News

After conferring with an outside attorney, the city of Eureka has denied a Journal request seeking the release of a controversial memo penned by former City Manager Bill Panos on the day he left his employment with the city.

The Oct. 4 memo — or, more specifically, the controversy surrounding it — was thrust into public light by a declaration former Eureka City Councilman Lance Madsen penned on his deathbed, alleging that City Attorney Cydny Day-Wilson improperly distributed Panos’ memo to City Hall employees and then lied about having done so.

In the declaration and an accompanying investigative report, Madsen said Panos sent the memo to city council members, making clear it was confidential and contained personnel information. Nonetheless, Madsen said city employees quickly became aware of the memo, which Panos dubbed a “reorganization blueprint” but city attorneys reportedly began referring to as “Panos’ hit list” because it was sharply critical of some city department heads.

In his investigation report, Madsen details a number of interviews he conducted with city employees and a council member trying to ascertain how the document began circulating through City Hall. Madsen concluded that Councilwoman Melinda Ciarabellini had turned the document over to Day-Wilson, concerned that it might open the city up to some form of litigation. Day-Wilson, Madsen alleges, then made copies of the document and gave them to at least two city employees, reportedly telling them that the document was emailed to the council and therefore was a public document and did not warrant the protections normally granted personnel matters. For a full story on Madsen’s allegations, read past Journal coverage here.

The Journal submitted a California Public Records Act seeking the release of Panos’ memo, but the request was recently denied by the city, which found “the public interest served by not disclosing the record clearly outweighs the public interested served by disclosure,” according to an email from City Clerk Pam Powell. In response to a follow up question, Powell said current City Manager Greg Sparks reached the determination after consulting with outside counsel.

Eureka’s mail processing center is once again on the chopping block.

It seems the United States Postal Service has once again put forward a proposal to consolidate Eureka’s processing facility into one in Medford, Oregon, which would cause a loss of local jobs and delay incoming and outgoing mail service for the North Coast. North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman and Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) both sent a letter opposing the move to the postmaster general today and issued a press release. Both can be found below.

For Immediate Release
July 2, 2014

Huffman, Thompson to USPS: Don’t Close Petaluma and Eureka Mail Processing Centers

Huffman & Thompson: “We are again opposing this misguided consolidation as a means to solve the USPS financial crisis”

WASHINGTON¬—Reps. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) and Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) today sent a letter to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe expressing their strong opposition to the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) announcement of a plan to close both the North Bay Processing and Distribution Center in Petaluma and the Eureka Customer Service Mail Processing Center. Huffman and Thompson previously opposed the consolidation plan when it was first proposed in 2011, citing that this plan would cause disruption of mail delivery, cause job loss, and damage local economies.

“In 2011, we opposed this same consolidation proposal because we knew then that such a proposal would hurt the local economy and be detrimental to mail delivery in the region,” Huffman and Thompson wrote. “We are again opposing this misguided consolidation as a means to solve the USPS financial crisis. It is our understanding that this decision will result in the loss of hundreds of postal staff positions, and our constituents will face a 2 to 3 day service standard for First-Class Mail, instead of 1 to 3 days. This change would be especially difficult for seniors, veterans, and our rural communities, who rely on timely delivery of prescriptions and other postal services.”

The full text of the letter can be found HERE or below:
July 2, 2014

Patrick R. Donahoe
Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer
United States Postal Service
475 L’Enfant Plaza, SW
Washington, D.C. 20260

Dear Postmaster General Donahoe:

We write to express our strong opposition to the recently announced plan by the United States Postal Service (USPS) to consolidate mail processing operations from both the North Bay Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) in Petaluma, CA and the Eureka Customer Service Mail Processing Center (CSMPC) in Eureka, CA. Such actions will decrease mail service, result in job loss, and negatively impact our communities.

In 2011, we opposed this same consolidation proposal because we knew then that such a proposal would hurt the local economy and be detrimental to mail delivery in the region. While we appreciated your initial postponement of this plan after hearing strong opposition from the public, we are disappointed to learn that you continued to quietly move operations to the facilities in Oakland, CA and Medford, OR. We are again opposing this misguided consolidation as a means to solve the USPS financial crisis. It is our understanding that this decision will result in the loss of hundreds of postal staff positions, and residents of the counties we represent will face a 2 to 3 day service standard for First-Class Mail, instead of 1 to 3 days. This change would be especially difficult for seniors, veterans, and our rural communities, who rely on the timely delivery of prescriptions and other postal services.

We support the USPS reexamining its business model and finding new ways to maximize efficiency, improve service, and reduce costs. However, reducing much-needed services and delaying mail delivery is counterproductive to making the Postal Service a global competitor in the 21st century. We understand that the USPS cannot sustain itself under its current system, and we agree it is up to Congress to act. However, your unilateral decision to take action against the expressed intent of Members of Congress and the public is unacceptable.

We strongly urge you to retain the North Bay P&DC in Petaluma and the Eureka CSMPC, and look forward to working with you to find an alternative course of action.

Sincerely,

Jared Huffman Mike Thompson
Member of Congress Member of Congress

Cc: David Stowe, District Manager
San Francisco District, United States Postal Service

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