Hi All,

Here's the confirming e-mail I have been expecting. Yes indeed, water heaters in rental units from now on must be strapped. It's the law.

"Just another update. Good News! The Governor signed our water heater bill
on Monday, September 29. No fanfare, but, at least all our efforts were
successful! Thanks again for all your support, and take note -- YOU got a
law placed on the books! Congratulations!" From Henry Sepulveda of the California Seismic Safety Commission

Of course I'm marvelously thankful this was a successful effort, however, it could never have been accomplished without the help of Don Eck in Hollister. Two minds are better than one and he's a lot better driver than I am. See, I admitted it, he is a good driver. I like to tease him and give him a bad time, but believe me when I say, no one has ever had such a good friend as he has been to me.

For now, one injustice has been remedied. Homeowners and Renters are on equal footing in regard to seismic safety. Hoorah!

I hope the next hoorah comes out of Washington, DC and goes across the country from state to state. It's gonna be a long, hard, uphill battle, but one worthy of fighting for. I'll be there every step of the way. It will say that women have the right to be free and live to tell about it. We lost one earlier this week in Hollister. As usual, I wasn't silent about giving my two cents about how I feel about it.

Take care everyone...It's been a rough week over here....Petra

• The Hollister Free Lance Newspaper