CONTRA COSTA COUNTY FALL, 2000, TIME TABLE

-Garin Ranch neighborhood, off Balfour Rd. in Brentwood, CCC, called infested and sprayed

-Ag. Comm. says he figures GWSS has been present in the subdivision since its inception, less than 2 years ago. Says he believes it was brought in on nursery plants and trees used by developer of subdivision

-Monday, 10/9/00 Ag. Commissioner got message left over weekend by local people who'd seen Ag. poster in local nursery and thought that the little bugs they'd seen for awhile in their yard might be GWSS. Thought they were doing someone a service by calling Ag. Dept. Did they have any idea what their action would trip up?

-Wednesday, 10/11/00 News of probable infestation in Brentwood. In Bay Area, etc., papers

-10/11/00 Asst. Ag. Comm. said they "knew" it was GWSS but were waiting for CDFA lab confirmation of this . Had to have official confirmation before technically calling infestation

-Tuesday, 10/17/00 Bd. of Supes OK'd $80,000 to be spent on spraying pesticides (to be reimbursed by CDFA).

-Wednesday, 10/18/00 Money OK in the news

-Wednesday, 10/18/00 First of Ag. Department's 2 public meetings (which followed some local newspaper articles in which people were alerted, Max was told, to 3 planned sprayings. Residents said they were almost convinced, when reading articles, that the chemicals to be used were safe (Ag. Comm. told Max 10/20/00, "I believe Carbaryl is safe."

-Friday, 10/20/00, 4-8 p.m. (and meeting was being shut down by 6:30 or 7:00), second of 2 Ag. Department public meetings. Held in round-robin format, as was done in Rancho Cordova, so that residents would be unlikely to hear other residents' concerns…. 3-4 people from Ag. Dept., EPA, DPR, etc. at each of 6 or 7 or more tables in a circle. In Tulare and Fresno people had meetings all in one room, hearing other people's similar concerns. Was round-robin fashion chosen to discourage this interaction?
Max and 3 others attended with real info and 2 of us spoke with Carol Kaufman, who'd remembered being told by an ag. commissioner during Medfly sprayings that the chemicals ruining her car's paint job were only bad for cars but not dangerous for people! So when she heard about the dangers of the chemicals about to be used in her neighborhood she decided to resist.

-Monday, 10/23/00 Spraying of Brentwood began. Carol did not permit spraying of her family's yard, but was forced to endure spraying of city or county trees hanging over her fence. Yard tarped but it was a windy day and tarps were held down by a couple bricks and everything blew off in the wind… and this was before any spraying. East Bay Pesticide Alert called Ag. Dept. and demanded that no spraying be done at all that day, a very windy day and that if they were to proceed, that soil samples be taken from under tarp before spraying and later, after any spraying. They retarped and sprayed on a windy day.

-spraying of neighborhood occurred over 2 week period, with breaks due to rain.

-Sunday, Nov. 5^th, 2000, Max Ventura and Chris Malan canvassed neighborhood and got to about 120 of homes. Spoke with about 70, left info with them and on porches of other approximately 50.

-As we respond to infestations we can expect less time left between news of possible infestation and beginning of sprayings.

• TO HELP GET OUT HONEST INFORMATION ABOUT THE DANGERS OF THE CHEMICALS ABOUT TO BE USED AROUND PEOPLE AND ANIMAL LIFE JOIN THE RAPID RESPONSE TEAM. CHALLENGE YOURSELF TO BE READY TO TAKE OFF WITH A COUPLE DAYS NOTICE TO DO THE SERVICE OF ALERTING PEOPLE IN NEIGHBORHOODS ABOUT TO BE SRAYED; STAND UP BESIDE RESISTERS TO BE SURE THEIR PLACES ARE NOT SPRAYED OR TO WITNESS IF ABATEMENT ORDERS ARE GOTTEN (HAS HAPPENED DURING THIS PROGRAM) AND MANDATORY SPRAYING IS FORCIBLY DONE; CANVASS NEIGHBORHOODS AFTER SPRAYINGS TO FIND OUT ABOUT ANY HEALTH PROBLEMS OR CONCERNS. HELP CONCERNED OR ANGRY NEIGHBORS FIND ONE ANOTHER.

FILL OUT RAPID RESPONSE TEAM QUESTIONAIRE AND CALL OR EMAIL ABOUT HOW TO HELP FINANCIALLY WITH THESE EFFORTS.