What I would like to talk about is "Crime". A crime is a deliberate act that causes physical or psychological harm, damage to or loss of property and is against the law. in November 2014, California voters approved Proposition 47 which raised the threshold for property crimes from misdemeanors to felonies provided that the value of goods stolen was at least $950.00. Proponents of the law stated that it would help with prison overcrowding and it would save approximately $100,000,000 in prison housing costs.

Proposition 47 was voted on by 7,011,099 voters which was 22% of the State's eligible voters. Proposition 47 won by 4,238,156 votes (59.61%) to 2,871,943 votes (40.39%). There have been some savings in the Department of Corrections in not having to house more felons because the bar to become a felon has risen. For a criminal to seek Felon to seek that exalted status, he/she must apply a little more energy and work harder to steal or misappropriate more than $950.00 of property which is against the law.

The upshot of this Proposition is that criminals are now feeling emboldened to steal more and to create a network of associates (let's not say gangs because the softhearted liberal mindset would consider it pejorative and accusatory with racist and condescending overtones. Stolen trucks are driven crash derby style into stores that house high-value inventory so that they can steal. And if one is caught, the fruits of their labors are distributed individually to a member of the network so that not one criminal associate can have a stolen object worth more than $950.00 triggering a felony. All while the overworked District Attorey Offices contend with serious crimes like murder and high mopery.

Now walk into a Walgreens, CVS, or Target store in the inner city and you will find the inventory locked behind padlocks to prevent theft. And that is for those stores still in business. May branches have closed down due to diminished sales. Why? maybe a perception of the store being unsafe., Maybe, the customer doesn't want to be there when a mob of youts bum rush the staff and start grabbing merchandise off the shelf and dart into the subway.

What is the cost to the economy for the business exodus? What is the cost to the local economy when shoppers refuse to shop in unsafe neighborhoods? I bet you it's more than we are saving by not locking up criminals in jail. What about the conventions that choose other "safe" cities to hold their annual conventions? What is the economic cost of losing the large conventions and its trickle-down effects to the local businesses that depend on food sales and merchandise sales?

Be careful about what you wish for because you might get it and then find out that it wasn't what you wanted.

 Welcome and hello again. It has been some time since I've tried to put my thoughts into the written word, so I decided to revisit my blog. Funny word, blog, I found out that it is a combination of the two words "web" and "log". A sort of online diary that one can use for personal and professional reasons. I guess I am lucky because I think I have enough material in my life and my career to fill some more pages for those who happen upon my "blog" and hopefully find some use to my musings. Well, more for later.

It's been 15 years since that fateful day...

Today my mind goes back to that morning.  I was sitting in a classroom at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland.  The class was EMS Special Operations being taught by retired Paramedic Captain Don Lee of the Los Angeles Fire Department and Battalion Chief Porter Shellhammer from Sarasota County Fire Department in Florida.  It was Day Two of the class and I was sitting at the table of then Deputy EMS Commissioner Matthew Streger of Cleveland EMS (now Attorney at Law Matthew Streger Esq.).

Matt piped up and said, "Hey, turn on CNN, my office just paged me to tell me that a plane crashed into the World Trade Center!"  I thought it was a part of the class, where the instructors then asked us some hypothetical questions as to how to develop and IAP under ICS to handle such an event, but it soon became ominously evident to me that this was no hypothetical exercise.  Captain Don Lee turned on the television monitors to CNN and we saw the damage that hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 had done to #1 WTC.  Moments later, the class was transfixed as we watched live, hijacked American Airlines Flight 175, fly into #2WTC.  I felt a sickening hollowness in my gut as realization of an attack came to me.  My mind flashed to the horror of the potential that there was possibly a plane headed for the Golden Gate Bridge or into the skyline of San Francisco.  Nobody knew the extent of what could be happening and our fears worsened as news of the attacks at the Pentagon and the crashed flight into the field at Shanksville, Pennsylvania were reported.  Worry over the danger that my family and friends might face began to fill my day.

You see, my cousins live in New York City and the week before I went to class, I spent a few days with my cousin Stella.  I remember that after saying goodbye and promising to stay in touch,  I took the Amtrak from Penn Station to Baltimore to get to the National Fire Academy.  As I rode down to Baltimore, I saw the Twin Towers from my seat and regretted not getting a chance to stop by and ride the elevators to the viewing floor near the top and take in the view.  Maybe on my next trip I thought.  The next time I got back, I saw the debris at Ground Zero.  PAPD Sgt. Dave Lim showed me how much of the pile that they had cleared.  The enormity of the devastation was heart numbing.

Since that day, we have come back with a new memorial that I hope to visit one day.  Our nation is resilient and in spite of our divisiveness, we will persevere to overcome bias, racism, and fear mongering to honor the memory of all those who died at the World Trade Center.  For this I pray to the Lord.

Planes, Trains, Ferries, and Automobiles - Euro Style

After stepping down as the EMS Chief of SF Fire in November of 2010, I wanted to take some time to recharge my batteries and get to a place where no cell phone could reach me and to enjoy things that I wanted to do.  Many years ago, my good friend, Mark Ferras and I took a trip to the UK to try and make it to the Scottish Highlands to visit the Malt Whiskey Trail, but alas we were thwarted by snow in the mountain passes.  But while we were tooling around the English countryside in a rented vehicle trying to stay on the left side of the road, we saw many great sights and visited many a pub.  It was in a pub that I put some coins into the jukebox and randomly selected a song called "News from Heaven" by a group I never heard of before called Runrig.

It was one of those songs that just grabbed me and I was hooked.  I looked for every Runrig CD in the UK before we left and took them home.  As I researched the band, I found that they routinely toured in Europe and the UK.  It became an item on my bucket list to see them live one day.

Now fast forward a decade and I am blessed to make the acquaintance of a certain Geordie Paramedic from the Northeast of England by the name of Mark Glencorse.  I met Mark when he came to the States as an exchange program to learn about our EMS System with one of our Firefighter Paramedics, Justin Schorr.  Mark blogs on the Internet as UKMedic999 and Justin blogs as The HappyMedic.  When I knew I would be leaving my administrative position as the EMS Chief in June, I decided that what better place to see Runrig than in Newcastle Upon Tyne (actually Gateshead) where Mark lived.  I would have a friendly face to ask what pubs to frequent and which to avoid.  I left for the UK on December 12th and looked forward to a break.  After a short time in London, and a train to Newcastle, I met up with Mark and met his family.  They were kind enough to open up their home to me as if I were an old friend not just an acquaintance.

The live performance of Runrig was phenomenal, spending time with Mark and his wife Sandra was even greater.  They were kind enough to take me to one of the best Indian restaurants where I had an exquisite Chicken Tikka Masala.  I got to learn about the local history and visit a castle that belonged to Sandra's family.  Met a wonderful woman, Miss Groves, who shared a fantastic history of the Durham Cathedral and spent time in the Shrine of Saint Cuthbert.  I found that the best fish and chips is served with mushy peas and is to be enjoyed in subzero freezing weather on the docks of the quays in Seahouses.  I was too cold to sit on the quays as Mark suggested.

As my holiday ended on the Sunday before Christmas, I encountered the trials and tribulations of having your flight canceled out of London's Heathrow Airport because of snowy weather.  But the friendly United Airlines customer service agent told me that the first flight out of London would be on Christmas Day due to all the travel disruptions.  However, if I could get to Paris, France by Thursday, I would be able to leave on an earlier flight.  So on Tuesday, I set out for Paris from London.  The high speed Eurostar train between London and Paris was operating at capacity and would not take any new bookings so that meant that I had to go the traditional route before the Chunnel came into existence which was to get to Dover and take the ferry to Calais.

On the ferry, I met a nice couple Sophie and her boyfriend Anthony from Brussels who helped introduce me to Mr. Darocha and Sylvain and Jennifer.  Sophie  and Anthony were trying to get home to Brussels and found another couple who would give them a ride home from Calais, Sophie said that as she was trying to get home, she would try to find me a ride to Paris and that was how I met Mr. Darocha, Sylvain, and Jennifer.  Mr. Darocha, Sylvain and Jennifer lived in Paris and wanted to get back that night.  They were kind enough to help me book train tickets on their computer; a great help since I neither spoke nor read any French except for “thank you and please".  From Calais, we hired and shared a cab to Lille, France which was a terminus for SNCF and caught a high speed train to Paris arriving at 12 midnight Wednesday morning in the City of Lights.

On the train from Lille to Paris, I got into a conversation with my seatmate, a lovely French Polynesian university student who was studying politics and her friend who was also studying politics in Paris, both returning from a holiday in Amsterdam.  She told me that she loved President Obama.  She asked me what I thought of  Nicolas Sarkozy and I was embarrassed to say that I knew nothing of the French President except that he was married to the model Carla Bruni.

I noticed she was reading Alexis de Tocqueville's "Democracy in America" and we talked about how both our governments were similar and different.  I told her that America really hadn’t changed much since de Tocqueville made his observations 175 years ago except for that America’s economic divide had widened further and early efforts to stymie generational transfer of wealth via the inheritance tax had been weakened and the very rich were becoming successful in establishing and ensuring dynastic wealth.  She asked me what Americans thought of the French and I told her that the popular media fanned the flames of anti-French sentiment after the French government opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq by our country.  I told her that we Americans had a short memory, for we would not be a country if the French had not helped our nascent and emerging country secure independence from King George in 1776.  She reminded me that France was very grateful to America for helping liberate her country from the Germans in World War 2.  We parted at Gare du Nord saying that it was important to remain friends and seek common ground in both our country's interests.

Meeting up again with Sylvain, Jennifer and Mr. Darocha, we made plans to get something to eat.  Sadly Sylvain and Jennifer had to catch another train home to Versailles and could not break bread with Mr. Darocha and I.  Over beer, oysters, and Vittel, I learned that Mr. Darocha was an artist by profession and he told me about contemporary art, how much he loved the vibrancy of Manhattan, and how important it was to enjoy art, any art, just let it touch you and make you feel.


I met many new friends and learned that we are really not that different, but I admit that we as Americans are somewhat insular in our world view.  Everyone was friendly and helpful and for that I am thankful.  It was quite an enjoyable adventure very unlike the comedic journey portrayed in the movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles.  What could have been a tremendous drudgery with stress and pain turned out to be a joy; and as in the movie, the important thing in all our journeys through life is mutual concern for one another and cherishing our families and friends.

Good travels my friends.

It's been a while...

Hello,
It has been a while since I posted on this weblog and the reason is that I finally have some free time now.  On November 1, 2010, I returned to my previous posting and position as a paramedic supervisor at the San Francisco Fire Department.  Due to budget cuts, my position as the Section Chief of EMS Operations was de-funded for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.  De-funding means that the SFFD chose to not fill the position but not totally eliminate the position from the budget with the hopes that in the future, the organization may be able to re-institute the position.

From July to November, the Chief of Department appointed me the Acting EMS Chief until she could select my replacement.  The new Assistant Deputy Chief of EMS is a very capable and energetic member, Chief Jeff Myers.  He will serve the EMS Division well in the upcoming years.  It is a challenging time for all of our members because the City and County of San Francisco faces two upcoming budget cycles where there is a projected $400 million deficit per year.  My position was de-funded in a $500 million deficit budget cycle during 2009-2010 as our fiscal year runs from June to July.

Coupled with the financial challenges is the uncertainty of the City of San Francisco's Open EMS system as the State of California EMS Authority removed the anti-trust exemption enjoyed by the Exclusive Operating Area in San Francisco favoring the SFFD, AMR and King and American Ambulance.  Will the City and County of San Francisco issue an RFP for the EMS Transport market in ALS 9-1-1 and ALS Inter-facility transports? Will the City and County of San Francisco not be required to issue an RFP?  Many questions remain unanswered at this time.

I finished my first shift back in the field this morning and it was a very nice re-introduction to the day to day operations of EMS.  As the weeks come, I will find many topics to share with you and I hope that you continue your excellent work and be safe on the streets.

Seb










 

Change, change, change...

It has been a month and a half since I posted but my absence has been due more to the amount of work that I have had to finish.  A new shift bid is being prepared for the 140 paramedics and EMT-B's at my station, one that involves rotating weekends off.  And many other projects that need attention.

Some changes and restructuring of EMS in the San Francisco Fire Department is in the works but more to follow in a later post.

Old Friends, New Friends, and Transitions

Coming out to Baltimore, MD, this weekend was a bittersweet occasion for me.  I had plans to come out with a team of paramedics and EMT's from our Department to compete in the JEMS Games.  Unfortunately, the plans for the team to compete could not come to fruition at the last minute.  Compounding the situation was the fact that I had already bought my plane tickets for EMS Today and something sad had been weighing on my mind since Monday, earlier this week.  The thought of just staying home crossed my mind.  However, I am glad that I came out because I got to see an old friend with whom I used to work with back in San Francisco.  It was always a joy to come to work and see him because he had such a positive attitude and was an uplifting person who was very supportive of our mission working as paramedics in San Francisco.

It was also energizing to  meet a group of young men and women that I think are on the cusp of, if not having already moved the future of EMS ahead many leaps and bounds through the power of social media.  Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, podcasts like the EMS Garage, and the whole medium is a very powerful tool in the hands of these young professionals.   I remember reading nationally syndicated EMS authors and columnists and they would pontificate about one issue or another.  While back in our home jurisdictions, we would have had the same discussion and conversation and either suffered under the dilemma or found our homegrown solution to the problem.  Many of the finest young minds in my EMS generation could never get heard because they weren't in the right geopolitical location or in the right EMS club to find a national publication or conference circuit to share their gifts.

Well,  JEMS, EMS Magazine, Rescue 911 and everyone else in the comfortable national EMS Scene, prepare to be rocked with force of a revolution that rivals that in the descendants of the Persian Empire.  These young minds are out and growing and from the looks of the growth or non growth of JEMS Connect, EMS United, EMS-1.com, and others, I don't think the people are going to be satisfied with just hearing from someone just because they have written a textbook, speak regularly at a national conference, or have a lot of alphabet soup initials behind their names.  Quiet and unassuming professionals like a firefighter paramedic from San Francisco and a paramedic from the United Kingdom helped with the creative genius of a paramedic/filmmaker in the private ambulance sector have set EMS Communications on a national and international arena on its ears.

Getting to meet all these new and bright minds with cool names after their @ symbols was heartwarming for me because I have seen the future of my profession and the future is bright.  They are not tolerant of chicanery, flattery, or cow chips when they blog and write, they have a message to share and they tend to tell the truth in a plain, unvarnished manner and format.  Many of them have insights into the problems of our profession that rival those of the alphabet soup professionals who have gotten nice initials like EFO, PhD, CMOD, CFOD, JD, MEd, MA, MS, MPA, MBA, M (whatever).  It might happen one day that we won't need to buy EMS management textbooks any more, just type a question in to the EMS Cloud Computing network and someone will have an answer for you.  I'm daft you say?  Well, maybe, but who would have thought that a small internet event  list started by San Franciscan, Craig Newmark in 1995 would have decimated the viability of brick and mortar print media by killing classified ad revenue.  I for one am going to pay attention to the new clarion call.

The reason for my bittersweet reaction this week was the juxtaposition of meeting all these new friends and trying to cope with the loss of a good friend.  My friend, Jack Grogan, whom I respected greatly, died last Sunday night of a cardiac arrest coming home to his family in San Jose, CA.  He arrested at the airport and was the recipient of the highest level of pre-hospital care.  Bystander CPR, AED readily in place, rapid arrival of ALS.  In my mind, he should not have gone, San Jose did everything right and yet he was not able to be resuscitated.  What makes it so ironic is the fact that Jack had a Sudden Cardiac Arrest many years ago on an airplane and was successfully revived.  Jack was a passionate and tireless volunteer for the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association as a co-Founder and member of their Board of Directors.  Jack worked hard with the San Jose Fire Department to get San Jose recognized as a Heart Safe City.  He came out to San Francisco last year in August of 2009 to help the San Francisco Fire Department and SFGH Base Hospital with a symposium for the paramedics and EMS community to learn about best practices in cardiac arrest management and improving survival in the field and in the hospital.  Jack and his wife Anita brought out many survivors to share their experiences with the many paramedics and nurses attending the symposium.

I could go on for many pages of the accomplished life that Jack led but please take the time to read his obituary here:  John "Jack" Grogan's Obituary in the San Jose Mercury News

As much as Jack was a hero for dedicating his life to the service of others, I have a plea for my new friends that I met his weekend to dedicate their lives with a new mission in his memory.  Please use your power to share Jack's story far and wide.  Share the mission that Jack was passionate about to make all our communities the best that they can be in improving cardiac arrest survival.  Thank you for reading. 

Seb