Happy Thanksgiving!

Friends,

I know how busy you and your loved ones will be this Thanksgiving holiday. The last thing you will be turning to will be my blog. I would like, however, to share with you a humorous quip on Thanksgiving from one of America's greatest late night comedians, Johnny Carson.

"Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then discover once a year is way too often." ~ Johnny Carson

In a more serious and thoughtful vein, Phillip Brooks reminds us that even in these challenging economic times, we should be thankful for living in a wonderful country with outstanding people looking toward an exciting future.

"Stand up, on this Thanksgiving Day, stand upon your feet. Believe in man. Soberly and with clear eyes, believe in your own time and place. There is not, and there never has been a better time, or a better place to live in." ~ Phillips Brooks

Be safe. Drive carefully. We'll continue our Fresyes discussions Tuesday, December 1st.

Coming Soon. . .

1. Why not buy a house? We taxpayers are paying for it. 2. Diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey? 3. Fresno police should stay out of county islands.

Comments are welcome. Click on "Comments" below or e-mail me at abriancalhoun@gmail .com.

Goodbye to California's Master Plan for Higher Education

The financial crises is making it a difficult time for higher education in California. But even more ominous for higher education is the slow demise of the vaunted California Master Plan for Higher Education.

In 1960 the California Legislature approved a far-reaching higher education plan, commonly referred to as the Master Plan. The plan involved a three-level higher education system for all students wishing to attend college. The plan consisted of two-year community colleges open to all high school graduates, the four-year California State University System for students graduating in the top third of their high school classes, and the undergraduate, graduate and research University of California System open to approximately the top 12 percent of high school graduates. The community colleges would have very low tuition and would provide both technical training and transfer courses to both the CSU and UC systems. The CSU and UC higher education systems would have higher tuition than the community colleges but low enough to permit any qualified student to attend.

I was a proud beneficiary of the Master Plan, being both a graduate of the University of California and an administrator and instructor in the community college system. My education was inexpensive and academically outstanding. My profession at Fresno City College is rewarding. I worry, however, about the future of higher education in California.

Financial support at all three levels of higher education from the state legislature has dramatically decreased. Cooperation between the three levels has decreased as everyone fights for survival. And students, who so desperately need an education to find gainful employment, are facing significant tuition increases and fewer classes.

Instead of being a model for higher education with its 1960 Master Plan, California higher education is looking more and more like other states with far less progressive systems. Innovation is gone. The Plan is coming apart.

And the future looks even more grim. How many students will California be able to serve next year with its financially vulnerable higher education system? What about five years from now? Twenty-five years? Fifty? The future of California--and to a certain extent the United States due to the size and influence of California--is at stake.

Even though California is in the depths of a prolonged financial downturn, we must not disappoint those educators and legislators from the 1950's that believed that the future of the Golden State depended on a strong higher education system and had the vision to create California's Higher Education Master Plan.

I challenge today's educators, business, agriculture and legislative leaders to convene a summit to reassess the Master Plan. And if the Plan can't be fixed and needs to be replaced by something better for the 21st Century, so be it.

I entered the University of California as a freshman in 1961, the dawn of the Master Plan. I would be so-o-o-o-o thrilled to move into my sunset years knowing that the Golden State was taking care of the higher education needs of the next few generations.

Coming Soon. . .

1. Why not buy a house? We taxpayers are paying for it.
2. Diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey?
3. Fresno police should stay out of county islands.

Comments are welcome. Click on "Comments" below or e-mail me at abriancalhoun@gmail .com.

Water Meters for Some? What Were They Thinking?

The staff of the City of Fresno's Public Utilities Division must have been drinking something strange from the water when they deliberately or inadvertently failed to plan for separate household water meters for shared homeowner Public Utility Developments (PUD's).

Excluding planned gated and non-gated multi-home communities from single-home water metering is unfair to both the homeowner and to the the PUD property association to which each home owner belongs. Even more serious, exclusion of hundreds of City of Fresno PUD homes is a violation of the State of California legislation mandating state-wide water meters.

I am particularly perplexed by the City's Public Utility staff not including PUD's since I was a member of the city council that initiated the process of mandating water meters. In 2001 Mayor Autry and the city council, knowing that a local ballot initiative prohibited installation of water meters, convinced the State legislature to override the local prohibition with state legislation mandating water meters.

Following the state action, the council tasked the Public Utilities Division to develop a multi-year fee and meter implementation program that would bring the City of Fresno into full meter compliance by 2013. The Public Utilities Division contracted with a consulting company specializing in water issues for a detailed planning study, a citizen's Utility Commission was appointed, and hearings were held for the public before the Utility Commission and city council. The meter implementation program was then approved by the city council.

At no time during this lengthy planning process by Public Utilities, planning consultants, and the citizen Utility Commission was there any mention of excluding PUD's from meter hook-ups. If city staff had made a decision to exclude PUD's, it certainly was not shared with the mayor or city council.

It wasn't until the recent "218 Hearing" (referring to the state-mandated requirement of a public hearing before utility rates can be increased) that the "new" council and mayor first heard from citizens living in PUD's that they were excluded from receiving water meters. The council, however, on a divided vote decided to approve the new water rates and meter implementation schedule.

Someone at City Hall really screwed up. Every home in Fresno requires a water meter. PUD's should certainly not be an exception. Mayor Swearengin and the city council need to immediately fix this problem, and to apologize to the public for the error.

I wouldn't want to be the person or persons that are responsible for this embarrassing episode in what is otherwise an extremely important and necessary project to assure Fresno's water future.

Coming Soon. . .

1. Why not buy a house? We taxpayers are paying for it.
2. An update on your local community college.
3. Diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey?

Comments are welcome. Click on "Comments" below or e-mail me at abriancalhoun@gmail .com.

Give Street-Level Golf Carts in Fresno the Green Light!

I was thrilled to see the recent article in the Fresno Bee that Fresno businessman Bruce Lackey hopes to bring an all-electric vehicle, similar to a golf cart on major steroids, to the San Joaquin Valley. The plug-in electric Tomberlin E-Merge will have hydraulic four-wheel brakes, independent suspension, seat belts, a roll bar and signals. Mr. Lackey plans for the E-Merge to be a street-legal, nonpolluting alternative for low-speed, short distance commuting. He is now awaiting approval from the state Department of Motor Vehicles and hopes to open the dealership soon.

Eight years ago, soon after I took office on the Fresno City Council, another local businessman came to me with the idea of licensing standard golf carts for limited use on Fresno streets. I knew--as I imagine some of you readers do--that some enterprising citizens had for some time illegally used golf carts to putter around running errands between their homes and nearby stores. While I had some doubts about whether golf carts and automobiles/trucks would mix well on our streets, I embraced the unique idea and convinced the council to send the idea to city staff for further study.

Staff eventually reported back that the concept of licensing golf carts for use on city streets was possible, but delineated the myriad limitations as to "where and when", explained the requirement for expensive safety add-ons to the golf carts, and outlined the significant restrictions placed on such vehicles by the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

I was bummed after hearing the staff report, but realized that fighting state and local transportation bureaucrats was a lose-lose proposition. I reluctantly brought the bad news forward during a council meeting. The businessman that brought forth the idea left dejected.

But as we have just learned, eight years and a number of technological improvements have increased the environmental appeal of a souped-up all-electric vehicle in the pollution-chocked San Joaquin Valley. Also, a federal tax credit of between $4,200 and $5,000 should help increase the customer appeal and make the vehicle a profitable niche vehicle market.

I'm hoping that the eight year red light for these inexpensive, environmentally-friendly vehicles has ended, the yellow light is changing, and here comes the green light....beep! beep!

Coming Soon. . .

1. Why not buy a house; the taxpayers are paying for it.
2. An update on your local community college.
3. Diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey?

Comments are welcome. Click on "Comments" below or e-mail me at abriancalhoun@gmail .com.

Stealing From Transportation Measure C is Just Wrong

Ka ching!

You are hearing the sound of Fresno County Supervisors, led by Henry Perea and Susan Anderson, closely followed by City of Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin, to divert millions of dollars from the voter-approved Measure C Transportation funded priorities to something entirely new--a proposed rail maintenance facility for the planned California High Speed Rail System. Few, if anyone, would oppose having the rail maintenance facility in Fresno County since it would certainly be a source of jobs. Stealing--and that is exactly what it is--millions of dollars from Measure C, however, is unfair to the voters that approved the measure based on the significant benefits it would provide to roads, public transportation, railroad consolidation/grade separation, bike paths and innovative technology.

Since 1986, Measure C, a half-cent sales tax, has funded a more than a billion dollars of transportation programs that have improved the overall quality of Fresno County's transportation system. As the 20-year measure was coming to an end, an attempt in 2006 to reauthorize Measure C failed because it did not address transportation needs beyond traditional road and bus public transportation. Soon after, a broader Measure C proposal for 2007 - 2017 was successful because it also addressed alternative transportation, particularly transportation needs that were environmental-friendly.

One would think that local county and city elected officials would have learned their lesson when the voters soundly defeated the first attempt to reauthorize Measure C. The voters only approved the second ballot measure when it also addressed transportation issues voters felt strongly about. To try to change the funding formula to move millions of dollars to a "maybe" railroad maintenance center jobs project that is not related to the day-to-day transportation needs of Fresno County residents is simply wrong. If the rail maintenance facility is so important that local funds have to be offered up-front (and where is the requirement for this?), then the funds need to be found elsewhere.

Even more than wrong to expend Measure C is violation of the purpose of the Measure C Citizen Oversight Committee that was specifically included in the ballot measure to ensure that citizens would be able to keep a wary eye on the expenditure of funds. The Committee came into being because of the long-term suspicion that elected officials used the original Measure C as an unofficial piggy-bank for their pet transportation projects. The Committee's purpose, therefore, was to avoid any political slight-of-hand.

On a personal note, I was a member of the Fresno City Council that actively participated in the lengthy process of developing the successful 2007 Measure C ballot measure, voting to send it to citizens for their consideration, and then participating in the arduous task of prioritizing the numerous transportation projects for funding. I will have no problem requesting that the Measure C Citizen Oversight Committee oppose redirecting previously approved funds to a proposed railroad maintenance facility and, if that does not succeed, requesting that the Committee file a lawsuit to ensure that Measure C funds and projects remain exactly where they are.

Coming Soon. . .

1. Street-legal golf carts in Fresno: Give them the green light!
2. An update on your local community college.
3. Diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey?

Comments are welcome. Click on "Comments" below or e-mail me at abriancalhoun@gmail .com.

Scheduled and Unscheduled Communications at Fresno City Council Meetings

People are interesting. Watching people exercise their democratic right to petition their local government is particularly interesting.

The Fresno City Council provides the opportunity for the public to address the council each week during a Scheduled and Unscheduled Communication period on the agenda. Scheduled Communications is for anyone providing the City Clerk with his/her name and the subject to be addressed prior to the agenda's release. Unscheduled Communications is reserved for anyone without a pre-scheduled appointment to address the council. While the council cannot act on public comments during the Scheduled or Unscheduled agenda period, it can refer the issue to staff or take it under advisement.

There is no question that citizen input to elected officials is the correct thing to do. During my eight years on the council, I was quite impressed with some of the opinions and ideas that were brought to the council each week during the Scheduled and Unscheduled Communications portion of the agenda. I must also admit there were some very unusual petitioners who appeared before the council, and some unusual comments were made. I was reminded of this recently during Unscheduled Communications, when I made some recommendations for improving Fresno's FAX public transportation system (I am a long-time FAX bus rider). Other speakers also addressed the council and I refer to them below.

The first Scheduled Communications speaker implored the council to, it would seem, fix all the problems facing mankind. It was an impassioned, albeit confusing, discourse on problems from California to Somalia. The second speaker asked to have marijuana legalized for everyone. The first Unscheduled Communications speaker was certain that jet contrails in the sky were a deliberate attempt to poison the world, and the council should do something about it. Next came a "regular" (speaks at every council meeting) lamenting growth in northwest Fresno. He was followed by another "regular couple" decrying the lack of fire stations in their neighborhood. A student from Fresno City College then asked the council to attend a press conference requesting financial assistance for community college students. Finally, the "regular of all regulars" complained about everything the council had done since last week's council meeting when she had complained about the previous week's council actions, and ....

There are times when elected officials, particularly at the local level, wonder why they ran for office. Their high expectations to "make a difference in the community" often fades in the face of the day-to-day "public service" of listening to problems. The old saw about democracy being messy is correct.

The irony of it all is that after eight years as a council member listening to others, here I was during Unscheduled Communications taking my turn at the lectern and microphone, facing the council and pushing my special agenda, in this case public transportation. Now somebody else had to decide if I had anything important to say.

Coming Soon. . .

1. Street-legal golf carts in Fresno: Give them the green light!
2. An update on your local community college.
3. Diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey?

Comments are welcome. Click on "Comments" below or e-mail me at abriancalhoun@gmail .com.

What Do Your Think About Roses and Thorns Awards?

I have a proposition for you, dear reader. Help me decide if we should enact a Roses and Thorns Award program to highlight the good and not-so-good development in Fresno. A little history is in order.

When I was a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the early 1970's, the local newspaper--The Capitol Times--sponsored an annual Orchids and Onions Award competition. More than 250,000 Madison residents eagerly anticipated the awards that were annually given to the best and worst developments or landscaping. While those receiving the Orchids were understandably very proud, most of the attention was drawn to the Onions, the height of embarrassment for the recipients. The negative characterization that went with the awards often led to the development or landscaping being improved.

My wife and I had an "up close and personal" experience with an Onion. As the on-site managers of a large apartment complex--University Courts--we were surprised when the owners of the complex installed green cement instead of landscaping between the sidewalk and the curb fronting a major street. You guessed it; University Courts received one of the dreaded Onion's that year!

Fast forward to 2001 when I was elected to represent the northwest quadrant of Fresno on the City Council. Taking a small leaf from my experience in Madison many years previous, I established an annual Orchids Awards for commercial properties and residential homes in my council district. A local park was renamed Orchid Park as a permanent recognition of those businesses and individuals that contributed to the beautification of the district.

Similar to my former Orchids Awards is Tree Fresno's Cityscapes Awards that recognize the integration of good building and landscaping in Fresno and Clovis.

My question is this: Is Fresno ready for a new award--Roses and Thorns--that would be far more controversial than current or former recognition programs because it would also shine a light on developments/buildings that detract from that which is good about our community? And if so, would the compliments and crticisms really accomplish anything?

You are encouraged to share your thoughts on the concept of a new Roses and Thorns Award program.

Think of it this way...We can do better than having to settle for the 'no' in Fresno.

Coming Soon. . .

1. Street-legal golf carts in Fresno: Give them the green light!
2. An update on your local community college.
3. Scheduled and Unscheduled Public Communications at a typical City Council meeting.

Comments are welcome. Click on "Comments" below or e-mail me at abriancalhoun@gmail
.com.