[Hugh R]

Webb, my wife used to work at an elementary school district as an administrator. She is an administrator of a different school district now.

The AQMD, under state law was forcing them to put in particulate traps for their six standby generators because the diesel generators were withing 1,000 feet of a school. Duh, they were actually on the school grounds. They test fired them for 30 minutes once a month, after school hours. The cost for the p-traps were $15-$25K per generator. Each generator cost over $100K when they bought them and got AQMD permits for them 5-6 years ago. The school district ended up selling them on some state surplus auction site for out of state sale, and never replaced them. As a result, with no emergency generators, those schools withdrew their listings a Red Cross emergency centers.

Let's recap: Law passed to protect kids from diesel particulate at schools; generators tested after school hours, no exposure to the kiddies.

If emergency generators are used in a real emergency the kids would be sent home due to the emergency; no kiddie exposure to diesel particulate.

No emergency generators for use as a Red Cross shelter.

Where is the exposure to the kiddies and who wins or loses? The CA legislature that made the AQMD pass the law gets to feel good that they did something "for the kids". Who loses? The school and the Red Cross.

What was the point again?

BTW, I helped the school district gratis, and I have over 30 years of experience in working with the AQMD.

The exempt limit for the rule was less than 50 HP, most of those generators were 65 to 95 HP, we proposed rev limiters, fuel flow limits, everything we could think off. The AQMD couldn't accept any of those alternatives because the model numbers of the generators were written into the legislation, i.e., no exemption because they were specifically named items in the legislation.

Don't get me wrong, I love CA. I moved here 34 years ago with nothing and will retire in about 5 year very comfortably. CA has been very good to me. Great place to live if you're working, but pricey if you're retired. My ex-BIL was here about the same amount of time and moved back to TN when he retired. He says his cost of living in Marysville, TN is about 40% of his living in our bedroom community just north of the City of Los Angeles. I'm not sure I want to move back to TN, (lived in Oak Ridge as a teenager) too humid.

I may buy a summer place in Coeur d' Alene, ID and keep my condo in Oxnard, CA for the Winter, and live in ID for six months + one day so I don't pay CA income taxes.