WATER PROTEST UPDATES
update from Ojai F.L.O.W. organizer Kathy Couturie ...
Dear supporters of Ojai F.L.O.W. (Friends of Locally Owned Water):
Tomorrow night, Tuesday May 8th, please join us at 7:30PM at the Ojai City Council’s meeting, which will take place at 401 S. Ventura St. in Ojai. If you come early you may fill out a card that will enable you to address the Council. The City needs to hear from us – the more folks that let them know we’d like to learn more about a publicly owned water company, the better. We will ask the Council to undertake an independent analysis of the following three options:
1. The City of Ojai condemns their contract with Golden State Water and starts a new water company.
2. The City of Ojai condemns their contract with Golden State Water and merges with an existing water company (such as Casitas).
3. The City of Ojai condemns their contract with Golden State Water and forms a new County water district.
If you can’t attend the meeting, then please email our Mayor, the City Council members, and our City Manager Jere Kersnar at the following email addresses:
-Mayor Carol Smith <smith@ci.ojai.ca.us>
-Mayor Pro Tem Joe DeVito <devito@ci.ojai.ca.us>
-Sue Horgan <horgan@ci.ojai.ca.us>
-Rae Hanstad <hanstad@ci.ojai.ca.us>
-Steve Olsen <olsen@ci.ojai.ca.us>
-Jere A. Kersnar <jkersnar@ci.ojai.ca.us>
Today I picked up reports from Golden State Water Co. that represent the basis of their rate application currently before the CA Public Utilities Commission. It is not two banker’s boxes worth of material, but there is a lot to read through. Please let me know if you would like to review these reports.
Updates on Ojai F.L.O.W.’s progress may be found at the Ojai Post. If you visit www.ojaipost.com, look to the right under “Resource Pages” and click on “Ojai Water Issues” to read current posts. I don’t know about you, but the Ojai Post was virtually my only source of current information during the recent Day Fire. The folks there are doing an excellent job keeping our community up to date on many important issues, and I am very thankful to them. (thanks, Kathy! - ed.)
Our first F.L.O.W. meeting has generated a lot of positive feedback, and some excellent questions. I will keep you posted and let you know when we will hold a second meeting. The first meeting cost over $1,000., including sound system/projection rentals, auditorium rental, the Ojai F.L.O.W. banner, ads in the OV News, poster/flyer duplication costs and refreshments. Everyone involved donated their time. We would be delighted to accept any donations that may come our way, to help us reimburse these expenses and cover the costs of future F.L.O.W. meetings.
Thursday May 10 is the community meeting with the CA Public Utilities Commission regarding Golden State Water Co.’s application for a 43.95% rate increase in 2008. The meeting will be from 7:00P-10:00P at Chaparral Auditorium, 414 E. Ojai Ave. I will send a reminder email closer to the date, but we urge you to not only attend but bring statements in writing for the PUC. Everything that is submitted to the PUC at this meeting will go on the official record for this rate application case.
Thank you,
Kathy Couturie
Ojai F.L.O.W. - Friends of Locally Owned Water
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Comments (1)
What a great meeting. What passion, eloquence, humor and satire. Best show in town. What I thought most interesting was the references to how Golden Water (brown) "has" to make a profit for he shareholders and "must" pay their CEO $400 thousand +, plus all the other high salaries + rotten service. Wake up folks. The capitalist system is rotten to the core, and it's only a matter of time before it goes down. Bail while you can. Save your water; save your rights; save Ojai; save the world. Stay connected this site; one of the "brave few" anywhere that tells it like it is.
Comment #1 Posted by: Dennis Leary | May 11, 2007 06:13 AM