Montebello E-News  

August 16, 2007

A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it.

Oscar Wilde, 1854 – 1900,

Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and author of short stories 

1.     The Grass is Not Always Greener on the Other Side

2.     To Laugh, to Lament, Perchance to Dream, Part 6

3.     Announcements

4.      Fun Fact

5.     The Flashback Quarterback on Power Gone Sour

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

The Grass is Not Always Greener on the Other Side 

          Do you tire of the capricious and conspicuous caviling to which we are exposed by those who would pontificate from their paper pulpits?  (Okay, enough, but don’t you love the “malleability” of English?) 

          In other words, if somebody read the dread which came by letter carriers to our mailboxes, and to our driveways and curbs by those who would test their pitching arms, she or he would think that Montebello city hall were a den of inequity ready for a divine cleansing. 

          Interestingly, on the front page of the Montebello Comet of August 2, 2007, we read “City Searching for a New Manager”.  ‘Not again!’ we think.  No, not again, because we continue reading: 

          Monterey Park’s [emphasis mine] perennially divided city council is on the lookout for a new city manager, after former city manager Chris Jeffers left last month for the city manager’s seat in Glendora. … Monterey Park has a 3-2 split council, [long-time councilmember Frank] Venti said.  Jeffers would often ignore his and one other          councilmember’s minority opinions in favor of those of the other threecouncilmembers, he said.  “I’m looking for a city manager who can           count to five…the previous city manager did whatever three of the councilmembers [a majority] wanted,” Venti said. … 

          Montebello is not unique in its problems.  Either there is nothing wrong or there is something fundamentally wrong with democracy as presently practiced across the U.S.  Might it be that democracy would be retarded, would atrophy, whenever so few people—five city councilors, five county supervisors, one hundred twenty state legislators, four hundred thirty-five members of Congress—made decisions to the exclusion of, respectively, tens of thousands, millions, tens of millions, and hundreds of millions of people? 

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 2007 by a local nonprofit organization. 

1.    Montebello

(a)   is an exception to what takes place in America.

(b)   is a microcosm of America. 

2.    The problem with Montebello might lie

(a)   in the lack of shared decision-making, that is, the lack of a large number of people having a substantive say in decisions about our neighborhoods.

(b)   in the structure of democracy as practiced presently.

(c)   in the lack of accurate news about what takes place at city hall. 

We are all here for a spell, get all the good laughs you can.

Will Rogers, 1879 - 1935,

American humorist, social commentator, and actor 

In part five, we explored how we might have more productive communities.  We noted, in a previous essay, that our extreme idealism and the lack of land (said another way, the growing population around the world) would be obstacles to more productive communities.  We wondered whether technology could provide an answer. 

If technology enabled us to survive on little land, yes, we would have a solution.  A homogenous community could be created and maintained under environmentally-friendly conditions on otherwise inhospitable or unproductive land, like the vast stretches of the Mojave Desert.   

Generally, inhospitable or unproductive land is found where there are extremes in temperature.  The extremes in temperature could be harnessed for energy for a community.  The energy could be converted into hospitable living, e.g., air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter, and productivity, probably through closed agricultural environments, like hydroponic gardens and greenhouses. 

There is another direction in which we could go:  floating communities.  Building a floating city is within current technology.  Indeed, cruise ships are floating cities, although they are not designed for self-sufficiency, which could be addressed with current technology.  A community with strong, homogenous ideals could live in a floating city.  The initial large cost would be more than paid back by the greater productivity within that community and within the societies which they left, which no longer would have to spend large sums to accommodate the community.  Here is an example:  would it not cost less for “lifers” in prison to live in their own city, far from the rest of us, earning their bread by their own sweat and having the freedom to rehabilitate themselves or stew in their own misery? 

Unity around the world is an ideal which we like to embrace.  Seid umschlungen, millionen, dieser Kuss der ganzen Welt, from Friedrich Schiller’s poem “Ode to Joy.”  But homogeneity clashes with nature’s drive for diversity.  If we were willing to accommodate homogeneity in bite sizes, that is, on a community scale instead of a world scale, we could accommodate human ideals and nature’s diversity simultaneously. 

FOR EVERYONE.  Concerts in the park.  Montebello City Park band shell.  Free admission.  Each concert is from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. 

Thursday, August 16,  Montebello Wise Guys, big-band music. 

Thursday, August 23, Mariachi Divas, mariachi and Latin music. 

Thursday, August 30, ACE, Seventies and Eighties dance music. 

For more information, 323.887.4540. 

FOR EVERYONE.  Farmer’s market.  The produce market will be held next to the band shell in conjunction with the Thursday concerts in the park, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.  For more information, 323.887.4540. 

DOG LOVERS.  Montebello in first place.  See the article “Montebello Team Places First in Police Canine Trials”, www.mymontebello.com/best_tc_mtpfipct . 

“Stewardesses” is the longest word that is typed with only the left hand. 

From http://www.fun-facts.com/item/80754 . 

Have you seen the public-service announcements (“PSAs”) on television in which Californians apologize to their grandchildren for spoiling the environment?  The announcements are creative and draw my attention, but they are not optimally effective. 

The group which pays for the ads: 

Flex Your Power is California's statewide energy efficiency marketing and outreach campaign. Initiated in 2001, Flex Your Power is a partnership of California's utilities, residents, businesses, institutions, government agencies and nonprofit organizations working to save energy. The campaign includes a comprehensive website, an electronic newsletter and blog, and educational materials. Flex Your Power has received national and international recognition, including an ENERGY STAR Award for excellence. 

The campaign's primary funding comes from the Public Goods Charge as approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), as well as contributing Munis and Partner organizations and companies.  From www.flexyourpower.org .

What more can this group do?  It does have money.  Why can it not motivate and mobilize Californians through a competition, as suggested in the community lesson “Delightful Doodle or Awesome Art,” in the May 10, 2007, issue of Montebello E-News? 

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.