Politics
Here you will find a broad range of news articles political in nature.
An item appeared on the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors Agenda for their April 16, 2013 meeting which will begin the process of vacating a portion of county owned property known as the Jim DeMulling Memorial Park in Garberville .
The agenda item and accompanying recommendation appeared as quoted below.
"Vacation of a Portion of Redwood Drive (C6B105) and Thomas Drive (6B150), also known as the Jim DeMulling Veterans Memorial Grove in Garberville."
"RECOMMENDATION: That the Board of Supervisors direct staff to prepare the necessary documents for the vacation of a portion of the unused right of way of Redwood Drive (C6B105) and Thomas Drive (6B150)."
According to the document above removing the property, not used for public road purposes, will allow the county to manage the property for non-road related purposes, and could ultimately allow the county to, "lease, license, or sell the property."
The DeMulling Park area, at the Northern entrance to Garberville, has been, and is currently, used as a meeting place, resting area, and refuge for the Houseless, Homeless, Traveler (HHT) population in Southern Humboldt. At times, however, it has also been the site of incidents of illegal activity and violence, making the continued use of the area by the HHT Community a point of controversy between various factions in the SoHum Community at large.
Use the player below to hear or download the audio of a report on this Board item, submitted by KMUD News Correspondent, Daniel Mintz. This piece was aired by News Director, Terri Klemetson, on the KMUD Local News Tues., April 16, 2013.
Related KMUD News Posts:
Other related links:
Law enforcement responds to fight at Veterans Park; two deputies slightly injured-Redwood Times
Even Laundry Nazi's Get Hurt Feelings- Kym Kemp's Red Headed Blackbelt Blog
Humboldt County Treasurer explains school bond financing
Written by Bob FroehlichRecently school construction bond financing has been in the news. Click here for story in the Pasadena Sun. In 2010 Southern Humboldt County voters approved Measure L for local school construction projects. KMUD News Coordinator,Terri Klemetson, interviewed Southern Humboldt Unified School District Board President, Dennis O'Sullivan, about Measure L bond financing. That interview, aired Dec. 11, 2012 and can can be found in the archived local news. Click here for that link (sixth story into the newscast).
In a followup to this story, Terri Klemetson interviewed Humboldt County Treasurer, John Bartholomew. A portion of that interview aired on Dec. 19, 2012.
Use the player below to hear the extended interview with Bartholomew.
According to a press release from Office of Secretary of State, dated Oct. 8, 2012:
While Election Day is still weeks away, October 8 marks the start of “election month,” when county elections officials prepare to mail November 6 General Election ballots to the millions of Californians who opt for the convenience of voting by mail.
“With the ever-increasing popularity of voting by mail, Election Day has really become election month,” said Secretary of State Debra Bowen, the state’s chief elections officer. “Voting by mail lets you vote when you decide it’s convenient because you can mark your ballot and mail it now, or mark it as you make up your mind on issues and candidates. Whatever you do, make sure your county elections official receives your ballot by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day so it will be counted.”
Any California voter may vote by mail. The last day to request a vote-by-mail ballot is October 30. A registered voter may request a ballot by using the application printed on the back of the sample ballot booklet mailed by the county elections office, or obtain an application online at: www.sos.ca.gov/elections/vote-by-mail/pdf/fill-in-vote-by-mail-app-instruct.pdf. Registered voters can also vote in person at their county elections office prior to November 6.
County elections officials will begin mailing vote-by-mail ballots as early as October 9 (post offices are closed today for a federal holiday). Ballots have already been mailed to military and overseas voters. Vote-by-mail voters can cast their November 6 ballots through the mail, drop them off at any polling place within the voter’s county, or vote in person at county elections offices. Once county elections officials determine the signature on the vote-by-mail ballot return envelope matches the voter’s signature on his or her voter registration application, and the voter did not vote elsewhere in the same election, the ballot is counted. All valid vote-by-mail ballots are counted in every election, regardless of the outcome or closeness of any race.
Vote-by-mail ballots comprised 65 percent of ballots cast in the June 2012 primary – the most ever in a California statewide election.
Register on-line to vote in General Election – deadline Oct. 22
Written by Bob Froehlich
According to the Registrar of Voters web page you can register on-line to vote in the General Election (Nov. 6, 2012), but you must submit your electronic form before midnight Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) on October 22, 2012. The process is easy and has good instructions.
To register you must be a citizen of the U.S. and be at least 18 years old. You cannot be registered to vote in more than one place at a time or be currently incarcerated or on parole, or currently judged by a court to be mentally incompetent. To use the on-line registration above you must be a California state resident.
To register online you will need your California driver license or identification card number, the last four digits of your social security number and your date of birth. If you do not have a California driver license or California identification card, you can still use this form to register to vote by completing the online interview by midnight PDT on October 22, 2012, and printing, signing, and mailing your form to the address on the mailing label.
Click here to go directly to the registration page or use the Registrar of Voters web page at:http://co.humboldt.ca.us/election and click on the link that says, "NEW!! Register to Vote Online."
If you don't remember if you're registered to vote or need to check what name you're registered under or what political party you're registered with, click here to use the Secretary of State website to check.
KMUD Election resources:
Click here for a Resource Page for Nov., 2012 California State Ballot Measures.
Update on this story:
According to KMUD News Coordinator. Cynthia Elkins:
"Humboldt County residents started getting bills for the new state fire protection fee last week, just as a group is preparing to challenge the fee in state court. The fire protection fees were passed in the face of budget cuts to fire protection services. The bills are being sent out in alphabetical order by county, meaning folks in Alameda County received their’s first. The fee goes to about 825-thousand residents in the state. Jim Little is Chief of the Long Valley Fire Protection District and is concerned about the fee. He says he has two main concerns, saying his first (concern) is that the legislature did not consider the impact the fee would have on local fire districts like his."
Use the player below to hear the interview with Jim Little, Chief of the Long Valley Fire Protection District, and Tim Bittle, an attorney with the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association, which aired on KMUD Local News on Sept. 17, 2012, Cynthia Elkins reporting:
Original Post:
Briceland Fire Chief Tim Olsen was a guest on Monday Morning Magazine on September 17 (from 8 to 8:30), and one of the topics of discussion was the so-called State Responsibility Area (SRA) Fire Prevention Benefit Fee.
The State Responsibility Area (SRA) Fire Prevention Benefit Fee was enacted following the signing of Assembly Bill X1 29 in July 2011. The law approved the new annual Fire Prevention Fee to pay for fire prevention services within the SRA. The fee is applied to all habitable structures within the SRA.
The fee is levied at the rate of $150 per habitable structure, which is defined as a building that can be occupied for residential use. Owners of habitable structures who are also within the boundaries of a local fire protection agency will receive a reduction of $35 per habitable structure.
This fee will fund a variety of important fire prevention services within the SRA including brush clearance and activities to improve forest health so the forest can better withstand wildfire.
The information above comes from the California government website http://www.firepreventionfee.org/ where you can also find a petition for redetermination.
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association believes the new Fire Prevention Fee is really a tax that needed (but did not receive) two-thirds legislative approval. The Association will be filing suit to challenge the fee and seek refunds for people who have filed a Petition for Redetermination. The HJTA hosts a website with information about this issue, including a petition to repeal it. Follow this link to http://firetaxprotest.org. The direct link to the petition is http://firetaxprotest.org/?page_id=13.
You can listen to Dennis Huber and Tim Olsen's discussion by going to the KMUD Audio Archive and look for Monday Morning Magazine, September 17, 2012.
