ojai blog - news and events in the Ojai community

Doctors Without Borders

I donated to Doctors Without Borders, and was able to do so in memory of Cheryl Nichols, a close friend who passed away on Christmas morning. 

A quick note from their site:

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) today began providing medical aid to people in Aceh, Indonesia, a region devastated by Sunday’s earthquake. MSF is the first international organization to begin working in the area. A team of eight people, including three nurses and two doctors, arrived in Banda Aceh yesterday and set up a clinic in a camp for displaced people.

Tsunami Aid, part 2

How you can help

The following are among the aid agencies accepting contributions for those affected by the earthquake and tsunamis in Asia. Contact the individual group for information on how to send donations.

American Jewish World Service
45 West 36th Street
New York, NY 10018-7904
800-889-7146
www.ajws.org

The First Church of Christ, Scientist
Tsunami Relief
175 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
617-450-3205

American Red Cross
International Response Fund
PO Box 37243
Washington, DC 20013
800-435-7669
www.redcross.org

International Medical Corps
11500 West Olympic Blvd., Suite 506
Los Angeles, CA 90064
800-481-4462
www.imcworldwide.org

CARE USA
151 Ellis Street NE
Atlanta, GA 30303
800-422-7385
www.careusa.org

International Orthodox Christian Charities
PO Box 630225
Baltimore, MD 21263-0225
877-803-4622
www.iocc.org

Catholic Relief Services
PO Box 17090
Baltimore, MD 21203-7090
800-736-3467
www.catholicrelief.org

Mercy Corps
PO Box 2669
Portland, OR 97208
888-256-1900
www.mercycorps.org

Direct Relief International
27 South La Patera Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93117
805-964-4767
www.directrelief.org

Operation USA
8320 Melrose Avenue, Ste. 200
Los Angles, CA 90069
800-678-7255
www.opusa.org

Doctors Without Borders
PO Box 2247
New York, NY 10116-2247
888-392-0392
www.doctorswithoutborders.org

Oxfam America
26 West Street
Boston, MA 02111-1206
800-776-9326
www.oxfamamerica.org

Tsunami Aid

Here are some links:

American Red Cross International Response Fund
AmeriCares South Asia Earthquake Relief Fund
Direct Relief International International Assistance Fund
Médecins Sans Frontières International Tsunami Emergency Appeal
Oxfam Asian Earthquake & Tsunami Fund
Sarvodaya Relief Fund for Tsunami Tragedy
UNICEF South Asia Tsunami Relief Efforts

Pentagon above enviro laws

In the NY Times (free reg. req., try: suckerdj / suckerdj), the Pentagon "has been moving on a variety of fronts to reduce requirements that it safeguard the environment on that land." 

Over the past two years, the Pentagon has received exemptions from Congress from parts of the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and has been pushing for exemptions from the Clean Air Act.

The Pentagon is "one of the country's longest-standing industrial polluters and conservator of some of the nation's most ecologically sensitive land."  It continues to generate pollution; toxic residues such as perchlorate, a component of rocket fuel, have been found in the Colorado River and in ground water in some states.

Fee-Demo pushed through via ethics violations?

Congressman Ralph Regula (R-Ohio), the rep that has been pushing the Recreation Access Tax despite not having any federal lands in his own district, is aiming for the Chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee. 

The Western Slope No-Fee Coalition is pressuring Congress to bypass Regula based on his recent history of strongarming and unethical tactics in implementing Fee-Demo, which charges people a fee to use public parks, which is double-taxation.  The Los Padres National Forest bordering Ojai is one such swatch of land subject to this legislation.

"He has used his expectation of receiving the appointment (as appropriations chairman) to threaten withholding of funding for other members' districts and to push his pet projects," a statement from the Norwood, Colo.-based group said.

Regula threatened to cut funding for earmarked projects for any member of Congress who voted against the Appropriations Act of 2003. In an October 29, 2003 letter to Congressman David Obey, Regula stated, "I have decided not to provide Member projects to those House Members who opposed the bill."

Industry outweighs the environment

A Salon.com article titled "Selling The Forest For The Trees" (free day pass req.)  argues that recent policy proposals by the Bush administration will further strip scientists' power to protect fish and wildlife. For instance, the administration is working to rewrite the nearly 30-year-old National Forest Management Act so that when specific forests want to revise or amend long-term management plans, they would not have to consider how new timber sales or ski areas or other actions would impact the environment.

Further, the administration says it plans to change the current law that requires the Forest Service to protect all viable populations of native fish and wildlife species. "This would take away the main tool that Forest Service wildlife biologists have had for 20 years," says Mike Anderson, a senior resource analyst for the Wilderness Society. "A lot of species probably will be pushed toward extinction. It's a pretty bleak outlook on all fronts."

Nordhoff High: canine drug patrol

In addition to a three week drug education class, Nordhoff High has introduced a program of random drug searches using a drug-sniffing dog (free reg. req.).

Detective Joe Evans said drug concerns stem from four Ojai Valley young adults who died from oxycoton over three years. The deaths led to the creation of the Safe Coalition, a community group combating substance abuse in Ojai. The group also sponsored a student-to-student survey of Nordhoff kids with results showing 85 percent of those polled believe there is a drug problem on campus. "We know [kids] will experiment with drugs," Evans said, "but school is not the place."

At Nordhoff, Principal Dan Musick said that, while peer pressure often leads kids to drugs, he feels the school is being proactive in blocking their presence on campus. "Rich, poor, every school has an issue with drugs," he said. "We're trying to show leadership here."

Hello Santa Paula Blog

Wally Bobkiewicz, City Manager for Santa Paula, has started the Santa Paula Blog.  Wally hasn't started ranting yet, but when you have your own blog, its really just a matter of time.

Matilija Dam: lame duck

Ventura County supervisors have approved the dismantling of Matilija Dam.  The three-year, $130 million project is slated to begin in 2008.

Government officials, environmentalists, water agencies and others have been working together for years to come up with a solution to the Matilija Dam, built in 1947, which is now clogged with sediment and only has 5% of its original capacity.

Environmental benefits include the restoration of the endangered Southern California steelhead trout habitat, and sediment deposits restoring Ventura beaches.

Global Warming: States v. Feds

At the annual U.N. conference on climate change, where delegates from scores of nations are filling in last-minute details on the Kyoto Protocol in which the Bush Administration has received to participate, citing the burden on the US economy and potential loss of jobs), some US states have formed a bloc that has taken action individually to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, by ordering cuts in power-plant emissions, for example, and limiting state government purchases of fuel-inefficient sport utility vehicles.

So at the global warming talks, the United States is opposed to controls on carbon emissions, and the bloc of united states, from Maine to Delaware, plans to impose controls.