Million Solar Roofs Goes Up, Civil Rights vs. Retail, Restaurant Bandits Strike Again, One for All

[Solar Energy] Million Solar Roofs Goes Up

California made another huge stride Monday toward expanding the use of solar power statewide, when Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 1, called the “Million Solar Roofs” initiative.

Coming hard on the heels of the recent increase in solar generators among local commercial energy companies such as Southern California Edison, and the state Public Utilities Commission's new California Solar Initiative, the bill will significantly increase the profile of solar power in the everyday lives of Californians. Schwarzenegger made solar power a focus of his 2003 campaign for governor.

“He's done some things that we haven't liked, but this is one promise that's he's kept,” says Bernadette Del Chiaro, Clean Energy Advocate with Environment California, a green energy advocacy group. Del Chiaro stood with the governor at the bill-signing ceremony.

“We are in the middle of an oil crisis, and it's in time of crisis that real leaders step up with good ideas to solve the crisis, and clearly this is one of them,” she adds.

State Senator Kevin Murray (D-Los Angeles) was the author of the bill, a version of which was introduced during the administration of former governor Gray Davis, but went nowhere. It goes into effect January 1, 2007. The legislation has three principal effects: First, it mandates that solar panels become a standard option offered on all new homes; second, it expands the use of “net metering,” which allows customers to sell electricity back to the power company when their solar collectors generate a surplus; and third, it requires that municipal utilities come up with their own programs to help implement the “Million Solar Roofs” legislation.

“L.A. is 10 percent of the energy usage of California, so they should come up with a program to build 100,000 roofs in ten years,” says Del Chiaro. “L.A. Department of Water and Power has some rebates and other plans now, but they're going to have to rewrite them, because it sure won't get them 100,000 roofs in ten years.”

One of the major sticking points of this legislation, which was resisted last year by Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez and others, was that it created a new category of licensed solar installer without mandating that these be union electrician jobs. The new bill directs the California State Licensing Board to review the requirements for solar installer licenses and to determine whether these installers are adequately trained to put in the million roofs expected to be built as a result of this bill – essentially putting off the union fight to the licensing board.

“There's an opportunity for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to make solar energy expansion a cornerstone achievement of his term as mayor,” adds Del Chiaro. “So we'll be talking more.”

–Dean Kuipers

[Wal-Mart] Civil Rights vs. Retail

On Monday, civil rights leaders gathered in a small, crowded room inside the Southern Christian Leadership Conference building in downtown Los Angeles to denounce Wal-Mart's media tactics following Andrew Young's resignation as a representative of the world's largest retailer.

The press conference was organized by the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy to “keep the focus on Wal-Mart … and not allow [Andrew Young's resignation] to hide the real problem: Wal-Mart,” said Daniel Tabor, a community organizer with LAANE.

Andrew Young, the former mayor of Atlanta and a celebrated civil rights leader who was a close confidant of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was nabbed by Wal-Mart, in what was considered a coup for the company in 2005, to lead its corporate-funded PR campaign, Working Families for Wal-Mart. According to its website, which is heavy with testimonials from church leaders, the group's mission is: “committed to fostering open and honest dialogue with elected officials, opinion makers and community leaders that conveys the positive contributions of Wal-Mart to working families.” In short, corporate advertising for Wal-Mart, aimed squarely at black and other minority communities.

Last Thursday, Young resigned after controversy broke out when he was asked whether it was right that Wal-Mart ran many mom-and-pop stores out of business, to which he replied: “Well, I think they should … . First it was the Jews, then it was the Koreans, and now it's the Arabs, very few black people own these stores.”

In recent years, the City of Inglewood has voted down a new Wal-Mart store, citing concerns for, in part, local black-owned businesses. After the Inglewood City Council voted against the new store, the company made an unprecedented attempt to bypass the council by taking the matter to the people, where it was trounced.

Young's close friend John Hope Bryant, who is the founder and chairman of Operation Hope, a civil rights organization, says Young truly believed he was helping poor communities. “If Dr. King was alive today he would be doing the same thing [as Andrew Young],” says Bryant.

Even those critical of Young admit that his comments were probably not intended to be racist. “If you take race out of the equation, it is true that many mom-and-pop stores in poorer communities do charge more for bread and other basic items,” says Tabor. “That doesn't mean Wal-Mart is good for communities.”

Bryant says that Young welcomes criticism and an open-air debate. However, he thinks many in the media and in civil rights circles have made the issue personal, saying, “With all due respect to the civil rights leaders at the press conference, they do not have any experience with business. Business is not evil. While they're holding press conferences, people like Andrew Young are out there trying to come up with real solutions.”

–David Davin

[Take Out] Restaurant Bandits Strike Again

The scene Saturday night at Ca' Del Sole restaurant in Toluca Lake has been played out many times before, and each time it's terrifying. Just before closing time, masked gunmen stormed the popular Italian restaurant on Cahuenga Boulevard, demanding money and terrorizing patrons and employees. While one gunman kept watch on the customers, another demanded money from the cash register while a third forced an employee to empty money from the safe. Then they were out the backdoor and long gone before police could arrive.

According to police, there have been 200 restaurant robberies in just about every part of the San Fernando Valley in the past two years using this MO.

“These guys are very methodical,” says Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Lt. Paul Vernon. “Each restaurant is one haystack and we are looking for our needle.”

But that needle is obviously hard to find due to the size of the Valley and number of restaurants. Police think the same group probably hit the Valley Inn earlier this month when employees and customers were held at gunpoint during a robbery near closing time by masked gunmen.

The robbers may be part of a bigger group, which may explain why witness descriptions have varied. The robbers usually work in a crew of two or three men, and enter the restaurant, carrying weapons, just before closing. The pattern of robberies is not unique to the San Fernando Valley. The same types of robberies have occurred in areas nearby, including Pasadena and San Dimas.

“There could be copycats out there, also,” Vernon says.

On May 20, 2005 the Restaurant Bandits, as they've become known, killed the owner of Chow's Restaurant in Northridge. Police say there have been no other killings in the robberies, but do acknowledge that, if these are the same perpetrators, the criminals are capable of killing, and they want them off the streets.

“They crossed the line into murder,” Vernon says. “We haven't had any other kinds of injuries since then, but obviously this is a group we want to get a hold of.”

Los Angeles City Council member Wendy Greuel introduced a proposal to the council on Friday that would enhance sentencing for individuals using masks or anything to conceal their identity when committing a crime. The extra time would be about two years for a robbery. Currently, Greuel is searching for a member of the legislature to sponsor her idea as a state law.

“We passed it [in council] last Friday,” Greuel says. “I have had conversations with the LAPD. We think this is one tool in our toolbox that will discourage this activity.”

Police are working with the FBI. Vernon also says that law enforcement officials have been working with business owners to make some of the restaurants harder targets.

“Surveillance equipment is a lot cheaper these days. One of the things that could help us is if people point cameras away from their restaurant, so we might get a license plate. We also have been telling owners to lock doors at closing so no one has an entry point and to use security guards. If these guys see some type of security, they probably won't go into that place because they don't want to tussle.”

“These guys are … prolific,” adds Vernon. “Chances are somebody knows who they are. We have a number of resources. We will get these guys sooner or later.”

–André Coleman

[Universal Health care] One for All

The state Assembly is expected to vote this week on legislation that would create a universal health insurance system for all Californians.

The Health Insurance Reliability Act has already been approved in the Senate, where it is known as Senate Bill 840, and the buzz around universal health insurance has created something of a grassroots advocacy movement, observes Marvin Schachter, chair of the Senior Advocacy Council of Pasadena. He hosted a forum on the bill earlier this month that featured retired USC School of Medicine Dean Robert Tranquada and Pasadena Health Director Takashi Wada.

More than 360 such talks are scheduled in cities around the state, says Irma Strantz, director of the San Gabriel Valley chapter of Health Care for All, a nonprofit advocacy group. The next event in the San Fernando Valley will take place in Glendale.

Under SB 840, health care plans run by private insurance companies would be replaced by a state-run system that offers all residents complete coverage for their medical, vision, and dental needs without charging deductibles. Individuals and companies would instead pay into a state insurance fund, in turn giving the government unprecedented bargaining power to negotiate cheaper prices for prescription drugs and to cut administrative spending.

The number of companies offering health insurance to employees has dropped five percent in four years throughout the state, according to the nonpartisan California HealthCare Foundation, leaving more than 6.5 million people without coverage.

SB 840 will not only cut down health care overhead costs for doctors, it will also relieve burdens placed on medical caregivers and facilities that treat uninsured patients who can't pay, says Tranquada.

“This legislation … would provide the most efficient coverage that can be devised. It is very reasonable to estimate that ten years after this is installed, [Californians] will save as much as $60 billion a year,” Tranquada says, while “enjoying better coverage, on average, than we have now.”

The Glendale discussion is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Sept. 1 at the Sparr Heights Community Center, 1613 Glencoe Way, Glendale. For information, call (626) 798-8361.

–Joe Piasecki