A Public Service Announcement

OK, I will admit right off the bat I do not function well when I’m sick. This is apparently common to the male species, at least according to most females. I don’t get sick very often but usually I take a couple aspirin, drink a bunch of orange juice, take a nap and just work through it. No big deal, right!

In my younger years I would get a nasty case of strep throat every few years whether I needed it or not. This was a fairly predictable deal, so much so my Doctor had me keep a supply of antibiotics on hand so when I felt it come on I could start treating it right away. It was one of those things that I would be fine one minute then down for the count the next.

I could literally stand up and by the time I walked across the room I would have a massive high fever, my head was ready to explode and every time I tried to swallow it felt like a grenade just went off. I sounded like Rod Stewart after gargling with razor blades. It would last a few days then I was back to normal. Not fun at all but I knew what to expect.

I tell you that to explain that I had never had what we know as the flu before. Never! That is until a couple of weeks ago. I can’t say it was on my bucket list of things to accomplish but now that I have had it I can take it off the list, permanently thank you.

Here again, I felt fine then I wasn’t. I started to get up for work and fell back in bed and for the most part did not get up for 7 days. I tried just about every cough drop, over the counter medicine and gallons of juice trying to make a difference. It really didn’t. I couldn’t sleep due to coughing so much.

They tell you that you only have two lungs, I not sure if that’s really the case because I feel like I coughed up at least a dozen. In my case the flu went directly to my chest as bronchial pneumonia. Once I started on the antibiotics things started to get better and was finally able to get some sleep. A few days later I was starting to function as a human again, as close as I get.

I seemed to have lost about 9 days (at least) from work, family and really any sense as to what was going on anywhere. Needless to say, it was not fun.

This is really not anything you want to mess with. Take whatever precaution you can and make sure you get plenty of sleep, eat right and stay as far away from this thing as possible. This concludes my public service announcement for today, thank you.

More later

The Year Ahead

Welcome 2013!

It’s the tradition to start the year with a handful of New Year’s resolutions that we all know few if any will ever be carried out. Think about it, if I had delivered on all the times I promised to quit smoking (long before I really did some 15+ years ago), if I actually lost all the weight I promised to lose over the years or if I exercised as much as I promised I would either be dead from exhaustion or the healthiest man on the planet.

Don’t get me wrong, I applaud all that can keep their resolutions and actually see them through, both of you. Perhaps it’s what we are trying to accomplish with our resolutions that is the issue. Rather than attempting to reinvent ourselves, what if we just made some ‘minor’ adjustments that will change the way we look at everything.

Here are a couple of examples. Unless absolutely necessary, don’t watch the late night news. Why go to bed thinking of all the bad things going on in the world. Trust me, they will still be there in the morning but you will likely sleep better and have a different approach to the new day.

How about changing the last six cups of coffee in the day to decaf (the horror)? Trust me, the first six cups of regular coffee you had will keep you going. Maybe you find yourself a little less on edge and a bit more patient about things in general.

What about parking in the next row out from your destination or stairs instead of the elevator? A few extra steps each day can be a very healthy thing. It may not be as healthy as a walk everyday or an hour at the gym but you will feel that you started something.

Sometimes I think we have this all or nothing mentality. That’s all well and good but resolutions, like so many things in life, don’t have to be all or nothing. We can “compromise” and take some smaller steps first in order to accomplish the larger goal. Sometimes it’s simply a better attitude, or another prospective or taking the first step toward a larger goal.

Just something to think about as we launch ourselves into the New Year.

More later… in 2013

Violence

It’s been a very difficult weekend for our Country as we deal with another senseless act of violence. It does not matter the season, nor is there any reason for such an act that has affected us all in some way.

As has been pointed out, violence has always been with us. Even the Bible is full of examples, think Kane and Abel. It still does not make it right. It certainly does not keep us from trying to prevent the next attempt at such an unspeakable act.

Yes, there will be those that jump on guns or video games as being the cause. Others will attempt to find blame with the parents or the family. Still others will conjure up reasons or causes that have nothing to do with the one simple word we all ask. Why?

In nearly all the cases of mass violence, either in our Country or abroad, there is seemingly one common trait that is ignored. That is the mental health of the perpetrator. The commentary after the fact is that this person was a “disturbed’ individual. That seems to justify the reason for the violence and we all move on and forget about it until the next time.

Well, this is the next time. We already know that this person was “disturbed” as so many have already stated. Let’s use this time to attempt to understand where our system dropped the ball. Let’s learn from these most recent acts and try to identify the resources needed to help and treat those that are most at risk. No, we will not stop all acts of violence in the future, we will never save all the future victims but think of the lives and families we could save… including that of a potential perpetrator.

We have for too long ignored or decided to turn our backs on issues of mental health. We make excuses like the programs are an invasion of privacy, they cost too much, and they leave a stigma on those identified or treated. Perhaps these are all true but the families of those affected by these events have had their privacy invaded and will pay the costs in ways we could never know for the rest of their lives.

None of this should keep us from grieving for the victims and the families affected. None of this should stop us from hugging our children or our grandchildren just a bit longer. It will not stop us as we attempt to protect them from the world outside as long as we can. This time we need to do more.

Perhaps you will find hope in your faith, or in your spiritual life. I hope we will all find ways to deal with our sadness and sorrow over this particular event in the days ahead. Let’s just not let that be the end of it.

More later

A Seasonal Wish

As they say…and now for something completely new and different.

Over the past couple of years this column has centered around all things political in Marina, with a very few exceptions. While I certainly will continue to weigh in on the many issues that face our community in the future I want to enlarge the palette a bit and incorporate many other ideas, issues, concerns and hopes. Most will directly or indirectly still affect our Marina community.

Let’s start off on a positive note! The election season is over and a new year is just around the corner. We are just now getting into the holiday spirit with Marina’s Christmas Tree Lighting coming this Friday night (rain or shine). The lights are going up all around town and soon we will put up our tree.

We have all spent the past year hearing about this argument or that one. We have been concerned about our economy, our kid’s education, stories about corruption here or there and seemingly one crisis after another. Can we stop already?

Not to be overly idealistic or optimistic but I am sure I am not the only one that is ready to get off this merry go round at least for a couple of weeks. Maybe we can all try to find a way to do it this year.

What if you put up an extra string of lights, play a little more Christmas music, bake an extra batch of cookies, visit an extra store or two or even turn off the evening news for a couple of weeks. The world will still be there but my bet is that you will feel a bit better about it and that’s a start.

So much of our days are filled with things that seemingly wear us down and in some ways divide us. Let’s take a little extra time this season and make an effort to come together as individuals and as a community. It really won’t take much to make it happen.

That’s my wish for the holiday season. What’s yours? I hope to see you at the Christmas Tree Lighting on Friday night to sing a song, have some cookies and share a laugh or two.

More later

It's Finally Over...

To paraphrase former President Gerald Ford - “our long national nightmare is over”. Of course his context was completely different. He was talking about President Nixon and Watergate while I am talking about the 2012 election.

It seemed that this year’s election cycle went on forever and I am sure that the history books will not be too kind on the type of campaigns we saw nationally. It does not matter if you liked the outcome or not, our election process seems to need some improvements. I for one would like to see the candidates talk about what they want to do - not call their opponents names, lie about their records or accomplishments (or lack of), send others to do their dirty work and spend billions of dollars doing it.

Locally it was a long process as well. I can certainly attest to that. While the outcome was not what we had hoped for I remain very proud of the campaign we ran. It is always difficult to run against an incumbent and the Marina Mayor’s race was a perfect example. I wanted to stay on a positive course and talk about what I would do and not go “negative” and attack the Mayor on his record. That’s what we did, we stayed positive and rarely even mentioned the Mayor - rather we focused on the issues at hand and what I would do about them.

As a result, either the voters did not like the message or they paid little or no attention and decided to stay the course. So the Mayor was re-elected and I will go on about what I do professionally and philanthropically for our community. Clearly I am disappointed but I will move on.

Unfortunately, I do have a series of predictions as to what will happen in our community over the next couple of years but I will put them in an envelope and hope they do not come true. The good news is that I will likely spend a lot less time sitting in endless City Council meetings that seem to get nowhere and accomplish even less.

I do have one very strong recommendation for our Community. We need to insist on the Code of Ethics that the Civil Grand Jury recommended. Our City Council has been called out by the Grand Jury for its conduct and our citizens have complained as well. It’s time that the Council adopts a formal Code of Ethics as soon as possible. Such a document, and the commitment to follow it, will help to bring our community back together and put some faith back into the leadership of our community.

Finally, I will continue to write this column and the corresponding blog to keep you updated on the things within our Marina community because Marina Matters!

More later

Grand Jury Report

It is usually called an October surprise. That’s when one candidate or another comes up with something out of left field to use against his/her opponent just prior to an election.

In Marina we have something very different in that the Superior Court of California, Monterey County 2012 Monterey County Civil Grand Jury issued an interim report on Friday. I do not think anyone can underscore enough the fact that they released this report when they did. The Grand Jury report is normally issued in January but because its findings are directly related to the governance of our City they must have felt it very important to release this report prior to the election.

The report outlines the improper interference in negotiations of business development opportunities by at least one Council member, at least two cases of Brown Act violations in relation to the Equestrian Center Ad Hoc Committee, the improper use of an Ad Hoc Committee, not using staff properly (even avoiding their input), putting at risk the government grant of land and facilities, asking that the Council use professional staff for their expertise, and pleading for the City Attorney to take a more pre-emptive role in helping the City conduct its meetings.

These findings should never be taken lightly as some, including the Mayor, already has. In fact, the Grand Jury Report states that “The Marina City Council should develop and enact an ethical code of conduct for all City of Marina officials”. I have to ask: what does that say for the way our current Council majority has been conducting business?

The reason I state the current Council Majority is that both Council members Ford and Amadeo have repeatedly tried to bring up potential violations of policy and conduct over the past two years. The specific cases that are identified in this report trace back to interference by the Mayor and the conduct of Councilman O’Connell and candidate Morton on the Equestrian Center Ad Hoc Committee. We will get more information and background when the final report is released.

This is a very important issue that needs to be properly aired prior to the election itself. Unfortunately there are no City Council meetings between now and the election and very few outlets to disseminate this information to the general public. The Monterey Herald gave it a couple of paragraphs so far but both KSBW and KION TV are currently or will be running the story soon.

It should go without saying that whenever the Superior Court Grand Jury issues a report on Marina, it should be of utmost importance to our elected officials and the residents of Marina. In this case, especially since the election is just days away.

More later.

http://www.monterey.courts.ca.gov/GrandJury/Reports.aspx

(Reference 2012 Civil Grand Jury, Interim Final Report #2)

 

Being Mayor

Since this is the last Marina Matters column in the Gazette before the November election, I think it is important to take a few moments and talk about the role of a Mayor.

A lot has been said during the campaign by the Mayor about how involved he is with everything in the community, how friendly the Council meetings are and what a great job he has done. It has been my role to point out the differences in the reality of his perception and the vision for our community going forward. That is the role of the challenger.

I am proud of the way we have handled this election. We have kept the process ‘above board’ and challenged facts while not degrading the campaign into personal attacks. When all is said and done and the results are in on election night, we will hold our head high regardless of the results. That’s the way it should be.

All of that said, I do think it is imperative to really talk about what has become a key difference in the way the Mayor and I see the role of the Mayor. He talks about helping to pay peoples’ rents that are in crisis and helping to move kids out of town due to the fear of gang violence. He talks about handing out fliers and posting temporary signs all around town to stimulate local business. While these are worthy and important, there are groups and organizations that can better fill those roles, rather than the Mayor.

The Mayor’s role is to help create the jobs and opportunities for individuals and families so no one has to help them pay their rent. It’s the Mayor’s role to work with our schools and recreation department to keep kids occupied and away from gangs where possible, and law enforcement when needed to keep the gangs out of the City. It’s the Mayor’s role to find ways to market our City locally and regionally to encourage people to shop, dine, and experience our City and stimulate business for the benefit of everyone.

Sure, there are events to attend and meetings to conduct but the Mayor has to be more than a friendly person. The Mayor has to have the vision and ability to unite and inspire the Council, the staff and our citizens. The Mayor needs to lead the City, to set goals and to accomplish them. The Mayor needs to pull a fractured City together so that everyone benefits. That’s what being Mayor means to me. That’s the role that I commit to as Marina’s next Mayor.

More later