JUNE 2004 - SUMMERTIME
GOVERNATOR’S GROWTH PLAN LEANS TOWARD THE SMART SIDE
Today, California boasts 36 million people, with a growth rate of approximately 600,000 each year, thanks to newborns and those relocating to the Golden State. Ironically, California has not approved a statewide growth plan in 25 years, which is why we’re always found scrambling to deal with supply and demand.
What is the vision for housing, growth and land use needs to best meet the needs of our people? The State Department of Housing and Community Development projects a need of 3.7 million units of subsidized housing by 2020. Who is going to pay for this? Steps should be taken on the state level to ensure that local communities can meet their growing infrastructure and service needs. More....
SUN OF ALL FEARS: HOW TO PROTECT YOUR HOME FROM DAMAGING RAYS
We’re very lucky here
by the Pacific Ocean — the climate is perfect and we can leave the
windows open all year around. Around the rest of the country, a body and
a home have to weather through brutal winters or soaking rainy seasons.
We’ve just got sunshine. The sun is 93 million miles away and its
rays beam to earth at 186,000 miles a second. SoCal properties are blasted
with sunshine virtually all day, every day. Constant exposure makes exterior
surfaces bake and peel, while sun coming through windows makes fabrics
fade.
More....
RONALD
REAGAN
1911 - 2004
INFOBITS…
Didja know, without additional construction, traffic growth for Santa Monica is estimated to be at least 4% per year, compounded?
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CRIME IS WAY DOWN IN SANTA MONICA
The Uniform Crime Report (UCR) statistics compiled for the California Department of Justice revealed that total Part I, nonviolent crimes in Santa Monica were reduced 4% from last year’s lows and had reached their lowest level in over 40 years. The Santa Monica Police Department received reports of 4,501 Part I crimes in 2003, down 59% from their peak of 10,891 in 1993, and lower than any year going back to 1960.
Violent crime (Murder, Rape, Robbery, Aggravated Assault) fell 14% in
2003 and 62% over the last 10 years. This would be noteworthy in itself
considering that statewide crime rose 2.3% for the first 9 months of
2003 (final numbers are not in statewide as yet). However, this decrease
is far more significant when one considers that Crime has declined in
9 of the last 10 years and 7 years in succession. In the 38 years prior
to 1994, crime has fallen only 2 years in succession on 3 occasions.
In the last 47 years, crime has fallen only in 19 calendar years. Nine
of those decreases occurred in the past decade.
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The U.S. Department of Energy reports that the use of white roofs
and shade trees in Los Angeles would lower the need for air conditioning
by 18 percent, or 1.04 billion kilowatt-hours, for the buildings directly
affected by the roofs and shaded by the trees. If we assume a price
of peak electricity of 10 cents per kilowatt-hour-not uncommon-this
translates into savings of $100 million per year.
Because white shingles show discoloration by fungus, the manufacturer
must add fungicide, raising the cost. The difference, however, is not
large. For a 1,000-square-foot roof, the cost premium of cooler shingles
is less than $25. The additional investment pays for itself in less
than one summer's worth of lowered air-conditioning bills.
There is also a large indirect benefit. If an entire community drops
a degree or so in temperature, thanks to lighter roofs and pavement
and to the evapotranspiration from trees, then everyone's air-conditioning
load goes down-even those buildings that are not directly shaded or
that still have dark roofs. This indirect annual savings would total
an additional 12 percent-0.7 billion kilowatt-hours, or $70 million.
The cooler temperature would lower smog, too. Smog "exceedance"-the
amount by which ozone levels top the California standard of 90 parts
per billion-would drop 12 percent. Ozone can irritate the eyes, inflame
the lungs, trigger asthma attacks, and lower the respiratory system's
ability to fight off infection. While other components of air pollution
also exact a toll on health-especially particulates and sulfur dioxide-ozone
is figured to be responsible for about $3 billion in health-related
costs every year in the Los Angeles basin. Thus a 12 percent reduction
in ozone exceedance could save $360 million.
