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December 14, 2000
Rate hikes
are coming!
"We are projecting increases
in commodity procuring costs as high as 50 percent, and that
could be reflected in rate increases as high as 50 percent,"
said Lloyd Coker, a spokesperson for Pacific Gas and Electric,
in a telephone interview from Santa Rosa.
Coker said that PG&E has
been trying to warn customers since September, but that many
people were only now realizing how much of a burden this could
place on them this winter.
Many PG&E customers are
upset about the increases, and some are taking political action
(In the News, Dec.
7). Coker said that PG&E isn't
to blame for the price increases, because it does not profit
from the procurement of natural gas.
"We just pass the cost
changes through to customers," he said.
If people are having difficulty
paying utility bills, Coker said, there are several options.
Consumers interested in energy-saving tips, for instance, can
call PG&E's "Smarter Energy Line" at 1-800-933-9555.
If customers have a balance
they cannot pay off, they can call 1-800-743-5000 to arrange
a payment plan. That's also the number to call to see if you
qualify for financial assistance.
Sales tax
cut looms
Here's some good news for the
new year: Beginning Jan. 1 your shopping trips will become just
a little bit cheaper.
California's flush financial
condition has triggered an automatic cut in the sales tax. The
reduction is the result of 1991 legislation that specified the
sales tax was to be cut by one quarter of 1 percent if the state's
reserves exceed 4 percent of revenues, and if they are expected
to do so again next year.
The change isn't monumental.
On a purchase of $100, you'll save a quarter.
The consumer windfall may not
last forever, as the tax rate is automatically increased again
if reserves fall below 4 percent of annual revenue.
Vaccine
supply manipulated?
Delays in manufacturing and
shipping this year's flu vaccine have injected a bit of chaos
into Humboldt County's distribution system and prompted Rep.
Mike Thompson to ask for a congressional investigation.
The problem started earlier
this year when one of the three strains of flu in the vaccine
turned out to be slower in reproducing than expected. This caused
a slowdown in vaccine manufacturing (In
the News, Nov. 23).
Most doctors did not receive
their supplies of the vaccine on schedule, said Susan Wardrip,
spokesperson for the Humboldt County Public Health Department,
and that put more pressure on the department's vaccine clinics.
"As it became available,
people went to where it was instead of going to the doctor's
office," she said. They came in such numbers to the county's
clinics that the department exhausted its supply of vaccine.
Three flu clinics scheduled for December have been cancelled.
Thompson (D, St. Helena) has
asked for an investigation into reports that the vaccine manufacturers
manipulated distribution of the medicine to maximize profits.
"Reports have been circulating
about possible profiteering by vaccine companies in light of
the ... vaccine shortage," Thompson stated in a letter to
the General Accounting Office, the congressional auditing and
investigative body which will conduct the probe.
The letter points out that some
doctors are reported to have paid as much as $8 a dose to get
the vaccine early. Public health providers like the county health
department pay as little as $1.70 per dose but received the vaccine
much later.
If the reports are true then
"high-risk patients who rely on public health clinics and
hospitals are being subjected to needlessly and potentially dangerous
delays," Thompson stated.
Members of Congress are to meet
Dec. 14 to discuss the scope and timing of the investigation.
In the meantime, people who still need the vaccine should call
their doctor. Mad River Hospital is also conducting a flu shot
clinic Dec. 15. See this week's calendar
for details.
Boardwalk
project setback
The Eureka boardwalk project
was dealt a setback last month when bids were open and the lowest
bidder was $2 million over the engineer's estimate.
"It's typical on a project
like this to ask for an engineer's estimate at the time they
do design work," said City Manager David Tyson. "The
engineer was partially unaware of the costs of mobilization,
the cost to bring equipment in here to do the work that needs
to be done."
The Seattle company had estimated
it would cost $4.9 million to build the boardwalk linking C and
F streets along the waterfront. That figure has been revised
to $6.8 million.
Tyson said he hopes to bring
alternative financing plans back to the Eureka Council at its
Dec. 19 meeting. One possible source of additional funding is
the state's infrastructure bank, which makes low-interest loans
for economic development projects.
"Our original estimate
was $7.7 million. It's a competitive process and they turned
us down. But in the last couple of weeks they have indicated
that they are willing to reconsider," Tyson said.
Another option is to phase in
the project and build the boardwalk from E Street to the foot
of G Street with funds now available.
"In any case we have to
go back out to bid and it will just take more time," Tyson
said.
Economy
steady, jobs grow
The Index of Economic Activity
for Humboldt County shows that the county economy continues
to grow and provide new jobs despite recent layoffs at the Eel
River Sawmill and Fluhrer Bakery. A total of 1,800 jobs were
created in September alone.
The Index uses unemployment
claims as an indicator of newly unemployed and help-wanted ads
as an indicator of new job openings. Both were up in October,
the last month for which data was available. Help-wanted ads
increased 7.2 percent and unemployment claims were up 35 percent
over September.
It's clear that there is movement
in the labor market, but it was hard to tell exactly who was
going where.
"We don't know where these
newly unemployed are being absorbed," said Deborah Keeth,
a student who tracks Index indicators along with Professor
Steve Hackett of Humboldt State University.
Hackett suggested that there
might even be a departure of manufacturing workers.
"They may be going to an
area where there are more vibrant manufacturing labor markets,"
he said.
"We have seen some increases
in the services sector," Keeth added. The services sector
is likely to increase as the holiday shopping season progresses
with pay scales traditionally well below those of manufacturing.
Adopt a
family
Concerns about confidentiality
make it especially difficult for families affected by domestic
violence to access help like other needy groups during the holidays.
That's why Humboldt Women for
Shelter, a nonprofit group that helps survivors of domestic violence,
runs its own holiday gift program.
Melody Moulton, who works on
the children's staff at HWS, said that it was especially important
for these families to know the community supports them because
they often cannot afford to travel to see their relatives.
Donors may request a list of
family members' ages and sexes to help them shop.
Those interested in adopting
a family in the community may call 444-9255.
Sales stopped
in Six Rivers
A decision by federal judge
in Seattle Dec. 8 temporarily shut down all timber sales on federal
land in the Pacific Northwest. The ruling was aimed at the National
Marine Fisheries Service, which is required under the Northwest
Forest Plan to provide National Forests and Bureau of Land Management
districts with permits for timber sales. The permits are supposed
to certify that the proposed cuts will not threaten the existence
of salmon by disturbing its habitat. Judge Barbara Rothstein
ruled that NMFS had not been careful enough.
"There is a discrete and
immediate harm posed to listed species by logging and timber
activities," she stated in her ruling. The ruling halts
about 170 timber sales throughout Northern California, Washington
and Oregon, including two sales in the Six Rivers National Forest,
said Forest Supervisor Lou Woltering. The first is a 3.7 million
board feet sale to Timber Products of Yreka. The second is about
400,000 board feet and has not been awarded to a buyer yet. Neither
sale has been harvested.
Woltering said he was unsure
when the harvests could begin again.
Local timber companies said
that while they are disappointed at the ruling, few will be seriously
affected by it.
Spokesperson Jackie Deuschle
said that Simpson Timber Co. doesn't purchase timber from national
forests.
Mark Anderson, a forester with
Schmidbauer Lumber in Eureka, said, "There hasn't been enough
from Six Rivers to support any of the sawmills in years. It's
not positive; every little bit hurts. But we mostly get our logs
from nonindustrial timber owners."
However, Bruce Taylor Sr., owner
of Blue Lake Forest Products, said, "National forests are
really important to us."
Ten years ago, the company depended
on sales from public lands for 50 percent of its log supply.
That figure dropped to 20 percent in 1999 and this year the company
"will be lucky to get 10 percent," he said.
"For it to stop entirely,
that's quite disturbing."
Jan Hasselman, an attorney with
the Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund of San Francisco, said that
the ruling doesn't mean logging on federal lands must stop.
"They are just going to
have to go back and make sure these impacts to salmon are being
considered," he said.
California
goes country?
Don't tell Arcata, but Humboldt
County might be the new home for country music in California.
Largo Vista Entertainment is scouting the state for a picturesque,
rural location with highway access to hold a major country music
festival. Sound like some place you know?
Jensen Rufe, Humboldt County
film commissioner, said he thinks Humboldt is the perfect home
for the California Country Music Festival, planned to debut in
2002.
"Humboldt is rural enough
and it seems like it's country music-oriented as a whole,"
he said. "And this is certainly an area that has experience
putting on music festivals."
The property owners would have
to give up about 250 acres for about five weeks, but they "would
stand to gain a substantial fee."
If you have ideas or suggestions,
call Rufe at 444-6633.
McKinleyville
clinic to close
After the new year, general
medical services will no longer be offered at the North Country
Clinic office in McKinleyville. Effective Jan. 1, the clinic's
two practitioners, Dr. Diane Dickerson and Jeff Hanwright, PA-C,
will see patients at the North Country Clinic in Arcata.
Those who were receiving care
at the clinic have two choices: Follow the practitioners to Arcata
or switch to Open Door's clinic in McKinleyville.
In January of this year Open
Door Community Health Centers took over administration of the
North Country Clinic. Herrmann Spetzler, Open Door's executive
director, said changes, which have mostly been on the administrative
level, have been beneficial to both organizations.
"Now we do not have two
separate sets of audits, two separate sets of grant writers and
so forth."
The two clinics in McKinleyville
were offering essentially the same services at different ends
of the same building.
"The reality is that within
20 feet we had two sets of medical records, two labs, two sets
of receptions and nurses. And neither clinic was running at full
capacity."
Spetzler emphasized the fact
that North Country's McKinleyville facility will still be used
for community health services.
"We have a five-year lease.
We will have other services here including mental health and
acupuncture and we've been getting pressure to add dental service."
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