The shaking of the ground & the sound of breaking glass awoke me to my nightmare. Bottles & dishes flying out of the cabinets, water pipes bursting, and furniture that was not secured was toppling over. I thought it was the end of the world. The shaking only lasted less than 10 seconds, but it seemed like an eternity.

I tried turning on the lights, but the electricity was not working. I had to adjust my eyes to the darkness, and tried to make my way to the front door. As I walked across the floor, my feet were getting cut from the broken glass. The pain was excruciating, but I made it the open atrium courtyard of my building. My neighbors were gathering in the courtyard, and we did a head count to make sure everyone got out of their homes safely. This was a day I won’t forget.

Why am I reliving the worst day of my life? Yesterday, a 5.4 earthquake hit the Chino Hills area, and the trembling was felt in Palm Springs and throughout Southern California. The San Andreas Fault runs right through the Desert, and is long overdue for a major earthquake. With all the recent news about floods, tornadoes and the deadly earthquake in China a few months, it made me think of how prepared I am when the Big One hits Palm Springs. You would think that after what I had experienced 13 years ago, I would be the most disaster prepared person on the planet. Sadly though, the only thing that I still do every night is to make sure that I have a pair of slippers by my bedside.

Since we all know that we cannot rely on local or federal government agencies to help us in a time of natural disasters, it is up to all of us to help ourselves & our neighbors. Here are some the things you can do to prepare:

Water- Have 1 gallon of water per person to last you 2 weeks
Food- Get plenty of canned tuna, vegetables, baby formula, and anything non-perishable. Make sure you have a 2 week supply per person and a can opener.
First Aid Kit- Have a well-stocked first aid kit, along with any medications you are taking. Also, it might not be a bad idea to get CPR & first aid training. You may have to take care of the injured, and the training could save someone’s life.
Money- Keep a supply of money for purchasing items. The ATM’s will not work, and you have pay for items you may not have. Beware of unscrupulous price gougers.
Meeting Place- Make sure you have a designated meeting place in case you & your family get separated. Cell phones will most likely not work during a disaster.
Tents & Sleeping Bags- Have tents & sleeping bags available in the event that your home is uninhabitable.
Your Car- Have similar items in your car in case you are stranded away from home.

These are just some of things you can do to prepare for any disaster. For more information on disaster preparedness, you can contact the Red Cross or go their website at http://www.redcross.org/

CopyKatz

The papers were filed on October 22, 2007 in the Riverside County Superior Court.  The lawsuit names Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism, Mary Jo Ginther, Executive Director, and SMG. 

According to the Palm Springs City Council Meeting archives dated November 3, 2004, the City of Palm Springs unanimously approved an agreement to have SMG take over tourism related services for a period of 4 years.

SMG, based out of Philadelphia, manages convention centers, exhibition halls, sport arenas, and many other public venues across the country.  They currently manage the Palm Springs Convention Center.

Breach of contract & negligence is the basis of the lawsuit CopyKatz has filed against the Tourism Bureau.  CopyKatz claims that SMG, as an “umbrella marketer” for the City of Palm Springs, has not promoted their business in print or media advertising for nearly a year.  The lawsuit claims that SMG has failed in its duties of their contract, and that CopyKatz has suffered damages due to their negligence.

What I find interesting is that the Palm Springs City Council voted on June 6th of this year to add an additional $266,000 to SMG’s budget.  Why is the City giving additional money to SMG when local businesses feel they are not living up to the terms of the contract that was put in place? 

Secondly, I question why the Desert Sun has not picked up on this story of significance.  It is my understanding that the Desert Sun has a reporter who covers the Riverside County courts in Indio.  The lawsuit was filed with the courts a week ago, and there has been no mention of it their newspaper. 

One last question:  Could this have anything to do with the upcoming elections in Palm Springs next week?

To view a copy of the lawsuit, click here.

Same article is posted on ActiveRain

Photo courtesy of Flickr

Copywrite 2007 Blog of the Desert  All Rights Reserved

I’m talking about the story the Desert Sun reported in their paper this past weekend about local Palm Springs City Candidate, Roxann Ploss. Apparently, Ms. Ploss has been writing a local blog on the MyDesert.com website, which is sponsored by the Desert Sun.

You are probably thinking that this is no big deal, what’s the story about? Well it turns out that Ms. Ploss was writing the blog under the assumed name, “John Morris”, a 70 year old man. It turns out that “John Morris” was using the blogsite to make derogatory and disparaging remarks about other mayoral and city council candidates for about 2 months. The Desert Sun has pulled the “John Morris” blog from their site. Scandalous!!!

Now I don’t know Ms. Ploss personally, but she has been a local fixture in Palm Springs for over 35 years. She made a run for City Council a few years and did not win. I did not vote for her in that election because I did not like her politics. I know she loves this town and she has made great contributions, but she can be very polarizing when it comes to local issues.

There has been talk in town that Ms. Ploss should drop out of the Council race because there may be ethical violations on what she did. She admits that she made a mistake, and different comments have been running rampant in the local blogosphere on what should happen.

My opinion is my opinion, and I really believe that this act shows a lack of character on Ms. Ploss’ part. I do not want this type of person representing me or the city of Palm Springs. Whether she is new to blogging or not, Ms. Ploss must realize that what you write on the Internet will stay there forever and you can’t take it back. All I have to say is “Let’s Play Nice”.