Kathleen Hedberg

HEDBERG URGES STATE TO REVISE WATER CUTS MANDATE

 

 

By Miriam Raftery

December 10, 2015 (Sacramento) – Helix Water District board member Kathleen Hedberg spoke at a public workshop in Sacramento held by the State Water Resources Control Board on Monday.  Hedberg urged the Board to revise  current emergency regulations that mandate huge water cuts statewide and to take into consideration water districts where customers have already been conserving.

In an impassioned plea, she noted that Helix customers already cut use and have exceeded the mandate, but that this has forced many to allow trees and shrubs to die. She noted that the district has invested in increasing water supply and has adequate water to meet customer needs.

"My constituents and Helix Water District customers are outraged and frustrated that they have paid for water supply, storage and reliability projects and we are being told to cut back on water use even when we have enough water as we prepared for drought times and the future," Hedberg testified. Below are her full comments to the Board, along with her assessment of mixed reactions received from state regulators:


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READER'S EDITORIAL: INTEGRITY IS WHAT WE DO WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING

 

By Jason Jackson

November 3, 2014 (San Diego's East County) - Special District Board elections may not be sexy and certainly don’t get the press of federal races or even that of some of our municipal elections, but they are nonetheless extremely important for setting policy in the San Diego region. If anything the lack of attention paid to these districts adds to the importance of these elections. If the “sunlight” of media attention is the best disinfectant for a democracy, than it is easy to see why special districts can be breeding grounds for nepotism and corruption. The lack of public attention increases the importance of electing to these boards people of high integrity who will act as independent advocates for rate payers.


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PHOTO OF THE WEEK: WHO'S TOP BANANA ON LET'S MAKE A DEAL?

 

By Miriam Raftery

March 31, 2014 (San Diego's East County) -- Kathleen Hedberg is best known locally as an outspoken advocate for ratepayers on the Helix Water Board.  But in February, Hedberg's outgoing ways--along with a bright yellow banana costume--caught the eye of Let's Make a Deal's host. 

Hedberg was chosen as a contestant on the popular TV game show's 50th anniversary airing -- and won a gleaming new 2014 Chevrolet Spark car for her "a-peeling" efforts.


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MUSE PROPOSED MUZZLING HELIX WATER BOARD MEMBERS FROM SPEAKING TO MEDIA

By Miriam Raftery

June 27, 2012 (La Mesa) –Helix Water Board director Chuck Muse sought to have the District prohibit fellow Board directors from speaking to  reporters, ECM has learned.  

Board President DeAna Verbeke stopped short of such drastic measures, but  did chastise directors to refrain from “negative personal comments” about board members or the District,” admonishing that during past rate hike considerations, “discussing the District’s business did not reflect well on the individual of the District.”


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WATER BOARD TABLES PROPOSAL TO CURTAIL AFTER-HOURS COMMUNICATIONS

 

East County News Service
September 2, 2010 (La Mesa) – Helix Water Board general manager Mark Weston asked Board members to table a proposed resolution that would have restricted non-emergency communications among board members to business hours. Several board members also leveled criticism at media outlets that reported on the issue.

“I have said that I’m on call 24 hours a day. I’ve been in public works for 30 years,” said Weston, who stated that “portrayal of my character” in some news reports was “quite inaccurate.”


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