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FAMILY FRIENDLY PEST
CONTROL
Summer has arrived in a big way and it’s ideal weather for spending time outdoors with our families and pets. This is also an active time for all kinds of unwanted pests, some bugging you outside and some trying to get inside your home. The city's Environmental Programs Division has a few tips to help you control unwanted pests, while protecting your family, kids, dogs, cats and marine life in our bay:
| ▲ | Tolerance – People have different levels of tolerance for bugs and weeds. Determine yours – is an insect-catching spider in the home a problem? Do a couple of daisies on the lawn really require a huge dose of weed killer, putting your kids at risk? Do a few snails really warrant using snail bait, thus exposing Fido to deadly poison? |
| ▲ | Chemical-free controls – There are many effective ways to control pests, including pulling weeds and removing snails, capturing and releasing spiders or bees that come in your home and keeping trash and food covered. |
| ▲ | Less toxic pesticides – Although all pesticides are meant to kill, some are actually safer than others. Look for the safer ones, including those labeled “Caution” (instead of “Warning”), biodegradable, less toxic and pet friendly. Examples of less toxic pesticides can be found in our series of fact sheets, covering ants, weeds, cockroaches, aphids, fleas and more (details below). |
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▲ | Read the label – The most popular snail and slug-bait says right on the label that it can kill the family pet. Contact with weed-killer can poison and injure children. Always read the label for ALL pesticides products, even less toxic ones, to avoid harming your family and to reduce polluted runoff to the bay. |
| ▲ | Download fact sheets – Check out our “easy-to-read” fact sheets to learn more about safe and effective, long-term control of pests. They can be downloaded at www.smepd.org/printed_materials/index.htm or call the Environmental Programs Division at (310) 458-2255 to have them mailed to you. |
And then enjoy the rest of a beautiful summer!
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CITY MEETS THE FUTURE WITH
HYDROGEN
FUELING STATION PROJECT
The City of Santa Monica joined an elite
group of Southern California cities in June when it officially dedicated
a hydrogen fueling station at the City Yards to accommodate specially
modified, hydrogen-powered Prius hybrids. The fueling station and
vehicles are part of a $7 million demonstration program sponsored by the
Air Quality Management District (AQMD), t
he
air pollution control agency for Orange County and major portions of Los
Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
For the next five years, the cities of Santa Monica, Burbank, Ontario,
Riverside and Santa Ana will each operate fueling stations and five
Priuses in an effort to further development of a promising clean fuel
technology. This is just one of many different approaches and
technologies that will help us achieve cleaner air and reduced
congestion in the region.
The Santa Monica station generates hydrogen on-site with an electrolyzer
that separates oxygen and hydrogen from water and is capable of
producing up to 12 kilograms of hydrogen fuel per day, more than enough
fuel for the city’s five hydrogen vehicles. With a range of up to 80
miles per fill, the vehicles drive and perform like regular gasoline
cars but emit no global warming gases and meet the state’s strictest
standard for smog-forming pollutants. The fueling station itself is
considered clean and renewable because of the city’s use of “green”
power for all its municipal electricity needs from sources such as wind,
biomass and geothermal.
The city’s share of the facility cost was less than $100,000. The AQMD
and its partners paid for the conversion of the five Priuses (already
part of the city’s fleet) to hydrogen fuel and all other remaining costs
amounting to approximately $800,000.
MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
RUN FOR OFFICE!
It’s not too late to run for office in the November 7, 2006 municipal election. The filing period for nomination papers ends on August 11. The write-in period is from September 11 – October 24.
| ▲ | City Council | Three seats |
| ▲ | Rent Control Board | Three seats |
| ▲ | Board of Education | Four seats |
| ▲ | College Board of Trustees | Four seats |
ELIGIBILITY
REQUIREMENTS:
Candidates must be registered to vote in the jurisdiction at the time
nomination papers are issued. All vacancies are for four-year terms.
FILING
PERIOD:
July 17 – August 11. Nomination papers are issued by the City Clerk
throughout the filing period. In order to qualify, a candidate must
obtain at least 100 valid petition signatures from voters registered in
the jurisdiction. Nomination papers are available in the City Clerk’s
Office (1685 Main Street, Room 102). There is no filing fee.
YOUR
VOTE COUNTS —
BUT ONLY IF YOU’RE REGISTERED!
October 23, 2006
is the deadline for registering to vote in the November 7 election.
To be eligible to vote, you must be a citizen of the United States, a
resident of California and 18 years of age or older as of election day.
You must re-register if you have changed your address, changed your name
or wish to change your party affiliation.
To register, come by the Santa Monica City Clerk’s Office at City Hall,
1685 Main St., Room 102. Forms are also available at post offices, fire
stations and other public buildings. You may even obtain a form at
www.ss.ca.gov/elections and
complete the entire registration process without leaving your home!
Forms must be returned to the City Clerk or to the
Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk of Los Angeles County by Monday, October
23.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT REGISTERING? CALL THE CITY CLERK AT (310) 458-8211.