vanishing walnut creek?

MARCH 31. 2007



The Contra Costa Times has a full dance card these days. The local and state politicians are vying for time and space in the paper making it appear that their special interests are really headline news.

Take for instance the March 26th edition of the Times article by Theresa Harrington on “Senior housing projects in works” page 3. Several months ago I gave a report on a county wide program entitled: Contra Costa For Every Generation: making our community aging-friendly?” This partnership of government and community based, tax supported and church affiliated special interests spent about 2 years meeting and working, quietly, to create the blue prints for a planned new Contra Costa diverse community in which ethnic, age and different economic status people would be resettled in politically correct communities.

Though I appreciate Theresa Harrington’s reporting on this issue, she makes it appear as though this is some new, wonderful great idea spearheaded by individual citizens needs. This article quoting praises by our Walnut Creek City Council members. is just a fluff piece to showcase the politicians. This also hides the reality that people are being placed like pawns on a chess board by special interests.

A recent Times editorial entitled: “Stop the Trans Far bill” referring to Sacramento legislation was deceptive. The editorial appeared to be defending the consumer’s right to chose what to eat in restaurants and restaurants to chose how to prepare, store and serve the food they provide the customer, but, in reality it was a support piece for implementing a Torlakson bill, SB 20, on mandating that schools, by a date certain, provide breakfast and lunch to all students in a closed campus. The menus would be dictated by the environmental/health services special interests reflecting whatever is the current politically correct nutritional fad.

The 3/31/07 Saturday Times Commentary page carries a letter to the editor written by a Dr. Kiris Young “from the medical community” He is a “certified nutritional specialist in Richmond (that’s a special interest agency). He declares that the “trans fat ban bill must be passed.”
What no one is mentioning is that the food manufacturing industry is already monitoring itself. I recently bought a bottle of vegetable oil that has a big sign on it saying “”not made with trans-fats.”

This legislation, like so many bills in Sacramento, is not needed. It’s a pretense of concern for the public’s health and welfare when, in fact, it is one of many vehicles to interject the government into yet another deeper level of private lives controlling where we live, where we work, what health care we get, what we put into our mouths, what lifestyle choices our children make.

The bills in Sacramento that contain these elements are: SB 20, Tom Torlakson, (D), Pupil Nutrition, AB 93, Bonnie Garcia,(R0 Food; Trans fats, AB 92, Bonnie Garcia, Pupil Nutrition: school meals, and the bill supported by Young, AB 97, Tony Mendoza, entitled “Food Facilities: Trans Fat would, like most of the others,

[ create] a new crime ..[and]... adding to the duties of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This clearly is the state reaching down into the local community to control yet another industry.

Only you, the citizen, can stop this. Write to your Assembly and Senate representatives and urge a “NO” vote on these bills.

posted by Diane Lily @ 1:45 PM