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October 31, 2021
Shirtless Men In Boston In The 1980s
Shot on 5247 Kodak motion picture film sometime in the 1980s.
Filed under Gay Issues,Photography | permalink | October 31, 2021 at 06:19 PM | Comments (0)
Last Minute Halloween Treat Ideas
| permalink | October 31, 2021 at 06:07 PM | Comments (0)
Brazilians Organizing To Oppose Christian Missionaries
In the Javari Valley the first Indigenous lawyer has filed "what is believed to be the first lawsuit by an Indigenous group aimed at expelling Christian missionaries from their territory." In Brazil "the right to voluntary isolation is enshrined in the constitution and where it’s illegal to contact isolated Indigenous groups without government permission," the Christians seem to care little for the law.
Filed under Religion | permalink | October 31, 2021 at 12:44 PM | Comments (0)
Plans To Extend Las Vegas High Speed Rail To Rancho Cucamonga
Brightline West which is building the high speed rail connection from Las Vegas to Victorville can now begin negotiating a route from Victorville to Rancho Cucamonga. This would give it a direct connection into the transit systems in Los Angeles, which is essential for the success of the train, IMO. They plan to route it within the I-15 right-of-way just like the Vegas-Victorville segment. Not too many year ago experts were saying you couldn't build high speed rail through the Cajon Pass due to the elevation change and many curves. The article gives no hints why those limitations have suddenly disappeared.
Filed under Travel | permalink | October 31, 2021 at 09:16 AM | Comments (0)
October 30, 2021
Maybe This Is What's Going On With Sheriff Bianco
Filed under Health | permalink | October 30, 2021 at 02:48 PM | Comments (0)
Miss Manners Today
DEAR MISS MANNERS >>What is the proper way to eat rambutans?
GENTLE READER >> With a porcupine. So that it can teach you its ways.
| permalink | October 30, 2021 at 07:41 AM | Comments (0)
October 29, 2021
Moreno Valley Mall
Yesterday I found myself in the Moreno Valley Mall which seems to be doing an okay job of not dying. I had my infrared camera along and took a few photos.
Filed under Architecture,Photography | permalink | October 29, 2021 at 06:45 PM | Comments (0)
October 28, 2021
One Million Dollars
Gang Member Arrested on 1 Million Dollar Arrest WarrantOn Thursday, October 28, 2021, at 12:15 P.M. the Coachella Valley Violent Crime Gang Task Force conducted an arrest warrant service in a residential area located in the 49000 block of Highway 74 in Palm Desert. Gang Task Force Officers located documented criminal street gang member Robert “Lil Rob” Cruz, 40 of Coachella, as he was delivering furniture to a residence for a local furniture store where he is employed as a delivery man. Cruz was taken into custody without incident on a 1 Million Dollar Arrest Warrant for Assault with a Deadly Weapon and Witness Intimidation. Cruz had evaded capture since June of 2021 when the warrant was issued for his arrest. Cruz was subsequently booked at John Benoit Detention Center in Indio.
I don't even know what it means to attach a dollar value to an arrest warrant. Does it mean the Riverside County Sheriff's Office is going to receive a million-dollar reward for arresting this guy? I don't think so. Does it mean somebody was willing to spend up to a million dollars to catch this guy?
Filed under Coachella Valley,Public Safety | permalink | October 28, 2021 at 06:01 PM | Comments (0)
Cannabis Cultivation In Siskiyou County
Here's yet another article about the seemingly racist treatment of Hmong cannabis cultivators in Siskiyou County. This article has the same shortcoming as all the other articles I have read about the situation. No one asks the Siskiyou residents or the Siskiyou Supervisors "Why not legalize cannabis cultivation, bring it all out from the underground, regulate it, tax it and control the water use?" If I were the paranoid type I'd think there was a conspiracy among reporters to never ask that basic question. Siskiyou County has a problem with illegal cannabis cultivation because they've made cannabis cultivation illegal.
Filed under California,Marijuana | permalink | October 28, 2021 at 07:49 AM | Comments (0)
$17 Million Verdict In Costco Shooting
A federal jury awarded a $17 million verdict to the parents of Kenneth French who was shot and killed by an off-duty LAPD officer at the Costco in Corona in 2019. "The bulk of the verdict will be borne by the City of Los Angeles, with the eight-person jury finding that Sanchez was acting within the scope of his LAPD employment when he opened fire inside the store, attorney Dale K. Galipo said." No word in the article on how much that "bulk" is, or who is paying the remaining "non-bulk" part of the award.
Filed under Public Safety | permalink | October 28, 2021 at 06:53 AM | Comments (0)
October 27, 2021
Remember Prozac?
"Covid-19 patients who received fluvoxamine [Prozac] were significantly less likely to require hospitalization than those who didn’t, in the largest clinical trial evaluating the antidepressant’s effect on Covid-19 to date." "Past research suggests that fluvoxamine has anti-inflammatory properties, though scientists are still unsure of exactly how it works against Covid-19, said Dr. [Edward] Mills. The drug may help blunt the out-of-control inflammation that can cause severe disease in Covid-19, he said."
Filed under Health | permalink | October 27, 2021 at 04:15 PM | Comments (0)
October 26, 2021
A Segway For Our Time?
It seems this is real, not CGI.
Honestly, the top question in my mind is did they negotiate with Hanna-Barabera (now part of Warner) for the rights to use the name "Jetson?"
It's a Swedish company and manufacturing for sales to consumers will begin in 2022. They plan to make a dozen of them in 2022.
A complete vehicle is 92 000 USD and is delivered to you as a partially (50%) assembled kit for home completion. It contains everything you need, from the aluminium space frame to motor controllers, propellers and motors. You will also receive detailed build instructions.If you want to have your own Jetson ONE, please contact us for purchase. 22 000 USD deposit to reserve a build slot. We plan to have twelve build slots for autumn 2022, with production starting during the summer of 2022.
All twelve of those have already been sold. The first two purchasers were from San Francisco, so I like to imagine a couple of wealthy gay men who plan to make quite the entrance at some grand soiree. There are two other buyers who live elsewhere in California. We could almost have traffic.
They say it can fly safely on only three motors. It includes a "ballistic parachute." Net weight is only 190 pounds! Pilot weight is limited to 210 pounds. I imagine that's real weight with gear and everything. Max air time of 20 minutes. They don't provide an estimate of how long it takes to charge up the battery.
Filed under Automotive,Technology | permalink | October 26, 2021 at 07:47 PM | Comments (0)
Free Motorcycle Classes
The Riverside County Sheriff's office has received a grant that will allow it to offer free motorcycle riding classes. From the brief description, it sounds like totally beginner stuff that you should learn before riding on a public street...but if you are already riding a motorcycle and are smart enough to realize you're an unskilled rider then this would be for you too.
Riverside County Sheriff’s Department/Moreno Valley Sheriff Station Receives Funding for Motorcycle Safety Training Program.Moreno Valley, Calif. — The Riverside County, Moreno Valley Sheriff Station received grant funding from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to step up motorcycle safety awareness with free, hands-on rider trainings.
The $36,000.00 grant will pay for a series of free motorcycle safety classes that allows riders to practice braking, turning, steering, entering traffic and other skills that help avoid collisions and improve rider safety on the road.
This event is called “Ride To Live” and will assist the civilian motorcycle enthusiast on becoming a better and safer rider. You will learn the following:
- Proper manipulation of clutch and throttle in order to work the “friction zone”
- Proper use of head and eyes when turning a motorcycle
- Counter steering
- Negotiating curves
- Low speed precision maneuvering
- Instructors will be from the Moreno Valley Station Traffic Motor Team.
The motorcycle training program will run through September 2022.Classes will be available starting December 11, 2021. To register for a free training class, email [email protected]
Funding for this program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Filed under Automotive,Public Safety | permalink | October 26, 2021 at 06:41 PM | Comments (0)
The True Meaning of Halloween
Filed under Religion | permalink | October 26, 2021 at 05:25 PM | Comments (0)
October 25, 2021
"How did California go from COVID-19 epicenter to lowest statewide transmission rate?"
California has the lowest infection rate among the 50 states. 72.5% of Californians are fully vaccinated.
Filed under California,Health | permalink | October 25, 2021 at 08:35 PM | Comments (0)
Hertz to Acquire 100,000 Teslas
Hertz will acquire 100,000 Teslas between now and the end of 2022. Beginning next month people "will be able to rent a Tesla Model 3 at airports and other locations in major U.S. markets and some cities in Europe." Electric vehicles will make up 20% of the Hertz fleet globally.
All contingent on whether you want to rent from Hertz. Good luck with that.
Filed under Automotive | permalink | October 25, 2021 at 08:09 AM | Comments (0)
October 23, 2021
Health Dep't. Permit Revoked For DHS Spa Restaurant
The chronic problems at the Desert Hot Springs Spa restaurant seem to be, uh, very chronic.
Restaurant at Desert Hot Springs Spa, 10805 Palm Dr., Desert Hot SpringsClosed: Oct. 19
Grade: 83/B, failing
Reason: Rodent infestation, failing an inspection while on probation. The inspector found fresh and dry rodent droppings on cases of margarita mix and the floor in a storage room and below the bar sink. The restaurant has been on probation since July; it has now failed four inspections since 2019 and was shut down because of rodents twice last year. This time its permit was revoked. To reopen, it would have to correct all violations and purchase a new permit.
Filed under Coachella Valley,Desert Hot Springs,Health | permalink | October 23, 2021 at 09:05 AM | Comments (0)
October 21, 2021
MSWD Board Approves More than $43 Million For New Sewage Treatment Plant
On Monday, October 18, the Mission Springs water District Board of Directors approved its largest ever single expenditure, $43,035,300, for the construction of a new sewage treatment plant on Little Morongo Road south of Dillon. I would have expected MSWD to have a press release set and ready to go as soon as the board voted, but I've seen no mention of it in the Desert Sun or other local media. So here we go.
Most of the discussion by the board on this subject took place at the Thursday, October 14, study session. If you want to follow along in the video of the meeting, the discussion starts at about 19:48. And here's a link to the agenda packet, if you want that.
The lowest bid came from J.F. Shea Construction, Inc. at $40,986,000. Add to that a 5% contingency ($2,049,300) to get the total of $43,035,300. The engineer's estimate from 2020 had put the cost around $34 million. "Based on discussions with several of the Bidders, the costs for various commodities including cement, pozzolan admixtures, PVC pipe, steel and ductile iron pipe were as much as twice the cost of 2019, before the pandemic in the US and globally." "The District is currently slated to receive at least $16,000,000.00 in grants toward the project through the State Water Board that will help alleviate the construction cost increase, and fund the reminder through a low interest loan." Bids from other companies were as high as $50,801,000.
This first phase of construction will build a 1.5 million gallon/day (MGD) sequence batch reactor (SBR) wastewater treatment plant.
The existing Horton Wastewater Treatment facility is at capacity. Daily flows there are averaging above 2 MGD while the plant has a legal capacity of 2.2 MGD. Expansion of capacity is required in order to (A) continue with the program of replacing septic tanks with sewers, and (B) be able to take parts of the Horton facility offline for required regular maintenance.
General Manager Arden Wallum said that the district is in the best financial situation possible right now to begin this large project. The project officially goes back to 2006 when it was included in the district's Wastewater Master Plan. Preliminary designs began in 2017. The sequence batch reactor process is a lower cost alternative and can be readily upgraded to membrane bio-reactor (MBR) technology in the future. MBR produces a higher quality effluent. The board approved the preliminary design in 2018.
Initially, the plant will be fed with 0.2 MGD (i.e., 200,000 gallons/day) diverted from the Horton plant. In the future, 0.32 MGD will be diverted from Horton, extending Horton's operating capacity by ten years.
During the staff report by Steve Ledbetter, he mentioned an ultimate capacity at the new plant of 20 MGD. I don't know if that was a slip of the tongue or a real figure. I don't see the number anywhere in the written report.
The 1.5 MGD SBR facility could be converted to a 3.0 MGD MBR facility without having to remove or replace any equipment. At the 1.5 MGD level, the plant will have a life of 10 to 15 years. That's baseed on the assumption that all the septic tanks are replaced with sewer connections.
There is a Dos Palmas lift station that currently sends sewage to Horton. Those flows will be rerouted to the new plant. Horton could send sewage to the Dos Palmas lift station, where they would then flow to the new plant. Alternatively, the district could build a new interceptor line elsewhere to bring flows to the new plant. A new line running from Two Bunch Palms Trail down Little Morongo could extend the life of the Horton plant 15 to 20 years before it needed any expansion.
The final funding agreement with the State Water Resources Control board is expected in November or December. Already approved are an $8 million grant from the Small Community Wastewater Grant Program and another $8 million from the Groundwater Grant Program. Under review is an additional grant of up to $33.1 million under SB 129. Beyond that, funding is available from the State Revolving Loan Fund at an interest rate of only 0.9%. Assessment District 15 would also supply $4,250,000.
Mr. Ledbetter presented the following chart. With total expenses listed on the left and total funding listed on the right, one would think that it is intended that we compare these two bars, but when you add up the figures you get something quite different.
The bar on the left lists these construction costs:
| GQPP Area M-2 CM/Insp/Admin: | $1,251,547 |
| GQPP Area M-2 Construction: | $10,429,554 |
| Conveyance Line CM/Insp/Admin: | $937,200 |
| Conveyance Line Construction: | $7,810,000 |
| WVWRF Design/CM/Insp/Admin: | $8,253,400 |
| WVWRF Construction: | $42,945,000 |
| TOTAL | $71,626,701 |
The bar on the right lists funding sources:
| SRF: | $48,276,701 |
| AD-14: | $4,250,000 |
| GW Grant: | $8,000,000 |
| SCW Grant: | $8,000,000 |
| TOTAL: | $68,526,701 |
Then he showed an alternate funding bar that includes an IA Grant of $33,100,000. Those figures are as follows:
| SRF: | $15,176,701 |
| AD-14: | $4,250,000 |
| IA Grant: | $33,100,000 |
| GW Grant: | $8,000,000 |
| SCW Grant: | $8,000,000 |
| TOTAL: | $68,526,701 |
In both cases the total funding comes to $68,526,701, but the total expenses are $71,626,701; a shortfall of $3,100,000. I don't suppose this was intended as a demonstration that MSWD staff can't add or that they forgot the need to pay for $3,100,000. Maybe they never intended the two bars, presented next to each other on the same page, to be compared, although it is quite common to compare costs and funding this way.
Staff analysis in the last year shows the district has over $60 million in debt capacity, so borrowing the full amount of $42,945,000 would be doable.
The new plant would be operational within 18 months after J.F. Shea is given notice to proceed. The date construction will start will be controlled by the district. There are at least a couple months worth of work to be done before ground could be broken.
The actual vote to award the job to J.F. Shea took place at the Monday, October 18, meeting. Here's the YouTube video if you want to see that.
Director Grasha moved for approval. Seconded by Vice President Martin. Approved 5-0.
Filed under Coachella Valley,Desert Hot Springs | permalink | October 21, 2021 at 05:23 PM | Comments (0)
Halloween Horrors
Filed under Automotive | permalink | October 21, 2021 at 10:34 AM | Comments (0)
O.C. Anti-Masker Convicted Of Trespassing
A jury found Marianne Campbell Smith guilty of "misdemeanor trespassing and obstructing a business or its customers." She was attending an anti-mask rally in Costa Mesa in August 2020 when she entered Mother's Market. Store employees told her to put on a mask or leave. She refused. She was sentenced to a "$200 fine, 40 hours of community service and a year of informal probation."
Filed under Health,Politics | permalink | October 21, 2021 at 09:14 AM | Comments (0)
