Thank you for your patience as we work to eliminate the glitches we’ve been having with our website.

Let me clarify what transpired on September 10th and since regarding Allensworth.

Although Governor Schwarzenegger announced on September 10th that the State had purchased the diary rights from the Etchegary family for $3.5 million, the actual contract must still be approved by the Board of Public Works. The Board is scheduled to review the contract on October 15th.

The Chair of the Board of Public Works is Michael Genest, please send a letter to him asking for his support of the Etchegary contract at:

Michael Genest, Chair
State Public Works Board
915 L Street, 9th Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814

O (916) 445-9694
F (916) 322-0717 " " cris.sanford@dof@ca.gov

However, this contract will stop these particular dairies, but will not stop other dairies from starting up next door. The importance of AB576 is that it will permanently protect the entire perimeter of the town and the park from any other such ventures.

On September 6th, the Governor met with Assemblywoman Carter and confirmed what he had been circulating informally for months – that he does not want to see Bill 576 reach his desk. His tactic involved pushing the legal department of Parks and Recreation to finalize the deal with the Etchegary family, while at the same time encouraging the Tulare County Board of Supervisors to take action to secure the remaining borders of Allensworth. In short, he wants to establish the same protection provided by AB576 without actually being presented with the bill itself. This is because the bill presents the Governor with what he regards as a no-win situation: If he signs it into law, he will lose substantial financial support from the dairymen and cattlemen lobby; if he vetoes it, he’ll lose a significant number of Black votes; if he does nothing, it will become law anyway. In short, if this bill gets to his desk at all, he will suffer a major political loss on some front. His only way out is to try to replicate the protection that the bill establishes without the bill itself.

When AB576 passed in the Senate (23 to 15) on August 30th, it was then sent back to the Assembly for concurrence, meaning that the Assembly needed to approve the amendments made by the Senate before the final bill went to the Governor. The Black Caucus’ plan was to get the Bill to the Governor’s desk before the end of the legislative session (September 14th), but the Governor’s own plan was to announce the State’s contract with the Ethchegary family as the resolution of the crisis, thereby eliminating the need for the bill – a course of action we know would not permanently solve the problem.

Soon after the bill passed the Senate, the lobbyist for the Tulare County Board of Supervisors made it known that Tulare County was passing a resolution to assure the protection of the town and park by establishing a “mitigation bank,” which would rezone the remaining land surrounding Allensworth exclusively for wild life preservation. The problem with this approach is that although it would effectively protect Allensworth from dairies, it would also prevent future commercial development within the community.

Assemblywoman Carter did not send the Bill to the Governor's desk, she is holding it until January when the Legislative Session resumes. AB576 is now what is called a two year Bill, in that it spans 2007 into 2008.

On September 18th, the Tulare County Board of Supervisors met to pass a resolution that would put a 45-day moratorium on all special use permits around Allensworth while they consider how to best structure the mitigation bank. They did not act on the resolution on the 18th, but rescheduled it for the October 9th agenda.

Following the Board of Supervisors’ meeting, several stakeholders with members of the Allensworth community council met at the community center in Allensworth and decided that we would independently develop our own vision and plan for the community. We further determined that we would present this vision – at least in its broadest sense – at the October 9th Tulare County Board of Supervisors meeting.

So, the battle of the Etchegary dairies is 90n – but the war is still waging. Stay on board

WE HAVE WON THE BATTLE! - BUT THE WAR IS NOT OVER

Hello PALS,

Monday, September 10th was Allensworth Appreciation Day – and indeed, a day to be remembered!

The event began with singing “The Star Spangled Banner" and "Lift Every Voice" followed by an invocation led by me. Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally, Chair of the Black Caucus, welcomed everyone and thanked them for participating in this day of acknowledgement and celebration of Allensworth.

Assemblyman Mike Davis then spoke on the three different efforts currently underway to protect Allensworth from the dairies: Bill AB576, written by Assemblywoman Wilmer Carter; Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr.’s lawsuit against the Tulare County Board of Supervisors; and Governor Schwarzenegger’s negotiations with the Etchegary family to buy the dairy rights [buy from whom? why?]. The Governor has stated that his objective is to preserve Allensworth and its park[name of park?], and that he welcomes all efforts to that end.

Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas, President-Elect of the Black Caucus and an ardent supporter of the Allensworth cause, moved Bill AB576 through the Assembly and the Senate, and urged those present to make their support of the bill known to the Governor. He then introduced Assemblywoman Wilmer Carter, author of Bill AB576. Assemblywoman Wilmer Carter then spoke on the protection that AB576 would provide Allensworth, and on recent revisions [amendments?] that had been made to the Bill. As the Bill now stands, it would provide a two-and-a-half mile buffer zone around the park and town on which no animal husbandry would be permitted.

Assemblywoman Nicole Parra, who represents Allensworth in the Assembly, spoke on the necessity of preserving the history and accomplishments of all peoples that have played a role in the development and advancement of the State of California, and stated her strong commitment to the preservation of Allensworth.

Allensworth’s mayor, Nettie Morrison, spoke on the struggles and challenges Allensworth has faced during in recent years, thanked those involved in the effort to save Allensworth, and urged everyone to become more involved in the development and preservation of the town and park.

Caroline Ferrell, Esq., Senior Attorney of the Center for Race, Poverty and the Environment, spoke on the civil action currently being undertaken on behalf of [by?] the Allensworth stakeholders, in contrast to the Attorney General's actions, which were based on the faulty environmental report.

Trooper Bobby MacDdonald then shared his personal experience as a Buffalo Soldier, and noted that Colonel Allensworth’s achievement in becoming the first Black Chaplain of the 24th Infantry, his status as a Buffalo Soldier, and his attainment of numerous other military firsts all make his civic namesake – the Municipality [Town?] of Allensworth – a significant military historic site.

Leticia Ugwueke presented the gathering with an inspiring Spiritual before we opened the floor for questions and answers, as well as statements.

No news crews were present at the event, as House Speaker Fabian Nunez was simultaneously holding a news conference for his State of the Assembly session.

At about 2:00pm, our buses began heading back to Los Angeles. At 5:00pm, Governor Schwarzenegger issued a press release stating that the State had successfully negotiated the purchase of the dairy rights from the Etchegary family for $3.5 million, and that the contract had to be approved by the Board of Public Works.

What a great day in California history!

We were told by someone in the upper level of State government that if we, the community, had not been as vigilant as we were, this victory would not have occurred.

Many, many stumbling blocks were placed in our path; yet by the Grace of God, this work bore fruit. It is through the active participation and prayers of each and every person that this victory was achieved. We should all be encouraged by this accomplishment, as it was a bold demonstration of action taken in Faith.

Indeed, if we are willing, He is able.

Beverly,
Allensworth PALS

VICTORY IN THE ASSEMBLY!!
...ON TO THE SENATE!!!

On June 4, 2007, Assembly Bill 576 passed the Assembly, and on June 26, 2007, the Bill was presented to the Senate Committee and passed, now on to the next step before it goes to the desk of the Governor. We still need your support of writing letters to the Senators, which we will have a letter you can download/eblast on the website very shortly. We are also going to rally supporters to go to Sacramento in support of the Governor passing the Bill once it is presented to him! Let's all show our support and send letters to our senators AND show up at the rally. We will keep you posted on the date of our BIG RALLY for AB576! Hope to see you there!

Allensworth PALS

UPDATE FROM SACRAMENTO-CHANGE IN DATE OF HEARING!!

Hello~

We have just been informed from Assemblywoman Wilmer Carter's office the hearing scheduled for Thursday, May 31, 2007 has been RESCHEDULED!!

The new date of the hearing for AB 576 will be MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2007 at the State Capitol.

Our bus to Sacramento will leave from 2nd AME Church, 5500 S. Hoover Ave., Los Angeles, CA on Sunday night, June 3, 2007 @ 10:00 pm and return after the Assembly Session. The bus is free to encourage everyone to bring a friend!!


Please RSVP with Valerie Holton of Black LA Tours @ (323) 750-9267 or reservation@allensworthpals.org. Simply leave your name, phone number and number of people going-we'll call you back.

Stay tuned for more updates and remember...come join us and bring a friend to support Allensworth State Historic Park!

Thank you!
Felicia
Allensworth PALS

UPDATE AND THE SACRAMENTO TRIP ON MAY 31ST


You may recall that the State Attorney General is suing the Tulare County Board of Supervisors for approving an inadequate environmental report. We will have a status update on that very soon.

Also, the State has finished the appraisal of the dairy properties and is submitting an offer to Etchegary to purchase the land. If Etchegary accepts, the dairy issue will be over – but the problem of protecting Allensworth will remain. Even if Etchegary sells the land to the State, another threat can come up tomorrow. We still need to have our park – and all historic parks, protected from this type of inappropriate development. As we see in this case, we cannot always rely on the good sense of local government to protect the interests of the people.

Therefore, under all circumstances we need a State Bill to protect all federal and California State Historic Parks. We encourage our State Legislature to continue pursuing such a Bill.

We are happy to report that Bill AB576 will be heard in the State Assembly floor this Thursday, May 31st. It is critical that we continue to show how important this issue and Bill are to us.

One or two of us cannot do it. As a people, we need to make sure that our accomplishments and social contributions are preserved, otherwise our legacy - our story - will be lost. We cannot determine when a need to defend our history/legacy will happen, we can only be determined to rise to the occasion. This is such a time.

Our bus to Sacramento will leave Second AME Church, 5500 S. Hoover Avenue, Los Angeles Wednesday night, May 30th at 10:00pm and return after the Assembly session. The bus is free to encourage everyone to bring a friend.

Please RSVP with Valerie Holton of Black LA Tours at (323) 750-9267 or

reservation@allensworthpals.org. Simply leave your name, phone number and number of people going - we’ll call you back.

You may add your thoughts and comments to this blog by clicking on the comment button below.

We hope to see you this Wednesday night – and bring a friend.

Beverly
(323) 971-1277
(818) 901-1200

VICTORY IN SACRAMENTO!!!

VICTORY IN SACRAMENTO ON APRIL 18, 2007

We had a very successful trip to Sacramento on April 18, 2007! Assembly Bill 576 was presented before the Committee and has been successfully approved 9-3! We would like give a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who came out to support Allensworth! The busses came from Los Angeles and Oakland and we look forward to seeing everyone who supported us to come on our next bus ride to Sacramento and this time, bring a friend or two!! We've put together some photo's from the trip and we hope to see your smiling face in future pictures!

What's are the next steps, you ask? The Bill will be presented before the Assembly Floor and all Assemblymembers. We will still need to continue with our Letters of Support to the Assemblymembers (you will be able to access their email and mailing addresses via the website), once it is presented and passes the Assembly, then it will be presented to the Senate in the Fall of 2007! Once AB 576 is presented and passes the Senate, let the celebrations begin!!!

So stay tuned to the website, http://www.allensworthpals.org/ and Allensworth Buzz for the latest updates!! Let's all keep the faith for Allensworth!!

What are your comments, thoughts or views?

Click the "comments" button below to add your thoughts you'd like to share with us and others.

Sincerely,

Felicia - Allensworth PALS