General (09)
Susana Barrios
From:Stephanie Mercadante <burglin.stephanie@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, May 12, 2026 6:20 PM
To:Public Comment
Subject:\[EXTERNAL\] On Behalf of Mike Robbins, District 2, Councilmember Carlos Leon
Warning: This email originated from outside the City of Anaheim. Do not click links or open
attachments unless you recognize the sender and are expecting the message.
For public comment on May 12, 2026:
Let’s talk about digging and the very real dangers employees face when excavation work is
performed without proper utility locating and safety clearances in place.
Every time a crew breaks ground without confirmed utility markings or without all required utility
representatives present, lives are placed at risk.
What is underground? Gas lines. Electrical infrastructure.Communication lines. Water mains.
One mistake underground can cause explosions, electrocution, flooding, catastrophic injury,
or death.
This is a photo of a gas line that was struck in Anaheim - the danger is very real to both employees
and residents. \[Photo shown during the Council Meeting\]
California’s DigAlert laws exist for a reason. They are not optional paperwork. They are designed to
protect workers, residents, businesses, motorists, and emergency responders from preventable
disasters.
Yet employees have described situations where excavation work moved forward without
proper clearances, where concerns were minimized, and where workers felt pressured to
proceed anyway.
And here is what should concern every resident in Anaheim:
There were employees who stood up and refused to participate in unsafe practices. Employees who
raised concerns because they wanted projects completed safely, lawfully, and without someone
getting hurt.
And what happened to them?
They were isolated. Harassed. Targeted. Denied promotions. Forced to work in hostile
environments. For years.
Yet despite all of that, many of them are still there, still showing up, still protecting the public, and
still trying to do the right thing.
Those employees are not the problem. The real problem is a culture where management is allowed to
retaliate against employees. Will that same management also be held responsible when employees
or residents are seriously injured or killed?
1
Residents deserve to know:
How many DigAlert violations have occurred?
How many underground utility strikes have happened?
And why are employees allowed to be punished for trying to make these projects safer?
Safety cannot exist in a culture of fear.
And accountability cannot exist without transparency.
2
Susana Barrios
From:Stephanie Mercadante <burglin.stephanie@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, May 12, 2026 8:00 PM
To:Public Comment
Subject:\[EXTERNAL\] Re: On Behalf of Mike Robbins, District 2, Councilmember Carlos Leon
Attachments:Screenshot_20260510_132826_Gallery.jpeg
Warning: This email originated from outside the City of Anaheim. Do not click links or open
attachments unless you recognize the sender and are expecting the message.
Update:
I am submitting the image shown during the Council meeting, as camera adjustments prevented online
viewers from seeing it. For ease of reference, I have included the image below and attached it. Thank you.
1
On Tue, May 12, 2026 at 6:20 PM Stephanie Mercadante <burglin.stephanie@gmail.com> wrote:
For public comment on May 12, 2026:
Let’s talk about digging and the very real dangers employees face when excavation work is
performed without proper utility locating and safety clearances in place.
Every time a crew breaks ground without confirmed utility markings or without all required utility
representatives present, lives are placed at risk.
What is underground? Gas lines. Electrical infrastructure.Communication lines. Water mains.
One mistake underground can cause explosions, electrocution, flooding, catastrophic injury,
or death.
This is a photo of a gas line that was struck in Anaheim - the danger is very real to both employees
and residents. \[Photo shown during the Council Meeting\]
California’s DigAlert laws exist for a reason. They are not optional paperwork. They are designed to
protect workers, residents, businesses, motorists, and emergency responders from preventable
disasters.
Yet employees have described situations where excavation work moved forward without
proper clearances, where concerns were minimized, and where workers felt pressured to
proceed anyway.
And here is what should concern every resident in Anaheim:
There were employees who stood up and refused to participate in unsafe practices. Employees who
raised concerns because they wanted projects completed safely, lawfully, and without someone
getting hurt.
And what happened to them?
They were isolated. Harassed. Targeted. Denied promotions. Forced to work in hostile
environments. For years.
Yet despite all of that, many of them are still there, still showing up, still protecting the public,
and still trying to do the right thing.
Those employees are not the problem. The real problem is a culture where management is allowed
to retaliate against employees. Will that same management also be held responsible when
employees or residents are seriously injured or killed?
Residents deserve to know:
How many DigAlert violations have occurred?
How many underground utility strikes have happened?
And why are employees allowed to be punished for trying to make these projects safer?
Safety cannot exist in a culture of fear.
And accountability cannot exist without transparency.
2