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June e.Geo

 

June 2018




In this issue:

  1. Bleisure travel, what CalGeo's been doing for years
  2. Prevailing wage seminar - coming to Sacramento
  3. June Regional Meetings - Montecito Mudslides
  4. Webinars coming...
  5. Outstanding Project Award: Cal Engineering & Geology
  6. Committees: Help us improve
  7. Welcome our new members
  8. Upcoming events - register now!

 

Bleisure travel, what CalGeo's been doing for years

Blending Business and leisure travel (from Travel Weekly)

“As young people these days are trying to achieve the most they can as early as they can, they seem to see full vacations during their young adulthood as luxuries they cannot afford,” Kim says. “The opportunity cost of lost—read: wasted—time is no longer justified by the salubrious benefits of recreation. Bleisure travel allows them the best of both worlds, permitting them to find their own balance between work fulfillment and personal edification—a balance that makes them happy and that they can enjoy guilt-free.” Read full article >

Luckily CalGeo is already on the bleisure train with our fun conferences in great locations. Who's in for San Diego in 2019??

Bleisure is the new black: How to plan the ultimate business trip


Prevailing Wage Seminar - coming to Sacramento

Van Allyn Goodwin from Littler Law is bringing his fantastic 90-minute seminar on the updates, exemptions and changes to California's prevailing wage law to Sacramento!

Join us on June 22nd - registration is open until June 19th but save your spot today!

Don't miss this incredible breakfast seminar to get you up to date on everything you NEED TO KNOW about California prevailing wage. Public works penalties have increased from $4M in 2010 to over $25M in 2016. Don't get caught with a fine!

This 90-min seminar will cover:

  • SB 540 where local governments can designate special zones and enforce prevailing wages on private projects!
  • AB 1082 and 1083 which require prevailing wages to be paid to employees of subcontractors building at public schools, state parks and beaches.
  • SB 96 Small project exemption - do you qualify?
  • When to pay prevailing wages for travel to/from job sites
  • The dreaded Public Labor Agreements (PLA's)
  • Expansion of prevailing wages past public projects
  • Preventative measures and practical recommendations

Overheard from Irvine seminar attendees:

"That one nugget of information was worth our breakfast - and more!"

"My bosses need to come to this! when is your next seminar?"

REGISTER FOR SACRAMENTO SEMINAR. Deadline is June 19th!

CalGeo is on YouTube!

We've even added a few teaser videos to our YouTube channel! Subscribe to us today to stay up to date and check-out everything we're doing with these sneak peek videos.

Visit our YouTube channel to see a quick video on the Apprenticeship Mandate and Travel-time wages from the May 17th seminar.


June Regional Meetings - Montecito Mudslides

We are expanding our regional meetings to cover 3 locations this June. We are partnering with AEG-SF for a presentaiton in Berkeley June 12June 13th is in the OC and June 14th in Burbank/N.Hollywood. Our presenter will be Chris Doolittle from the County of Santa Barbara, Public Works.

On January 8 and 9, just a month after the Thomas Fire began and subsequently burned much of the area above Montecito and Carpinteria, the South Coast's first major winter storm triggered widespread mudslides and debris flows, destroying dozens of homes and leading to multiple fatalities.

During the Thomas Fire Debris Flow within Montecito and surrounding areas, Chris was on one of the first inspection teams sent into the disaster zone to assess the damage, report back on anticipated work, and begin directing construction crews on debris removal activities.  He is presenting information on the debris flow event as well as his experiences being directly in the debris removal activities during the event and the continuing activities to repair infrastructure.

Chris received his Bachelor of Science degree in Geology with an emphasis in engineering and hydrology from the University of California Santa Barbara.  He is licensed as a Professional Geologist and Certified Engineering Geologist in the State of California.  Chris was awarded the County of Santa Barbara Employee of the Month in August 2015.

REGISTER NOW TO ENSURE FUTURE EVENTS IN YOUR AREA!

June 12 NorCal Regional Dinner Meeting with AEG-SF Chapter, Agrodulce Restaurant, Berkeley

June 13 OC Regional Dinner Meeting, Pacific Hills Bistro, Laguna Hills

June 14 SoCal Regional Dinner Meeting, Victorio's Restaurant North Hollywood - BAR SPONSORED BY HAYWARD BAKER!

Cost: $45 CalGeo & AEG-SF members, $60 Non-members.

Details: Meetings will begin at 6:00pm for registration and social networking. Dinner will be at 6:30pm with the presentation to follow.

Deadline to register is Friday June 8th!


Webinars are coming... we heard you!

Hold your horses - we are working on getting our seminars and meetings recorded and available to members via webinars. Our first test will be the upcoming June regional meetings which will be recorded (slides & audio) and hopefully available at a later date to view on a member-only page. Just another reason to join CalGeo!

We don't want to take away from our live, in-person events but we understand that due to geographic location it is not always possible to attend. We are trying to move our events around so that hopefully we hit your area once or twice a year. But we realize our members want the information available on-line as well.

We are hoping to add a live webinar feature for the Sacramento Breakfast Seminar to those located outside of Sacramento (>60 miles). Please stay tuned as an e-mail will be going out closer to the date to let you know how to register. Note: there will still be a cost to attend the live webinar and it is for members outside of the Sacramento area who cannot make it to the live meeting.


Outstanding Project Award: Cal Engineering & Geology

At our April conference in Santa Rosa, we were pleased to award Cal Engineering & Geology with an Outstanding Project Award for thier work on the Oro Loma Wet Weaterh Equalization & Ecozone Demonstration Project in San Lorenzo, CA (Google earth image shown at right)

The intent of the Oro Loma Wet Weather Equalization & Ecotone Demonstration Project was to develop a project which addressed the equalization goals of Oro Loma Sanitary District (OLSD) and to address significant issues for future infrastructure accommodating sea level rise, water quality, and habitat protection and restoration.

Wick drain installationThe project consisted of construction of a wet weather equalization basin with levees which re-defined the conventional geometry of levees.  The basin used a nearly flat “horizontal levee” to protect against storm surges and used vegetation to break waves. The ecosystems that live on the horizontal levee are those that thrive in the nearby salt marshes.  Similar to bioswales, the vegetation also helps to process waste water from the treatment plant.  The project demonstrates that “horizontal levees” can be used to improve flood protection, water quality, and provide habitat for native plant and animal species.  Because of the history of embankment failures during construction of levees on bay margin soft sediments, geotechnical engineering input from Cal Engineering & Geology was given high priority throughout the planning and design process.  Identifying the significant geotechnical challenges and addressing them early contributed to the successful implementation of the project.

For more information on this project, contact Mark Myers, P.E., G.E., Principal Engineer CE&G


Committees: Help us improve

Okay, we'll admit it: in the past we haven't been that good at looking at the membership renewal forms and your interest in volunteering for a committee. And you probably glance past that part of the form thinking "ugh, I don't have any free time!" Well, we want to get our general membership more involved without a big commitment.

If you have any comments or want to sit in on a few conference calls (per year!), please e-mail us and let us know which committee you would like to be involved with. Here are some options to entice you:

  • Emerging Professionals (either volunteer to speak at one of their events or help set-up a SoCal chapter!)
  • Government Practices/Legislation (help us keep our ear to the ground on whats happening in Sacramento)
  • Membership/Marketing (any ideas for how we can get more members? Please share!)
  • Programs (This is basically the conference committee - help us get some great speakers next year in San Diego. Most of the work is done July-September in this group)
  • Student Outreach (we want more student chapters and members - if you have ties to your college help us out!)
  • Technican Affairs/Safety (help us plan our popular Loss Prevention Seminars held Jan/Feb by suggesting speakers)

The board members that chair these committees will handle the heavy lifting, we just need your suggestions and input - at most a few hours out of the year! Get on-board and help CalGeo become the best!


Welcome our new members!

We are pleased to welcome the following new members to CalGeo! Please take a moment to welcome them at our next event.

 

As a reminder - our membership year renews this September. Please feel free to e-mail us if you have any comments or requests on how we can serve our membership better.


Upcoming Events & Calendar Quick-links

June 1 UCLA Geo-Expo, Los Angeles

June 12 NorCal Regional Dinner Meeting with AEG-SF Chapter, Berkeley

June 13 OC SoCal Regional Dinner Meeting, Laguna Hills

June 14 LA SoCal Regional Dinner Meeting, North Hollywood

June 20 Emerging Professional Meeting, Sacramento

June 22 Prevailing Wage Breakfast Seminar, Sacramento