Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Moreno Valley homeowners weigh BADLY NEEDED street-lighting fee increase






Moreno Valley homeowners weigh street-lighting fee increase




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12:06 AM PDT on Friday, July 30, 2010

By LAURIE LUCAS
The Press-Enterprise





No way does JulieAnn Stewart-Cleaveland want the utility company to snuff out thousands of the community's neighborhood streetlights.
Especially now, when public safety is uppermost in everyone's mind on her street, not far from where Norma Lopez, 17, was kidnapped and killed earlier this month, she said.
But the city could get darker if homeowners don't approve a $15 annual fee hike to keep 8,500 residential streetlights ablaze. That works out to an additional $1.33 per month that would be included on the 2010-11 property tax bill.
Stewart-Cleaveland, 42, a mother of six, is going to vote "yes" on the ballot she will return to the city clerk's office.
"I think the community needs to wake up," she said. "We need more streetlights."
Ballots are due by Sept. 14, and as the deadline draws closer, she plans to rally homeowners to turn in their ballots to approve the rate increase.
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Special to The Press-Enterprise
Warnings are being posted on Moreno Valley streetlights saying that without a fee increase, they will be turned off.
This is the second time Moreno Valley voters have been asked to consider the rate increase.
In June 2009, the city held an election seeking approval from homeowners to increase fees from about $24 to $39 a year to pay for streetlights. But only 6,000 of 40,000 property owners returned ballots. Those who did rejected the proposed rate hike by a ratio of more than 2-to-1.
Utility rates have nearly doubled since 2006. Known as the Zone B charge, the fee funds electrical energy, maintenance and administration costs to provide residential streetlight services.
"We don't make a profit," said Councilman Richard Stewart. "It's a fee, it's not a tax. We pass the money on to Edison. If we started paying all the fees that property owners are assessed, it would cut into our police and fire protection."
In hopes of getting the word out, the city spent $40,000 to print and distribute 40,000 door hangers, 1,000 fliers and 2,500 residential street signs.
"We want people to return their ballots," said Sharon Cassel, the city's special districts division manager.The ballots must be returned no later than 6:30 p.m. Sept. 14, to Zone B Ballot, City Clerk's office, 14177 Frederick St., Moreno Valley, CA 92553."Edison has a stranglehold on us," Stewart said. "Everything is a Catch-22. No matter what the option, shut off lights, take out poles, turn off some of them, there's a charge."
Turning off the streetlights temporarily would cost $360,000. After six months, the Public Utilities Commission requires them to be turned back on, costing another $400,000.
"I'd feel safer knowing we have streetlights," said Moreno Valley resident Gwendolyn Cross, who hasn't yet returned her ballot. "It would be utterly ridiculous to turn them off."
Reach Laurie Lucas at 951-368-9569 or llucas@PE.com
Learn more
Moreno Valley will conduct a series of meetings and a public hearing about why the city says the proposed fee hike is
necessary.
Informational meetings: 9 a.m. Aug. 17; 7 p.m. Aug. 18; 3 p.m. Sept. 1
Public meeting: 6:30 p.m. Aug. 24
Public hearing: 6:30 p.m. Sept. 14
Where: All will be in City Hall chambers, 14177 Frederick St.


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This is the fight of our professional careers. Are You In or Out?

What's taking so long? This is the fight of our professional careers. Are You In or Out? "Hell has a special level for those who sit by idly during times of great crisis."
Robert Kennedy

The Art of SETTING LIMITS, Its not as easy as it looks.

Art of Setting Limits Setting limits is one of the most powerful tools that professionals have to promote positive behavior change for their clients, students, residents, patients, etc. Knowing there are limits on their behavior helps the individuals in your charge to feel safe. It also helps them learn to make appropriate choices.


There are many ways to go about setting limits, but staff members who use these techniques must keep three things in mind:
Setting a limit is not the same as issuing an ultimatum.
Limits aren’t threats—If you don’t attend group, your weekend privileges will be suspended.

Limits offer choices with consequences—If you attend group and follow the other steps in your plan, you’ll be able to attend all of the special activities this weekend. If you don’t attend group, then you’ll have to stay behind. It’s your decision.
The purpose of limits is to teach, not to punish.
Through limits, people begin to understand that their actions, positive or negative, result in predictable consequences. By giving such choices and consequences, staff members provide a structure for good decision making.
Setting limits is more about listening than talking.
Taking the time to really listen to those in your charge will help you better understand their thoughts and feelings. By listening, you will learn more about what’s important to them, and that will help you set more meaningful limits.
Download The Art of Setting Limits

SYSTEMATIC USE OF CHILD LABOR


CHILD DOMESTIC HELP
by Amanda Kloer

Published February 21, 2010 @ 09:00AM PT
category: Child Labor
Wanted: Domestic worker. Must be willing to cook, clean, work with garbage, and do all other chores as assigned. No contract available, payment based on employer's mood or current financial situation. No days off. Violence, rape, and sexual harassment may be part of the job.

Would you take that job? No way. But for thousands of child domestic workers in Indonesia, this ad doesn't just describe their job, it describes their life.

A recent CARE International survey of over 200 child domestic workers in Indonesia found that 90% of them didn't have a contract with their employer, and thus no way to legally guarantee them a fair wage (or any wage at all) for their work. 65% of them had never had a day off in their whole employment, and 12% had experienced violence. Child domestic workers remain one of the most vulnerable populations to human trafficking and exploitation. And while work and life may look a little grim for the kids who answered CARE's survey, it's likely that the most abused and exploited domestic workers didn't even have the opportunity to take the survey.

In part, child domestic workers have it so much harder than adults because the people who hire children are more likely looking for someone easy to exploit. Think about it -- if you wanted to hire a domestic worker, wouldn't you choose an adult with a stronger body and more life experience to lift and haul and cook than a kid? If you could get them both for the same price, of course you would. But what if the kid was cheaper, free even, because you knew she wouldn't try and leave if you stopped paying her. Or even if you threatened her with death.



Congress Aims to Improve Laws for Runaway, Prostituted Kids

by Amanda Kloer

categories: Child Prostitution, Pimping

Published February 20, 2010 @ 09:00AM PT

The prospects for healthcare reform may be chillier than DC weather, but Democrats in the House and Senate are turning their attention to another warmer but still significant national issue: the increasing number of runaway and throwaway youth who are being forced into prostitution. In response to the growing concerns that desperate, runaway teens will be forced into prostitution in a sluggish economy, Congress is pushing several bills to improve how runaway kids are tracked by the police, fund crucial social services, and prevent teens from being caught in sex trafficking. Here's the gist of what the new legislation is trying to accomplish:

Shelter: Lack of shelter is one of the biggest vulnerabilities of runaway and homeless youth. Pimps will often use an offer of shelter as an entree to a relationship with a child or a straight up trade for sex. In the past couple years, at least 10 states have made legislative efforts to increase the number of shelters, extend shelter options, and change state reporting requirements so that youth shelters have enough time to win trust and provide services before they need to report the runaways to the police. Much of the new federal legislation would make similar increases in the availability and flexibility of shelter options.

Police Reporting: Right now, police are supposed to enter all missing persons into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database within two hours of receiving the case. In reality, that reporting doesn't always get done, making it almost impossible for law enforcement to search for missing kids across districts. This hole is a big problem in finding child prostitution victims and their pimps, since pimps will often transport girls from state to state. The new bill would strengthen reporting requirements, as well as facilitate communication between the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the National Runaway Switchboard

We Must Never Forget These Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen and Women

We Must Never Forget These Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen and Women
Nor the Fool Politicians that used so many American GIs' lives as fodder for the fight over an english noun - "Communism"