Montebello E-News

 July 17, 2008  

There can be no assumption that today's majority is right and the Amish and others like them are wrong. [That is to say, we cannot assume that we would be right and they would be wrong.]  A way of life that is odd or even erratic but interferes with no rights or interests of others is not to be condemned because it is different.
Warren Earl Burger, 1907 – 1995,
was Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1969 to 1986. Although Burger was a conservative and considered a strict constructionist, still under his leadership, the United States Supreme Court delivered a variety of major decisions on abortion, capital punishment, religious establishment, and school desegregation.  

[How relevant is this to the case of the Mormon fundamentalists in Texas?]  

1.  Ready or Not, Here It Comes!

2.  Social-Impact Report, Part 4

3. Announcements

4. Fun Facts about Utah

5. The Flashback Quarterback:  Clash of the Titans:  Who’ll Win?

6. Be Aware and Share:  Dealing with Extreme Diversity      

7. About Montebello E-News and “My Montebello”  

Ready or Not, Here It Comes!  

Disaster Earthquake Scenario Unveiled for Southern California

Scientists today unveiled a hypothetical Scenario describing how a magnitude 7.8 Southern California earthquake —similar to the recent earthquake in China — would impact the region, causing loss of lives and massive damage to infrastructure, including critical transportation, power, and water systems.  

In the scenario, the earthquake would kill 1800 people, injure 50,000, cause $200 billion in damage, and have long-lasting social and economic consequences. This is the most comprehensive analysis ever of what a major Southern California earthquake would mean, and is the scientific framework for what will be the largest earthquake preparedness drill in California history, scheduled for November 13, 2008. ...

Fire doubles the fatalities and economic losses.  Around Southern California, there will be 1,600 fires started large enough to warrant a 911 call, and some fires merge into conflagrations that burn hundreds of city blocks. Assuming no Santa Ana winds, the models still indicate a further $65 billion in direct losses and $22 billion in indirect losses from the fires. ...  

May 22, 2008.  Complete news release, including the details of such an earthquake, is at http://online.wr.usgs.gov/ocw/htmlmail/2008/May/22/20080522GSnr.html.  

If you answer the multiple-choice questions below and e-mail to lessonanswers@mymontebello.com with “Lesson answers” in the subject field, you will be credited toward a “certificate of recognition in community affairs” to be awarded in 2008 by a local nonprofit organization. 

 1. What would a 7.8 earthquake in Southern California do, according to scientists?

(a) Kill 1,800 people and injure 50,000 others.

(b) Cause two hundred billion dollars in damage.

2. How should we prepare?

(a) Have a cell phone ready at all times to call 9-1-1.

(b) Not depend on 9-1-1 at all, because police and fire services would be overwhelmed. 

When most companies close the year, they assess their financial performance and thank their customers for sales. While we definitely succeeded on that dimension this year with over 1,000 retail locations across the United States and 300% sales growth, our far more important impact was increasing the quality of life for thousands of women and children across the globe – and we want to thank you for making that possible.  ...
Priya Haji, Co-founder and CEO
“World of Good” Social-Impact Report 2006, http://www.worldofgood.com/impact/index.shtml  

A “social-impact report”?  We have heard of “environmental-impact report”;  for example, one has to be filed with regard to the disposition of our Montebello Hills before a decision be made about the hills.  A social-impact report would talk about the probable and possible social consequences of a planned or existing activity.  

What consequences do you see from the following?  

In the previous part, we looked at the usefulness of a SIR with regard to the Federal “No Child Left Behind” policy.  Now we look at the usefulness of a SIR with regard to the definition of marriage.  Below we have an opinion which acts as an informal SIR.  

...A recent study by economist Ben Scafidi found that single parenthood and family dissolution costs California taxpayers $4.8 billion a year.  So how would same-sex "marriage" impact that cost?  If same-sex relationships in Norway and Sweden as reported in a 2004 study are a harbinger of things to come in California, male couples will be about 50% more likely to divorce than opposite-sex couples, and the divorce rate of female couples will be nearly double that of male couples.  And, according to David Blankenhorn's book, "The Future of Marriage," there is evidence suggesting that when states adopt same-sex "marriage," opposite-sex couples are more likely to decide that there is no need to get married prior to having children (cause and effect is an open question, but the correlation is definite).  An increase in single parenthood and family dissolution would be harmful to children and generate significant additional costs to the taxpayers.  

One of the problems with the [ California Supreme] court's decision last week is that it didn't consider any relevant evidence.  Unlike interracial marriage, which has existed for thousands of years, we have no way of knowing what outcome to expect for a generation of children raised by same-sex couples. Proponents of same-sex "marriage" have prepared studies designed to persuade courts that all children need are two parents, not necessarily opposite-sex ones.  But the research is statistically and methodologically weak and insufficient to meet the ordinary burden of proof for establishing an equal-protection claim. By declaring same-sex relationships the full equivalent of marriage on the basis of the majority's instincts, the court has thrust California into a monumental social science experiment whose results will not be known for decades.  

Yes, ... the state must regulate marriage; churches or private contracts cannot do it.  But the reason the state needs to regulate marriage has nothing to do with same-sex couples.  It is all about the natural family.  May 22, 2008, “A Social Experiment That May Fail”, Glen Lavy, Los Angeles Times.  

FOR PROPERTY OWNERS.  Special trash pickup.  The City of Montebello and Athens Disposal Service will conduct free trash pickups on the following dates:

Athens Disposal Service will remove items such as couches, rugs and large household items in unlimited quantity.  Braches and lumber must be tied in bundles no longer than four feet in length.  Unframed glass must be broken and put into trash cans for safe handling.  No hazardous materials including paints, motor oils or chemicals will be accepted.  Also, no tires, refrigerators, stumps, logs or steel pipes over four inches in diameter or over four feet in length will be accepted.  Please direct any questions to Athens Disposal at 626.335.6100. From Montebello Today.  

FOR BUS RIDERS.  Proposed fare increase.  The City of Montebello, as a recipient of Federal, State and County transit funding support, is subject to the requirements of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and the Federal Transportation Administration (FTA).  These requirements provide for notification to the public when an increase in bus fares is under consideration.  Public notice is hereby given that the City Council of the City of Montebello will hold a public hearing in Council Chambers, City Hall, 1600 West Beverly Boulevard, Montebello, on Wednesday, July 23, 2008, at 6:30 p.m. for the purpose of considering fare increases for Montebello Bus Lines.  For more information, www.cityofmontebello.com/temp_file/transit/FY2009PublicNoticeFareIncrease.pdf. 

FOR EVERYONE.  City-council meeting.  The next regular meeting of the Montebello city council will be in the council chamber at city hall on Wednesday, July 23, 2008, at 6:30 p.m.  If you wish to speak during orals, come before 6:30 p.m. and sign up.  If you have more to say than there is time allotted, prepare a one pager, make copies, and hand out before you speak.  For more information, 323.887.1363.  Also, the agenda is posted at www.cityofmontebello.com.  

FOR FAMILIES AND RETIREES.  To Your Health.  The United States Conference of Mayors, 76th Annual Meeting, June 20-24, 2008, Resolutions Adopted.  …WHEREAS, as of the date of this resolution, the majority of American physicians (59%) believe that Single Payer [one universal healthcare program which covers everyone regardless of ability to pay] is the best method of securing universal healthcare; and WHEREAS, The United States National Health Insurance Act (H.R. 676)  will guarantee every mayor that all residents and employees of his/her city will be fully covered for healthcare and save millions of taxpayer dollars now spent on premiums to provide less than full health insurance coverage for government employees; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the United States Conference of Mayors expresses its support for The United States National Health Insurance Act (H.R. 676), and calls upon federal legislators to work towards its immediate enactment, and further urges the adoption of a process by which healthcare will be required to justify any increases to healthcare costs.  

Completion of the world’s first transcontinental railroad was celebrated at Promontory, Utah, where the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads met on May 10, 1869.  That location is now known as Golden Spike National Historic Site.  

The Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City took forty years to complete.

Rainbow Bridge, nature’s abstract sculpture carved of solid sandstone, is the world’s largest natural-rock span.  It stands two hundred seventy-eight feet wide and three hundred nine feet high.

The Great Salt Lake covers two thousand one hundred square miles, with an average depth of thirteen feet.  The deepest point is thirty-four feet.

The state symbol, the beehive, symbolizes thrift and industry.  [Based on that, would most of Utah’s people be conservative or liberal?]  

The name Utah comes from the Native American Ute tribe and means “people of the mountains”.

During World War Two, Alta ski center became involved in the war effort when paratroopers from the 10th Mountain Regiment trained on its slopes.

The controversy surrounding the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell is often cited as the beginning of the modern-day environmental movement.

Fillmore was Utah’s first territorial capitol and was named for U.S. President Millard Fillmore.  The statehouse was never completed, but the first wing remains Utah's oldest governmental building and now serves as a state museum.  

Utah has the highest literacy rate in the nation.  [What you do think contributes to that?]

We have explored the contradiction between capitalism and democracy.  They are not bedfellows.  Business naturally moves fast, society naturally moves slowly.  The result is that business needs quick answers, so business limits democracy to a few decision-makers.

Said another way, our American democracy serves business well, but does not serve society well.  We the voters have limited participation in our democracy.  

An example is contained in the July 3, 2008, E-News:  

If you're wondering why driving to work has gotten so expensive, you might want to peruse your pension fund's investments. That's because speculation by institutional investors pouring money into the commodities market may be largely to blame for spiking oil prices, according to testimony on May 20 before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs. ...

There is more than one way to deal with extreme diversity.

May 22, 2008, Los Angeles Times  

PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN -- Pakistani authorities announced Wednesday that they had struck a truce with a militant faction that moved last year to impose Taliban-style rule in a once-popular tourist area.  

The deal between government officials and Islamic militants in the scenic Swat valley could presage broader accords with militants in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan . ...  

Which works better:  an accommodation like the one above or an attempt to eliminate extreme diversity, as the United States is attempting in the Middle East?

To learn about this newsletter, Montebello E-News, and the accompanying, growing Web site, “My Montebello”, visit www.mymontebello.com.  Also, you will find instructions and contact information for submitting announcements for publication in this newsletter, and for submitting stories to “Montebello Memories” at the Web site.