Mountain Views News          Saturday, August 10, 2013

6

AROUND SAN GABRIEL VALLEY

Mountain Views-News Saturday, August 10, 2013 

TURNING NEWSPAPERS INTO “LOGS”

By Christopher Nyerges

 

[Nyerges is the author of several books, including “Enter the Forest” and 
“How to Survive Anywhere.” Information about his books and classes is 
available from School of Self-reliance, Box 41834, Eagle Rock, CA 90041, 
or www.ChristopherNyerges.com.]


“What’s Going On?” 

News and Views from Joan Schmidt

ASSEMBLYMAN CHAU DISCUSSES 
AB 477 - A BILL TO PROTECT 
SENIOR CITIZENS

 
Last week I spoke 
of Assemblyman Roger 
Hernandez who represents 
the 48th Assembly District, 
which includes Azusa, 
Baldwin Park, Bradbury, 
City of Industry, Covina, 
Duarte, El Monte, Glendora, 
Irwindale, Monrovia, 
West Covina and the 
unincorporated areas of 
Monrovia and Duarte.

 This week I would like to commend 
Assemblyman Ed Chau who represents the 
49th District. His area includes the cities of 
Arcadia, Alhambra, San Marino, Monterey 
Park, Temple City, Rosemead, San Gabriel and 
portions of Montebello and South El Monte. 
Currently Assemblyman Chau serves as Chair 
of the Assembly Committee on Housing and 
Community Development which overseas issues 
pertaining to building standards, homeless 
programs, housing finance, land use planning 
and redevelopment among others. He also is 
a member of the Assembly Committees on 
Banking and Finance, Judiciary and Labor and 
Employment. Assemblyman Chau is Chair of the 
Assembly Select Committee on Privacy, which 
examines a number of privacy related issues.

 We have been hearing so much bad news 
from AB 109 (Realignment of Prisoners) that it 
was a pleasure to meet Assemblyman Chau and 
learn about his Assembly Bill-AB 477 to protect 
Senior citizens. California is the most populous 
state in the nation with roughly 4.5 million people 
over the age of 65. The figure is projected to 
climb to about 6.2 million by 2020 and by 2035, 
19.9% of the population will be 65+. As people’s 
life spans increase, so does the risk of financial 
abuse. Senior abuse has been on the rise - a 30% 
increase in elderly abuse. Each year, thousands 
of elderly and dependent adults are targeted for 
financial exploitation because they are so socially 
isolated, dependent on others for assistance, or 
easily intimidated. Currently there are no laws to 
encourage people to report elder abuse. Notaries 
are well-positioned; to report concerns that there 
may be a risk of swift and devastating depletion 
of an elderly victim’s lifetime savings, property or 
securities. 

 AB 477 reinforces an existing responsibility 
that banks and other institutions have to their 
customers - to report potentially fraudulent 
activities and serve in their customers’ best 
interests. If the Notary notices any odd behavior, 
any potential fraud, he/she could stop the 
transaction, and must report the action to the 
court. Currently, social workers, home health 
care workers, various state employees, law 
enforcement, health care professionals, long-
term care industry and nursing home workers, 
employees of financial institutions and clergy are 
required by law to report abuse. With AB 477, 
notaries would be required to report suspected 
dependent abuse, including financial abuse. This 
bill ensures that those who are likely to witness 
or suspect abuse in the course of their work such 
as the signing over of Power of Attorney or Grant 
deed title, will make reports to law enforcement 
or Adult Protective Services, who in turn are 
trained to investigate and convene as appropriate. 
After the report is made, authorities will take over 
to do an investigation. (A question was brought 
up about the “notary being sued if there wasn’t 
abuse, but that will not be permitted.) On August 
12th, this bill will go to the Senate Appropriation 
Committee. When this publication receives any 
more news of this bill, it will be reported to our 
readers.

 Although I am not in his Assembly 
District, I really applaud Assemblyman Chau for 
this bill. So many times, an elderly person who has 
been maintaining a small home and doing well 
on his/her own begins to develop dementia. The 
family may be out of state, or many hours away 
in northern California, and the elderly person 
is “taken in” by an acquaintance who befriends 
him and begins by borrowing money for an 
emergency. As the elderly person deteriorates, the 
situations get worse. Thank you Assemblyman 
Chau for this great measure!

In the woods, firewood 
has never been 
a problem. It is everywhere, 
abundant. 
I am not referring to 
the camps where you drive in and you pay to park 
in your numbered spot. In those places, it would 
be somewhat normal to find no firewood because 
all the other campers have foraged around for 
whatever is available. I am referring to the actual 
wilderness where you have to walk in at least a 
mile or more. Wilderness. 

 

However, in the event of a natural (or man-made) 
disaster, firewood may not be so abundant in the 
urban areas. I recall hearing stories of German 
people burning furniture during WWII because 
there was no other practical way to get heat.

 

In today’s urban setting, there are many resources 
that are common, even abundant. One such 
resource that could be pressed into service is 
newspaper. 

 

Newspaper, obviously, can be used for many 
things, such as wrapping, making pots for your 
garden, emergency insulation, and also for making 
logs for the fireplace.

 

When I say “logs,” I’m not referring to the old 
1970s method of rolling some newspaper around 
a broom handle, tying it up, pulling out the handle, 
and then burning the “log” like a wooden log. 
Trouble is, these don’t really burn all that well unless 
you already have a blazing fire going.

 

But there is an alternative. Put all your newspapers 
into a plastic bucket and add water. Soaking 
it for a few days is best. On occasion, when I have 
demonstrated this to children at camp, we simply 
shredded the newspaper, added water, and 
went to the next step, but soaking for a few days 
is ideal.

 

Next, you need to have a newspaper press, as 
pictured. I first purchased one around 1980, and 
though this model doesn’t seem to be available 
anymore, there are similar ones today manufactured 
by someone else that seems to work just as 
well.

 

You put the wet newspaper into the rectangular 
box section of the press, add the top, and then 
push the handles down to press out the water. 
You then pop out the “brick” and let it dry for a 
few days (or longer). It then burns well in a fireplace 
or campfire. Granted, this is newspaper, so 
don’t expect the same BTU of oak or other hard 
wood. But it does burn, and definitely better than 
the logs rolled around a broomstick. I’ve used 
them in backyard campfires and in woodstoves.

 

This device also presents the possibility for dealing 
with security documents. If you just toss 
your paper documents into the city trash can 
or the city recycling bin, you never really know 
what might happen. I used to just burn such 
documents on a grill in the back yard, but this 
is not always a possibility. The last time I had a 
full bag of documents to deal with – old bills, etc. 
– I shredded them and put them into a bucket 
with water. Since they are mostly bond paper, not 
newsprint, I allowed a week of soaking. After the 
week, I made some logs and dried them. Since 
you can no longer read anything on the bills and 
documents after this, there is no need to burn 
them right away. And since bills are typically 
bond paper, the logs seem to burn just a bit hotter 
and longer. 


Assemblyman Chau and Wayne Williams


From The Office of Supervisor Antonovich

REPUBLICANS MOURN THE 
LOSS OF FORMER COUNTY 
PARTY CHAIR JANE BARNETT 

LOS ANGELES COUNTY — “As a tireless volunteer, a 
professional staffer and party chairwoman, Jane was a 
strong and consistent force in the advancement of Republican 
values, causes and candidates for many years,” 
said Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich on the passing of 
Jane Barnett, Los Angeles County Republican Party Chair 
from 2009 to 2011. “Christine and I send our prayers 
and best wishes to Jane’s husband, Lou, and her seven 
children.” 

Barnett had also been a State Assembly candidate, chaired 
the 43rd Assembly District Republican Central Committee 
and was a member of the Glendale-Burbank Republican 
Club and several Republican Women Federated 
clubs. In addition to working for Assemblymen James 
Rogan and Pat Nolan and Senator Tim Leslie, she was a 
lecturer, event coordinator and fundraiser for numerous 
causes and organizations including Oliver North's Freedom Alliance, the Center for New Black Leadership 
and GOPAC. 

She is survived by her husband, Lou, and seven children. Jane was a powerful presence in the Republican 
Party of L.A. County and will be dearly missed.


LEGISLATURE APPROVES HOLDEN BILL TO HELP 
FUND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS

Sacramento – Assemblymember Chris Holden’s AB 139 which strengthens penalties that abusers are 
required to pay to ensure more funding for Domestic Violence Shelters has been formally approved 
in the State Legislature following concurrence vote today in the Assembly. The measure now goes to 
the Governor for signature.

AB 139 clears up a technicality in order to provide more funds for local domestic violence shelters. 
The bill stipulates that those convicted of domestic violence must pay a minimum $500 fee – not a fine 
– after they are granted probation. This clarification is important because it would clear up confusion 
over the $500 payment and ensure funding for local domestic violence programs.

“Funding domestic violence shelters is critical. Clarifying the payment to be a fee would assist judges, 
collecting agencies and counties disburse the proper funding to the state and local shelters,” said Assemblymember 
Holden. 

AB 139 unanimously passed both Houses and received support from domestic violence shelters 
throughout the state, as well as various women’s organizations. 

California Partnership to End Domestic Violence worked closely with Holden’s office on this legislation. 
“We are delighted with the unanimous passage of AB 139,” said California Partnership interim 
executive director Kathy Moore. “This bill will ensure that the Legislature’s intent to use these fees to 
support domestic violence agencies is carried out. We are very grateful to Assemblymember Holden 
for his leadership on this important issue.”

Governor Brown now has 30 days to sign or veto AB 139. If signed, AB 139 would go into effect 

January 1, 2014.

By Cynthia Kurtz, Presodemt

 

On the first Friday of every 
month, information about the 
number of jobs created or lost 
in the prior month and the 
current unemployment rate 
is announced by the federal 
government. The numbers last 
week were disappointing - just 
162,000 jobs were created in 
July far below the number anticipated 
or needed. The national 
unemployment rate still 
slipped slightly lower to 7.4 percent, 
probably because of more 
people leaving the workforce 
rather than finding work. 

 

The health of our economy is 
tracked using these two figures. 
They drive public policy and 
consumer confidence. Where 
does this important data come 
from and how is it collected? It 
comes from surveys of households 
and businesses across the 
country, probably including a 
few in the San Gabriel Valley. 

 

Unemployment rates are computed 
from the Current Population 
Survey of 60,000 households. 
The households are 
carefully chosen to represent 
the U.S. population based on 
geographic sampling and reflecting 
urban and rural areas.

 

Each month one-quarter of 
the sample households are removed 
from the interview list 
and not sampled again for eight 
months. After the second year 
of participating, a household is 
removed for good. Therefore, 
there is both continuity and 
change built into the sample. 
About 75 percent of the sample 
is the same from month to 
month and about 50 percent 
from year to year.

 

The U.S. Census Bureau has 
been conducting this survey 
every month since 1940. It 
takes 2,200 Census Bureau employees 
to gather the data each 
month. 

 

Information about whether a 
person worked, searched for 
work, or was absent from work 
in the past week is collected 
about every sample household 
member over the age of 15. The 
survey gathers information on 
about 110,000 persons each 
month.

 

The data on jobs gained or lost 
is computed from the Current 
Employment Statistics Survey - 
a survey of 145,000 businesses 
and government agencies covering 
approximately 557,000 
job sites. 

 

The establishment survey 
counts paid employees whether 
they are full-time or part-time. 
The sample includes 900 industries, 
businesses from every 
state and from 400 metropolitan 
areas. About 40 percent of 
the sample comprises businesses 
with less than 20 employees. 
When compared with numbers 
from the previous month, the 
number of new jobs can be determined 
by industry type.

 

The survey is conducted by the 
Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data 
is collected through a variety of 
methods tailored to meet the 
needs of the surveyed establishment 
- telephone, touch-tone 
data entry, internet, fax and 
mail are used. Some months 
you might hear there is a revised 
"new jobs" number from 
a prior month. Revised data is 
released when additional surveys 
are received from sampled 
employers. 

 

Both surveys have strengths 
and limitations, but together 
they give us a gauge to measure 
the nation's monthly economic 
changes. If you are ever asked 
to be a participant in either survey, 
say "yes." It's important information 
for setting long-term 
economic policy and that is important 
for everyone.

SGV Economic Development Partnership

HOW ARE JOBS, JOBLESS RATES CALCULATED? 

SANTA ANITA PARK TO PROVIDE MT. SIERRA COLLEGE STUDENTS 
HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE THROUGH PAID INTERNSHIPS

MONROVIA, CA – Mt. Sierra College Career Services department announced a new partnership 
with Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, where 16 Mt. Sierra College students will take up paid 
internship positions at the legendary racetrack in the areas of marketing, hospitality and event coordination. 
The internships begin in mid-September 2013 and will continue to the November of the 
same year. The students will have an opportunity to work directly with the Director of Interactive 
Media and gain first-hand work experience locally.

At the completion of the internship period, Santa Anita Park will vote as a company to award the top 
Mt. Sierra College intern an academic scholarship.