Gene Wunderlich - Realtor®, Government Affairs Director

Almost exactly a year ago I told you about yet another effort by bureaucrats obsessed with controlling our lives (When Fireplaces are Outlawed, only outlaws will have fireplaces) - in this case the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) and their 'Check Before You Burn' Initiative. That blog and subsequent article burned up a lot of people, including a spokehole for the SCAQMD who called me to point out some inaccuracies in my blog.

The inaccuracies were predicated on information available from the SCAQMD at the time and had to do with the scope of the ban. At the time the only published 'exemptions' to the ban were people living above 3,000 foot elevation who relied exclusively on wood heaters as a heat source. I had pointed out that there are many who live below 3,000 elevation who have similar constraints including many elderly and fixed income who utilize it as their only heat source, or those who relied on wood as a primary heat source based on their ability to pay for alternative sources like electric or gas, or those who live in areas where the natural gas alternative is not available. I was told that individual exemptions might apply to them. Whoohoo!

I also questioned their claim that fireplaces in the 4 county area emit more pollution than all the power plants in the Southland. They legitimized that claim because most of our local plants are either nuclear or gas fired. Those may emit more pollution but not the type of small particulate pollution (PM 2.5) that is their goal with this ban. And never mind that a good chunk of our power is imported from Arizona, where coal fired plants are the norm - by their statistics they can honestly say that's not a California problem.

So the fact that 95+% of our particulate pollution is derived from other sources like factory, diesel, auto and power plant emissions, SCAQMD is pushing ahead with their plans and have announced the beginning of their 2011-2012 ban season citing the 'fact' that an estimated 5,000 people a year die prematurely from particulate pollution in this region. Really? Is this statistic spun from the same fertile minds that estimate that 5 or 5.5 or 6 (depending on which of their sources you read) tons of soot a day are produced by fireplaces? And, according to their website, those averages can spike to as much as 10 tons a day in the winter 'when people are more likely to use their fireplaces'. Really?

So apparently even during the 8 months of summer we have here, people are still using their fireplaces to produce 5 or more tons of soot a day? I know afer sweating through a 110 day, there's nothing I enjoy more than curling up with a cold beer in front of a warm fire - it's an ambience thing. Do these people even proofread the crap they post on their own website?

Doesn't matter. Don't confuse us with facts and don't ask questions we prefer not to answer. From now through the end of February, just comply. What happens if you don't and your neighbor calls to report wood smoke coming from your fireplace? I'd start by kicking your neighbors butt, because you may be fined $50 for the first offense, $150 for a 2nd and $500 thereafter, although the AQMD says they would 'probably' warn you first and just send you a little brochure about the hazards of wood smoke.

As an asthmatic myself, I have a keen appreciation for clean air and the necessity to do all we can to achieve clean air goals. But I question whether criminalizing the use of fireplaces and encouraging neighbors to rat out neighbors who do is the intent of federal clean air legislation or just another California wing-nut knee-jerk. I don't believe for a minute that this over-reaching BS is necessary or effective BUT IT'S THE LAW. So just be a good little doo-bee and do what they tell you.

You'll need to go online every day (www.aqmd.gov) to check your region for no-burn advisories. If you don't have an internet machine in your home, you need to call every day (866-966-3293). You can also get tethered to the AQMD by signing up for a daily email or twitter notification by visting www.airalerts.org.

In the event of a no-burn advisory in your immediate area, the AQMD has approved the following non-polluting source of heat for you and your family. Gather round, kiddies. This has been a public service announcement.

On Friday morning, September 30, 2011, several representatives from our community held a press conference asking Governor Jerry Brown to VETO SB 469 (Vargas). This bill is another in the long line of attacks by California on both businesses and municipalities in our state. It is just one example of why California finds itself 49th out of 50 states for having a business friendly environment. It's why we're losing 5.4 companies every week to places like Texas and Colorado and North Carolina and Nevada. It's another example of that political-think that says Sacramento can make better decisions for our local cities than they can themselves - keeping in mind that Sacramento is deeply in debt, can't pass a budget, is divisively gridlocked and stocked with career politicians who have never held a real job. Yet they feel perfectly content to try to dictate to the rest of us how we should comport ourselves.

This morning I joined the Mayor of Murrieta, Randon Lane, Wildomar Mayor Pro-Tem Ben Benoit, Menifee City Council member Darcy Kuenzi, Lake Elsinore Finance Director Allan Baldwin and League of Cities rep Dave Willmon in providing our statements to the assembled press. Here is my statement:

Good morning. My name is Gene Wunderlich and I'm Chair of the Southwest California Legislative Council, a coalition of businesses and Chambers representing more than 3,000 small, medium and large employers in Southwest Riverside County.

Communities throughout our state are facing crisis. In Riverside County our unemployment rate is 14.7%, statewide it is 12.1%, and that's only the people they count. Like many other cities and counties across California, we each face problems that are similar in nature, yet unique to each locality. We must be able to make decisions that are best for our communities, our families and our friends.

Our elected leaders in Sacramento don't seem to know what's going on in Temecula, or Wildomar, or Menifee or communities across Southwest Riverside County. SB469 is a perfect example of that with its bureaucratic roadblocks and overreaching state authority. It's a one=size-fits-all bill and it will not help us create jobs in our community - although it may well keep several attorneys busy for years.

This bill takes away the power of a community to build and define itself and gives that power to the state, having local land use issues defined in Sacramento. The state SHOULD NOT be imposing more regulations on local governments right now. The state SHOULD NOT be telling us what kinds of businesses we can and cannot approve and the state SHOULD NOT be interfering in our ability to help reduce the high unemployment rate in our own community.

We are asking Governor Brown to help Southwest Riverside County and cities and counties across the state. Join us in helping create new jobs, not destroy more jobs.

VETO SB469.

This bill is also opposed by the California Association of Realtors® and dozens of other pro-jobs, pro-business & pro-local rights groups throughout the state.

A dead crow with West Nile Virus was found in Wildomar. Crows cover a lot of ground in their daily travels and may have played host to dozens of mosquitoes during their travels. Here's the caution from the County of Riverside about how to reduce your chances of contracting the disease.

The California Democratic Party is at it again - and they're counting on you being too stupid to notice.

Dan Walters, Political Columnists for the Sacramento Bee, recently wrote about the slew of Democratic legislation aimed at eviscerating the initiative process in our state. You know, the initiative process - whereby ordinary citizens have the opportunity to get measures on the ballot that legislators don't like? Yeah, that process. Democrats complain that 'the initiative process is being abused' and they want to protect us from ourselves.

Now granted there are too many initiatives on our ballot sometimes - there were 10 on last Novembers ballot alone, But in its 100 year history, the initiative, referendum and recall petition has produced many beneficial results in addition to a few clinkers. Prop. 13 comes to mind, and last years successful Prop 20, which removed the redistricting process from the hands of our legislators, and failed Props 19, to legalize marijuana and 23, which would have overthrown the onerous AB 32.

But the Democrats don't like us to have that much say in our government - because they know what's best for us and how best to spend our money without any pesky input from us. Heck, they already control our legislature, our governor, and every major elected office in the state - they just don't want to contend with the actual voice of the people. They're also afraid of public backlash against their incompetence and malfeasance in office which is threatening to put bills on upcoming ballots mandating pension reform, restrictions on political fundraising by unions, education entitlement and reform and a host of other issues that citizens are pissed off about but that the legislature refuses to act on.

Now in an act of craven insincerity, they are backing radio ads aimed at inducing fear of signing initiative petitions. You may have heard them - a sweet female voice just signed a petition outside the local grocery store while the wise male voice tells her she probably just gave her signature to an identity thief, all her pertinent information will be shared on the global network of signature gatherers/identity thieves, and she should never do that again.

Listen closely at the end, after the terrified woman promises never to do such a stupid thing again - listen to who is paying for the ad. It's a group group called - Californians Against Identity Theft, ALONG WITH backing by unidentified labor groups.The origins of CAIT is murky but their intent is clear. Identity theft is a major issue across the country right now - I've written on it many times. But the SOLE FOCUS of this group is aimed at signature gatherers and the initiative process. Sound like a well rounded group focused on the real issue - or some special interest? Yeah, that's what I thought.

Maybe I'm just cynical but could the liberal labor movement and their Democratic lackeys in the legislature be in cahoots on this? Could they actually be waging a concerted campaign both in the legislature and on the airwaves to further their agenda of coercion and control? Naw, I'm probably just being paranoid. Of course just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they really aren't out to get you.

How much do like being manipulated? You must - you keep voting for these people.

Read more: http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/08/03/2487995/calif-democrats-attack-initiative.html#ixzz1UqBID2Lb

Say you're the owner of a commercial building. Based on bids, you hire a company to come in evenings and clean the building keeping your investment intact and making it presentable for your employees and clients the next day. Now imagine that company is run very poorly, they hire cheap labor, do a very poor job, don't even show up some days, maybe steal stuff from your workplace. At the end of the year, they've done such a bad job you go back out to bid and hire a reputable company that has a great reputation but will cost significantly more.

Well, good riddance to bad company, right? You're paying more but at least you've got quality service and no more problems right?

Not in California. When our esteemed legislators reconvene mid-August after their mid-autumn respite from profligately squandering our money, one of the bills they will consider is AB350 (Solorio). The bill is called the 'Displaced Property Service Employees Opportunity Act' and here's what it does. Whenever an owner of a building awards a contract to provide services for their building to a new contractor, the new contractor MUST HIRE the previous contractors employees to do the work. And you'd have to keep them in place for at least 90 days.

The predecessor bill - the Janitor Opportunity Act signed into law in 2001, only applied to janitorial staff. The new and improved version would grant the rights/protections to janitors, window washers, landscape workers, security, cafeteria and dietary services as well. You as the building's owner, the person who hires the service personnel to support your investment, have NO VOICE whatsoever in the process. You can hire a new company but still get the same lackluster service you tried to replace - at least for 90 days.

Because the bill creates no new jobs and only applies an additional layer of regulation to an already overburdened jobs market in the state, the Southwest California Legislative Council signaled our opposition to the measure in April. This bill should have died in committee, or at the very least should never have passed the Assembly and should not be passed by the Senate. Unfortunately our Democratic majority Assembly passed the bill and the Senate will take the matter up in a couple weeks, with probably the same result. Jerry Brown should veto the bill but again...

Oh well, that's what happens when you have a majority of our legislature who has never held an honest job. Their ranks are bloated with lifetime 'public servants' and sycophants who have always fed at the public trough, never met a payroll, never had to hire or fire employees, never tasted the glory of entrepreneurship nor dealt with it's dark side.

Keep it up, folks. The next regulation you pass should be one making it illegal for California companies to move out of state. With all the other crap you are heaping on them, that's the only way you'll prevent the dozens who are departing every week from heading to Texas or South Carolina or Nevada or anyplace but California.