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IN
THE NEWS | FROM
THE PUBLISHER | CALENDAR
July 4, 2002
Parking tax proposed for Eureka
The city of Eureka should
impose a tax on businesses to help resolve the chronic problem
of scarce parking downtown, the latest Humboldt County Grand
Jury report says.
The report, which comes out
each July, does not specify the size of the tax. Nor does it
say whether the tax should be limited to downtown businesses.
But it does note the obvious -- the recommendation is likely
to stir controversy.
"City staff stated that
business owners threatened litigation or bankruptcy if assessed
for parking," the report noted.
In 1988 the city proposed
a parking assessment district, construction of two multilevel
parking structures and an additional street lot. The plan offered
to split the costs equally between the city and businesses most
directly affected. The proposal was quickly shot down and the
city has been "gun-shy" ever since, said Brent Siemer,
director of public works.
"Employees make up the
lion's share of the parking demand," Siemer said, and studies
indicate employees resist parking more than a block from work.
A large parking structure would therefore likely go unused.
And then there's the city's
image to consider.
Tight parking is "a tiger
the city wants to have prowling around," Siemer said. "If
[street parking] were too plentiful, people may think it's a
ghost town."
The annual Grand Jury report
is aimed at fostering improvement in the performance of municipalities
and is often influential. This year's version made these additional
findings regarding Eureka's parking situation:
The city has spent $188,000
on parking studies over the past 23 years and downtown parking
remains a problem.
The city aggravated the parking
situation with its new waterfront development. The cobblestone
streets and intersections along 2nd Street removed a total of
40-50 parking spaces.
The city regularly approves
development projects with inadequate parking.
Ninety-eight percent of available
downtown city lot parking is used by business owners, employees
and residents, leaving just 2 percent for shoppers. (City surveys
show just 12 percent of the spots on street are used by shoppers
and the remainder employees and residents.)
Downtown workers routinely
move their cars up to three times a day to avoid parking tickets
in two-hour zones.
The city is out of compliance
with federal handicapped parking requirements, which it says
it can't afford to comply with.
In addition to the proposal
for a parking tax, the report calls upon the city to consider
more parking meters, improve its planning and find a way to come
into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Each year the Grand Jury examines
several county departments and other public agencies and programs.
A report is issued at the conclusion of the grand jury year of
service -- the beginning of summer -- and the investigated entities
have until Aug. 30 to respond to findings of deficiency.
One county department, the
county counsel's office, was examined for the first time and
found in a certain amount of disarray. The report noted problems
with morale and with productivity. A work furlough system --
which allows employees to take unpaid leave -- a four-day work
week and a job-sharing arrangement have reduced the office's
ability to complete legal work for other county departments,
according to the report.
Another problem -- that 20
attorneys and staff are in two locations -- should be remedied
by a planned consolidation this fall, the report said.
Jurors scrutinized the county
parks system and found it underfunded and understaffed, a common
finding for county departments and programs.
The Grand Jury also found
shortcomings in cleanliness and in compliance with disability
access at sheriff substations in Hoopa and Garberville. The Garberville
substation also needs to be expanded, the Grand Jury said, since
it is used to accommodate the California Highway Patrol, state
Fish and Game, the Drug Enforcement Agency and other law enforcement
personnel in times of need.
A new state-of-the-art facility
in Eureka that serves troubled youths in Humboldt, Del Norte,
Mendocino and Lake counties got high marks, as did a day treatment
program for youths in need of rehabilitation. The county's Juvenile
Hall, however, is chronically overcrowded and understaffed, the
report said, and the county should expedite grant funds to expand
the facility and increase staff.
Some of the Grand Jury's investigations
are complaint-driven. This year a resident of Henderson Center
in Eureka complained about the county's purchase and renovation
of a house for use by the county's Healthy Moms' Program, a day
treatment program for mothers-to-be with alcohol and drug problems.
The report found the county at fault for not thoroughly inspecting
the house prior to purchase, causing excessive remodeling costs.
But the jurors had nothing but praise for the program itself.
"The Humboldt County
Grand Jury commends the staff of the Healthy Moms' Program for
the vital service they are providing to the community and in
addition commends the Board of Supervisors for their continuing
support of the program."
The full 43-page Grand Jury
Report is available at all branches of the Humboldt County Library.
-- reported by Judy Hodgson
Tracking HIV
People who test positive for
HIV in California will now have their cases recorded in a database,
giving the state a better picture of the extent to which the
virus that causes AIDS is spreading throughout the population.
Under new rules that took effect
July 1, whenever a person is diagnosed with HIV it will be reported
to the state, though not by name. Instead, a code that includes
the last four digits of the patient's Social Security number
will be used to preserve privacy.
California is the eighth state
to institute reporting with codes instead of names, recognizing
concerns about discrimination. California is the 47th state to
adopt an HIV tracking system.
The state Legislature approved
the change in 2000.
The primary reason for the new
reporting system is that starting in 2005 federal funding will
be based on both HIV and AIDS statistics. Previously, the prevalence
of HIV was extrapolated from the number of AIDS diagnoses. But
with new advances in treatment, fewer HIV-positive people are
coming down with full-blown AIDS, making AIDS data a less reliable
source of information.
"I've always been a fan
of HIV reporting because with AIDS reporting you're really just
looking at the tip of the iceberg," said Ann Lindsey, public
health officer with the the Humboldt County Health Department.
In Humboldt County 204 people
have been diagnosed with AIDS since 1984, but the rates have
dropped since the early `90s, and no one has died of it since
2000.
However, HIV infection rates
in the county are a complete unknown, making it hard to target
preventative measures.
"We know that in other
states the 16-to-24-year-old demographic is [showing] a lot of
infection, but here we don't know that," said Jeoffrey Barett,
a senior public health nurse and the county's AIDS program coordinator.
"Without that [information], if you're going into a high
school somewhere to teach AIDS education it's a hard sell."
Patients who are recieving treatment
for HIV will also have their diagnoses reported under the new
law.
In the end, the new data should
bring better and possibly more funding to the county to foster
AIDS awareness and combat the disease itself.
"The good thing about HIV
reporting is that it will finally bring data-based planning to
the AIDS effort," said Barret.
Local economy gaining
Things are looking up for Humboldt
County's economy, which appears to have pulled out of the recession
it became mired in late last year.
"The local economy has
recovered much of the ground lost during the recession. A modest
local recovery may be solidifying," says the Index of
Economic Activity for Humboldt County, a monthly report put
out by Humboldt State University.
According to the Index,
three of the four "leading indicators" of economic
performance were positive in May (the latest month for which
figures are available) -- manufacturing orders and building permits
were both up, while unemployment insurance claims were down.
However, the picture is not
entirely rosy. Of the six economic sectors the Index tracks,
just two registered growth in May -- lumber manufacturing and
retail sales. Other sectors such as home sales dropped just slightly;
the only sector to have a significant falling off was tourism,
which was down 11 percent from May of last year.
Both economics professor Steven
Hackett and John Manning, managing director of the Index,
said the drop in occupancy rates in local hotels and motels is
disturbing. But they said it should not be taken as an indication
of a bad summer tourism season. They also said it's a bit puzzling
since local tourism officials say inquiries from potential visitors
are up.
"We can't reconcile the
occupancy rates we're seeing on the one hand with the interest
that they're seeing at the visitor's bureau," Hackett said.
The torch has been passed
"So much for Iowa State,"
said new Humboldt State University President Rollin Richmond,
glancing at his new campus identification card. The comment amounted
to an official goodbye to the university where he had been provost
for the past seven years.
On Monday, Richmond officially
took over from Alistair McCrone, who served as president for
27 years. The occasion was marked by a sort of mobile news conference,
with the peripatetic new president touring the campus with members
of the media in tow.
Richmond came to the campus
after attending a retreat for the presidents of the California
State University system, where the new state budget was discussed.
Richmond said the budget looks
pretty good this year, but that there would be "more opportunity
from the university to suffer from a bad budget" next year
due to the budget deficit.
Richmond also said that he looked
forward to working with the community and finding out what Humboldt
State can do for Northern California.
Don't
play with fire
Fire restrictions are now in
effect on all U.S. Bureau of Land Management lands in Humboldt
and Mendocino counties, including the King Range National Conservation
Area.
According to a press release
from the agency's Arcata field office, the restrictions are as
follows:
1. Internal combustion engines
(automobiles, ATVs -- basically everything except chainsaws)
are limited to established roads and trails.
2. Fireworks are illegal period.
The sole exception is on July 4, when state fire marshal-approved
fireworks can be used in posted areas on Black Sands and Mattole
Beaches, and the Samoa Dunes Recreation Area.
3. Smoking is only allowed inside
enclosed vehicles and at developed campgrounds and recreation
sites.
4. Campfires and barbecues are
only allowed in the designated areas of developed campgrounds
and recreation sites. Portable stoves are allowed but only with
a campfire permit.
Speaking of campfires, the U.S.
Forest Service put out guidelines to help prevent your cheery
blaze from turning into a roaring inferno -- and reminded the
public that fireworks, even the "safe and sane" variety,
are not allowed on National Forest lands.
Campfires cause about a third
of the fires in the Six Rivers National Forest annually, but
following these guidelines should help prevent that:
1. Campfire permits are required
outside of a campsite. Free permits are available at any Forest
Service, Bureau of Land Management or California Department of
Forestry and Fire Protection office.
2. Build campfires away from
overhanging branches, steep slopes, rotten stumps or logs, dry
grass and leaves. Stockpile firewood away from the fire.
3. Scrape away litter, duff
and any burnable material in a ten-foot wide circle to keep a
small campfire from spreading.
4. Keep water available nearby,
and you must keep a shovel with you so you can keep the fire
from spreading to the surrounding area.
5. Never leave a fire unattended.
A breeze may come up while you're gone and spread the fire.
6. Make sure your campfire is
out. Drown it with water, and be sure all burning material has
been extinguished and cooled. Feel the coals and ashes; make
sure no roots are burning. Never bury a fire; it may smolder
and break out again. Crush out cigarettes on something that won't
burn like a rock, not a log or on the ground.
"Your campfire is your
responsibility," said Six Rivers National Forest Officer
John Wendt in a press release. "You can be held accountable
for the cost of suppression. More important than that, firefighters
and the public are in danger when runaway campfires spread. We
want everyone to be safe."
Or, more classically, only you
can prevent forest fires. Happy burning.
Fleeing is pointless
Warning: The brand-new, all-white
2002 Chevrolet Camaro sneaking up behind you might not be driven
by someone in the throes of a mid-life crisis; instead, it could
be a California Highway Patrol officer in hot pursuit.
The Garberville CHP office is
the first on the North Coast to receive the new patrol cars,
which will not sport the traditional black-and-white, two-tone
paint job. Seventy-two others will be deployed statewide in coming
weeks.
The $25,000 sports cars can
reach speeds up to 160 mph.
Besides being all-white, several
stealth features have been introduced to catch violators unawares.
For example, what appears to be a ski rack on the roof is actually
a bank of flashing lights waiting to be turned on. And the shotgun
that used to stand up between the front seats will now lie out
of sight on the floor to the left of the driver.
IN
THE NEWS | FROM THE PUBLISHER | CALENDAR
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© Copyright 2002, North Coast Journal,
Inc.
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