National Park Service Contingency Plan During Federal Government Shutdown

With our Federal government once again in "shutdown" mode for the last several days. each government agency put together contingency plans for operations in the absence of appropriations.

The National Park Service (NPS) was created on August 25, 1916 by Congress through the National Park Service Organic Act and is an agency of the United States Department of the Interior. As of 2018, the NPS maintains 418 properties, including 60 protected national parks (which includes our local Channel Islands National Park). 

According to the National Park Service Contingency Plan:

• Parks will suspend all activities and secure facilities that operate using lapsed appropriations, except those essential to respond to emergencies.

• Visitor services are suspended, including restrooms, trash collection, campgrounds, permits, public information, etc. (Regarding campgrounds, NPS notes that visitors will not be asked to leave but are advised that there are no services during a shutdown, including check-in/check-out services, and ensuring availability of sites upon arrival.)

• Visitor centers, like the Robert J. Lagomarsino Visitor Center at Channel Islands National Park, are closed.

• Special events hosted by the National Park Service are cancelled.

• Park websites and social media will not be maintained.

For more information about shutdown contingency plans, visit the U.S. Department of the Interior website at www.doi.gov/shutdown.

Boy Scouts of America Launches "Scout Me In" Campaign for Boys and Girls

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) recently unveiled the new Scout Me In campaign that features girls, as well as boys, in its iconic Cub Scout program for the first time. Starting this summer, all kids are invited to say, “Scout Me In,” as they join the fun, adventure and character-building opportunities found in Cub Scouts. 

The Scout Me In campaign celebrates the BSA’s expansion to serve families and welcome girls and boys into Scouting in communities across the country. It reinforces that the mission and core values in the Scout Oath and Scout Law are welcoming, inclusive and foundational for both young men and women. Since announcing the BSA’s historic decision to welcome girls into Scouting, more than 3,000 girls across the nation have already enrolled in the BSA’s Early Adopter Program and are participating in Cub Scouts ahead of the full launch later this year.

About the Boy Scouts of America

The Boy Scouts of America provides the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training, which helps young people be “Prepared. For Life.®” The Scouting organization is composed of nearly 2.3 million youth members between the ages of 5 and 21 and approximately 960,000 volunteers in local councils throughout the United States and its territories. For more information on the Boy Scouts of America, please visit www.scouting.org.

Visit the Boy Scouts of America Ventura County Council website at www.vccbsa.org.

U.S. Adults with College Degrees More Likely to Be Married Than Non-Degreed Adults

The Pew Research Center recently published an report of the education gap in marital status in the United States. Here are some highlights of the study:

• Overall, approximately 50% of adults are married today, down from 59% 25 years ago and 72% in 1960. That said, the rate has been fairly stable at 50% in recent years.
• Marriage rates are down because the median age for first marriage has increased by 7 years since 1960 and there's a higher proportion of never married Americans as well adults living with a partner instead of a spouse.
• Marriage rates vary quite a bit based on level of education. In 2015, 65% of adults 25+ with a four year college degree were married, compared to 55% with some college and 50% who did not attend any college.
• Marriage rates have always varied by race and ethnicity. As of 2015, marriage rates for 18+ adults were 54% of whites, 61% of Asians, 46% of Hispanics and 30% of blacks. Pew noted that this marriage gap has been existed for many years.

So bottom line is, you're more likely to be married if you have a college degree. Read more at this link.

And if you ARE looking to tie the knot for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or beyond time, there's a compilation of over 170 local venues throughout Ventura County, stretching to Santa Barbara and Malibu at THIS LINK.

How Are Tropical Storms Named?

With all of the terrible news stemming from tropical storm Harvey in Texas and now Irma in Florida, there's been banter in my household regarding where these names came from, who names them, why we name storms, and so on.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) maintains lists of names used for each of ten different tropical cyclone basins around the world. There is an international committee that maintains lists of names in each basin. Each region has its own set of naming rules. 

When are names assigned to storms? Once the storm produces sustained wind speeds of over 33 knots, or 38 miles per hour.

The storms impacting Texas and Florida are in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and North Atlantic basin. The naming convention in this basin has six lists of names that are used in rotation. As such, the 2017 list of names, which started with Arlene and ends with Whitney, will be used again in 2023.

When a storm is particularly deadly or costly, the name is retired. In addition to Katrina in 2005, Sandy in 2012 and Harvey in 2017, a whole host of other names have been "retired" since 1954. Carol, Janet, Audrey, Donna, Agnes, Gloria, Hugo, Keith, Wilma, Felix, Ingrid, Matthew and dozens more names will no longer be used to name a tropical storm. See www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames_history.shtml for more retired names.

The names are alphabetized in the Atlantic basin but do not include names beginning with Q, U, X, Y and Z. Xavier, you're off the hook.

Atlantic tropical storms were originated by the National Hurricane Center starting in 1953. This was subsequently transitioned to the WMO.

From 1953 to 1978, only women's names were used. Men's names were introduced in 1979 and are alternated with women's names (but what about gender-neutral names like Pat - I dunno).

Why are names used? Because it makes it easier to get the word out to the public when a name is used.

How do they come up with the names? It is up to each committee but names are selected that are familiar to those who live in each region.

The 2018 list of cyclone names in the Atlantic region are: Alberto, Beryl, Chris, Debby, Ernesto, Florence, Gordon, Helene, Isaac, Joyce, Kirk, Leslie, Michael, Nadine, Oscar, Patty, Rafael, Sara, Tony, Valerie and William.

Let's look at the Western North Pacific and South China Sea basin naming convention. There, each country contributes names, like Damrey (Cambodia), Fenshen (China), Meari (DPR Korea), Usagi (Japan) and so on.

Complying with Voting Laws in California

With the Presidential General Election coming up in less than two weeks, how about a quick summary of selected voting laws in the State of California for voters here in the Ventura County area. The following is a summary from the California Secretary of State's "Voting Law Compliance Handbook: A Voter's Guide to Safeguard California's Election Process" updated April 2016.

Voting at the Polls

Making the time to vote: The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day. If you work a long shift and are unable to get to the polls to vote in a statewide election, California state law provides up to two hours of paid time off to vote. These hours must be at the beginning or end of your normal shift and you must give your employer two working days notice. 

Rewards for voting: Can the local donut shop offer a free donut if you show them that you've voted in the Presidential Election? NO! Say what!? No free donut?? Nope. Federal law prohibits anything of value given in exchange for proof of voting if there is a federal office (e.g. President, U.S. House, U.S. Senate) on the ballot. In a state or local only election, the donut offering would be o.k., just as long as it wasn't given to bribe you to vote (or not vote) for a particular candidate or measure. Speaking of donuts, or doughnuts, as it were, the new Krispy Kreme in Oxnard opened last month.

Electioneering: It is illegal to promote a candidate or measure within 100 feet of a polling place. So if you see signs or other promotional materials in the parking lot at a polling place, that is illegal. And on a side note, California law makes it illegal to "photograph, video record, or otherwise record a voter entering or exiting a polling place." So you best not be selfie-ing at a crowded polling place. 

Voting by Mail

Death and Voting:  Hypothetically, let's just say my spouse passed away two weeks ago but I received her absentee ballot in the mail. I knew who she planned to vote for, so I turned in her ballot along with mine. This is o.k., right? WRONG! You cannot vote for your deceased spouse, nor anyone else that is deceased for that matter. That said, if your spouse had completed the ballot and signed the envelope before passing, that would a legitimate ballot, as the vote-by-mail voting period opens 29 days before the election.

Returning Vote by Mail Ballots (from the Ventura County Clerk/Recorder): If you mail your absentee ballot in, allow for seven days' delivery if you can; that said, the ballot must be postmarked by Election Day and received no later than November 14, 2016. Otherwise, you can return your ballot to any of the 10 City Clerk offices in Ventura County, to the Ventura County Government Center in Ventura or at the Thousand Oaks Library. Or, you can bring them to any polling place by 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Counting the Ballots

Can I Watch? Yes, you can watch the entire process, from opening of the vote-by-mail ballot envelopes to the counting of ballots on election night, by law.  But perhaps contact the Ventura County Clerk/Recorder first.

Campaign Do's and Don'ts

Use of State Seal: It is considered election fraud to use an official government seal in campaign literature. This should be reported to the Election Fraud Investigation Unit at 916.657.2166 or call the Ventura County Clerk/Recorder.

Paycheck Inserts: It is illegal in California to attempt to influence employees to vote for or against something by inserting something in your paycheck envelope.

These are just some of the elections laws in the State of California. For more complete information, visit www.sos.ca.gov/elections.

Do You Remember Eating a Breakfast Sandwich at Starbucks Between 4/28/15 and 8/17/15?

Heck, not only do I not recall if I ate a breakfast sandwich at a Starbucks location between the dates of April 25, 2015 and August 17, 2015, but I can't even remember what I ate for breakfast yesterday.

The reason I ask is that Starbucks has entered into a class action settlement that claims that certain California Starbucks locations charged too much during said time frame for its Reduced-Fat Turkey Bacon Breakfast Sandwich ($3.75 was allegedly charged when the listed price was $3.45) and the Sausage & Cheddar Breakfast Sandwich ($3.45 charged instead of $3.25 it is alleged).

Starbucks denied all claims but decided to settle the case to avoid further expense, which among other things includes the cost of advertising the settlement for prospective claimants.

But they are not paying me to write about it here.

Yes, you can make a claim to recoup your losses if you overpaid for one of these two breakfast sandwiches during the 111 day period noted above.

What can you get out of this?

If you purchased said sandwiches using your Starbucks Reward account, you're in luck. There's a digital record of your expenditures and you will automatically receive a credit of 25 cents per sandwich purchased. Heck, if you ate a breakfast sandwich every day during that period, you will be receiving a credit of $27.75 in your account and don't need to fill anything out. Yippee! Or maybe you ate two per day. That would be $55.50 in moolah back in your account.

If you have proof of purchase of your sandwich(es) in the form of a receipt, you must complete a claim form, available at www.BreakfastSandwichSettlement.com (I knew I should have purchased that domain name years ago) and receive 25 cents per purchase. The credit expires after 90 days. If any of you actually can find such receipts during that time frame, contact me. I want to hire you as my accountant.

If you are like most people and have no receipts, yet, unlike me, actually can recall acquiring at least one of the above mentioned breakfast sandwiches during said 111 day period, then all you gotta do is, confirm, "under penalty of perjury," that you did purchase at least one of these allegedly delicious breakfast sandwiches between 4/28/15 and 8/17/15. The reward for such amazing recollection will be a 50 cent coupon code good for up to 90 days after issuance.

Or, you can be like me, and spend 30 minutes writing about the insanity of it all and get a few laughs out of this breakfast sandwich caper. As I sit here drinking my $4.95 Grande Frappuccino.

Registering to Vote in California Takes Just a Couple of Minutes Online

The 2016 primary election took place this past Tuesday, June 7th. The U.S. Presidential election is Tuesday, November 8, 2016.

There are currently 412,924 registered voters in Ventura County, consisting of 138,663 Republicans, 169,759 Democrats, 84,615 Non Partisan and 19,887 Other. Turnout for the primary election was 47.76% (updated), which is actually a significant improvement over the Presidential primary in 2012 at 32.9%. But inversely, of course, it means that a majority of registered voters in Ventura County still did NOT vote in the primary.

The estimated 2015 population of Ventura County was just over 850,000, with roughly 70% age 18 and older. This translates into roughly 600,000 residents eligible to vote in Ventura County, This means that for every two registered voters in Ventura County, there is one unregistered voter. It also means that for every voter in the primary, there were two eligible citizens who did not take part in the voting process.

With all that said, it certainly is EASY to register to vote in California. You can register in less than five minutes online at registertovote.ca.gov. And you can also, as I did, re-register if you would like to change political affiliation, or perhaps change to "No Party Preference."

The screenshots below show you the process. You of course must be an 18+ year old U.S. Citizen on election day, a California resident, and not be deemed incompetent to vote nor happen to be a convicted felon in jail or on parole.

California Online Voter Registration - Home Page

Eligibility (1 of 3)

Eligibility (2 of 3)

Eligibility (3 of 3) - If you want no party preference, click the "No" box.

You're done! Easy peasy!