Hal Hargrave, the fellow who organized Monday's meeting for Claremont residents to discuss Golden State Water Co.'s never-ending rate hikes, is profiled in this month's edition of Southwest Airline's Spirit Magazine. The article also mentions Hal's son, Hal Jr., who was left a quadraplegic after a 2008 auto accident and who founded the non-profit Be Perfect Foundation, which provides support to people who've had spinal cord injuries:
 |
| Click to Enlarge |
There are a couple upcoming meetings the civic-minded among you might want to attend.
Yesterday's Claremont Courier carried a small ad announcing a "Resident's Meeting [sic]" 6pm tomorrow at Apex Imaging Services, located at 720 Indigo Ct. in Pomona. The ad's title said, "CLAREMONTERS AGAINST OUTRAGEOUS WATER RATES! Golden State Water STOP RIPPING US OFF!!!"
 |
| Click to Enlarge |
Some of the events happening this week in our fair city:
THURSDAY NIGHT WATERWORKS
Speaking of cartels, Claremont's water supplier, Golden State Water Co., is holding an open house tomorrow evening at the new Claremont University Consortium Administrative Campus Center. Here's your chance to hear the latest GSWC propaganda in support of their most recently requested rate hikes. You can get an earful about how all that extra money you're paying for water is going straight into the pockets of water company shareholders improving Claremont's water supply infrastructure.
Here's what the City's website has to say about the event:
Golden State Water Family Open House (Nov 1, 2011)
Golden State Water will host an open house on November 3, 2011 from 5:30 - 7:30 pm at the Claremont University Consortium Administrative Campus Center. This is your opportunity to learn more about your water provider's plans for your area. Golden State Watr employees will staff booths about its general rate case application, water use efficiency, planned improvements, water costs, and water quality. The Campus Center is located a 101 South Mills Avenue.
Fall Plant Sale
November 5 and 6
Join us for this spectacular annual event featuring the largest and most exciting collection of California native and California appropriate plants around!
Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden's 33nd annual Fall Plant Sale on Saturday and Sunday, November 5 and 6, 2011. Autumn is the best time to plant California native perennials, shrubs, bulbs and wildflower seeds. Shop thousands of beautiful plants and water-wise solutions for your home landscape and get the expert advice you’d expect from California’s native garden.
Members-only
Saturday, November 5, 8 a.m. until 11 a.m. Memberships (starting at $45 individual and $75 family) may be purchased at the sale. For information, contact our membership team at (909) 625-8767 ext 222.
Veterans Day Ceremony at Memorial Park (Nov 1, 2011)
The City of Claremont and American Legion Post 78 proudly announce the annual Veterans Day Ceremony in Memorial Park (840 N. Indian Hill Blvd), on Friday, November 11 at 11 a.m. This ceremony honors veterans of all wars including living, deceased, killed in combat, prisoners of war (POW's), and missing in action (MIA's).
The ceremony will include comments from members of American Legion Post 78, Mayor Pro Tem Larry Schroeder, and various community members. The ceremony will also feature Taps performed by the El Roble Marching Band.
For more information about the City of Claremont's Veterans Day Ceremony, log onto the City website at www.ci.claremont.ca.us or call (909) 399-5490.
Claremont City Manager Jeff Parker's weekly report last Thursday led with a blurb about a turf buyback program offering $3 for every square-foot of yard grass homeowners replace with drought-tolerant landscaping:
TURF BUYBACK PROGRAM NOW AVAILABLE IN CLAREMONT!
Golden State Water Company and Three Valleys Municipal Water District have teamed up to offer cash rebates to Claremont homeowners that remove turf and replace it with water-wise landscaping. The Residential Turf Removal Program rebates $3.00 per square foot for turf removed up to a maximum of $3,000 per residence. Details of the program and an application to participate can be found at:
http://www.socalwatersmart.com/images/PDFs/mwd_rebate_form_turf_removal.pdf .
The City is excited about this program because it should help the community meet its goal of reducing potable water consumed community-wide by 20% by 2012. City Council members have been pushing for a turf buyback program, noting that 70% of water used in Claremont is for outdoor uses and that turf is almost always the most water intensive plant in our yards.
DATE: Sat, September 4, 2010 7:02:01 AM
TO: Claremont Insider
SUBJECT: Re: Claremont Insider
Oh yeah, Friday night you could see the Padua park lights from space. You know the area in north claremont that isn't supposed to have any street lights. They wanted to keep that rural feeling. That is until "they" had yet another plan, uh huh I feel like I'm in the boonies...
WORKS IN PROGRESS
Claremont City Manager Jeff Parker's weekly report for March 4 had this news about the ongoing sidewalk construction and upcoming water service interruptions:
VILLAGE CONSTRUCTION AND WATER COMPANY SERVICE INTERRUPTIONS
The Village Accessibility project continues to progress. The sidewalk on the north side of First Street, from the Post Office alley to Yale Avenue, was installed this past week. Beginning Monday March 8, the work will move to First Street, between Yale Avenue and Indian Hill Boulevard. Westbound First Street, from Yale Avenue to Indian Hill Boulevard, will be closed for approximately two (2) days while the work is being performed.
Golden State Water will have the following service interruptions to update water mains, services, and fire hydrants:All businesses and property owners are being contacted by the Water Company. The majority of the utility work in the Village, conducted by the Water and Gas companies, is taking place after the businesses are closed.
- Yale Avenue and portions of Second Street and Bonita, from First Street to Fourth Street, starting at 11:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 7, to 7:00 a.m. Monday, March 8.
- Bonita Avenue, from Indian Hill to Harvard, starting Tuesday, March 9, at 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Wednesday, March 10.
- Arrow Highway, from Elder Drive to easterly City limit, Oakdale Drive and adjoining areas, beginning Tuesday, March 9, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (This Golden State Water project is in preparation for the Arrow Highway Resurfacing Project.)
Health and Wellness Expo
The City of Claremont Human Services Department and Pomona Valley Hospital are excited to announce a Health & Wellness Expo to be held on Saturday, March 20, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the Alexander Hughes Community Center in Claremont. The Expo will include a wide variety of local businesses and non-profit organizations featuring health and wellness programs and services available to the community. Included in the day’s activities will be:For more information, please call either the Alexander Hughes Center at (909) 399-5490 or the Joslyn Center at (909) 399-5488.
- Hughes Center Open House & Class Demonstrations – A variety of contract class demonstrations, including cooking, dance, art classes, judo and more.
- Free Health Screenings - Audiology, 3-D Video Otoscope Inspection of the Ear Canal, Blood Pressure, Body Mass Index, Body Fat Analysis, Chair Massage.
- Vendor Fair - Various non-profits and businesses displaying their health and wellness programs.
- Entertainment by the Happy Crowd – Claremont’s very popular children’s entertainers, the Happy Crowd, will perform at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
- $1 BBQ Lunch hosted by the Kiwanis Club – The Kiwanis Club of Claremont will be hosting a BBQ Lunch from 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Presale lunch tickets can be purchased at the Alexander Hughes Center and the Joslyn Center.
Spring Celebration
The City of Claremont and the Rotary Club of Claremont will be hosting the annual Spring Celebration on Saturday, April 3 from 9 - 11 a.m. This FREE community event includes a petting zoo, magician, crafts, and more. The candy egg hunt for children 10 and under will begin at 10:30 a.m. This year, the Kiwanis Club will host a pancake breakfast from 7 - 10 a.m. for $4 per person. For more information, contact the Alexander Hughes Community Center at (909) 399-5490.
CLAREMONT 4TH OF JULY HONOREES & THEME CONTESTS
Honorees: The 2010 Independence Day Committee is now accepting nominations for Grand Marshal, Honored Citizen, and Honored Community Group, to be recognized at the 4th of July Celebration. All honorees will be presented with certificates at the pre-parade reception and appear in the official parade in their own decorated vehicle.
Theme Contest: All Claremont students in grades K-6 are invited to enter their ideas for the theme of this year’s 4th of July Celebration. Each theme submitted must be four words or less and have no more than 36 characters. Winners will be recognized at a pre-parade reception, ride in the parade, receive a special prize and firework tickets, as well as see their theme used throughout the event.
Nominations for Honorees and Theme Contest entries are due Thursday, March 18 to the Alexander Hughes Community Center. Entry forms can be found on the 4th of July website at www.claremont4th.org.
VERIZON DIGS CLAREMONT
As you probably know, Verizon has been slowly upgrading its wiring in the area. The company is replacing the old copper wires with a new fiber optic system (FiOS), which promises to bring us faster Internet access and a television system to compete with the Time Warner cable franchise.
A reader wrote in to complain about the disruption and shoddy road patching done by the Verizon work crews:
DATE:Friday, July 24, 2009 7:27 AMWHAT WATER CRISIS?
SUBJECT: FIOS construction
TO: Claremont Buzz
Hi. Just wanted to let you know that FIOS construction in Claremont is horrific. Long story short, they spent 6 weeks on my block of 6 homes. Verizon went through 3 crews from Simmons Court to Athens Court which is a matter of a few homes and trust me, once you see these guys in your neighborhood you will understand why. The quality of work, the clean up, the misinformation given to us as residents is unbelievable. Long story short, I have contacted Verizon officials and Claremont officials trying to get some straight answers and the bottom line, I wish I had never gotten involved. Verizon is supposed to come into a neighborhood and leave it as if they were never there…come drive Fairmont, Athens and Simmons Courts all the way up to Scripps and look at the streets. (Athens has been given more attention because 3 of the 6 of us called and complained.) The patch we can live with. The fact that Verizon construction drove immediately through the black tar and left marks from one end of the neighborhood to the other and Claremont is ok with this shouldn’t surprise me but it does. Claremont tells me we are on slurry schedule for 2010 so until then, I guess I should just be grateful I have FIOS underground! WOW!! So…Claremont BEWARE! FIOS is coming to a neighborhood near you and when they are gone…you will know they were there and definitely not for the better. FIOS had to come in but give me a break, I don’t have a “road degree” but sure know a good paving job when I see one and there isn’t one to be seen in my neighborhood.
In other infrastructure related news, there was some sort of burst water pipe yesterday morning at College Ave. directly across from the affordable housing project site at 111 S. College Ave. The leak was on the east side of the street and was just north of the Pooch Park. The source was hidden by the chainlink fence and the landscaping, but you could see the water pour from under the fence wire and flow down College Ave. in a torrent. One young fellow tried surfing the stream on a boogie board.The Claremont City Council meets tonight in the council chambers at 225 W. 2nd St. in the Claremont Village. You can watch all the action beginning at 6:30pm on the City's website.
CLOSED SESSION
The council will meet in a special closed session at 5:15pm to discuss the potential purchase of the water utility, currently provided by Golden State Water Co. Before anyone gets too excited, there doesn't seem to be any concrete action planned, though you never know what happens behind closed council doors.
Here's the closed session agenda. The Daily Bulletin had an article on the subject. The article, by Wes Woods II, quoted several councilmembers, including Sam Pedroza:
Councilman Sam Pedroza said the council expects to review several options, such as whether the city should take over its water provider or just continue to fight the water company's rising rates.
Pedroza said he brought the item to the council's attention because residents have been asking him about the increased rates.
In December, Claremont joined San Dimas, Apple Valley and Placentia in hopes of halting rising water rates charged by the water company.
"We've been talking about it for many, many years," Pedroza said. "Because of the water situation we're in and the economy, it's never going to be cheaper than what it is right now. We need to do something."
Like the rest of us, you probably received a notice in the mail today from Golden State Water Company regarding a public meeting next Wednesday, June 17, at 6:30pm. The meeting will allow the water company to explain their proposed mandatory water rationing plan.
You may want to pay attention because there are fines of $50 to $300 that can be imposed for violations, depending on which of the seven stages of water rationing we happen to be at. The conditions listed seem to track the city's proposed water conservation ordinance.
The City of Claremont's website carried this notice, along with a link to the text of the mailing:
Public Meeting on Staged Mandatory Water Rationing
Golden State Water Company (GSWC) filed Advice Letter 1332-W requesting authority from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to institute a staged mandatory rationing plan (Plan). The proposed Plan would only go into effect when specific criteria, detailed in the Plan, are met. A Public meeting will be held on June 17, 2009 at Double Tree Hotel, Sequoia Room, 555 W. Foothill Boulevard, Claremont, CA, to explain the rate process and to receive public input.
GSWC customers who would like to provide any other information or comments regarding this requested increase, should write to the CPUC at the address below.
Written public comment by GSWC customers is very much desired by the CPUC and may be sent to the CPUC's Water Division at 505 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102, 3rd Floor, Room 3102, or e-mailed to regulatoryaffairs@gswater.com. Please refer to Golden State Water Company's Advice Letter No. 1332-W in any communications.
View GSWC Manadatory Conservation Notice (Adobe Acrobat, 35KB)
Written public comment by GSWC customers is very much desired by the CPUC and may be sent to the CPUC's Water Division at 505 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102, 3rd Floor, Room 3102. Please refer to Golden State Water Company's Advice Letter No. 1332-W in any communications.
With California in the midst of its third year of drought, water agencies have begun instituting water conservation measures. The search for ways of reducing water consumption is on, and the City of Claremont announced a toilet exchange program sponsored by Golden State Water Co. (see flyer at right) If you have an old toilet (3.8 gallons per flush), you can trade that for a new, high-efficiency model at no cost.Free High-Efficiency Toilets for Golden State Water Customers
Golden State Water Company will be distributing free, high-efficiency toilets at Claremont High School (1601 N. Indian Hill Boulevard) on Saturday, June 27, 2009, starting at 8:00 a.m. By participating, you are supporting Claremont High School Softball Boosters. Click on the link below for participation requirements and information on how to reserve a free high-efficiency toilet.
- View Golden State Water Company Flyer (Adobe Acrobat, 1702KB)
Just a reminder, tomorrow there will be two opportunities to provide comment to an administrative law judge from the California Public Utilities Commission.
Two "public participation" hearings are scheduled at the Hughes Center in Claremont:
Thursday, February 5, 2009, 2:00 p.m.
Alexander Hughes Community Center
1700 Danbury Road, Grove Room
Claremont, California
Thursday, February 5, 2009, 6:00 p.m.
Alexander Hughes Community Center
1700 Danbury Road, Grove Room
Claremont, California
See our Monday post for more information, copies of the notice, and links to the City website with the City's take on this whole deal. If there is one point to be made, apart from the fact that Golden State Water Company's rate request in excess of 35% is outrageous, it is that it is very unfair of the PUC to have allowed Golden State to "regionalize" our water rates and include us with portions of Golden State's business with which we have no nexus, such as Barstow, Calipatria, Orange County, San Dimas, and San Gabriel, Wrightwood and Morongo Valley.
This "regionalization", by the way, was done about a decade ago with the acquiescence of then-City Manager Glenn Southard, we presume with the good advice of his strong right-hand, then-Assistant City Manager Bridget Healy. (pictured, left)
California Public Utilities Commission Seeks Public Participation and Request for Public Comment
The California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) will be holding two public hearings regarding Golden State Water Company's (GSWC) formal application for a rate increase. The hearings will be held in the Padua Room at the Alexander Hughes Center, located at 1700 Danbury Road, at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Thursday, February 5, 2009.
The City of Claremont believes that GSWC has not provided a compelling reason why an interim rate relief is merited, and the City, as a substantial ratepayer, deserves the benefit of a full Commission process before any rate increases are imposed.
The CPUC is seeking public comment on this formal application by GSWC. As part of its decision-making process, the CPUC is interested in your comments on any aspect of the company's operation including proposed rates, service quality or any other issue of concern.
Claremont residents are strongly encouraged to attend one of these hearings. The Public Participation Hearing provides the public an opportunity to provide comment on any portion of Golden State Water Company's Application before a CPUC Administrative Law Judge.
Here is a list of some talking points to assist you when speaking to the CPUC:
- The Proposed overall rate increase is more than 35% higher than current rates.
- Overall rate increase is unreasonable in the current state of the economy, with people losing jobs, facing foreclosure and not being able to afford higher utility bills.
- Wrightwood Pipeline being built in another town located far from Claremont: Because of regionalized rate structure, citizens of Claremont will subsidize pipeline project through their rates, but receive no benefit from it.
- GSWC is not establishing the required connection between the cost of the proposed conservation measures and the benefit/savings to local communities. Citizens care deeply about conservation, but want to see conservation measures implemented properly and effectively.
- Return on investment sought by GSWC is unreasonable in this economic climate. GSWC shouldn't be making a higher profit, when other business and citizens are merely trying to stay afloat.
For a copy of the talking points, click on the link below.
Claremont residents are also encouraged to immediately e-mail/write to the Public Utilities Commission to protest Golden State Water's interim rate increase:
Email: public.advisor.la@cpuc.ca.gov
Send correspondence to:
CPUC's Public Advisor's Office
320 West 4th Street, Suite 500
Los Angeles, CA 90013
Here's a link to the City of Claremont talking points
Unhappy with its prospects in the normal rate-setting process, Golden State Water Company has filed an Advice Letter with the California Public Utilities Commission for an immediate unjustified increase of almost $4.5 million on top of the some $95 million it already collects from its territory which includes Claremont.
A notice hit people's mailboxes Saturday afternoon and we here at the Insider have been inundated with an email about it ever since.
Not on the CPUC website. We'll spare you the search process, but the only CPUC document mentioning Advice Letter 1309-W appears to be the Commission's daily calendar for November 19, memorializing receipt of the aforesaid advice letter the day before (and giving the only clue, if we read it right, of the filing date--it's buried quite far down in a long document).
So how is the protesting customer supposed to protest and object to the advice letter in whole or in part and set forth the specific grounds on which it is based, without knowing what is contained in the advice letter?
They come around with the predictability of eclipses or the tides or the change of seasons. They are applications by the Golden State Water Company to the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) for another RATE INCREASE. Since the water company is a regulated utility, all rate increases must be approved by the PUC.
Last month the water company sent yellow notices to all of its customers advising of yet one more bite at the rate-payers' apple:
This breathtaking increase request is quite in keeping with the modus operandi of Golden State in initially asking the PUC for the moon and then settling for a few scattered comets, asteroids, and pieces of space junk. Over the years, Golden State comes in with a highball request, the wheels of the PUC grind exceedingly slow and fine, and the Commission ultimately approves an increase in the neighborhood of half what was initially requested--still, gobs and gobs of money. Enough to keep President and CEO Floyd E. Wicks in those nice suits for a long time (see photo, right).
(If links below appear broken, try again later. The PUC appears not to have paid its electric bill.)
Posts
