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OPINION
EL OBSERVADOR | www.el-observador.com
MARCH 10 - 16, 2017
THOUGHTS CONCERNING THE COYOTE CREEK FLOOD
Hilbert Morales EL OBSERVADOR First, Santa Clara County Assessor Larry Stone has reminded all that Coyote Creek f lood victims are entitled to a temporary property tax break. If your real property's f lood damage exceeded $10,000, a program named “The Calamity Property Tax Relief Program” is what you need to apply for (within 12 months). Just go to the County Assessor's website; download the form to learn what information is required. Applications forms must be submitted. Phone: 408-299-5500. The Coyote Creek f looded the City of Alviso back during 1983 (levee breached). And it seems that at 20 year intervals, the Coyote Creek overf lows to f lood some communities as it has historically. It may be prudent for the existing f lood zones to be re-zoned to require residential buildings to be built on stilts (i.e. be elevated) so as to minimize water damage to furnishings and personal goods.
On Thursday, 03.09.17 a public meeting was held at San Jose City Hall to debrief, in a transparent manner, what transpired with the objective of making improvements. Mayor Sam Liccardo is to be respected for publicly stating that 'the Office of the San Jose Mayor assumes any and all responsibility.” That is a magnanimous statement; politically correct; but not true since the Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCV WD) has jurisdiction and responsibility for the Coyote Creek watershed and the Anderson Dam located just east of Morgan Hill upstream. I went to the SCVWD website to learn that for several years the Anderson Dam was in need of 'seismic upgrade' and other improvements. As an outcome of the 'pineapple rain storms' which delivered 'monsoon type rainstorms' for several days, the Anderson Dam was allowed to go from less than 15% capacity to 103% capacity. When this reservoir level almost breached its own top, then water was released into the Coyote Creek. It is important that SCVWD hydrology engineers accurately determine the capacity of the Coyote Creek channel so as not to overload it again. It is noted that in the past federal assistance from the Army Corps of Engineers was requested and denied (2016).
It is also important to have the same hydrologic data for the Lower Silver Creek, Los Gatos Creek and the Guadalupe River. All of these creeks and river end up flowing through the Alviso District which is currently protected by levees. Understand that due to subsidence, some areas of Alviso community are at least 6 feet below sea level. A f lood of this sort must never be allowed to happen again, because the City of San Jose and the SCVWD both know they must collaborate and communicate effectively. The Alviso community has an Air raid siren type of alarm:...It is used whenever a f lood is imminent and possible. This type of alarm may be required all along the Coyote Creek, especially located in every known low f lood zone. As in many other communities (e.g. New Orleans, LA.), it is the low income marginalized residents who had to evacuate their residences on very short notice. While a siren or door to door notice system may be planned and implemented; this community must encourage its citizens to register to vote, and vote in numbers exceeding 70%. Then these citizens will be 'true con-
stituents' with the ability to replace any elected official or demand the discharge of any technical specialist who did not function adequately nor professionally. The SCVWD professional staff must know the capacity of all creek and river channels so as to prevent the overloading of the stream beds (and keeping them below the f lood levels). And those who remove high volumes of water from the aquifers must also be regulated more so as to mitigate continued subsidence. This community must raise the level of knowledge, vigilance and awareness to prevent any future f looding incident ever again. The SCVWD has the direct jurisdictional responsibility to ensure the f lood control which local residents require. Yet praise-worthy happenings occurred during this ordeal: First responders assisted many without injury or loss of lives. And altruism was evident from 'personal modest assistance' to that $5 million donated to the San Joe City Flood Relief Fund. This very diverse community demonstrated a very high humane standard. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WAS OBTAINED FROM THE SCVWD WEBSITE:
“The Santa Clara Valley Water District is the primary water resource agency for Santa Clara County, supplying wholesale water, prov iding f lood protection and serving as environmental steward for clean, safe creeks and healthy ecosystems.” “It serves approximately two million people in 15 cities: Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Mt. View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga and Sunnyvale, and the towns of Los Altos Hills and Los Gatos.”
'As the county's water wholesaler, the water district makes sure there is enough clean, safe water for homes and businesses,”
“As the agency responsible for local f lood protection, the water district works diligently to protect Santa Clara Valley residents and businesses from the devastating effects of f looding.” “Our stream stewardship responsibilities include creek restoration and wildlife habitat projects, pollution prevention efforts and a commitment to natural flood protection.”
UN MODELO DE DEFENSORÍA OPORTUNA Por José López Zamorano La Red Hispana Tradicionalmente, los consulados son el sitio obligado para la realización de los trámites personales de millones de extranjeros que residen en los Estados Unidos, desde la obtención de actas de nacimiento, identificaciones, doble nacionalidad o permisos de menaje, así como para la orientación y protección de inmigrantes en el país. Pero los tiempos actuales, marcados por la implementación de nuevas directrices de política migratoria, obligaban a una revisión del modelo de actuación consular para adecuarlo a las necesidades del momento, al menos eso se desprende de la decisión de México de convertir su red de 50 consulados en auténticos “Centros de Defensoría” para más de 10 millones
de mexicanos en Estados Unidos. “Los ‘Centros de Defensoría’ ofrecerán un espacio exclusivo para que los mexicanos que lo requieran reciban orientación y asesoría legal directa. Este servicio no sólo se ofrecerá en la sede consular, sino que se extenderá a los consulados móviles y sobre ruedas”, de acuerdo con la cancillería mexicana. Con base en la noción de que muchos problemas se evitarían si tuviéramos la información a la mano, los consulados ofrecerán también talleres informativos denominados “Conoce Tus Derechos”, que pondrán a la mano de los mexicanos interesados la información clave para saber cómo responder cuando tengan encuentros con las autoridades estadounidenses. Asimismo, contarán con los llamados
“Talleres de Diagnóstico Migratorio” para que los mexicanos examinen las opciones de que disponen en materia migratoria y “Talleres de Ciudadanía” no sólo para alentar la naturalización de casi 3 millones de residentes legales permanentes mexicanos, sino incluso de apoyarlos cuando no puedan completar el proceso por razones económicas. En la medida que los mexicanos representamos la mayoría de extranjeros en Estados Unidos, con y sin documentos migratorios, tiene sentido que este nuevo esquema incluya acciones de protección directa, gratuita, individualizada y, por si fuera poco, móvil. Tuve oportunidad de conversar con activistas y migrantes mexicanos durante el lanzamiento de esta iniciativa en la ciudad de Washington
y la respuesta fue, como era de esperarse, positiva. En estos momentos de incertidumbre y ansiedad por los cambios migratorios, es más importante que nunca tener una fuente de información confiable y un espacio gratuito de defensa legal. Al margen de si se cumplen las expresiones de interés del nuevo gobierno estadounidense de una reforma migratoria, que un país con el mayor número de inmigrantes ponga en marcha mecanismos innovadores de respaldo a sus connacionales, debe ser no sólo bienvenidos sino replicado: las necesidades de la comunidad de inmigrantes de todas las nacionalidades son muchas y los recursos rinden más si se utilizan colectivamente. Para más información visita www. laredhispana.org.
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PUBLISHER Angelica Rossi angelica@el-observador.com PUBLISHER EMERITUS Hilbert Morales hmorales@el-observador.com ADVERTISING & SALES DIRECTOR Angelica Rossi angelica@el-observador.com ADVERTISING SALES Justin Rossi justin@el-observador.com MANAGING EDITOR Arturo Hilario arturo@el-observador.com spanish.editor@el-observador. com CONTRIBUTORS Justin Rossi Mario Jimenez Hector Curriel Estephany Haro OP-ED Hilbert Morales english.editor@el-observador. com LEGAL NOTICES Erica Marie Najar frontdesk@el-observador.com ACCOUNTING Erica Marie Najar frontdesk@el-observador.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Leila Velasco leila@el-observador.com JOB/RECRUITMENT ADVERTISING Carlos Budhabhatti carlos@el-observador.com ABOUT US El Observador was founded in 1980 to serve the informational needs of the Hispanic community in the San Francisco Bay Area with special focus on San Jose, the capital of Silicon Valley. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be transmitted or reproduced by any form or by any means, this includes photo copying, recording or by any informational storage and retrevial systems, electronic or mechanical without express written consent of the publishers. Opinions expressed in El Observador by persons submitting articles are not necessarily the opinions of the publishers.