Monday, February 19, 2300

I THINK IT'S TIME TO GIVE OUR CITY COUNCIL A RAISE!

Posted: 19 Feb 15

PLANTING A SEED I HOPE WILL GROW AND BEAR FRUIT

I believe in recognizing and rewarding excellence.

Don't you?

The blessings we enjoy here don't just magically appear. They are the result of hard work and heavy burdens cheerfully borne and properly executed. Service above and beyond the call of duty has been the norm for quite a long time.

If you look at the pay scales, you would be shocked -- at how poorly our elected leadership team -- is compensated -- for the significant opportunity-costs -- which they sacrifice in the public service. Some even hold full-time jobs -- yet manage to attend the many meetings and calls for service -- which their political duties entail. (Here, take a look for yourselves.)

And, do they give themselves raises? No. Instead, they give themselves pay-cuts and freezes.

So if their salaries are to be raised -- we're the ones who are going to have to make that happen -- TO INSIST. We can never afford to fully compensate them in proportion to their persistent dedication, but we can sure signal our approval with meaningful tangibility.

We don't have a public forum for easily discussing such topics, as far as I know -- but surely the City's communities and non-governmental systems can undertake, or at least consider, this initiative?

Furthermore, the "Civic Mentor / Pittsburg" sub-project assumes the responsibility for establishing a set of special and general purpose public forums -- over the near-term.

Then and there -- if not before and elsewhere -- let's revisit this topic, among many others, in earnest -- and bring them all to proper and happy conclusions.

Tendered with great respect and gratitude,

David Nelson

All Original Content © 2015, The MENTOR Enterprises / ELMS, All Rights Reserved. BUT, I hereby waive those rights, to this extent: You may freely copy and pass this along -- and are urged to do so -- as long as it's all done free of charge, unchanged, you include this statement, AND you inform me as to how it is being used -- at YOUR convenience but, hopefully soonest.

Sunday, November 6, 2022

CIVIC MENTOR ACCUMULATORS (CMA) -- Explained

Posted:

When you visit my product and service offerings, don't expect perfection, yet -- just determination.

Purposes

To explain the system-building concept of "Civic Mentor Accumulators (CMA)"
To help me continue to convert this bulletin board from a hodge-podge of often random features into a purely system explanatory and delivery tool -- as I spin off more suitable web objects

What is a CMA?

It is any bulletin I publish which is intended to

As I often explain, almost everything I publish is, necessarily, a "rough draft."

The Civic Mentor Project is still in its start-up phase. It differs from many entrepreneurial efforts in that much of it must be done in public. It is "the nature of the beast." It is so vast, so all-inclusive, that one life-time cannot hope to accomplish it, if I wait to perfect it before publication.

I publish on the fly. I brain-storm in public. Errors may not be noticed until later in the review process (though I try to catch and fix them)

CMA's are those bulletins

My Current Work Program

An active Organizing Campaign for the 114-home housing colony where I reside -- undertaken to enhance security and well-being of the entire neighborhood and to provide a working model for testing concepts to be delivered on a wider and wider scale.
Creation of a Basic Neighborhood Management System (BNMS) model which other neighborhoods might adapt and adopt for their own use. This is to offer neighborhood organizers with guidelines to ease their unification. It seeks to help standardize neighborhoods enough that they can understand and cooperate with surrounding neighborhoods and exchange knowledge and other resources with greater ease. It is also to enable

CMA's are bulletins that present useful materials, as they comes to hand -- rather than have readers wait for a finished project which is expected to go on for years -- before completion. If it's useful, why make readers wait to receive it. I am pumping these out as I go -- to return for further development -- as workload permits.

The Civic Mentor accumulators are part of the process of defining all that the Civic Mentor elements that comprise the concept. Many elements have to be started, to be completely developed later. These preliminary pieces serve as a place-holder -- so more and more topics can be identified -- without me losing my place. And, more importantly -- to place in your hands -- without delay -- whatever practical and theoretical information comes to hand -- rather than have you wait for a project that will take years to fulfill.

All Original Content © 2014, The MENTOR Enterprises / ELMS, All Rights Reserved. BUT, I hereby waive those rights, to this extent: You may freely copy and pass this along -- and are urged to do so -- as long as it's all done free of charge, unchanged, you include this statement, AND you inform me as to how it is being used -- at YOUR convenience but, hopefully soonest.

Saturday, November 5, 2022

CIVIC MENTOR / TECH / Multiple Computers

Posted:

After using this program for quite some time, it dawned on me that some of you may be entering the multiple computer arena and may not have gotten around to connecting them as one super-dooper system -- so that you can use one mouse and keyboard to operate all of your Windows machines (sorry Apple -- you use this -- with which I have no experience)

You can also remote-control your system -- from another pc or smart phone

All Original Content © 2014, The MENTOR Enterprises / ELMS, All Rights Reserved. BUT, I hereby waive those rights, to this extent: You may freely copy and pass this along -- and are urged to do so -- as long as it's all done free of charge, unchanged, you include this statement, AND you inform me as to how it is being used -- at YOUR convenience but, hopefully soonest.

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

CIVIC PROCEDURE / Pittsburg, CA / NOTIFYING THE POLICE (#1)

Posted: 17 Oct 14
Update #1: 19 Oct 14 -- added police website FAQ-link, textual amplifiers

Civic Mentor Bulletin

Civic-Procedure / Making Police Service Requests / Pittsburg, CA

WHEN AND HOW TO NOTIFY THE
PITTSBURG, CA POLICE

1. PURPOSES OF THIS BULLETIN

1.1 This bulletin is designed to serve the specific civic-mentoring needs of the People of Pittsburg, CA -- in one particular area of police-relations -- and has been approved for publication by the Chief of Police.

Specifically, this explains how the police view calls for service, how citizens should view making calls, seven ways to notify the police, and recommends that each household set up a "Household Procedures Binder" for ready access to this information and future such materials disseminated from here and elsewhere.

1.2 This bulletin hopes:

To help remove confusion as to how and when residents and others might approach triggering a police action.
To help inform and trigger forethought -- so that a resident will have at least one less thing to have to figure out -- in the heat of an emergency. This will be one decision-set that should have been made beforehand.

Thoughtful preparedness is at the essence of good and effective citizenship.

1.3 This bulletin is posted in both the main Civic Mentor Bulletin Board blog (for max exposure) and in the Pittsburg Police CM-blog (the most logical permanent access- and control-point).

2. KEEPING THE RIGHT MIND-SET ABOUT POLICE CALLS

2.1 HESITATING TO CALL: The police encourage us to report ANYTHING out of the ordinary -- and they NEED us to do this -- and EXPECT us to do this. (It's built-into our implicit "Partnership Contract" with them)

The moment we even ask ourselves, "should I call the police on this?" MIGHT JUST BE the time to call. You’ll have to judge, but please don't hesitate, simply because you don’t want to inconvenience the police -- this is a crucial aspect of their chosen profession -- and things can get out of control, quickly.

2.2 WHY ARE WE SO STRONGLY-URGED TO CALL, RATHER THAN NOT?

Because it helps the police do a far better job by working:

To help them get to know us and understand our circumstances, as individuals and in our various groupings and common territory – always an advantage to intelligent, responsive police work.
To help them maintain at least an approximately accurate feel for what's going on – so they are not caught by surprise.
To possibly provide them with "missing pieces" of some puzzle they are attempting to solve for us.
To help us get to know them better and learn useful things from them.
To further deepen mutual trust and cordiality between the police and the population – so each can serve the other, better and better.
To accumulate useful statistical information to help police manage the police function – and to enable residents to use this knowledge to contribute more constructively -- while helping the police to justify needful funding increases.
BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, THIS "FREEDOM-TO-CALL" GIVES US MORE OF THE PEACE OF MIND AND SECURITY TO WHICH WE ARE ENTITLED.

2.3 PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT THE POLICE RESPOND ACCORDING TO A PRIORITY SYSTEM

First things first. More urgent calls receive priority. Lesser calls wait in line. As more citizens call on a case, this tends to raise the priority of the case. But, all calls will be addressed as soon as possible.

3. EFFICIENT WAYS TO CONTACT THE POLICE

Tip: It wouldn't be a bad idea to memorize something so important:

911 -- Emergencies, of course, 24/7
252-4980 -- Non-Emergency -- when you still need to summon an officer (but in not as big a rush) or to report/inquire (during business hours, Mon-Fri)
646-2441 -- Dispatch -- another way to get an officer or make a report, 24/7
427-7369 -- Police Tip Line -- to give info for ongoing (or cold) investigations or location of fugitives being pursued (automated, 24/7, anonymously or open).
Flag-down a patrolling officer or visit the police headquarters at the City Center.
Here is a link to the Police Section of the City website

Here is a link to the "Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)" on the City website.

Here is a link to the Police Facebook page (with limited 2-way capability)

4. RECOMMENDED CIVIC-READINESS ACTION

RESIDENTS SHOULD DELIBERATELY ADOPT AND TEACH THIS "POLICE-CALLING STRATEGY" as an integral part of household security plans. Insure that all members of the household (and neighborhood and/or business) are familiar with this information.
Put our worries and concerns on the record and push them into the willing and capable hands of the police -- BUT DO NOT PLACE YOUR OWN LIVES AT RISK (if it can be avoided).

5. RECOMMENDED DISPOSITION OF THIS BULLETIN

Residents might print-out this bulletin (right-click this page and chose the "print" option) and keep it in easy reach, for example, within a 3-ring "Household Procedures Binder." The Civic Mentor process is expected to issue many practical future bulletins for inclusion in such a personal reference tool -- in addition to others things you might add.

The above printing suggestion is admittedly crude, for now. As soon as feasible, a more refined printing capability will be developed to give you the higher-quality outputs you deserve.

Here's to much better-prepared and safer residents, neighborhoods, and City-at-Large

David Nelson

All Original Content © 2014, The MENTOR Enterprises / ELMS, All Rights Reserved. BUT, I hereby waive those rights, to this extent: You may freely copy and pass this along -- and are urged to do so -- as long as it's all done free of charge, unchanged, you include this statement, AND you inform me as to how it is being used -- at YOUR convenience but, hopefully soonest.