Editors note: This is the second in a two-part analysis of Ballot Measure 1 and its potential effects by economists at the University of Alaska Anchorage. The first installment can be found here.

Alaskans are currently weighing Ballot Measure 1, which would increase taxes on oil production. As the state faces large deficits, proponents argue that Ballot Measure 1 would provide a needed source of revenue. Previous changes to Alaskas oil tax structure amounted to tax cuts in certain cases and a tax increase in others. Ballot Measure 1 is a tax increase in all cases for Alaskas largest producing oil fields.

Currently, oil revenues and the Permanent Fund draw combined are not enough to pay the states bills. This year, Alaska is projected to face a deficit, whether it pays a Permanent Fund dividend under the statutory formula or distributes no PFD at all. With a PFD around the same size as last years, the deficit will be around $1 billion. With a full statutory dividend, the deficit would be around $2 billion.

The amount of revenue Ballot Measure 1 would raise depends on the economics of oil. Prices are the most important factor. At todays price outlook, the measure would raise $200-500 million per year on top of what the state would otherwise collect from oil taxes. If prices were to rise sharply from expectations say, to $75 per barrel the measure might instead raise an additional $1 billion per year on top of what the state would otherwise collect from oil taxes. Add this to the states other revenue from oil, and it would be able to balance the budget and pay close to a statutory PFD.

A key assumption made when estimating revenues from Ballot Measure 1 is that oil companies will not change the levels of production or investment in response to the tax increase. Higher taxes will likely make at least some oil wells unprofitable to operate or drill. A handful of studies have been written by economists trying to measure the effect of taxes on oil drilling and production. An important take-away from these studies is that tax changes dont change the level of oil production today. Instead, they affect a producers decision whether to invest and drill a well today, which provides the source of oil production tomorrow.

Investment decisions are made based on a host of other factors in addition to tax rates. Prices, geology, geography, infrastructure, workforce education, and political risk all matter when committing dollars to a project. While it is safe to say that the proposed tax increase will have some negative effects, based on the existing evidence it is hard to know exactly how much Ballot Measure 1 might affect investment in Alaskas oil fields.

In this way, Ballot Measure 1 creates important tradeoffs: some higher oil tax revenues today against some foregone royalty and tax revenue in the future. Less investment in drilling today will also mean fewer jobs in the oil industry and in other parts of the economy. At the same time, cuts to the states budget through layoffs or smaller PFDs also have negative effects on the economy.

The potential oil resources on the North Slope are vast and could offer many years of future production. However, markets can change quickly, as weve seen with coal production in the United States. Its quickly evaporating as innovations in renewable energy and natural gas have transformed the way we produce electricity.

What is clear is that Ballot Measure 1 is unlikely to generate enough revenue on its own under current conditions to entirely fill the states projected deficit and also provide enough for a large PFD. This means that future budget cuts, changes to the PFD, or additional sources of revenue will be needed to secure a sustainable budget.

Ballot Measure 1 is not the final word in the debate over Alaskas state fiscal problems. And given that Alaskas oil tax structure has been totally redrawn three times in the past 15 years, it is unlikely to be the last word on oil taxes either.

Brett Watson is a Research Professional/Postdoctoral Researcher at the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Alaska Anchorage. This article is based on an ISER working paper, available upon request: bwjordan@alaska.edu.

Link:
On the fence about Ballot Measure 1? Here are some facts to consider. - Anchorage Daily News

The town of Vail is bringing back temporary fencing that was installed last year in East Vail to reduce the potential for motor vehicle collisions with bighorn sheep and other wildlife.

The fencing was first built in April along the north side of the North Frontage Road following the loss of three bighorn sheep over several months.

The town has worked with it partners from the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife to return the temporary fencing. Installation will begin the week of Nov. 2, with the fence remaining in place until mid-July 2021. Permit approvals for construction in the right-of-way are in place from the transportation department.

At the Oct. 20 meeting of the Vail Town Council, Town Manager Scott Robson told councilmembers he hopes this is the last season for the temporary fencing. That temporary fence, while effective, drew some complaints from residents who called the fence unsightly.

Were making great progress with (the transportation department) on permanent, well-designed fencing, Robson said. We hope in the next two years well have permanent fencing in East Vail, paid for mostly, if not exclusively by (the transportation department).

For this seasons project, the town has contracted with Strategic Fence & Co. for the approximately $22,000 project, which the town is funding. The fence will run from the East Vail Interchange along the north side of the North Frontage Road west to Katsos Road. During construction, the westbound Frontage Road shoulder will be closed for one to two days.

For more information, email Vail Environmental Sustainability Director Kristen Bertuglia, kbertuglia@vailgov.com.

Original post:
East Vail wildlife fence returns for the coming winter - Vail Daily News

October 22, 2020 - By Ron Allen (UC Master Gardener, Mariposa) - Fall is the time to plant California natives. The weather is cooler, the first soaking rains are imminent, and yet there is still plenty of good sunlight. These factors make for good initial foliage growth and root development.

The motivation for adding native plants comes down to one thing: water. Mariposa County enjoys a somewhat hot, but generally Mediterranean climate; we have cool winters, wet springs, and dry summers. California natives are adapted to our long, dry summers. Filling your garden and landscape with natives saves on irrigation expenses once the plants are established. Also, native plants are adapted to local soil types and are resistant to local plant pathogens, insect pests, and herbivores. By gardening with native plants, you will save again on insecticides, soil amendments, deer screens, rodent traps, etc.

(Pictured) Toyon, with red berries.

Its easy to get started growing California natives. First, make a survey of your site. Take an inventory of plants already present and try to figure out how to complement them. Choose plants that are adapted and grow well in your local ecological niche. This can depend upon your aesthetic and goals. Do you want attractive ornamental natives? Do you lean toward supporting pollinators? Maybe fire resistance or bank stabilization is key? Please feel free to call our UC Master Gardener Helpline in Mariposa County for suggestions.

(Pictured)Narrowleaf Milkweed, with butterfly.

If you want a simple approach, you can scatter native annual wildflower seeds, such as California Poppy. If youre keen on helping pollinators--and the monarch butterfly in particular--then set down some milkweeds in the Asclepias genus. These perennials are the only plants upon which monarchs lay their eggs. Good examples are the Narrowleaf and Showy Milkweeds. A great choice among shrubs is the Toyon, an attractive evergreen that can become a small tree. In the summer it is covered with creamy white flowers, drawing bees and butterflies. In the fall, it produces bright red berries that attract birds. It is very fire resistant, and its one shrub that you can plant close to structures.

(Pictured)Douglas Fir seedlings.

If your landscaping plans are ambitious, and youre at an elevation of 3,000 feet or more, you can try planting Douglas Fir seedlings. An excellent companion for these conifers is the Canyon Live Oak whose roots support an ectomycorrhizal fungus beneficial to young Douglas fir growth.

For assistance, contact our Helpline at (209) 966-7078 or at mgmariposa@ucdavis.edu. We are currently unable to take samples or meet with you in person but welcome pictures.

The U.C. Master Gardener Helpline is staffed;Thursdays from 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Serving Mariposa County, including Greeley Hill, Coulterville and Lake Don PedroPlease contact the helpline, or leave a message by phone at: (209) 966-7078By email (send photos and questions for researched answers) to:mgmariposa@ucdavis.edu

For further gardening information and event announcements, please visit:UCMG website:http://cemariposa.ucanr.edu/Master_GardenerFollow us on Facebook at:https://www.facebook.com/mariposamastergardeners

Master Gardener Office Location:UC Cooperative Extension Office,5009 Fairgrounds RoadMariposa, CA 95338

Phone: (209) 966-2417Email:mgmariposa@ucdavis.eduWebsite:http://cemariposa.ucanr.edu/Master_Gardener

Visit the YouTube channel atUCCE Mariposa.

Excerpt from:
Over the Garden Fence - Fall is Time to Plant Natives - Sierra Sun Times

A man was found dead near the U.S.-Mexico border fence in Nogales on Thursday morning, authorities said.

The Nogales Police Department was called to the scene at 9:04 a.m. after a body was found in the hills near the border at the end of West International Street, between a quarter- and half-mile west of the DeConcini Port of Entry, NPD Spokesman Oscar Mesta said.

Identification found at the scene indicated that the man was a 29-year-old Mexican national, Mesta said.

Nogales Fire Chief Jeff Sargent said EMTs also responded and determined that the man was dead. Its not clear when the man died, but Sargent said he didnt have signs of trauma from a weapon or blunt force.

Mesta said NPD sent the body to the medical examiner to determine the cause of death, but the department isnt currently conducting a criminal investigation.

' + this.content + '

See original here:
Man found dead north of border fence in Nogales - Nogales International

More and more car thefts are taking place through breaches in the security fences between Israel and the Palestinian territories, research has found.In the last six months, Iturans sample of about 600,000 vehicles, found that as a result of intensive activity by Iturans security forces and law enforcement units at the Palestinian Authority checkpoints, more and more thieves transferred stolen vehicles through areas of the fence where there is no military enforcement.During this period, 62% of car theft incidents were committed when the thief was in possession of the key, 12% were broken in to violently and then hotwiring the vehicle via the computer system, 14% were started through the OBD socket in the vehicle and 9% of incidents were car theft incidents that took place during the towing process. In 3% of the incidents, the vehicle was stolen from its owner or the vehicle keys were left in the vehicle.During this period, Ituran increased the use of technological means to prevent car thefts among them: deploying drones with the 80 Ituran enforcement squads and using LPR cameras.Nir Sheratzky, CEO of Ituran: During this period, the locating units of Ituran seized 86 gangs of thieves and estimated that the difficult economic situation in the economy and rising unemployment will lead to an increase in the number of car thefts in the coming months, as in all criminal industries.The capture of 86 gangs of thieves during this period will prevent thefts of about 5,644 vehicles in the coming year worth about NIS 450 million,In analyzing the thieves favorite areas, Gush Dan continues to lead the theft table in Israel with 33% of all theft attempts, followed by the Sharon area with 22%, the southern area with 14%, the Jerusalem district with 8%, the Shfela area with 10%, the northern area with 8% and Judea and Samaria with 5%.

Read this article:
Car-theft transfers via security fence breaches on the rise - research - The Jerusalem Post

Justin Gaethje knows the challenge thats in front of him, but believes he can be the one in 28-1 against Khabib Nurmagomedov this weekend.

The highly anticipated battle for the undisputed lightweight title takes place in the main event of Saturdays UFC 254 event on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. Nurmagomedov has defeated every opponent that has stood in front of himmostly with relative ease due to his heralded wrestling and grappling pedigree.

The Highlight knows that could be a possibility in the octagon on Saturday night. In some ways, hes prepared for that result.

I expect him to believe thats going to happen, Gaethje told reporters at Wednesdays UFC 254 press conference. Ive been telling myself thats going to happen and it drives me every single day. Im a performer. I always show up under the lights and Ive been doing this as long as he has. This is ingrained in us. On Saturday night I will leave everything, give everything and be proud of my performance.

Gaethje became the interim lightweight champion with an outstanding performance against Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 in May, capping it off with a fifth-round stoppage via TKO. After dropping back-to-back fights to Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier, the 31-year-old has finished his last four fights en route to this opportunity to do what no man has done before.

Nurmagomedov became champion with a decision win over Al Iaquinta at UFC 223. The Eagle has gone on to successfully defend the title with consecutive submission wins over Poirier and Conor McGregor.

Admittedly, Gaethje is a fan of Nurmagomedovs work, which is why he didnt have to sit down and study a lot of footage on the champion. Hes well aware that he needs to keep things at a distance to be successful.

I didnt watch any tape on Khabib, Gaethje stated. Ive watched his fights throughout his career because Im a huge fan of everything. Ive always focused on being my best self. He hasnt fought someone thats grappled as long as he has, I have. Everyone says theyre ready and I will not allow him to put me on the fence. If I do, then Im screwed.

My plan is if were gonna grapple, lets grapple in the middle at all times. Ive said it 1,000 times; I cause damage. I have dense bones and Im gonna kick his legs. Thats where were gonna start and well go from there.

With a more meticulous approach to his in-octagon chaos, Gaethje is ready to shock the world and trade his interim belt for the undisputed crown. The one thing he wish would be different is that the fight would happen in Nurmagomedovs home country in front of the Russian fans.

If you go back a couple of years ago, I think I said I wanted to go to Brazil and fight their best, Ireland and fight their best, and I wanted to come to Russia and fight Khabib, Gaethje explained. Thats the chaos. They wish ill on youthey dont necessarily want you to die or anythingbut that hostility, I thrive in.

I cant wait for there to be people back up. If there was 100,000 people wanting me to die it would be fantastic. It would be such a great feeling.

Continued here:
Justin Gaethje plans to cause damage, stay off the fence against Khabib Nurmagomedov: If I dont, then Im - MMA Fighting

Mayor Lori Lightfoot has been under pressure to defund the Chicago Police Department ever since the death of George Floyd triggered civil unrest and a racial reckoning that swept the nation.

In her second budget address, Lightfoot threw several political bones to those activists, even as she declared police officers are not the enemy and ignored broader calls to dramatically reduce CPDs $1.6 billion budget.

The first and most tangible concession is the mayors decision to eliminate 618 police vacancies, nearly all of them sworn officers, at a time when the pace of retirements has escalated and disgruntled police officers are walking off the job, fearing the mayor doesnt have their backs.

The second was her promise to test what she called a co-responder model that begins the painstaking process of building the infrastructure for an alternative means of response instead of requiring police to be the first and only responders on every call for help.

Lightfoot warned such a system must be tested on the streets and built over time. There are no magic wands to wave, no snapping of fingers or catchy slogans to get it done. It must address Chicagos urban realities and not those of some other city that does not reflect our diversity.

The third and more symbolic concession was Lightfoots decision to openly acknowledge what she called the complicit role police departments have historically played in brutally enforcing racist, Jim Crow laws, depriving Black and Brown people of their full rights as citizens.

She added: These are not just ancient times, but recent history, right here in Chicago. And so, in breaking down these barriers, we must also continue to closely scrutinize all policing practices and policies to eliminate any and all bias, she said.

But the mayor argued vociferously that having fidelity to this essential work of bias-free policing does not require dismantling our police department.

In this moment in Chicago, we cannot responsibly enact any policies that make communities less safe, she said, without mentioning the 50% spike in homicides and shootings that has Chicago on pace to top 750 murders in 2020.

While we will slow the rate of growth, with a resulting $80 million in corporate fund savings, on my watch we will never make cuts or policy changes that inhibit the core mission of the police department, which is to serve and protect.

During an hour-long budget address 20% of it devoted to police issues Lightfoot argued that literal defunding means cutting officer positions and making CPD less diverse.

Pointing to seniority requirements in police contracts, she said cutting current jobs means we would be compelled to cut the youngest, most diverse and well-trained officers in the department. That is not in anyones interest.

Lightfoot is a former Police Board president who co-chaired the Task Force on Police Accountability appointed by former Mayor Rahm Emanuel in the furor that followed the court-ordered release of the Laquan McDonald shooting video.

The task forces scathing indictment of the Chicago Police Department prompted the U.S. Justice Department to do the same, setting the stage for federal court oversight over CPD and the consent decree that, as she put it, requires continued funding of training and accountability initiatives.

On Wednesday, the mayor tried to straddle the political fence, delivering an emotional defense of Chicago Police officers, who have endured two rounds of looting that ravaged giants swath of downtown, River North and Lincoln Park along with commercial corridors on the South and West Sides.

The mayor noted Chicago Police officers have been shot at 67 times this year, and 10 of them were struck by bullets. She said that remarkable statistic does not include times theyve been stabbed, fired upon with injury-causing fireworks or suffered broken limbs and other injuries after being attacked by crowds that came to our city armed for a fight.

To underscore the point, Lightfoot recounted the harrowing heroics of four Chicago Police officers in recent incidents.

Her voice broke as she recalled how Officer Kristian Walker tried and failed to save a 7-year-old girl with a bullet hole in her forehead and an exit wound in the back of her skull.

Our police officers are not our enemies. They are someones sons or daughter, husband or wife, brother or sister. They are as complicated and imperfect as all of us. They are our neighbors and an important part of who we are as Chicagoans, Lightfoot said.

Well aware the police budget will become a focal point for contentious hearings on her 2021 budget, Lightfoot told aldermen: As you ... appropriately scrutinize how dollars are allocated toward public safety, I urge you to look beyond the hashtags and think about the men and women who courageously report for duty every day on our behalf to keep us safe.

Go here to see the original:
Lightfoot wont defund CPD; defends department and efforts to reform it - Chicago Sun-Times

Above this article, you can see one of my all-time favourite Georgia Straight covers.

It's a Rod Filbrandt illustration showing the two sides of a former premier, Gordon Campbell.

The green-minded Gordo was in favour of carbon-neutral government, sharp reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions, and green power projects.

The industrial-minded Gordo favoured coal exports, a massive road-building plan called the Gateway Project, and logging in community watersheds.

I recently thought about that illustration in connection with what must be going on inside the minds of some long-time NDP supporters.

That led me to imagine an internal conversation that might be taking place in the mind of one of them as we approach this Saturday's provincial election.

Inner voice 1: I'm voting NDP. We can't go back to those awful B.C. Liberals. I'm really happy that Horgan jacked up spending on arts and culture. Plus, Horgan is going to freeze my rent.

Inner voice 2: Are you insane? He's going to spend $12 billion and counting on the Site C dam. All to provide power for an LNG industry that will go bankrupt.Why don't they just call it the Labour Party? Because that's what it is. They blew up the treasury.

Inner voice 1: You've got a point there. But I can't stomach the thought of Andrew Wilkinson allowing private insurance companies to sell basic auto insurance. That's a friggin' nightmare.

Inner voice 2: Too true. But I can't get this quote out of my mind from Stuart Parker, who's gone back and forth between the NDP and Greens a zillion times: "Remember on Saturday: no matter how much the B.C. Liberals want to accelerate the extinction event, the B.C. NDP are simply better at managing planetary mass murder. When it comes to fracking, fossil fuel subsidies, ride hailing and increased mining and logging, they are the real deal."

Inner voice 1: Now, I'm really depressed. But I like a lot of NDP candidates. I feel that they share my values.

Inner voice 2: They may share your values, but they also prize their jobs. And as long as they stick with Premier Meggs, oops, Premier Horgan, they have to support fracking. They're careerists.

Inner voice 1: I'll be honest with you. Fracking doesn't affect me directly right now. But the pandemic does. And I trust Adrian Dix far more than I would trust any B.C. Liberal health minister on this issue.

Inner voice 2: Yeah, but I trust a former B.C. Liberal health minister, Terry Lake, far more than I would trust Adrian Dix in handling the opioid crisis, which has killed far more people in our community than COVID.

Inner voice 1: But Lake isn't leading the B.C. Liberals. The leader is that corporate dick Andrew Wilkinson. He couldn't even find a single woman to run on his slate in Vancouver. There's only one woman running for the Liberals in Surrey.

Inner voice 2: When you say that, I feel like you're trying to checkmate me. Let me ask you this: do you seriously believe it was a good idea for Horgan to abandon bridge tolls as soon as he became premier?

Inner voice 1: Uh, no. I actually agreed with Andrew Weaver when he said that this move was fiscally reckless. It's already cost the treasury many hundreds of millions of dollarsand that was clearly more important to Horgan than $10 a day childcare. But let's go back to ICBC. The Liberals' nearly destroyed one of Dave Barrett's greatest legacies.

Inner voice 2: Most of your arguments centre around the NDP being not quite as horrible as the B.C. Liberals. I think the B.C. NDP is a small "l" liberal outfit, slightly to the right of Justin Trudeau but still to the left of Michael Ignatieff.

Inner voice 1:Oh come on. Horgan was raised in poverty. Justin had a silver spoon. You can't compare the two. Plus, most of Horgan's moves seen designed to make life more affordable for people who have lower incomes. What's wrong with that?

Inner voice 2: Sure, he represents a constituency with more than its share of lower-income voters. And I agree that it's nice to see a government that actually develops a poverty-reduction plan and buys hotels to house the homeless. But is that really a sufficient offset for blowing up a climate plan with an asinine LNG project that will mostly create short-term jobs? When LNG prices in Asia are never going to reach the prices needed to justify this nonsense? Who's going to bail this thing out when it crashes?

Inner voice 1:Horgan created a new tax bracket for people earning more than $220,000 per year. That's who will pay. And he cancelled MSP premiums.

Inner voice 2:My response? His record on education has been pretty shitty. Just read those Patti Bacchus columns in the Georgia Straight. Some parents aren't even being told if there's COVID in their kid's school.

Inner voice 1:Condo prices seem to be finally come down. And rents are also decreasing in some areas.Horgan has delivered on housing.

Inner voice 2: That's because there are no tourists. All the Airbnb units are being put back on the market.

Inner voice 1: The speculation tax helped. I've heard it led to 11,000 more housing units.

Inner voice 2:Don't get me started on that. Wilkinson says he'll actually tax speculators. This is just a vacancy tax.

Inner voice 1:You're splitting hairs again. I'm really happy that the NDP brought back the human rights commission. Some of the NDP politicians seem antiracist to me.

Inner voice 2:Yeah, but this is the same party that has helped whip up racism against Chinese people with that bullshit money-laundering inquiry.

Inner voice 1: What do you mean?

Inner voice 2: Come on. The NDP was focusing on casinos and luxury cars, which are popular with Chinese people. But they hardly ever talk about money laundering in the cannabis industry, the over the counter bulletin board, and bitcoin, which are more popular with white people. They talk about China and fentanyl but they don't talk nearly as much about the role of U.S. pharmaceutical giants in thousands of deaths. There's a double standard here.

Inner voice 1: At least the NDP runs candidates of colour in winnable constituencies. The B.C. Liberals hardly ever do that.

Inner voice 2:You got me there but Horgan was a bit weak when it came to awarding them with seats at the cabinet table. And the B.C. Greens also have a diverse slate. Then the NDP trolls try to pretend that this isn't the case on their Twitter accounts. They're lying.

Inner voice 1: The NDP brought in historic legislation recognizing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. No other government in Canada did that before them.

Inner voice 2: And Mike Farnworth gave the B.C. RCMP the green light to use massive force against peaceful Wet'suwet'en people who didn't want a pipeline on their territory.

Inner voice 1: I don't care what you're saying. I'm voting NDP. Horgan is still far better than Wilkinson.

Inner voice 2: I'm voting Green this time. I'm so fed up with the bullshit.

See the article here:
B.C. election 2020: Inside the mind of an on-the-fence NDP sympathizer - The Georgia Straight

We have neighbors across the way who let us know when their grass has been cut. They signal this by setting off a massive smoke bomb afterward that, when the wind is wrong, smells up the entire valley.

I have often thought about stepping over for a visit to kindly offer advice about composting rather than burning freshly cut grass. We live in the country, where it is generally acceptable practice to burn brush or even refuse.

But green grass? I dont know how this particular property owner even begins to ignite such moist organic material. As far as I can tell from the street, it mostly just smolders for hours, sometimes days. What a stinker.

I would go over and say something, but I already have the reputation of being a busybody on the family compound. And I came to that conclusion all by myself.

There are four households on the place including mine. I was remarking to Sharon, my wife, the other day on how well we all get along.

Among all of my siblings, I said, there is not a single one who inspires any sense of dread when you look out the window to see them approaching.

Sharon looked over at me, and I said what she was thinking.

Yeah. I guess thatd be me.

I have to vote myself the sibling most likely to voice an opinion about how certain things ought to be around the compound. One of my more recent opinions has to do with our own brush-burning habits on the farm.

There is a spring-fed pond that was all but ruined 40 years ago when a man who kept horses on the place came in with a backhoe to enlarge the watering hole. Except for the tiny limestone spring area, the pond has not held water since.

For decades, it has been a convenient site for burning brush and debris. I recently proposed that we clean out the pit, pack it with clay and restore it to the pristine aquatic ecosystem that it once was.

Since my suggestion, more brush and debris has been tossed into the pond for burning, including by me. But after some tree trimming a few weeks ago, I heaped the excess logs and limbs to make a new burn site a few yards away.

Eager to establish the site as the new family burn pile, I went ahead and torched my trimmings after the leaves had turned sufficiently brown.

It blazed along just fine at first, but the wood apparently was too green to catch up. I was doing some work inside the barn when my mother called and asked me to put out the smoke. I said I would check on it.

Minutes later, I noticed that the houses across the way had disappeared inside the smelly cloud I was creating.

A mound of composting grass under the limbs that had failed to catch fire was well into a long and heavy smolder. The ensuing smoke bomb was worse than any set off by my grass-burning neighbors all summer.

Its good that the garden hose was nearby and ready to douse the embers. Its good, also, that I had never offered that overheated advice to those neighbors.

Continue reading here:
The grass is not more flammable, on my side of the fence - Greenville Daily Reflector

Residents are up in arms over a decision by the Mountain View Whisman School District to install fences around all of its campuses, criticizing a plan that they believe will block access to open space while doing little to improve campus safety.

The plans have been in the works since last year, and propose installing 6-foot chain-link fences that encircle both classroom facilities and adjacent park space at schools across the city. District officials say the fences are necessary and borne out of a need for better school security -- campuses with porous borders are difficult to monitor and impractical in era of school shootings.

The idea of school fences came up in the wake of a 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Fla., when the district held a town hall meeting on proactive safety measures to prevent or deter a school shooting in Mountain View. A district-run survey later found that parents and students supported fences at schools, which was later baked into the district's Measure T bond that passed in March.

The coronavirus pandemic and the need for strict visitor protocols has since accelerated the timeline to build the fences, said Rebecca Westover, the district's chief business officer, though she did not provide a firm date for when construction will begin. An early draft of the Measure T spending plan shows that fences and other perimeter controls are expected to cost just shy of $7.4 million, which includes the cost of gates, access controls and some higher-cost ornamental fences made out of iron.

Though the plan for fences quietly won the board's approval, and Measure T passed with a comfortable margin at the ballot box, it has since boiled over as a citywide controversy. Residents from several neighborhoods -- particularly those near Monta Loma and Landels elementary schools -- have come out in strong opposition to the plan, arguing it is tantamount to taking away what little park space they have. While the public will still have access to the fields outside of school hours and on the weekends, critics say chain-link fences will still create an unwelcoming environment while doing little to actually protect students.

Monta Loma resident and parent Jill Rakestraw said people in her neighborhood are "extremely upset" about the proposal, which would place fencing along most of the perimeter of the school -- leaving only small sliver of space for a pedestrian walkway. An alternative uses less fencing, but cuts off even more of the campus.

During a Zoom forum last month between Monta Loma residents and district officials, Rakestraw said it was clear that people did not want the district to move forward with the plans.

"The anger and sadness from the community speakers was palpable," she said. "They really don't want to lose their neighborhood park."

Part of the issue is that a significant portion of the city's fields and open space is owned by the school district, despite being widely considered to be public parks. Excluding the North Bayshore area, an estimated 44% of the city's open space is owned by Mountain View Whisman, all of which is technically off-limits during school hours from 7:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Superintendent Ayinde Rudolph said on-campus intrusions have been a recurring problem for years, and that school principals have consistently raised concerns about safety and security. Residents, knowingly or unknowingly, are constantly ignoring the rules and entering campus during the day, sometimes to walk their dog or use the restroom. He said he has personally seen people using the track at Crittenden Middle School in the morning, that and it leads to uncomfortable situations where teachers and students have to chase them off.

"I don't think we should be placing any teacher in the position of asking a community member to move off the field," Rudolph said.

And while residents largely see Mountain View as a safe community, Rudolph said the district must take seriously the threat of a school shooting. Potentially because of the "time warp" that is COVID-19, he said residents are quick to forget the shootings at the Gilroy Garlic Festival and the Six Flags in Concord -- both of which occurred just last year in the Bay Area.

"Maybe the community is right that nothing is going to happen, but we all would agree that if it does happen it's going to be a catastrophe," Rudolph said. "Us putting up perimeter fencing is an insurance policy to help buy time for our students to find a place to be safe."

Frustrations mount

Residents upset by the plans for fences got a chance to speak their mind at the city's Parks and Recreation Commission meeting last week, many of whom said they felt blindsided by the decision. Many said they had no idea that voting for Measure T would lead to their local park being barricaded by chain-link fences, and believed that the district-run outreach to date -- surveys and information meetings over Zoom -- were tailored for district parents rather than the public at large.

Resident Paul Donahue, who lives near Bubb Elementary, said he wasn't confident that the gates will be unlocked outside of school hours, and that worried the fences would be unsightly and give off the impression that the public no longer has access. He also argued that the district's justification for the fences relies too heavily on anecdotal problems -- complaints of school-site intrusions and dog bites -- rather than something more concrete.

"I think that they're using public funds based on anecdotal data that isn't really backed up by meaningful, real data," Donahue said.

Monta Loma resident Tiffany Dale said she doesn't think a fence would have stopped the Parkland shooting, but that encircling schools with chain-link barrier would certainly change the feel of the community. Kids live in a lot of fear already, she said, and there's no reason to add to that by putting them behind fences. Andre Valente, also from Monta Loma, called the justifications for perimeter fencing "absolutely flimsy" and that it would destroy the character of the neighborhood.

Though the Parks and Recreation Commission has no oversight of the district's plans, commission members nevertheless urged the school district to find common ground with the community, revise its plans and work on its communication with the greater public -- not just school parents. Commissioner Joe Mitchner, previously a trustee with the Mountain View-Los Altos High School District, said he had not been aware of the proposal until that evening.

"I'm pretty in the loop on school issues, I've served on a school board and I also live within a third of a mile to two Mountain View Whisman schools. This is the first time that I've seen these design plans," he said.

Commissioner and former councilwoman Ronit Bryant, who lives near Landels, said she believes the temporary security problems caused by COVID-19 are being conflated with the longer-term threat of an active shooter, both of which should be handled separately. While Bryant said she does not want to "live in fear all the time," she said she would much prefer shorter, four-foot fences with a decorative design.

"A 6-foot chain link looks like a prison. It doesn't say 'safety' to me, it says 'prison' -- you communities stay out, you children stay in," Bryant said. "It's not a look I would like for my community."

Bryant also criticized the district's approach to date, and said residents should have been involved early on in the planning and design of perimeter security. Instead, she believes the plan was mostly decided ahead of time, and is now being justified to the community after the fact.

"To say we're all in this together, but we get to make the decision and you guys will have to eat it, is an unattractive look," she said.

In the lead-up to the Parks and Recreation meeting, Monta Loma resident Jim Zaorski said he believes a compromise can still be reached between residents and the district, but that he has been disheartened by the lack of engagement and "seeming lack of desire" to work with the neighboring communities. Each school site is different and requires a unique approach to campus security, he said, yet the district has picked a one-size-fits-all approach that threatens to broadly cut off public access to parks.

When district officials met with Monta Loma residents, Zaorski said it felt as though the district was willing to make small accommodations -- such as new fence styles and colors -- but wouldn't consider the larger question of whether the fences were needed at all.

"I think that this is a position that will inevitably result in the isolation of the district, both by physically separating its sites from the neighborhoods, and by politically driving a wedge between it and the community," Zaorski said.

Rudolph said it's an unusual situation to have so much of the city's open space tied up in school district property, underscored by the fact that Mountain View has grown significantly over the years without adding much in the way of new green space. While the district has been open to blurring the lines between city parks and school campuses, he said the fences simply enforce rules that have already been on the books for years.

Because residents see schools as a recreational asset, Rudolph said there is double standard in which tech employees in Mountain View are protected by security personnel and key cards required to get around, and even City Hall is mostly cordoned off from public access, yet teachers and students are expected to spend the day in a free-access environment.

"You can't walk onto a university anymore and walk in and out of the classrooms without a swipe card," Rudolph said. "We expect a modicum of safety for all of these other employees, but we are completely disregarding the concerns of our teachers, our principals, our students and our parents."

"Unfortunately the glory days of the 1980s and 1990s -- anything that was pre-Columbine -- has changed. That is just not the case anymore," Rudolph said.

Though initial plans by the district show 8-foot fences on some school sites, Rudolph said they have since reduced heights to 6 feet unless there is already an 8-foot fence in place. School board members are expected to review the plan on Nov. 5 and, absent any major revisions, will vote to approve it on Nov. 19. The City Council is also expected to hear a presentation on the school fences at its Oct. 27 meeting.

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Proposal to fence off Mountain View Whisman schools sparks outcry over park access - Mountain View Voice