Letters
- Details
- Written by: Alex Stabiner
A few years ago the community of Upper Lake passed a bond having the community invest in our school district. Included in the bond were provisions for a totally renovated school that included building a brand new music building.
Passing a school bond in such a rural community as Upper Lake is no small task. Parents, teachers, administrators and community members put in many hours to progress the passing of the bond.
Our district made good use of this community investment and has created one of the finest music programs in Lake County. The teacher, equipment and facility are all top notch.
In these uncertain times the district is now considering dropping the music program all together. Music is something the voters want at Upper Lake High School. If the district follows through with such a cut, it will be throwing away one of the investments that our community has committed to in our schools and acting against what the voters, taxpayers and investors want for our district. Our school already has vacant auto and wood shop buildings where investments of dollars, time, and effort lay dormant.
Our small district has an opportunity to set ourselves apart from many of the other districts in the state. While many districts and sending out layoff notices whole sale, cutting sports programs and considering closing schools, our district has the ability to preserve the programs the community has invested into for so many years.
The district has wisely saved for a rainy day. Our district is fortunate to have incredible people working in positions where money is involved. Our superintendent, business manager and even our school board members all have an incredible sense of how to bring revenue and funding into the district. We have consistently maintained funding for our district’s reserve and this year we even have carry over money in our general fund from previous years, all the while maintaining a wide selection of courses and programs.
Our current economy calls for tough choices and I don’t envy any of the decision makers during this time. However, we must consider that with every investment comes risk. The community has taken risks in investing in the school bond. The voters have taken risks with their investments at the voting booth. I ask that the district take a risk, follow through with the investments it has made over the years and maintain the music program during this troubling time.
Alex Stabiner teaches US history, government and economics at Upper Lake High School. He lives in Kelseyville.
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- Details
- Written by: Vision Task Force Steering Committee
We understand that between $1.5 million and $6 million in redevelopment funds will be spent on the city of Clearlake's airport property as part of the negotiating process in selling said property. If these numbers are accurate, the steering committee questions the soundness of this allocation as well as the authority to allocate these funds without the transparency and public input required by the redevelopment agency, which is furnishing these funds.
This steering committee wants to see final decisions on the allocation of redevelopment funds based on more than one man's opinion. Rather, such profound and important decisions should be based on the inspiration and advice of official redevelopment agency input (the City Council), advisory committee input (which does extensive background research) and especially the public's input.
Allocating any money without critical input by these various segments of the community would be against the established processes set up by the redevelopment agency. Any other attempt to circumvent this process by trickery could be illegal and against the best interests of the community. The history of redevelopment funding in Clearlake has been misappropriation, misuse and poorly planned appropriations. Let's not create an environment that allows this history to continue.
In conclusion we advise the redevelopment agency/Clearlake City Council to insist on transparency and critical input of any allocations having to do with redevelopment funding by having a public hearing on this matter.
Clearlake Vision Task Force Steering Committee members include Vince Metzger, Melinda Young, Allen Markowski, Jim Scholz, Robert Riggs, Tony Morales and Alice Reece.
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- Details
- Written by: Sandra West
I had the honor of facilitating the Lakeport Regional Chamber of Commerce 2009 Board Retreat at The Lodge at Blue Lakes this past weekend. My partner and I decided to make it a Shop, Stay and Play weekend during the two-day retreat.
We took advantage of the Sweetheart Special for two nights. When we checked in our room was warm and our champagne was chilled! Our accommodations included everything you could ever ask for including a whirlpool jacuzzi, fireplace, a huge box of chocolates, elegant linens, DVD player, dinner for two on our second night and the list goes on! On Saturday afternoon we enjoyed a heavenly massage by Debi Freeland of Kelseyville.
Friday during the retreat we enjoyed a wonderful lunch on the sunny lakefront patio and the evening dinner was no less than spectacular! Chef Rita created all of the group meals and made us feel like we were dining at a five star restaurant!
Thank you to proprietors, Maryann and Peter Schmid, their talented daughter, Rita and their staff, for creating a perfect all inclusive conference center including a relaxing and affordable, first class get-away, The Lodge at Blue Lakes, in Lake County.
Sandra West lives in Kelseyville.
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- Details
- Written by: Lake County News Reports
The specific events that occurred during this bizarre meeting were thoroughly reported in Lake County News (http://lakeconews.com/content/view/7522/764/) but the issue – which now goes well beyond mere environmental havoc and fiscal improbability – can be summarized very quickly.
By unreasonably restricting the public's right to comment on a duly noticed agenda item, Mayor Chuck Leonard, with the implicit concurrence of Council members Judy Thein and Curt Giambruno, prevented effective public participation in public affairs.
Besides being in contravention of the Brown Act and therefore subject to reversal by the courts, this behavior deprived the city of an important opportunity to benefit from the wisdom of its citizens, displayed a contempt for the electorate that cannot be tolerated in a democracy, and transgressed the fundamental principles of our system of government.
The public whose trust was profaned must, and shall, seek redress. Several courses of action are apparent, including a petition to recall the errant council members, a complaint to the Grand Jury and attorney general seeking invalidation of council votes tainted by Brown Act violations, and an appeal to the courts to reverse the certification of the palpably inadequate Provinsalia Environmental Impact Report.
It is my understanding that the machinery has started to roll on all three.
Victoria Brandon lives in Lower Lake.
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