Mission Viejo Buzz - 12/01/12

The Buzz

Those who have concerns about Smart Meters should note a rare opportunity to express opinions directly to the California Public Utilities Commission. Southern California Edison is attempting to raise opt-out rates, impose additional fees and much more, according to items on the agenda for a CPUC meeting in San Clemente. Save the date, Tues., Dec. 18, 6:00 p.m., for the public hearing, “Smart Meter Opt-Out Phase 2,” at the San Clemente Community Center, Ole Hanson Fireside Room, 100 North Calle Seville, San Clemente.

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Following are examples of agenda issues to be presented at the Dec. 18 CPUC hearing:

Raise The Opt-Out Fees: SCE wants an initial Opt-Out fee of $98 plus $24 per month (discounted 20% for CARE) claiming the Opt-Out program will cost a staggering $21 million for the next few years. Are these valid costs?

Impose an Additional Opt-Out "Exit" Fee: Since 2008, all customers have paid 1.6% of their monthly bills towards the Smart Meter program, which includes the cost of installing a Smart Meter. SCE would like to charge this fee again. Do customers agree?

Validity of Opt-Out Fees: SCE wants to pass the entire cost of the Opt-Out program directly on to those who will use it - the Opt-Out customers. Thus, an Opt-Out customer pays for two billing systems: a Smart Meter AND an Opt-Out. How many meters and billing systems should a customer pay for?

Other agenda issues include fees based on meter type, community opt-outs and Smart Meter harassment. For additional information about Smart Meters, visit http://californiacoalitiontostopsmartmeters.org/

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OC Registrar of Voters Update: For those asking if all ballots have been counted from the Nov. 6 election, no, they have not. According to the RoV website as of this writing, 100 provisional ballots have not been counted. The turnout for Orange County stands at 67.3 percent. Other figures for OC: Romney/Ryan received 51.9 percent and Obama/Biden received 45.6 percent. Ron Paul received 2,485 write-in votes.

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The OC RoV has posted the Nov. 6 Statement of Votes, http://ocvote.com/fileadmin/live/gen2012/Run23/sov.pdf . Of Mission Viejo’s 63,792 voters, 47,183 voted for a turnout of 74 percent. Turnout for nearby cities include Aliso Viejo 69.9 percent, Lake Forest 70.7 percent, Laguna Niguel 73,2 percent, Laguna Hills 71.2 percent, Rancho Santa Margarita 72.6 percent and San Juan Capistrano 73.8 percent.

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Saddleback Valley News has a new format. The prior shortcoming of the paper wasn’t the format. It was and still is a lack of genuine community news, and that includes truthful and balanced reporting of what’s going on in City Hall. This blog has criticized SVN and OCR for caving in to the demands of City Manager Dennis Wilberg, who told editors several years ago what they shall and shall not publish. Letters to the editor are long gone except for reprints of letters sent to OCR about issues that don’t involve city issues. Residents provide their opinion weekly on SVN, which anyone can see by walking around the block. Papers thrown into driveways are not picked up. A publication with its first loyalty to covering up for City Hall instead of balanced reporting doesn’t cut it.