Council Meeting wrapup for 09/18/2006
First, a quick note of humor.. If council had a golf swing, they would need to work on their follow through.
Now, that thought occurred to me while they dissected an item from the consent agenda. Apparently, a settlement had been reached 6 years ago, that said a pair of model homes needed to be relocated, within 3 years. Thankfully, Council simply denied the request for the owner's changes to his property, and sent the matter back to the City Attorney to have her review the settlement, so that we can see about seeking relief for this lack of movement on the original settlement.
Next, the "I thought there would be a fire storm" non event of the council intelligently setting the rate raising cycle for sewer/water through 2010. They left the already beleaguered irrigation lines at their same rate, and raised 10% the first year on sewer then smaller percentages the following three years. Water will get an even 7% raise per year. I have to point out that if previous councils had seen fit to raise rates with CPI we wouldn't have had to make such drastic changes this year. It's a testament to the real thought and value behind most of what council is really doing.
The real firestorm and (pleasant) surprise of the evening occurred during the public comments tonight. A large group of residents came to City Hall. They sat quietly and respectfully. They each stood, during their turn, and spoke. Some nervously, some eloquently. Some with pure honesty in their words and hearts. All with a single topic, all applauding and supporting one another as each finished. Did they come to City hall to fight against raised prices? How about Assessments? Maybe it was about Mayor F's new Tree Ordinance? No.
The Residents came to speak their peace about Illegal immigration. They organized, worked together, modified their request, and came away with a major victory. Councilwoman Bertolini agreed to a meeting with the heads of the organization to attempt and discuss her concerns with the petition they presented. She even offered to have them to her home. They struck a chord with most of council, and it was apparent by the reactions, and their words.
Residents fighting about the UEP should stand up and take note. When you are reasonable in your position and expectations, well organized, articulate, and willing to compromise, you will get results.
The only council person with a report of any substance was Mr. Day. His report, and his actions this evening, deserve their own, seperate attention. That will occur, soon enough. For now, I'll just leave you with a quote from Mr. Day, when he was speaking about the "Yet another audit" that he asked to be performed:
"There may be nothing to this"
Now, that thought occurred to me while they dissected an item from the consent agenda. Apparently, a settlement had been reached 6 years ago, that said a pair of model homes needed to be relocated, within 3 years. Thankfully, Council simply denied the request for the owner's changes to his property, and sent the matter back to the City Attorney to have her review the settlement, so that we can see about seeking relief for this lack of movement on the original settlement.
Next, the "I thought there would be a fire storm" non event of the council intelligently setting the rate raising cycle for sewer/water through 2010. They left the already beleaguered irrigation lines at their same rate, and raised 10% the first year on sewer then smaller percentages the following three years. Water will get an even 7% raise per year. I have to point out that if previous councils had seen fit to raise rates with CPI we wouldn't have had to make such drastic changes this year. It's a testament to the real thought and value behind most of what council is really doing.
The real firestorm and (pleasant) surprise of the evening occurred during the public comments tonight. A large group of residents came to City Hall. They sat quietly and respectfully. They each stood, during their turn, and spoke. Some nervously, some eloquently. Some with pure honesty in their words and hearts. All with a single topic, all applauding and supporting one another as each finished. Did they come to City hall to fight against raised prices? How about Assessments? Maybe it was about Mayor F's new Tree Ordinance? No.
The Residents came to speak their peace about Illegal immigration. They organized, worked together, modified their request, and came away with a major victory. Councilwoman Bertolini agreed to a meeting with the heads of the organization to attempt and discuss her concerns with the petition they presented. She even offered to have them to her home. They struck a chord with most of council, and it was apparent by the reactions, and their words.
Residents fighting about the UEP should stand up and take note. When you are reasonable in your position and expectations, well organized, articulate, and willing to compromise, you will get results.
The only council person with a report of any substance was Mr. Day. His report, and his actions this evening, deserve their own, seperate attention. That will occur, soon enough. For now, I'll just leave you with a quote from Mr. Day, when he was speaking about the "Yet another audit" that he asked to be performed:
"There may be nothing to this"
posted by Lloyd at 6:54 PM
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An illegal alien is a foreign national who resides in another country unlawfully, either by entering that country at a place other than a designated port-of-entry or as result of the expiration of a non-immigrant visa. The terms "illegal immigrant" and "illegal alien" are commonly used phrases that refer to the illegality of the action of migration without legal authorization. In the United States the term "illegal alien" is conferred legitimacy by its official use in federal statutes (see below). Illegal immigrant is generally accepted as a neutral term suitable for use in mainstream media according to the AP Stylebook although the National Association of Hispanic Journalists recommends undocumented immigrant. Border patrol agents and those supporting stronger border controls tend to use illegal alien or the shorter illegals.
Those more supportive of the illegal immigrant community tend to replace illegal with undocumented, arguing that it is offensive to describe any human as illegal, whether or not their behavior is illegal. Undocumented worker is often used by supporters to refer to all undocumented individuals, including children and those who do not work. While alien is a term with a specific legal meaning, some argue that the term alien carries with it the negative connotations of extraterrestrials and other meanings of the word alien and is criticized by the pro-illegal immigrant community. George Lakoff, a University of California linguist and progressive strategist, has argued that "the terms 'aliens' and 'illegals' provoke fear, loathing and dread" and should thus be avoided
Victor Davis Hanson, neo-conservative historian and author of “Mexifornia: A State of Becoming” has argued that "undocumented worker" is a euphemism or politically correct term for "illegal alien." He states: “’undocumented worker,’ for example, is the politically correct synonym for ‘illegal alien.’ It implies that those who have crossed the border without the proper documentation have neither broken the law nor are of any different status than American citizens. But it is an inaccurate term. Not all those who come here illegally are working. And most never had, or even applied for, immigration documents. In other words, there really are millions here illegally. They are not aliens from another planet, but aliens in the literal sense - simply not lawful residents of this country.” [4]. David Ray, of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) a proponent of immigration reduction, has also criticized the use of the phrase “undocumented immigrant”. He states: “referring to an illegal alien as an ‘undocumented immigrant’ is "like calling a bank robbery an 'unauthorized withdrawal.'"
According to the United States government, “illegal alien” is the correct term for a person who has entered the United States illegally or is residing in the United States illegally after entering legally (for example, using a tourist visa and remaining after the visa expires). The United States Code refers to “illegal alien” and “illegal aliens” in many places. The phrase “undocumented immigrant(s)’ is not used in the United States Code although “undocumented alien(s)” is employed. The United States government defines “Alien” as “Any person not a citizen or national of the United States” or “An individual who is not a U.S. citizen or U.S. national”. “Illegal Alien” is defined as “Also known as an ‘Undocumented Alien,’ is an alien who has entered the United States illegally and is deportable if apprehended, or an alien who entered the United States legally but who has fallen ‘out of status’ and is deportable”.
According to the United States government an immigrant is “An alien who has been granted the right by the USCIS to reside permanently in the United States and to work without restrictions in the United States.” [6]. Since an “immigrant” is defined as a person who is legally residing in the United States, the phrases “illegal immigrant” and “undocumented immigrant” have no meaning under law.
Thanks for sharing! I was very impressed with the group of individuals who came to council to express their views.
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