This just in from our friends at Save San Onofre:

On Sunday, April 29, 2007, delegates at the California Democratic Party 2007 Convention in San Diego voted unanimously to oppose the alignment of the Foothill South (241) Toll Road through San Onofre State Beach.

With this vote, the CDP joins with the Democratic Party of Orange County, over a dozen city and county governments, and hundreds of individuals and businesses in opposing the plans to drive a toll road through one of Californias most popular parks and beaches.

The wealthy can go to Hawaii or Europe on their holidays, but camping at a state park is a low cost vacation for middle class Californians. “It’s not enough to ensure jobs and healthcare for working Californians — we deserve access to affordable recreation as well”, said Gila Jones, a Democratic delegate from Orange County who has been lobbying her fellow delegates on the issue for months.

So why is this matter so important? Why is it so important to save Trestles? Why should we we care so much about a toll road cutting through this state park?

Let me tell you why after the flip…

So why does all of this matter? Perhaps because this is the last great undeveloped stretch of coast left in Southern California:

San Onofre State Beach was dedicated as a State Park in 1971 by then-Governor Ronald Reagan. Surfers from all over the world come to surf at Trestles in San Onofre while over a hundred thousand campers visit the inland campground. Several endangered species live within the confines of the parkland. There is also a National Register Archaeological District within the boundaries of the park as well as sacred sites for the Juaneno/Acjachemen people.

The proposed extension of the 241 Toll Road would endanger all of that and more. Runoff from the proposed road could damage the San Mateo Creek, declared just last month to be one of Americas Most Endangered Rivers by the national organization American Rivers. Construction of the toll road would ruin the campground, located a mere 200 feet from the planned path of the toll road. Endangered species in the area would find their habitats destroyed or severely impacted by the toll road.

And worse yet, all this ecological destruction would be for nothing. We know that this toll rod extension would do nothing to ease traffic congestion in South Orange County. We know that this toll road extension is dead on arrival once it reaches the courts. We know that the Coastal Commission could not legally allow this project to proceed, as it violates the Coastal Act. We know that the Foothill-South 241 Extension to Trestles is destined to become a miserable failure.

So now that the California Democratic Party is on record for saving San Onofre and stopping this boondoggle, we can proceed. Hopefully, this will encourage our Democratic lawmakers in Sacramento to stop this disaster from happening. And hopefully, this will encourage our Democratic lawmakers in Washington to prevent any more of our federal tax dollars from being wasted on this mess.

Hopefully, what we did is the first step toward saving Trestles for good. : )

(Yes, let’s support the students! What’s the point of preparing for college if we can’t afford it? – promoted by atdleft)

Hi, I’m Charlie Carnow, a freshman in Urban Planning at USC, and a first time delegate from the 40th Assembly District introducing my first resolution, supported by the California Young Democrats, San Fernando Valley Young Democrats, and Valley Grassroots for Democracy as well a college Democratic chapters throughout the state. Together, we are urging the state party to take a firm stand on an issue crucial to our state, and especially to young voters: college affordability. 

Hi, I’m Charlie Carnow, a freshman in Urban Planning at USC, and a first time delegate from the 40th Assembly District introducing my first resolution, supported by the California Young Democrats, San Fernando Valley Young Democrats, and Valley Grassroots for Democracy as well a college Democratic chapters throughout the state. Together, we are urging the state party to take a firm stand on an issue crucial to our state, and especially to young voters: college affordability. 

I never want to hear a story like I heard from a friend of mine in the 40th District again. Raised by a single mother, my friend moved around a lot, but finally reached some stability and got into her dream school, UC Davis. But the aid package was too stingy, so she was forced to go to a community college for two years, and work to save for an eventual transfer to a UC. The state needs to invest in higher education to ensure that students of all backgrounds are able to attend the school that best fits their dreams and abilities, regardless of cost.  Supporting Democratic efforts in the Legislature and Congress and urging further action through this resolution is a good first step. 

In 1960, the California State Legislature made a firm commitment that all qualified students would have a high quality affordable college education. From Silicon Valley to the San Fernando Valley, our investments in higher education have helped make California an economic and educational powerhouse on an international scale. . 

Today, as millions of baby boomers begin to retire, California has compromised its commitment to college affordability, making it harder for our young people to take advantage of these opportunities. Rated an A in affordability by the National Report Card in Higher Education in 2000, California slipped to a C- in 2006. Since 2000, fees have risen over 72% at the University of California. This year, even the Legislative Analysts Office calls the Governor’s proposed 10% increase at California State University and 7% increase for UCs  excessive. The average Californian now leaves college with $16,356 dollars in debt, limiting their ability to choose lower paying public service careers that the state needs to fill as baby boomers retire. The Cal Grant B,  which provides low income students with money to pay for books, housing and other educational expenses has not kept up with inflation, and the Cal Grant award to students at private schools have not kept up with the increasing cost of tuition. In Congress, Californians like House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller and Speaker Nancy Pelosi have fought to cut student loan rates in half and in the House. Senator Kennedy’s Student Debt Relief Act would cut student loan interest rates in half, make student loan debt manageable, and cut the massive subsidies to student loan companies, freeing up funds to pay for increased grant aid for students. 

The State Party must support these efforts and encourage our Senators to cosponsor legislation containing these concepts. Furthermore, as a UC Berkeley study on the Returns to the State of Higher Education found, for every additional $1 the state spends in higher education now, the state can expect to expect to reap $3 in additional tax revenue in the next decade. Buying out the fee increase, and increasing Cal Grant B awards to take into account increases in the cost of living can ensure we protect and preserve the California Dream, and stand together against a Governor often hostile to students. We can restore the California Dream by putting our party on record as opposing unnecessary fee increases, supporting more grant aid to students, and aiding the efforts of our Democratic Congress to increase the Pell Grant and cut student loan interest rates. 

I invite you to join me at the Resolutions Committee to support this resolution. If you have any insights on how I can get this through the resolutions committee and ensure this remains a priority for them, please let me know in the commentss or contact me at [email protected] would be the first time at least since before 2003, that they address college issues in a resolution. It’s crucial this year as we try to pass some good Assembly bills to expand the Cal Grant B program, and take the wind of this year’s fee increase.

Text of the resolution follows:

Funding California Education Resolution

WHEREAS, since the 1960 Master Plan for College Education, California has guaranteed college opportunity to all qualified students, making California a national center for emerging industries and the world’s sixth largest economy, and

WHEREAS, over the last ten years, college costs have increased 26% nationally and 72% at the University of California,  while the percentage of college-bound high school graduates has declined and college graduates now carry an average of $19,000 in debt, and

WHEREAS, on January 17th, 2007, under the leadership of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, the House of Representatives passed the College Student Relief Act of 2007 to cut the student loan rate on subsidized loans in half, 

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that Valley Grassroots for Democracy supports efforts in the United States Senate and the House by Senator Edward Kennedy, Representative George Miller and others to improve national competitiveness by drastically cutting federally subsidized student loan rates and increasing Pell Grants, making loan debt manageable by limiting loan payments to a reasonable percentage of income and allowing payment over a longer period of time, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Valley Grassroots for Democracy urge the California State legislature to provide the necessary funding to buy out the proposed fee increase at California State University and also at the University of California, and implement the Legislative Analyst’s Office recommendation to support students at private universities by increasing Cal Grants.

Submitted by: Charlie Carnow, 40th AD