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- Written by: Dr. Tony Phillips
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
SACRAMENTO – The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is marking National Child Passenger Safety Week, Sept. 19 through 25, by educating the public about properly securing their most precious loved ones.
“One of the most important jobs you have as a caretaker is keeping a child safe when riding in a vehicle,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “Whether it’s a car seat, booster seat or seat belt, make sure you properly secure your children and yourself every time you get behind the wheel.”
According to 2008 statistics – the most recent year of finalized data – of the 28 children younger than age six who were killed in vehicle collisions in California, 21 were not properly restrained.
California law requires that children be properly secured in the back seat in a child restraint system until they are at least 6 years old or 60 pounds.
Additionally, children under age 16 must be properly secured in either a child restraint system or seat belt.
CHP officers issue thousands of citations annually for child safety seat violations throughout California.
According to the Office of Traffic Safety, on the first offense, a child passenger violation will cost $445 with penalty assessments.
A second or subsequent offense carries a cost of $1,025. If the parent is not in the vehicle, the driver gets the ticket.
“A child safety seat provides the best possible protection for children in the event of a crash,” said Farrow. “But it’s important to make sure that the seat children are riding in is properly installed and the one best suited for them based on age and size.”
During National Child Passenger Safety Week, many CHP area offices will offer free car seat inspections and have scheduled events on Saturday, Sept. 25.
Trained car seat technicians will demonstrate how to properly fit children in the seats and install the seats into cars.
Parents and caregivers can call their local area CHP office to find free clinics near them.
You can visit the CHP Web site at www.chp.ca.gov and click on “Divisions and Offices,” to find contact information.
Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .
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- Written by: Vicky Parish Smith
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Lake Transit Authority is a joint powers authority formed in 1996 between the county and the two cities to provide transit services – from buses that traverse the county to dial-a-ride services.
Mark Wall is general manager of Lake Transit. Since 2007, the agency has contracted for transportation services with Bremerton, Wash.-based Paratransit Services, a community-based nonprofit organization which also provides services in Washington and Oregon. In California, besides Lake County, Paratransit Services has operations in Tehama and Glenn counties.
Paratransit Services and Teamsters Local 624, which has represented local transit workers since 2007, reached an agreement on a new three-year employment contract which was ratified by the employees last Sunday, as Lake County News has reported.
That alleviated concerns about a strike, which had arisen over the summer after negotiations appeared to have deadlocked.
With services continuing uninterrupted, that's one less concern for the transit authority, which is facing budget challenges and aging equipment, said Wall.
Such challenges for transit agencies are a statewide concern. The California Transit Association has regularly reported on raids the state has carried out against transit funding over the last several years.
Late in 2009, the association fought the Schwarzenegger administration all the way to the California Supreme Court, which refused to review the Third District Court of Appeals ruling that the funding diversions violated statutory and constitutional amendments.
State transit assistance – which previously was $500,000 annually – was cut and then restored last year. However, the funding source isn't guaranteed, Wall said.
While the state gave the transit agency $350,000 retroactively to cover this year and last, Wall said it's expected that the funding source will go away completely in the 2011-12 fiscal year.
In addition, the local transportation fund – derived from a quarter cent of state sales tax in Lake County – is down by around $100,000 this year, he said.
Both funding sources are used for operating the transit system. To try and keep funding even, Wall said the transit authority has pursued federal grants and increased fares last year. To increase federal funding, they've redesignated routes to have more of an inner city schedule, but that means less flexibility.
The transit authority has been able to avoid cutting services, which many other areas of the state have seen happen, such as Pinole, which has cuts of 50 percent over two years, he explained.
“We're very, very fortunate,” Wall said.
With half of the fleet – or about six to seven buses – beyond the normal life expectancy, the district had to use that $350,000 from the state, along with stimulus and Proposition 1B funds to buy new vehicles, Wall said.
Ridership also has gone down after seeing big increases in recent years.
Wall said the first three quarters of 2010 saw 228,467 passengers, down from 239,504 the previous year, a loss of about 11,000 passengers, or 5 percent.
He attributed the decline to people not having the money to ride as much as they did previously.
That decline in ridership equates to about $34,000 less fair revenue than anticipated, or a 10-percent decrease, he said.
The Area Planning Council estimated the Local Transportation Fund would have approximately $1,150,175 for the 2009-10 budget year, said Wall. That was just adjusted downward to $965,846.
“We have no reserve left,” he said.
The 2009-10 grand jury report found Lake Transit was facing a $384,457 deficit going into the 2010-11 fiscal year.
Wall said that deficit has been alleviated, at least for now.
With state transit assistance funding restored, “We're whole this year but we don't know what it looks like next year.”
He added, “The rest of us are realizing that we have to make things work.”
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at