Mid April - Fullerton Observer

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Page 8 FULLERTON OBSERVER REGIONAL NEWS MID APRIL 2013 Bell Ringing for those killed in gun violence. PHOTO BY TITO FUENTES At Left: Participants carried signs. PHOTO BY NORMA RICHMAN Moms Against Gun Violence Rally by Deborah Hernandez OC Chapter Leader Moms Demand Action The Rally to Stop Gun Violence organized by Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America drew about 250 people from 24 different cities around Orange County to Irvine on April 4th. Many attending a rally for their first time, came because they felt strongly about the need to put common sense laws in place to help reduce the senseless carnage we see every day related to guns. We were joined by Hieu Nguyen Named New Clerk-Recorder by Norberto Santana Jr. Photo by: Nick Gerda voiceofoc.org Hieu Nguyen, a longtime Orange County worker, was appointed as the county’s next clerk-recorder by the Board of Supervisors Tuesday following a daylong session of public interviews. Supervisors voted 4-1 for Nguyen, who unsuccessfully sought election to the post in 2010. Supervisor John Moorlach, who said he preferred another candidate, was the lone dissenter. Nguyen – who also owns a local Lees Sandwich franchise - came out on top of 11 finalists for the position, which was left vacant after incumbent Democrat Tom Daly won election to the state Assembly. by David Washburn voiceofoc.org Costa Mesa City Council approved plans to develop permanent housing for homeless city residents, and in doing so took a step in repairing a reputation for hostility toward the homeless. On a 4-0 vote, Council members gave the go-ahead for Mercy House Living Centers, which runs the county's two temporary homeless shelters, to partner with developer Wakeland Housing on a project that could create as many as 50 permanent housing units specifically for the city's homeless population. “It’s a great moment in our history here,” said Councilwoman Wendy Leece. “We are serious and want to do something to help homeless people get their lives back together and get off the street.” Councilman Jim Righeimer abstained from voting because he serves as a volunteer board member of Mercy House. In addition to housing, the project would include support services, potentially provided by “wrap-around centers” where homeless people can apply for Supplemental Social Security benefits and mental health services. Another option is to have church members provide the support services. Costa Mesa is prepared to invest "a few hundred thousand" dollars from its gener- both Republicans and Democrats, gun owners and non-gun owners, various faith affiliations and people of all ages. Speaker of the House John Boehner and US Representatives Ed Royce, John Campbell, and Dana Rohrabacher were attending a major Republican fundraiser near the park where the rally was held but all failed to come by and speak to the group. The photo above is from our bell- He will have to run for the post in 2014. After County Supervisor Janet Nguyen, he becomes the county’s highest ranking elected official of Vietnamese descent and is likely the nation’s first Clerk Recorder from that community. Several other known politicians – such al fund on the project, in addition to hundreds of thousands in state and federal funds, said Muriel Ullman, the city's consultant for housing and homeless issues. A pre-development agreement, which is required for the city to receive $411,000 in federal Housing and Urban Development funds, is expected to come for Council approval on May 21. A location for the project hasn’t yet been selected. The plans in Costa Mesa follow a decision by the Orange County Board of Supervisors earlier this year to put a permanent homeless shelter in Fullerton. The Fullerton City Council has yet to approve those plans. The Costa Mesa project’s approval is certainly a departure from the attitude that city leaders displayed in the recent past toward the homeless population. Last October, Mayor Eric Bever proposed closing down the city's soup kitchen because he saw it as an "attractive nuisance" that drew homeless people from elsewhere. Three months later a homeless man and woman were found dead from exposure on the street in front of Costa Mesa's Triangle Square shopping center. Beyond these specific examples, there is ringing ceremony, where we rang the bell for those lost to gun violence, including the victims of the 2011 Seal Beach massacre at Salon Meritage. For more information: MomsDemandAction.org or facebook.com/MomsDemandActionCA OrangeCounty. For an easy link to send a message to your congress members go to http://action.momsdemandaction.org/pa ge/speakout/email-legislators. as former Assemblyman and Supervisor Chris Norby, former State Senator Dick Ackerman and Newport Beach Councilman Steve Rosansky – also vied for the job. Nguyen, a Republican, started working in the Clerk Recorder’s office beginning in 1993 but left in 2006 to work with the Clerk of the Board office. He tried to run for the office in 2010 by using the ballot title of Assistant County Clerk but was successfully challenged by Daly in court and later bested in the election. Nguyen – whose father was an American soldier killed in Vietnam and is a 34-year resident of Orange County – is now charged with revitalizing an embattled Clerk Recorder department. This is an excerpt. Read the entire report at voiceofoc.org Costa Mesa to Develop Housing for Homeless Residents ...the project could create as many as 50 permanent housing units specifically for the city's homeless... a general sense that the city's council majority has been more interested in developing policies that push homeless people out of the city than those that serve them. In addition to approving the housing plan Tuesday, the Council approved updates to its ban on camping and storing personal property in public places. Advocates for the homeless say that laws like this result in the "criminalization" of homeless people. "Of the 250 largest cities in the country, over half of them have laws on the books that criminalize homelessness," said Neil Donovan, the executive director of the National Coalition for Homeless, in a recent interview. "And in recent years that number has grown exponentially." At a conference on the issue this past weekend at the UC Irvine School of Law, homeless advocates spoke of cities employing security guards and taking other extreme measure to rid their streets of homeless people. The above is an excerpt. Go to voiceofoc.org to read the entire article Nick Gerda contributed to this report. Contact David Washburn at dwashburn@voiceofoc.org. News from Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva The 65th District which includes the cities of Fullerton, West Anaheim, Buena Park, Cypress, Hawaiian Gardens, La Palma, and Stanton. The local office is at 1440 N. Harbor, suite 601, Fullerton. Contact Assemblymember Quirk-Silva at 714-562-7272 or visit her website at www.asmdc.org/quirk-silva •HOW WOULD YOU BALANCE THE CALIFORNIA STATE BUDGET?: What would you do if you were in charge of the California State Budget? Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva invites you to take the challenge and participate in the “Next 10 Budget Workshop” on Saturday, April 27, at 10:30am to noon, in the North Orange County Community College District’s board room, located at 1830 W. Romneya Dr., Anaheim, CA 92801. The workshop allows participants to create their own version of the California budget and examine issues concerning education, health-care, prisons, raising or lowering taxes, and small business. RSVP for the workshop at www.asmdc.org/quirk-silva. •LEON LEYSON HONORED AT STATE ASSEMBLY CEREMONY: Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva honored the late holocaust survivor Leon Leyson on April 8th during the California Assembly’s “Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony” at the capitol in Sacramento. Representing her husband was Lis Leyson. Mr. Leyson, who passed away earlier this year, was the youngest of the survivors saved by German industrialist Oskar Schindler (an event memorialized in the 1991 film “Shindler’s List.” After being rescued by Shindler, Leyson made his way to Fullerton and taught in the LA Unified School District for 39 years. “It is my distinct pleasure to honor Leon. He was such a wonderful person who rarely spoke of his extraordinary life story. It wasn’t until I had known him for some time that I found out about his incredible story,” said Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva. “His life was a testament to the exultation of the human spirit as he never let the Nazi cruelty he faced in his early life dampen his spirit and passion for his family, friends and students.” •QUIRK-SILVA’S CAL GRANT BILL PASSES HIGHER EDUCATION COMMITTEE: AB 1287 authored by Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva which seeks to expand access to Cal Grants among lower and middle income students passed out of the Higher Education Committee on a 11 to 0 vote. The bill provides students and their families with the guarantee that they will receive full financial assistance for which they are eligible. Students can now lose as much as $13,000 in the middle of their college attendance if the student or their parents receive just a small bump in their income due to a 2011 rule change. This has resulted in 20,000 previously eligible recipients to lose their Cal Grants, including 1200 such students whose income, or family income was increased by less than $1,000. “This is having a devastating effect on students and potentially forcing many who still have financial need to leave school for lack of funds or placing middle and low income families in dire financial straits,” said Quirk-Silva. AB 1287 is one of four Cal Grant bills currently going through the State Assembly which seek to improve or expand the program.
MID APRIL 2013 by Sarah Mosko, PHD Perhaps you already bring your own reusable grocery bags, have kicked the bottled water habit and know better than to microwave in plastics, but still find daily life swimming in plastics and want to use less of it. After recycling, the average American still generates a half pound of plastic refuse daily, a concrete indicator of how deeply entrenched are plastic materials in our 21st century lifestyle (USEPA, 2010). Rational reasons to cut back on plastics fall into one of two spheres: limiting exposure to hazardous chemicals associated with plastics – like bisphenol-A, phthalates and flame retardants – or reducing the harm to the environment incurred at all stages in plastics’ lifecycle, from extraction of the petroleum needed for manufacturing to disposal of the nonbiodegradable finished products. Short of adopting a Tarzan-like jungle existence, it’s probably impossible to completely eliminate plastics from modern day life, but with a little digging and shopping savvy, you can enlarge that dent in your plastics consumption. Some ideas follow. GROCERIES: It can be daunting to find anything at conventional supermarket chains (e.g. Albertsons, Ralphs, Vons/Safeway) not packaged in plastic. Stores select inventories based on their market niche which, for conventional supermarkets, is mainstream brands that emphasize value at competitive prices. Plastic packaging is simply cheaper to produce and transport than, say, glass, so packaging choices are limited for most products. Avoiding plastic packaging is much easier at so-called natural foods markets that ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS Plastics-Free Living: Beyond the Low Hanging Fruit serve a different market niche. They stock a plethora of brands where the manufacturer has responded to consumer interests in a healthier lifestyle and alternative packaging. Non-plastic options are available for most items storewide, many of which are also organic, though you can expect to pay more than for the mainstream brands. Here are some specifics I found perusing my local Mothers, Sprouts and Whole Foods markets. There are anywhere from a few to many options in glass containers for common pantry items including ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, molasses, spices, nut butters, steak & barbeque sauces, vegetable oils, vinegars, fruit juices, sodas and bottled water. Many of the labels might be less familiar to mainstream shoppers, like Cadia, Annie’s Naturals, Lakewood Organic, and OOgavé. A wide assortment of vitamins and dietary supplements are sold in glass too. Milk typically comes in plastic jugs or plastic-coated paperboard cartons. I located four brands in returnable/refillable glass bottles: Straus Family Creamery, Broguiere’s, Claravale Farm and Whole Foods label. Likewise, two yogurt brands come in pint or quart glass jars, White Mountain and Saint Benoit, and the latter also offers single servings in ceramic cups. Though butter in paper or foil-wrapped sticks is commonplace, I found only one margarine brand, Earth Balance, in sticks instead of plastic tubs. No matter where you shop, you’ll cart away less plastic by investing in a handful of reusable bags designed for fresh produce and bulk items like nuts and dried fruits. Many washable produce bags are available on the web, made from mesh or cloth. Or, they are easy enough to sew yourself from fabric scraps. PERSONAL HYGIENE: Natural foods stores also stock several lines of facial care products (cleansers, toners) and skin moisturizes offered in glass, like Suki, John Masters Organic and Evanhealy. Some cosmetics brands have committed to using glass or metal containers too. There is even a brand of deodorant sold in glass spray bottles (Weleda), or you can go for a deodorant bar made of Himalayan crystal salt in paperboard packaging (Deo- Bar). All-cotton swabs, without the plastic stick, are available too. My personally favorite find is Eco-DenT, a brand of dental floss offering silk floss and vegetable oil wax alternatives to mainstream nylon floss with petrochemical wax. It comes in a recyclable cardboard case. DINING: Keep a few sets of silverware in the car’s glove box for visiting eateries that serve plastic utensils, and carry reusable take-out containers in the trunk for leftovers. If frozen coffee store drinks are your weakness, keep a travel drink container handy too. When throwing parties, do like our grandmothers did, use real dishes and silverware, or at least choose service items carried at natural foods stores made from renewables, like corn starch and wheat straw. HOME MAINTENANCE: Though powder detergents are sometimes packaged in cardboard, even environmentally friendly liquid cleaning agents are sold in plastic. However, it’s quite easy to make your own cleaning supplies from simple ingredients like vinegar, baking soda and lemon. Enter “homemade cleaning products” in your search engine for recipes to tackle every household cleaning job. When undertaking home remodeling, choose renewable materials whenever possible, like wood windows & doors, cork flooring and cellulose or cotton insulation. Be aware that plastic decking lumber can’t be recycled so will eventually be landfilled. SCHOOL AND OFFICE: Choose backpacks made of canvas over vinyl ones. FULLERTON OBSERVER Page 9 How to rethink our consumer choices and opt for materials we know are safer for our children and the rest of the planet too. •Pot & Pan Cleaner: Remove bakedon crud from pots and pans. Combine hydrogen peroxide with enough baking soda to make a paste, then rub onto the dirty pan and let it sit for a while. Come back later with a scrubby sponge and some warm water, and the baked-on stains will lift right off. •Clean Toilet: Pour half a cup of hydrogen peroxide into the toilet bowl, let stand for 20 minutes, then scrub clean. •Brighten dingy floors: Combine half a cup of hydrogen peroxide with one gallon of hot water, then go to town on your Use paper lunch bags or reusable cloth totes in lieu of vinyl lunch boxes. Waxed, parchment and butcher papers are all good substitutions for plastic sandwich bags and cling wrap. The Center for Health and Environmental Justice in New York maintains an extensive online inventory of non-plastic alternatives for every sort of school/office supply and where to purchase. In addition to necessities like 3ring binders, files, organizers and address books, the listing includes some surprising options, like bamboo-cased flash drives and highlighter wood pencils. Many items are available at mainstream office supply stores. DRIVING: A vehicle’s interior plastics (dashboard and seating, e.g.) contribute to that infamous “new car smell” by off-gassing dozens of volatile chemicals, many known to be hazardous. To help car buyers avoid the biggest offenders, last year the Ecology Center in Michigan released its latest rankings of over 200 recent models. The Honda Civic and Toyota Prius were rated first and second best. Eliminating polyvinyl plastics from interior components contributed to the Civic’s high status, though other plastics were substituted. So consumers might still be limited to selecting a car with safer, but not less, plastics. The explosion of consumer plastics was an outgrowth of petroleum-based industries developed in World War II. That plastics are so durable and do not biodegrade seemed a good thing at the time, and the toxic nature of many chemicals associated with plastics was unknown. Today, the wisdom of a culture so entrenched in plastic materials is being reevaluated. While scientists continue to delineate all the health and environmental impacts of plastics, we already know that fetuses and young children are most susceptible to toxins and that plastics are amassing in even remote ocean regions. It’s incumbent on us all to rethink our consumer choices and opt for materials we know are safer for our children and the rest of the planet too. Go to www.boogiegreen.com for more articles by Sarah Mosko Tips from www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com Numerous recipes for non-toxic home-cleaning products can be found online. Of course try any new product out on a small area first. flooring. Because it’s so mild, it’s safe for any floor type, and there’s no need to rinse. •Toothpaste: Use baking soda and hydrogen peroxide to make a paste for brushing teeth. Helps with early stages of gingivitis as it kills bacteria. Mixed with salt and baking soda, hydrogen peroxide works as a whitening toothpaste. •Household Cleaner: Combine Witch Hazel with lemon juice and baking soda to create an eco-friendly cleaning agent. Use undiluted Witch Hazel on chrome, glass and mirrors. No need to rinse. Are You Bringing Toxic Chemicals into Your Home through Cleaning or Skin Care Products? Check out the ingredients of over 2,000 household cleaning products plus a list of the Top Green Cleaning Products in EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning and the safety of 80,000 personal care products EWG’s Skin Deep Guide to Cosmetics on the Environmental Working Group website at www.ewg.org
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