Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Hercules Mayor Dan Romero responds to the State Controller’s report.
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Wednesday, May 16
-By Dan Romero Hercules has been under turmoil for the last eighteen months with the recall election last June 2011, hiring of a new city attorney in September and city manager in October and the recent hiring of our new finance director in April 2012. Last June due to budget cuts the Hercules staff was reduced by forty percent, with the remaining staff taking a fifteen percent reduction in pay and hours. Our finance department was reduced from nine permanent employees to four. During the audit two senior account techs left for other jobs. The current city staff is close to job burnout but continue to give the citizens of Hercules exemplary service. Also, during that same time period our current auditors were conducting their own …
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Ignore the misinformation about Measure K, the much-needed parcel tax on the June 5 ballot for West Contra Costa schools, says this guest column by Karen Shebek, a WCCUSD parent.
As a parent of district students for the last 12 years, I have seen the difference our parcel tax has made on our students and teachers. The June 5 election is just around the corner, and unfortunately for our students there has been a lot of misinformation about the parcel tax. The voter information booklet includes an argument against Measure K that states that "parcel tax payments are not deductible against federal and state income taxes. The State has announced that beginning in 2012, they will enforce that non-deductibility." The Franchise Tax Board clarified on Friday, April 13, 2012 that this was not the case, and that the IRS has confirmed that homeowners can deduct parcel taxes and other taxes that are not ad-valorem. The …
Police Chief Bill Goswick asks residents to vote this June election on two Hercules-specific ballot measures.
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Tuesday, May 15
-By Police Chief Bill Goswick Police-officer staffing’s been reduced below recommended levels for a city the size of Hercules. If passed, Measure O will help prevent deeper reductions in the number of officers patrolling neighborhoods and investigating crimes. Our police department’s decreased from 30 to 20 officers and lost neighborhood-watch and school-safety police positions. Without additional revenue, Hercules will likely consider more cuts that will affect safety and quality of life. The cuts may include overall response times; reduction of officers for high-risk situations; emergency operations-disaster preparedness; department-wide training; and investigative efforts. The City Council took action to place Measure O — Hercules …
Friday, May 11, 2012
The president told ABC News that his thinking has "evolved" on the subject of same-sex marriage. How do you feel about his decision?
President Obama told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Wednesday that he now supports same-sex marriage. The president continues to support the idea of states deciding the issue on their own. But he said his personal views had gone through an "evolution" based on conversations with family and friends, especially the views of his own daughters. ”You know, Malia and Sasha, they have friends whose parents are same-sex couples," Obama said in an interview. "There have been times where Michelle and I have been sitting around the dinner table and we’re talking about their friends and their parents and Malia and Sasha, it wouldn’t dawn on them that somehow their friends’ parents would be treated differently. It doesn’t make sense to them and …
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Proponents say Measure K would help in avoiding an increase in class sizes.
The campaign literature is finding its way into the mailboxes of Herculean and other West Contra Costa residents. One flier shows a close-up photo of tightly-packed sheep, with one looking toward the camera with an "Overcrowded?" thought bubble connecting to its head. Another shows two students and a teacher wearing eye protection and visors as they conduct a science experiment. The mailings warn that there will be an increase in class sizes in the West Contra Costa Unified School District unless voters approve Measure K on June 5. The vote on the measure will determine whether to extend and increase an existing parcel tax paid by property owners that is due to expire in 2014. The argument for it emphasizes that because of state cuts in …
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Continue a PHLL tradition for more than 50 years and come down to the ball fields at Collins and Ellerhorst for the games, food and friends.
Despite a rainy start to the Pinole-Hercules Little League baseball and softball season, the long-awaited "Opening Day" finally took place on April 22 at Ellerhorst Elementary School. Teams got to show off their uniforms, banners and their excited selves while parading around the school campus. It was a fun afternoon, that included time slots for teams being able to have their photos professionally taken, homemade banners featuring local sponsor's names judged in a contest and the opportunity to participate in the league's Hit-A-Thon. The Hit-A-Thon allows teams to help fundraise for the league in a fun way. Those who participate collect pledges on a longest hit basis with increments of money pledged for distance by foot or flat rate and …
The writer argues that traffic will be terrible if a Safeway is allowed to open at Sycamore Crossings.
I can think of no place worse in town to create a car-centric retail center than the intersection of San Pablo and Sycamore. But this seems to be the driving force behind some of our city officials development plans. They seem to be pushing for retail at this intersection and want a Safeway at Sycamore Crossings and other retail at Market Hall. There are better choices. The sad fact about Sycamore Crossings is that while we wait on Safeway and the deed restriction to go away, there may be a potential buyer waiting in the wings. A developer has stated publicly that they are interested in the front two acres on Sycamore. In a conversation with this developer they have also expressed an interest in the entire parcel. The city manager knows …
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Hercules City Councilman William Wilkins writes in to dissect the debate surrounding the sale of city-owned real estate.
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Tuesday, May 1
Madeline Albright recently stated words to the effect, "Leaders should make decisions based on facts, not on wish-making." The recent actions of Council are a subject of debate regarding the proposed sale of City-owned real estate. Here are the facts! Why must Victoria Crescent and Parcel C be sold now? When I was elected last June, I joined a Council that inherited a horrendous financial mess (over $314 million dollars of debt) which continues until the present time. This has required that the Council take extraordinary steps to keep us solvent. We are making tough decisions to stop wasteful spending and keep the City solvent. The reality is, we are at a point where the sale of Victoria Crescent and Parcel C is necessary. There is …
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Stevie Wonder, Neil Young, Metallica and Foo Fighters and other heavy hitters to highlight the popular and arguably best festival in the Bay Area.
Concert-goers (or, parents of concert-goers) beware: The summer 2012 lineup of San Francisco's fifth annual Outside Lands Festival has been announced. Fun fact: Outside Lands is said to have brought around $60 million to the local economy last year, and the equivalent of 700 full-time jobs, according to a Huffington Post article. Thought: How do we get them to move this event to Martinez? Tickets became availabe Thursday, and the concert will take place August 10 through 12. Tell us your favorite act after checking out the amazing lineup: Stevie Wonder, Metallica, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Jack White, Foo Fighters, Beck, Skrillex, Sigur Ros, Justice, Norah Jones, Dispatch,The Kills, Regina Spektor ... (take a deep breath ... the list …
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
"The Brown Act does not require that any city business be done in private" -- resident Bill Kelly writes in.
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Tuesday, April 17
-By Bill Kelly California law requires that the people’s business be conducted in public but allows certain limited discretionary exceptions, without requiring Closed Sessions in any instance. There is confidentiality protection provided to public employee personnel records, but even that protection is not absolute. This means that every action of the Hercules City Council can be taken in public session except actions regarding certain personnel actions. The Council may choose to conduct given business in Closed Session but this is a matter of choice. The City Attorney does not decide what is or is not discussed in closed session, she/he only advises if doing so is permitted or not permitted while the Council decides to follow or not …
Billy Vogele
12:22 am on Tuesday, May 22, 2012
John: How to stop Dan's intimidation tactics with his "friendly" phone calls? Dan lacks common sense and a basic understanding of citizen's rights to free speech and privacy. Ride-on to Glenn for staying the course and exposing the phoniness. more ›