Post-storm lessons

Sacramento does not.

A question we all should be asking our governor and our state representatives is what happened to the $97 billion surplus the state had the previous year? It’s gone and the forecast for the next fiscal year is a shortfall of $25 billion.

Legally, the state is not allowed to carry a deficit but it also ought to be a crime to have blown through a $97 billion surplus and have nothing left to deal with emergency situations, such as we now face. The post-storm cleanup and repair is going to take billions of dollars we don’t have. Instead, the governor of the world’s fifth largest economy has gone “hat in hand” to the federal government.

Of course, the federal government doesn’t have the money either. It will be forced to print the money and deal with the bond holders later, meaning, the U.S. Treasury will have to pay out billions in interest.

The whole scenario up and down the line puts one in mind of the Grateful Dead song, “Casey Jones.” However, instead of being “high on cocaine,” our government is high on spending money it doesn’t have.

The next lesson has to do with our reliance on electricity. These storms should teach us we cannot solely depend on electric power for everything.

People talk about diversity being our strength. The same kind of thinking ought to be applied to the sources of energy we use to heat our homes and businesses, fuel our vehicles, etc.

Gladly, when our home’s electricity went out for five days, we still had hot water. Our water heater is propane. We could cook food. Our cooktop is also propane. And we could jump in the car and drive to the store without worrying about its battery dying. Our vehicles are fueled by gasoline.

If Gov. Newsom and Sacramento’s politicians want us totally reliant on electricity, they’ve got a lot of work to do. The weaknesses of California’s electric grid are obvious and will take billions to improve. Obviously, it’s billions we don’t have.

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This past Saturday, at Carlmont High School, there was a memorial service for Michael Stogner. Because of a coaching commitment, (something which Michael would have understood and appreciated), I was unable to attend. Having missed the service, I would like to offer a few words in honor of Michael’s memory now.

Michael and I met at the Plantation Coffee Shop in San Carlos in the ’90s. He was part of the gang who frequented Young and Sue’s place and mixed it up with the morning regulars. Even after moving away, there were times he would show up for coffee. It was always a pleasure to see him.

This past October, Michael suffered a stroke. He was on his way to recovery when his liver failed. On Nov. 28, 2022, he passed away. As a father and grandfather, and as a friend to many, he will be missed.

There’s a story told about a fella walking along the beach with a companion after a storm. In the aftermath of the storm were a great number of starfish stranded on the beach. The man began to pick up the starfish and toss them back into the sea. His friend said to him,

“Look how many starfish there are. You can’t possibly save them all so why bother? What difference does it make?” The man replied to his friend as he tossed another starfish back to the sea, “Maybe I can’t save them all but to that one, I just made a difference.”

The story epitomizes who Michael Stogner was. One of his passions was aiding crime victims through the confusing labyrinth of the courts. He offered his help as victim advocate to those he could. Obviously he could not offer his help to everyone who needed it but to the select few he could, he did.

I told the story in my previous column about a friend who ended up in county jail after a traffic stop and weapons charge. In that case, Michael was one of the Plantation customers who got involved.

A former member of the San Carlos City Council and mayor, Matt Grocott has been involved in political policy on the Peninsula for 17 years. He can be reached by email at mattgrocott@comcast.net.