Hodgepodge

Tonight's blog is a little of this, a little of that, since there isn't much new going on right now.

Part I - For those who read about the floating islands that are going to be installed in our lake, let me clarify something.

In an article in the Californian newspaper it was stated that "Lake caretakers hope the islands will help maintain the lake's oxygen at a healthy level."

These islands will have NO EFFECT on the lake's oxygen levels folks. They might have an effect in the cove where they will be placed, but that's about it. I don't know why it was reported that way, but I can tell you with certainty that these islands are not going to solve occasional oxygen level problems. They're too small, and will only be in the cove.

The Lake Elsinore San Jacinto Watershed Authority (LESJWA) received a $25,000.00 donation from an organization called The Inland Empire Waterkeepers specifically for these islands.

Now I know what you're thinking, couldn't the money have been spent on something else? It would have been nice if we had received enough money to, perhaps, add some aeration lines to the lake, but unfortunately, the cost of those would far exceed the amount we were given.


Part II - This may be the week the state assembly passes the "Get Out Of Jail Free" bill (ie: early release of prisoners). I'll be watching and will let you know what I hear. I'm told that they may be stripping out half of it, but we'll have to wait and see. I hope everyone has contacted Speaker Karen Bass to tell her she's nuts if she thinks we're going to put up with this. The state wants to take their fiscal crisis and dump it on cities to deal with, also known as passing the buck.

I'll keep you posted. (no pun intended)

Invitation

Hi everyone - I have an invitation for you. Tomorrow, Saturday 8/28 the Elsinore Valley Arts Network will host another concert in the park with Cody Bryant as the showcased band (country music).

The concert is at McVicker Park at 7:30, bring a lawn chair and come say Hi as I will be the event's MC. Hope to see you there!

License and Registration Please Sir

As you may know, a bill was introduced in our state legislature early this week that would allow for the EARLY RELEASE of prisoners in our golden state.

Now, the last time I checked, it is the responsibility of EVERY elected official to insure the protection of citizens. The state is no exception.

Nearly a month ago during the budget process, our lawmakers approved a $24 billion package that would address the state's budget crisis. In that package was legislation that accounted for a $1.2 billion cut in corrections spending. At that time, no one said HOW they would make the cuts. It certainly is clear now how they intend to make those cuts isn't it?

This bill proposes forming a Sentencing Commission, which would be authorized to permanently lower the criminal sentences (ie: assign house arrest instead of jail time) for the following crimes:

• Gross vehicle manslaughter while intoxicated


• Kidnapping


• Kidnapping in the commission of carjacking


• Assault with the intent to commit rape or other sex crimes


• Human trafficking


• Sexual battery


• Assault with deadly weapons


• Rape in concert


• Pimping a minor


• Aggravated sex crimes on a children


• Felony child abuse


• Child abuse resulting in death


• Female genital mutilation child abuse


• Domestic violence


• Forcible sodomy


• Lewd and lascivious acts on a child


• Child pornography


• Elder abuse


• Burglary


• Identity theft
  
• Attempted murder


• Crimes against children under 14 and the developmentally disabled


• Rape by people who know they have AIDS


• Infliction of injury on a pregnant woman (with the intent to do so)


• Aggravated arson

This bill DID pass the Senate. However, Senator Benoit, who represents Lake Elsinore voted against it, thank goodness.

It must still pass the assembly. According to Assembyman Jeffries, Speaker Karen Bass, who supports the bill, could not get enough votes to get it passed so they will most likely try again Monday.

I can tell you with relative assurance that LE's two assemblymen, Jeffries and Nestande, will also vote against it. However, letting them know how you feel doesn't hurt. They actually like hearing from people.

This will have an effect on everyone's community, and certainly Lake Elsinore's.

You can email them by going to my home page and clicking on:

• State & Federal Resources or


• California State Assembly

Or, copy and paste the link below into your web browser.

• http://www.assembly.ca.gov/clerk/MEMBERINFORMATION/memberdir_1.asp

Speaker Karen Bass's Information:

• phone number - (916) 319-2047


• email - Assemblymember.Bass@assembly.ca.gov

Here Fishy Fishy

We've lost some fish, yes, it's true. But before anyone panics and thinks the lake is in trouble, let me tell the story as I know it.

About half of the Threadfin Shad minnows in Lake Elsinore died over the last two days from low oxygen levels. These fish are bait fish. When I was a kid, we chopped them in half and used them as bait on Lake Erie to catch the "fresh water sharks". (Fresh water sharks are what the grumpy old guy on the lake said would "eat us alive" if we didn't stop doing cannonballs off of his dock).

These minnows reproduce pretty darn fast, and are famous for overpopulating warmwater lakes. The rough estimate of Shad minnows in Lake Elsinore was over 10,000 per surface acre, before mother nature killed them off of course.

To put this into perspective, a good sport fishery only requires 200 - 300 baitfish per surface acre. I'd say we had a few too many.

Threadfin Shad minnows are a very sensitive little species and are prone to massive die-offs from sudden temperature changes and low oxygen levels. In other words, their shelf-life isn't very long.

Our sport fish have remained unaffected, thriving. This is where survival of the fittest comes into play I suppose.

So where did all of the oxygen go you ask? Well, let me see if I can explain this so that it makes sense.

Algae need oxygen to live. Some of the lake's algae died, which had an effect on the oxygen levels in the lake. Keep in mind that SOME algae is good, but too much of anything is bad, even algae.

Due to the warmer weather, the scads of minnows in the lake that consume oxygen, a low lake level of water, and some other nature driven events, much of the oxygen needed for the minnows to survive literally evaporated.

This isn't exactly a bad thing, since the minnows tend to take more than their fair share of oxygen from the lake to begin with. They're greedy little buggers.

Too many minnows are a detriment to water quality, because they feed on large bodied zooplankton, which are the "algae eaters".

We need zooplankton in the lake, because they eat algae, which increases oxygen levels, which keep all the fish happy.

Dead algae decreases oxygen levels. So we have the minnows sucking up all of the algae eaters, which we need, and a little too much dead algae sucking up the oxygen, which we also need. And that, my friends, is where the oxygen has gone.

The whole lake aeration (artificial circulation) system is working to mix the Lake; however without sufficient oxygen production from algae, the oxygen levels will remain low.

So we need the algae to come back to life just a bit and the minnows to stop going back for seconds and thirds on the algae. And now it seems we have less minnows to cause us problems.
Get it?

In summary

More sport fish = less minnows = more algae eaters = less algae = sufficient oxygen

Some Say "Home is Where You Hang Your Hat"

At least that's what some unwelcome visitors at 3369 Fir Circle are saying in Alberhill Ranch. Seems we're having a problem with some squatters there.

Here's the story, as I know it;

It appears that this house was fraudulently purchased and never lived in by the buyer. The buyer gave fraudulent information to obtain the loan in the first place, then left town leaving the property to go into foreclosure.

The bank that issued the loan took possession of the property. The house then fell into bankruptcy, which essentially left no one responsible for the property.

Now comes the good part - Squatters moved in and had the gall to set up accounts for utility services. The neighbors started filing complaints with Code Enforcement shortly thereafter, but each time the City responded there was little that could be done since the occupants had proper utilities. The City has no jurisdiction to determine legal occupancy of this piece of private property. In other words, the city can't evict someone, that's the job of the property owner and the police.

Apparently, utility service has been on and off several times it seems. The only way the City can kick people out of a private residential property is if there are immediate health and safety issues, like lack of utilities such as hot and cold running water, electricity to operate controls for heating water and air.

Last week the property was posted with a “Notice to Vacate” after it was determined that the water service had once again been turned off by the provider.

What is needed is a specific action by the mortgage company - and that action is posting a “Notice of No Trespassing” with the Sheriff’s Department. At that time the police can enter the property and remove anyone living there.


If anyone from the mortgage company is reading this - WE'RE WAITING.


And that, my friends, is a local example of what is going on around the country, and state, with abandoned homes.


Now here's the good news - due the the persistence of someone who lives in that neighborhood, someone who didn't take the attitude of "someone else will report it", it now looks as though law enforcement will be able to do what needs to be done, kick them out.


Let's hope we all adopt this same attitude and take the neighborhoods that we all worked so hard to earn, back.