To Tom wrote on Oct 27, 2008 6:13 AM:Promise kept???? Ya Right.... Where is the 50,000 square foot building? Where is the Medical Village? Have you read the MOU? Or are you believing Tina Pope and Jerry Kaufman, of Graybill Medical Group. The bottom line Tom you should be ashamed of yourself with this forum article. I know as an Escondido Chamber member I am ashamed of YOU.

Little Andy wrote on Oct 27, 2008 6:17 AM:Thanks Tom. We owe you... Let me know when the Escondido Chamber needs something $$$$$

Membership wrote on Oct 27, 2008 6:22 AM:We will not renew our membership with the Escondido Chamber this year due to the dishones comment of Chairman Tom Hogarty. We will also not vote for Jerry Kaufman, of Graybill Medical Group because his head is also in the sand about what is really going on with Palomar Pomerado Health System

Losing Money and Respect wrote on Oct 27, 2008 6:26 AM:Palomar Pomerado Health System is losing money and the Escondido Chamber of commerce is losing Respect in Escondido. Please Chairman Tom be honest you know better

It is time for a change at Palomar Pomerado Health wrote on Oct 27, 2008 6:39 AM:It is time for a change at Palomar Pomerado Health. Four of seven board positions are up for a vote.

This election is happening even as we careen down the treacherous path plotted by the current administration and the incumbent PPH board. The crux of our dilemma is the public hospital district's controversial, floundering Facilities Master Plan. Perhaps a new board will be able to restore sanity.

In 2004, voters were promised a virtual cornucopia of new facilities and improvements if we passed Prop. BB and committed to a new property tax to pay for it. Now, four years later, precious few of these promises are being fulfilled. The meager Escondido Research Technology Center hospital being slowly constructed will, by itself, come in at over $800 million after being scaled back to 268 rooms from the promised 453.

Whatever is left of our $496 million Prop. BB funds will be sucked down this drain with little benefit to our district. Most of the other promises are now exposed as being unaffordable, which they were from the outset.

Kept from the public at the time that we voted for Prop. BB was the completed but secret "Kaiser Agreement." This elusive document explains that the Escondido Research Technology Center location chosen for the new hospital is being dictated by the needs of the Kaiser organization.

The details continue to be fiercely guarded, despite requests from media and concerned citizens. Also withheld in 2004 was the fact that there would be an inevitable granting of waivers from onerous seismic retrofitting costs for the existing downtown hospital. Currently, extensive seismic retrofitting is not needed until 2030, if ever. These supposed expenditures were the original reason given to abandon use of the downtown site as a hospital.

PPH is looking to Wall Street, with hat in hand, to make up the difference between money needed and Prop. BB funds. Eerily, they act as though the days of easy money were not over. Regardless, a cursory review of the financial statements shows that PPH does not generate anywhere near the excess cash flows needed to float the "revenue bonds" that are so critical to their plans.

Nevertheless, the PPH administration and two of the incumbent board members persist in their happy talk. They even project that donors will cough up $50 million over the next five years in support of their spendthrift plans. Such fundraising success is an illusion, as has been much of their planning.

Instead, future leaders will need to sort out the mess that this slowly moving train wreck will leave us in. I am thankful that new faces with fresh ideas are stepping forward to tackle the hard choices ahead. They deserve our support and our votes.

I urge citizens to vote for Lee Thibadeau, former mayor of San Marcos, as well as the respected Dr. Don Brust and Evelyn Madison to pick up the ball, which has been so sadly fumbled. I also endorse Linda Greer, an incumbent who has not been afraid to stand against the majority....

PPH Money Loser wrote on Oct 27, 2008 7:09 AM:PPH has a loss of $9.4 million from operations during the last fiscal year that ended in June. That big loss occurred before the current financial crisis hit the country. The municipal bonds market are not functioning for new bonds.

MOU is IOU wrote on Oct 27, 2008 7:13 AM:The office complex was supposed to be 50,000 square feet, not a mere 10,000 square feet. PPH has already moved its finance department into a building near the auto park. PPH has already diverted $72 million budgeted for the downtown project to cover cost overruns for the new hospital. Promises. Promises.

Nope wrote on Oct 27, 2008 7:14 AM:I'm sure Mr. Kaufman is a very nice man and that his intentions are good. However, the statement that he has a "record of consistent support of PPH" means he has not been paying attention. There are lots of things that should be questioned. Kaufman is apparently in the CEO's back pocket already. We don't need more board members like that.

Higher Property Taxes wrote on Oct 27, 2008 7:19 AM:Fitch Ratings alluded to a property tax increase in its just published evaluation in advance of PPH accelerated issuance of $110 million of Prop BB bonds:

'The tax rate and levy to repay debt is unlimited, although PPH is legally required to pay the general obligation debt if the ad valorem taxes are insufficient. Fitch notes that the tax base vulnerability may require PPH to exceed the tax rate promised to voters in order to accommodate the rising debt service schedule.'

Google 'Palomar Pomerado Fitch Rating'.

Cant believe it wrote on Oct 27, 2008 8:31 AM:I'm sorry but I just can't seem to believe anything that comes from the Escondido Chamber of Commerce. This organization is only out for their own pocketbooks. In fact, I am purposely voting for the candidates they don't endorse.

Lee Tribadeau for PPH Board wrote on Oct 27, 2008 9:12 AM:Turn around the new hospital mess by electing Lee Thibadeau to the PPH Board. Lee had the vision to build a state of the art Civic Center in San Marcos with a City Hall, Library and Community Center at no cost to the taxpayer. The Civic Center was under budget, ahead of schedule, and generates an additional $2.2 million annually in lease income.

Kaufman Equals Cover Pawn wrote on Oct 27, 2008 9:18 AM:Kaufman brags that he was on the PPH President' counsel of advisors, whatever that it is! Kaufman will be a secure YES vote for anything the PPH CEO Covert proposes.

Fact Checker wrote on Oct 27, 2008 9:24 AM:Valley Center resident, Tom Hogarty, needs to get his facts straight.

He writes, 'The multi-property purchase is part of the vision and commitment, clearly stated a few years ago when the Chamber of Commerce gave its full support to Prop. BB, not only to create a medical campus with a mixed-use retail chamber of commerce component, as well as housing, but to revitalize Escondido's downtown core as well.'

The multi-property purchase was not proposed until August 2005, a full 9 months AFTER Prop BB passed!

The retail and housing promises were not part of the Prop BB debate.

East Downtown Traffic Mess wrote on Oct 27, 2008 9:31 AM:If PPH succeeds in closing Valley Blvd, where will the traffic go? So far, no traffic studies have been produced by either PPH or the City of Escondido. The Eastern end of downtown is populated with vacant lots, empty buildings, and little used streets such as Ivy. Board Candidate Kaufman should explain why Valley Blvd must be closed when there are so many other places to put a rather modest mixed retail/residential building!

Vote For Evelyn Madison wrote on Oct 27, 2008 3:35 PM:Evelyn Madison, a past member of the PPH Board of Directors, is well qualified to again lead PPH for the good of the community.

former PPH RN wrote on Oct 27, 2008 7:00 PM:the current board needs to change. i left pph 1 year ago. I dont understand how they say its the best place to work. Morale is very low. This board cannot be trusted. vote them out. too many lies and btoken promises.

Taxpayer to Tom wrote on Oct 28, 2008 3:39 AM:To err is human. To be a tool and ignore rational judgment of PPH's missteps is to admit to a rubber stamp mentality. Smart people don't place their mistakes where they can be archived.

What a bunch of whinners wrote on Oct 31, 2008 7:26 PM:Everything is ahead of the actual schedule. What the hell are you bitching about? Wake up.