Meeting 1-25-10

On January 25th of 2010, 6 neighbors met and discussed neighborhood news, tools and cars, and disaster preparedness. Here is the report:

Neighborhood News and News of Neighbors:
• Peter and Lucy are selling their house; they’ve moved to San Jose, across from their daughter; grandson Jeffrey and his girlfriend have moved out
• Neil bought Joe’s house, and is rebuilding it
• Dots on Glen Park sidewalks signal the need for repair. What do the different colors mean? If the owner does not fix the sidewalk, the city will fix it, and charge the homeowner.

Tools to Share: It’s been suggested we should have a list of tools neighbors have that might be shared, i.e., chain saw, table saw, power washer, tree trimmer. Would you like to participate? Do you have anything to share?

Car Sharing: The insurance aspect of sharing was brought home, as one neighbor reported an accident with another neighbor’s car. The question remains - how can we insure and protect ourselves & possessions, yet enable sharing among trusted neighbors?

Disaster Preparedness: The recent earthquake in Haiti reminds us that we must be prepared for our own earthquake. Are you ready? What precautions have you taken? What still needs to be done? Many ideas were discussed, and it was decided there is a need to prepare as a neighborhood. This topic will be continued at future meetings, as we work up the Chilton Ave Plan for emergency responses. Among the issues raised were:
• Generator – should we pool our money and purchase one for the block? What’s the best type? Where to store it? What’s it used for?
• Gas – Do we know how to turn ours off? Do we have fuel for cars/stoves/etc?
• Water – Will we have enough for an extended period? Purchase a rain barrel?
• Medicines – What should we have available? Where?
• Money – What happens when ATMs stop working? Are we ready?
• Tents – Where will we pitch them? In the backyards? How do we get to the street? Do we know our backyard neighbors? Will fences need to come down?
• Supplies – radios, batteries, shovels, picks, ax, food and water…
• How safe are we on Chilton Ave? Is everyone’s house bolted to the foundation?
• Earthquake insurance – Does it pay? How would you know?
• Skills – Who knows what? NERT – Shauna; Mary J; CPR – Doug and Mai; structural engineering – Henry; construction – Neil

• Helpful websites for emergency preparedness - Mary:
o http://72hours.org/
o http://www.sf-fire.org/index.aspx?page=859
o http://www.qrcenter.com/
o http://beprepared.com/
o http://www.rureadysupply.com/cart/
o http://www.alertsf.org

• The NERT manual contains detailed information on what to do in an emergency. Email Mary if you would like the NERT manual in PDF form.

Next regular meeting: Meetings are quarterly and the next is scheduled for Monday, April 26th. Who would like to host it? Contact Kevin!

Quake Reminders

At our last meeting, we discussed earthquake preparedness. Today's news reminds us that it's better to be prepared!

Strong quake kills 2 in Mexico, rattles US states

Should we continue this topic at our next meeting? We're scheduled to meet on Monday, April 26, at 7:30 pm. However, we still need a host, and an agenda. You decide, and then let Kevin know!

CA Democracy Act

There is one week to go to sign the CA Democracy Act. Click HERE to download a petition to sign to make sure this legislation is on the upcoming ballot.

Why does it matter? For too long, the California legislature has been handicapped by arcane rules that prohibit it from making smart financial decisions. The result is this - the minority controls the majority! How can that be? At present, all financial decisions require a 2/3 majority, so all it takes is 1/3 of the voters to block a budget or revenue decision of the majority.

The California Democracy Act, a non-partisan constitutional amendment authored by UC Berkeley Professor George Lakoff, consists in its entirety of a mere 14 words:

"All legislative actions on revenue and budget must be determined by a majority vote."

Please download, sign, and send the petition NOW!