Page 2: Unlearning high school history

I attended the Bishop City Council meeting on Monday. The Council approved an economic development plan. I haven’t read the plan, but I was assured it is brilliant. Aren’t they all?

Allan Pietrasanta, a member of the Sierra Business Council Board, and Julie Faber of the Bishop Chamber then asked the Council during public comment to commit a staff person to economic development. Makes sense, right? Why have a plan unless you commit some resources to implementation?

Councilmember Karen Schwartz echoed their comments during Council discussion, suggesting Council back up the plan with money and/or staff support.

And then, slowly, politely, full of well-meaning, her fellow Councilmmebers and Town Manager Tatum started raking her sails with buckshot, and the egg started doing the fox trot with the chicken.

Welllll … we don’t have the money for that, buuuuuut … we’ve got a contract grant writer budgeted for the next fiscal year, and you know, these grant writers are really terrific. That’s my synopsis of City Manager Jim Tatum’s comments.

Joe Pecsi then assured everyone that “this won’t sit on the shelf.” And he’s a pretty big guy with a big voice, so you take him seriously.

Maybe it will sit on the shelf, maybe it won’t … I was talking to a Mammoth Councilmember this week who said that by far the biggest transition one has to make when adapting to government is adapting to its pace.

Perhaps we’re all too influenced by those classes on the New Deal in high school where FDR’s first 100 days are forever trumpeted. It becomes  ingrained as an expectation. That politicians can get things done, and get them done quickly.

I just had Vane read the plan. Poor gal. Newspaper work can be cruel. She should’ve gone home while she had the chance. She says the two major points are 1.) Utilize Digital 395 and 2.) Expand Bishop Airport.

Is that it? I asked. Yes, she replied, though you could tell she was trying to read me, to see if I expected her to dive into it further, glean some fantastic, shining truth.

Well, I said, then it has a chance. It’s to the point, after all. Or, specifically, it has eight or twelve or fifteen points less than the typical Mammoth version.

I guess … that even after all these years of covering politics, I’m still naive and optimistic enough to identify with first-term Councilmember Schwartz. I know Mr. Tatum’s job is to be cautious and tell me no-maybe- later, but really, I want to advertise the position and demand Mr. Tatum find a way to pay for it by September 1.

Happy trails to Mono County CAO Jim Leddy. He’s heading back to Sonoma County after two years. It’s not for a specific job. When asked what he’s most bullish about in regard to county affairs as he departs, Leddy said, “The transformation around strategic planning. There’s a real organizational commitment to efficiencies and focusing on the most important things and doing them well.”

The biggest challenge for his successor? “Maintaining momentum,” he said.

Doug Smith, who bought the Grant Lake Marina in 1992, called Evans at deadline to comment about the LADWP diversion story on page one. He said, “I’ve never seen it this bad and it’s only going to get worse. I have no place where I can launch boats because it’s so shallow, I can’t figure out where to put my docks because there is nowhere the water is deep enough.” He added that the Grant Lake Management Plan, which was developed by himself, Mono Lake Committee, California Fish and Game, the U.S. Forest Service and LADWP among others soon after the Water Board’s decision, specifically addresses the question of exports if a catastrophic drought occurs, recommending to postpone diversions until later in the summer. “It was nothing more than all the bodies agreeing on what the best way to proceed to the future,” he said. “DWP is choosing not to operate under the Grant Lake Management Plan and last year they did the exact same thing.”

Seeing as it is Earth Day, given the drought, etc., I’ve decided to run the commentary which starts below, sent in unattributed.

I am still surprised at how much asphalt I see being watered every evening. and at the streams running in the gutters every morning. Insert your town’s name for Mammoth’s as you read the following:

“The National Weather Service defines drought ‘as a deficiency in precipitation over an extended period, usually a season or more, resulting in a water shortage causing adverse impacts on vegetation, animals, and/or people.’ We are in our fourth consecutive year of an historic drought, as a community let’s accept these adverse changes and prove that we can make Mammoth Lakes a sustainable place to live and visit, regardless of consecutive years of minimal precipitation.

For some fellow Californians these adverse impacts are costing them their livelihood; land that has been tended by their family for generations is going fallow. In Mammoth, these impacts may be as minimal as timing the shower or running loads of laundry less often. In some cases it may mean letting the grass in the yard turn yellow green or even better replacing it with drought tolerant species. Maybe it is joining with other property owners in your complex to decide you do not need or want acres of grass around the condos, and that you can instead set an example of a condo complex with curb appeal that comes with a lower water bill and effort toward sustainability. Everyone must be motivated to contribute some effort towards water conservation to live and/or own property in a place as beautiful as we do.

As we move into the irrigation season this year, a time when water demand in Mammoth triples, let’s work as a community to save our limited water resource. Ask yourself, do I really need/want a lawn? How long do I need to run my sprinklers? Are my sprinklers spraying in the right place? Can I take a shorter shower? Wash two loads of laundry together? Do I have any leaks? PAY ATTENTION.

Last year the Mammoth Community Water District asked for 10 percent water savings, and we cut back 15 percent. This year they are asking for 30 percent, but we can show them 40 percent. The powder days may have been few and far between this year, but we have got an awesome backpacking season just around the corner. Enter this summer with a positive attitude and enjoy yourself in the amazing place we are all so lucky to live and spend time in—and save water while you do it.