designated in the bid. Just click on a thumbnail to get a bigger image. (And, if you are having trouble figuring out how to get an even bigger image on Ipernity, see this explanation.) If some Cabot's expert could explain to me what the "14 Mile Area" is, I would appreciate it.

Wedding Altar area

Trading Post area

Perimeter area

14 Mile area

Parking area

Downtown Facade Contract

This was approved 4-0 with virtually no discussion. Councilmember Betts recused himself.

This went out to bid last month and the lowest bid received was $350,000 GHA Enterprises in Cathedral City. However, the engineer's estimate for the project was only $250,000. This resolution was to authorize the City Manger (technically, the RDA Executive Director in this instance) to negotiate with GHA to get the price down to $250,000.

Demolition of Sissy Spacek's Sweet, Sweet Crib In The Oscar-Winning But Often Underappreciated Masterpiece By Robert Altman Filmed Right Here In Desert Hot Springs, Three Women, AKA 12063-12073 Palm Drive

Movie info here.

Recent interior photos of the building here.

This was only a measure to permit the demolition. Bidding for the job comes later. The site suffered some water damage in June. Clean up from that revealed (what else?!) asbestos. In addition, the building has been modified and expanded a number of times with no permits, bringing it to an almost laughable level of code violations (hey, I've seen it, and Rudy Acosta understates the enormity of its flaws). Estimated cost to fix it: $498,000! Cost to demolish: $50,000 to $60,000.

Mayor Pro Tem Baker was disturbed by the fact that the staff report included mention that the downtown vortex committee had recommended considering building a new building on the site. His objection was that we had no prospective occupant lined up for it. Mayor Parks pointed out that this vote was only to demolish, nothing more.

The final vote was 3-0-1, Mr. Baker abstaining and Councilmember Betts having recused himself.

Desert Valley Disposal Rate Decrease

Our franchise agreement with DVD was written to take into account changes in the Consumer Price Index — all changes, not just increases. The CPI for Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange-Counties dropped by 1.305% from April 2008 to April 2009. However, the fee at Edom Hill was increased by 0.137% by Riverside County effective July 1. What this means for you, the trash-making resident of Desert Hot Springs, is a reduction in your monthly DVD rate from $21.44 to $21.25. Don't spend it all in one place.

The city will also lose about $6,800 per year because the franchise fee we get from DVD depends on how much the residents pay. The city gets about a half million a year from DVD.

This was approved 5-0.

Grading Surety for Snellenberger Project (Highland Falls)

Google maps view of Highland Falls (the Snellenberger project), AKA "Tentative Tract Map No. 30616." This is west of highway 62 and Pierson. The scraped area is obvious, and while it looks huge to us here in the city, the fainter rectangular outline visible in this image shows how large the project was planned to be: about 1½ square miles, or 900 acres. The graded area is about 350 acres.

When grading of this site was approved in 2004, the city manager was Jerry Hanson. The grading surety for the site is currently $1 million. The surety is actually a one-page letter saying he has a million set aside. The soil has not been worked on since 2005. Desert plants have slowly been returning to the graded area.

The proposed $100,000 would only cover the site in the condition in which it now stands. If Snellenberger proposed to begin grading and construction again, they would need a new grading permit and some revised grading surety at that time. An engineering study estimates that $75,000 would be enough to deal with any dust issues or floods. Staff has recommended setting the amount at $100,000 to be sure.

Councilmember Betts moved to reject the request without explanation. The motion failed for lack of a second. Councilmember Matas moved the request be approved.

Councilmember Betts wanted to know how much dust control costs per acre, or how much would 350 acres cost. Jonathan Hoy explained that some of the areas are graveled and vegetation has grown back in some areas, and neither of those would require spraying to control dust. Jonathan Hoy said it would cost $30,000 to $40,000 to apply dust control to the areas that might need dust control.

A representative from Snellenberger was present and rose to speak to the council. He said the going rate was $425/acre for heavy polyglue to control dust. He said "desert asphalt" had formed so that there is no loose dust to blow. He said the original $1 million bond "had no nexus" when it was created. Those are polite words for "it was a wild-assed guess." Now they have the real science to establish a realistic estimate of the costs. The $100,000 will sit in an FDIC-insured bank account. Jonathan Hoy said the $100,000 is a bond.

It was approved 5-0.

Council & Staff Comments

Mayor Pro Tem Baker said there were estimates that the value of the advice he received from Columbia University Business School in Norwalk, Connecticut, could be about $150,000.

Councilmember Matas said that anyone interested in the fundraiser for the homeless center to be held at the home of Ali Baba on January 16 should talk to him, Mr. Matas.

City Manager Daniels said the LAFCO hearing on the annexation would be held December 3. The city has cited both Walgreens and Vons for shopping cart violations. The day after citing Vons, they instituted their shopping cart containment system.

Public Comments

Sherril Skonick wanted to appeal a lien on the property at 68346 Panorama Drive. Ownership of this property changed hands in June and, although correct and up to date signage was on the property, the city sent notices to the previous owner. No notices were sent to the current owner. The current owner has a buyer and closing is scheduled for November 5.

Steen Aubrey (?) had a complaint about Desert Valley Disposal. She owns 10 houses in Desert Hot Springs which are unoccupied. She requested discontinuation of service, but she continues to get bills from them. So far it sounds like the same old story we've heard so often. She saved the surprising fact that she is no longer the owner of those properties, but is still getting bills from DVD, for the end of the story.

I seem to recall from a Mission Springs Water District board meeting that the water district notifies DVD (or the city for DVD) whenever someone changes the name on a water bill. So if a vacant house (using no water) changes hands and neither the new or old owner contact the water district, then DVD won't be notified either. Which is not to say that when you do contact DVD and say you don't own a property any longer, you shouldn't be given some great run around...unless you're Karl Baker of course, and then it would be no holds barred.