ALL-STAR Line-up to Headline Local Dem November Meeting

Environmental Issues to Take Center Stage

The members and guests of La Mesa Foothills Democratic Club have a real treat in store for their Wednesday, November 4th meeting. An expert and newsworthy group of 5 environmental activists will speak to our group about topics touching local, regional and national efforts to curb greenhouse gasses and promote sustainable living choices. Our efforts to transition San Diego County from a car-dependent, fossil fuel guzzling, suburban-sprawling metropolis to one following action plans emphasizing intelligent growth, sustainable practices and a dedication to open spaces and public transportation, will be the focus of our guest speakers Our meetings kick off at 6:30 PM with our Social Time at 6:30 pm, the Business Meeting begins at 7:00 pm. at the la Mesa Community Center, 4975 Memorial Drive in La Mesa.

This special meeting will be lead off by Jim Stone, Executive Director and Colin Parent, a LMFDC Board Member, and Policy Counsel of Circulate San Diego. Circulate San Diego is a regional grassroots organization that is dedicated to making our neighborhoods more vibrant and sustainable through better land use planning and design. Through educational events, training, advocacy, and work with local governments and SANDAG, Circulate San Diego is working to reclaim our streets and blocks through improved streetscape designs, accessible walking paths, more bike lanes, better transit routes, and traffic calming measures.

 

Mr. Stone’s career in environmental education, awareness and sustainability has spanned more than 30 years. He brings an ecological perspective to the issue of transportation, tying together the impact of walkable, transit-oriented communities on the environment, human health, social justice and the economy. Jim engendered a culture of innovation in our predecessor organization, WalkSanDiego, which he now brings to Circulate San Diego. Under his guidance the organization pioneered new approaches to engage stakeholders and gather input, such as the development of a smart phone app to crowd-source data about the walking environment and provide walkability ratings for every city in San Diego County. Before joining Circulate San Diego, he served as Vice President of Programs at the San Diego Natural History Museum where he was responsible for developing education programs and exhibitions that focused on the plants, animals, and habitats of Southern California and the Baja peninsula.He lives in La Mesa, where he is the Chairperson of the Environmental Sustainability Commission.

Colin Parent grew up in East County San Diego and is a graduate of the NYU Law School, and the University of California, San Diego. Colin served on the Jerry Brown for Governor 2010 campaign, and was appointed by Governor Brown as the Director of External Affairs for the California Department of Housing and Community Development. Prior to working for Governor Brown, Colin practiced law for three years as a commercial litigator at the San Diego office of the international law firm of DLA Piper US LLP. During 2013 and 2014, Colin served as the Director of Policy at the San Diego Housing Commission. Colin is a serial social entrepreneur in San Diego. He co-founded the San Diego Leadership Alliance, an organization that trains young San Diegans to be equipped for civic leadership. As a board member of the League of Conservation Voters San Diego, he chaired the first ever coalition to grade the environmental records of elected officials in the City of San Diego.

Next up will be Debbie Hecht of the San Diego Chapter of the Sierra Club. She’ll be advocating the Sierra Club’s proposed 1% Land and Water Fund. This effort would set aside 1% of San Diego County property taxes each year to purchase and maintain park lands, watersheds, open space and recreational land for San Diego County residents. This would not raise taxes, but require county supervisors to reallocate funds in the budget. 1% of real property taxes would be approximately $50 million each year. Debbie was elected chair of the Sierra Club San Diego Steering Committee in May of 2014.   Previously, she served on the Executive Committee of the Moku Loa Group on the Big Island of Hawaii from 2008-2011 where she did some preliminary work on fish farming policy. She was a Board member with the Tucson Mountains Association and President for 6 years.

Following Ms. Hecht will be long time Democratic Party activists, Derek and Nancy Casady. They are acting as San Diego Climate Mobilization Coalition Coordinators.

The Climate Mobilization is a new, all-volunteer organization whose mission is to protect civilization and the natural world from catastrophic climate disruption. They are dedicated to living in climate truth and believe that working to solve the climate crisis is everyone’s responsibility. Dozens of leading environmental analysts have determined that the only way to save civilization from climate change is with a wartime-style mobilization, akin to the American home-front effort during World War II. This stark appraisal lies at the heart of this project. In that sense, The Climate Mobilization is a single-issue campaign. They demand a WWII-scale mobilization to restore a safe climate.

Nancy is the long-time General Manager of the Ocean Beach Organic Food Co-op, while Derek is a retired Copy Editor at the Los Angeles Times, retired Associate Editor of Psychology Today magazine, and retired Administrative Assistant to the President Pro Tempore of the California Senate. He is the President of the La Jolla Democratic Club. Nancy and Derek have both run for elected office and have played active roles in supporting successful Democratic Candidates throughout San Diego County.

You won’t want to miss our annual Holiday Meeting, December 2nd, featuring not only a lavish meal of Roast Turkey, Baked Ham and all the trimmings, but also the wit and comic wisdom of Roy Zimmerman, musician and satirist, returning for an encore presentation to what we expect will be a full house. Look for information in next month’s issue and also on our website.

La Mesa Foothills Democratic Club welcomes members and guests to all our meetings and special events. Please visit our website at lamesafoothillsdemocraticclub.com and like us on Facebook.

La Mesa Oktoberfest also on Calendar

The October 7th Meeting of local Democrats will feature candidates from all over the County introducing themselves in a District by District format with crucial regional issues being brought into focus: Mass Transportation vs Recurring Traffic Problems, Smart Growth vs Unfettered Development, SANDAG Planning (or not?), and Climate Action and Sustainability Goals all being discussed.

The La Mesa Foothills Democratic Club, serving San Carlos, Del Cerro, Allied Gardens, College

Area, La Mesa, Santee, Mt. Helix and other Eastside communities, will welcome the great

Democratic Candidates from the SD City Attorney race, as well as our local District 7 City

Council contest. We’ll also hear from Candidates in the City contests in the 1st, 3rd and 9th District races, all key to maintaining Democratic control of the SD City Council.

We can also expect representatives for County Supervisor Dave Roberts, Assemblyperson Shirley Weber, and Congresspeople Scott Peters and Susan Davis. Many candidates are looking for our club’s influential endorsement for 2016.

A real treat will be the introduction of local efforts behind both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, and how our members can get involved in either of those dynamic campaigns. While not a debate as such, we’ll still have some back and forth between our friend Mike Thaller of Bernie’s San Diego Campaign, and Ray Penko, Organizer of the SD County Hillary Grassroots effort. Should be fascinating.

Our monthly meetings, on the first Wednesday of each month, take place at the wonderful La Mesa Community Center, 4975 Memorial Dr., just North of University Ave. We open the doors at 6:30 PM for our social hour, with snacks, desserts and beverages supplied by the club and generous members. Meetings start promptly at 7 PM. We welcome all guests, and have a discounted deal for pro­rated memberships available for the rest of the year.

Don’t miss our wonderful booth at the La Mesa Oktoberfest, noon to 10 PM, Friday and

Saturday, October 2nd and 3rd. Did you know this is the largest Oktoberfest festival West of the

Mississippi?   Please be sure to stop by our booth and say hi. We are very near BO Beau Restaurant on La Mesa Blvd. We’ll be registering new voters, signing up new members, and handing out campaign materials. You can even get your picture taken with President Obama. Visit our Website at lamesafoothillsdemocraticclub.com, or like us on Facebook.

La Mesa-Foothills Democratic Club Celebrates Oktoberfest 2015

 We hope you can stop by our booth at this year’s La Mesa Oktoberfest. A tradition for our community, the annual Oktoberfest brings visitors and vendors from all over the region to La Mesa for a weekend dedicated to family, friends, great food and entertainment. The La Mesa Village Merchants Association began this popular event 42 years ago. This event has gone from a small street fair to a 2-day festival with over 100 vendors offering goods and services to over 100,000 attendees. Add great food, entertainment and of course, good old German brats and cold beer, and you have an event that has something for everyone.

Our Club booth number is 511 E. very near BO Beau Restaurant on La Mesa Blvd. We register voters, hand out Democratic & Democratic Club information, and welcome our local candidates to join us. Fest attendees always get a charge out of posing for pictures with our President Obama standee.

La Mesa Oktoberfest

Friday, October 2^nd Noon to 10:00 pm

Saturday, October 3^rd Noon to 10:00 m

If you can help in our booth, please contact Steve Jesionka: sjesionka@cox.net

 

 

LMFDC Member, Dr. Kirsten Roling, Launches Oral Health Coalition

California Oral Health Coalition For The Aging & Developmentally Disabled – Online

Join a national movement to prevent unnecessary pain and infection in our aging & developmentally disabled. The National Oral Health Coalition for the Aging &… is launching other states based on the successful California founding organization COHCADD.org. Start a state oral health coalition to promote equitable oral health treatment in the aging & developmentally disabled. http://www.ohcadd,org 

Dr. Kirsten Roling, President of the California Oral Health Coalition for the Aging & Developmentally…

youtube.com

COHCADD Call to Action about to hit 500 supporters, be a part of the solution. Overwhelming public support and outrage! Policy that affects our elders should be transparent and backed by science and public health analysis. Go to www.cohcadd.org and sign our letter today! Become a member, free to all who support the mission to promote oral health equity for our most vulnerable populations: aging & developmentally disabled.

 

 

The Global Pandemic of Dental Disease is in Our Own Backyard

Kirsten Roling, D.D.S.

What if you found out you had a disease of Pandemic proportions? Further what if I told you that we are losing ground in preventing this disease. I’m not talking about small pox, measles, polio or HIV/AIDS. I’m speaking of the number one chronic disease of childhood, five times more prevalent than asthma. A disease that disproportionately affects our underserved. A disease that may increase the risk of developing heart disease and alzheimers, is linked to diabetes, causes preterm labor, is responsible for low birth weight babies, maims and disfigures its victims, bars employment, and is accountable for mental illness including depression. This disease is contagious like the common cold, and it is nearly 100% preventable. Left untreated, this disease can kill.

I am referring to dental disease.

More than ever, oral health access continues to be a widening gap for the majority of Americans.

Dental decay, caused by bacteria, is an infectious, transmissible disease spread from parent/caretaker to child from saliva sharing activities, like kissing on the mouth, or sharing a spoon. In 2000, Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher released “The Oral Health Report” referring to dental disease as the “Silent Epidemic”. Dental disease was again highly publicized in 2007 when Deamonte Driver, a 12 year old boy in Prince Georges County, Maryland died of a tooth abscess. His hospital bill of $250,000 could have been prevented by a $60 extraction, had his mother been able to find a dentist to treat him.[i] Ultimately, his death would have been avoided by oral health prevention that should be available to all of us, throughout our life stages.

Recently the 2014 Federal Reserve Board of Governors’ released its Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households[ii] that revealed “alarming statistics” regarding the inaccessibility of affordable dental treatment. The report tells little improvement in access to dental care, especially for underserved populations, since the Surgeon General’s report, released by Dr. David Satcher exactly 15 years prior. Thirty-two percent polled reported difficulty in managing a three month “financial disruption” in the form of a medical emergency, and dental treatment was cited as the number one essential medical care not received due to cost. Hospital emergency departments are now seeing increased admissions due to dental related emergencies, doubling from 1.1 million in 2000, to 2.1 million in 2010.

The Huffington Post on 7.22.15 published “A Killer Toothache: How U.S. Dental Care Became a National Emergency,” detailing the story of 24 year old, Kyle Willis, who lost his life to an infected wisdom tooth, and citing nearly 130 million Americans, roughly 40% who do not have dental insurance. For those that do, low maximums, high deductibles, out of reach co-payments, and exclusionary plans still place dental treatment out of reach for the majority of Americans. From this scenario a predatory health finance lending industry was born, CareCredit, a subsidiary of GE Credit Bank. Its practice was used to enroll desperate dental patients who could not afford their care by offering lenient credit approvals and escalating interest rates.

Where do Californians fair? Today, half of all California’s children, 5 million, are enrolled in Denti-cal, (Medicaid), but they cannot access care because the state’s reimbursement rates are among the poorest in the nation, equating to too few providers. Adults in California lost Denti-cal benefits in 2009, with limited procedures recently reinstated. With Medicaid expansion the shortage of providers is now grim. According to Elizabeth Mertz a dental sciences professor at the University of California, San Francisco: California would need to spend three times the amount it currently does ($100 million more) to reach the national average for Medicaid dental provider rates.

The California Dental Association Foundation estimates currently the Pandemic of Dental Disease includes 10 million Californians that cannot access dental care, about 26% of the state’s population, roughly 1 in 4. Some say this is a conservative figure.

In our own backyard of La Mesa, the Pandemic, affects an estimated 15,000 residents unable to access care. For the entire East County, approximately 80,000 residents are affected. That is the roughly the combined population of La Mesa and Spring Valley, not able to access dental treatment.

What is the answer? Where is the cure? With your help we will explore the oral health Pandemic in future newsletters.

[i] The Washington Post, February 28, 2007; Mary Otto. “For Want of a Dentist.”

[ii] Report on the Economic Well-being of U.S. Households; 2014.

Kirsten Roling, D.D.S. is a member of LMFDC and a public health dentist residing in La Mesa, CA; and the CEO/Founder of Strategies for Oral Health, a California nonprofit, whose mission is to reduce the burden of oral disease in underserved populations through Collaboration, Consultation, Advocacy, Prevention, and Education. For further information, www.s4oh.org, kirstenroling@s4oh.org, (858) 333-6811.

SEPTEMBER MEETING TO FEATURE AUTHOR AND GMO OPPONENT Attorney Steven Druker will present his book “Altered Genes, Twisted Truth — How the Venture to Genetically Engineer our Food has Subverted Science, Corrupted Government, and Systematically Deceived the Public” He filed a federal case against the FDA in the late 1990s against their policy of accepting all Genetically Modified foods as “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) and uncovered the truth behind our modified foods. This event is co-sponsored by the La Mesa-Foothills Democratic Club and Citizens Oversight Projects with March Against Monsanto, San Diego. Please arrive early to guarantee a seat (limited to 300 or so).

 

This meeting is free for LMFDC members. Non-member guests please see RSVP information below. We appreciate your donation of $5 or more at the door to help us with Mr. Druker’s expenses! LOCATION: La Mesa Community Center, 4975 Memorial Dr, La Mesa, California DATE: 9/2/2015, 6:30pm COST: $5 donation to cover our costs. 6:30pm — Social Networking, Book Sales. 7pm — Intro plus Talk by Steven Druker 8:30pm — Book sales, signing. 9pm – conclusion

 

PLEASE CLICK “JOIN” to RSVP, but please note, this does not reserve your seat. You must arrive promptly to get a seat and be able to purchase your own signed copy of his excellent book!

 

PLEASE SEE DETAILS AND RSVP HERE: https://www.facebook.com/events/1644677895801710/

Sacramento Bill Watch: 7/31/15

 Bills Certified for the November 8, 2016 ballot:

Medi-Cal Hospital Reimbursement –

Requires voter approval of changes to the hospital fee program. Ballot measure seeks a stable source of Medi-Cal funding through a fee from hospitals for the purpose of supporting hospital care to Medi-Cal patients and helps pay for healthcare for low-income children. State could not divert funds for other purposes, as they are doing now.

Multilingual Education Act – Repeals Prop 227 of 1998, thus allowing for bilingual education in public schools.

Plastic Bag Ban Referendum – Ratifies SB 270, thus prohibiting plastic single-use carryout bags

Bills in Progress in the California Legislature

AB- 1360: A bill that would allow rideshare companies like Lyft and Uber to charge individual fees to people sharing a car to a destination. Colin Parent, policy counsel for Circulate San Diego, wrote an op-ed for us talking up the bill:

The advent of ridesharing has revolutionized the way we move across our cities. … This innovation is a game-changer in the effort to reduce air emissions and traffic congestion. AB 1360 would modernize state law written in the 1960s to encourage future carpooling innovations. Bill stopped due to: Sen. Ben Hueso, D-San Diego, who chairs the committee that withheld a vote on AB 1360, worked in the industry for years and his brothers owned a cab company. Doherty argued that Hueso has been guided by “what he perceives as good for the taxi industry.” Unfortunately, Uber did not follow guidelines. The commission, which also oversees Lyft and Sidecar, said Uber was the only ride-hailing company to miss the September 2014 deadline to provide the data it was asked for.

Raise the Wage to $15/hr:

Great news for @UofCalifornia campus, contract workers — admin moves to #RaisetheWage to $15/hr by 2017. — Toni G. Atkins (@toniatkins) July 22, 2015

Assembly Bill 359, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez’s bill to protect grocery workers’ jobs when stores change owners. (Sacramento Bee)Specifically, AB 359 would impose mandatory standards on keeping workers when grocery stores of more than 15,000 square feet change ownership. Big-box retailers, chain pharmacies and others would not be subject to the same set of standards,

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article27951253.html?utm_source=Voice+of+San+Diego+Master+List&utm_campaign=3236dcd7e0

Action Items: Citizen support needed

CA SB 128 End of Life Option Act

Established the End of Life Option Act, modeled after Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act. Would all an adult individual, completely voluntary, with a terminal disease that has the capacity to make medical decisions, to request an aid-in-dying prescription from a physician to painlessly and peacefully shorten their dying process. Currently stalled in Assembly. Deadline to pass the bill is September 11. Letters are needed to encourage support of SB128. Send letters to website: compassionandchoices.org, and click on Take Action.

AB 700 The California Disclose Act

Citizens United unleashed unlimited, anonymous corporate spending on campaigns nationwide. That’s why we’re sponsoring the California DISCLOSE Act:

• Lets voters know who really is paying for political ads — on the ads themselves.
• Ballot measure ads will have to clearly and prominently list their three largest funders.
• “Follow-the-money” disclosure stops ads from deceiving voters about who pays.
• Applies to television ads, radio ads, robocalls, and print advertising.

Please sign the petition in support: http://www.caclean.org/content/home/ and/or, go to

https://www.credomobilize.com/petitions/pass-the-2015-california-disclose-act

Recall Watch and Attacks from the Right: Source VOSD

AB 277: Vaccine opponents have been cleared to gather signatures in their effort to recall state Sen. Richard Pan, the pediatrician-politician who wrote SB 277, which required full vaccinations for schoolchildren.

Two bills targeted by Republican Ass. Brian Jones who represents East County. In a video he is targeting Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez’s – Voter Turnout Measures (SB 415, would make cities with low voter turnout consolidate their races with statewide elections and AB 1461, would automatically register voters through the DMV.)

For further information on the above items:

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/bilinfo.html

http://www.sddemocrats.org/newsfeed/state-legislative-roundup

Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins to Headline Dem Meeting

Party in the Park Called a Huge Success

La Mesa Foothills Democratic Club will host the Speaker of the California State Assembly.

Toni Atkins at our special August 5 meeting. The Speaker will cover a wide range of topics including a legislative update and how San Diegans can and will be affected by the new state budget. And a new California Law sponsored by Speaker Atkins mandating that Residential Care Facilities carry liability insurance will get special attention.

The Wednesday night meeting will start with social time at 6:30 PM and the talking gets underway at 7 PM. LMFDC represents the communities of Allied Gardens, Del Cerro, San Carlos, La Mesa, Mt. Helix, Santee, College area and other close in East County towns. We meet at the La Mesa Community Center at 4975 Memorial Dr. just North of University Avenue.

Assembly Speaker Toni G. Atkins has served in the California State Assembly since 2010, and was elevated to the top leadership post in 2014, when her colleagues unanimously elected her 69th Speaker of the California Assembly. Speaker Atkins proudly represents the people of coastal San Diego, from Imperial Beach, north to Solana Beach, and most of central San Diego. She previously served eight years on the San Diego City Council, and became a stabilizing force during a tumultuous period in 2005, stepping in as Acting Mayor after the resignation of the mayor.

Speaker Atkins is a coalition-builder who believes government policies can improve people’s lives. She is a leading voice for affordable housing, a powerful advocate for women, and champion for veterans and homeless people. Prior to her election as Speaker, she held the position of Majority Leader. She chaired the Assembly Select Committee on Homelessness, and served on committees on Agriculture, Housing and Community Development, Health, Judiciary, Veterans Affairs, Select Committee on Ports, Select Committee on Biotechnology as well as the Joint Legislative Audit Committee.

Her life of public service began in San Diego in the mid-1980s as director of clinic services at Womancare Health Center. She became a staff representative of then-City Councilmember Christine Kehoe, later winning her mentor’s council seat after Ms. Kehoe’s election to the Assembly. She represented the City of San Diego in the local chapter of the League of California Cities; on the board of the Metropolitan Transit System; on the San Diego Association of Governments; the Regional Housing Working Group; and the San Diego River Conservancy.

This meeting will be unique not just because we’ll have the first Assembly Speaker ever from San Diego, but we’ll also get a civics lesson in politics and policy at work. Not long after the publication of a series of disclosures about elder abuses in residential care facilities (also called assisted living homes), it was revealed that over 85% of these homes lacked basic liability insurance despite caring for frail, dependent seniors. Therefore, in the case of neglect, abuse, injury or death, there was little judicial recourse for residents or their families. Speaker Atkins took up the cause and put forward Assembly Bill 1523. It was passed in a non partisan vote and signed into law by Governor Brown. It went into effect on July 1st of this year. Now all RCFEs (Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly) will be required to carry liability insurance in California.

The driving force behind this legislation was a small advocacy group named CARR, Consumer Advocates for RCFE Reform. The 2 founders of this Award Winning organization are Chris Murphy and Christina Selder. Ms. Selder will be sharing their story with our members in a follow up to Speaker Atkins address. How exactly do 2 women with investigative and research experience convince the Speaker of the Assembly to carry a bill to protect seniors from unscrupulous care providers? It’s a great story and a lesson in good timing and a just cause.

Christina (Chrisy) Selder holds a Master of Science degree in Gerontology from San Diego State University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics/International Trade and Finance from Louisiana State University. She has previously held an RCFE Administrator’s Certificate, earned an SDSU Grant Writing Certification and completed components of UCSD’s Paralegal Training to be of further benefit to CARR’s mission and work. Her scholarship and credentials are augmented by her hands-on employment experiences inside several RCFEs.

CARR recently won a $50,000 contract with the County of San Diego, Aging & Independence Services for a pilot project to create a rating system for the County’s assisted living facilities, and to develop a consumer-friendly website to display the ratings and facility information. CARR was also the recipient of the First Amendment Coalition’s Free Speech and Open Government Award for their work, making CARR the first non-profit to receive this honor.

Despite a little rain, our 2nd Annual Party in the Park turned out to be a real success. Over 130 attendees saw a moving tribute to retiring City Councilperson Marti Emerald, heard Todd Gloria and Scott Peters each speak eloquently to a rapt audience, and enjoyed Park Naturalist Linda Hassakis give an entertaining and educational presentation about Mission Trails Regional Park. Our great thanks to Jay Wilson and the entire staff at the Visitors Center, and to Cheers Deli for supplying some great sub sandwiches. Our silent auction raised over $700 and we signed up 16 new members. Lastly, we heard enthusiastic pitches from several of our Democratic hopefuls for City office and hope they’ll all return for our Candidates Forum in September.

Please find photos and more information for all our LMFDC events and meetings at www.lamesafoothillsdemocraticclub.com and please like us on Facebook.

Linda Armacost, President and Jeff Benesch, VP Programming

La Mesa Foothills Democratic Club

We honored Marti Emerald for her years of devotion to the people of San Diego at our July 1 Party in the Park meeting at Mission Trails Regional Park.

Our Second Annual Party in the Park on Wednesday, July 1 was a terrific event. Democratic candidates joined us for a truly magical evening.