http://www.sacbee.com/111/v-print/story/103783.html
Feds reward state's lobbying Sacramento, San Diego can apply for homeland security grants after earlier removal from eligibility. By Peter Hecht - Bee Capitol Bureau Published 12:00 am PST Saturday, January 6, 2007 A year ago, when the federal Department of Homeland Security excluded Sacramento and San Diego from its top-35 list of high-risk cities for terrorism, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger took umbrage. He protested vehemently in a letter to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. He argued that Sacramento's flood control system could be devastated by a terrorist attack. And he warned that San Diego -- home to the nation's busiest border crossing and important military assets -- also could be a vulnerable target. The governor wasn't casually fanning fears -- but was making a calculated push to keep the two cities in the running for future federal homeland security funding. On Friday, his efforts were rewarded when homeland security officials announced that both Sacramento and San Diego will remain eligible to apply for future grants to pay for emergency response to and safeguards against terrorism and natural disasters. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security distributes $1.6 billion in funds to states and urban areas. The money is used for such needs as buying hazardous materials suits and mobile command vehicles, and upgrading emergency communications systems and disaster plans. Sacramento received $7.4 million in homeland security grants from the federal Urban Area Security Initiative in 2006 and $6 million in 2005, but U.S. authorities told California security officials that the region didn't merit more federal security funding because it wasn't considered one of the 35 highest risk cities. U.S. homeland security officials also suggested that San Diego, which received $8 million in funding last year and $14.7 million in 2005, shouldn't bother seeking additional funds this year. Continued homeland security grants were never threatened for three other California regions, including the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles and the Anaheim-Santa Ana region. Combined, they received more than $230 million in federal security grants in 2005 and 2006. But after learning that Sacramento and San Diego weren't listed as "top tier" cities meriting additional protections, Schwarzenegger fired off a pointed letter to Chertoff last January, warning of potential perils. "The Sacramento region is not only home to the governing capitol of the world's sixth-largest economy," he wrote, "but its multiple rivers, levees and dams are part of a system that serves the water needs of more than 20 million Californians." Schwarzenegger warned that "a terrorist strike on the (Folsom) dam would have immediate and serious effects" on power and water supplies and could cause "debilitating floods." He also said Sacramento faced dangers from a "radicalization of inmates" at state prisons in Folsom. He also cited "well-reported cases of terrorism connections" in the case of Lodi resident Hamid Hayat, who later was convicted of undergoing terrorist training in Pakistan to wage violent jihad -- or holy war -- against fellow Americans. Schwarzenegger also wrote that San Diego was a potential target because its San Ysidro border crossing is "the busiest in the world" and the region includes the San Onofre nuclear plant, a U.S. naval port and the Camp Pendleton Marine base. Friday's announcement by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that the two cities will remain eligible to apply for grant funds doesn't mean they cracked the top-35 of high-risk cities. Sacramento, San Diego and nine other U.S. cities were merely added to the list for grant consideration. Chertoff said the Urban Area Security Initiative funds are strictly earmarked for areas deemed most vulnerable to terrorist attack. "Let me be clear that the communities facing the highest risk will receive the majority of the funds," he said. But Chris Bertelli, a spokesman for Schwarzenegger's state Office of Homeland Security, said the decision to include Sacramento and San Diego underscored that federal officials "understood the risk and consequences of a potential attack," adding, "The announcement was very good news that they had listened." In a statement, Schwarzenegger commended Chertoff and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security "for rectifying this oversight." But officials in another California city, Fresno, weren't happy. Fresno, which received $7 million in federal security grants to upgrade emergency communications in 2004, wasn't deemed eligible to apply for grants this year. Meanwhile, Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento, introduced legislation Friday that would give Fresno a break -- and Sacramento some further certainty -- by allowing any of the nation's 100 largest cities to apply for the grants. "I'm concerned that Sacramento, like all urban areas, will still have to worry each year," said Matsui, who had lobbied for continued security funding for Sacramento due to its flooding risk. Bertelli said the Sacramento region still has not spent much of its homeland security funds received in 2006. Money from 2005 grants went toward Sacramento regional law enforcement and terrorist threat assessment centers, a bomb response vehicle, upgraded security for the Port of Sacramento and Sacramento Regional Transit and other programs. Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness said the grants have funded "weapons of mass destruction training" for "thousands of first responders," including law enforcement and medical personnel, in the six-county Sacramento region. He said the region will need to continue such training over future years, upgrade equipment and also improve emergency communications connecting local, state and federal agencies. "If we're going to do this right, we've got to be able to stand up to any potential necessity," he said. _____ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. 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