Eye On Modesto
Thoughts and observations about Modesto and Stanislaus County
Archive for the category “Uncategorized”
Tonight a Special Edition of “What’s on America’s MInd” 7:00 Pacific and 9:00 Central
Tonight we have a report on Modesto’s budget workshop, a special interest group in Modesto known as the Chamber of Commerce, a discussion of the upcoming candidates workshop, and of course issues that concern us all especially women.
So take some time and check us out.
MID is Back to its Old Tricks Obfuscating the TRUTH
By Emerson Drake
MID attorney Tim O’Laughlin manages to drum up business for himself while building walls between MID at its ratepaying owners also known as the public. The following is a copy of, what has become a typical response from O’laughlin to a Public Information Request made by Reed Smith.
I am in receipt of your e-mail dated May 11, 2012 relative the attached response from MID General Counsel Tim O’Laughlin.
Mr. O’Laughlin’s letter dated May 11, 2012, does not comply with the District’s obligations under the Public Records Act. Specifically, the requested records must be produced within ten days. The District “head” has not provided notice that “unusual circumstances” exist which would result in an extension of the deadline by fourteen days. Govt. Code 6253(c).
I am writing to confirm my understanding of your statements to me when I came into MID yesterday afternoon, May 14, 2012, at 2:30 PM regarding availability of the documents I requested to INSPECT. General Counsel, Tim O’Laughlin, has by the attached letter, refused to produce any of the documents to date.
To restate what I heard you say yesterday afternoon:
1) There are 13 file volumes involved within my request. [ You did not mention digital files and maps that have been requested ]
2) When I met with you on April 30, 2012 regarding a very similar PRR, you informed me that AGM Walt Ward was responsible for accumulating the files, and that I conclude from your narrative that the records have been aggregated in a single location at 1231 11th Street, Modesto, CA 95354.
3) GC Tim O’Laughlin says the documents must be reviewed to identify CONFIDENTIAL material within the 13 volumes, prior to release for IMMEDIATE INSPECTION. To date, the District has not informed me that any of the requested documents are subject to “exemption” from disclosure. Such a determination was required within ten days from the date of my request. Govt. Code 6253(c).
4) GC Tim O’Laughlin, has created a scenario where he claims he is the only person that can review the documents to remove CONFIDENTIAL material within the 13 volumes, prior to release for INSPECTION.
5) There is no definition of CONFIDENTIAL within the PRA. The PRA requires the District to respond to my request within ten days, May 20, 2012, with either the records or a determination that an “exemption” in the PRA applies to specific records.
6) You stated that GC O’Laughlin is only in Modesto three (3) days PER MONTH. This is not an “unusual circumstance” as defined in Govt. Code 6253.
7) You offered no time estimate for MID’s production of the documents.
I responded to you yesterday that, based upon my understanding of the California Public Records Act intent, this lack of a time-line for production is unacceptable and fails to comply with the PRA.
Please let me know if I have misunderstood your communication of yesterday.
Self-appointed MID Board President, Tom Van Groningen, promised on January 10, 2012, to conduct business in an open and transparent manner.
I now request that the documents be made available by Monday, May 21, at 9 AM, or I intend to seek legal relief to insure that MID complies with the Act. As a public entity, MID has a fiduciary duty to comply with California law.
Sincerely,
Reed Smith
Date: Fri, 11 May 2012 16:06:38 -0700
To: Reed Smith <reedsmith@charter.net>
Cc: Tim O’Laughlin towater@olaughlinparis.com>, Allen Short <ALLENS@MID.ORG>, Linda Fischer <lindaf@mid.org>, Angela Cartisano AngelaC@mid.org>, Pat Caldwell-Mills <PATC@MID.ORG>, Colleen Rangel <COLLEENR@MID.ORG>, Walt Ward <WalterW@MID.ORG>
Subject: FW: Message from legal – Written Response to Reed Smith re: inspection on May 14, 2012
Sent: Friday, May 11, 2012 4:07 PM
To: Linda Fischer
Subject: Message from legal – Written Response to Reed Smith re: inspection on May 14, 2012
Tonight on “What’s on America’s Mind”
Wednesday night at 7:00PM pacific 9:00 Central time
MID’s Lawyer Tim O’Laughlin says NO to timely public information requests by Reed Smith. The buying of a political endorsement from the Latino Community Roundtable, Modesto’s budget workshops and of course an update on issues that concern all of us especially women.
The Inequality of Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” Law
By EOM Staff
Marissa Alexander, the 31 year old mother of three that we previously reported on, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
The Trayvon Martin case brought Florida’s “stand your ground” law into the national spotlight. This law allows someone to use deadly force when they feel they are in danger. Ms. Alexander’s husband was in a violent rage when she fired a shot into the ceiling to warn him away. He had previously beaten her so badly she had to be hospitalized. She was immediately arrested and charged with felony assault with a weapon.
George Zimmerman followed Trayvon Martin, calling 911 to report a “suspicious male”. He even left his vehicle and followed Trayvon on foot, although the dispatcher had instructed him to wait for the police. He claims that Trayvon circled back behind him and attacked him. He used his gun to kill the young, unarmed boy, claiming that Florida’s stand your ground law protected him. He was not arrested until five weeks later after pressure from Trayvon’s parents and the media.
Marissa Alexander was seven inches shorter and 100 pounds lighter than her violent husband. She fired a warning shot. She didn’t hurt anyone. She will spend the next 20 years in prison.
Trayvon Martin was carrying a can of iced tea and a bag of skittles when he was killed. The only thing these two had in common is that they are both victims….and they are both black. Trayvon is dead because George Zimmerman felt threatened. Marissa will spend 20 years in prison because she felt threatened.
It seems that “stand your ground” just doesn’t apply to blacks in Florida.
Where Does The U.S. Rank For Maternal/Child Health?
The Save The Children Foundation has just released it’s 13th annual report on maternal/child health. They rank 165 countries on maternal education, nutrition, mortality rates, maternity leave and other issues. It might surprise you to find out the United States ranks just 25th in this report, and that’s actually an improvement over last year when we ranked 31st. Our current ranking is largely due to the educational level of mothers in this country.
The child mortality rate in the U.S. before the age of five, is 8 in 1000 births. That’s the same ranking as Bosnia. A child in the US is four times as likely as a child in Iceland to die before age five. Forty countries performed better than the US in this category.
The lifetime risk of dying in childbirth in the US is 1 in 2,100, the highest of any industrialized nation.
The US is the only developed country in the world that does not guarantee working mothers paid leave.
The only way to improve our rating is to provide pre-natal and well baby care for women who don’t have insurance or the ability to pay for such care.
With several states attempting to block funding of Planned Parenthood, low-income women and children will have even less care than they receive now.
Yes, Planned Parenthood does do abortions. That’s about 1% of their services. They offer birth control, pre-natal care, nutrition counseling, cancer screenings, vaccinations and a variety of health care services for women, men and children.
We like to think we are the best country in the world. But by limiting accessibility to birth control, pre-natal care and other health services, our ranking for maternal/child health can only go down. That can only harm future generations of Americans.
Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” Law
A Florida woman is facing 20 years in prison for standing her ground. Marissa Alexander is a 31 year old mother of three. Her husband, Rico Gray, had been arrested twice for domestic battery. One of the violent attacks sent Alexander to the hospital. After that, Alexander obtained a protective order against Gray. That order was still in effect on August 1, 2010, when Gray flew into a violent rage. What caused such rage? Alexander had sent a picture of her newborn daughter to her first husband.
Gray has told prosecutors that he has five baby mamas and he has abused them all. He said “they had to walk on eggshells around me”. He said he “punched women in the face, shoved them and choked them.”
Alexander was in her bathroom when Gray went into his jealous rage and tried to force his way in. He is seven inches taller and 100 pounds heavier than Alexander.
When she managed to get by him, she panicked and ran into the garage, forgetting her car keys. She couldn’t escape from the garage because the door wasn’t working. So she grabbed her gun from her car and headed back into the kitchen, where Gray confronted her again.
Gray admitted he was “going towards her” when she fired one shot that was high and to his right. At that point, he left with his two sons.
Gray admits that if his sons hadn’t been in the house, he probably would have taken the gun from her and “put my hands on her.”
The judge in the case has ruled that the “stand your ground” law doesn’t apply because Alexander could have escaped through the front or back door instead of going to the garage.
I don’t imagine that judge has ever been in a situation where she feared for her life, at the hands of a man who had previously beaten her to the point of being hospitalized. It’s easy in those moments, to panic. She blindly got away from him, without the forethought to go through the front or back door. Or maybe she had forethought to get to the car and get her gun. In that case, she was simply “standing her ground.”
Interesting that George Zimmerman wasn’t arrested the night he killed Trayvon Martin, but Marissa Alexander was arrested, charged and faces 20 years in prison for defending herself. In a case where no one was hurt. Apparently “stand your ground” doesn’t apply to black women in Florida.
Is President Obama A Communist?
By EOM Staff
If you’ve been watching the news the last couple of days, you might be surprised to find out that our president is a communist/socialist/marxist. This is because he is using the word “Forward” as his new campaign slogan. You might wonder why this word makes him a communist. It’s because (according to the far-right pundits) Chairman Mao once used the slogan “A Great Leap Forward.” Apparently, that means any future use of the word forward indicates communism.
I wonder how the fine citizens of Wisconsin feel about being communists. Their state motto is “Forward”. It’s printed on their state quarter. It’s on their state flag. It’s been there since 1848 when they joined the Union. Those poor people! They didn’t realize they were communists!
Then there’s Richard Nixon. You remember him, right? Tricky Dick, Watergate…a fine example of a Republican. When he was running for president in 1968, his campaign slogan was “Forward Together”. We all failed to understand that we actually elected a communist president in 1968!
The right-wing pundits are saying that use of the word forward is a “secret signal” of President Obama’s intention to turn America into a communist country.
May I suggest that we all think for ourselves and don’t drink the kool-aid the far right is pouring?
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