California Dump Truck Owners Association (CDTOA) - California Construction Trucking Association (CCTA)

Times are indeed looking up for the good people in California, the thousands and thousands of high-paying green jobs are finally here, just as we were promised. Silly me, I’ve been so skeptical.

As a matter of fact, as I begin this article Sunday, I watched my son, a former

heavy-equipment operator leave for his green job. He was pushing our lawnmower through the neighborhood and going door-to-door soliciting business. It’s the ultimate green job—as in landscaping and cutting grass. Oh yes, the small business entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well, too—who told you anything different?

Oh…and I happened to read an interesting green article in the Sacramento Bee on July 26th. It appears that the good old California Air Resources Board (CARB) is also adding some green jobs. At a time of budget cuts, our good friends at CARB are increasing their staff as they prepare to enforce AB 32, the famous “Global Warming Solutions Act.” Since 2007 CARB has added more than 150 employees, an increase of 12.5 percent. The same article noted that the California Energy Commission and the Department of Resources Recycling Recovery have each added 29 positions as part of the climate change initiative.

Those of you in the San Diego Area may want to visit the KILLCARB.org website and view the video of your Assembly member, Nathan Fletcher, questioning CARB’s staff on their expenditures of $7,000 per cubicle for these new employees. You had better believe they have been licking their chops in anticipation of AB 32 and have borrowed more than $84 million dollars from other state agencies to get this all done.

Hmm… I wonder who these “other state agencies” could be? Police, fire, and schools perhaps? This would be an interesting investigation for someone to research.

Thanks to folks like Assembly Member Dan Logue, radio personalities John and Ken, and of course those “damn dump truckers,” a petition was circulated statewide, and more than enough signatures were gathered to get what is now known as Proposition 23 on the November ballot. Now we have our work cut out for us and time is short. I will say here what I have said at numerous CDTOA meetings. If you have never voted, register now as if your life, your future, depended on it, because it does. Absentee Ballots are a simple way to go, apply for one. Talk to everyone you know and encourage a YES on 23.

Also, on August 4th, you probably heard that Sacramento Superior Court judge amended the ballot description of Proposition 23, the November initiative that seeks to delay the state’s global warming law. Judge Timothy Frawley agreed with backers that parts of the original language were misleading and would prejudice voters. The new language changes the description of the law’s intended target from “major polluters,” a term Frawley criticized as having “an obvious negative connotation,” to “major sources of emissions.” Judge Frawley also ordered the rewording of the references that Proposition 23 would cause the state to “abandon” its law to control greenhouse gases. The new language will say the initiative would “suspend” the law.

The ruling came as a result of a lawsuit by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers’ Assn. against State Attorney General Jerry Brown, who drafted the absurd title and summary of the initiative for the ballot. Brown, who is also the Democratic nominee for governor, called the judge’s ruling reasonable and said he would not appeal. That was a little surprising to me as AG Brown is the same politician and head state lawyer who refuses to investigate the CARB Hien Tran academic fraud and management cover-up by public employees. I guess if you’re friends, and, especially, environmental friends, of Jerry you get a pass to break whatever laws you want, especially as a public employee in the name of saving the environment. That’s just a glimpse of what we are in store for if he becomes governor.
As we all know, the title and summary printed on ballots can strongly influence a voter, especially on complex issues like the initiatives we are facing. Many voters do not read or understand these initiatives, so the wording is very important.

Anita Mangels, a spokeswoman for the Yes on 23 Campaign, called the ruling, “a tremendous victory. It is much clearer now that Proposition 23 is not a blanket repeal of every anti-pollution measure the state of California has ever enacted.”
But Jane Warner, President and Chief Executive of the American Lung Assn. in California, countered with the normal environ mumbo-gumbo about killing the planet and premature deaths all paid for by big oil, etc. Can you believe these “science- and research-based people,” who are nothing more than lobbyists and PR wonks, are claiming carbon dioxide, a gas we and even the polar bears all exhale, is now as deadly as diesel emissions? Of course, we all now know that there is no evidence that even diesel emissions causes anything unhealthy, at least here in California.

I read that Proposition 23’s new title reads: “Suspends Implementation of Air Pollution Control Law (AB 32) Requiring Major Sources of Emissions to Report and Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions That Cause Global Warming Until Unemployment Drops to 5.5% or Less for One Full Year.”

The new summary reads: “Suspends state law that requires greenhouse gas emissions be reduced to 1990 levels by 2020, until California’s unemployment drops to 5.5% or less for four consecutive quarters. Suspends comprehensive greenhouse-gas-reduction program that includes increased renewable energy and cleaner fuel requirements, and mandatory emissions reporting and fee requirements for major emissions sources such as power plants, oil refineries and cement plants…”

Here is one more little tidbit to get you a little more riled. At a time when many are trying to put food on the table, it turns out that the CARB folks are now in the boating business. Thanks to a tip, local Sacramento CBS reporter Mike Luery, learned that CARB had purchased more than two dozen power boats that are now collecting dust on a government auction lot. Luery found eight of the boats hidden behind a government gate in Davis and questioned CARB about the expenditure. Engineers from CARB insisted that what they are doing is not stupid, but rather a smart public policy. CARB 101 – always turn a negative into a positive. They are testing the boats, which cost the state $271,000, to measure pollution that escapes from the engines when they are turned off for long periods. Hey you boat people, you are also on the radar. Boater Todd Adair told CBS 13, “I think it’s an awful expensive experiment. They’re more than welcome to test my boat, which is already paid for.” The vehicles were originally set for auction on August 11, but that has now been pushed back to September 8, most likely bringing pennies on the dollar. Your enviro-taxpayer dollars and fines at work once again.

I hope you all will read the article by Hank De Carbonal from the Concrete Pumpers and pass it on to anyone you know in the concrete pumping industry. After four years of attending CARB meetings, you learn who is on our side and who is the opposition. I heard Hank speak eloquently many times, and he always identified himself as being with the “concrete pumpers.” One day I finally asked him, “So how many members do you have in the California Concrete Pumpers?” That was when he told me there was not a formal group specific to California. He spent his own time and money trying to protect an industry he loved, and that was impressive. As I learned more about the pumpers, it became apparent that we had a lot in common, with many of the same issues.

So, I thought, after all, the name of our magazine is “California Transportation News,” and with the addition of Greg Dineen and the “Heavy Haul Conference,” we should actively include all forms of construction transportation and related businesses, and concrete pumpers help facilitate supplying materials to construction sites, both public and private.

It is no secret that our membership has dropped due to the economy and the pending CARB regulations. It is critical that we not only retain our existing membership, but also bring in new members of every type as well. There are water trucks, flat beds, and even cement powder. I believe they are all a perfect fit and we will begin reaching out to all of them. We all have many of the same issues, but many specific industries have no organizations from which to receive information, direction, and advice.

I will close with this reminder for a cure for the summertime blues, and it is to vote, or, if you’re not registered, go now and register to vote, take a stand. You owe it to yourself and family. I believe from the bottom of my heart that the coming election is do-or-die for California. We have all seen the waste and fraud that is going on in our state throughout the public sector, and it is finally time for us to stand up and end it. The destruction of our state at the hands of the unions and environmental extremists needs to end this November—lets send a message they never forget!