City Of Escondido Redevelopment Funds - Transparency Needed!

Last Fall, I learned that funds from Escondido Redevelopment Agency (Community Development Commission) had been promised to Escondido school districts.

The City failed to provide information to initial public records requests about the promised redevelopment funds in a timely manner. After information was obtained from the school districts, the City then provided information about the promised redevelopment funds AFTER the election was over for Prop T in 2008.

That reaction by the City indicated to me that more transparency is needed with respect to redevelopment funds.

Last March 18, 2009 at a City Council meeting, comments by a Police Union representative about an audit of City funds yielded some interesting comments about the redevelopment funds promised to the school districts.
Comment Video

Based on those comments, the City may be using "loans" to as a mechanism to withhold funds promised to the school districts.

This is what was reported when the Redevelopment Agency was approved back in 1984.

"Redevelopment to aid schools"
Times Advocate, Thursday, December 13, 1984, Page B1
"ESCONDIDO - If the city's proposed redevelopment agency generates as much money over the next 45 years as its proponents say it will, the Escondido Elementary School District could get eight elementary schools, two middle schools and unlimited new classrooms, all paid for with redevelopment money. The Escondido High School District could get three new high schools, two new continuation high schools and more class rooms. Those are some of the provisions contained in drafts of nine different agreements approved 4-0 Wednesday night by the City Council. . . . Approved with little comment, the agreements were negotiated with various agencies that would lose money to the redevelopment agency as it siphons tax revenues from them to pay for a civic and cultural center, downtown improvements and housing assistance for the poor."

Times Advocate, Sunday, November 18, 1984, Page B1
"How much? What agencies would contribute to the cost of redevelopment [in Escondido].
San Diego County $63 million
High school district $51.9 million
Elementary school district $68.3 million
Hospital district $5.8 million "

Oct 12, 1990, EUHSD's share of redevelopment funds = $145 million
Spreadsheet dated Oct 12, 1990 showing EUHSD's share being $145 million allocated by the Escondido Redevelopment Agency for new high school construction and esisting school refurbishment (from link below)

Tax Rate Details and Assumptions (Response from EUHSD to Public Records Request)

~80 page Agreement with Escondido Redevelopment Agency, 1991 & 1984 (Response from EUHSD to Public Records Request)

First response by City of Escondido (NOTHING!) [Second response was a copy of response from EUHSD above]

San Diego County Taxpayers (between $82 million and 254 million - Redevelopment Funds [page 3])

PPH Schedule Delays On New Hospital

I predict that PPH will soon need to admit to schedule delays on its new hospital.
Page 65 of 70 of the PPH Board Packet for July 13th is telling!

"Prior CM unrealistic schedule" (CM=construction manager).

Translation. The PPH Board does not yet know the extent of the schedule delays because DPR, the new construction managers, have not yet finalized it.

PPH strategy? Blame Rudolph and Sletton, the previous contruction managers!

Who could have predicted that!

Covert to City: MOU May Simply Go Away!

PPH claims that the Citracado extension to Valley Parkway, which is not due for completion until a decade after the City gets the money for the project, may make the MOU go away!

Listen to the audio (30 seconds) of Covert telling the city (Daniels, Grimm & Domingue) that the MOU may go away. (You will need to turn up the volume).

The NCTimes reported it as if the City is at fault!
Citracado 'connector' delayed to 2013, upsetting PPH officials

There is no delay on the Citracado extension. What is delayed is the Downtown Medical Village promised by PPH to the City of Escondido.

Watch videos of PPH's promises by Marcelo Rivera and Michael Covert and in the MOU for PPH's downtown project. Link to the ERTC Development Dgreement.

Union-Tribune Editorial - More Disclosure on PPH/Kaiser Deal

Union-Tribune Editorial
More disclosure
Public access needed at Palomar Pomerado Health district
2:00 a.m. June 7, 2009

We are grateful for the time and effort that 19 volunteers (usually retirees) put in every year to serve on the county grand jury. Grateful to them, but certainly not always in agreement with them.

As it did two months ago when it recommended the adoption of a $52.7 million annual trash pick-up fee for San Diego homeowners, while mischaracterizing the nature of the city's pension deficit, the grand jury has gotten another one terribly wrong.

This time, the earnest jurors were bamboozled by the slick talk of the people who run the publicly owned Palomar Pomerado Health district in North County. The issue at hand was the hospital district's insistence that it can keep key details of contracts hidden from the public because they arguably could be used for competitive advantage by private hospital groups. Residents have requested details of a particular deal, but been denied.

The good jurors, according to their report, were satisfied by assurances from district officials that there were no “problems involving public disclosure.” They also reviewed sections of state law and agreed with Palomar Pomerado officials that the law grants them the right to make secret deals. Our reading of those sections suggests otherwise. And, as we have said, if they are ambiguous, the Legislature should rewrite them in favor of the public's right to monitor how elected officials spend tax dollars.

That, of course, is the issue here – the critical importance of open government. One need look only at what problems caused by secrecy have done to the reputation of the neighboring Tri-City Hospital district.

Palomar Pomerado, which serves San Marcos, Escondido, Poway, Ramona, parts of Rancho Peñasquitos and Rancho Bernardo and other areas, is supported by property taxes. In 2004, residents, who elect the district's governing board, voted to increase their taxes for a $496 billion bond issue to fund a new cutting edge hospital in Escondido and other improvements.

Counties, cities, school districts and other government agencies are required to make their revenues, expenses and contracts available for public review. Public hospital districts should not be entitled to any less rigorous scrutiny, despite what a panel of well-meaning volunteers concludes.

In the Union-Tribune on Page F2 (06/07/2009)
More Disclosure Editorial

Grand Jury Opinion of Kaiser Agreement

"The secrecy surrounding Kaiser Permanente's controversial bed "guarantee" at the new Palomar Medical Center has been appropriate because the health care industry is so competitive, according to a San Diego County grand jury report issued Thursday."

"But Robroy Fawcett, a frequent critic of the district and the Kaiser agreement, said the grand jury does not understand what trade secrets are and has allowed the two providers to define that term too broadly. Fawcett also complained that the grand jury did not contact him or the press. 'They should have asked the people who have been complaining about the lack of disclosure,' he said."

Grand jury vindicates PPH deal with Kaiser (06/04/2009)

Apparently the Grand Jury did not get a copy of these letters from PPH:
Public Records Request Denial Letter #1 (1/30/2006)
Public Records Request Denial Letter #3 (11/26/2007)

For more details on the "trade secret" PPH/Kaiser Agreement from February 2004:
Kaiser Agreement Details

The Grand Jury report makes interesting the timing of this article in the North County Times:
Kaiser contract won't force PPH to turn away other patients (05/22/2009)

Logan Jenkins at UT roasts PPH

PPH HIRES COSTCO DESIGNER

In yet another signal that the visionary “hospital of the future” is too expensive for today's budget, Palomar Pomerado Health district has retained Costco's interior designer to furnish the rooms of the nearly billion-dollar hospital.

After having dropped an outdoor healing garden, meditation room and a $3 million “media wall,” the district's board voted to save more money by adopting a wall-less warehouse design concept.

“It may not be what we promised, but we're planning to sell Hebrew National hot dogs out front,” said Michael Covert, the health district's president and CEO.

LOGAN JENKINS, 03/15/2009

No Covert Bonus

"PPH president and CEO, Michael Covert, has been denied any bonus this year because of the district’s failure to meet performance standards. Bruce Krider, Chairman of the PPH Board, said that even though Covert has received heavy bonuses for the past four consecutive years, he won’t be getting one this year."

The Paper, 04/09/2009

Stay Informed!

The local newspapers have quit covering much of the latest news at PPH.

Stay Informed. Subscribe to INFORMEDCITIZEN on twitter.com
http://twitter.com/informedcitizen

Stay Informed. Watch the InformedCitizens on YouTube.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/InformedCitizens

Coming topics:
1. Bonus results for PPH CEO Michael Covert (April 1st meeting).
2. 10 month freeze on new equipment at Palomar Medical Center.
3. Continuing DPR contract negotiations. In its 10th month!
4. Kaiser contact details. Deadlines and financial penalties.
5. PPH's March strategy meetings (8 hours). Topics:
- Expansion out-of-district into Temecula, Oceanside, Carlsbad
- Proposed takeover of Graybill & CHC by PPH-controlled & funded

Facebook group coming soon!

Why twitter, youtube, blogger, facebook, etc.
Experts predict the end of the printed local newspaper business model.
http://escondido.ning.com/

Covert Bonus On April 1st!?

It sounds like an April Fool's joke! The PPH Board is considering a bonus for Covert AFTER a year in which the Medical Village in downtown Escondido was neglected, the Pomerado Hospital Expansion funds were diverted, and the budget for new ERTC/Kaiser hospital budget continues to spiral out of control! Here the agenda for the "special" meeting! http://www.pph.org/Media/File/
Board_Meetings/spbm_20090401_289.pdf

The PPH Board may be really out of touch with the current economic situation. The latest Finance Committee report shows PPH making only $3,296 in February, before property taxes were factored in. http://www.pph.org/Media/File/
Board_Meetings/ip_20090331_288.pdf (pdf slide 86 of 129)

Is PPH headed into the "AIG" zone!

DPR Contract "Hides" Known Increases

The "new" DPR contract has significant potential for later cost increases. The proposed contract has a baseline amount for DPR of about $43.1 million "based on an estimated Substantial Completion Date of July 1, 2011." [Section 5.2] If the Final Project Schedule indicates that the completion date will be later, then DPR compensation is increased.
http://www.pph.org/Media/File/
Board_Meetings/ip_20090331_288.pdf (pdf slide 42 of 129)

The Final Project Schedule from DPR is not due until July 1, 2009! [Section 2.4.4]

Referring back to the schedule I analyzed in my post below on May 14, 2008, the start of the steel structure was delayed from July 1, 2008 to mid-November, a 4 1/2 month delay. I believe it would be extremely difficult to meet the "estimated" completion date of July 1, 2011, given the already known delays. Further, numerous statements from PPH officials have placed the completion date well into 2012.

A year ago, this change was supposed to save money for PPH:
"Eight months after it broke ground on its new hospital, Palomar Pomerado Health is preparing to change construction managers in hopes of shaving up to $50 million off the cost."
PPH to change contractors on hospital construction project

It is quite interesting how the North County Times and the Union Tribune continues to print whatever fiction PPH feeds them!

PPH Update by Jim Vander Spek

Jim Vander Spek writes another insightful letter:

The latest news out of PPH is not encouraging. After Prop BB was passed and this agency announced that a new site in the boondocks was chosen for the new hospital, many predicted that their facility plan was taking on the appearance of a slow moving train wreck. That is now coming true.

Most recently, our local daily newspaper reported that the new ERTC hospital is costing roughly twice what Sharp is paying for their similar sized facility in San Diego. The PPH bond rating has been lowered, and operating results have turned negative.

The new hospital will be outrageously expensive but also sadly deficient. For example, it will not house a woman’s health facility because funds ran out. Further cutbacks on “frills” have also been announced.

Promised clinics in San Marcos, Valley Center and even Ramona are doubtful or abandoned. As for the downtown Escondido improvements, we can forget about that. Only a clinic near Rancho Bernardo has materialized, probably to staunch the bleeding from inroads that Scripps Hospitals is making in that area.

All of this could have been avoided if PPH had stuck to their original plan of using taxpayer moneys to expand and modernize the Escondido site. It would have been done by now and a jewel for North County. Instead, in order to meet the facility needs of Kaiser Hospitals, we have what we have, if they indeed can even finish what they started.

http://www.thecommunitypaper.com/
archive/2009/03_19/letters.php
A special THANK YOU to Lyle Davis of THE PAPER for his work in shining light on the Covert Operations at PPH!

PPH's Ultra Expensive Hospital of the Future

"The hospital of the future' being built in western Escondido is projected to cost $934 million, more than four times as much as a $194 million 'hospital of the future' that opened last month in San Diego."
Timing, land costs make new hospital more expensive than SD facility

FOUR TIMES AS MUCH! PPH is frittering away taxpayer funds, and is continuing to neglect the downtown facility.

PPH Board Blindsided by Covert Cost Increases

The PPH Board member never ask probing questions of PPH CEO Michael Covert. For that reason, Covert has again blindsided with further cost increases on the new hospital.

"Hospital trustees said they were surprised the transition costs had not been included in previous budgets, and Trustee Nancy Bassett urged district staff members to avoid handing trustees large bills at the last minute."
Transition costs for new hospital may be $20M [North County Times]

Cost Cuts Plague New Hospital

The costs for PPH's expansion plan have spiraled out of control until it hitting a ceiling of implausibility. PPH cannot hope to raise enough money to complete the "Hospital of the Future" as presently configured. The present configuration has had numerous cuts over the years, but now the PPH Board members are being forced to cut pet features.

"The $21.4 million in cuts approved Monday include eliminating water features, an outdoor playground, several gardens, a library, meditation room, conference center and a large electronic drape that would display soothing images. "
Trustees cut $21M in features from new Escondido hospital [North County Times]

As long as the present administration continues, these features (and more to come) will be gone forever!

Scripps Opens In Escondido

Scripps Coastal Medical has acquire the Penn/Elm Medical Group in Escondido, having offices across the street from Palomar Medical Center.
Scripps Coastal Medical Center opens in Escondido [North County Times]

I have heard several persons in the Escondido community speculate that PPH's new hospital was part of a strategy to prevent Scripps and Sharp from making incursions into PPH's markets!

A government hospital district using tax money to prevent competition in area medical care services. If true, it would be unfortunate for district residents.

PPH Hides Cost Increase Meeting

I was surprised to read a very informative article about last night's special meeting by the PPH Board of Directors.
PPH may scale back new hospital to rein in sharply rising costs (North County Times)

In a letter I sent to PPH on March 29, 2008, I requested to remain on the list to receive notification of all PPH Board meetings. I did not receive any notification of last's night meeting about the update to the PPH Facilities Master Plan

If I had known about the meeting, I would have certainly been there to videotape it.

Bond Funding Delayed

PPH decided to delay issuance of both ARS revenue bonds reissuance and GO (Prop BB) bond issuance because of market conditions on Wall St.
http://www.pph.org/Media/File/
Board_Meetings/min_20081202_238.pdf
[pdf page 4 of 32]

Election Fails To Change PPH Board

The incumbent won re-election. The 2-year open seat was won my Jerry Kaufman, who was past member of the ICOC, before resigning for an apparent conflict of interest, and who stated during that Candidate's Forum that he was on a "Chairman's Council", whatever that is. Thus, no significant change to the PPH Board.

Fitch Ratings: PPH May Be Required To Increase Property Tax Rate

The PPH Board just voted to issue $110 million of Prop BB authorized bonds two years ahead of schedule. The original schedule for the third issuance of Prop BB bonds was in FY 2011 as shown in this slide presentation from July 29, 2004 (slides 18-19, pdf pages 20 & 21 of 25). http://civics.robroy.cc/PPHFinancePlan080404.pdf

The projected tax rate for paying for the Prop BB bonds was based on a later third issuance, AND on a property tax base that grows at an average of 6.1% per year between FY 2005 and FY 2046. Much of the PPH district has experienced a collapse in real estate values on the order of 30 to 50%, which collapse will likely translate into a shrinking tax base. No credible estimates have the property tax base growing by 6.1% for the foreseeable future.

I am convinced that the accelerated issuance of these bonds, the recent collapse of real estate values, and the current slowdown in PPH revenues, makes it mathematically impossible for PPH to maintain the promised tax rate of $17.75 per $100,000 of assessed valuation promised to the voters in 2004.

The requirement for the PPH Board to raise the property tax rate is echoed by Fitch Ratings in its just published (October 21, 2008) evaluation in advance of the accelerated issuance of $110 million of Prop BB bonds:

"The tax rate and levy to repay debt is unlimited, although PPH is legally required to pay the general obligation debt if the ad valorem taxes are insufficient. Fitch notes that the tax base vulnerability may require PPH to exceed the tax rate promised to voters in order to accommodate the rising debt service schedule."
marketwatch.com: Fitch Rating Article
digital50.com: Fitch Rating Article

The accelerated issuance of $110 million in bonds is covering for PPH's inability to issue additional revenue bonds at this time. The two main reasons for not issuing revenue bonds at this time: 1) PPH failed to generate sufficient revenues in FY 2008 to now support an offering for additional revenue bonds; and 2) PPH must now refinance variable rate revenue bonds issued in 2006 ($180 million) which have interest rates set in weekly auctions held by Citigroup, and those interest rates have doubled during to the current financial crisis.

Based on my calculations, I am certain that property tax revenues at the tax rate now being levied ($17.75/100K) will not cover the required debt payments for the Prop BB bonds being issued. The question now is, will the PPH Board vote to raise the tax rate, or will the PPH Board cover the shortfall with its own funds. I find it highly doubtful that the PPH Board will vote to cover the shortfall with its own funds. PPH does not have the funds to cover a property tax shortfall. That being the case, then the current PPH Board just took an action that will result in higher future property taxes on the average property owner in the PPH district.

A stealth property tax increase by the current PPH Board!

Palomar Medical Center has been SAVED!

Palomar Medical Center, the heart of downtown Escondido, has been saved! Citizens for a Downtown Hospital are to be congratulated for keeping the public aware of the true condition of PMC.

"State regulators have pushed back the deadline for Palomar Medical Center in Escondido to meet new earthquake-resistant building standards from 2013 to 2030."
NCTimes: Deadline Extended to 2030

I have maintained that Palomar Medical Center needed only modest retrofits to meet State earthquake standard until 2030. Now the State of California, using a computer modeling program, has determined that even those retrofits are not needed, thus extending the life of Palomar Medical Center by two decades.

The current PPH administration exaggerated the problems with Palomar Medical Center in order to get taxpayer funding for an expansion required by a "trade secret" deal with Kaiser. The current PPH adminstration and board will be long gone before there is any opportunity for PPH to implement its wrong-headed decision to close the downtown Emergency Room, and other vital acute care resources. Thus, Palomar Medical Center has been SAVED!

Back in 2000, before the current PPH administration wandered into town, the cost of retrofitting the McLeod tower was a modest $3 million to $6 million. "'We're marching through the hospital stem to stern, looking at every square foot to decide what our future needs will be,' said David Owen, spokesman for the Palomar Pomerado Health System, which encompasses the 333-bed Palomar Medical Center in Escondido and the 199-bed Pomerado Hospital in Poway. Pomerado is in good shape. But there are two unsafe buildings at Palomar Medical Center, including the tower that houses a large number of hospital departments. McLeod Tower, built in 1967, will take by far the most amount of work ---- $3 million to $6 million, officials estimate. The tower ---- highly recognizable to passers-by ---- is in the center of the complex and could be considered the hospital's nerve center. It houses surgery rooms, oncology, radiology, mental health, pediatrics, orthopedics and the Graybill Auditorium. The Adams wing, built in 1957, houses administrative offices and is expected to cost $400,000 to retrofit. The problem, hospital officials say, is the non-construction costs, which have yet to be determined. Depending on how intensive the repairs are, those can include the costs of closing whole units and relocating patients, the costs to move expensive machines and the costs to build temporary housing for the displaced patients, doctors and machinery. 'The basic cost of construction is relatively minor compared to what other hospitals have to spend,' Owen said. 'But we have no way to guess what other expenses we are talking about. It might take $3 million to fix the wall, but another $3 million to $4 million to move all the X-ray stuff.' It's all going to take money better spent on program and patient care, hospital officials said."
NCTimes Article from 2000

PPH Board Election

A number of challengers have signed up to run against the present PPH Board. A new vision at PPH is sorely needed.

Challengers include ex-San Marcos Councilman Lee Thibadeau, and past-PPH Board member Evelyn Madison
NCTimes: PPH Race Attracts Candidate

PPH Layoffs: Chaplains Cut

It appears that PPH's costly new hospital is affecting care at the existing hospitals.

"Some Palomar Pomerado Health employees said this week they're worried that recent layoffs that cut Palomar Pomerado Health's number of staff chaplains could leave some people without the spiritual support they need."
NCTimes: LIFE SUPPORT

Lawsuit at PPH

A doctor sues PPH, and CEO Covert, over the termination of his right to practice at any PPH facility. Read the full story at:
The Paper: The Covert Agenda

A watered down version:
Doctor Sues Hospital

PPH them terminates a long-term contract with the Doctor's Radiology Group.
NCTimes: Radiologists protest cancellation of contract with PPH

UT: Full Airing, Please

The San Diego Union-Tribune
Monday, June 30, 2008, Page B6

Full airing, please
Palomar Pomerado pact shouldn’t be hidden

The publicly owned Palomar Pomerado Health District wants the best of both worlds. It wants to keep contracts hidden from the public to protect trade secrets that arguably could be useful to a private hospital group seeking to compete with the district, which serves San Marcos, Escondido, Poway, Ramona, parts of Rancho Bernardo and Rancho Penasquitos and other areas.

Yet the district enjoys the taxing and bonding authority of a public agency. Most recently, in 2004, voters passed Proposition BB, a $496 million bond measure to fund expansion and improvement of district facilities, including a state-of-art hospital now under construction in Escondido. As a result, property owners are paying an additional $17.75 for every $100,000 in assessed valuation annually for 30 years.

The fundamental fact that Palomar Pomerado is owned and partially funded by taxpayers trumps all arguments about why it should be allowed to keep contracts secret.

The issue has come to a head over efforts by some district residents to see details of a Palomar Pomerado contract with Kaiser Permanente guaranteeing a certain number of beds in the new hospital to patients insured by Kaiser, in return for unspecified payments from the health insurer. The district has released a copy of its contract with Kaiser, but the document is so heavily redacted that it is impossible to glean details.

In addition, top Palomar Pomerado officials implausibly deny that a guarantee exists, though unredacted sections contain the words “capacity guarantee,” “guaranteed bed” and more. Almost surreally, the officials insist that skeptics among the public and inquiring journalists are taking the words out of context. That context, they note, apparently unaware of the irony, is in the portions of the contract they redacted.

One top official, while insisting there is no guarantee, did at least acknowledge that the contract does provide Kaiser with a “certainty” of available beds in exchange for a fixed payment. [Compare: " a fixed payment for bed availability guarantees", PPH2WallSt103007.pdf , discussed in my blog entry of April 26, 2008]

District taxpayers have every right to question whether the deal with Kaiser is good for residents, and whether it might have affected voters’ thinking during the Proposition BB campaign. But the Kaiser contract is really just a symbol in the bigger, and essential, discussion of the importance of open government.

The revenue, expenses and contracts of Palomar Pomerado - and all public hospital districts - should be subject to detailed public review, just as are those of counties, cities, school districts and other government entities. That is one way elected officials are held accountable and waste or corruption detected. Sunlight and fresh air are the best disinfectants.

District officials point to sections of the Health and Safety Code that they say give them the right to make secret deals. Our reading leads us to conclude otherwise. If the law is-ambiguous, the Legislature should change it in favor of taxpayers and their right to monitor how government manages their money and resources.

In the meantime, we call on the Palomar Pomerado trustees to do the right thing and expose the details of Kaiser bed guarantee to the air and the light.

San Diego Union Tribune: Full airing, please

The Editors at the Union Tribune wrote: "In the meantime, we call on the Palomar Pomerado trustees to do the right thing and expose the details of the Kaiser bed guarantee to the air and light."
June 30, 2008, page B6

Union Tribune Covers Concerns of Informed Citizens

The Union Tribune has two articles about the cost overruns for the new hospital, the funding cuts to the downtown Medical Village project, and secretive Kaiser Agreement.

The 'new hospital will have 300 beds, not 453', and the downtown project budget of '$73 million . . . is down to $20.8 million for two warehouses and buying three properties - none of it to pay for the healing gardens, pedestrian pathway, stone-covered buildings and magnet high school the district talked about in detail in 2005'
SD Union Tribune: Costs Cloud Vision

Regarding an agreement to set aside "about one-third of the 300 beds" in the new hospital "for patients of Kaiser Permanente", PPH lawyer claimed the Kaiser agreement was protected from public disclosure because of "trade secrets".
SD Union Tribune: District defends guarding details of Kaiser contract

"Quiet" Layoffs at PPH

PPH is laying off 67 full-time employees and 19 part-timers to reduce overhead costs. PPH currently has 2,663 full time employees.

More is available at:
NCTimes Article: PPH Layoffs

The Secret Kaiser/PPH Agreement (Redacted!)

The Paper recently forwarded a redacted copy of the secret Kaiser Agreement to me. I have since found out that other media outlets had received copies of the secret Kaiser Agreement before The Paper received it in response to the public records requests, namely the North County Times in February, and the Union Tribune in April. Neither the NCTimes nor the UT have reported on the secret Kaiser Agreement.

PPH has refused to provide me with any part of the Kaiser Agreement for over 2 years!
http://civics.robroy.cc/PPH-KAgmtDenial1.pdf January 31, 2006.

The redacted secret Kaiser/PPH agreement is available at this link:
http://civics.robroy.cc/ka.html

To date, the Paper is the only media outlet to inform the public of the redacted secret Kaiser Agreement:

"Redacted Kaiser/PPH Agreement Released
In response to a recent public records request made by The Paper, Palomar Pomerado Health has provided a redacted (blacked out) version of a Hospital Services Agreement between Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Palomar Pomerado Health effective February 1, 2004.
The 4-year old Kaiser/PPH Agreement is 73 pages. About 12% of the Kaiser/PPH Agreement was redacted. An attached set of Appendices includes an additional 60 pages. About 58% of the Appendices was redacted. A copy of the Kaiser/PPH agreement is available on the web at: http://civics.robroy.cc/ka.html

The details of the Kaiser/PPH Agreement will be reported after more study of this information and will be published in The Paper, when completed."

The Paper, May 29th, 2008

Interesing parts of the Kaiser/PPH Agreement:

15.7 Consultation andCooperation
The parties shall consult with each other regarding any issue pertaining to the Agreement which causes media interest or a party's concern about public relations, and the parties shall cooperate in developing any statement or press releases in connection with any such issue. . . .

8.10.2(c) If the Receiving Party . . . is requested (by . . . requests for public records under Government Code § 6250 et seq., . . . ) to disclose any Confidential Information, that party shall . . . give the other party prompt written notice of the request . . . at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to making such disclosure, so that the other party may seek a protective order . . .

2.6 Capacity {Completely Redacted}
7.6 PMC Expanded Facilities Design {Completely Redacted}
7.7 Clinical and Administrative Office Space Leasing {Completely Redacted}
7.8 Additional Facilities {Completely Redacted}

PMC West / Kaiser Hospital Schedule Slips

PPH is "hoping" to save $50 million by changing General Contractors for the new PMC West / Kaiser Hospital in the ERTC. Wow! Good luck with that!
PPH to change contractors on hospital construction project

To the side is a comparison of construction schedules for the new PMC West / Kaiser Hospital provided by PPH in 2004, 2006, and 2008. It appears that the schedule for the new hospital in the ERTC slips a week every two weeks. According to the original schedule in 2004, the scaled-down hospital project is about 2 years behind schedule.

Last December, PPH CEO, Michaal Covert, addressed the Downtown Business Association Board in Escondido. "Covert said plans have always called for work on Palomar's patient wings and other buildings to be started only after the new hospital opens in late 2011 or early 2012."
PPH official seeks to reassure downtown business leaders


The "early 2012" move-in date was reported in an article last October: "The new hospital is expected to relieve some of the pressure on Palomar, but that is not scheduled to happen until early 2012."
Rapid medical evaluation

Interestingly, PPH did not mention the schedule slips as one of the reasons for changing the general contract in the middle of the hospital construction project.

Shame On NCTimes: "Kaiser's Secret Dream Comes True"

Last Thursday, I tried to post a comment on this North County Times article: Palomar Pomerado pours concrete for new hospital.

Here is the comment that was not posted:

"Kaiser's Secret Dream Comes True"
"About a third of this new hospital is for Kaiser. PPH has an agreement with Kaiser that PPH has characterized as a trade secret. However, to convince Wall St. to support its bonds, PPH wrote the following last fall, 'Under the Kaiser Agreement, the District is obligated to provide inpatient and outpatient hospital services, primarily at the new PMC hospital, to Kaiser for members of the Health Plan in exchange for fees based upon a schedule the parties have negotiated including a fee for services rendered per diem and a fixed payment for bed availability guarantees. . . . After the District completes and opens the new Palomar Medical Center Campus, the District will be required to provide Kaiser a guaranteed hospital bed capacity. . . . After opening the new PMC hospital, Kaiser will be required to make certain fixed payments to the District. . . . the District has the right of first opportunity to negotiate with Kaiser to develop or participate with Kaiser in developing (at Kaiser's election) any general acute care hospital Kaiser proposes to develop in the District's service area.' The Kaiser agreement was approved in January 2004! It reality, the PPH-Kaiser agreement has been a big political secret!"

Why was my comment not posted? Perhaps my quoting from a PPH document violates the comment editor's policy against: "offensive language, defamatory statements, personal attacks or other questionable content."

My comment was well researched and should have been posted. The PPH document I quoted from is available on my website, 1). Also available are a first denial letter from PPH in which PPH characterizes the Kaiser Agreement as a trade secret not subject to public disclosure under the California Public Records Act, 2); a PPH document projecting Kaiser's need for 137 beds in 2015, 3); a document indicating that the new ERTC hospital will have 300 usable beds, and 60 "shelled" beds needing funding for completion, when the new hospital opens, 4); and a recent denial letter from PPH dated 11/26/2007, 5). The PPH-Kaiser Agreement was approved on 01/20/2004, which was 9 months before the $496 million Proposition BB was submitted to the District's voters, 6).

1) PPH2WallSt103007.pdf
2) PPH-KAgmtDenial1.pdf
3) KBedNeed.pdf (page 9)
4) PPHBdSupport122005.pdf (page 22)
5) PPH-KAgmtDenial3.pdf
6) KaiserInfo2004.pdf

Shame on the North County Times for keeping the community in the dark on the PPH-Kaiser Agreement!

Escondido Mayor Bans Citizen's Video Presentation

The Mayor of Escondido, Lori Holt Pfeiler, went to silly lengths to prevent the video presentation of Escondido resident Wally Gutierrez.

More discussion of what happened may be presented when time is available!

Here is the video of the promises made by then PPH Chair Marcelo Rivera that he wanted to present: Rivera Video

What is really troubling is the the video was presented at the previous meeting (the Mayor was absent), but the sound did not work, and the citizen was invited to return at the next meeting.

Videos of the Mayor's silly actions in quashing citizen advocacy:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

The story in the NCTimes:
Before Story
After Story

NCTimes editorial favoring multimedia presentations:
NCTimes Editorial

"The Paper" is Banned By PPH

Lyle Davis publishes "The Paper" a weekly distributed in San Diego's North County region. During the preparation of an article focusing on PPH's CEO, Michael Covert, Lyle Davis was informed that his paper was no long allowed to distribute copies at Palomar Medical Center and at Pomerado Hospital.

Articles on the ban:
The Paper Banned Article (bottom of the page).
The SD Union Tribune and PPH spin the ban:
Biased Union Tribune Article

The offending article: "A Covert Operation . . ."
www.thecommunitypaper.com

Auction Rate Securities Bite PPH

In 2006, PPH refinanced bonds, and issued new bonds. These bonds were auction rate securities having an interest rates determined by weekly auctions held by Citigroup. The ARS scheme was supposed to provide provide PPH with short-term interest rates for long-term bonds.

Instead, PPH's borrowing costs have doubled or even tripled! Further, PPH and Citigroup entered into an interest-rate swap derivative to partially protect from high interest rates, but since interest rates have dropped, PPH owes Citigroup money from the low interest rates!

Moodys has lowered PPH's outlook because of the exposure.
www.thecommunitypaper.com

"Extreme instability in that area ---- called auction rate securities ---- in the last five weeks has raised interest rates on about $180 million in debt that Palomar Pomerado is carrying from an average of 3.79 percent to as high as 10 percent."
NCTimes Moodys Article

I wonder if Citigroup informed the PPH Board that Citigroup was fined 1.5 million by the SEC in 2006 for violative practices in its auctions.
SEC Press Release

Videos of PPH's Empty Promises

An Informed Citizen Concerned About The Downtown Hospital has generated videos from past City Council meetings to highlight the promises made by PPH to create a destination Medical Village in downtown Escondido, as part of the agreement to allow PPH to build a hospital in the ERTC across the street from SDGE's 550 Megawatt electric power plant.

The videos can be viewed on www.youtube.com. Search for videos posted by the InformedCitizens.

Here is a link to the video of the promises made by then PPH Chair Marcelo Rivera:
Rivera Video

Here is the video of the promises made by PPH CEO Michael Covert:
Covert Video

Funding Shortfalls and Priorities at PPH

Look at PPH's 32 acre ERTC medical campus. After $811 million is spent, the campus will sport big parking lots, a big vacant field, and an 8 acre hospital facility.

PPH will have numerous high-priority projects needing funding. These projects include the Women's Center (93 beds), the Hospital Support building, the Outpatient services building, the North Nursing Tower expansion (~150 beds), and several parking structures. However, PPH's financing is so tight, it is considering leasing its Physical Plant (Mechanical) facilities! This is hailed as a $41 million savings!

Further, the expansion patient tower at Pomerado Hospital will be 83% shelled, after spending $117 million. Why would PPH cut $72 million from the funding of the downtown Medical Campus, but fund a building that will be only 17% complete! Poway must hold more political sway than Escondido! And Escondido has an MOU with PPH!

The handout provided to the City Council is available at this link:
CChandout031208.pdf

The picture of the Master Plan map and the Finance-Constrained Plan map are available at this link:
CChandout031208.jpg

Where Is The Schedule for PPH's Destination Medical Village In Downtown Escondido

PPH claims it is going to create a destination Medical Village in downtown Escondido. The current plan would require the closing of Valley Boulevard (the current location is shown by the blue lines). An EIR has not been prepared for such action.

Further, PPH claims it will build a 50,000 sq. ft. class A office building for its new headquarters. Where will that headquarters building be located. I have circled two buildings. A request was made through the City Council for the ill-advised "secret" Hospital Ad Hoc Committee to request a schedule from PPH for the two circled building. I predict that the Ad Hoc Committee will fail in this task.

The handout given to the City Council is available at these links:

PMCEast-Sched030508-1.JPG

PMCEast-Sched030508-2.JPG

PPH's full plans are available at this link under August 20, 2007:

http://civics.robroy.cc/PPHFG.html

Link to PowerPoint presentations:

PMC-East 8-20-07.ppt (29 MBytes)

PMC-East 8-20-07.mht (41 MBytes)

New "Secret" Ad Hoc Hospital Committee Opposed

The City of Escondido formed a "Hospital Ad Hoc Committee" to work with the Palomar Pomerado Hospital District regarding the ERTC and downtown development agreements and the MOU. I believe the Ad Hoc Committee meetings should be open because PPH is a necessary party to the meetings, and because the ad hoc committee will be a standing committee having continuing subject matter jurisdiction. Under CA Govt Code 54952, the ad hoc hospital committee would be a "legislative body" subject to the open meeting requirements of the Brown Act.

First page of handout given to the City Council.
http://civics.robroy.cc/Handout020608adhoc1.pdf

The MOU does not require PPH to build anything downtown. Instead, it merely requires PPH to move its administrative headquarters to the downtown campus two years after the new hospital opens.
http://civics.robroy.cc/MOU-AdHoc.pdf

The final MOU is available at this link:
http://civics.robroy.cc/final-mou.pdf

Possible Small Hospital Planned for San Marcos

H.G. Fenton is proposing to build a University Office and Medical Park on Discovery Street in San Marcos. This is just west of CSU San Marcos.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20080202-9999-1mi2fenton.html

The plan includes a healthcare facility and/or smaller scale hospital. The "Initial Study" shows 80,000 square feet of hospital space, and 250,000 square feet of Medical Office/Hospital space. The total size of the Hospital, Medical Office, and Professional Office space in the project would be 1,070,000 square feet! (Initial Study, page 4)

The plan's Initial Study and EIR are available at:
http://www.ci.san-marcos.ca.us/departments.asp?id=5265

SB306 Extends Deadline For SPC-1 Buildings To 2020

OSPHD has recently posted information about SB306 on its website. http://www.oshpd.ca.gov/fdd/sb1953/index.html (Near the bottom of the page under "Legislative Changes.")

The legislation was approved by the Governor on 10/13/2007. The bill:
1. Permits a hospital owner to comply with seismic safety deadlines and requirements in current law by replacing all of its buildings subject to seismic retrofit by January 1, 2020, rather than retrofitting by 2013, and then replacing them by 2030, if the hospital owner meets all of the following conditions:
A. The hospital owner has requested an extension of the 2008 and 2013 seismic safety deadlines.
B. OSHPD certifies that the hospital owner lacks the financial capacity to meet seismic standards, providing the hospital owner provides specified financial information to OSHPD by January 1, 2009, including information filed annually with OSHPD that shows that the owner meets all of the following financial conditions: [Cannot afford to retrofit, and maintains Medi-Cal contract and a list of items. See the legislation for details.]
2. Permits OSHPD to approve extension of the deadlines for a hospital that is classified as a nonconforming Structural Performance Category (SPC)-1 building, and is owned by a county, city, or county and city, that has requested an extension of the July 1, 2008 deadline to file a declaration by June 30, 2009, if the owner files a declaration with the office that as of the date of that filing the owner lacks the financial capacity to meet the January 1, 2008 deadline for that building. Requires the declaration to set forth the commitment of the hospital to replace those buildings by 2020 with other buildings that meet SPC-5.

This appears to be the reason why the conditions for re-evaluation using the HAZUS software have changed! The re-evaluation to SPC-1E was not needed!

It just may be that the life of the McLeod tower at Palomar Medical Center was extended to 2020 by SB306! PPH is a public hospital district, and it may not fall under item 2, but it would be surprising if it did not fall under item 1.

The legislative history is available though: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/bilinfo.html

The bill was first introduced 2/16/07 , and approved by the Governor on 10/13/07.

PPH was tracking the bill: http://www.pph.org/default.aspx?nd=1074.

Fact Checking For: Vibrant Downtown Medical Village At Risk

The North County Times ran an article written by Wally Gutierrez and myself, "Vibrant Downtown Medical Village At Risk":
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/01/27/
perspective/8_34_561_26_08.txt

We have received inquires as to whether the article is accurate.

The facts in the article were checked as shown by these two emails:
Fact Checking Email 01/17/2008
Fact Checking Email 01/18/2008

The emails are in Outlook Express format. It is best to save the emails by right clicking and using "Save Target As..." Then the emails can be opened with access to the attached pdf documents.
(If this too problematic, I can convert the emails to pdf and provide links to the attached pdf's)

The Latest New Hospital Design

The medical campus for PPH's "Hospital Of The Future" is turning out to be quite compact. Gone from current plans (for lack of funds) are the Hospital Support Building, the Women's Center, the Outpatient Services Buildings (2), and the Parking Structures (3). Instead, the campus has been reduced to a hospital having a tall 12-story Nursing Tower connected with a two-story Diagnosis & Treatment building, and a separate Central Plant building. Much of the remaining area consist of circulation roads and parking lots.

The Nursing Tower and the D&T building will sit on about 7 acres of land. The Central Plant will sit on about 2 acres. A garden will cover about 2 acres. That is only 11 acres! The two parking lots would cover 10 acres.

This scaled back plan is now projected to cost $$773 million! That is $773,000,000.00

A future hospital expansion tower, if ever built, would sit on about 2 acres of land. On the south end of the site, 6 acres have essentially dropped off the map, presumable for future medical office buildings. That development is distant at best.

PPH exaggerated its land needs, in terms of acreage, during the search for an alternative to the current downtown hospital location! Further PPH over-hyped the "healing environment" concept for the new medical campus:

"The location and spatial allocation of the inpatient units will be predicated by the planning objective of creating a healing environment (patient rooms that have nice views with a connection to nature and landscape). Ideally, the inpatient units should be organized in a series of lower scale structures (3 to 5 floors in height) in order to maintain the connection to landscape and to avoid the image of an imposing institution. Also, if possible, the inpatient units should be located in a sector of the campus that is relatively quiet and removed from the entry/arival areas of service and patients/visitor." Facilities Master Plan of 2004, page 1-21.

http://civics.robroy.cc/PPHMasterFacilityPlan07-2004p300.pdf

It is hard to image a hospital design that more fully fails to meet any of the objectives of the quoted paragraph than PPH's current design for the "Hospital Of The Future"!!!

In a recent meeting, PPH Board member Dr. Alan Larson stated that he felt it would have been "disaster" if PPH had gone forward with an earlier plan to build a 9-story tower at the existing downtown site.

Ink By The Cartridge

Interest in the ERTC rock crushing and soil remediation issues has been so high, Wally has had to make several runs to the local office supply store to purchase ink cartridges for printing out copies of documents received in response to his recent requests for public records.

To help Wally save ink, I am posting copies of the documents received. This is the "raw" response, i.e., a copy of the packet as received to date.

The first packet was received from the City of Escondido in response to a request made on October 8, 2007 for:
1. All documents (such as correspondence) about request(s) for bid or proposal regarding the grading or recompaction of PPH's ERTC site.
2. Documents (such as correspondence) related to geotechnical analysis of PPH's ERTC site including soil compaction tests, grading fill analysis, core samples, soils reports, etc.
3. Correspondence (such as letters to or from PPH, JRM-ERTC or OSHPD) related to the suitability or feasibility of placing a new hospital on the pad at PPH's ERTC site.

The City produced a stack of documents about 6 inches high. These documents were selected for copying:
City Grading Documents

The second packet was received from PPH in response to a request made on October 5, 2007 to:
1. Inspect: Request(s) for bid (or proposal) regarding the grading/compaction, and/or re-compaction of PPH's ERTC site.
2. Inspect" Bids (or proposals) responsive to request(s) of item 1.
3. Inspect: documents, records, and/or correspondence, related to geotechnical analysis of the PPH's ERTC [site] including soil compaction tests, grading fill analysis, core samples, soils reports, subsoil reports, and the like.
4. Inspect: correspondence with OSHPD, City of Escondido, or JRM-ERTC regarding the suitability of placing a new hospital on PPH's ERTC site.

PPH produced a stack of documents about 8 inches high. After selecting about 110 documents for copying on October 16, 2007, these documents were provided the same day.
PPH Grading Bid Award (4/13/07)
PPH Grading Winning Bid (Pinnick - 4/10/07)
This second set of documents was provided on November 2, 2007:
PPH Grading Documents II
After complaints about missing documents, this third set of documents was provided on November 5, 2007:
PHH Grading Documents III

More documents should be coming! PPH provided a copy of a letter from the City of Escondido to JRM. This letter was not in the documents provided by the City. Wally has asked the City to provide documents between the City and JRM about the grading issues. Also, PPH did not provide any documents to or from OSHPD about the grading issues. Wally has requests those documents from PPH.

McLeod Tower "likely to be reclassified"!

Newsflash!

"Palomar Pomerado is preparing to break ground on a new hospital that was sold to the public as being more economical than trying to upgrade two Palomar Medical Center towers rated as extremely vulnerable to earthquakes. Covert said Wednesday architects have told him the towers also are likely to be reclassified.

Still, he said, "I don't think it will change our time frame in terms of (construction) activity."

See the article at this link:
State to re-assess hospitals' vulnerability to quakes

This means the McLeod tower can remain in operation until 2030. However, PPH is determined to not save the district's taxpayers any money!

PS - Gound has already been broken for the new hospital, as reported in the blog entry of October 15th!

Evolution of PPH Retrofit Costs

The cost for PPH to retrofit its downtown hospital (PMC) has gone from $93 million to $3 million!

The cost of constructing the scaled down hospital in the ERTC has increased by $83 million to $773 million.

Further PPH must generate additional cash from operations over the next 10 years (an increase to $67.7 million each year) in order to fund the current (scaled-back) expansion plans.

See the details in this handout:
Cost Comparison Handout

ERTC Soil Remediation

There are big rocks and boulders buried in the ERTC property acquired by PPH for the new hospital. PPH knew about the buried rocks (with accompanying voids), and the estimated remediation costs, BEFORE it acquired the property.

Here is a handout having a selection from documents received based on requests to PPH about the "soil remediation" issue.
Handout 11/07/2007

Exemplary quotes:
"However, for this rock fill material loosely constrained by smaller gravel and fine sands, there is no known method for predicting its seismic performance, ground motion characteristics or stability under ground shaking. We would be hard pressed to place our engineering seal of approval on the report recommending construction of a hospital on these rock fill materials at the ERTC site."

"The most rational option for remediating the grading conditions so the entire site may be used for hospital construction would be to remove and replace the rock fill with fine fill materials using the ground-up boulders in the process. . . . The option of removing, grinding up the rock materials to fine materials and replacing them in a properly compacted process over the site has been estimated at $30 Million."

"We are concerned that some areas of the site may not conform to the City's rock fill placement requirements as shown in Appendix A in the reports. Prior to approval of the final grading for ERTC, and issuance of a grading permit for PPH, we would like to receive clarification on these issues."

New PPH Board Appointment

The PPH Board has appointed Linda Bailey to fill the position on the Board opened by the resignation of Gary Powers.

"Bailey, who lives just outside Escondido's city limits with her husband, Randy, said she enjoys being active with civic groups."
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/
northcounty/20071103-9999-1mc3pph.html

PPH ERTC Groundbreaking!?

PPH has started moving dirt in the ERTC. Strangely, no ground breaking ceremony was announced by PPH.

The City called this phase "soil remediation" in the 9/12/07 City Council meeting. The soil remediation project is going to last several months. City engineer Homi Namdari said that the hospital site is mostly rock (covered with only 5 feet of dirt). The rock needs to be removed for the basements, so blasting will be occurring at the site.

I feel there are more issues involved in the soil remediation than the mere removal of rock.

According to the grading plans on file with the City. Some areas have "undocumented fill" requiring "the contractor to over excavate and recompact existing undocumented fill in accordance with the recommendations of the soils report." Item 12, page 1 of 15, Document #GP07-0027, Department of Public Works, Engineering Division, City of Escondido. "No fill to be placed until the City Grading Inspector has inspected and approved the bottom excavation." Item 13 ". . . Rocks larger than six inches in diameter shall not be used in the fill." Item 16 "The fill shall be compacted to at least 95 percent." Item 17. A soils report, prepared by URS Corporation, was dated January 2007. Item 3, under City of Escondido Grading Notes.

I'm hearing the "soil remediation" will be expensive.

For mention of "soil remediation" by the City staff in the City Council meeting of 09/19/07, see See Video at minute 19:12 of video 9 (Item 14).

PPH purchased the ERTC Property "as is": ERTC Option Contract (Article 7, paragraphs 7.2 and 7.2.1).

I doubt PPH had any soils reports prepared during the 11 months between when the Option Contract was signed, and when the option was exercised. PPH has not mentioned "soil remediation" as a budget item. Some level of grading has always been part of the construction plan.

PPH Board Replacement

PPH is accepting letters of interest for the vacant Board position. The deadline is Friday, October 19th.

PPH Board Member Resigns

PPH Board member Gary Powers announced that he will resign from the PPH Board. The PPH Board will meet on Monday, September 17, 2007, 6 pm, at the Pomerado Hospital meeting room.

Gary Powers was appointed by the PPH Board on April 28, 2006, to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of PPH Board member Nancy Scofield.

$2.5 Million For Valley Blvd Relocation

Escondido estimates that it will cost $2.5 million to relocate Valley Blvd in order for PPH (Palomar Pomerado Health) to build a 50,000 square foot office building as promised in its MOU.

The Project is included in Escondido's Capital Improvement Plan for 2007/2008 on page 46.
http://civics.robroy.cc/CIPBudget2007-2008p46.pdf (page 46)
http://civics.robroy.cc/CIP 2007-08 - 2011-12.pdf (Entire Document 10.5 MBytes)

MOU:

http://civics.robroy.cc/AB.pdf

Keep Hospital Downtown

An Escondido Doctor wrote the following letter to the editor of the North County Times:

"I have practiced at Palomar Hospital and lived in Escondido for over 30 years and, just like the hospital board members, am amazed at the increased cost of building a whole new hospital in the Auto Park area of our city. This will drive up the cost of health care for all of us who live in the Palomar hospital district. The move will also hurt downtown Escondido since there won't be money left to significantly renovate the present hospital site.

Since much of the present downtown hospital is fairly new and will meet earthquake standards for many years, and since the present site is so convenient for those relying on public transportation and ride sharing, the PPHS board should realize that the original plan to build a new tower at the downtown site is best for the district residents. Abandoning this site and building a whole new hospital is like throwing the baby out with the bath water, and I should know since I practiced obstetrics for over 30 years at Palomar.

District residents should contact the Palomar hospital board by e-mail at tlc@pph.org or call (800) 628-2880 and ask them to keep our hospital downtown.

Dr. Arthur Stehly
Escondido"
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/06/21/
opinion/letters/6_20_0717_06_27.txt

La Jolla VA Hospital Retrofit

The Veterns Administration (VA) hospital in La Jolla next to UCSD is under going "Earthquake Retrofitting". Massive columns and beams are being added to the hospital building's structure. The hospital is open for business during the retrofit with people going in and out and the parking lots being full.

The seismic corrections on Building No. 1 at the VA Medical Center in San Diego, were funded in
the amount of $47,100,000:
http://www.house.gov/hensarling/rsc/doc/Lb52002.pdf
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:h.r.04514

The $52.2 million contract with Clark Construction of Costa Mesa, California started in November 2005.
http://www.pugetsound.med.va.gov/opa/
pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1040

Building 1 is an 855,000-square-foot, 6-story cruciform structure that was built in 1970. The original design included 8 stair towers along the exterior of the building. These towers serve as structural connections and support for the building. The seismic retrofit design required removal and replacement of the existing structurally deficient stair towers to meet today’s stricter seismic building codes.
http://www.andersondrilling.com/Projects_Detail.aspx?pProjectId=61

Soaring Costs Cause PPH To Cancel Downtown Renovations

The cost for a new hospital in the ERTC has soared to $811 million, from an original estimate of $531 million in July 2004. To cover the soaring costs, Palomar Pomerado Health is positioned to use the $73 million originally earmarked for renovation of the downtown hospital (Palomar Medical Center), and apply that money to the cost overruns on the new hospital.

Also, PPH cannot afford to build a Women's and Children's center in Escondido, so it is positioned to use the downtown facility beyond the seismic retrofit deadline (initially 2013).

A video of the presentation to the PPH Board at a meeting held on May 22, 2007 is at the following link:
Video File (22MBytes)

OSHPD Progress Reports

OSHPD has abbreviated hospital project progress reports available online.
OSHPD Proj. Status Search Page

The facility numbers for PPH facilities are below:
Palomar Medical Center West - 18173
Palomar Medical Center (Downtown) - 12347
Pomerado Hospital - 14190

An interesting comments appears for Palomar Medical Center West, Project # IL061126, Sub #: 0, Activity: 230, Pad: FL003, "EXT.TORSIONAL IRREGUILARITY: INITIAL:03/13-03/21/07: CLOSED WON'T RESUBMIT"

PMC West Activity Comment

Not sure what that means!?

PPH New Web Site With Agendas & Minutes

PPH has begun to post Board meeting agendas and minutes on its new website. This is great news!
http://www.pph.org/about.aspx?nd=139

Of course I would like to see the support materials and committee agendas, but I am quite pleased with this development!

The Prop BB Oversight Committee's meetings are also online.
http://www.pph.org/about.aspx?nd=714

Stay Tuned?! FPPC Fines Prop BB Contributors

The FPPC is enforcing fines and penalties against certain "Major Donor" contributors to the Yes On Prop BB campaign for not filing the proper reporting forms. The fines are for significant amounts.
http://www.fppc.ca.gov/index.html?id=329

Item 8 http://www.fppc.ca.gov/index.html?id=60
Failure to Timely File Major Donor Campaign Statements. Chief Investigator Sue Straine and Political Reform Consultant Mary Ann Kvasager. The following persons and entities have entered into a stipulation for failing to file major donor campaign statements that were due during calendar year 2004 in violation of Government Code Section 84200:

In the Matter of Palomar Medical Center Medical Staff, FPPC No. 06-0558. Palomar Medical Center Medical Staff of Escondido failed to timely file a semi-annual campaign statement disclosing contributions totaling $50,000 (1 count). Order and Exhibit ($900 fine).

In the Matter of Palomar Medical Center Auxiliary, FPPC No. 06-0564. Palomar Medical Center Auxiliary of Escondido failed to timely file a semi-annual campaign statement disclosing contributions totaling $10,000 (1 count). Order and Exhibit ($400 fine).

In the Matter of Pomerado Medical Staff, FPPC No. 06-0567. Pomerado Medical Staff of Poway failed to timely file a semi-annual campaign statement disclosing contributions totaling $50,000 (1 count). Order and Exhibit ($900 fine).

More details regarding contributors to the Prop BB Campaign and FPPC manuals are available at:
http://civics.robroy.cc/fp.html

New Blog Focusing on Illegal Immigration

This issue of illegal immigration is much larger than Escondido. It is a issue between nations and cultures, with local effects. Thus, it is also a conflict between the Federal Government, and the state and local governments.

Those matters go beyond the typical civic matters of Escondido followed in this blog. If you want to follow the illegal immigration matter, check the following blog:
http://escocase.blogspot.com/
titled "Local Control & Supremacy "

Example of a Complaint Form

An example of a Complaint Form that may be effective in making complaints under the new Escondido Ordinance (Municipal Code Section 16E-2a) banning the harboring of illegal aliens is available at the link below. The Complaint Form focuses on landlords having poorly maintained properties, overcrowding, or irregular tenancy arraignments.
http://civics.robroy.cc/HarboringComplaintForm-v02.pdf

On September 30th, a North County Times article had the following quote:
"Complaints, she [Marie Waldron] said, would likely follow from other city code enforcement investigations, such as illegally parked cars and other property violations." Escondido ordinance would ban renting to illegal immigrants

The attached Complaint Form example lists objectively observable conditions related to property maintenance, overcrowding, and lack of normal tenancy arraignments.

The Complaint Form example relies on a well-known link between such objectively observable conditions and illegal alien tenants afraid of complaining for fear of consequences.

Published examples of the well-known link:
"The signs in National City called Mayor Inzunza a slumlord and claimed he supported the [sanctuary] law because he profits from filling his apartments with illegal aliens. They’re not totally wrong on that. An investigative report by the San Diego Union-Tribune found that Inzunza was a terrible landlord and that many of his 100 rental units were of the rat-hole variety. Illegal immigrants fear complaining about poor conditions and often are abused by just such landlords. In National City and Escondido, the advocates for the poorest of the poor are sometimes in league with some of their worst abusers."
http://www.sdcitybeat.com/article.php?id=4910

"Ricciardelli, who said he has been a landlord for 25 years, said that most of his tenants 'would never complain about the bars on the windows or anything like that -- most of them are illegal aliens.' Five of the tenants to whom the [Las Vegas] Sun spoke on Tuesday confirmed that they wouldn't ever make a peep about those problems because they are afraid of consequences ranging from rent increases to deportation."
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/
stories/sun/2005/feb/11/518277265.html?Andres%20Ramirez

NLRC Study: Mission Park, Escondido, California

The National Latino Research Center's Mission Park Community Study is available at from the Union Tribune at the following link:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/
images/061018nlrcreport.pdf

The study's lead researcher and author claims that the study is being misused and that she would not have conducted it for the City of Escondido if she knew that it would be used to justify the rental/harboring ban ordinance. The NLRC was paid $10,000 by the City for the study.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/
20061018-9999-1mi18mission.html

Students at Cal State San Marcos volunteered to help in the study as data collectors and interviewed Mission Park residents.
http://www.csusm.edu/nlrc/projects/
http://www.csusm.edu/nlrc/publications/Newsletter/
NLRCNewsletter_Fall2005.pdf (page 5).

Quotes from the study:

"With an average federal poverty rate of 29%, the Mission Park area has been identified as having one of the most rapidly growing poverty rates in the State of California," page 14

"Immigration and Citizenship Status
The Mission Park area is home, and often the 'first stop' for many new immigrants seeking better opportunities in the United States. Language is a barrier for many, with 44% speaking English less than “very well”. Although the survey did not collect information about citizenship status, this seems to be key consideration for residents in this community." page 15

"Renters who are new immigrants and/or are exceeding the unit capacity are also less likely to complain or identify maintenance problems that could lead to unhealthy housing (mold, mildew, poor ventilation, lead, roach or rodent infestations, or other potential health hazards)." page 18

"Lack of information & fear: Fear of immigration/border patrol." page 25

"A large majority (85%) of survey participants were born outside of the United States. Most participants (81%) were born in Mexico, while fewer were born in other non-U.S. areas (Central America: 3%, “Other”: 1%)." page 30

"When asked “In what language do you usually communicate?” a majority of respondents (66%) indicated Spanish. A substantial number (18%) indicated that they communicate in both Spanish and English, 16% indicated English, and 0.2% indicated each of Mixteco, French and Swahili, and Tagalog." page 30

"The most frequently cited reasons for lacking health insurance were cost and immigration
status." page 44

Hospital Seismic Retrofit Deadline Extended Two Years

SB1661 grants a two-year contruction extension for hospitals trying to meet California's strict seismic regulations for acute care hospital space. It appears that PPH can now delay submission to OSHPD of its plans for the new hospital until Jan 1, 2009, and not complete construction until 2015!

SB1661 was signed by the governor on 9/29/06.
http://info.sen.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=sb_1661&sess=CUR&house=B&site=sen

Full text of bill:http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/bill/sen/sb_1651-1700/sb_1661_bill_20060929_chaptered.pdf

History:http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/bill/sen/sb_1651-1700/sb_1661_bill_20060929_history.html

Senate Analysis: The bill authorizes OSHPD to grant the additional extension if the hospital building subject to the extension meets certain criteria:
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