How arrogant are California legislators in dealing with the deficit?

Back in late 2009 legislators were just beginning to get an inkling of the fact that voters were becoming informed in regard to the huge public pension debt and the influence special interests from labor unions to corporations were having on legislators seeking reelection. In response, legislative pay and benefits were cut by 18%, as were car allowances and per diem stipends for living expenses.

Additionally, the Senate required aides making annual salaries of $50,000 or more to take one unpaid day off per month – a program that was cancelled last July. ( The Assembly did not impose staff salary cuts or furlough days.)

I now hear some politicians saying the recession is over and the economy is on the rebound. I haven’t seen facts that support that belief, nor am I sure that voters out there seeking a job or trying to figure out how to pay this month’s household bills believe it.

That’s why I consider it a slap in the face that our legislators in Sacramento have just decided to approve higher pay for some aides. Yes, folks, Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (aka “Smart Growth” Steinberg), who committed to cutting 10% of the Senate’s operating budget this year (about $10 million), and Assembly Speaker John Perez, whose policy was “no raises,” have just approved higher pay for 136 Senate and 95 Assembly aides, using the justification that the increases reflect “job promotions or other extraordinary situations” and that overall personnel costs and spending have dropped.

Perhaps if another Field Poll were to be conducted, state legislators might find that their 80% disapproval rating last year (the lowest rating since the poll began checking it in 1983) will sink to another low. Can Governor Jerry Brown get the two-thirds approval vote from legislators he needs to put on the ballot the same tax and fee increases that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger unsuccessfully put before voters two years ago? He thinks so.

The week of January 23 – January 29, 2011 was National School Choice Week.  Although charter schools, permitted by the state since 1992, allow for some  freedom of choice for parents and pupils alike, as of 2009 serving approximately 250,000 state students, California regulations hamper students from choosing online learning alternatives or attending private or parochial schools with higher achievement scores and lower drop out rates.

(A new report by Pepperdine University says K-12 expenditures rose 22% between 2003-04 and 2008-09, up from $45.6 billion to $55.6 billion, but during the same period classroom spending declined from 59% to 57.8%. )

California is ignoring a movement by state leaders across the county to establish school choice voucher plans, or Education Savings Accounts (ESA), which would permit money the state sends to schools to be deposited directly into a family’s ESA, allowing parents to use to the money to send their child to the public or private school of their choice.

Don’t expect any promising changes, however, from either Governor Brown or California’s new Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson, the former Antioch city councilman, member of the County Board of Supervisors, the state Senate and Assembly. He’s a former Mt. Diablo Unified School District teacher. Teacher unions are opposed to burgeoning national education reforms, which advocate altering the way teachers are hired, evaluated and fired. Both Governor Brown and Supervisor Torlakson rely heavily on union support during election time.

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It’s been nearly 4 months since the elections have been completed and the AUSD (Antioch Unified School District) is working on the budget for the coming year, however the changes , cuts to personnel, student services and others have yet to be publicized.

I thought that the budget was part of the “Transparency of Government” everyone was touting during the campaign. Why shouldn’t parents, concerned taxpayers and even students be kept in the loop, when these hard decisions are being made? So why not publish the budget warts and all on the district website and in the local press every quarter, or isn’t the board looking for public input?

Jack Yeager

Last month I shared a bone of contention about increasing numbers of unleashed dogs roaming about. I was surprised by the number of national pet publications that picked up the column. I was even more surprised by the numbers of people who took the effort of digging up my contact information to call or e-mail me their own canine confessions. Seems the story hit a collective nerve.

Frankly, it reminds me of the time my car was stolen from my driveway. As a Good Samaritan I went around several blocks of the neighborhood warning neighbors to be on guard. I was amazed to discover just how many others had had their vehicles likewise stolen. Seems, too, dog attacks are more commonplace than I would have imagined. Sadly, some folks even told me they now hesitate walking their own neighborhoods.

Here’s some newly garnered tips sent me. A number of dog-owners claimed that their pets had been saved from possible demise by leather or nylon collars that impeded a deadly neck hold. One fellow suggested carrying a lighter, which, guaranteed, will send any creature, four legged or two legged, running. For the tender amongst you, there is the ultrasound dazer which works at 15 feet and leaves no permanent harm. Disclaimer, though; even the ads disclose that they don’t work with all dogs, including deaf, docile, infirm and highly trained ones.

Note, I previously mentioned the idea of carrying an expandable billy-club. I heard, though, from a police officer that they are legal in 49 other states but are not sold in California. I also would like to clarify that pepper spray is limited to three ounces of individual possession, which might be a limited amount if you got attacked by a pack.

Incidentally, one person related the story of a pit bull springing from a group of drifters hanging out behind the gas station adjacent to Starbucks on A Street. The dog had seized his pet’s neck and was close to a kill before the owner was able to unload his can of mace pepper gel. The attacker went scurrying. It was grabbed by the vagrants who hastily jumped into a truck and sped off. Interestingly, this fellow had used pepper gel twice on humans; once with a mugger and once when he interrupted a teen who was attacking an Oakland librarian.

Feeling squeamish? I assure you, the discomfort of analyzing protection strategies is tame compared to seeing your beloved pet, or your own fond body, torn to shreds. An ounce of prevention, or in the case of spray three, is worth a pound of cure.

Walter Ruehlig

Last week the Antioch Police Officers Association agreed to working under existing contract concessions until March lst, a win-win situation for sworn officers whose jobs were on the line and Antioch residents.

APOA, however, to date has not agreed to pay an employee share toward their 3% at age 50 retirement pension benefit, unlike other city employee groups whose concessions are helping keep our ship afloat.

The downturn in the economy has affected state, county and city coffers. California is especially hard hit, a direct result of punitive tax policies. Compared with the rest of the states, as of December 2010 we have the 2nd highest unemployment rate in the nation, the highest state sales tax in the nation , the highest corporate income tax west of the Mississippi except for Alaska, the 3rd worst state income tax, the 4th highest capital gains tax, the highest gasoline tax and the lowest bond ratings of any state.

APOA should note, however, that as of Monday the California Supreme Count ruled against Local 188 of the International Association of Firefighters who sued after Richmond laid off 18 firefighters during a fiscal crisis in 2003 arguing that the city didn’t bargain the need for the layoff. The ruling allows public entities to lay off workers for economic reasons but must bargain severance terms, order of layoff, effects on workload etc.

Let’s hope this doesn’t happen in Antioch. We have the highest regard for our sworn officers and deplore the fact that as of today’s date, 14 police officers in our country have lost their lives in the line of duty since January 1, 2011.

One of the best kept secrets in our city of Antioch is that we have a professional theater company in Rivertown!  The four year old Hapgood Theatre Company’s latest show, a musical revue entitled, “Side by Side by Sondheim” opened last Friday evening at the Nick Rodriguez Theater. The show runs Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00pm and Sunday’s at 2:00pm through February 6^th.  For a bit more than the cost of going to a movie we can enjoy live theater in our own town.  No need to go ‘over the hill’ for an evening of quality entertainment! 

Whether or not you are familiar with the name Stephen Sondheim you’re probably familiar with many of his songs, and definitely with his lyrics.  For example, Sondheim wrote all the lyrics for the musical “West Side Story” and “Gypsy.” 

The four person extremely talented cast includes Kelly Ground, Juliet Heller, Stewart Lyle and Erez Shek and the production was directed by Jeremy Messmer.  You may purchase tickets online at www.HapgoodTheatre.org, at the box office before a performance or by calling 925-219-8545.

Next up, from March 4^th through March 20^th is “The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged).” This is an uproarious fast-paced 90 minute romp through the Bard’s plays!  It has been said that if you like Shakespeare you’ll like this show, if you HATE Shakespeare you’ll LOVE this show!

Bonni Bergstrom

Hapgood Theatre Board member

Antioch’s third annual celebration of Martin Luther King Day, held this year at the Deer Valley High School auditorium, gave pause for stock-taking Antioch’s report card of tolerance and embraced diversity.  If you are swayed by TV and San Francisco print dailies, aggressive outsider advocacy groups, and a cluster of criminally-investigated citizens turned civil litigants, Antioch could appear dismally failing. It’s habitually smeared as a bastion of bigotry.

The proof, though, is in the pudding. We might start by asking, who do the good citizens of Antioch choose to lead them?  Our former Mayor, Mary Rocha, is Latino, as were council members Manny Soliz and Ralph Hernandez.  Reggie Moore, who recently lost a reelection bid, was defeated by a fellow African-American, top vote getter Wade Harper.  On the school board side of the ledger, Wade Harper moved on and African American Teri Lynn Shaw was defeated.  Tellingly, our two comprehensive high schools have Latino Louie Rocha and African American Clarence Isadore at the helm.  Our former A.U.S.D. Superintendent, Deborah Sims, is African American.  Two recent Antioch Citizens of the Year, Gary Gilbert and Iris Archuleta are African American. My wife, Cynthia., a Filipino-American, won 2/3 of the Antioch vote on her way to County Board Trusteeship. Seems, then,  the bigot designation simply doesn’t reconcile with Antioch’s  track record.

This isn’t a new idea. In fact, back in February 1993, former Police Chief Dave Lewis announced what he ironically called a Service Enhancement Program. The announcement informed residents that 1) the State of California was in a financial crisis “with no end in sight” resulting in a reduction of its financial obligations to counties and cities. 2) calls for service were continuing to increase at the rate of approximately 7% annually, while staffing had not increased over the past 3 years, resulting in too much volume for existing staffing levels. 

Chief Lewis went on to state that “Out of 16 cities our size in California, we have the fourth highest crime rate and a population that grows by 25,000 a year: Despite that, we haven’t been able to hire any additional officers for the past three years and don’t expect to be able to hire more for another two or three years.”   
 
His solution was to create a Community Oriented Policing Program, allowing officers to get back into the community and become a resource for handling problems more effectively. Additionally, the new program would reduce the need for officer response to calls that were no-lead or low priority in nature by documenting the call for service by creating a report via phone/computer, or by mail. 

One has to ask why Antioch appears to be suffering more than some neighboring cities. Fiscal mismanagement? While it’s true that the city is suffering from an overall economic downturn, the writing was on the wall a few years back and trimming the budget and negotiating contracts with all employee groups requiring they pay a share of retirement cost should have been initiated then.