Page 2: Not a license to steal

It’s not like Greg Leon stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night and wants to wire your house this morning. He has experience doing electrical work. However, he’s not licensed as an electrical contractor. So when he began representing to folks that he was licensed … well, that’s when the trouble started. And it’s also why you no longer see his advertising banner inside Vons anymore.

Leon pled no contest to three misdemeanors last month. These misdemeanors include: unlawful advertising as a contractor, fraudulent use of a contractor’s license number and misdemeanor grand theft.
Leon, who formerly worked for Paul’s Electric, was apparently taking jobs on the side … and stealing supplies from Paul’s Electric to complete the work.
A surefire way to take oneself out of the running for Employee of the Month.
According to Troy Rowan of Paul’s Electric, when he learned what was going on, he fired Leon and asked for reimbursement for what Leon had taken.
When Leon dragged his feet on the reimbursement, Rowan said he had no choice but to pursue a legal remedy.
What I found interesting, however, was Rowan’s general demeanor regarding the case. “I just wanted to get reimbursed and move on,” he said, noting that Mr. Leon had been a good employee … until he wasn’t.
Another contractor ascribed Leon’s behavior to temporary insanity. “I just think he jumped off the deep end for a little bit.”
Temporary insanity may have included Leon marching in this year’s 4th of July parade passing out flyers advertising that he was licensed when he wasn’t.
The Mammoth Lakes Contractors Assn. tackled the subject of folks operating without a contractor’s license at its noon luncheon Thursday at Giovanni’s.
Greg Jennison said no one really worried too much about unlicensed contractors taking the small jobs during the boom cycle, but now that everyone’s scrambling for work, it takes on a bit more significance.
What many homeowners don’t understand is that hiring unlicensed contractors may seem like a cheaper route, but may ultimately come back to bite them in the …
For example, if an unlicensed person falls off a ladder while working on your home, he/she can turn around and claim that they are merely
employees … and that the homeowner is liable.
Indeed, the Town’s Asst. Building Official Alex Ramos said the homeowner is legally responsible for checking out a contractor’s credentials.
And if you think your homeowner’s insurance covers you, think again. You need a rider to that insurance if you’re doing any work on your home.
Mono County Building Inspector Rick McManis summed it up nicely. “You’re liable, you’re liable, and by the way … you’re liable.”

Okay, so maybe they’re not exactly going on Safari together, but Wave Rave’s Steve Klassen and Mammoth Lakes Police Chief Randy Schienle may get a close up look at some white rhino this weekend.
Klassen and Schienle plan to do some field research and visit a few Southern California medical marijuana dispensaries as part of the Town’s ongoing investigation into whether it should regulate and permit dispensaries to operate within the Town limits.
Klassen praises Schienle for his responsiveness, even if they disagree on timing. Klassen would like to see the Town pass an ordinance permitting dispensaries by June 1. Schienle would like to delay such an ordinance by the maximum 10.5 months.

The following is yet another reminder of why I should have gone into higher academia. You can get paid to study anything.
A recent paper by Jonathan Zinman and Eric Zitzewitz of Dartmouth College titled “Deceptive Advertising by Ski Resorts” finds that ski resorts self-report 23% more snowfall on weekends.”
Subscriber Chris Bean of Massachusetts responded by saying, “I never dreamed that ski areas overstated snowfall amounts. I hear that their next study will focus on the exaggerated claims from 1-900 services for gambling advice.”

John’s Pizza Works opens the Outlaw Saloon inside the premises this Monday night.
Owner John Mueller was one of the winners of the most recent liquor license lotto.
The Saloon will feature a full service bar and five big screens.
Mueller promises that no matter what happens with Main Street Redevelopment, the Saloon will still stand. “And if it’s the only building left standing, we’ll change the name to Rusty’s Bar and Grill.”
And from Geisel’s desk …

Merry Christmas, Hilton Creek Sewer District users … one “present” you won’t be getting this holiday season is a gigantic user fee increase. So far, the HCSD’s Board of Directors has managed to stave off a hike in fees needed to cover the shortfall generated by the state’s “borrowing back” of property tax dollars that have been used to cover shorftalls in the district’s operating costs.
During the Board’s regular meeting Tuesday night, Board member Brad Koehn reportedy expressed great concern at setting a public meeting date until final employee contract negotiations have been completed between the Board and accountant Marianne O’Connor and Operations Manager Bob Lavagnino.
Board Chair Steve Shipley has stated all along that he wants to be able to demonstrate that the Board has exhausted all reasonable cost cutting and other saving measures before making any moves toward a fee increase.
However, HCSD users, at least one part of your New Year may not be entirely happy, as a fee increase of some amount likely will be on an agenda sometime during the first few months of 2010. Recently hired HCSD Auditor Bob Johnson has advised the Board in at least a couple of meetings that he thinks a 45% rate hike is needed and should be passed as soon as possible.
The Board, while more or less in agreement that a fee hike is a virtual inevitability, is still weighing whether to enact a one-time 45% increase, or a tiered 15% increase annually for three years. Either way, O’Connor said it would be at least March before any increase will come up for a vote. A 45-day advance public notice period needs to be put in place, which will probably be taken up as part of the Board’s agenda during its Jan. 12 regular meeting.
During their Dec. 1 meeting, Mono’s Board of Supervisors approved Mammoth Mountain Ski Area’s Dan Rollins to fill the seat on the Mono County Tourism Commission vacated by Bonnie Colgan, who recently moved out of the area. Rollins, whose background is largely in the ski area industry, was formerly with Intrawest at Snowshoe, Vt., as well as the American Ski Company. He currently works with MMSA’s on its Internet site and helps handle direct marketing for the Mountain.
And Bodie State Park, which dodged a bullet during the state’s intense budget battle for next fiscal year, will open in spring, but with only a single ranger and no museum or interpretive staff, unless funding is found. That bad news, however, could be offset by the newly formed Bodie Foundation non-profit, which plans to merge with the Friends of Bodie to form one cohesive entity.
“We’re taking over from the Sierra State Parks as the non-profit on site,” said the Foundation’s Brad Sturdivant. “It’s better that way; the money we raise stays local.”
Sturdivant said the Foundation needs to pull in between $20,000 and $30,000 to get the museum doors open, and another $15,000 to stock it with inventory. He said the Foundation is about halfway to those goals, but a possible tie-in with the Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association, with experience in such operations that ranges up and down U.S. 395, could bridge the monetary gap.
Tourism Commissioners expressed a desire to support the Foundation before the Board of Supervisors, should funding requests or other actions be required. Bodie receives around 200,000 visitors annually, and has generated millions in state and local revenues.