Legalectric

A warm afternoon of Standards & Criteria review…

Free range discussion and comment prep…

Refreshments available at the Co-op’s goodie counter…

Who could ask for more!!!

January 16, 2014, from 3:30 – 6 p.m.

Riverbend Market Co-op – Downstairs

417 Main Street, Red Wing

Join us at Riverbend Market Co-op’s meeting room downstairs for some encouragement, grab some Riverbend refreshments, spread out over tables, and get to it writing comments.  I’ll have a big extension cord and strip for those of us with fading batteries. Comments are due January 27, 2014, so we’ve got some time…

Here’s the link to the draft to be reviewed — bring a copy to mark up:

Tools to Assist Local Governments in Planning for and Regulating Silica Sand Projects:

The public comment period has been extended to January 27, 2014.

Comments can be sent via e-mail to: silicasand.eqb@state.mn.us

Be there or be square!

Riverbend Market Co-op

Thursday, January 6th, from 3:30-6 p.m.

Special thanks to Riverbend Market Co-op for use of their space — or should I say “our” space?  Stop in and shop! Become a member, it’s easy!

I don’t know much about this, but I’m learning.  What I do know, what I’ve learned, is that it CAN happen here… it has.  That is, we’ve had train derailments here in Red Wing, across the river in Hager City, and down river in Winona.  Where there are trains, there are derailments (I’ve not forgotten about low-bridging that Monticello nuclear rotor in downtown Minneapolis in … 1997?)  So what’s to prevent a Lac Megantic or Casselton, ND explosion from happening here?

Where there are trains there are risks, but are we aware of the risks?  Are there new risks? Are we operating on an outmoded understanding of the risks?

In today’s Washington Post:

Senators call for action on oil train derailments

If a derailment and explosion the magnitude of the one in Casselton, ND were to happen here in Red Wing, what would that mean?  If one the magnitude of Lac Megantic were to happen here, what would that mean?

(imagine a graphic illustration here — I’m working on it)

Where are these trains coming from, and where are they going?  I found this great map, it’s set for Bakken oil, and when you go to this link and there’s a map, look off to the right, and you’ll see destinations.  Click on one of the regions and you’ll see that for the middle of the US, you get Hayti, MO and others.  For the East Coast, Delaware City refinery shows up.  GREAT MAP!

CLICK THIS LINK FOR A GREAT MAP SHOWING WHERE BAKKEN OIL GOES (it looks better than this map below)

Are we prepared for Bakken oil trains running through town?  What about increasing knowledge about explodability of oil tanker cars?  What about the discovery that Bakken oil being shipped is more volatile than regular crude oil?  What are we doing to address these new risks?  Even the federal DOT admits that this is not your father’s crude oil:

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is issuing this safety alert to notify the general public, emergency responders and shippers and carriers that recent derailments and resulting fires indicate that the type of crude oil being transported from the Bakken region may be more flammable than traditional heavy crude oil.

Here’s the full 1_2_14 DOT Rail_Safety_Alert

Here’s another issue with Bakken oil, that of increased corrosion:

N. Dakota fracked oil said to corrode rail tank cars, put workers at risk

Of note in that article is that “Montreal, Maine and Atlantic said last week it was forced to file for bankruptcy because of potential liability in the [Lac Megantic] crash.”  Great.  So they’re subjecting us to these risks, and derailments and explosions can and do happen, and now they’re ducking financial responsibility?  Not acceptable.

Now for photos of wrecks:

This week’s train derailment near Plaster Rock, New Brunswick:

Train carrying oil derails, catches fire in New Brunswick, Canada

And one in Wisconsin last March:

Train carrying sand derails near Hatfield

A photo of the staging area for Bakken oil tankers headed for the Delaware City refinery, just 5 miles north of our home in Port Penn, DE.  This parking lot is 14 tracks deep at its deepest, if you go to google earth, look for Delaware City and on the NW edge of town, you’ll see the refinery, and go to the northwest edge, where the refinery turns into corn fields, and there’s the parking lot. It used to be this large oval, like a huge racetrack, and now there’s this new one:

Some examples of derailments from the Red Wing area.

An article I found says this one below was a westbound train, and that the cars were empty.  Good!  But there are a lot of eastbound full ones coming through these days…

This one is from February, 2012:

Directly across the river in Hager City, WI, another one in 2012, found on the City of Red Wing site:

And another derailment in Hager City triggered an evacuation of the town!

Hager City Train Derailment Update

UPDATE: Freight train derails in Pierce County

Back in 2008, another report of a derailment in Winona, with tankers going off into the Mississippi:

2 trains collide in Winona County; cars fall into river A 1,000-gallon liquid propane tank near the tracks was leaking, and nitrogen was leaking from one of the trains that derailed in the 5:30 a.m. crash near Dresbach, officials say. Two freight trains collided head-on before dawn this morning in extreme southeastern Minnesota, sending some of the derailed cars into the Mississippi River, authorities said. A 1,000-gallon liquid propane tank stationed next to the tracks in Dresbach and used to heat a switching station was leaking, as was liquid nitrogen from one of the trains, said spokesman Dave Belz of Winona County Emergency Management. The nitrogen is not considered a health hazard, Belz said, but the propane leak has prompted officials to evacuate the 15 residents from a nearby veterans home “because of wind shifts.” Two train crew members were taken to a hospital but only as a precaution, said Mike LoVecchio, a spokesman for Calgary-based Canadian Pacific, the railway that operates the two trains. “We are not counting them as injuries.” LoVecchio said 18 or 19 cars derailed. Authorities on the scene said the number was closer to 40. Emergency Management Deputy Director Joyce Tlougan, said, one of the engines is in the river, “not totally submerged, but it is in there.” The north-south tracks run parallel to the river and Interstate Hwy. 90, where traffic continued to flow normally, Belz said. The tracks are about 20 to 30 feet up a slight embankment from the river, he said. At that spot, LoVecchio said, there is a siding (tracks that act as a passing lane). “How these two trains made contact with each other is obviously part of the investigation,” he said. “We will be doing a comprehensive investigation and cooperating fully with the investigating authorities.” La Crescent Fire Chief Bernie Buehler, the incident commander, said one train coming from Portage, Wis., was pulling 100 cars, and the other was coming from La Crescent, Minn., with 15 cars. Belz said this is the first crash of this type “that I’m aware of” in his 30 years in law enforcement in the area. With the arrival of daybreak, Belz said, emergency personnel turned their immediate attention to containing the leaks and retrieving the cars in the river. Dresbach is about 150 miles southeast of the Twin Cities. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482

And back to Red Wing, here’s a report of another derailed train from February, 1999.

Fillmore County – Complaint

Fillmore County – StateWitnessList

Fillmore County – DefendantWitnessList

Fillmore County – GuiltyPlea

Fillmore County – Order Dec17, 2013

Here’s an instructive Supreme Court disbarment of a Minnesota attorney for actions quite similar to those of Williams in California (as reflected in just one of the three California Bar documents here):

MN_InReThomasHarrigan_OPA130542-010814

This is David Williams.  He is NOT an attorney.  Pay attention — do not be taken in, as so many have.  But if you have, know you’re in good company, just ask Redd Foxx, Mickey Rooney, Lou Gossett, Nancy Wilson, et al.  Redd Foxx said, “I think the man needs help.”  Given the level of denial I’ve seen, yes, I think the man needs help.  Straighten up and fly right?  It’s long over due.

Those who may have hired him to do legal work should have it reviewed by an attorney licensed in Minnesota to assure that it’s up to snuff. Many people he’s been associated with have put a lot of time and intense effort into issues of concern, and they should have the peace of mind that their work and hard won gains are secure and not at risk because of his misrepresentations of his status as an attorney.

David Welford Williams, of Lanesboro, Minnesota, entered an Alford plea and was convicted of Unauthorized Practice of Law on December 17, 2013. There were three separate cases at issue, one originating with his contacts to the Lake of the Woods County District Court, another regarding National Trout Center, and another with a firm in the metro where he was representing himself as an attorney.  That’s just three weeks ago, after being investigated beginning around June 2010, on the charge he was convicted of the instance investigated began in May, 2011, and being interviewed in the investigation in July 2011 according to the article.  It took more than two years… What disturbs me the most about this is that after he knew he was under investigation, after he was charged, after he knew he was under scrutiny, he was still representing himself as a “retired lawyer,” sending emails as “lawyer” and hiring out for legal work.  He knew he was under investigation at the time that we talked about his not being licensed in Minnesota.

Fillmore County District Court File 23-CR-13-347

Reports in the press:

Man ordered to stop portraying himself as attorney – Post Bulletin

Lanesboro man accused of acting as attorney – Post Bulletin

Fillmore County Journal-8-30-2013 (formatting issues)

Williams is a familiar face in Minnesota, particularly regarding silica sand mining, particularly for working on the Fillmore County silica sand mining ordinance.  This summer, when people I know, particularly two former clients, were working with him, I was curious what sort of law he practiced, googled, as I do with all attorneys I’m dealing with, and found nothing.  NADA.  So I went to the MARS site, attorney registration, and nothing.  No David Williams there.  EH?  So I did some more googling, and ended up in California, at the State Bar’s site, where it said he was first “suspended,” and then “resigned, charges pending.”  Oh my…

Next, I emailed him and asked what’s up with that.  He called, we played phone tag, and when we finally connected, he denied he was practicing law without a license, that he’s just a lil’ ol’ retired lawyer, nope, not practicing law, no way, no how…  D-E-N-I-A-L.  I would have felt differently, not at all on alert, but for the info on the California site, and he admitted that he was the same David Welford Williams, Jr., that had been licensed in California.  So I did some more googling, up came info about a couple of workshops, and just recently, an application to the MPCA surfaced:

David Williams “retired lawyer” – 11/18/2013 Application for Silica Sand Rulemaking Committee

David Williams “attorney” – Experts teach townships about zoning to control sand – Republican Eagle

David Williams “attorney” – “Ain’t No Local Control. . . Without Controls”..

What I didn’t know, until today, was that two years and two months prior to our conversation, TWO YEARS AND TWO MONTHS, on May 10, 2011, he was charged in Fillmore County with Unauthorized Practice Law, and the matter was pending as we spoke, pending as he denied.  Really… I had no idea.  My bullshit detector went off, but I sure didn’t know charges were pending.  Wow… suffice it to say, I’m blown away.

Here are the specifics in the California file:

Supreme Court of California Order 9-23-1981_Suspension_Violation of Penal Code 470 (forgery)

Oh, great…

But wait, that’s not all, it gets worse:

Supreme Court of California Order 4-20-1983_Resignation with Disciplinary Proceedings Pending

And then there another matter, related to a civil case where he entered into a stipulation that he would pay to the tune of $113,055, which he didn’t pay, and which was paid by the state Client Security Fund:

Supreme Court of California Order 7-7-1983_4 Claims at Client Security Fund

Here’s a more colorful episode, check the quotes from Redd Foxx and the bit about the $9,769.60 “final payment on the 3.52 carat diamond ring” and charges he apparently ducked on that:

A blurb about his arrest:

And sentencing on the forgeries, including five years probation, restitution, and community service:

And here’s the real poop from a very pissed off Redd Foxx (click for larger version):

From Carmen McRae:

Well, folks, I’m losing my patience with yahoos’ hatred of solar. I keep hearing rumblings and screeches blasting Minnesota’s 1.5% solar mandate and solar generally.  What’s that about?  A temper tantrum?  ENOUGH!  It’s gotten so bad that I think it’s time for a metaphorical whack upside the head.  It’s clearly not something that can be addressed with a rational discussion and/or more information.

A couple days ago, there was an article in the STrib about Mayflower Church’s solar project, following on the heels of ALJ Eric Lipman’s resource acquisition recommendation finding that solar was the least cost alternative (and related STrib article) for Xcel in this planning round:

ALJ Recommendation 201312-95007-01

I read the STrib story on that Lipman recommendation (see Massive solar plan for Minnesota wins bid over gas), and the comments following it were so bizarre and hateful.  Ugly stuff.  WTF???  People were spewing things that were so patently false that I’d laugh if all that hate weren’t attached.  The hate attached makes it a problem.  The nastiness and flagrant disregard for easily discoverable facts and basic nuts and bolts of administrative process is at such a disturbing level that it shouts “sociopathology!”  With freedom of speech comes responsibility of speech, and I’m tired of the vitriol.  Put a muzzle on it!  It’s like 2 year olds having a temper tantrum when they don’t get their way (and there’s another article about those 2 year olds in the STrib lately… see Violent criminals behave exactly like uncivilized 2 year olds).

Solar isn’t anything new, and it’s getting better and better.  It follows peak, which reduces peak demand, gives us a cushion and reduces need for new generation — it’s just exactly what we need, on every rooftop possible.  DUH, it doesn’t belong on prime ag land, and DUH, we don’t want to go around frying birds or blowing 200 degree air into the neighbor’s homes, but get those panels on our roofs!  NOW!

So anyway, there’s an article Friday about Mayflower’s project.  Here’s the church, and there’s the steeple (people are actually saying they took down the steeple for solar… eh?)

The physical building has changed since the photo way above at the top.  Mayflower built a sanctuary attached to the circa 60s education building and vacated the big ol’ white church, which was renovated and repurposed — it is now the Museum of Russian Art!

I grew up at Mayflower, had to go there ever Sunday until I moved out, and I gleefully participated in both the 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. sections of the confirmation classes, hey, what can I say, I love to argue theology/philosophy, though I did choose not to get confirmed.  My parents were both Deacons for a long, long time, and active in various committees, including Benevolence, Social Action, Guild, Women’s Circle, and I know that the church has a long history of contribution locally, nationwide and internationally.

It was a thrill to see Rev. Sarah Campbell in the STrib showing off their solar project.  They’ve had an energy mission, both educational and in fixing up the physical plant/planet, and a solar project fits in well with what they do.  But after the article, I see the comments… What is wrong with people, the vile nastiness spewing out is so weird.  They’re saying things about this church that are so far off base, that show they know nothing about it’s mission or history, and it’s just hateful.  What is it about solar, about this project that scares people so?  What is it about these commenters that they go so far off the deep end in their objections?

Objections and demonstrably false statements range from claims that it’s not a Christian church, that they build this huge solar project but didn’t make updates in their heat and insulation, that the church didn’t put Creekside Commons housing together, that the church built this project when instead they should “FEED THE POOR” and help people in need, that this is an example of the press supporting “radical hippie godless-element churches,” the article is “a masterful reassertion of Carbon Cult dogma,” that Mayflower is trying to tell other people how to live, that in Minneapolis “the loons aren’t always birds, solar panel owners are stealing from the ratepayers, “I think your god is Al Gore not the Lord,” that “liberalism can only be understood as a secularized religion. Abortion, “social justice,” and environmentalism are among its most cherished sacraments,” “espite mounting evidence to the contrary, no rational argument or recitation of facts will ever convince Ms. Campbell that anthropogenic global warming does not exist, or that installing taxpayer-funded solar panels on her church roof does nothing to advance “social justice.”  “Everything they do is a social statement. These folks can’t take a leak without making it into a social statement.”

I just don’t get it.  Someone please enlighten me.  What is this anger about?  It’s nuts, and I need to stop trying to make sense of this.

 ****************************

Minneapolis congregation fosters sun worship of a different sort

Minneapolis UCC church installs solar panels as social statement

• Article by: JOSEPHINE MARCOTTY  , Star Tribune
• Updated: January 3, 2014 – 9:55 AM

Sarah Campbell would like churches everywhere to supplement the cross with a new symbol of hope — solar panels.

That, she said, is exactly what the 750 members of the Mayflower United Church of Christ did last week when they flipped the switch on one of the largest solar arrays in Minneapolis as a brazen and public strike against climate change.

“We don’t have physical or spiritual space for despair anymore,” Campbell, the church’s lead minister, said Thursday. “I am really hopeful that we can turn this thing.”

In fact, it may already be working.

Just days after Mayflower’s 204 Minnesota-made panels were turned on in the icy sunshine, an administrative law judge concluded that solar is a better deal for the state and Xcel Energy than investments in new natural-gas generators. If the decision is upheld by the state Public Utilities Commission, it will open the door to massive solar installations across the state and potentially a sevenfold increase in solar power.

In addition, solar gardens are sprouting all over town. Those jointly owned solar arrays allow electric customers to invest in a project built somewhere off their property and own a share of the output. Their share of the electricity gets credited to their monthly bills. At least three are in the works in Minneapolis and elsewhere in the state.

For the members of the Mayflower Church, which sits at the corner of Diamond Lake Road and 35W and is part of the United Church of Christ, the energy project fit right into its historically liberal mission. It was among the first denominations to accept female and gay clergy. Mayflower considers itself a church of big dreams — symbolized by the giant dream catcher sculpture hanging from the roof of the sanctuary — and it does not dream humbly, said Campbell.

As a delegate to the World Council of Churches, Campbell was among those who persuaded the group to sign a letter to President Obama urging him to say no to the Keystone Pipeline proposed for carrying Canadian oil across the middle of the United States. At its annual synod last year, the United Church of Christ agreed to divest itself of all investments in fossil fuels and to adopt a goal of carbon neutrality.

“Humility is a nice trait. But when you are doing justice, it does not work well,” she said. “And church organizations can be powerful ways to create change.”

Built to be noticed

The congregation wanted the solar panels to get noticed — so it built a steel frame to hold one-fourth of them above the front door of the church. The others are largely hidden on the flat roof of the two-story education building behind the church. Only airplanes can see them, Campbell said.

It took five years of planning and a fundraising campaign to generate the $200,000 needed for the entire energy efficiency project. In addition to the solar panels that march in south-facing rows across the roof and the portico, the church also replaced its boiler, added insulation and put in more energy efficient light switches. In all, it has reduced its carbon footprint by about 60 percent, said Monte Hilleman, the church member who ran the project. By 2030 the church wants to be totally carbon neutral to set an example for halting climate change.

“How are we going to get there if we don’t tackle buildings?” said Hilleman, who is vice president of real estate and development for the St. Paul Port Authority. In the United States, buildings use about half of the nation’s electricity and produce about half of the carbon emissions that drive climate change, he said.

The financial advantages, though secondary, are considerable. Hilleman said thanks to energy credits and rebates from Xcel, it got $300,000 worth of energy investments that, after tax credits and other financial arrangements, will ultimately cost the church just $30,000. Of course, it had help from lawyers and the solar companies that built the array in figuring out how a tax-exempt church could take advantage of tax credits. But after knitting together an array of financing and cross-leasing agreements, they did it, he said.

Others are noticing. Campbell said she often is asked to speak about the project at other churches, and several members of the Mayflower congregation are looking into putting solar onto their own homes.

“And we are seeing growth in our membership of people who want to do more than talk about it,” Campbell said.