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The Editors

Litigation or Loophole?

 

For those wishing to know more details of Auerbach vs Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors -- the lawsuit that has the Modoc County Board of Supervisors worried about potential litigation as it draws down "unattached" treasury funds --  we suggest reading the case law material at: http://www.lawlink.com/research/CaseLevel3/76187

Campground Toilet Replacement


Campgrounds across the Modoc National Forest are scheduled for toilet replacements.
 
Contractors will begin selected toilet removal the week of August 12^th.  Installation will begin the next week and is expected to be completed by Friday August 20^th.  One to two toilets will be replaced at each location.

Visitors may encounter brief delays in navigating the campgrounds and intermittent equipment noise between the hours of 7a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.

All campgrounds will have alternate toilet facilities available in the campground with the exception of Pepperdine.  Alternate toilet facilities for the Pepperdine Campground will be located three/tenths of a mile away in the Pepperdine Equestrian Camp.

This project is being funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Cedarville Medical Marijuana Workshop
 
The Modoc County Planning Department will be holding the first of three public workshops on Wednesday, August 11th in Cedarville from 6-8 p.m. at the Senior Citizens Center to allow the public more opportunity to review and comment on the proposed prohibition of medical marijuana dispensaries, collectives and cooperatives in the unincorporated areas of Modoc County.

The dates, times and locations for the workshops in Alturas and Adin will be confirmed by next week.

 
It is encouraged that public comments are submitted in writing or via e-mail.  Outside of a public hearing, just voicing your opinion or "giving your two cents" is not a part of the public record. Many comments are verbally received by county representatives but are not considered in the public process.
   
For more information, please contact the Modoc County Planning Department at 233-6406 or visit the office at 203 West Fourth St. in Alturas.  

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Dear Bloggers,

It's time to restate our policies regarding political advertising and blogger comments. Please keep your comments focused on the issues, not on the personalities. We will not post any comments that we think are personal in nature. 

Your informed debate of the hospital district issue is encouraged.

The Editors

(Advertisement)

Ruby Pipeline Receives FERC Approval to Begin Construction

  

El Paso Corporation announced that the Ruby Pipeline Project has received Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approval to proceed and begin construction. 

El Paso spokesman Richard Wheatley confirmed that will his company is coordinating today with FERC, the BLM and state agencies regarding the Vya workers camp. 

"We know this announcement means a great deal to workers and communities along the pipeline," Wheatley said. "We're ramping up at sites all along the route, including Vya." Constrstuction of the camp is estimated to take six weeks.

“We are very pleased that we have final FERC approval,” said Jim Cleary, president of El Paso’s Western Pipeline Group.  

“This approval is a milestone, successfully culminating more than two and one half years of outreach and comprehensive permitting at the federal, state, and local levels. In addition to supplying significant supplies of clean-burning natural gas to the western states, we are also proud that Ruby will employ almost 5,000 people from Wyoming to Oregon during construction, and that the pipeline will provide significant economic benefits to the four states along our route for years to come.”

Ruby, the first-ever carbon-neutral pipeline to be constructed and operated, involves 680 miles of 42-inch pipeline and four compressor stations.  Ruby will transport natural gas from an existing supply hub at Opal, Wyoming, to interconnections near Malin, Oregon.  It will have an initial design capacity of 1.5 billion cubic feet per day.

El Paso has entered into agreements with Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), whereby GIP will invest up to $700 million in the Ruby project.  Upon satisfaction of various closing conditions, GIP will acquire a 50 percent equity interest in the project.

El Paso Corporation provides natural gas and related energy products in a safe, efficient, and dependable manner.  The company owns North America’s largest interstate natural gas pipeline system and one of North America’s largest independent natural gas producers.  For more information, visit www.elpaso.com.

(Advertisement)

Against the Hospital District

    (These are the facts that the Save Our Hospital group tried to keep off the upcoming ballot. We had to hire an attorney to get them to stop their interference. Read it to find out what they didn't want you to see.)

    Vote against the creation of a hospital district. It’s a bad idea no matter how you look at it.
    A hospital district is not necessary. It never was. For over two years, the supervisors and the Save Our Hospital Committee misled the people of Modoc County, all the while running up a crippling debt. They mistakenly blamed the hospital’s economic drain on the large numbers of Medicare and Medi-Cal patients it served.
    In reality, all that was needed was good management, billing and collection reforms, as the Fix It First Coalition called for from the outset. That strategy alone will save our hospital. Instead, county supervisors spent money foolishly. They were encouraged to do so by the same people who now want to impose this new, burdensome tax on you.
    When the supervisors were finally forced by painful circumstances to hire a qualified and prudent hospital administrator who put in place the proper billing and collection reforms, the problem was solved.
    Due exclusively to those reforms, the hospital is now operating at a profit and paying down its debt to the county. So, if the debt is being repaid, why create a district that will add a new tax burden to the people?
    Vote against the creation of a hospital district. Vote "No!" new taxes.

                                -- Douglas R. Knox
                                Fix It First Coalition