HOPE files Court papers including mention of Polymethylene polyphenyl isocyanate

Symptoms and Illnesses Report Form (PDF file). Email or Mail to (SOS, c/o Mike Lynberg) P.O. Box 1612, Pebble Beach, Ca, 93953

News –

(Oct 9) HOPE files Supplemental papers with the Court including mention of a formerly secret "inert" ingredient in the Checkmate pesticide (revealed by Santa Cruz Sentinel) of an Isocyanate. There is a remarkable overlap with the symptoms reported by 110 local residents and the symptoms known to be caused by the isocyanate. Court should issue decision by tomorrow.

(Oct 9) Spraying Postponed (24 hours?) by CDFA due to Rain and Wind.

(Oct 8) *** TRO should be decided tomorrow before 5:pm - before spraying planned for tomorrow night. There likely will NOT be a hearing in Court, the judge may decide the issues just on the papers filed.

(Oct 5) HOPE files TRO with Monterey County Superior Court to stop Spraying scheduled for Tuesday. (Text of TRO – Termporary Restraining Order)

Oct 2 Monterey City Council adopts strong resolution against Aerial Spraying of Checkmate Pesticide (text not yet available).

(Oct 2) Monterey City Council today to discuss 1. Whether to join HOPE’s suit (ask them in 4:00 session public comment to do so) , and 2. Resolution about the Spraying (ask them in 7:00pm session to include "Support for non-spraying Alternatives")

(Sept 28) HOPE files Public Records Request with CDFA & Monterey County to get information on exactly when and where the planes turned their pesticide sprays on and off.

(Sept 28) PANNA (Pesticide Action Network strengthens their concern and opposes Aerial Spraying "Until CDFA responds to legitimate community and scientific concerns about efficacy and safety, PAN cannot support further aerial spraying."

(Sept 27) Numerous news stories on HOPE’s lawsuit. (KSBW, KION, Herald, KSMS, Santa Cruz Sentinel, Metro Santa Cruz)

(Sept 26) HOPE Sues California Dept of Food & Agriculture for violating Environmental law (CEQA) (Full text of Lawsuit)

(Sept 26) Monterey County Weekly Reports on HOPE’s lawsuit, the many people who got sick and the $140,000 campaign contribution to the Governor by the Pesticide Manufacturer (by Kera Abraham).

(Sept 26) HOPE letter to US-EPA Request to Rescind Aerial Spray Chemical Testing Exemption because LBA Moth is Not an Emergency, it is a False Alarm.

(Sept 24) California Assemblyman John Laird writes a stinging critique of CDFA’s spraying, but still does not oppose the Spraying or support non-spraying Alternatives.

(Sept 23) USDA planning to re-spray the Monterey Peninsula beginning on Oct 9th, 2007. They intend to Spray most coastal Santa Cruz cities soon after.

(Sept 20) Atmospheric Modeling expert calculates Drift is likely at least 3 times father than CDFA & USDA claim – chemicals probably fell in Sanctuary.

(Sept 20) Illness and Symptom Claim form to request Compensation from CDFA.

(Sept 19) Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger took more than $143,000 from Suterra’s owner Steve Resnick, the manufacturer of the Checkmate chemical, which is being sprayed from airplanes on our Monterey Peninsula cities. (Thanks to ArnoldWatch)

(Sept 17) Download Flyer & Petition – Overview of Aerial Spraying. Back has Petition Opposing Spraying and Supporting Non-Spraying Alternatives.

(Sept 16) "Stop Overhead Spraying" (SOS) Group Formed to Stop Spraying. Contact – ‘ReactionToSpraying at Yahoo dot com’

(Sept 14) Several people are seriously ill, and many others have symptoms they believe may be caused by spraying. They’ve created a Yahoo group to communicate - (NoMoreSpraying-subscribe [at] yahoogroups.com).

(Sept 12) Sprayers "miscalculated" and had to spray a 4th day in Pacific Grove.

(Sept 11) Spraying on Radio: KRXA (540 AM) at 2:pm Tuesday. HOPE’s Exec. Dir. David Dilworth discusses the science and the law on the aerial chemical spraying claims - Deborah Lindsay’s "Tomorrow Matters" show. Call in = 394-5792

(Sept 11) United Press Intl article on Aerial Spraying.

(Sept 11) LA Times article on Aerial Spraying.

(Sept 10) USDA Hides from live Questions: On "Tomorrow Matters" show USDA Spokesman Larry Hawkins refuses to appear if they allow call-in questions.

(Sun. Sept 9th) According to Monterey’s City Manager -- Spraying will start tonight in Marina & Seaside (Zone CAM-9 & CAM-11 on Map – Click here for Spray Map). Monterey to be sprayed Monday Night; Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach (including the Lodge & Spanish Bay Resort) and Carmel Woods are Tuesday evening.

(Sun. Sept 9th) HOPE is preparing a lawsuit to Stop the Spraying. Among a half dozen other laws, they are arrogantly violating our fundamental human Right to "Safety" which is explicitly in our California Constitution; in the first paragraph of our State Constitution. There is no specific Right to "Safety" in our Federal Constitution.

(Sun. Sept 9th) Rally at 3:pm CDFA Press Conference in Salinas. Aggrieved residents to complain at event.

(Sept 9th) For Evacuees: Monterey will be sprayed first tonight after 8:pm (For other times and places call !CDFA! at 800 491-1899. Lets hope their information on this is not false like everything else they tell us.)

** (Sept 9th) Navy School Professor of Meteorology Wendell Nuss calculates chemical sprayed at 500 feet above the ground can drift 2 miles from the plane in "calm" night winds. This means planes must spray no closer than 2 miles from coast. But CDFA fiercely demands to spray closer than 300 yards feet from Sanctuary.

(Sept 9th) NOAA law Enforcement staff will be "closely monitoring" the spraying tonight to see if any chemicals drift into our bay.

Sept 8th Rally for Safe, Clean Air at Seaside’s Laguna Grande Park Saturday 2 pm. (Hazmat suits will be available.)

Sept 7th Voting for a bill to enable Spraying funding are Assemblyman John Laird and Senator Maldonado. Governor Arnold signed it. All three failed to support "Non-Spraying Alternatives" after asked this week.

(Sept 6) 80 to 110 People Rally for Safe Clean air at Window on Bay at 5:pm.

** (Sept 5th) NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuary sends warning letter to California Sec. of Agriculture advising his proposed Spraying set for Sunday could seriously violate federal law and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.

* (Sept 5th) Pacific Grove City Council unanimously opposes spraying, directed City Attorney to prepare to sue to stop the spraying; and taking one step further than the Monterey Council – endorses use of less toxic alternatives. This was put on the agenda as an Emergency Item by Councilwoman Lisa Bennett.

(Sept 4) Rally for Safe, Clean Air organized for Thursday evening Sept. 6th at Window on Bay in Monterey by HASMAT - Humans Against Spraying Monterey Area Terrain. (Call 373-0823; 372 8323; or 625 5577)

(Sept. 4th) A.G. Kawamura Decides to Spray Starting Sunday evening Sept 9th angering many local officials who expected the delay would be meaningful enough to allow the public to get answers – not a mere 4 days.

(Sept 4) Seaside Mayor Ralph Rubio writes to Sec Kawamura requesting an immediate delay in spraying; wants a "Comprehensive public process that emphasizes sound science."

Pacific Grove Council sets Special Meeting on Aerial Spraying for Sept 13 at 6:00pm (cancelled as moot when they took emergency action on Sept 5th.)

** National Marine Sanctuary withdraws support. Spraying Permit may not be issued because of toxicity to aquatic invertebrates. Sec of Ag & USDA to "persuade" them in a Conference call Tuesday morning Sept 4. (Aug 31) (Call Congressman Farr (649-3555) to insist Sanctuary is not threatened by federal authorities.)

Spraying Delayed (for 24 hours?) by Sec of Food and Agriculture (Aug 31)

** City of Monterey Unanimously Opposes Spraying, Hints at Legal Threat (Aug 30)

(Aug 30) HOPE prepares a viable Alternative based on Moths not flying more than 100 meters (yards) from their birthplace.

(Aug 30) Herald Biases article and omits crucial Facts on large Conference Center Meeting. They Fail to respond to HOPE letter on this.

(Aug 29) 250 people fill Monterey Conference Center, all but one speaker Opposes Spraying.

HOPE prepares 2 pages of Questions for Conference –Moderator fails to ask even one of HOPE’s questions we spent 2 days preparing. Apparently CDFA staff removed our questions from the set given to the moderator. We gave a set to Sec Kawamura that evening. He has not replied to HOPE at all.

(Aug 22) HOPE news brief: Monterey Council Alarmed by Aerial Pesticide Spraying. City holds emergency vote to express serious concern and hold a focused Council meeting on the pesticide Spraying the week of Aug 27th.

(Aug 20, 2007) HOPE letter to State Insisting that an Environmental Impact Report be prepared.


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Vital Facts --

* LBA Moth Overview

1. Chemicals related to the Spray kill aquatic invertebrates (e.g. abalone, crabs, vernal pool fairy shrimp and krill) in tiny amounts (parts per billion)

2. Chemical proposed for Spraying (LBAM-F) has NOT been tested in any way for harm to biota. US-EPA gave it an Emergency Exemption from testing.

3. University of California Insect Experts say the LBA moth must have been here for "a very long time" prior to this year to spread as far as it has. USDA admits LBA moth is "not spreading now."

4. There is zero (none, nada, zip) documented evidence of LBA moth harm in California agriculture or ecosystems.

5. LBA Moth has been in Hawaii for more than 100 years – Their Agricultural Agency does NOT consider it a "significant pest"!

6. LBA Moth has been in New Zealand for 100 years alongside the Monterey pine tree farms – and they do not consider it a pest. Yet CDFA’s John Connell constantly raises the fear that we would lose our native Monterey pine forests.

** Is this a False Emergency? **

Alternatives Exist:

1. Instead of Spraying people in cities with "Slightly Toxic" chemicals, the state can hang Sticky Pheromone "Johnson traps" as they do in other areas. Most LBA moths never fly more than 100 yards (meters) from where they are born making sticky trapping (or blacklight traps) around the few sites they are fairly found easy to do and much safer than spraying chemicals.

2. Male Moths can be irradiated to make them sterile, then released - just like they do for the Medfly.

* Spraying Questions

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What you can do –

! Demand every elected Official Formally Support "Non-Spraying Alternatives" !

** Call Congressman Farr (649-3555) Farr apparently SUPPORTS Spraying us with Chemicals. "Its absolutely necessary to avoid economic disaster locally."

** Call Assemblyman Laird (649-2832) Insist he officially support "Non-Spraying Alternatives"

** Write Letters to Editor

* Call Herald Opinion Page Editor -- 646-4381

* Thank our National Marine Sanctuary for writing a letter with their serious aquatic toxicity concerns (647-4201)

* Thank Monterey's City Council for Leading our Peninsula on This issue. (646-3760)

* Thank Pacific Grove Council too. (649-3100)

* Call Governor Arnold (916-445-2841; then press 5; than press 0 – you should get a real person)

* Write Secretary Kawamura

*** Call John Connell (the staff behind the throne) his Direct number is 916-654-7272

* Call Senator Maldonado (657-6315)

* Call Supervisor Dave Potter (647-7755) to have him agendize halting our County Agriculture Commissioner (Eric Lauritzen) from Issuing a Spraying Permit.

* Progress Chart (Who’s on Board)

* To Join HOPE’s update list call 624-6500 or email Info7 at 1hope D0T org.
* To Donate to Stop the Spraying

For the latest government official contact information please see -- http://www.montereyherald.com/opinion/ci_6798179

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Calif. Dept of Food and Agriculture page on Aerial Spraying Proposal project.

US Dept of Agriculture page on Light Brown Apple Moth

EPA Exemption from any Pesticide Toxicological Testing Jul 24, 2007

Pesticide Database Report on Checkmate

Pesticide Database explaining in context what "Slightly Toxic" means to our health.

Other groups working on this issue:

Fort Ord Environmental Justice Network (LeVonne Stone) 277-5421

New Monterey Neighborhood Assoc. http://www.newmontereyneighborhood.org (Barbara and Bob Evans).

http://www.1hope.org/chkmate.htm