Published
in Rio Linda Elverta News May 6, 2004 - Scroll for other articles
County Neighborhood Cleanup to change?
Pickup
by appointment proposed
by Jay O'Brien
The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors will be asked later this
year to agree to a change in the Neighborhood Cleanup (NCU)
program.
The NCU program, started in 1988, first picked up trash in Rio Linda in
1989. The program has been a bone of contention for years, as it
attracts trash from out of the area, brought in when our pickup is
scheduled, and it attracts scavengers who scatter the trash. Many
proposals to correct the problems have been offered, and the County has
attempted to police the area. However, the problems have not been
resolved.
A proposed change may fix that.
Rich Owings, Chief of Sacramento County's Solid Waste Division, says
that a proposal will be made to change the program from a neighborhood
schedule to individual pickups, "by appointment only". Rich says that
other locations have found this to be a better arrangement, including
the City of Sacramento. Rich says that the County would be broken up
into five areas, and each area would have its own day of the week. When
called, the County would expect to be able to schedule pickups within
five days.
Owings said "We're sure hopeful that the Board will support us, and we
think it's a lot better way to do it". He encouraged us to express our
opinion to our Supervisor.
When Neighborhood Cleanup was started in 1988, the cost was 55
cents/month. Owings says that today's cost for NCU is about $1.25/month
($15/year). If Owings gets his way, you will be able to schedule your
yearly $15 pickup.
Published
in Rio Linda Elverta News May 6, 2004 - Scroll for other articles
County
Staff Reductions due to new cities
43
positions claimed
by Jay O'Brien
The Sacramento County Taxpayers League, reviewing Sacramento County's
budget problems, was concerned about the effect of the newly formed
Cities of Citrus Heights, Elk Grove and Rancho Cordova on the County
work force. The new cities now perform services and functions for their
constituents that previously were the responsibility of Sacramento
County.
The League interviewed the Mayors and staff of the three new cities.
The interviews identified more than 70 people paid now by the new
cities, who are performing planning, code enforcement, building
inspection, traffic engineering, economic development, transportation
engineering, drainage, road and other functions for these cities.
The League asked Geoff Davey, Sacramento County Chief Financial
Officer, "What staff reduction has Sacramento County been able to
achieve as a result of the workload diminished by the transfer of
functions to the new Cities?"
Davey identified 72.8 positions that were doing work taken over by the
new cities. In addition, there are 10 building inspectors who are
presently doing work for Rancho Cordova whose responsibilities could be
taken over by Rancho Cordova in the future.
Of the 72.8 positions that were doing work taken over by the cities,
29.8 have been absorbed by the County and are now working on other
functions that have been funded subsequent to the incorporations.
Therefore the actual reduction in staff has been 43 positions.
"It would be fair to assume that the 29.8 positions absorbed by the
County in other areas would have been filled with new employees had the
incorporations not occurred. Although the incorporations have
diminished the county's service area for municipal services, there is
growth occurring in remaining unincorporated area communities, as
Vineyard and Antelope, resulting in the need for additional staff
(factoring out the incorporations)", said Davey; "So, had the
incorporations not occurred, we would be adding staff instead of
absorbing them".
Published
in Rio Linda Elverta News May 6, 2004 - Scroll for other articles
Verizon
Cellular customer?
Spyware
and Billing issues
by Jay O'Brien
Spyware
My wife and I obtained new cellphones from Verizon. We were given
CD-ROMs to run in our computers to help us learn about our new phones.
Our "firewall" notified us that there was "spyware" on the CD-ROMs. It
installed itself in our computers without our knowledge or permission.
The spyware program is called "Noptify.exe". It attempts to call out on
the internet and track our use of the CD-ROM by reporting it to an
intermediary, the James Tower Company in Minnesota.
I complained to Verizon, and after they gave me the royal runaround,
including referring me incorrectly to the cellphone manufacturer, the
Verizon Vice President responsible for the CD-ROM user manuals told me
that Verizon had stopped their use of the tracking software in
September. He said it was unfortunate that I "received one of the older
CDs" and he said would send me new CD-ROMs "this month" that did not
contain the spyware.
I then was called by a representative of the Verizon President, who
admitted they couldn't find any CD-ROMs for my phone that didn't have
the spyware! He offered to change out my phones so we could have a
CD-ROM without the spyware (I declined, as the phones are great).
Commenting about Verizon's use of the Noptify program, "It was a
misguided decision", he said. "We felt it would be harmless,
unfortunately we were wrong." He says that Verizon will notify those
customers who may have the infected CD-ROMS.
If you have a Verizon CD-ROM, don't run it in your computer. Even
Verizon isn't able to tell you how to remove all traces of the tracking
program once it is installed, and some CD-ROMs for different model
phones install part of the program on your computer but don't report
your activity to the James Tower Company.
For full details, visit http://obri.net/verizon
Billing details
You may wish to review a note that was on your Verizon Wireless
February and March statements on a back page of your bill. It says that
the new "streamlined" bill will not include details of your calls in
the future. That means you will not see the individual calls on your
bill as you have in the past.
If you call 1-800-894-3504 by June 30, you can keep the call details if
you wish, at no charge. You are "grandfathered". Otherwise, after June
30, if you want the call details mailed to you again, it will cost
$1.99 per month per Verizon subscriber number.
I called to retain the detailed billing. Later, I checked my account on
line. I found that I was set to receive a "paperless" bill! I changed
that, and hopefully will receive a bill in the mail. Others who have
called the 800 number have not been changed to "paperless", but it is
worth checking, either on line or by calling Verizon Customer service.
Conclusion
In my opinion, Verizon offers the best coverage and the best service.
It really is too bad that we subscribers have to pay such close
attention to their actions.
Published
in Rio Linda Elverta News May 6, 2004 - Scroll for other articles
Hayer Dam Citizen Advisory
Committee to meet Monday, May 10th
by Mick Klasson
The next meeting of the Hayer Dam Citizen
Advisory Committee will be Monday May 10th.
The Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency (SAFCA) and County of
Sacramento Department of Regional Parks, Recreation and Open Space
(County Parks) welcome you to the May 10 meeting of the Hayer Dam
Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC).
The project is intended to replace the existing Hayer Dam with an
infiltration gallery buried in the streambed. This approach will make
it easier for migrating salmon and steelhead to pass through the area
while still providing water for the Bell Acqua lakes under their
existing water rights.
Following the last meeting of the CAC on April 6, some changes have
been proposed to the project.
The most important of these are:
*Revising project phasing to remove the existing bridge, island, and
associated structures in summer 2004, while constructing the
replacement bridge and water diversion works in 2005.
*Removing the top portions of the existing bridge abutments to avoid
the cost of providing structural support for them.
Please come to the meeting if you are interested in learning more about
the project.
Where: Rio Linda Junior High School, 1101 G Street, Rio Linda, CA 95673
When: May 10 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Why: Hear about recent modifications to the Hayer Dam Renovation and
Dry Creek Debris Removal Project
if you have any questions, please contact Mick Klasson at:
klassonm@sbcglobal.net or call (530) 758-0839.
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