IdeaWazaWiki - User contributions [en]

Archive:Gulching

2009-05-05T02:12:18Z

71.135.171.28: /* See also */

'''Gulching''' refers to the act of forming a localized, [[underground economy|underground economic]] and social community of [[libertarian]]-minded individuals. The term comes from Galt's Gulch, the fictional village of economic outlaws in [[Ayn Rand]]'s novel, ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]''. In the novel, Galt's Gulch was hidden in the [[Rocky Mountains]] and protected by a holographic shield so perfect it was called "almost magical". Modern gulching typically occurs in remote areas, but can also take place in suburbs, urban areas, or even online. These underground communities are called "gulches," and the inhabitants and participants are called "gulchers." Exact statistics on gulching's prevalence are unavailable, as [[privacy]] is usually paramount to gulchers. Gulching has been promoted and popularized by libertarian writer [[Claire Wolfe]] and is a major topic on the Internet forum founded for readers of her work.

==Description==
Gulchers trade and [[barter]] with each other outside of government regulation and tax systems. The intent is to create a greater degree of [[economic freedom|economic]] and personal freedom, while building a trust-based local trade network to provide goods and services that might become unavailable if the mainstream economy collapses. Self-sufficiency as a whole, in terms of food, energy, fiber, shelter, health care, and other production and services is considered valuable, even vital, to a free existence. Gulchers are also free to trade outside of the gulch, though a remote location might make this difficult.

A gulch differs from a [[Commune (intentional community)|commune]] in that it is libertarian, and so upholds [[individual rights|individual]] and [[property rights]] rather than operating by the rules of [[community property]]. Participants remain free to own [[property]], to earn and to keep their own wealth, and to live their days as they see fit, rather than by rules imposed by a common community. There may be some mutually accepted plan to share chores or self-defense duties, but in the main, gulchers tend to prefer minimal rules, believing that free individuals will always create better solutions to the questions facing them. Those who seek to participate in a gulch generally adhere to the [[Zero Aggression Principle]] and have no wish to harm or attack others who choose to live differently. They believe in [[self-defense]] if first aggressed upon by others.

Writer [[Taran Jordan]] describes a gulch as "a place where one stores needed supplies to last a certain length of time, until one has arranged to produce as many of those supplies as possible once that initial time runs out, [where] one has made contacts with other likeminded folks to band together in the interests of future production, trade, and the defense of the produce, its means of production, and its producers, [and where] one can enjoy the fruits of one’s labor, and life at the pace of nature, free from those who do not choose this way of life." [http://taranjordan.wordpress.com/2006/08/11/the-gulchers-thought-process]

''The Gulcher's Guide'', by [[Claire Wolfe]] and [[Mary Lou Seymour]], recommends locating gulches at least 100 miles from any major city, in the event that a catastrophe causes refugees to spill out of the city in search of food, loot, and refuge[http://web.archive.org/web/20070929000644/http://www.libertymls.com/gulch/location.html]. The choice of location involves tradeoffs that affect suitability for gulching. For instance, while the [[intermountain west]] is perceived as relatively friendly to the goals of gulchers, it also suffers from lack of water, harsh climates and poor agricultural conditions.

Since gulchers may need to sacrifice many conveniences associated with the above-ground economy, Wolfe considers the most crucial characteristic of a potential gulcher to be adaptability[http://web.archive.org/web/20070929000919/http://www.libertymls.com/gulch/recruit.html]. Gulchers typically eschew banks, preferring to barter or use gold and silver as currencies. Wolfe notes that gulchers may have to rely on anonymous advertisements to find customers and services, e.g.:
*"Chiropractor needed for individual in Coos County, New Hampshire."
*"Internist and full range of clinic services available to gold-paying customers in Pocatello, Idaho."
*"Purestrain metal appraisal available in exchange for radiation therapy."

A variation on gulching, done as a single individual, offers five courses of action to consider: "Refuse to engage in any implementation of your personal creative ability which benefits the State. Take your brains off the statist marketplace. Act so that only those who add to your life, not those who devour it, comprise your creativity marketplace. Reserve your achievements for yourself and those who will join you in the endeavor to build a sane and sensible world". David King calls this "Shrugging"[http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/7695/CHAPTR13.HTM].

==Gulching in Fiction==
* ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]'', a novel by Ayn Rand where the term originated.
* ''[[Bioshock]]'' (2007) , a video game by 2K Games that is set in a gulched, underwater technocraterian society.

==See also==
*[[Agorism]]
*[[Back-to-the-land movement]]
*[[Economic secession]]
*[[Free State Project]]
*[[Retreat (survivalism)]]
*[[Seasteading]]
*[[Survivalism]]

==References==
*Seymour, Mary Lou, and Wolfe, Claire: [http://web.archive.org/web/20070929000638/http://www.libertymls.com/gulch/intro.html The Gulcher's Guide].

[[Category:Libertarian terms]]
[[Category:Objectivist philosophy]]
[[Category:Alternative economy]]

==External Links==
* [http://thementalmilitia.com/forums/index.php?board=18.0] The Mental Militia (formerly The Claire Files) Gulching and Self Sufficiency sub-forum

Archive:Los Angeles County Department of Public Works

2008-07-10T06:41:15Z

71.135.236.180:

{{TOCRight}}

The '''Los Angeles County Department of Public Works''' (LACDPW) is responsible for the construction and operation of [[Los Angeles County, California|Los Angeles County's]] [[road]]s, [[building code|building safety]], [[Sewage collection and disposal|sewerage]], and [[flood]] control. DPW also operates [[traffic signals]] and [[intelligent transportation systems]], [[drinking water]] systems in certain communities, operates five [[airports]], [[paratransit]] and [[bus|fixed route]] [[public transport]], administers various [[Environmental policy|environment]] programs, issues various permits for activities in the public roadway, and has a Department Emergency Operations Center that works in conjunction with the County Emergency Operations Center operated by the Sheriff's Department.

Services are provided primarily to the unincorporated county with some services provided to contract cities. Flood control and watershed management services are provided to all of the county except the [[Antelope Valley]]. The Department of [[Public Works]] is the largest municipal [[public works]] agency in the country, employs over 3,500 people, and has a budget in excess of one billion dollars.

As part of its flood control and water supply responsibilities, the Department of Public Works has 15 major [[dam]]s and 27 spreading grounds in the county. [[Pacoima Dam]] is one of the largest and survived the Northridge earthquake in 1994 when it was momentarily weightless.

Water from the dams is released into channels and some is diverted into spreading basins where it percolates into the ground and recharges the [[groundwater]]. The surface water is not used directly as it requires more cleaning than groundwater. Near the coast, the department has constructed sea water barriers that use injection wells to create a fresh water barrier to prevent [[Sea water|salt water]] intrusion from the [[ocean]] into the groundwater.

The DPW is a leader in [[drainage basin|watershed]] management. It provides storm drain education programs, publishes and enforces best management practices for activities that may affect the watershed, and manages watersheds to provide a balance between flood control, recreation, and protecting the natural environment.

The first director was Thomas A. Tidemanson, [[Professional Engineer|P.E.]] After his retirement, the Alhambra, California headquarters building was named for him.

*Vision: The national leader in customer satisfaction and employee excellence
*Mission: Enhance our communities through responsive and effective public works services
*Values: Safety, Professionalism, Integrety, Respect, Innovation, The enviroment

==History==
The department was formed in [[1985]] in a consolidation of the county Road Department, the Flood Control District (in charge of dams, spreading grounds, and channels), and the County Engineer (in charge of building safety, land survey, waterworks).

For 25 years, the County Engineer Department was housed in the historic Higgins Building, a 10-story [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts style]] commercial building that was designed and built by noted architect Arthur L. Haley and engineer Albert Carey Martin in 1910, at the corner of Second and Main Streets in [[Downtown Los Angeles]]. After "overseeing construction projects large and small from one of the city's strongest buildings, the county determined that the department needed more modern quarters and pulled up stakes in 1977," according to the Los Angeles City Planning Department, which designated the building as the Historic-Cultural Monument #873.

In 1977, the County Engineer Department moved to the corner of 5th Street and Vermont Ave., Los Angeles until the merge of the three departments. At that time the department was called the Department of County Engineer-Facilities.

For years, the Flood Control District and the County Road Department were headquartered in buildings at Alcazar Street in East Los Angeles by the Los Angeles County General Hospital.

Major divisions of the Public Works Department were located at various locations in Los Angeles city for a number of years, until the 12-story glass building in [[Alhambra, California]] was purchased and refurbished. This tallest structure in Alhambra was formerly the western headquarters of [[Sears, Roebuck and Company]], where some fixture units still bear the label "Sears". The steel frames were strengthened in 2006 after it was learned from the [[Northridge earthquake]] that the welded joints were not adequate to withstand a major earthquake.

==Major Divisions==
*Architectural and Engineering Division – designs various buildings and facilities for other county departments
*Aviation Division – operates the five general aviation airports: [[General William J. Fox Airfield|Fox Field]] ([[Lancaster, California|Lancaster]]), [[Brackett Field|Brackett Field]] ([[La Verne, California|La Verne]]), [[Whiteman Airport|Whiteman Airport]] ([[Pacoima, Los Angeles, California|Pacoima]]), [[Compton/Woodley Airport|Compton/Woodley Airport]] ([[Compton, California|Compton]]), and [[El Monte Airport|El Monte Airport]] ([[El Monte, California|El Monte]])
*Building and Safety Division – regulates constructions on private properties
*Construction Division – issues permits for constructions on public right-of-ways
*Design Division - designs departmental facilities
*Flood Control Maintenance Division – operates and maintains dams, open channels, storm drains, debris basins, check dams and pumping plants
*Geotechnical and Materials Engineering Division - Ensures proper land development from geology and soils engineering to subdivision mapping standards.
*Land Development Division - regulates the developments in private lands
*Project Management Division – manages capital project constructions for the County
*Road Maintenance Division – maintains the various streets and roads in the unincorporated portions of the County
*Sewer Maintenance Division – operates and maintains sewers, pumping stations and sewage treatment plants
*Survey Division – provides survey services, maintains public land/survey records
*Traffic and Lighting Division – handles the traffic controls and lights on the streets of the unincorporated portions of the County
*Waste Management Division - regulates the waste management programs
*Water Resources Division - handles water conservation, and operates and maintains three seawater barriers
*Watershed Management Division - handles multipurpose watershed projects and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit Program

*Waterworks Division – provides water services

==Controversies==

In 1988, the Department issued a demolition permit for tear down the historic [[Golden Gate Theater]] in [[East Los Angeles]]. Demolition commenced before officials led by then County Supervisor [[Ed Edelman]] halted the work with a stop-work order.<ref name=Edelman/> Demolition crews had already begun to dismantle the walls when Edelman, then Los Angeles City Councilwoman [[Gloria Molina]], sheriff's deputies and more than 50 concerned community members showed up at the site to ensure the demolition work was halted. Edelman blamed a "foul-up" in the Public Works Department for issuing the demolition permit and assured the gathered crowd that heads were going to roll and that he would "try and stop this damn demolition before it happens."<ref name=Edelman>{{cite news|author=Penelope McMillan|title=Curtain Call for a Landmark Theater|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1988-03-17|url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/58856326.html?dids=58856326:58856326&FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Mar+17%2C+1988&author=PENELOPE+McMILLAN&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Curtain+Call+for+a+Landmark+Theater}} "Demolition crews had swept onto the site at the corner of Whittier and Atlantic boulevards Tuesday and Wednesday, and began to dismantle some walls. But they were halted by a stop-work order obtained from the county Public Works Department through the efforts of Supervisor Ed Edelman."
</ref>

==See also==
*[[Eaton Wash Reservoir]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://dpw.lacounty.gov Los Angeles County Department of Public Works web site]

*[http://www.LAAG.us Lakewood Accountability Action Group] A group of County Residents that lives in Lakewood California (within Supervisor Knabe's district) and often assists cyclists and others with getting the LA County Dept. of Public Works to repair and or fix issues with the San Gabriel River Bike Path.
{{County of Los Angeles}}
[[Category:Los Angeles County, California]]