He gave up and used the wetsuit. Chase failed to make the trip last year. This year his cause for restrictive seafood rules are mentioned with his other sustainable BS not mentioned. Guess swimming amongst the seafood has better mojo than building schools in Afghanistan.

Bruckner Chase, 44, wanted to become the second person to finish the swim without a wetsuit — English Channel rules — but the toxic stings of jellyfish forced him to abandon that plan about two hours into the 14-hour swim.

Chase did the swim to attract attention to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, sustainable seafood programs and the Blue Ocean Film Festival, a five-day event that begins today in Monterey.

Cross Bay Swimmer Surrenders

Garbage gestapo. Recycle or face charges.

From cleveland.com

It would be a stretch to say that Big Brother will hang out in Clevelanders’ trash cans, but the city plans to sort through curbside trash to make sure residents are recycling — and fine them $100 if they don’t.

The move is part of a high-tech collection system the city will roll out next year with new trash and recycling carts embedded with radio frequency identification chips and bar codes.

The chips will allow city workers to monitor how often residents roll carts to the curb for collection. If a chip show a recyclable cart hasn’t been brought to the curb in weeks, a trash supervisor will sort through the trash for recyclables.

Has Recycling Come To This?

Pacific Grove is no longer mentioned on any ICLEI member lists at the website. There’s hope yet for our city leaders. Time for Monterey to wake up and quit supporting them with money and compliance too.

ICLEI methods include infiltrating local government. Organization representatives seek to be hired into local planning departments or they provide “toolkits” to staff. Too many elected officials such as Cool Mayors allow ICLEI to influence policy changes through the use of funding incentives and rewards. While some of these policies sound good on the surface, they result in consequences such as:

* High-density housing scams
* Traffic congestion
* Open space where access is not allowed
* Government “partnering” with favored private businesses and non-profit agencies, using your tax money
* Undermining Constitutional administration of government
* Managed control over your life
* Mismanagement of public utilities
* Prohibitions on natural resource management leading to increased fire hazards, lack of water, and private property restrictions,
* Increased taxes, fees, regulations and restrictions

Pacific Grove No Longer A Sustainable City

More lead based lights. And just who will enforce this little loss of private property rights?

Monterey adopted a green building ordinance about a year and half ago requiring new construction and renovations in the city to follow some environmentally friendly guidelines, “Over the past year and a half over a 1000 plus buildings are greener because of the program,” said Building Official John Kuehl

Ecofreak Building Rules For P.G?

Not one electric car or hybrid on the lot, LOL.

North Main Street, Salinas

Tax dollars at work – making ugly slow cars that no one only elitist sustainable kooks would pay $25,000 for, if the manufacturer can deliver one. And that looks doubtful.

Check out the picture from the web site – it’s worded to make greenies bodies tingle from head to toe with sustainable schlock copy.

The company’s 80,000-square-foot production site at the industrial park south of Salinas is still nearly empty and largely inactive, though the Green Vehicle Web site lists the address as its headquarters. Instead, the firm’s employees are working out of a temporary facility in Gilroy. Meanwhile, the state funding deal is still being processed, and it could be three more months before it comes through.

There have been hints of turmoil within the firm and complaints that the city’s contribution thus far has not directly resulted in any local jobs.

Salinas Going Broke – Bankrolls Doubtful Green Cars

Any savings gained by using solar electricity is offset by paying for security patrols & surveillance cameras.

“The cost of metal has declined significantly,” said Brandy Swain, a San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department Crime Prevention Specialist. “It looks like solar panels are becoming the new hot item to steal.”

More than $400,000 worth of solar panels have been stolen from vineyards in Napa County, alone.

Solar Electricity Makes For Sustainable Burglars

This was one of the “Runaway Mayor” Dan Cort’s sustainable schemes. Bad idea – especially for the residents that live north of the thing in case of an earthquake.

One reason I do not trust the city with more of my tax money.

A $45,000 study on the feasibility of reactivating California American Water’s empty reservoir in Pacific Grove as a catch basin for storm water runoff and a source of irrigation water for the city’s golf course and parks will be presented Wednesday to the Pacific Grove City Council.

Wasted $$: Crazy Plan To Refill Reservoir

Measure J was close, but not close enough.

With all the votes counted, including the late ones and the questionable and damaged ballots, Monterey county Elections reports that Measure J, which would have funded our library with a $96 parcel tax, missed passage by a very scant margin.

Hear-Old reports it at 3 votes. Well, here was 2 of them:

Two No On J Votes

I cannot support this or any other begging from the city until they show that they can manage what they have already.

Need a start?
- End all city supported funding of the ineffective Chamber Of Commerce.
- Cut all ties with “ICLEI”, the Local Governments for Sustainability.

Read Someone Else’s Books, No New Taxes

Two No On J Votes

Another tax request, again for city services. I cannot support this or any other begging from the city until they show that they can manage what they have already.

Need a start?
- End all city supported funding of the ineffective Chamber Of Commerce.
- Cut all ties with “ICLEI”, the Local Governments for Sustainability.

Think that this added tax will benefit the library only? Wrong. The city will be able to draw money away from the library to fund other things. Say forinstance, sustainable seagull repellent for the roof of city hall.

Monterey Hear-Old, 8/25

“It is a way to set the library up with a base outside of the city’s general fund,” Becklenberg said.

Passage of the measure, he said, could secure the future of the library and provide general fund savings of approximately $400,000 toward the $2 million city budget deficit, since Measure J funding would allow the city to use its regular library budget for other purposes until the budget can be balanced.