ZACK CARTER, AlterNet’s economics editor, and a fellow at Campaign for America’s Future, writes for the Media Consortium and is a frequent contributor to The Nation magazine, exposes the United States Treasury Program for Struggling Homeowners Just a Ploy to Enrich Big Banks!

After working many decades in various Government programs, I did not think much of anything could surprise me. Wow…Was I ever Wrong.

Mr. Carter’s latest economic article title should have folks in Washington shaking in their boots before the “ink dries” on this bombshell. An immediate public investigation should be initiated by Congress before the end of this week. Even worst, this “bombshell” may clearly destroy hope for thousands of homeowners in the US Government program that was to help out the little guy, homeowners in financial distress due to the economy. The Title of Mr. Carter’s expose may tell you everything you need to know to get the hair on the back of your neck and blood pressure up!

Treasury Makes Shocking Admission: Program for Struggling Homeowners Just a Ploy to Enrich Big Banks

The Treasury Dept.’s mortgage relief program isn’t just failing, it’s actively funneling money from homeowners to bankers, and Treasury likes it that way.

IF THAT IS NOT BAD ENOUGH……

AGAIN, QUOTING:

The Treasury Department’s plan to help struggling homeowners has been failing miserably for months. The program is poorly designed, has been poorly implemented and only a tiny percentage of borrowers eligible for help have actually received any meaningful assistance. The initiative lowers monthly payments for borrowers, but fails to reduce their overall debt burden, often increasing that burden, funneling money to banks that borrowers could have saved by simply renting a different home. But according to recent startling admissions from top Treasury officials, the mortgage plan was actually not really about helping borrowers at all. Instead, it was simply one element of a broader effort to pump money into big banks and shield them from losses on bad loans.

That’s right: Treasury openly admitted that its only serious program purporting to help ordinary citizens was actually a cynical move to help Wall Street megabanks.

IF THIS HAS NOT GOTTEN YOUR ATTENTION YET, YOU NEED TO CHECK YOUR PULSE.

Hopefully, thanks to the work of Mr. Carter, exposure of the Treasury Department actions will quickly get the HAMP program on track to do that which it was billed to do. I think you will agree that homeowners who have been harmed by this Government program billed as THE HOMEOWNER PROGRAM to save the little guy–will be made whole. I am just not sure what that would be. Suggestions?

Two more things:

Where are the major Media Outlets on this story?

Shouldn’t this be the lead on every TV evening news?

Link to full story: http://www.alternet.org/econom…

or

http://bit.ly/db9feP

For the past few months the area Tea Party group, known as the Tea Party Patriots, have been going through what can best be described as “implosion’ complete with name calling, small town politics gone amuck, money issues, personal attacks and more.

What makes this newsworthy is some of the players claim to be at the forefront of all things Tea Party, one who appears on FOX News as an expert and founding member, etc. You don’t need to peek under the covers, they have been ripped back for all to see, and it ain’t pretty.

Coverage is provided on a very good blog that is run by the former editor of the local newspaper, THE UNION, who was also the founding editor of CNET; the current PUBLISHER is/was a Tea Party Patriot (and last time checked was featured on the group’s FACEBOOK page), and there does not seem to be a lot of things these two agree or perhaps agreed upon. The newspaper endorsed a Tea Party member who ran for the Nevada County Recorders office and after a very nasty campaign pretty much all from the Tea Party member, got his royal behind handed to him. Yea, that NON-PARTISIAN office. Right, not up here this last election, for sure!

One thing that makes the reports most interesting is the changing makeup of the population who posts in local papers and blogs on all things Tea Party. The whitest county in California, is purple and turning BLUE (as it voted for Obama in both the Primary and General election).

Here are the titles of some of the more recent posts:

Archive for August, 2010

A French Riviera, not “Red Neck Riviera,” vacation

Posted in Uncategorized on August 7, 2010 | 1 Comment »

Michelle Obama is being criticized by some as a “modern-day Marie Antoinette” for her vacation in Spain with the children. The details are here. I suppose people wanted her to vacation on the “Emerald Coast” of the Gulf, AKA “Red Neck Riveria,” in the wake of the BP oil spill. Having said that, a more […]

Tea Party needs a history refresher

Posted in Uncategorized on August 7, 2010 | 2 Comments »

Local Tea Party President Stan Meckler, father of the group’s co-founder Mark Meckler, has an “other voices” in The Union this morning defending the group. It reads in part: •”Mark Williams (has been) quoted as saying some horrible things. . . The Tea Party Patriots disassociated itself from this group last September because the Tea […]

The Union publisher wants a demolition derby pal

Posted in Uncategorized on August 7, 2010 | 1 Comment »

The Union’s publisher posted this notice on the newspaper’s Facebook page yesterday: “I’m looking for a little competition in the Demolition Derby at the Fair this year. I’m seriously thinking about paying the $500 to crash my car into as many others as I can until my car can no longer move. If you are […]

Can Citizens Bank remain independent?

Posted in Uncategorized on August 7, 2010 | 4 Comments »

Editor’s note: I’m reposting this item from last year – the first week of August, ironically – because it is as relevant now as then: Citizens Bank has never been for sale. It was formed in 1995 to provide a strong commitment to the community. Local long-timers make up the board, and many civic and […]

More elements of AtPac lawsuit dismissed

Posted in Uncategorized on August 5, 2010 | 6 Comments »

Yubanet has the scoop on more elements of AtPac’s lawsuit against Nevada County and clerk-recorder Greg Diaz’ office being dismissed. The story is here. Perhaps Barry Pruett Diaz’ opponent, a onetime lawyer for AtPac and a recipient of AtPac contributions in his ill-fated campaign for the nonpartisan clerk-recorder post – could weigh in with some […]

More hurdles for Citizens Bank, documents reveal

Posted in Uncategorized on August 5, 2010 | 11 Comments »

Community newspapers are not known for their business reporting acumen, and The Union is no exception. “Citizens to go public,” blared a headline and text on Thursday on the website (written by the editor/publisher, no less). Well no. Nevada City-based Citizens already is public, with publicly traded shares under the ticker “CZNB.” What the bank […]

Meg opposes Prop. 23; why not the local GOP leadership?

Posted in Uncategorized on August 5, 2010 | 13 Comments »

As KQED reports: “The mystery of whether Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman does or does not support Proposition 23 would appear to be solved. After weeks of steadfastly refusing to take a stand one way or the other on the ballot measure to freeze the state’s climate law known as AB 32, Whitman conceded on […]

Grass Valley building a better streetscape

Posted in Uncategorized on August 5, 2010 | 2 Comments »

Older deteriorated trash cans and more uniform street lights and directional signs are expected to come to downtown Grass Valley starting this year to improve the look. It is part of the city’s effort to improve the downtown’s streetscape. The changes are occurring elsewhere: Auburn, for example, has a new streetscape project that has added […]

New solar technology to rival oil?

Posted in Uncategorized on August 5, 2010 | 21 Comments »

A team of Stanford University researchers has announced a breakthrough in harnessing the sun’s energy, according to California Watch. They say the technology is so inexpensive it could rival oil. “The process could really give the feasibility of solar power a big boost,” Nick Melosh, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering, said in […]

We’re changing, so people are angry

Posted in Uncategorized on August 5, 2010 | 3 Comments »

We’re angry nowadays – in our country and in our small rural county – and a lot of it is coming from the extreme right. I would argue it’s because we are changing, both culturally and economically: •The longtime American star, the White Anglo Saxon Protestant (or WASP), is fading. For the first time, we […]

Jeff really puts his trained skills as a newspaperman to full use.

Stop by for an education…and make sure to go back the last three months, too.

Link: http://jeffpelline.wordpress.com/

Disclosure: I have no association with the blog other than reading and posting comments.

Agricultural Burning Exemption to be Examined

Senator Florez to challenge basis for San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District’s effort to allow burning to continue in the country’s dirtiest air basin

SACRAMENTO – The Senate Select Committee on Air Quality, chaired by Senator Dean Florez (D-Shafter), will conduct an oversight hearing Wednesday, July 28th to challenge regulatory loopholes that will allow more than 90 percent of all agricultural burning to continue in the San Joaquin Valley.

Sen. Florez authored a series of air pollution control laws in 2003 that, among other things, banned the archaic practice of farmers burning their uprooted vines and trees in big bonfires. But the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District is now trying to exempt most grape, citrus and almond growers from that law.

Florez is charging that the district is using a faulty “economic feasibility” test to claim that these farmers cannot afford to send their waste to a biomass plant or hire a chipper/shredder to break it down in an environmentally friendly way.

The California Air Resources Board accepted the air district’s science without ever delving into the numbers.

Appearing at the hearing will be Mr. Seyed Sadredin, the head of the valley’s air pollution control district, and his staff. Among the experts to testify will be Roger A. Duncan, a University of California farm advisor in Stanislaus County, and representatives of the biomass industry.

A question that is also out there: If the data and analysis used to determine exemptions for Ag industries in the San Joaquin Valley is incorrect, is it simply a regional or Statewide issue?

SACRAMENTO – To mark the historic nature of legislation to provide farm workers with long-overdue overtime protections, Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez and United Farm Workers president Arturo Rodriguez will join farm workers from throughout California on Tuesday, July 20th at 10 a.m. to physically “march” the proposed law from the desk of the state Senate to the desk of Governor Schwarzenegger.

  For nearly 70 years, as a matter of custom and law, the state of California has discriminated against the farm worker. The men and women who work in the fields are the only hourly wage earners in the state who do not receive overtime pay after 8 hours of labor a day, 40 hours of labor a week.

  SB 1121, authored by Sen. Florez, seeks to end this archaic practice that treats one class, one people, different than all others. Earlier this month, the state legislature passed the measure. All that is needed for the bill to become law is the governor’s signature.

   

“Gov. Schwarzenegger has the power to forever wipe this shame off the books,” Sen. Florez said. “By doing so, he will send a clear message that it is not okay to treat a labor force of immigrants differently than the others, that he, as an immigrant who worked under the sun and became the embodiment of the California Dream, understands that such a disparity cannot exist side-by-side with our ideals.”

“My profound hope is that he will seize this historic moment and sign the bill into law,” Florez said.

Tuesday’s news conference and march to the Governor’s office will begin at 10:00 a.m. in the offices of Majority Leader Dean Florez, State Capitol Room 313.

 

SACRAMENTO – Actor Marin Sheen says “It is fair and just…” in his call for standard overtime pay for farm workers. Sheen adds his support to a measure by Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter) that extends overtime pay provisions to farm workers who work more than eight hours in a day. This measure has passed out of the Legislature and is heading to the desk of Governor Schwarzenegger.

Sheen has been a longtime supporter of farm worker rights, marching with Cesar Chavez in 1965. In a letter to Governor Schwarzenegger, Sheen writes, “This measure’s time has come at long last!” His letter of support joins that of editorial boards throughout California, including those of the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Sacramento Bee.

Farm workers are currently the only California employees who are exempt from receiving overtime when they work more than eight hours in a day, although they often labor 12 or more hours a day at harvest time. SB 1121 would simply remove that exemption and treat them as any other workers are treated.

Sheen will be available to answer questions via telephone.

Please email Janice Tsai ([email protected]) in the office of Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez to set up an appointment.

Senator asks for 60-day delay in vote to debunk flawed figures used to support pollution

SAN DIEGO — Reacting swiftly to reports that the California Air Resources Board would vote tomorrow to allow farmers an additional two years to pollute Central Valley skies by burning agricultural waste, Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter) is calling on CARB to rethink an action he says would contribute to childhood asthma and negatively impact public health.

CARB was expected to vote tomorrow to extend the June 1 deadline for a ban on burning vineyard and orchard waste for another two years. Florez authored historic legislation in 2003 to outlaw the practice and provide farmers with incentives to explore alternative clean disposal methods that would actually generate electricity. He has called for a 60-day delay of CARB’s vote, so his Senate Select Committee on Air Quality can meet and debunk false assumptions and inflated numbers Valley air district staff have cited in a report to support the delay.

In its report, San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District staff contend that the lifespan of a grape vineyard or citrus orchard is only ten years. They use this figure to support their claim that alternatives to burning would prove too expensive for farmers. In fact, the lifespan of a vineyard is 22 years, while the lifespan of a citrus orchard is 45 years, rendering the district’s cost analysis of disposal completely false.

“My Senate Bill 705 was very deliberately written to give farmers ample time to comply,” said Florez. “Given that they have had seven years, I am disturbed by this last ditch effort to support continued polluting with flawed numbers. Valley residents need relief from the pollution that is driving up our rates of asthma and heart disease now, not in another two years.”

Florez has already called on the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 2 – which oversees environmental protection – to make ag burning alternatives more cost-effective for farmers and withhold funds from the SJVAPCD if they allow continued open-field burning of vineyard and orchard waste.

Thursday’s meeting of CARB will begin at 9 a.m. in the San Diego County Administration Building, located at 1600 Pacific Highway in San Diego.

A letter from Senator Florez rising serious questions concerning the math/methodology used (which does not add up) is requesting a short Burn Ban extension will be delivered to the board meeting tomorrow.

*** MEDIA ADVISORY *** MEDIA ADVISORY *** MEDIA ADVISORY ***

WHO: Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter

WHAT: Delivers call to deny two-year free pass for continued ag burning

WHEN: Thursday, May 27, 2010; 9:00 a.m.

WHERE: California Air Resources Board meeting

San Diego County Administration Center, Board Chambers

1600 Pacific Highway, Room 310; San Diego, CA 92101

http://freeflightnewmedia.type…

Also Cross-Posted At INDYBAY.ORG.

Fran Florez tops Parra fundraising once again

Bell-weather $1K-plus on-line reports demonstrate significant cash advantage

BAKERSFIELD — With just a little over two weeks to go in the Democratic race to represent the Central Valley’s 30th Assembly District, bell-weather financing reports indicate Fran Florez will widen her substantial fundraising lead over her primary opponent.

Florez led opponent Pete Parra in campaign cash on-hand by more than $200,000 at the last reporting deadline in March.

New reports posted on-line today show a growing and significant cash advantage on that is expected to double her opponent’s cash position according to figured posted by the California Secretary of State’s website.

Parra’s on-line reports for this current filing period indicate contributions under $98,000, while Florez amassed over $130,000. This amount is the second consecutive on-line campaign report where Florez has topped Parra’s fund-raising.

Florez is also expected to show a nearly 2 to 1 edge of “cash on hand” moving into the critical last weeks of the campaign. Florez has nearly a quarter of a million cash dollars moving into the last 12 days of the campaign.

More importantly, as a positive sign of grass roots support, Florez has out paced Parra 10 to 1 in terms of smaller on-line donations through ActBlue, an online Democratic fundraising mechanism that handles administrative and Internet security costs for candidates.

Florez has raised nearly $20,000 dollars over ActBlue over the course of the campaign, while Parra has raised under $2,000 according to activity reported at the close of campaign reports.

As the officially endorsed Democratic Party candidate, Florez was fueled this reporting period by the State Democratic Party and other democratic clubs and traditional democratic supporters.

She also recently earned the support of the California Democratic Party and the California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA) which represents the state’s more than 33,000 correctional peace officers, most of whom live and work in the 30th Assembly District.

“It feels good to enter the campaign’s final weeks with significant momentum on our side. We are in a very strong position with less than two weeks left in this race both in terms of financial support, ground operation and campaign strategy. With the committed support of the State Democratic Party and hard working determined walkers —we see victory on the horizon,” said Florez.

Florez is a life-long Valley resident and public servant who has served on the Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the League of California Cities, Shafter City Council and California High Speed Rail Authority. She has also been endorsed by Senator Dianne Feinstein and the California Nurses Association among others.

This has been six months in the making and not for the work of Senator Dean Florez the public would be in the dark on the problems associated with SMARTMETERS and Overcharges/Guestimate Charges. Most certainly the type of support a voter should expect from a representative. Kudo’s to Senator Florez (California’s Consumer Advocate in the State Legislature).

Florez thanks CPUC for taking positive step toward increased transparency!

SACRAMENTO – Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter), chairman of the Senate Select Committee on the Smart Grid and a key critic of PG&E’s flawed “Smart” Meter roll-out, today thanked the head of the utility’s regulatory body for taking a requested step toward increasing transparency in the process.

In an order issued Tuesday by Commissioner Michael Peevey, the California Public Utilities Commission stated that PG&E must make all of its reports on Smart Meter implementation – past and present – open to the public.  The order states that the move is necessary in order to have the full information needed to assess Smart Meter accuracy.

 

Since last fall, Florez has held hearings on reports of utility bills soaring after Smart Meter installation.  After months of blaming everything from the summer heat to old meters running “too slow,” PG&E recently admitted not only to estimating customers bills, but to adding months-worth of associated adjustments to one bill.

Under the new ruling, PG&E must provide a copy of its reports — or a link to a website where they are available — within two days to anyone making a request.

A copy of Peevey’s order is available at the following url: http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/EFILE/…

I was going through some old posts on CALITICS this morning, after reading up on the latest on the push by McClintock and Dan Logue to repeal AB32, and came across this gem from former Calitics contributor/writer David Dayen.

CA-04: Grand Dragons For McClintock

by: David Dayen

Fri Oct 10, 2008 at 13:00:00 PM PDT

Perennial candidate Tom McClintock is a beloved figure on the far right.  We just didn’t know how far.

It turns out that in 2003, when McClintock was running for his eleventy-teenth political office in the California governor recall election, he was endorsed by none other than the KKK.

Dateline: September 27, 2003

Ku Klux Klan Announces support for Tom McClintock

The Imperial Klans of America, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (IKA) have announced their full support for Tom

McClintock’s bid for the governorship of California. Their support is announced in what they term “the

lesser of all evil candidates.”

When interviewed, Mr. Chris Johnson (Grand Dragon or State Director of the IKA’s California chapter) had this to say regarding the announcement, “While Mr. McClintock is not the perfect candidate for California Governor, we have more in common with his ideology than any of the other candidates. We are in congruence with his stand on illegal aliens infecting our land and his courage in standing up to the invasion.” Mr. Johnson went on to say that, “Mr. McClintock echoes our anti-abortion stand, and our opposition to oppressive taxation.”

I guess the McClintock campaign can spin this by saying that at least the KKK called him evil, even if he was the lesser of all the rest?

Here’s the thing: organizations can choose to endorse anybody they want, and the candidates have no control over that.  But McClintock never said a peep five years ago when he got this endorsement.  And there’s a Chris Johnson on McClintock’s donor list from that 2003 gubernatorial race.  Chris Johnson is obviously a common name, and the donation is $100, so take it with a grain of salt.  But certainly, McClintock needs to answer the question of why he never rejected the endorsement and why they never sought out and returned money that would even have the appearance of coming from the Klan.

More to the point, McClintock is just the kind of guy to demonize an opponent’s associations.  In fact, when running for governor in 2003, McClintock compared then-Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante’s association with the Hispanic student group MEChA to, you guessed it, the KKK.

State Sen. Tom McClintock, a conservative Republican rival, recently likened the Chicano Student Movement of Aztlan, also known as MEChA, to the Ku Klux Klan.

“It’s like saying, ‘Oh, I was a moderate member of the Klan,'” McClintock said last month on the San Diego radio station KOGO. “It’s incumbent on Cruz Bustamante to clearly and completely renounce …

The idea that the KKK finds ideological kinship with McClintock is pretty much a no-brainer.  His demonization of illegal immigrants as the cause of so much of the nation’s economic woes plays to the baser instincts of the racist right.  He’s running a campaign against Charlie Brown that has recently seized on Brown’s appearance at an anti-war rally before the invasion of Iraq as somehow un-American.  It’s really not too much of a logical leap here.

The Post Ended With–Stay tuned for more on this…

Stuff to ponder, especially if you are a voter in CA-04 or CA Assembly District… 03

For the last six months or so California Senator Dean Florez has held multiple hearings on PG&E Smart Meter accuracy and questionable “sky high” utility bills for many customers AFTER the new meters were installed. PG&E’s response each time they were asked to explain why bills suddenly doubled or tripled was always the pretty much the same — Some “version” of “There is nothing wrong with our Smart Meters and the customer is using too much electricity.”

Here is where it gets interesting! Senator Florez has learned some Smart Meters are apparently DEFECTIVE and is not transmitting the data needed to PG&E for proper billing. PG&E simply started estimating the customer bills each month while they try to determine the cause of the defected meter.  Based on the official line to Senator Florez and customers from PG&E, that there were no problems with the deployed Smart Meters, at the very time they were apparently aware that some meters were not working properly and put a process in place to deal with the defective meters sets the stage for the hearing on Monday: Smart Grid panel takes on PG&E bill “estimations”

Utility giant admits failure of Smart Meters to transmit data led to practice in question



Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter) will lead a hearing of the Senate Select Committee on the Smart Grid on Monday in Sacramento, investigating the recent revelation that some utility customers are getting “estimated” bills due to a “Smart” Meter defect.  The panel will look into the cost to customers from this practice.

With a much-anticipated public hearing on the horizon, the first signs of Smart Meter testing were reported last week, as PG&E reattached old meters alongside digital Smart Meters on about 150 homes in Kern County to compare the energy usage reported.

The start of testing, repeatedly delayed since it was first promised in October, comes on the heels of an admission by utility giant PG&E that some of its new meters are defective and fail to transmit data, leading to estimated bills for its customers.

Florez has been holding public hearings on Smart Meter installation since reports of skyrocketing bills flooded the Valley last year.  Some residents there reported bills that had so much as tripled, even when their homes were vacant.

PG&E Corporation’s President and CEO, Peter Darbee, has declined another opportunity to represent his company publicly on the issue of Smart Meter technology.  The company will instead be sending a senior vice president who is the chief customer officer.

“As much as I believe PG&E customers will not have confidence in their utility until they hear solid answers from the top, we won’t be deterred from asking the hard questions and getting to the bottom of this debacle,” Florez said.  “As long as these meters continue to be bolted to homes without test results that say they are accurate, I will continue to fight to give consumers a voice in this process.”

Also participating in Monday’s hearing will be representatives of the California Public Utilities Commission, Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric, Sacramento Municipal Utility District and the Division of the Ratepayer Advocates.

Monday’s hearing will be held at 9 a.m. in Room 3191 of the California State Capitol.