Culver City Observer -

Culver City Fire Chief David White’s recent presentation on “Disaster Preparedness” alarmed many residents because we live near the largest urban oil and gas producing field in the USA. It made me realize that we are in a severe, high-fire risk zone that can destroy our homes and all our possessions. The poisonous toxic fumes can destroy our health or even kill us. Winds can spread these chemical fires and fumes for miles. Do we need to live with this ever-present threat? No! We can do something about it NOW! Besides clearing the brush around our homes, we need to do what we did in the 2018 Culver City Council election.

For the upcoming 2020 elections, let’s start talking with neighbors now! Let’s start talking to the Board of Supervisor candidates who want our vote. (Yes, each of the 5 districts is like a fiefdom with supervisors following the lead of the one who rules it.) So, let’s put fracking and urban drilling front and center of both the L.A. County Board of Supervisors election for our District #2 (which covers Culver City) and the upcoming Culver City Council election. Let’s ask the candidates what they have already done to address the ever-present threat to our health, homes and our very lives. Climate disruption with ever hotter summers makes these threats even those imminent. Let’s start talking now! What will each candidate promise to accomplish in their first 100 days in office? And, which candidates promise to shut down the oil field in their first 100 days?

Do you realize Al Seib, a columnist for the L.A. Times, found that nearly 330 California jurisdictions have switched to by-district council elections because of the 2002 law?

I just might be wrong but some of us believe the best-kept secret in Culver City is the wall of tiles in the Friends of the Sandy Segal Youth Health Center. May I remind you that those who donate $250 have the honor of getting four tiles with their name(s) and /or designs?

I have a friend I call “Touchdown” Charlie. Recently “Touchdown” told me Portsmouth, Ohio, was once an economic rival to cities such as Cincinnati, and in the 1930s, it was home to a National Football League team. Very interesting!

According to national media, the world economy is propped up by the U.S. economy, but he U.S. economy is a house built on a bad foundation. The U.S. government collected $3.3 trillion in taxes last year but spent $4.1 trillion. It had to borrow $779 billion just to meet expenses. The national debt rose more than $1.2 trillion to an unbelievable $21.5 trillion. Net interest on this debt rose to $371 billion. The Congressional Budget Office estimates America will be spending more on interest than national defense within a decade.

Rarely do I answer calls on my cell phone from the area code I don’t recognize. It’s a long story. The American Legion calls it “Robocall Epidemic” because 26.3 billion was the number of robocalls in the U.S. in 2018; 1,500 number of robocalls received every second in the United States. About 29 percent of robocalls were from scammers and 85 billion robocalls were registered globally.

Weaving its way through Congress is H.R.8, a bill calling for background checks for all gun sales. This bill is supported by over 70 percent of National Rifle Assn. members as well as over 90 percent of Americans. For all the right reasons, Congress needs to pass this legislation.

I just bet our Fire Chief White has on his desk the May 2019 issue of Popular Mechanics Magazine. Could it be Chief White has read and reread the exciting article on page 21 as it relates to the self-contained breathing units firefighters carry into burning structures? The unit is heavy, bulky and limited in capacity. With a new procedure, an air line is run through the hose back to the truck. This eliminates another reason that ladies cannot physically do the job.

Time Magazine recently reported on two heart doctor associations’ guidance reversing longstanding advice that many adults should take aspirin daily. It should be used to prevent cardiovascular problems in high risk patients only because the risk of internal bleeding outweighs the benefits for most adults.