Re: Padilla 2 Poway City Council, Re: $3M Tax Money, Mold, W

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Two other speakers, one a former Toyota employee and the
other a representative of a statewide Peace and Freedom Party
candidate, questioned whether the city should do business
with Castro, whom they said purchased the Poway business
knowing that the business had a history of mold problems that
allegedly cause health issues. Castro did not comment on the
allegations.

In other business, the council:

• Heard former Councilwoman Mary Shepardson ask that
neighbors be brought into the process of planning for the new
Lowe’s store. A neighbor herself, Shepardson said her concern
is “that the train has left the station. I just hope the
homeowners aren’t thrown under the train.”

On 8/17/10, Sharon wrote:
> Council Meeting Tonite. Injured Workers Will Speak
>
>
> Dina Padilla
>
> California Insurance Commissioner Candidate
>
> 7564 Watson Way
> Citrus Heights, Ca.
> 95610-2111
>
> tele: (916) 725-2673 fax: dinajpadilla@gmail.com
>
> www.padilla4insurancecommissioner.com
>
>
>
>
> August 17, 2010
>
>
>
>
>
> Mayor Don Higginson
>
> City of Poway City Hall
>
> 13325 Civic Center Drive
>
> Poway, California 92064 y
>
>
>
> Council Member Merrilee Boyack
>
> Council Member Jim Cunningham
>
> Council Member Carl Kruse
>
> Council Member John Mullin
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Re: $3 million in taxpayer redevelopment funds to a Poway
> business that has: i.) harmed the health of employees via a
> known environmental work exposure; ii.) has attempted to
> shift the cost burden of the injuries onto CA taxpayers;
> and iii.) has attempted to intimidate an employee into
> silence by threat of libel from the workers comp attorney.
>
>
>
>
>
> Honorable Mayor Higginson and Poway City Council Members,
>
>
>
>
>
> My name is Dina Padilla. I am running for California
> Insurance Commissioner for the Peace and Freedom party. My
> primary area of interest that caused me to run for this
> position is my deep concern for workers’ rights, health and
> safety, being adversely impacted by rampant, questionable
> insurer practices in the State of California.
>
>
>
>
>
> I am concerned of not only the adverse impact this is
> having on the injured workers and their families
> themselves, but also the cost burden it is placing on the
> taxpayers of the State of California. When employers and
> their insurers are able to successfully game the workers
> comp system to deny their financial responsibility to
> injured workers, these injured workers and their families
> end up on depending of state and federally funded programs
> for survival. The taxpayers are footing the bill.
>
>
>
>
>
> According to Governor Schwarzenegger, when addressing the
> California Chamber of Commerce in May of this year,
> Workers’ Comp “Reform” has given back or saved California
> industries and their insurers $50 billion since the Ca
> Senate Bill 899 was implemented in 2004. However,
> California is now $20 billion dollars in debt with much of
> the problem being our now beleaguered state disability
> fund.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> As the saying goes, “Think globally. Act locally.” It has
> been brought to my attention that the City of Poway is
> intending to give the owners of Toyota of Poway $3 million
> dollars of taxpayer dollars in the name of redevelopment.
> Questions should be asked of these new business partners of
> Poway regarding how they handle injured worker claims.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Is the City of Poway aware that these same owners appear to
> have:
>
> i.) knowingly exposed employees to the health hazard of a
> moldy building; and
>
> ii.) have fired no less than one of the employees injured
> by the moldy building; and
>
> iii) have attempted to run from their responsibility to
> this injured worker by attempting to deny his workers comp
> claim, running him through the gaunlet; and
>
> iv.) have attempted to shift the cost burden for this
> injured employee onto state disability funds; and
>
> v.) are documented as threatening this employee via their
> workers comp legal counsel, with libel for daring to inform
> his prior fellow employees, fellow human beings, of the
> potential long term health threat to which Toyota of Poway
> is continuing to expose them?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Does the City of Poway condone this type of behavior among
> businesses with whom they intend to partner while using
> taxpayer funds? I am not inclined to believe this is the
> case. Poway and its leaders have a well respected
> reputation of doing what is in the best interest for the
> residents and taxpayers of Poway.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> I am aware there are senior residences within close
> proximity of the new body shop that is to be built by
> Toyota of Poway with a portion of the redevelopment
> funds. What has the City of Poway done to assure that
> their new business partners, Toyota of Poway, will protect
> the health, safety and welfare of the Poway area residents
> from body shop contaminants, better than Toyota of Poway
> has demonstrated they protect the health, safety and
> welfare of its own employees?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> I urge you to investigate this matter further before you
> choose to allocate $3 million Poway taxpayer dollars to a
> business that has demonstrated they have little regard for
> the use of taxpayer dollars if it means they can shift
> their responsibility for environmental exposures and
> resultant illnesses on to the taxpayers of California.
>
>
>
>
>
> Attached are letters I have sent this week regarding the
> matter of Toyota of Poway being indicative of how commerce
> is gaming the workers comp insurance system to: SD County
> District Attorney, Bonnie Dumanis, CA Commissioner of
> Insurance, Steve Poizner; and CA Attorney General Jerry
> Brown. Also attached is the attempted threat into silence
> of injured worker, Tim Hack, by Toyota of Poway’s workers’
> comp insurer, “legal” counsel, Ms. Amy Lessa, Fisher &
> Phillips LLP.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Thank you in advance for your attention to this very
> serious matter. By properly addressing how taxpayer
> dollars are used by businesses in Poway and what are the
> businesses’ societal responsibilities to the workers and
> citizens of Poway before you allocate dollars; you are
> helping all injured workers, citizens and taxpayers of
> California.
>
>
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
> Dina Padilla
>
> Enclosure
> (4)
>
> http://freepdfhosting.com/44ece198ea.pdf