Sometimes important stories overtake us and we aren’t able to cover all that is going on. Over the past week we learned of the termination of the County’s popular Green Fair, NRC held a hearing on the reopening of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, and Nick Berardino pushed back on an Orange County Register editorial attacking organized labor.
Green Fair Cancelled After Probe—Voice of OC
An increasingly popular Green Fair featuring the participation of numerous county vendors that offer environmentally friendly products has been abruptly canceled amidst an internal audit investigation into how the event was organized.
The Orange County Board of Supervisors unanimously terminated the event earlier this month.
While county executives suggested the Green Fair be outsourced, labor leaders decried the move and went public with the existence of the internal audit at a supervisors’ meeting.
“Plainly, the county’s failure to disclose the ongoing audit and ship the fair to an outside vendor looks like a cover-up,” said Jennifer Muir, an assistant general manager at the Orange County Employees Association.
Nick Berardino: Workers’ well-being key to free market—OC Register
The Register’s editorial pages on a recent Sunday illuminated a troubling statistic: Membership in public- and private-sector labor organizations is at its lowest levels since the 1930s. What the writers failed to point out are the grave social consequences of that trend. The decline in union membership tracks directly with the economic decline of the middle class. As the nation’s labor membership shrinks, so does the share of our nation’s wealth going into the pockets of everyday working families.
Unfortunately, instead of exploring these and other relevant issues, the editorial writers simply repeated the misleading mantra that unions stifle competition. If fighting for a safe workplace, fair wages, adequate health care and a secure retirement stifles competition, then the statement may be accurate. But these are things that every working American desires, and deserves. And for a free-market system to work efficiently, the rules governing competition must include the health and well-being of those who produce the products and provide the services that fuel that system.
Local Officials Join Activists in Caution Over San Onofre—Voice of OC
At a packed public meeting in Capistrano Beach Tuesday, local elected officials joined environmental activists in calling for a trial-like hearing before the idled San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) is allowed to restart.
“The restart of Unit 2, even at reduced power, is a dangerous experiment that threatens the safety of 8.2 million Southern California residents,” San Diego Mayor Bob Filner declared in a letter read aloud to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) officials at the meeting.
“I urge you not to authorize the restart of SONGS until both a full license amendment hearing has been conducted by the NRC and the [California Public Utilities Commission] finishes its investigation,” Filner’s message continued.
Just about anything “Green” is bogus – take Solyndra for example.
SanO is never going to reopen. Time to face facts.