Clearlake Skate Park closed to the public
As a supporter of safe activities for children in Clearlake, I am surprised to find the Clearlake Skate Park closed down now for nearly a week. The sign posted there on Monday, Oct. 15, says, “Closed for Repairs,” and yet, it does not seem as though any repairs have been done or even started. I know there is a need for repairs for one of the posts, and several ramps or platforms are breaking through.
Some have speculated that the city may be doing this to punish the bikers for using the park. I hope that is not the case. I am one who thinks that a bike park should be constructed, or some kind of scenario that would allow them to also use the park.
I”ve been to other parks in California as well as in Oregon where skaters, bikers and rollerbladers all share the park safely or have different times or days assigned for each group. In Santa Cruz for example, with the opening of the new Wave skate park, the old “Fun Spot” park at the boardwark became a biker-only park.
Many of the kids who use the skate park are avid sports enthusiasts. Like some kids are into football, soccer, baseball, etc., they are into their extreme sports and faithfully practice daily to hone their skills.
With 10-plus years of X-Games and now the third year of the Dew Action Sports contests, there is a growing interest in skateboarding, BMX biking, etc. Even the next Summer Olympics are planning to add skateboarding to the list of sports, where snowboarding, another extreme sport, has been for a while. The recent Gold Medal winner in snowboarding, Shaun White, is also the leading contender in vert skating on the Dew Action Sports tour.
Just last week we saw the first “competition” at the skate park. This was held in conjunction with a jam to commemorate the death of Andrew “Andy” Johnson, who, at 18, died in a car accident a year and a half ago. Andy was one of the voices in the community that helped to bridge the gap between skaters and bikers, and even roller-bladers and skooters, too. Andy enjoyed them all, and was good at anything he put his heart into trying. We held the Andy Johnson 540 Jam to honor his commitment to the sports as well as to his ability to “cross-over” between them. The informal competition had winners in four age-groups for skating and two heats for the bikers. Some prizes were donated by Freedom Skate Shop in Ukiah.
Thank you for your continued support for children and youth activities in Clearlake.
Ken Savin
Clearlake
City Council doesn”t govern for the people
The Thursday, Sept. 27, Clearlake City Council meeting was a perfect example of what some citizens are claiming is an abuse of governmental power. When one elected council person, in this incident Judy Thein, dictates a council decision without open discussion, then the first amendment is disregarded for the sake of Thein”s own power and control.
The other four council members went along with the chairperson and never uttered a word about anything being out of order. Not one council person showed any respect for the effort that more than a thousand registered voters had signed, a petition that told this city council that all was not right in Clearlake and some changes were in order. While we were taking signatures for the petition in July, two of these city council members said they wanted to sign the petition, but we did not let them.
On Tuesday, Sept. 4, I filed a thorough agenda with the City Clerk to be heard at the Sept. 27 council meeting. The person that writes and properly files an agenda is the person that initiates the information and questions to the council for open discussion. In this situation, Thein initiated my questions to the city administrator who read his prepared answers. I was completely cut off from the discussion until Thein had exhausted all the control she could muster. While the obvious power hungry person was exploiting my very thorough agenda, I realized that I had been too honest and had given far too much information to the city council and city administrator prematurely. The other four council members seemed somewhat removed and not fully aware of the scheming that the administrator and chairperson had accomplished in the three previous weeks. What we had all witnessed at this council meeting was a “Government for those other than the People” in full dress rehearsal.
This city council has not been honest and open about Administrator Neiman”s resume and his most recent employment. My best recollection of an Observer?American article spoke of an interlude in Neiman”s most recent employment as some self-employment, but the main theme of his background was nine years as city manager in Fortuna. Now just recently a city council member told me that Neiman was self-employed the last seven years as a consultant on redevelopment projects. The last administrator this council hired also had a “confused” resume.
The City of Clearlake”s past city councils have had almost a 100-percent record of turning over all of their authority to these new administrators, and then watch from a distance as our city slides deeper in debt, poverty and disrepair.
Frank Brumfield
Clearlake
Democrats, stop whining
A recent poll revealed 75 percent of Democrats believe the U.S. needs to win the war in Iraq. This probably explains why there is no anti-war Democrat Party candidate (other than Kucinich).
Since the mid-term elections, we have been repeatedly told by Democrats it was a mandate by the American people to end the war. With 85 percent of Americans nationwide stating they support this country in Iraq, it appears Democrats are taking their original mandate less seriously. For some reason known only to Conservatives, Republicans and 75 percent of the Democrats, the 25-percent antiwar Democrats have inexplicably been abandoned.
Although advised by Democrat Party leadership to channel their anger toward the Republicans, Conservative, and 75 percent of their own party (I guess), it appears the antiwar Democrats didn”t listen. With 85 percent of Americans wanting to win in Iraq, those odds are obviously too daunting. Steamed up antiwar organizations decided to go for better odds, like handfuls of soldiers returning from Iraq and small staffed, government offices. This gutless, childish behavior does nothing for the Democrats. It”s time to put the spitting and crayons away. Quit with the disgusting temper tantrums or face the big 2008 time out chair.
Bethany Baylor
Clearlake
Cynthia added her love
We wish to extend to you our thanks for the article and picture that you inserted in the Observer*American. Believe it or not, there was one lady who came in fresh from reading the article to purchase a cookbook. There have been many others who dropped by to buy.
It takes people like you who are in the public eye to call attention to organizations such as ours, for our work and for our fundraisers as well.
Again, our thanks to you for your excellent efforts.
Betty Votaw, Claudette Albert, Billie Weise, Bernie Westlake, Faye Porter and Theresa Castillo
Highlands Senior Service Center Board of Directors
Not so fast on Provinsalia
Tiffany Revelle”s article on the new retail center now breaking ground at the Dam Road/State Route 53 intersection in Clearlake (Observer*American, Oct. 24) may have given some unwary readers the very false impression that approval of the Provinsalia golf subdivision is guaranteed, or even that this massive (720 units plus a nine-hole golf course) project has been approved already.
Nothing could be further from the truth. This subdivision has been working its way through the pipeline for several years, and is now undergoing a second environmental analysis after the first attempt was demonstrated to be too incomplete for the city to accept.
A second, and extremely weighty, Environmental Impact Report (EIR) has been available for review since mid-September and a number of errors and omissions have already been identified.
A series of public hearings will come next, followed by a revision of the draft EIR that is required by law to address the issues that have been raised. Only then will the city decide whether or not to certify the EIR, and ? subsequently ? whether or not to approve the project itself.
Concerned citizens are invited to learn more about Provinsalia by visiting www.lakelive.org/provinsalia, where comment letters from the Sierra Club, California Oak Foundation, and others have been posted, along with a great deal of other information. The EIR itself is available for examination at Clearlake City Hall and Redbud Library.
Victoria Brandon
Sierra Club Lake Group
Don”t forget to write!
The Clear Lake Observer*American welcomes letters responding to articles and opinions that have appeared in this newspaper, as well as on topics of general interest. Letters can be sent to letters@clearlakeobserver.com or mailed to PO Box 6200, Clearlake, CA 95422. Pleases include complete name, address and telephone number.
