Congrats, Saints - Now, Back To Work For The Rest Of Us

FOOTBALL SEASON IS OVER - CONGRATS TO THE SAINTS
Well, the football season is officially over now. Congrats to the New Orleans Saints for their HUGE win, 31-17, over the Indianapolis Colts Sunday in the Super Bowl. It was a great game and the Saints certainly deserved to win - for themselves and the City of New Orleans. And, yes, I was 180 degrees wrong with my pick, keeping my string intact. :-)

BOTH PLANNING COMMISSION AND COUNCIL MEET NEXT WEEK
In an unusual bit of scheduling, next week both the Planning Commission and the City Council will meet.

GENERAL PLAN AND WESTSIDE SENIOR DEVELOPMENT
The Planning Commission, under the guidance of Chairman Jim Righeimer, will review the city's general plan and discuss a development on the Westside in which senior housing is being proposed.

BUDGET STUDY SESSION
The City Council will hold a Study Session on Tuesday and will devote the entire time to a discussion of the Mid-year Budget review. This should be very interesting because we should have a pretty good idea of how the city is doing in the revenue department - both sales and property tax numbers should be available - and also should have a much clearer idea of the impact of the enhanced retirement package that was offered to nearly 150 employees.

SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING - CLOSED SESSION
A special City Council meeting will immediately follow the Study Session, but it will be a closed session at which the sale of the Fairgrounds will be discussed. When I saw that item I wondered just what there is to discuss right now, since the State has not indicated whether they will accept or reject any or all bids in the recent auction.

MONAHAN ON KOCI-FM
Then, tonight I discovered the YouTube video of Councilman Gary Monahan's visit to radio station KOCI 101.5 FM last weekend. This nearly 10 minute snippet of his time on the air was illuminating because he told the radio audience that the city is currently pursuing a Lease/Purchase option with the State for the Fairground property that might turn out to be more profitable to the State in the long run. That was the first I'd heard of that plan. It's interesting that no member of the real media has reported that fact yet. You can watch the clip and learn more for yourselves. Remember, this is radio and the video is very poor.

It's That Time Again - Super Bowl Sunday!

MARBLES? WHAT MARBLES?
OK, I know you've had more than you want to hear about the Indianapolis Colts vs. New Orleans Saints on Sunday for "all the marbles". (What marbles? Who rolls them? Do we refer to the losing team as having "lost their marbles"?) But I digress.


A MISSED DOUBLE-D OPPORTUNITY
I think the NFL is missing a huge marketing opportunity. For this, the 44th Super Bowl, they should have Dolly Parton do the half-time show. Get it? Oh, well. Instead, they're going to have a bunch of geriatric rockers, The Who, perform. I hope they can make it up on the stage with their walkers, for goodness sake! The show would be perfect if the NFL could have found another group to follow them - The Dat!

BLINDFOLDED MONKEY PICKS 'EM
Back to the subject at hand. After my outstanding pick in the BCS Championship Game (note: tongue firmly planted in cheek), I knew you'd be waiting for my take on the Super Bowl game Sunday.


IF THEY PLAY TO THEIR POTENTIAL...
I'm going to hedge my bet... IF, and that's a huge if, both teams play to the best of their ability, I think the Colts will win by two touchdowns. That assumes a lot - that Reggie Bush doesn't fumble, for example and that Peyton Manning continues to demonstrate that he is head and shoulders the best quarterback in the NFL today - heck, maybe ever.

AND THE WINNER IS...
So, here's my score - Colts 38 - Saints 24.... Now lets see how it goes.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 2009 HIGHLIGHTS

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS 2009 HIGHLIGHTS

New Odd Couple Form Fraud Exposure Team

FORMER CON-ARTIST AND REPORTER TEAM UP
A big tip of the old hat to Kevin Roderick over at the LAObserved blog who announced, HERE, the most recent venture of former con artist Barry Minkow and an unexpectedly familiar local name - William Lobdell.


SITE FORMED TO UNCOVER AND REPORT FRAUD
It seems Lobdell - most recently the co-publisher with Daily Pilot former publisher Tom Johnson of the Newport Mesa Daily Voice - has joined Minkow to form iBusiness Reporting, an "online news operation to report on business corruption and fraud". iBusiness Reporting will be a unit of Minkow's Fraud Discovery Institute which, according to information on the web site, is responsible for uncovering and stopping an estimated $1.8 billion in financial fraud.

PROFITING FROM THEIR SUBJECT'S DISCLOSURE
The fascinating aspect of this venture is that it will be funded in part by short selling of stock of companies they investigate! That is, they buy stock in a company, investigate it for fraud and report their findings on the web site - and elsewhere, I assume - then profit when the stock tanks as a result. CORRECTION! Bill Lobdell emailed me early this morning to tell me that the Fraud Discovery Institute "FIRST thoroughly investigates a company and, if it finds the business model fraudulent or problematic, it may short the stock." If an investigation uncovers nothing there is no stock purchase. I encourage you to visit the web site for a more detailed explanation of this plan.

LIKE A HITMAN AND LIFE INSURANCE
This seems a little like a hit man taking out a life insurance policy on his target, then pulling the trigger...

LOBDELL IS LOCAL PRODUCT
Most of you know of Bill Lobdell, who most recently has been touring the country promoting his best-selling book, "Losing My Religion: How I lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America - and Found Unexpected Peace". Before that he was a religion reporter for the Los Angeles Times and the Editor of the Daily Pilot.

IS THIS KOSHER?
I admit to being a neophyte in the world of stock manipulation, but my first reading of their web site makes me just a little nervous, despite their disclaimers. Again, visit the site and read it for yourself.

WHAT ABOUT THE DAILY VOICE?
One thing I found very curious was that nowhere in his bio on the site does Lobdell mention his tour as co-publisher of the Daily Voice. Even though he has juggled many balls simultaneously in the past, I wonder if he has terminated his relationship with Tom Johnson and what that means for the future of the Daily Voice. It now faces even more competition locally with the recent launch of two new sites, O.C. NOW and OCLNN, both linked on this page, which are closely affiliated with the Daily Pilot. UPDATE: The Daily Voice addressed Lobdell's reduced role HERE today.

KEEPING MY FINGERS CROSSED FOR LOBDELL
It's going to be very interesting to see how this new venture (I keep wanting to call it a scheme) evolves. I wish Bill Lobdell well in this new venture.





BARRY MINKOW ON 60 MINUTES

Welcome, Orange County Local News Network

FIRST "O.C. NOW"
Back on January 20th I mentioned the birth of a couple new sources of local news soon to be available to us here in the Newport-Mesa. The first, which I linked at that time, was the O.C. NOW site. You'll find the link over on the right side of this page.

NOW "ORANGE COUNTY LOCAL NEWS NETWORK"
The second new source is the Orange County Local News Network, (OCLNN), which launched yesterday, February 1st.

PART OF A GROWING NETWORK
This organization, part of the broader United States Local News Network (USLNN), is the third such site under that umbrella. The others cover San Diego and Southwest Riverside. They are domiciled in the same Sunflower Street building that houses the staff of the Daily Pilot and, it is my understanding, that they will cross-post stories with the Pilot. This is good news, since the diminished staff of the Pilot has had trouble covering all the bases in recent months.

A/P AND CITY NEWS SERVICE COVERAGE INCLUDED
They will also include stories from the Associated Press and City News Service, which gives them significant breadth of reporting.

LINK OVER ON THE RIGHT
I've included a link to this new source immediately under the O.C. NOW site over on the right. If you want to read the introductory essay, "Hello, Orange County!" by Managing Editor Greg Magnus click HERE.

WELCOME!
Welcome to the OCLNN. We hope it becomes a reliable, accurate and timely source of news for us all. We here at A Bubbling Cauldron wish them all the best.

(photo courtesy of Orange County Local News Network)

Stop The Fairgrounds Sale - Let's Roll!

I'M BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN
After getting out of town for a few days the end of last week to help flush the depression about the current state of affairs regarding the sale of the Orange County Fair and Events Center - see previous post - I returned to find a few responses to my request for a pep talk. I do appreciate those who communicated with me, trying to get me back thinking positively about the chances of the sale being canceled.


GOOD ADVICE FROM A FRIEND
For example, one person whom I hold in very high regard dropped me a little note of encouragement and reminded me of the following:

• Baseball games are not decided in the 7^th inning just because one team is ahead.
• Because diligence is ultimately, always rewarded
• Big money doesn’t always determine victory
• It’s seldom as it appears

He went on to say, "There are many more rounds left in this fight and one of the reasons I like our chances are because people in this community simply don’t give up. "

UNITED VOICES - KILL THE SALE!
Well, I can't argue with him about that. This battle - and that's what it has become - has united diverse constituencies in our community with one common goal - to kill off the sale of the Fairgrounds. In my years of watching local politics I can recall no issue that has done so to such an extent.

COUNCIL TO VOTE ON GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT
Tuesday, February 2nd, the Costa Mesa City Council will consider the General Plan amendment that will codify the designation of the Fairgrounds property as Institutional and Recreational, and will further specifically identify prohibited uses that might otherwise fall into that category.

BALLOT MEASURE TO CONSIDER, TOO
The staff report also indicates that the City Attorney will present separately a measure to appear on the June, 2010 ballot that will lock this General Plan amendment into place and any change to it will require another vote of the people. I didn't find that item on the agenda, though.

FAIR BOARD POSTPONES MEETING
The 32nd Agriculture District Board (Fair Board) has postponed it's scheduled meeting from the 2nd until February 9th. The sole item in the open session of the meeting will be their response to the sale of the Fairgrounds. There is a closed session item listed that addresses potential litigation. We find ourselves wondering if it has anything to do with the Fairgrounds sale and the suspicious circumstances around the Board's role in getting the property put on the block in the first place.

WRITE TO THE GOVERNOR - AGAIN AND AGAIN
So, it's up to us to continue to communicate with Governor Schwarzenegger's office in Sacramento, urging him to please kill the sale of the Fairgrounds. Remind him that the Fair and other events have been held at it's current location for more than a half-century and that by permitting the sale to go through he places in jeopardy the jobs of thousands of business owners and their employees who use the Fairgrounds as their marketing venue. Remind him of the potential loss of sales tax dollars and the probability of placing even more Orange County residents into the unemployment lines.

A STAIN ON HIS LEGACY
Remind the governor that, by permitting the sale to be consummated, he will place an indelible stain on his legacy and his image as the elected leader of this great state. Remind him that the winning bid is not even a drop in the ocean of debt the State is currently trying to resolve. Remind him that we are not in the organ transplant business - that Orange County residents don't want to see it's heart sold, and certainly not so cheaply.


NO FAT LADY SINGING YET
We must not give up this fight until the proverbial "fat lady" has sung. Last week I thought I heard her tuning up, but she's quieted down now.

KEEP FIGHTING!
So, as my friend so clearly stated, "...the people in this community simply don't give up." Keep on fighting, my friends. This battle is not lost yet...



VERN NELSON'S "TAINTED SALE"

Battle To Quash Fairgrounds Sale Dead?

IS THERE A PULSE?
Is it over now? That seems like a pretty good question considering some recent events.



DAILY PILOT REPORTS AB1590 DEAD
First, the Daily Pilot reported a little after noon today that Assemblymen Jose Solorio and Van Tran have decided to pull AB1590 from the Assembly floor because it ended up too watered-down to accomplish the goal - the killing of the sale of the Fairgrounds. They are quoted as saying they might start over again with a new, stronger bill that contained the original language of AB1590.

DEVORE SAYS NO TO AB1590
Then I saw a copy of Assemblyman Chuck Devore's letter to Mayor Mansoor in which he states that he cannot support AB1590 because he and some of his fellow assemblymen have decided that the State should not be in the real estate business! You just lost my vote, Chuck.


GOVERNOR "SCORES" THE FAIRGROUNDS
Then, I was informed that Governor Schwarzenegger has "scored" the Fairgrounds for the 2011 budget. That means that he has counted the $50 million plus that was offered for the Fairgrounds as money in the budget. If the sale gets quashed that will put the budget $50 million in the hole! No way that's going to happen in this budget climate.

I NEED A PEP TALK
So, I need someone to give me a pep talk! Tell me why these events don't mark the death of the plans to quash the sale. Tell me something encouraging... because this information is just plain disappointing.

Righeimer's Choice

THE RIGHT DECISION...
As reported here yesterday afternoon, Costa Mesa Planning Commission Chairman Jim Righeimer has been bounced from his Daily Pilot columnist responsibilities. I think the correct decision was made, if we can believe the scenario presented by the writer of the original story in the Newport Mesa Daily Voice. Riggy was give the choice of his column or his seat on the Planning Commission. He made the right choice.

MISSING HIS COLUMN?
Certainly, the world has not come to an end for Righeimer. Many folks have commented in public and private that they will miss his columns. I, too, will miss his views on some important issues in our city. His life experience and work background is very different than mine, so his perspective on development issues is valuable to our city. And, of course, his partisan perspective on political issues will be missed, too - by some.

PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR HIM, THOUGH
There is nothing at all to keep Riggy, as a private citizen, from submitting a commentary to the Daily Pilot when the urge moves him. I'm sure the editors will view his submissions as they do any other and publish them if they have merit. And, there is no longer the pressure to create a column on a regular basis. Of course, Riggy will miss those "big bucks" the Pilot pays their columnists...

NOT GOING SOFT ON RIGGY
Am I going soft on Riggy? Nah - I still think he's a carpetbagger and I still think he misused his position as a columnist for political purposes. I still think he's going to make another run for City Council in the fall, which would have forced him to abandon his column in any event. This just levels the playing field a little for those who might choose to challenge him for that council seat.


***

EASTSIDE CM NEIGHBORS GROUP MEETING
A reminder... tonight, Thursday, the Eastside CM Neighbor's Group will host a meeting at Kaiser Elementary School on Santa Ana Avenue at which several items of community interest will be discussed. Righeimer will give his perspective on the Fairgrounds Sale. Former councilwoman Heather Somers will discuss the future expansion of John Wayne Airport. The Banning Ranch and the Broadway Safe Route To School Project will also be discussed. Call 949-646-9773 if you have questions.

The meeting begins at 7:00 p.m. and is scheduled for 2 hours.

Righeimer and Wylder Out At Daily Pilot

THE DAILY VOICE REPORTS...
Wow! Big news reported by the Newport Mesa Daily Voice this morning. In a column, HERE, they report that both Jim Righeimer and Greer Wylder are out as Daily Pilot columnists! Huge news!

CONFIRMS EARLIER RUMORS
I had heard rumors earlier that Riggy was on shaky ground with his column, but declined to print that information because it wasn't a done deal. The source at the Daily Voice seems to think it is now.

RIGGY'S CHOICE
I called the Daily Pilot, spoke with two editors, who confirmed the facts as presented in the Daily Voice column - that Riggy was given the choice of retaining his column or resigning from the Planning Commission. It doesn't surprise me that he chose to leave the newspaper. I also called Riggy, who acknowledged the circumstances of this story.

UNFAIR ADVANTAGE
From my personal point of view, permitting a sitting city official to have a regular column in the Daily Pilot has always been a little curious. In my view, it was made worse because Riggy obviously had aspirations for higher office and the column gave him a platform to express his views not available to other potential opponents.

LAST COLUMN?
No word yet when the Daily Pilot will publish his final column... it may already have done so with his presentation last week.

WYLDER DEPARTURE LEAVES HUGE HOLE...
The departure of Greer Wylder is also a shocker. Her column in the Daily Pilot has a HUGE following but, according to sources at the Daily Pilot, they were unable to reach agreement on a contract. This will leave another big hole in the Daily Pilot's presentation of important information to its readers. I have no idea whether or not the fact that Wylder is married to former Daily Pilot editor, Los Angeles Times reporter and co-publisher of the Newport Mesa Daily Voice had anything to do with her departure from the Daily Pilot.

DRAMA CONTINUES
Lately it seems that there is no lack of drama over on Sunflower Street... this is just the most recent event. Ever since Sam Zell bought the Los Angeles Times parent company, The Tribune Companies, and systematically dismantled that once-proud news organization speculation has existed about the future of the Times Community News family of local news outlets, including the Daily Pilot. I've written many times that I do not want the Daily Pilot to go away... our communities need this newspaper of record for more than a century. I hope the folks managing that group find ways to adapt to the changing world of journalism and remain an important, essential part of our communities.

Housekeeping & The Week Ahead

Here's a little bag of stuff that needs to be taken care of as we launch into a new week..

HEAR ROEDER DISCUSS THE FAIRGROUNDS SALE
Last Saturday Costa Mesa City Manager Allan Roeder was the guest of Troy Davis on his "Money Matters" program on KOCI-LPFM, 101.5. Roeder and Davis spent 35 productive minutes discussing the sale of the Orange County Fair and Events Center, the history and the future. As always, Roeder provided us with excellent information.

ACCESS ARCHIVE SITE
For those of you who missed the broadcast, Davis has provided us with a method of accessing the program at a special archive site. Just click HERE, then scroll down to the bottom of the right column and click on the red line that says "click here to download". It will take a few minutes for the program to download. Once it does, just click on the icon that appears and sit back for a half-hour of good information.

GRACIAS, KOCI
Many thanks to Troy Davis and the rest of the good folks at KOCI-LPFM for providing this public service. You can find their web site, with live streaming programming, HERE, and learn how you can support this excellent community resource.

***

VISIT "CHUCKMEISTER"
Slide over to the right of this page and click on "Chuckmeister Unleashed". My old buddy, Chuck Cassity has a new, very entertaining post, part of which was recently published in the Daily Pilot.

***

CHECK OUT "GREEN LIVING"
I've added Costa Mesa Planning Commissioner Jim Fitzpatrick's blog, "Green Living" to my blog roll. Be sure to take a peek at Jim's very interesting and informative entries. Jim's column appears regularly on the Daily Voice.

***

PLANNING COMMISSION STUDY SESSION
On Monday, January 25th, the Costa Mesa Planning Commission will hold a study session at City Hall, Conference Room 1A at 5:30 p.m. at which Code Enforcement Priorities and Harbor Boulevard of Cars Signage will be discussed.

***

MESA CONSOLIDATED WATER DISTRICT
On Tuesday, January 26th, the Board of the water district will hold their meeting at 7:00 at Water District headquarters. One very interesting item on the agenda - to be considered in a closed session - is a discussion of negotiations with Poseidon Resources for the "possible use of Mesa Consolidated Water District property by outside company for purposes of delivering desalinated potable water to other agencies."

Some may recall that Poseidon plans to build a desalination plant in Huntington Beach and plow up part of northern Costa Mesa to move that product to a distribution point just beyond the northwest border of our city. Poseidon has finally received - after years of contentious negotiations - permission to build a desal plant in Carlsbad and have recently broken ground for that project.

***

PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING
On Wednesday, January 27th, the Costa Mesa Parks and Recreation Commission will hold their monthly meeting in the City Council Chambers beginning at 6:00 p.m. Three items are on its agenda:
Review of Conceptual Design for a Grant Application for Improvements at Lions Park
Fairview Road Parkway Improvements
Review of the Joint Use Agreement between the City and the Newport-Mesa Unified School District.

***

EASTSIDE CM NEIGHBORS GROUP
On Thursday, January 28th, the Eastside CM Neighbors Group will hold a meeting beginning at 7:00 p.m. at Kaiser Elementary School, 2130 Santa Ana Avenue at which speakers will address four issues:
John Wayne Airport Expansion (former councilwoman Heather Somers)
Banning Ranch Development Update
Sale of Orange County Fairgrounds (Jim Righeimer)
Broadway Safe Route to School Grant and Project.

You can find more information at their web site, www.eastsidecm.org or call at 949-646-9773

Riggy: Mansoor Among The Unemployed

RIGGY'S GAFFE...
I was all ready to begin this post by slamming Jim Righeimer for a major gaffe in his Daily Pilot column today, HERE, but, since I've been accused in the recent past of picking on him, I decided to call him before writing this one.

...NOT HIS FAULT
It seems the first paragraph, in which Riggy says Costa Mesa mayor Allan Mansoor is running for the 68th Assembly District seat against Van Tran, was modified by the editors. In fact, Mansoor is running for the seat being vacated by Tran, who is termed out and is running for Loretta Sanchez' seat in the House of Representatives. Riggy sent me his original submission that verifies the mistake.

MANSOOR AMONG THE UNEMPLOYED!
That's not the big news, though. The big news from his column is that his pal, Mansoor, has resigned from the Orange County Sheriff's Department after 16 years of service! And, considering the magnitude of this announcement, it's curious that Riggy chose to bury this little tidbit of information way down in the ninth paragraph of his column!

STRANGE MOVE, INDEED
If Mansoor has, in fact, resigned from the Sheriff's Department as of December 31, 2009 as Riggy claims, this is yet another strange move by the man formerly known here as our "young jailer/mayor". I'm going to have to find a new term of endearment for him, since he's no longer a jailer and is getting older by the minute.

NOT ELIGIBLE FOR PENSION
By resigning with only 16 years of service he is not yet eligible for a pension under the very generous pension program enjoyed by members of the Sheriff's Department.

CAN HE MAKE IT ON COUNCILMAN'S PAY?
He's got a year before he will be seated in the Assembly if he's successful in his campaign and only earns $952 per month as a Costa Mesa City Councilman - minus the 5% pay cut he took last year to help with the budget.

FINANCES
This move by Mansoor raises lots of interesting questions. For example, how the heck is he going to survive for a year without a full time job? According to Riggy he's got $135,000 in his campaign war chest, but he can't use that for living expenses. Based on a recent report I saw, most of that - $99,000 - is from a loan he took out from a West Virginia bank, not from contributions. And, just before he resigned the end of last year he went back that same trough and borrowed another $100,000.

WHAT'S NEXT, HOMELESSNESS?
I think it's important for the voters of our city to know that our mayor is unemployed, don't you? Will this change make him more vulnerable to financial enticements by those who may wish to lobby him in the future? Will someone offer him a free apartment, for example, or does he have a roommate helping with the rent? Will every meal he eats somehow become a "campaign expense"? Will he be forced to look for more affordable housing - like in Santa Ana, for example? At least he doesn't have to worry about going to work every day now.

LOOKING FORWARD TO HIS CAMPAIGN
I must confess that I'm actually looking forward to Mansoor's campaign. I only hope a challenger emerges to give him a run for his money. I'd like to see him in a debate with someone who doesn't have to rely on crib sheets before uttering a word. No, I don't mean I want a liberal to beat him - I'd like to see a strong, smart Republican whip his fanny in the primary. Not much chance of that, though, since he is the anointed one by the Orange County GOP and has the support of Dana Rohrabacher and Scott Baugh.