|
NO RBDA MEETING IN JULY HAVE A GREAT SUMMER, SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER. |
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Phone Line Upgrades Downgrade Service The RBDA Board was concerned to hear the number of reports from residents about phone outages this past winter. Attendees at the June RBDA General Meeting heard from Jason House, a 10-year veteran of AT&T who is now Area Manager of Network Services for AT&T (formerly SBC), responsible for the past two years for an area that stretches from Davenport down to King City and from Hollister to Big Sur. He tried to answer our community’s questions and concerns about recent phone outages, but his answers just raised more concerns. Over the last couple of years, AT&T has ‘upgraded’ their phone service in Bonny Doon to fiber optics, with the intended benefit of providing DSL and future digital services such as voice-over-IP. AT&T has been rolling out this fiber optic system statewide for the past 10 years. Prior to the fiber optic system, power to the entire phone system was generated from a central source, which meant a power outage in Bonny Doon did not affect phone service. The new infrastructure, however, is dependent on powered relay stations or "pair gain" units that each draw power from local power lines. If local power goes out, a backup battery maintains phone service for up to eight hours. Then the phones go dead. Anyone who has lived through even a few weeks of winter in Bonny Doon knows that eight hours of battery backup is a drop in the bucket. We heard reports of several Bonny Doon residents losing their phone service for multiple days this winter, one couple for 10 days. It goes without saying that the loss of reliable phone service for a remote area like Bonny Doon, which has little cell phone reception, is a serious loss of connection to outside emergency services, especially during hazardous storm conditions. House assured us that AT&T was committed to our community and understood that phone service equaled safety of life and property. He said they had a plan. When power goes out locally and battery backup comes on, an alarm goes off at headquarters (which turns out to be the Loop Surveillance Center in Illinois) and triggers a service response. AT&T has staff on call locally 24/7, 365 days a year, to respond to reported phone outages. The plan is to send construction trucks equipped with generators to maintain power at any power gain unit that loses its eight-hour battery backup. In Bonny Doon, there are over 30 of these power gain units. House assured us that he had sufficient staff to cover this, and yes, they willing to sit in their trucks running generators for 72-plus hours if needed. It seems an unlikely scenario, but further inquiries with AT&T after the meeting revealed that in the territory House oversees, Bonny Doon and parts of Big Sur are unique in their vulnerability to power outages‹good news only in that we don’t have as much competition for their attention as originally feared. Although House stated that he was personally aware of every phone outage in our area this winter, he looked genuinely surprised to hear the number of complaints about multi-day outages, in particular the 10-day outage reported by one couple attending the meeting. When people complained about time on hold and difficulties using AT&T’s automated phone service to report and check on repair status, House offered his phone number as a direct contact for future phone outage problems (899-3158 or 521-2093). The RBDA Board will republish that number in the November Highlander as well as continue to pursue this issue with House, AT&T, and the PUC as necessary. As a first step, we need your input to determine the extent of the problem. Did you experience a phone outage this winter due to a power outage (e.g., not due to phone lines down)? We’d love to hear from you. How long did the phone outage last? What was AT&T’s response time? Did they provide any generator backup for you? Send us your story by e-mail (see www.bonnydoon.got.net for latest e-mail address) or call Highlander editor Jane Cavanaugh at 469-3751. Slipsliding Away The RBDA Board made a formal request that the Board of Supervisors allocate necessary funds to repair roads in Bonny Doon, which suffered significant storm damage earlier this year. The County is eligible for $1 to $2 million dollars or more in state and federal disaster funds, according to John Presleigh, County Dept. of Public Works assistant director. Empire Grade and Smith Grade, both main roads for Bonny Doon, need serious attention, but only the Empire Grade slippage in Cave Gulch is currently likely to be repaired this year. Smith Grade has two sections that are slipping out towards Majors Creek, which is a water supply stream for the City of Santa Cruz. Any massive bank and road failure will adversely impact the City’s water supply in this watershed. If not repaired prior to next winter, enough damage could occur to close Smith Grade a half-mile in from the Empire Grade end. Presleigh says that the County had slides on almost 70 roads this winter, and has to give priority to those where road closure would entrap residents. The County suffered $15 million in storm damage, but has less than $2 million in its own budget for repairs. FEMA will pay for up to 75% of repair costs, the County up to 15%, and the State will probably pay for the balance, he says. The Cave Gulch problem on Empire Grade has been ongoing for years, if not decades, and a permanent fix will be expensive. The Federal Highway Administration may pay for these repairs, because Empire Grade is considered a major road. One irony is that if the Highway Administration decides this is a chronic slide area and the slippage isn’t just from storm damage, it will be ineligible for their funding, and the money will have to be found elsewhere. Another irony is that while FEMA will fund some of the other storm-damaged road repairs, it will only pay to restore a road, not for a fix which could prevent it from reoccurring. Eco Reserve Fire Danger Brushed Off Working diligently in the hot late spring sun, the California Dept. of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) and chainsaw crews from the adult correctional facility on Empire Grade cleared brush and trees from the Bonny Doon Ecological Reserve in order to create a fuel break and reduce the danger of a wildland fire. Val Haley, the Bonny Doon botanist who has lead Eco Reserve volunteers to maintain and nurture the Reserve since its creation in 1989, spent many hours working ahead of the crews to mark the endangered and unique species that crews should leave in place. The crews worked, as always, under the watchful eyes of a California Dept. of Corrections officer. Due to the proximity of the work area to homes, CDC also requested that local residents be present to add extra security. Many thanks go out to the Bonny Doon volunteers who generously donated their time over the weeks the crews worked. We heard enthusiastic reports from some of these volunteers about how hard and fast the crews worked, and how much care and attention many of them put into the task. As the dense brush was cleared, crews took it upon themselves to flag and work around the endangered species that hadn’t been visible for Val to tag initially. The community owes a huge thanks to Val and Angela Peterson of CDF, who played a big part in creating and shepherding the Vegetation Management Plan through the bureaucratic maze to obtain an $80,000 grant from the federal government to help pay for the work. We have been very lucky in Bonny Doon that we haven’t had a significant wildland fire in nearly 60 years, but the danger is still very high. Some neighborhoods have organized to reduce the danger by creating breaks and removing downed wood, but many other neighborhoods have not. If you live in one of those, it would benefit all of us, you and your neighbors in particular, if you make the time and effort to do so. Lockheed Says No to Water Testing Lockheed Martin has declined a request by CCALM (Community Concerned About Lockheed Martin) to drill test wells to monitor ground water quality at their Bonny Doon facility at the end of Empire Grade. Lockheed continues to assert that there is nothing for local residents to worry about, although they have no records of disposal practices at the facility prior to 1984, leaving 26 years of missing information on waste disposal operations in effect before regulated mandatory environmental accountability. In a recent letter to CCALM, Charles Manor, the Strategic Communications Director for Lockheed Martin stated, "As to your question related to test wells and waste disposal operations at [Bonny Doon], we feel confident that our historical knowledge of operations conducted at the facility, along with the types and amounts of materials that would have been needed to carry out those operations, obviate the need for additional test wells. However, in the highly improbable event that any of our neighbors have experienced any quality problems with their well water and you have firsthand knowledge of such an occurrence, would you please urge them to contact us directly so that we might assist them." Among the chemicals that may have leached into the soil at the Bonny Doon site during the years of testing rocket engines is perchlorate, a rocket fuel oxidizer that interferes with normal thyroid functioning, particularly in fetuses and young children. In 2000, while Lockheed Martin successfully lobbied the federal Environmental Protection Agency to set high levels for acceptable perchlorate contamination, a group of San Bernardino County citizens suffering thyroid cancer and other disorders sued Lockheed Martin, asserting that perchlorate came into area water supplies from a now-closed plant. Lockheed Martin’s refusal, or inability, to explicitly identify which chemicals might have been dumped in Bonny Doon, or to assume the responsibility for proactive test wells, leaves residents in the unfortunate position of having to wait for something bad to show up, or bear the burden of research and testing, which includes wading through the County Environmental Health Dept. 1,800-page Hazardous Materials Management Plan of possible chemicals Lockheed might have used, guessing what to test for, and paying for the tests themselves. After over three years of Lockheed Martin officials deftly answering while not really answering CCALM’s questions, it seems the only other hope is for a former employee to come forward and substantiate the long-standing rumors of toxic dumping at the site. RBDA Board Actions JUNE 7, 2006 1) Send letter to USPS Supervisor Kim Fernandez and Congresswoman Anna Eshoo re mail carrier qualifications 2) Send letter of congratulations to Neal Coonerty, 3rd District Supervisor-elect 3) Cancel the July General Meeting Sign Up for Better Emergency Protection As you read this, residents throughout Bonny Doon are knocking on doors and holding meetings to gather signatures on petitions to create a Bonny Doon Fire District (BDFD). There are also petitions available for signing on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the McDermott Fire Station at the corner of Empire Grade at Felton Empire Grade/Ice Cream Grade. If no one has yet reached you to ask for your signature, you may go to the fire station to sign. Creation of the new district is aimed at reducing emergency response times, gaining local control over how our taxes for emergency and fire protection services are spent, and improving training, recruitment and retention of our volunteer firefighters. Currently, the Bonny Doon Fire Team works under the direction of the Santa Cruz County Fire Dept., which contracts with the California Dept. of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) for services. Even if the new district is created, CDF would continue to be responsible for fighting wildland fires. If 25% or more of the Bonny Doon voters sign the district formation petitions, they will be submitted to LAFCO, the Local Area Formation Commission, which will study the proposed district, hold a public hearing, and make a recommendation to the County Board of Supervisors, which must approve it. LAFCO can either recommend approving the district as submitted, reject it, or suggest changes, such as a revision of the proposed district boundaries. If the Supervisors approve the new district, funding for it must be approved by Bonny Doon property taxpayers. Currently, approximately 6.75% of our property taxes go for emergency and fire protection services, and this won’t change. In addition, we also pay a special fire protection district tax, CSA 48, which now averages about $111 annually per property. If approved by a 2/3rds vote, CSA 48 will be replaced by a new district and somewhat higher tax levy,(the exact amount will be on the ballot), according to Tom Scully, Bonny Doon Fire Team board chairman. This will go to hire paid firefighters and improve services, begin building a contingency fund for such things as new equipment, and pay a stipend to the volunteers, who currently receive nothing but the community’s gratitude for their invaluable and excellent service. Supreme Court Chops Down Big Creek Suit Just as we were going to press, the California Supreme Court decided against Big Creek Lumber Co. in its longstanding lawsuit to reverse a County ordinance that restricts logging and related helicopter operations‹to land zoned for Timber Production. Big Creek’s suit has been dragging through the courts in the seven years since the County passed the ordinance. The decision affirms counties’ rights to decide where logging can take place, even though the State has control over how it may be done. The decision will have implications for logging operations throughout California. New Watershed Concerns and Next Tour Laguna & Majors Creeks have seen a major increase in dirt bike and mountain bike activities the past few months. Unauthorized recreational use, accessing trails leading into the undeveloped areas of Gray Whale/Wilder State Park from Smith Grade, has begun to affect topsoil and is eroding slopes leading into the watersheds. The areas being most affected by the increased off-road traffic are largely in the previously untouched areas north of Smith Grade. Permanent trails are quickly being established which cross upper watershed streams. State Parks doesn’t have the facilities or personnel to monitor recreational use of the area. Development funding that would create a more sustainable trail system is not in the budget. Concerned community members will need to think about ways to work in this area with State Parks. The summer cycle of dry weather conditions and slowly diminishing stream flows offer the community a chance to get out and learn how local creeks change with the season and continue their cycle of fostering local plants and animals. Come join the Watershed Council for the next field trip to the fresh water lagoon at Laguna Beach. Hikers will again be joined by a couple of biologists to explain the natural phenomenon of the summer season sand bars which dam Laguna Creek and create a unique salmon nursery in the expanding lagoon. The hike will leave on July 22 promptly at 10 a.m. from the parking lot on the north side of Highway 1 at Laguna Creek Road. For more information contact Ginger and Karl at 427-1034. MAIL Service: How Low Can We Go? Just when it seemed Bonny Doon mail service was making a comeback from its lowest levels (most noticeably with the addition of a former USPS employee as a contract carrier on one of the Empire Grade routes), arrests were made on mail theft charges for a substitute carrier on one of our contract routes. The RBDA Board has been in communication with Representative Anna Eshoo and Kim Fernandez, USPS District Manager, to express our community’s concerns about this latest incident. Specifically, we have requested that USPS maintain the same standards for contract carriers and substitute carriers as they do for USPS carriers, requiring any person delivering mail, whether it be the primary contract carrier awarded the route or any substitute carrier they use, to have verification and background checks, plus USPS training and certification. The current lax standards with regards to contract carriers leave our community to bear the burden of disrupted business, identity theft, actual theft, credit problems, and disrupted utility service as mail is stolen, lost, mis-delivered, or not delivered at all. In response to a letter Eshoo sent on our behalf to Fernandez about the substitute carrier’s arrest, Fernandez stated that he will continue to "monitor the situation". To express your concerns directly to Fernandez, address them to United States Postal Service, Kim R. Fernandez, District Manager, 1675 7th Street, Oakland, CA, 94015-9967. UCSC’s Troubles Accelerate The shocking and sad suicide of UCSC Chancellor Denice Denton on June 24 leaves UCSC leaderless at a crucial crossroad, faced with a community increasingly united in opposition to its huge growth plans, undermined by a fractious faculty, attacked by student protesters, sued by neighborhood activists over environmental degradation, and tarred by media stories about Chancellor Denton’s expensive and frivolous home expenditures and the cushy job given to her domestic partner. Hopefully, the UC Administration will look long and hard for a new UCSC leader with the skills to negotiate a mutually beneficial solution to the town-gown confrontation and the many other problems besetting the City on a Hill. The recent tragedy of Chancellor Denton’s suicide follows the scandal of her predecessor MRC Greenwood, who was forced to resign the number two position in the UC Administration, making the selection of the next UCSC chancellor especially critical. Meanwhile, the Santa Cruz City Council is advancing a referendum slated for the November ballot that will demand UCSC pick up the tab for the infrastructure improvements required by the university’s growth. Even more important for Bonny Doon, the referendum directs the City to deny sewer and water services to the planned extension of the campus beyond the City limits into the Cave Gulch area of Bonny Doon. RBDA Executive Board Chair: Ted Benhari 426-5053 Vice Chair: Andre LaFleur 415-652-9410 Highlander Editor: Jane Cavanaugh 469-3751 Corresponding Secretary: Yana Jacobs 423-9193 Recording Secretary: Jodi Frediani 426-1697 Membership Coordinator: Ben Harmon 459-7752 Treasurer: Alec Webster 426-1960 -end of Highlander text - Paul, note that there is a new phone number for Andre. It's a little weird with the 415 area code but his land line kept getting screwed up and so he only uses his cell now, which for some reason has the 415 code. tb Risks for Bonny Doon as CYA Becomes Adult Facility? On February 15, 2005 Braemoor Drive residents met with representatives from the Calif. Youth Authority (CYA), Calif. Dept. of Corrections (CDC), and Calif. Dept. of Forestry (CDF) to discuss the impending conversion of the minimum security Ben Lomond Camp on Empire Grade from a CYA to a CDC facility. The Braemoor neighborhood is only about a mile from the Camp, and safety and security were the main concerns expressed as the camp population changes from youth to adult inmates. The Camp will continue to be jointly operated with CDF. Due to a declining pool of CYA wards, coupled with state budgetary constraints, a change in the source of inmates is required if Ben Lomond Camp is to remain open. The Ben Lomond Camp, located at 13573 Empire Grade, has provided crews for fire protection, flood control, vegetation management, and other public services mainly in Santa Cruz County since its inception in 1947. Until three or four years ago, the camp housed five full fire crews. Today, there are 80 inmate firefighter positions budgeted for, but CYA is able to fill only 29 of these positions, not even two complete crews. The impacts on us locally can be felt, for example, in the Bonny Doon Ecological Reserve where CDF Chief Bill Ruskin states that fuel reduction measures and control burning haven’t happened because there is no fire crew labor to carry it out. This severe understaffing will be eliminated when the conversion is complete. According to Pam Erskine, CYA program manager, the conversion is required because there are only 3,500 CYA wards available, simply not enough to fill the inmate firefighter positions statewide. CYA has already closed five camps throughout the state. According to John Peck, CDC Conservation Program Head, there are 15,000 potentially eligible CDC inmates. This inmate pool is large enough to fill all the positions in the 40 CDC camps statewide. Who constitutes a CDC eligible inmate? There are concerns that the change in inmate population will bring a more "hardened" and dangerous adult criminal population to the community. To be eligible for the Ben Lomond camp, a CDC inmate must be finishing his prison sentence. The average term for an inmate firefighter is eight months. If they successfully complete their time in the camp, they are then released back into society at large. These inmates have usually committed drug or property crimes, not violent offenses. Murder, rape, sex crimes, most robberies, and arson are automatic disqualifiers for the camp program. Every inmate is extensively evaluated on a case by case basis by a qualification committee using a point system, which includes any previous offenses in California or other states. While the ages of CDC inmates can overlap with the younger CYA wards, in general CDC inmates are generally older inmates, who often bring additional work skills that increase their effectiveness in the camp program. In contrast, CYA wards are 18 to 25 years old. They may have committed violent crimes, including murder. In 2003, CYA reported 22 escapes out of 300 wards. All escapees were caught. CDC camps reported 6 escapes out of 4,000 inmates, also all captured. All CDC camps have an emergency escape pursuit plan. Another concern is visitors to the camp, both because of their potential criminal ties and increased vehicle traffic to the camp. John Peck said the twice a week visiting days seldom had more than 10 visitors. Also, inmates are tested for drugs, with a positive test automatically disqualifying an inmate from continuing residence at the camp. Presently, the conversion from a partially staffed CYA camp to a fully staffed CDC camp is planned for the end of May or early summer. While Ben Lomond CDC Camp is fully budgeted and funded for 2005, it could be cut in future budgets. The state officials at the Braemoor Drive meeting all expressed a desire for open and complete communication with the community. In order to insure a positive working relationship with the community, each camp has a citizen’s advisory committee, in which Bonny Doon residents are encouraged to participate. These state officials will return to Bonny Doon to continue speaking with our community at the March 9 RBDA General Meeting. You may also contact them directly: - John Peck, CDC, 916-323-8378
Come to the March 9 RBDA General Meeting to hear more about this important topic and its effects on Bonny Doon. An extensive question and answer session will follow their presentation. UCSC’s Long Range Development Program: the Battle Begins In the last Highlander, we reported on the gathering storm of conflict over the UCSC (University of California, Santa Cruz) expansion plan, and on a minor victory which stopped them from preparing a site on Empire Grade as early as January. The many events of January and early February have shown the full power of the University to carry forward with their plans. The University has prepared a list of the items which they deem important enough to consider in their upcoming EIR (Environmental Impact Report). On Feb. 16 and 18, they hosted meetings for individual citizens or groups to present what they thought should be considered in the EIR. In principle, every single item anyone raised in those meetings or by letter or e-mail before Feb. 28 would have to be adjudicated by the EIR. But there’s a catch‹the University gets to be judge and jury for whether a particular item submitted is "pertinent under the CEQA rules (California Environmental Quality Act)." At the Feb. 16 meeting we attended, there were 100-plus people in attendance, and many inputs were made. Most were pertinent, passionate, and well-thought-out. The presenters were a wonderful cross-section of Santa Cruz: county and city officials, neighborhood organizations, elderly residents who had generated the original visions for UCSC, students, professors, and Bonny Doon residents who would be most directly affected by the growth. Many expressed their feelings of affection for the University, but were unanimous in saying that the University should not expand any further, but should busy itself mitigating the lingering effects of the last expansion. RBDA Chair Ted Benhari presented a long and detailed list of matters to be considered by the EIR, as reported in the last Highlander and January General Meeting. One arresting new item was that in the case of a major fire in Bonny Doon, Empire Grade might be the only escape route, and the University should not consider it as their priority to use this route to evacuate their northern housing development. The RBDA has also submitted a formal letter to the University detailing these requests and concerns. This letter will be posted at the next General Meeting on March 9th. Look for Ted’s full presentation somewhere on the RBDA website (to be determined). Would this outpouring of feeling be enough to change the tide? Out in the departing crowd, we asked Tom Vani, Vice Chancellor for Business and Administrative Services, what he thought of the presentations. "Just about what we expected," he said, with the air of a person who fully expected everything to go ahead without interruption. The University can even promise mitigations of immense order, as several of the speakers had pointed out, and then not do them because of being short of cash. So is there any course of action over the next two years in which all these legalities play out that could really stop the LRDP? A very proactive group, the Coalition for Limiting University Expansion (CLUE) has formed. CLUE consists of all the "right" people (various City and County officers and neighborhood groups, including representatives from the RBDA) with a core of individuals who believe that nothing will stop the LRDP except lawsuits based on pre-existing legislation, and that there already exist violations of such even without the actions anticipated. CLUE is now in a phase of consultation with lawyers, and looking for fundraising which will be key to fighting a protracted legal battle. No one has won such battles before, but CLUE has been emboldened by the legal win by the Cave Gulch Neighborhood Association late in December, which stopped the immediate UCSC construction. You’ve probably read of similar outbursts by the cities or public in Berkeley and in Davis over their somewhat similar situations. A larger coalition is being considered. Finally, some of us think that a different approach may be more successful. The Regents of the University had planned to absorb the burgeoning student population with the new campus at Merced, but feel it’s too expensive to ramp it up fast enough. They’re the ones putting the pressure on existing schools to enlarge, thinking it’s a bargain. We feel that if the true cost-accounting is done, including the costs of fixing the collateral damage the expansions are causing in the communities, that the Regents could change their minds and simply pour the funds into UC Merced. Perhaps the lawsuits posed by CLUE would help them do the accounting properly. The RBDA welcomes feedback from the Bonny Doon community; contact us through the RBDA web site. To get involved with CLUE, contact the organizer, Don Stevens <stevens@nuclearwhales.com> Berkeley Sues Cal. Regents Over University Expansion On Feb. 23, just before we went to press, the City of Berkeley filed a lawsuit against the University of California, Berkeley and UC regents, seeking to halt its plan to build 2.2 million square feet of office space and other projects. The suit alleges that the Environmental Impact Report for UCB’s 2020 Long Range Development Plan is inadequate. According to Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates, the suit, if successful, would stop all development under the plan. Bates said at a news conference that UC regents’ approval of UCB’s development plan over vociferous opposition from city officials, "is the equivalent of a blank check allowing the university to build whatever and whenever they want.’’ The mayor said city officials don’t oppose all development at the university, but they think it should address environmental impacts such as traffic congestion and pay its fair share of city services such as police and fire protection, which is basically the same position that Santa Cruz City officials have taken regarding UCSC expansion. USPS Truck Sighting on Empire Grade Those of you who have noticed USPS (United States Postal Service) trucks in the neighborhood are correct in assuming that your voice has been heard! USPS has been providing postal assistance to assure more timely mail delivery in Bonny Doon. At our General RBDA meeting on January 12th, 2005 Chair Don Coyne introduced the topic of poor mail service delivery problems and opened the floor for discussion. Present at the meeting was Jean Karo, a Bonny Doon resident and USPS carrier. Jean announced that she had been placed in charge of overseeing mail delivery for Bonny Doon to try to help improve our service. Jean said that in order to be most effective, she needed to have documented evidence of problems with the mail delivery. She requested that all Bonny Dooners having mail problems keep weekly logs to detail ongoing problems, as well as provide as much detail as possible on past mail problems. We checked in with Jean to get a progress update for this Highlander USPS Truck Sighting on Empire Grade article. She reports that due to the high volume of documented complaints following the General Meeting (she received over one hundred letters and logs, plus numerous residents tracking time and date mail was delivered on a daily basis), the local post office has provided extra USPS rural route carriers to help our contract route carriers deliver mail in Bonny Doon. Our voice was heard all the way in Washington, D.C. Congresswoman Anna Eshoo took the time to write a letter to the USPS District Manager on our behalf, sending thanks and copies of this letter to the RBDA Board and other Bonny Doon residents who contacted her with their concerns. The recent USPS assistance to the contract route carrier is being well documented and the USPS will be reimbursed for their time and effort. Given that cost has been a factor in continuing to use a contract carrier instead of a USPS rural route carrier, collecting this information should be an important addition to our case file. Hopefully by mid-March data collection will be complete and recommendations will be made to the Contract office in Richmond, California. Jean reported that the complaints have slowed down, clearly as a result of the local post office assistance. She reports that assistance is being provided four days per week or more, mostly in the form of additional deliveries. Jean is continuing to accept logs and complaints. Please include positive feedback as well; they need to know that we’re being impacted by their efforts. Continue sending your logs to: Jean KaroJean will be supervising the Bonny Doon area for at least one more month, less time if our problems are resolved sooner. Congress of the United StatesRBDA Board Election Results At the RBDA Annual Meeting in January, Executive Board Members Alec Webster and Jodi Frediani were reelected to two-year terms, and Ted Benhari was returned to the board after an absence of two years. Departed from the Board is Robert Thornton, who served during 2004, and made valuable contributions as Recording Secretary. At a meeting immediately after the Annual Meeting, the Board elected Benhari chairman, replacing Don Coyne, who moved to Recording Secretary. The rest of the Board lineup remained the same: Vice Chair: Jodi Frediani; Highlander Editor, Jane Cavanaugh; Alec Webster, Treasurer; Ben Harmon, Membership Coordinator; Yana Jacobs, Corresponding Secretary. Don Coyne has served on the Board on several occasions and in various posts, including an earlier stint as Chairman in the 1990s. For the past two years he has done a great job leading the Board as it dealt with various issues, from the Waldorf School expansion, the proposed Transcendental Meditation retreat center, the Santa Cruz City Water Dept. pipeline rerouting, RMC’s slashing a road through the Ecological Reserve, the possible landfill on Thayer Rd. and, most recently, UCSC’s expansion plans. Don brought energy, commitment and good judgment to these issues, providing a steady hand at the tiller in what at times were turbulent waters. The Board is grateful for his leadership and his continued participation as an important member of your RBDA team. MARCH 9, 2005 RBDA GENERAL MEETING AGENDA
RBDA EXECUTIVE BOARD ACTIONS - JAN. 12, 2005
RBDA EXECUTIVE BOARD ACTIONS - FEB. 9, 2005
Support Our Sponsors
The Highlander
Bonny Doon's voice in preserving our special quality of life, The Highlander,
Send mail correspondence to the Highlander Editor at the above
address, or by email, below. RBDA Executive Board |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
