Groan... re-typing... not linked on his web-site. (Just received today).

Diane

Senate
California Legislature

Senator
BYRON D. SHER
Eleventh Senatorial District

[Note: Covers a goodly portion of Silicon Valley]

August 25, 1999

Dear_________ :

As your State Senator, I am writing to share with you information on an important issue facing California. As the Year 2000 arrives at midnight December 31, 1999, computers and computer chips have the potential to malfunction. The problem, known as Y2K or the millennium bug, arises from the fact that computer programs recognize only the last two digits in years, such as 99 for 1999. The Governors office of Emergency Services (OES) is encouraging California residents to prepare now for Y2K, taking steps similar to those used for other emergencies such as earthquakes and severe winter weather. Here are some suggestions on how you can prepare for Y2K.

1. Water: Store one gallon of water per person for a week. (at least two quarts for drinking, two quarts for food preparation and sanitation). Store water in sound plastic containers, such as soft drink bottles or throughly rinsed milk containers.

2. Food: Have plenty of nonperishable food on hand for your family to eat for up to a week. It is best to purchase dry and canned goods that may be bought well in advance.

3. Health: It is a good idea to maintain an up-to-date hard copy of health, medical, and dental records for yourself and your family. Should the computers at your doctors office be affected, having your records on hand will ensure your continuity of care.

4. Banking: It is recommended that you have some extra cash on hand in case computer-controlled electronic transactions involving ATM cards and credit cards are not available.

If you would like more information preparing for Y2K, or what you may expect from this event, please check here ____ and return this letter. I will be glad to send you an informational pamphlet from the Office of Emergency Services.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. Please feel free to contact my office in the future if I may be of assistance.

Sincerely,

BYRON D. SHER
Senator, 11th District

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), August 31, 1999

Answers

Well... its something at least... one week.

Diane

Send feedback to...

Web-site: California State Senator...
Senator Byron Sher
D-Stanford
Senate District 11

http://WWW.sen.ca.gov/sher/

See also... California State Senate web-site

http://www.sen.ca.gov/

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), August 31, 1999.

Wouldn't it be incredible, though, if every State Senator did that?

-- Gayla (privacy@please.com), August 31, 1999.

Thanks for the post Diane, I have been wondering which State would be the most aggressive in helping it's citizens, which will be the last to do so, and what the fallout from both ends of the spectrum will be?

Will there be attempts to first, best, most? Will entire States vie for limited resources? Will there be citizens in up in arms in either scenario?

Sometimes I feel like I accomplished so much, and then the effort feels so inadequate considering the potentials.

Again, many thanks for all your work here Diane!

Respectfully, Michael

-- Michael (mikeymac@uswest.net), August 31, 1999.

I think this is a very positive move. Maybe if more spoke up, people would not think the worst.

-- Gia (laureltree7@hotmail.com), August 31, 1999.

Hello Diane, Thanks for passing this along. At least it's a start. I appreciate that Senator Sher didn't bury his preparation statement amid the the usual disclaimers like, "Although your state government is completely remediated and we expect no disruption whatsoever...", and that he said to prepare as for severe winter weather, rather than the usual "a winter storm".

I have a DWGI sister in So Cal (San Diego area) who is a Doctor. I'm sending it on to her...it may not help, but it can't hurt. Maybe she can be persuaded to prepare for at least one week if a state senator recommends it...after all, politicians don't lie.

-- RUOK (RUOK@yesiam.com), August 31, 1999.

If only my neighbors read this maybe they would GI, but I doubt it. I am hopelessly a pessimist.

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), August 31, 1999.

My main concern in all this is that people "get prepared." At "some" level. A beginner's status should be two weeks, IMHO. Two months would be wiser.

I DO wonder if we'll see a move for public officials to be the "early birds" to contact their VOTING constituents. 2000 IS an election year.

Obviously, I'll send the State Senator a thank you "e" tomorrow... and suggest some area "Community Conversations..." California-style. Senator Vasconcellos, in the ajoining SV area is pretty GI, too.

;-D

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), August 31, 1999.

Water: Store one gallon of water per person for a week. (at least two quarts for drinking, two quarts for food preparation and sanitation).

Hmmmm... Think I might get just a tad thirsty and maybe even shrink-up a bit following that advice ;>)

-- Yan (no@no.no), August 31, 1999.

RUOK - I'll be sending it to my DWGI sister in San Diego too. The goldfish and koi in their backyard pond may become the neighborhood sushi bar. Let's hope it is not also their water source. :-6

-- Linda (lwmb@psln.com), August 31, 1999.

Found this...

~Senator Sher's District Map~

http://WWW.sen.ca.gov/ sher/MEMMAP.HTP

Actually *most* the Silicon Valley Executives, CEO's and Key Managers live in this zone. Not to mention *some* of the java-in-the-home- office programmers and internet-start-up-in-a-garage/condo folks.

Its all local.

DO hope it helps. Think I'll suggest Vasconcellos does the same. And point... "he did it... why don't you!"

Senator John Vasconcellos
D-San Jose
Senate District 13

http://WWW.sen.ca.gov/ vasconcellos/

~Senator Vasconcellos's District Map~ (Silicon Valley business heartland)

http:// WWW.sen.ca.gov/vasconcellos/MEMMAP.HTP

Couldn't hurt.

Perhaps other CAer's might do the same in their districts?

;-D

See also...

California State Assembly web-site for contacts in your district...

http:// www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/defaulttext.asp

State of California Governors Office of Emergency Preparedness

http://WWW.oes.ca.gov/

Click on Y2K.

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), August 31, 1999.

Linda,

I, too, hope that my sister won't find that her TWO HORSES have become the neighborhood McDonald's. It has been so hard not to harangue her.

-- RUOK (RUOK@yesiam.com), September 01, 1999.

I'm glad to see some responsible action taking, but makes me want to get more preps wrapped up!

-- Mumsie (Shezdremn@aol.com), September 01, 1999.

Mumsie,

It makes me wonder "what" does he know, about California's Y2K condition that the rest of us don't?

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), September 01, 1999.