SOAPBOX VIEWS, OPINIONS AND INSIGHTS
HOW TO REACH US CITY EDITOR Stacie N. Galang, 949.388.7700, x109 sgalang@sanclementetimes.com Advertising
SC S a n C le m e n te
34932 Calle del Sol, Suite B, Capistrano Beach, CA 92624 phone 949.388.7700 fax 949.388.9977 www.sanclementetimes.com San Clemente Times, Vol. 6, Issue 39. The SC Times (www.sanclementetimes.com ) is published weekly by Picket Fence Media, publishers of the DP Times (www.danapointtimes.com) and The Capistrano Dispatch (www.thecapistranodispatch.com). Copyright: No articles, illustrations, photographs, or other editorial matter or advertisements herein may be reproduced without written permission of the publisher. The publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited manuscripts, art, photos or negatives. Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.
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Cup of Joe: By Joe Anderson
Oh Rats: The Leading Rodent Problem in Orange County Residents Should Take Care to Reduce Opportunities for Rodents
F
or a number of years, I have been San Clemente’s representative to the Orange County Vector Control District, a countywide district dedicated to the control of disease-carrying organisms, typically mosquitoes and rats. In my April column, I focused on the control of mosquitoes. This month, I will focus on rats and rat control. The roof rat is the leading rodent problem in Orange County. The Vector Control District receives more roof rat service requests than for all other services combined. This pest is not native to North America, but was introduced into the Western Hemisphere by colonists from Asia and Europe. The roof rat is now found in all
major American cities, where it has become a significant nuisance and public health threat. The reproductive potential of this species is phenomenal. Females bear an average of six Joe Anderson litters per year with each litter containing six to eight young, demonstrating why roof rats are capable of rapidly infesting and overwhelming urban neighborhoods. Roof rats move about our neighborhoods by using overhead utility lines, walls, fences, alleyways and occasionally
underground drains. They will consume almost all types of foods including backyard fruits and vegetables, seeds and nuts, dog and cat food and garden snails. In addition to their potential to carry disease, roof rats frequently cause structural damage and loss of personal property. It is not uncommon for them to gnaw, strip or sever the wiring of appliances and vehicles. To reduce the likelihood of rodent infestation residents should: 1. Inspect the home for places rodents can enter. Rats and mice can enter a home through small openings of less than one inch in diameter.
Letters to the Editor Mea Culpas to Joe, not TCA Jim Bendel, San Clemente
Wow, my letter to the editor insinuating Joe Anderson had a fiscal stake in the 241 Toll Road Extension really struck a nerve, if Joe’s adamant rebuttal (SC Times, September 1) is any indication. I don’t know Joe personally, so admittedly, the accusation I leveled at him was unfair. If Joe says he is a career volunteer and his motives are pure, I have to take him at his word, although it’s not in my nature to trust politicians. For this, I feel I owe him an apology. Joe, I’m sorry. Sincerely. But, I will not apologize to Joe or anyone else for the primary contention I made in my letter—the majority of Toll Road stakeholders are driven by greed, not altruism. The amount of money being poured into the Transportation Corridor Agency’s neverending marketing campaign is an indication of just how much financial gain the developers along the toll road corridor expect to reap if the extension is ever built, which is San Clemente Times September 29–October 5, 2011
2. Eliminate pet food, birdseed and water placed outdoors. Ensure pet food is stored indoors in sealed metal containers. 3. Harvest fruit from trees regularly and collect any fallen fruit. 4. Reduce trash and debris. Orange County Vector control provides complimentary onsite inspections for mosquito breeding and rodent infestation and provides assistance in eliminating these vectors. For assistance, call the control district at 714.971.2421. SC PLEASE NOTE: The opinions offered here are those of the guest columnist and may or may not be shared by the San Clemente Times staff. We appreciate, however, their willingness to share their views, and we invite responses to be sent to letters@sanclementetimes.com.
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exactly why the onslaught continues. The good news is you can be sure the wily TCA will find a way to write these campaign costs off as a business expenses. I will also not be sorry for the other points I made: · The statistics used to justify the extension are outdated and biased. There are lies, damned lies and TCA statistics. · Camp Pendleton would rather the Toll Road issue go away entirely. (In March 2010, Maj. Gen. Anthony Jackson, the former commanding officer of Camp Pendleton, wrote a letter to the editor in a local paper about it.) · The risks of living in San Clemente are minute and another limited-access highway skirting the city will have marginal benefit if there’s ever a catastrophic release at San Onofre. Make sure you take a northbound entrance. And anyone who believes otherwise is just being naïve. Joe, if this includes you, so be it.
Nuclear Protestors Hampered at SONGS Open House Nancy Nolan, San Clemente
Last month, San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station hosted a gathering at San Clemente’s Community Center. They offered a variety of information on leaflets, free water containers, gadgets green bags. Some of the participants wore green shirts indicating that nuclear energy is green energy, even one of our City Council members, Tim Brown, wore a green shirt. I did not wear a green shirt, nor did I eat any of the food offered by SONGS. I didn’t come for the information or free food that SONGS provided. I came to offer the public other information challenging the false assumption that nuclear energy is green. Green means safe to me. Nuclear is not safe, especially when a nuclear power plant is located on earthquake fault lines as is the case with SONGS, as is the case with Fukushima, Japan. Instead, I was told by a SONGS security
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8 a.m. Friday, October 7
at Café Calypso Please join us the first and third Friday of every month for our open community forum.
man* operating on the lawn of the Community Center to “go stand in that tree.” Actually, I thought I was speaking with an actual police officer, but I should have known better because he took his orders from Gilbert Alexander moments before telling the two people I was with where to stand. It seems that Alexander, the spokesman for SONGS, felt we were intimidating harassing the people attending their event. If anything, he was threatening intimidating www.sanclementetimes.com