PVUSD Shocker — Casey to quit |
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WATSONVILLE, CA — In early May, Pajaro Valley Unified School District Superintendent John Casey announced his impending departure to greener (plus $60,000 annual salary) pastures after four-and-one-half, often tumultuous years as head of Santa Cruz County's most troubled school districts. While there are those who will lament his departure, there are others who look forward to his June 30 exit.
The search for a successor begins. See below. |
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New trustee area boundaries to create super-majority for Watsonville trustees |
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Option 4 above represents the work of district administrators to severely limit the influence of Aptos area trustees and create a super-majority for Watsonville Area trustees through the reapportionment process. Since the district missed its March 1 deadline, the County Office of Education Board of Governors have taken jurisdiction over the matter and will hold a public hearing on March 21 at 3:00 p.m.
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What do we do after this? |
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 s the western world sorts through the rubble caused by this horrendous act of terrorism, our leaders threaten to go to war. Suggesting violent retaliation is easy, but gauging its affect is not. Terrorism will not go quietly.
Tellingthetruth.com deplores these despicable acts of terrorism. We urge those who wish to scorch the Muslim world, however, to consider the long-term affect of massive retaliation.
Two recent submissions bring to mind the problems we, as Americans, face in a world that feels bullied by us. Perhaps we need to learn why it is so many people in so many parts of the world hate the United States of America.
• The War Comes Home by Rahul Mahajan, University of Texas
• Peace Letter from Rafael Jesus Gonzalez, Berkeley, CA
— See Also: the following photo gallery of the terrorist attack
• Nando Times |
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In case you missed this. . . |
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Gettin' ready for the first day of school |
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It looks like students are really getting excited about the opening of New Millennium High School, as this recent photo shows. They're already staking out their "turf " on Harkins Slough Rd. near the site of the proposed development. The Sheriff's Department is reportedly not thrilled with how isolated this school will be. |
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1989 — Oh How Easily We Forget |
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This photo looking north along Highway 1 was taken after the earthquake in October of 1989. It reminds all of the difficulties of building within the Watsonville slough system. A new bridge scheduled for the West Branch of the Struve Slough crossing will need support to prevent a similar occurrence there and the structures planned for the new high school located less than one-half-mile north will similarly require extra fortification. (Aug. 2001) |
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| Is the ESHA making a come back at the proposed Harkins Slough Rd. school site? |
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New willow shoots, about three to four feet tall, were discovered on the southern portion of the proposed high school site in an area not previously considered to be ESHA. The willows appear to indicate the existence of riparian habitat near where the District plans an entry to the school facilities. The eggs of a nesting duck were also seen. A letter from tellingthetruth.com to the California Coastal Commission describes the discovery. |
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The Harkins Slough Rd. overpass could be a disaster waiting to happen for students walking to school |
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Though very few students will actually walk or ride their bikes to the proposed school site (top of picture at right), those who do will be protected by a rail only 36 inch high on the west bound side of the overpass (at right) and a rail 30 inches high on the east bound side (at left). Only the west bound side has a narrow sidewalk to accommodate pedestrians. |
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Jim Scott-Beherends addresses news media and approximately 35 protesters outside the district offices of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District on March 21. Beherends was featured in an interesting 1997 Associated Press article about methyl bromide use near Amesti School.
see also:
District's methyl bromide resolution
Poisoned Schools Protest
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| | Looking North along Highway 1, a rendition of a proposed bridge spanning the West Branch of the Struve Slough is shown on Harkins Slough Rd. Also indicated is a 400 to 500 foot right turn lane to facilitate vehicles turning onto the driveway proposed for the school. The right turn lane will pave portions of an established ESHA buffer protecting the state preserve pictured in the foreground. |
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| | Looking North, Highway 1 at right. In the district's Coastal Development Application to the city of Watsonville, two different figures are provided for the buildable acreage after ESHA and buffers are factored out, 25.5 and 33.5 acres. Within the new Supplemental EIR, authors of that report settled on a different number, 35 acres. Independent land use consultants estimated the acreage to be 26± acres, a far cry from the 50 acres the district previously said they required for a new high school. |
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| | Original photo of school site above showing the western most portion of Watsonville looking north. Lee Road is flooded in the foreground. A recently released map — an attachment to a memo from former school district official Richard Meyer dated Dec. 16, 1991 — shows the "Lee Road at Harkins Slough Road" site to be on Lee Road, where the industrial buildings are shown lower right. This site is one full mile south of the proposed project. Site Switch? |
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| The final day of negotiations for the Keeley Group. Their work led to the Memorandum of Understanding that convinced the California Coastal Commission that a school in the coastal zone would not be "growth inducing." Some help is offered here to those unable to identify players. Fill in the missing names if you can. Final approval of the MOU is expected during the commission's June hearing in Santa Barbara. |
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4/23/00. Controversy swirls around Mark Massara, Sierra Club Coastal Program Attorney following comments in the April edition of the Sierra Club e-news letter CoastWatcher after the commission's meeting in Long Beach. He suggests "fraud" on the part of the city in one article, and claims the current commission is the "worst" ever in another. His criticism of Assemblyman Keeley following the March meeting "disgusted" the legislator.
Massara suggests fraud, April
Massara rips the Coastal Commission, April
Massara critical of Keeley, March
In this photo, Massara addresses the Coastal Commission at the March 16, 2000 hearing in Carmel. |
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| Feb., 2000. Mr. Emigdio Martinez, the tenant farmer that grows strawberries on the property coveted by school district officials. Though his land is considered ``prime ag-land'' under Coastal Commission standards, the agreement forged by Assemblyman Fred Keeley, requires that he sacrifice his farming operation so that, among other provisions, the California Alliance for Family Farmers (CAFF) can protect their favored ag-land, presently owned by Vincent Tai. Mr. Martinez is not a member of CAFF. |
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| 1986. The Watsonville Municipal Airport Master Plan reveals that the area where the school district proposes to build a new high school (C-1) is beneath a critical approach and departure traffic zone. The city and FAA approved the master plan which recommends that no schools, hospitals or nursing homes should be built there. |
| Read about Airport Safety 2/26/00 |
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| The Coastal Commissioners denied Watsonville its Local Coastal Program amendments as proposed on March 16, but allowed the construction of a high school with certain conditions. One question that remains is, will the school district abide by the conditions or will they try to maneuver around them? |
| Read about the Coastal Commission Meeting 3/17/00 |
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| 3/15/00. Commissioner Paula Daniels of Los Angeles was the lone "nay" vote on the panel that voted 9-1 to allow the high school to go forward. Commissioner Cecilia Estolano was absent for the voting. |
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| In February, 2000, Harkins Slough Rd., the only access to the proposed high school was flooded and closed by the Watsonville Police Department.
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| 3/12/00. A Watsonville group, Committee for a Safe High School Site, conducts a tour of alternative sites prior to the Coastal Commission's March hearing. The group disagrees with the school district's assessment that there are no alternative sites. This one, known as the Landmark property was the subject of questions by commissioners, but the city maintains it is needed for affordable housing. The group has identified numerous sites that appear suitable for a high school. |
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| 3/12/00. A Watsonville resident shows his colors at the Coastal Commission Hearing. |
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| Feb., 2000. View of the proposed high school site looking northwest up Highway 1. The school site is the dark brown area upper left. |
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| Feb., 2000. View of the proposed high school looking north. The site is upper left. Lee Rd. is under water in the foreground, and that's the State Fish and Game Preserve beyond and to the right. |
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| Feb., 2000. View of the proposed high school looking north. The site is at left. Harkins Slough Rd. crosses the slough, and the State Fish and Game Preserve is mostly under water in the foreground. |
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| 3/15/00. Feb., 2000. Taken directly above the proposed high school site, looking east. The ESHA runs diagonally across the photo with the Fish and Game Preserve upper right. Watsonville and the Pajaro Valley in the background. |
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| 3/15/00. Commissioners and guests take a tour of Watsonville Wetlands. Here they view the Elkhorn Slough. |
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| 3/15/00. Wetlands expert Dr. Curry shows some dirt to commissioners and guests during their tour of Watsonville Wetlands. |
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| 3/15/00. Coastal Commission District Manager Charles Lester guides commissioners and guests during their tour of Watsonville Wetlands. |
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