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If
you missed it, see Bill Hocker's Commentary, 3/16/14, Napa Register:
"Tourism and agriculture are not mutually compatible, each requiring
for different purposes the land and water resources that seem to be in ever
shorter supply. If the concessions to tourism made in the 2010 WDO are not
removed, the tourism they are spawning will continue to nibble at those
resources until the vineyards, like the fishing villages of Cape Cod,
become only a prop to justify tourism." Read the whole article.
Next,
please vote for Pro. 42, The Public's Right to Know Act. Too many electoral
bodies treat transparency as an option or a pesky technicality when it is a
core responsibility. According to the State's Brown Act presentation
in Napa this week, it is a 'serial meeting' and a violation of the Brown
Act if boards and councils email or text each other or send messages
through a city manager. The presenter said it even happens during meetings.
Another example, it is problematic for the St. Helena City Council to to hold
special meetings at 7:30 AM in their un-televised conference room with only
8 chairs, deliberately restricting the public's right to know.
Check
the Good Government page for Brown Act details
and the clip on Nevero wanting to cut the Library in the budget
hearing. Remember, their own goal (in last week's Star) was to have a
General Fund Reserve of 25% ($225 mil) but they said on Tues. that they now
have $4 million or 45%! The Library portion of the budget is 10%.
The
Planning Commission has no scheduled matters this week. The Council
said the budget hearing will continue, watch for a special meeting.
About
twice a year this email is goes to the whole list, including
out-of-towners, as this one will.
Sandy
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