Last month I had a productive five-day trip to Washington, D.C. for the people of San Diego County. The adventure began when County Chief Administrative Officer Walt Ekard and I flew into the teeth of a blizzard at Dulles Airport. There was a white carpet reception, (white carpet meaning 20-inches of snow which required 40 snowplows needed to keep one runway and the tarmac open).
Things warmed up immediately as soon as we began our rounds and presented the case to restore $14.5 million in funding to the City of San Diego for Homeland Security. While these funds do not flow directly to the County, it's of concern that the region will not benefit from these funds in the current year.
White House officials have asked Mayor Jerry Sanders and me to return for another meeting to identify needed equipment, training and coordination to increase the level of security for the region and to respond to acts of terrorism.
While there, I was encouraged by overwhelming support from the White House for the County's court challenge over medical marijuana. You'll recall, the State has ordered the County to issue identification cards to people that would allow them to smoke marijuana. We have told the State 'no', since the possession, sale and use of marijuana violates federal law. And we have been offered future assistance from the Justice Department's Drug Czar to bolster our challenge over the conflict between Federal and State Law.
There were several topics put on many desks and tables. Meetings with Senators Dianne Feinstein, Barbara Boxer and Representatives Duncan Hunter, Darrell Issa, Bob Filner and Susan Davis were productive. We found bi-partisan support for increasing reimbursement to the County for costs associated with illegal criminal immigrants and medical care. We were also encouraged with bipartisan support from lawmakers who want to expedite construction of the San Diego border fence. The County is helping make that happen by working with the Department of Homeland Security to get them the County land they need.
We found receptive ears to our opposition to those who want to eliminate state/local authority over cable franchising agreements. Several bills are floating around in Congress that would reduce or eliminate the franchise fee that local governments currently charge. Some bills impose restrictions on local Right of Way management that could open the way for unwanted cell towers. Other bills could allow cable providers to deny service to any group of potential residential subscribers because of the income of residents.
County officials have a responsibility to ensure that the public interest is being served by communications providers, regardless of the delivery platform. It's vital that we retain the ability of counties to perform their traditional role in these areas. An example of one benefit of local control is our ability to fund the County Television Network (CTN), a cable station that among other things allowed us to communicate directly with area residents during a disaster.
I reinforced the County's support of highest possible funding for the California County High Risk Pest Exclusion Program to avoid costly pest exclusion projects in San Diego County. Pest exclusion is more than using quarantines and pesticides. We want to continue protecting our agricultural interests by the implementation of an aggressive pest exclusion program. The purpose of the program will be to focus inspections at terminal locations within California's borders such as nurseries, domestic airports, post offices, express carriers (UPS, FedEx and others), swap meets and similar locations. This active inspection program will help to protect San Diego County and the nation from outbreaks such as the devastating Mexican fruit fly quarantine ending in 2003. The quarantine cost growers, taxpayers and the local economy more than $50 million. It's critical that we have the resources to confront the artificial spread of exotic pests that enter our region through such means as automobiles and trucks.
Face-to-face meetings in the past have returned great dividends to the County and after arriving to my sun-drenched home, I felt confident this trip promises the same. I think we made progress in our efforts to fight gangs, secure needed energy and water appropriations, and stop predatory practices of "pay day lenders" who take advantage of such people as our military families. Studies show that destructive borrowing cycles are initiated by pay day lenders' use of ambiguous disclosure tactics, obscure payment schedules, exorbitant and often hidden fees, and the practice of "rolling over" defaulted loans for the purpose of collecting interest at higher annual rates. The total amount of interest generated from fees can accumulate to annual percentage rates ranging from 180% for a 30-day transaction to 797% for a seven-day transaction.
While we didn't return with a laundry list of specific commitments in this, a non-Presidential election year, I felt people in Washington have a better understanding of what's needed to support the home front.
Things warmed up immediately as soon as we began our rounds and presented the case to restore $14.5 million in funding to the City of San Diego for Homeland Security. While these funds do not flow directly to the County, it's of concern that the region will not benefit from these funds in the current year.
White House officials have asked Mayor Jerry Sanders and me to return for another meeting to identify needed equipment, training and coordination to increase the level of security for the region and to respond to acts of terrorism.
While there, I was encouraged by overwhelming support from the White House for the County's court challenge over medical marijuana. You'll recall, the State has ordered the County to issue identification cards to people that would allow them to smoke marijuana. We have told the State 'no', since the possession, sale and use of marijuana violates federal law. And we have been offered future assistance from the Justice Department's Drug Czar to bolster our challenge over the conflict between Federal and State Law.
There were several topics put on many desks and tables. Meetings with Senators Dianne Feinstein, Barbara Boxer and Representatives Duncan Hunter, Darrell Issa, Bob Filner and Susan Davis were productive. We found bi-partisan support for increasing reimbursement to the County for costs associated with illegal criminal immigrants and medical care. We were also encouraged with bipartisan support from lawmakers who want to expedite construction of the San Diego border fence. The County is helping make that happen by working with the Department of Homeland Security to get them the County land they need.
We found receptive ears to our opposition to those who want to eliminate state/local authority over cable franchising agreements. Several bills are floating around in Congress that would reduce or eliminate the franchise fee that local governments currently charge. Some bills impose restrictions on local Right of Way management that could open the way for unwanted cell towers. Other bills could allow cable providers to deny service to any group of potential residential subscribers because of the income of residents.
County officials have a responsibility to ensure that the public interest is being served by communications providers, regardless of the delivery platform. It's vital that we retain the ability of counties to perform their traditional role in these areas. An example of one benefit of local control is our ability to fund the County Television Network (CTN), a cable station that among other things allowed us to communicate directly with area residents during a disaster.
I reinforced the County's support of highest possible funding for the California County High Risk Pest Exclusion Program to avoid costly pest exclusion projects in San Diego County. Pest exclusion is more than using quarantines and pesticides. We want to continue protecting our agricultural interests by the implementation of an aggressive pest exclusion program. The purpose of the program will be to focus inspections at terminal locations within California's borders such as nurseries, domestic airports, post offices, express carriers (UPS, FedEx and others), swap meets and similar locations. This active inspection program will help to protect San Diego County and the nation from outbreaks such as the devastating Mexican fruit fly quarantine ending in 2003. The quarantine cost growers, taxpayers and the local economy more than $50 million. It's critical that we have the resources to confront the artificial spread of exotic pests that enter our region through such means as automobiles and trucks.
Face-to-face meetings in the past have returned great dividends to the County and after arriving to my sun-drenched home, I felt confident this trip promises the same. I think we made progress in our efforts to fight gangs, secure needed energy and water appropriations, and stop predatory practices of "pay day lenders" who take advantage of such people as our military families. Studies show that destructive borrowing cycles are initiated by pay day lenders' use of ambiguous disclosure tactics, obscure payment schedules, exorbitant and often hidden fees, and the practice of "rolling over" defaulted loans for the purpose of collecting interest at higher annual rates. The total amount of interest generated from fees can accumulate to annual percentage rates ranging from 180% for a 30-day transaction to 797% for a seven-day transaction.
While we didn't return with a laundry list of specific commitments in this, a non-Presidential election year, I felt people in Washington have a better understanding of what's needed to support the home front.