California wants to reduce fatalities and injuries on public roadways
California launched the next phase in its plan to further reduce fatalities and severe injuries from collisions on public roadways. Brian P. Kelly, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency, signed California’s updated Strategic Highway Safety Plan joined by many of the stakeholders from the 170 public agencies and private organizations who collaborated to help create the new transportation safety blueprint.
“The update of the SHSP offers the promise of saving more California lives each year,” said Secretary Kelly. “It also includes a greater scope than before, recognizing that our state’s transportation system must be safe for users of all forms of transportation – vehicular, pedestrian, bicycle and transit.”
The SHSP is a national blueprint created for states by the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration to develop strategies that save lives and reduce severe injuries. It helps states identify their specific safety challenges, and guides investment decisions toward strategies with the most potential to save lives and prevent severe injuries.
Under the original SHSP, developed in 2005, California experienced a 30.4 percent reduction in roadway fatalities from 2005 to 2012, and a 17.5 percent reduction in severe injuries. The new plan, just like the original, is largely data-driven, where safety and other significant data is used to help define problems, develop solutions and measure progress.
“It is important that we continue to engage more local agencies and other transportation and safety stakeholders, tribal representatives and other nontraditional partners to increase our state’s success,” stated Secretary Kelly. “The other critical partner is the public. With everyone’s engagement, we can not only create safer roadway conditions, we can also change the traffic safety culture in California so that safety is everyone’s first priority.”
Anyone interested in helping improve roadway safety is encouraged to get involved by visiting the SHSP website at http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/shsp/.
California Statewide Fire Summary
Over 10,000 firefighters continue to battle 9 large fires in California. Good progress is being made on several fronts. In fact, the 95 acre Laureles Fire in MontereyCounty was contained Monday evening.
Weather conditions in California continue to lead to high fire danger. Temperatures across the state will remain hot, with a slight cooling trend likely. However gusty winds in parts of Northern California later in the week could increase the fire risk. Isolated rain is expected over the next day in Southern California, but it will be followed by triple digit heat by the end of the week.
As drought conditions continue to have a strong hold on California, bark beetle attacks are killing millions of trees in California’s forests. While bark beetles are mainly native, during drought conditions all trees are susceptible to their attacks. It’s estimated that 25 million trees have died due to the drought including those killed by bark beetle. CAL FIRE is asking residents in areas impacted by tree mortality to ensure they have removed dead trees from around their homes. Learn more at www.PrepareforBarkBeetle.org
Triple P 8-Week Group for Families with Children 2-12 years old
On September 29, at 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., a free support group will provide in-depth parenting information and assistance for families with children two -12 years old. Attendees will learn what Positive Parenting is and how to incorporate it into their families.
BrookKnollElementary School, ScottsValley
The class meets Tuesdays for eight weeks.
http://first5scc.org/8-week-group-families-children-2-12-session-1-7
All Triple P seminars and workshops are free and open to the public. Register in advance to receive free childcare. To register, call 227-4145
County Fair decides “Best Apple Baker” in the Region
Maggie Kasunich adds to her record as Best Apple Baker in the Region! The Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau’s 39th Annual Apple Pie Baking Contest was held at the Santa Cruz County Fair last week. Maggie Kasunich’s pie was selected “Best of Show.” This makes eight (8) times that she has won the top prize, more than any other person (1986, 1988, 1991, 1996, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2015).
The judges for this year’s contest were Jimmy Panetta, Prosecutor, Monterey County District Attorney’s Office; Jimmy Dutra, Councilmember, City of Watsonville; Stacy Philpott, Associate Professor, UCSC; and Shaz Lint, President/CEO, Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture.
San Lorenzo Valley Emergency Network
On Saturday, September 26, the San Lorenzo Valley Emergency Network will hold the “Formidable Footprint Neighborhood Table Top Exercise” to focus on wildfires. The group will be joined by the Bonny Doon CERT team and the Bonny Doon Fire Safe Council. The meeting will be in the auditorium at the BonnyDoonElementary School, 1492 Pine Flat Road, Santa Cruz. Regular meetings are at the Cal Fire Training Room off Gushee Street behind the main Cal Fire office on Highway 9 in Felton.
For more information, call: 335-0610.
Air Quality Health Alert
The recent local wild fires that were burning in local areas may cause health issues if the wind patterns carry smoke into residential areas.
To determine your potential risk, consider these guidelines: Use common sense. If it looks smoky outside it’s probably not a good time to go for a run; and, it probably is not a good time for your children to play outdoors. If you have a heart or lung disease, if you are an older adult, or if you have children, consider staying indoors to avoid breathing the smoke particles.
Depending on the severity of smoke in your area, you may want to check with your health care provider to make sure it’s not necessary for you to leave the area. If you decide to remain, talk with your doctor about whether, and when, you should leave the area.
Run your air conditioner. Keep the fresh air intake closed, and the filters clean to prevent bringing additional smoke inside. Note: if you don’t have an air conditioner, staying inside with the windows closed may be dangerous in extremely hot weather. In these cases, seek alternative shelters. A swamp cooler will not provide this protection, and will pull in the smoky air from outside.
Health Effects of Smoke: Smoke is made up of a complex mixture of gases and fine particles produced when wood and other organic matter burn. The biggest health threat from smoke comes from fine particles. These fine particles are especially harmful to the very young, very old, and to people with heart and lung disease. If you have further questions, there is extensive information about the health effects of wildfire smoke at the Health Department website www.mtyhd.org.
Coastal Cleanup volunteers remove tons of pollution for Santa Cruz County
In Santa CruzCounty, 2,015 volunteers removed 8,699 pounds of waste. In MontereyCounty, 1,254 volunteers removed 7,583 pounds of waste.
Notable and strange cleanup finds:
27 needles at the TanneryArtsCenter
- 2 bicycles, 4 mattresses, 20 tires, and 35 battery chargers at San LorenzoRiver at the FeltonCovered Bridge
- Antique gun at Del Monte State Beach
When asked about the event, Annual Coastal Cleanup Coordinator, Bronti Patterson, replied “This year’s results were encouraging. We covered the same area as last year with almost the same volunteer turnout, but removed thousands of pounds less trash.”
SOS thanks all participants, supporters, and partners that helped make the 31st Annual Coastal Cleanup successful, especially the City and Counties of Santa Cruz, CalifoniaState Parks, GreenWaste, and Waste Management.
Hunters, Outdoor Recreationists Alerted to Special Restrictions and Closures Due to Wildfires
As California’s 2015 deer hunting season continues with the opening of additional hunt zones this weekend, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is urging hunters to research where they plan to hunt in advance, as access to some areas may be restricted due to wildfires.
Current information regarding closures and restrictions can be found on CAL FIRE’s California Statewide Fire Map webpage, www.fire.ca.gov/general/firemaps.php.
CDFW does not close or open areas due to fires, but leaves that authority to incident commanders with CAL FIRE and the U.S. Forest Service
