The referendum process is one of the ways that voters can keep control over their elected officials. Voters can also use the initiative process (in which the voters have a chance to draft and adopt new laws directly), and the recall process (which allows voters to replace an elected official during his or her term of office). These three procedures were placed into the California Constitution at a time when state government was dominated by the biggest special interest of the day, the railroads.

Today, the biggest special interest around is often the “development industry,” and it is not unusual for that special interest to gain exceptional power over a locally-elected City Council or Board of Supervisors. When that happens, the voters either have to live with the land use decisions dictated by the developers, or they have to take to the streets to qualify initiatives and referendums.

This is the second time that the voters of Monterey County have had to qualify a referendum on Rancho San Juan. After the first referendum qualified, at the request of the developer, the Board attempted to avoid a reversal by the voters by adopting an alternative project the day before the scheduled election. At the election, the very next day, the voters overwhelmingly rejected Rancho San Juan. Since the Board wasn’t willing to listen to the voters the first time, the voters had to do it again. That’s the referendum that the Board will consider tomorrow. Check the KUSP website for more information.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Monterey County Board of Supervisors’ Agenda
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/cttb/agenda012406.htm

Planning Files on the “Revised” Rancho San Juan Project
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/
pbi/major/rsj2/rsj2_main.htm

You can review past reports on the Rancho San Juan Project by visiting the KUSP Land Use Report archives.

The Pajaro River defines the boundary line between Santa Cruz County and Monterey County. It flows right alongside the City of Watsonville, on the Santa Cruz County side, and alongside the unincorporated community of Pajaro, on the Monterey County side. It’s a wonderful river, and the waters that it has brought into the Pajaro Valley have helped create an amazingly productive agricultural economy. But the Pajaro River also poses a flood danger to both Watsonville and Pajaro. This danger has grown greater over time, as development projects, including those in Santa Clara County, upstream, have extended impervious surfaces over formerly open lands, thus increasing runoff into the river.

Tomorrow evening, you can learn about the Pajaro River watershed and how it is threatened. I hope you’ll attend a presentation called “Stuck in the Mud: The Pajaro River in Peril.” The presentation will be held in the Forum Room at the Cabrillo College Watsonville Center, in downtown Watsonville. It begins at 7:00 p.m. tomorrow, Wednesday, and there is no charge for admission.

The event tomorrow is intended to bring together people from throughout the watershed, to seek solutions for the challenges that face the communities of the river. The major focus will be on sediment problems from quarrying, flood dangers, public access to the river, water quality, and endangered species. Dr. Robert Curry, fluvial geomorphologist, will provide answers to questions and comments.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

To find out more about the “Stuck in the Mud” event, call the Sierra Club at 831-426-4453.

The Cabrillo College Center is located at 310 Union Street, Watsonville.

I used to work in Salinas, for LandWatch Monterey County. Nowadays, I’m working out of Sacramento, as the Executive Director of the Planning and Conservation League. Despite this move, I do keep in touch with old friends from Salinas, and one of them recently told me about an upcoming event that will be of interest to many listeners. My friend called it “giving me the 411,” which I ultimately deciphered as meaning “here is the information about the event.” Well, here’s the “411”:

The event is a presentation on how land use policy can build in elements that will help promote our personal health. The Speaker is Marice Ashe of the Oakland Nutrition Land Use and Education Program. The presentation will be given tomorrow, Thursday January 26th, at the Simpkins Swim Center, 979 17th Avenue, in Live Oak (in Santa Cruz County), from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. The event is sponsored by the “Go For Health Collaborative,” which is gearing up for a tri-county planning summit, which hopes to engage local residents in efforts to change local land use policies to incorporate more healthy designs.

The land use policies we adopt and implement at the local government level have a profound impact on our local economy, the health of our environment (and our personal health), and on our ability to reach our social equity goals.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

For more information about this event, contact Jane Parker at the ACTION Council of Monterey County. The ACTION Council is located at 369 Main Street, Suite M, in Salinas. Website:
http://www.actioncouncil.org/
Telephone: 831-783-1244, Ext. 106
Email:

California State University, Monterey Bay has established a special program in environmental science and policy, and named it in honor of James W. Rote, one of the founding professors who helped start the CSUMB campus. On Thursday, February 2nd, CSUMB will be presenting the Third Annual James W. Rote Lecture. There is a reception at 5:45 p.m., with the lecture beginning at 6:30. Admission is free. The lecture will be given at the CSUMB Alumni & Visitors Center, a new building located on the corner of 3rd Street and General Jim Moore Boulevard.

The February 2nd lecture will be given by Professor Lawrence E. Susskind, Ford Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning at MIT, an experienced environmental mediator. He is going to talk about “balancing science and politics,” and will highlight a new approach to environmental mediation called “Joint Fact Finding,” now being used by the United States Geological Survey and other federal agencies. He will also describe the changing demands on scientists who seek to participate directly in the workings of democratic self-government.

As you probably know, the scientific objectivity of federal government agencies, under the Bush Administration, has been called into serious question. This lecture might be a good place to find out more.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

The lecture is sponsored by the Division of Science and Environmental Policy.

To make a reservation call 831-582-3017

CSUMB Website
http://csumb.edu/

Campus Map
http://csumb.edu/site/x12184.xml

More information on Professor Lawrence E. Susskind
http://www.lawrencesusskind.com/content/bibliography/

The Consensus-Building Handbook
http://www.sagepub.com/book.aspx?pid=3945

On Tuesday, I put out a bulletin about “Stuck in the Mud,” a presentation that focused on the Pajaro River watershed. Today, in another river-related item, I want to advertise a job opportunity. If you are looking for an environmental job, right here on the Central Coast, you might consider checking out the opportunities at Friends of the River. Friends of the River is a statewide conservation organization dedicated to the preservation and protection of California’s rivers and streams. It has over 5,000 members, statewide, and has played a key role in virtually every river-related policy issue since its inception in 1973. FOR carries out its mission by educating the public, media, and government officials about river conservation issues, and mobilizes grassroots activists and local groups to work on river?]related issues at  the local, national, and statewide levels. In other words, if you were working for Friends of the River, on the Central Coast, you would probably have attended the “Stuck in the Mud” presentation last Wednesday as part of your job responsibility.

Friends of the River wants to hire a person to serve as a “Central Coast Rivers Campaign Organizer.” This person will work under the direction of the FOR Conservation Director to build public understanding and support for Wild & Scenic protection for rivers flowing through public lands in Monterey County.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Friends of the River Website
http://www.friendsoftheriver.org/

Job Announcement
http://www.friendsoftheriver.org/Jobs/
2006FOR-CCRCOrg.pdf