I'd Love Comments and Ideas On The Following

This may be a terrible idea. I am sure many won't like it either.

I want to have folks consider a proposal for a new ordinance in our city. It is something not dissimilar to a litmus test, especially for Marymount College.

It might also be a type of litmus test for those who completely opposed to the idea of having on campus housing approved and built on the Marymount College campus.

You know I am not a lawyer so my craftsmanship of a proposed ordinance is awkward at best and I would like help from lawyers in suggesting other ways to write the following.

If the concept is not clear enough for you, please write to me and I will try to explain my position better.

Having on campus housing for students attending Marymount College would certainly cause distraction and problems for residents living close to the campus and others closer to transit routed. Many RPV residents would be negatively impacted by having students living on Marymount's Palos Verdes Drive East campus. those who don't feel this is true are absolutely wrong. But perhaps, just perhaps, there may be some way to find more mitigation regarding the issues.

A proposed ordinance in the city of Rancho Palos Verdes.

Any and all new construction of units designed to house individuals, either by separate interests, organized businesses, institutions and other organizations, built with the expressed intent in supplying housing on a temporary basis to persons for not fewer than 365 consecutive days, will be considered to fall under the guidelines, authorities, and conditional use permits established for temporary occupancy.

As such, the temporary occupancy units will be subject to a 10% tax or fee, based on the daily or monthly rated charged for occupancy.

This ordinance will apply to every units designed and built to house persons on an overnight basis, regardless of whether kitchen appliances and other dining facilities are provided in the individual dwelling units.

If Marymount College and any other business, group, organization or institution requests approval of temporary housing for individuals for not fewer than 365 days, consecutively, that approval would be granted through a conditional use permit requiring placement of appropriate fees or taxes within 30 days of occupancy. Those funds would be placed into escrow accounts for the purposes of establishing revenue towards the city of Rancho Palos Verdes' general funds.

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My idea here is to see whether Dr. Brophy and others are willing to pay TOT fees for the units considered on campus housing at Marymount College. It is also being considered by me because of the inconvenience placed on RPV residents by an institution having the vast majority of individuals living on the campus but not from the local area.

My proposed ordinance would not discriminate towards or against any entity and would include other entities besides Marymount College.

I would also have the ordinance be suit-proof in terms of any entity falling under its requirements being able to use any specialized status to keep that entity from paying the taxes or fees.

Our city and its residents must be sure that our city's revenue is helped because of the inconveniences placed on our residents, infrastructure and governmental entities by businesses, institutions, individuals or groups offering temporary housing to individuals who will most likely not become permanent residents of our city, most likely.

If an ordinance like this passes and Marymount builds dorms on its campus, and I still live where I live, I will have more Marymount traffic pass my driveway than any house in the area of Ganado and almost every single house in the Mediterranea neighborhood.

I will have more noise from In and Out Burger where many dorm dwellers will visit and I will be impacted much more than most who live closer to the campus because of my living so close to Western Avenue.

But perhaps our city could gain more revenue for its general fund by having TOT fees collected by entities providing housing to people on a fewer than 365 consecutive days basis.

I still don't want dorms built on Marymount's campus but I feel that I should be honest enough to offer in writing what I have been pondering lately.

Yes, Dr. Brophy has added a number of conditions to his original claim the college will pay for the Measure P election. I think that is best described as scummy and I will write about that when I have even more information than I have now.

Yes, I do like and support most of Dr. Brophy's ideas about having upper division classes and housing conducted in San Pedro because I think it benefits everyone.

Yes, I still strongly support The Marymount College Facilities Expansion Project.

Yes, I still strongly oppose The Marymount Plan.

Yes, I support the plans for additional air conditioning capacity inside a building or buildings on Marymount's campus.

And finally yes, I think this will remain ugly in terms of what Marymount supporters want versus what is best for the majority of residents of our city who are so very important.

Rolling Hills Estates Man in Runoff for House Seat in Another District

After come questions and careful checking, I have learned that Mr. Craig Huey, a resident of the city of Rolling Hills Estates, you know the city within Dana Rohrabacher's 54Th C.D. is in the runoff with Councilwoman Janice Hahn for the 36Th. Congressional District.

It was confirmed to me that a California candidate for a seat in the House of Representatives does not need to live within the Congressional District they are seeking to represent.

It does appear almost certain that where Mr. Huey currently lives will become part of the 36Th C.D. but that will occur after this July's runoff.

Los Angeles Councilwoman Janice Hahn has lived within the boundaries of the 36Th Congressional District, for years and she is required to live within the Los Angeles Council District she represents.

Those of us who currently live in the same zip code as Mr. Huey lives, do not have the legal athority to vote for either Mr. Huey or Ms. Hahn in July.

I wonder if Mr. Huey's advertising business offers ads for carpet bags.

The Clearwater Program is Back

This will be a post that will be published on several of my blogs because I feel it is important enough to share with everyone.

The Los Angeles County Sanitation District Number 5 is continuing necessary and recommended processes to create a third Joint Outfall System (JOS) from its Carson, CA treatment plant to the Pacific Ocean.

Two Joint Outfall Systems (JOS), one built in 1938 and the other one built in 1958 currently provide outfall capacity between the treatment plant and outflow facilities near the Palos Verdes Shelf, offshore from Royal Palms, in San Pedro, Ca.

The capacity of the two systems is nearing full capacity and they will not be able to handle future capacity.

I have written what I feel is a fair amount about the Clearwater Program in past posts, but new information, information I need to correct, and new opinions can now be shared.

www.ClearwaterProgram.org has been bookmarked on my computers for several years and it is the first and best source of information I urge everyone to go to.

Last Monday I met with Mr. Glenn Acosta, P.E. and Ms. Leslie Winner, both representing the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County.

A new series of outreach meetings with individuals and groups is currently underway and I hope these two fine representatives meet with everyone who has any interest in the Clearwater Program and who are able to help with opinions and other observations concerning the new proposals for this very needed program.

Mr. Acosta's Email address is: gacosta@lacsd.org

With a whole new set of proposals and a new brochure available to offer greater insight into the Clearwater Program, concerned residents and others now can view new facts and opportunities that are different than what I wrote about previously.

What is not offered in the new proposals is four 'Alignment' prospects instead of over 16 first illustrated in previous information and the 50 originally offered by the Sanitation Districts.

Living doors away from the surface of Western Avenue and its subsurface containing the two original Outfall Systems, I may have a somewhat different perspective about the Program and I certainly have opinions, lots of them.

One of the first things I must offer is some corrections to some of my earlier posts.

According to the new information, the Outfall System Shafts would be approximately 30 feet in diameter and not the 'up to 200 feet' I originally wrote about. I know I heard that figure somewhere in earlier talks, but 30 feet is quite different that 'up to 200 feet', isn't it.

When I wrote that the depths of a shaft could be up to '500 feet' deep, I only got that incorrect by about 100 feet. According to the newest information, a shaft could be up to 400 feet in depth, the depths of any shaft could be much less than that.

I am also very relieved to note that there are only four remaining shaft site prospects with the new information.

As originally conjectured, there will be one shaft sunk at the Carson treatment plant's property. This will allow for one tunneling machine being places and would be one access point for the removal of dirt and debris while the tunneling is being done and the casements are being placed.

Originally, the public was informed about 16 sites between Carson and the Pacific Ocean where a second shaft might be considered.

Thankfully, very thankfully, that number has dropped to just four.

Of course and naturally, the old LAXT site is part of 'Alignment 1' proposal for a shaft that could include worker access and debris removal, all the way up to the placement of a second tunneling machine.

'Alignment 1', as currently proposed, would be the longest and costliest (on paper now) of the four alignments now under preview and review. Using this alignment would provide the Diffuser site somewhat close to the San Pedro Shelf, which is not as deep as the depth of the Palos Verdes Shelf provides.

'Alignment 2' is quite new and it probably includes a shaft at LAXT's old site on Terminal Island, it also adds another shaft at the former Southwest Marine site on Terminal Island. This alignment would be the second longest and it would provide the outfall from the plant going close to the Palos Verdes Shelf.

'Alignment 3' is considered by me right now as a 'non starter' because even though it provides an outfall end close to where 'Alignment 2' would have for its outfall, it requires a shaft be placed at the parking lot below the Korean Bell, on the Angel's Gate site. I will have more about that in a future post.

'Alignment 4' is the shortest and illustrated as being the 'least costly'. It would have the tunnel travel under San Pedro, as 'Alignment 2' also includes, but it's outfall would be near where the two existing outfalls are, near the Palos Verdes Shelf.

This alignment requires an Outfall Shaft being sunk at Royal Palms, down near the water.

I will have more about that in a future post.

I fully support the Sanitation Districts' Clearwater Program as long as the old LAXT site is utilized, no matter that is would be the most or second most expensive alignments to build.

What is most important right now, I feel, is community members for every community possible and reasonable, coming forward to offer facts, comments and opinions about this program that is truly needed for every one's future.

Please learn all you can about the Clearwater Program so you will have the best knowledge possible when dealing with a process that has already taken years and will probably take another 8-10 years to build out.

With all the opportunities, there are genuine concerns about the environment, both ecologically and when dealing with persons' environments.

The Clearwater Program: What I Like and What I Don't Like

So, the Clearwater Program is back and going forward. I think it is better than good for all of us, but there are some significant issues I have that I'd like to address.

In my almost one hour meeting with Mr. Acosta and Ms. Winner I told them that I was very supportive of the program as long as 'Alignment 1' and possibly 'Alignment 2' becomes the recommended alignments, but that they really shouldn't bother with Alignments 3 and 4.

Yes, it is written now that 'Alignment 4', with its shaft being sunk at Royal Palms is the shortest and 'least costly' in the $500 Million Dollar or possibly less range.

Yes, there is also 'Alignment 3' with its second 'least costly' aspect and its equal distance of 9 miles as compared to 'Alignment 2'. But it requires a shaft sunk at Angel's Gate. That would be at the newer parking lot, which is used by so many visitors and local residents attending gatherings at Point Fermin Park.

Yes, 'Alignment 1' is currently written up as the most expensive and longest alignment proposed at 14 miles long and $1.4 Billion Dollars.

And yes, of the four alignments now under consideration, 'Alignment 4' might have the 'least impact' on the environment, but everyone needs to take some issues under more careful consideration, such as:

Having the second shaft at LAXT means that should a second tunneling machine be placed, debris excavated would be able to be transported by rail and truck travel and there would be the least impact on residents, residences, traffic, and access.

I offered to Mr. Acosta and Ms. Winner that there is absolutely no way I would support the placement of shafts at Angels' Gate or Royal Palms and they really need to understand how there are more environments to consider other than what happens to the ground, sea, air, animal life and plant life.

The second shaft, no matter if it was sunk at Royal Palms or Angel's Gate would require up to or more than nine months of time for 'between 10 to 40' hauling trips, per day, to occur while debris is being trucked away.

What about the environment of San Pedrans who, when they flush, shower, bathe, or drain their sinks, never use the facilities that would be furnished because of all the digging done at Royal Palms or Angel's Gate?

There are lots of good San Pedrans who have some valid feelings that those of us who 'live on The Hill' send our 'trash' to San Pedro, rather than dealing with it ourselves.

Since we who benefit from Sanitation District 5 may want to call for the placement of a shaft at Royal Palms or Angel's Gate, I think we need to understand better how those who would have to deal with the all the requirements placed on the good folks in San Pedro as far as traffic inconvenience, added noise, and other types of impacts might want to rethink that is may not be the least costly to have shafts at Royal Palms or Angel's Gate.

I would imagine that the 25,000 household Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council may wish to be one of the first to head to court to stop any incursion into their neighborhoods by the Sanitation Districts.

I also think that the city of Los Angeles might wish to impose restrictions and/or obligations on our Districts should the Districts ultimately receive approval for 'Alignment 3 or 4'.

I remember when it was said that 'over 99%' of those asked or offering opinion about the placement of any second shaft clearly stated that the LAXT site was preferred over all others.

I do think we need a new Outfall System and I support the concept and many of the options. I do not however, feel any of this needs to be placed on the backs or in other ways interfere with anyone living in San Pedro or commuting around using the major access routes around that community.

It is still understood that there are those who support an outer harbor cruise ship terminal, even with the added transit troubles between any freeway access and outer harbor cruise ship terminal.

It should be considered that should that terminal be built and become operational about the same time either the Angel's Gate or Royal Palms shaft also find approval and construction begins, San Pedrans and others could see the following:

10-40 double dirt haulers per day, traveling along at least one major route though San Pedro and then when the biggest cruise ships call on San Pedro, all that trafficking of passengers and materials associated with huge cruise ship journeys also needing crosstown transport, together require great problems with all those wishing to travel around or through San Pedro while having nothing to do with ships or shafts.

Sometimes the 'least costly' is not really the 'least costly' when compared with all factors.

I do understand that the Environmental studies require the examination of more than two 'Alternatives' and that 'Alignments 3 and 4 must be studied. But that does not mean either of them should be taken very seriously, especially when so many people have already told representatives that any second or third shaft needs to be sunk on Terminal Island.

There are many good, true, real, and necessary reasons to support the construction of a new Joint Outfall System. But none of those reasons should overcome what could happen to San Pedro and San Pedrans and others in that area, who would be impacted by a process they never fully utilize and do not pay for.

Two MUST SEE Productions!

"Beauty and the Beast" will have its second a final 3-performance run at Miraleste Intermediate School.

The remaining performances are Friday, May 20, 2011 at 7:00 PM and there are two performances on Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM.

Right up there with the best of the best from just about any other school anywhere, the show is filled with eager talent, brilliant staging, and you have the chance to see Miss Hanna Hilden before you have to pay for Broadway seating to watch her, in the not too distant future.

Hanna plays "Bell" of course and she could close the show in Saturday and star again as "Bell" on the professional stage and receive standing ovations, the following day.

Yes, she is that good.

But there is so much more. "Gaston" played by Troy LuVisi is a hoot the audience just could not get enough of. Ian Axberg as the "Beast/Prince" is balanced and he seems pretty comfortable in his role.

Ryan Axberg's "Lumiere" is very entertaining and he performs so very well with Heather Johnston as "Mrs. Potts", "Babette" played by Emily Van Volkom, "Cogsworth", played by Alex Spurlock, the operatic Caroline Knapp as "Madam De La Grand Bouche" (the dresser), and Mackensie Guardado's sprite "Chip". This group of 'household items' longing to be human again are much more talented and entertaining than most middle school actors and actresses.

Because so many of the parents, grandparents and other adult family members of the students are in the entertainment industry, it means the cast and crew receive a professionally built set and group of props that are far and away much better than just about every other middle school production anywhere.

The orchestra was led by an award winning conductor and was they provided outstanding music for the cast to sing along with.

'The Hill' has so many schools that offer the very best in student productions and we are all fortunate to have so many options for our entertainment choices.

Now for a plug on the show I am building.

Chadwick School continually offers well over and above the call, in terms of plays, musicals, dance performances and every other type of live performances and showings and it is FREE for audiences to attend.

High school students at Chadwick were so eager to produce "Chicago" that there had to be two casts created and that production won't be forgotten any time soon.

This semester ends with the middle school students performing in a delightful show that again is FREE and will be a welcome musical theatre productions for children of all ages!

"Willy Wonka Jr.", a middle school version of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" will be performed on two upcoming dates.

Because of Conditional Use Permit issues, the school cannot advertise is productions pretty much outside the grounds of the private school.

Two performances of the production will be on Friday June 3 and Saturday June 4 and they are FREE to attend!

The performances begin at 7:30 PM

You can hop to: http://www.chadwickschool.org/ for more information.

This show is the Spring production for middle school students.

Oh, and if you haven't learned yet, productions at Chadwick are FREE!

Am I objective about this production? Since my backyard is still full of large props for the show, I must admit I am not all that objective.

The set and props will be active and they will allow the cast to feel like they are really inside a candy factory.

Come on, where else on 'The Hill' are you going to get the chance to see and hear Umpa Lumpas on the first Friday and Saturday in June?

What? What! It Just Wasn't There!

Thursdays brings The Palos Verdes Peninsula News, wrapped inside The Daily Breeze to our driveway.

So, I opened The News up and didn't see what I expected to see. So, I looked again. I checked each page of the first section a third time.

Either I am going blind or more senile, or it just wasn't there. Not in a half page form. Not taking up a full page. Not on the back page of the newspaper. Not even taking up two pages.

Maybe enough just got to be enough.

Sure, there was a letter to the editor about it, but that is normal and free.

Perhaps they have written the same things over and over again or illustrated the previous advertisements repeatedly.

I know I didn't feel I was missing an old 'friend' because I didn't find what I expected to find.

Could they be taking time off to create some new arguments and comments that might sway folks who remain completely opposed?

Did someone in city government get to them and suggest they lay low for a while?

Many of us are already at the point where we know all of their arguments and we know the same slew of material offered by the opposition.

Maybe they are finally going to wait until Sacramento weighs in before they provide lots of money to our local newspaper to again run ads for their project.

I'll wait until next Thursday morning to see if they could stay from publishing on a local newspaper story.

I Give Up With Patch

I tried a couple of times to submit blog posts on the new blog area of RPV Patch.

One of the reasons I don't have advertising on my blogs is because I get to write what I wish to write without too much resistance from anyone. My postings reflect offer information, discussion points, my comments and I have encouraged others to write comments which I will publish on one of my blogs, no matter what.

I don't seem to be able to follow all of the rules created and enforced by Meredith of Rancho Palos Verdes Patch, so I think I will pass on offering any more posts with that media.

When I first became interested in working with RPV Patch on its blogging section, I guess I thought it would be used by Rancho Palos Verdes bloggers for Rancho Palos Verdes residents, primarily. After all, it is called Rancho Palos Verdes Patch.

I may be wrong, but one of the first bloggers on Patch lives in Redondo Beach. Google 'Redondo Beach Patch' and it comes up as an advertised item.

Actually, I found the Redondo Beach resident who wrote a blog on Rancho Palos Verdes Patch to be less than funny and not in any way having political thoughts compared to mine. It is probably common for many in R.P.V. to not have much in common with me politically so viewing the Redondo Beach resident's submission was only quizzical to me because of the person's Redondo Beach residence.

I haven't found any other blogger who has provided as much information, comment, commenting access, opinion and other resource opportunities for Rancho Palos Verdes residents than I have. I really hope there are other Rancho Palos Verdes resident bloggers out there. Perhaps when I read Patch I will see posts from those Meredith approved blog postings for.

My latest blogging attempt was denied because, according to an Email I opened from Meredith;

"We can't publish blogs that are purely self-promotional. So unfortunately, a blog about your blogs fits this criteria."

So, while I have promoted blogs and sites by others for years on my blogs, I guess Meredith thinks the information, discussion, resources and other things offered to everyone, for free on my blogs, is 'self-promotional'.

I was considering that if I were to inform readers of Rancho Palos Verdes Patch the opportunities to find my blogs, then a wider range of thought, debate and consideration by a larger number of readers to both my East RPV blog and Patch would be good for both types of media. My Ponte Vista blog, the only other blog I placed the URL on my blog for Patch, deals with Ponte Vista at San Pedro.

There are certainly far fewer readers of my blogs than there are readers of just about any part of the 'Patch' network. That is to be expected. So for now, I will post what I wish to post on my blogs and Meredith will continue to edit content on her site.

It would be nice to read more blogs on Rancho Palos Verdes Patch from writers living in Rancho Palos Verdes and dealing with Rancho Palos Verdes items and issues.

"Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory"

"Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" will be performed on three upcoming dates at Chadwick School.

Because of Conditional Use Permit issues, the school cannot advertise is productions pretty much outside the grounds of the private school.

But I can let you know that the show will be performed on Friday June 3, Saturday June 4 and Sunday June 5 inside the wonderful theatre on the campus of Chadwick School.

If I heard correctly, the Friday and Saturday performances are at 7:30 and the Sunday show is at 2:30 but I could be wrong on the times.

You can hop to: http://www.chadwickschool.org/ for more information.

This show is the Spring production for middle school students.

Oh, and if you haven't learned yet, productions at Chadwick are FREE!

Bits and Pieces 32

I don't remember if I ever missed voting in an election. In November, 1976 I was still in Basic Training at Lackland A.F.B. and I don't remember if I voted by absentee ballot, or if I even had that opportunity.

I remember voting for one ballot measure, I think a runoff for L.A. County Sheriff and today I got an absentee ballot that just had one item on it.

I will vote for Scott Svonkin. I know where Lydia comes from politically and I am so far opposed to some of the things she approves of, there is no way I would vote for her.

The Clearwater Program for District Five of the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts is ramping up more community outreach efforts and plans and documents long in planning for release, should be out, later this year.

I have written quite a bit about the program to construct a new Joint Outfall System that will provide more modern facilities than the two outfall systems under Western Avenue since at least 1957.

I will write more in a future post on several of my blogs.

What is new and very important is the fact that the District's plans have eliminated most of the proposed sites for the giant shaft that must be dug to place the tunneling equipment and materials and remove the diggings from the tunnel.

There are four proposed shaft sites, but there truly is only one option that everyone must fight to see it built.

The shaft could be as deep as 500 feet from the surface and as wide as 200 feet in diameter.

Two of the four proposed sites must be deemed 'non starters' because they are located at Royal Palm and Angel's Gate Park. Can you imagine 8 years worth of truck traffic going through San Pedro or eastern R.P.V., possibly along Western Avenue?

The third proposed site is the old Southwest Marine site along the main channel, just across from Port's O Call.

This might not be that bad, but putting a really deep shaft that close to the main channel seems a bit odd to me.

The one proposed site that over 99% of those asked where they would like to see the shaft dug is a the old LAXT coke distribution site, on Terminal Island.

This proposed site is not around any residences, except the prison and Coast Guard Station. The Station is pretty close to Southwest Marine's old site.

The proposed site is very easily accessible to a number of freeways AND there is a rail line on the site so that trains can be used to move the debris taken from the big hole in the ground.

There is also some talk about more joint use between our District and the sewage treatment plant that serves south L.A./San Pedro, which is located on Terminal Island.

More information coming.

After looking at the information about the new air conditioning units planned for a building at Marymount College, I feel pretty comfortable with the plans and I hope students, teachers and others will feel more comfortable once the new units are in place.

The units proposed would sit atop a building that would have probably been removed under the guidelines of The Marymount Plan, but the building would still exist under The Marymount College Facilities Expansion Project, which I fully support.

The good folks at the Montessori school at the Ladera Linda community facility have been given another extension by our Council, with regards to staying at the old site, or losing their lease, there.

The facility is an old school that is continuing to fall apart. It's infrastructure need even more repair and some in our city want it torn down or have others pay for new construction.

If the preschool must vacate, I'd like to see the old buildings torn down with new fields, courts, and several diamonds built on the site. I could easily see good restroom facilities being constructed along with a small office structure.

I don't think those representing the Montessori school have the money to make all the necessary repairs and since other groups use the facilities from time to time, I think they should help pay. I don't thing the school's reps should shoulder all the costs because they don't use the facility 'all the time'.

A house is for sale on our block. During one of the open houses a family, described by some as gypsies used kids as part of a distraction while other went through drawers and things and stole some high priced personal belongings, jewelery, and cash.

A Sheriff's report was taken and other information gathered and we hope the items and cash are recovered.

I am writing this to inform those considering having open houses that it might be a good idea to hide small items and cash from anyone who might steal things.

I still haven't received any new information about the date the Ponte Vista at San Pedro Environmental Impact Report will be released. It is an important document to learn about if you live or know someone who lives on the eastern side of Rancho Palos Verdes, northwest San Pedro and may also be of interest to others living elsewhere on The Hill.