Volunteers needed for June 3 election The Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters' Office is still in need of more than 800 citizens to volunteer to serve as election officers in the June 3 primary election. The election will require staffing 765 polling places. While significant progress has been made in staffing them, more volunteers are needed to ensure they are all adequately staffed.
Election officers are critically needed throughout the county, especially the areas of Gilroy, Palo Alto/Stanford, San Jose and Santa Clara. There is also a need for Spanish bilingual election officers.
Any California registered voter can be an election officer, and training is provided. Officers are paid a $95 stipend, and can earn more for bilingual skills.
County to work with cities to develop habitat conservation Santa Clara County supervisors have moved ahead in developing a complex habitat plan that would set policy on the impact of development on endangered species, impose fees, and protect and enhance important habitat areas.
The Santa Clara Valley Habitat Plan does not approve development, but instead it evaluates the likely impact on endangered species affected by future public and private development and assesses a fee based on the impact. The plan will also set policy on mitigation, land and stream conservation strategy, project review process, cost and funding, and implementation.
Development on land with a higher habitat value, areas considered "natural," where the impact would be greatest would be assessed larger fees than developments on urban or suburban land.
Operational and maintenance work done by the county in areas such as roads and airports would be subject to the policies imposed by the plan as well.
Included in the plan are land and easement acquisition, habitat restoration and creation, and habitat management and maintenance at an estimated cost of between $800 million and $900 million over 50 years.
Private and public sector development base fees, impact fees, and state and federal grants will fund the plan.
CHP focuses on motorcycle safety California Highway Patrol declared May "Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month" to raise awareness about of drivers and motorcyclists sharing the road. CHP will release a video, "Thrill or Buzz Kill?" at the Motorcycle Safety Summit later this month.
The CHP's Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System statistics show the number of motorcyclists killed in collisions statewide has increased more than 140 percent during the past 10 years.
"With motorcycle rider deaths increasing at an alarming rate, everyone needs to take note," said Christopher J. Murphy, director of the California Office of Traffic Safety. "OTS, the CHP and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are convening the first ever Motorcycle Safety Summit later this month in California with representatives from motorcycle riders, law enforcement, industry and public agencies to address this problem and reduce these tragic deaths."
Holiday Giving Program benefit sale Community Solutions' Holiday Giving Program will host its first benefit sale to raise funds to help local families in need during the holiday season 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at 13435 Chaparral Road.
Come find a barn full of yard sale items in good used condition, such as small appliances, clothing, household goods, books, home decor, toys, framed artwork, tools, and camping and sports equipment. All proceeds will directly support the Holiday Giving Program, which serves more than 100 families each year.
Community Solutions' Holiday Giving Program is run by a team of dedicated volunteers. For more than 25 years, the 'adopt-a-family' program has matched compassionate individuals and businesses with Community Solutions clients. Through the program, families receive food and gifts to help bring more hope and cheer to their holiday celebrations. However, the needs of local families are always greater than available resources.
Applications for July 4th Parade floats being accepted Applications are being accepted through May 24 for the Independence Day Parade put on by Independence Day Inc.
Parade fees are $60 for amateur and nonprofit entries or $500 for business and professional entries. This will be Morgan Hill's 114th consecutive July 4 Parade.
A participant workshop will be held May 31 for those looking to spruce up their entry.
The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office West Valley Division will be aggressively enforcing the state's occupant protection laws as part of California's 2008 "Click It or Ticket" campaign May 12-June 1. The campaign relies on heavy enforcement and public education to help California achieve the highest seat belt use rate in the nation. California has the nation's fourth highest seat belt use rate at 94.6 percent.
California has a primary seat belt law which states that everyone in the car, including the driver, is required to wear a seat belt at all times. If the driver is stopped and found to be in violation, officers will issue citations without warning. Tickets for first seat belt violations range from $80 to $91 for adults and $330 to $401 for children under age 16, depending on the county.
County withdraws emergency fee Santa Clara County Executive Pete Kutras has announced that the county will not pursue implementation of the Emergency Response and Disaster Preparedness Fee approved in January. The county's action is in response to a decision issued by the Court of Appeal, First Appellate District (San Francisco) on April 29 in Bay Area Cellular Telephone Company, et al v City of Union City.
The decision held that the charge imposed by Union City on telephone lines to fund the city's 911 emergency communication system was a special tax that must be approved by two-thirds of voters. The city's 911 system and fee is substantially similar to the fee adopted by the county.
In January, supervisors approved the establishment of the fee designed to recover costs for services used by county residents.
Las Madres hosts family festival The Las Madres group is hosting a Family Fun Festival 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at San Martin Country Park, 13865 Monterey Highway, featuring activities for all ages including face painting, balloon animals, crafts, a petting zoo and a bounce house. Children's musician Janet Sirett will perform live.
Admission is $15 per family and includes a hot dog lunch served from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. The event is sponsored by the Morgan Hill Youth Advisory Committee and several Bay Area companies.
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Plastic, paper bag ban considered
