Thursday, December 31, 2009

Happy New Year, Everyone...


Well, here we go, into another year with our fingers firmly crossed that things will get better.

I hope our trainee president comes to his senses and stops destroying the
greatest Republic the world has ever known.

I hope wiser heads will prevail and our current economic crisis is resolved quickly.

I hope our local elected leaders find the right words to convince the governor that selling the Orange County Fairgrounds is a truly terrible idea.

I hope our young volunteer warriors in far off places are returned home safely to their families.

I hope you all have a Very Happy New Year...

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Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Mansoor, Leece, Foley & Roeder To Lobby Governor


ROEDER & COUNCIL MAJORITY TO MEET WITH GOVERNOR
Big news on the Fairgrounds Sale front. The City announced this morning that City Manager Allan Roeder, Mayor Allan Mansoor, Mayor Pro Tem Wendy Leece and Councilwoman Katrina Foley will make a full frontal attack on Sacramento next Monday.

30 MINUTES T
O LOBBY FOR FAIR SALE CANCELLATION
The quartet will fly to the state capitol on Monday morning for a scheduled meeting with Governor Schwarzenegger at 11:30 to lobby him to cancel the sale of the Orange County Fair and Events Center. The meeting will last a half hour during which our leaders will give it their best shot.


SPECIAL CLOSED SESSION MEETING

Even though having three council members together in the same meeting potentially violates the Brown Act, the meeting with the governor will be conducted as a Special Meeting of the Costa Mesa City Council in a closed session and will be properly noticed so no state laws are violated.

WILL THE GOVERNOR LISTEN?
I hope the governor will listen carefully to our leaders Monday morning and realize that our city and elected leaders of the County
of Orange and more than 20 cities within the county all agree that the sale of the fairgrounds is a terrible idea.

WATCH OUT FOR NIGERIANS WITH FLAMING SHORTS

I'm concerned that a majority of our council will all fly together to this meeting because of the possibility of an accident. In industry such travel would be split between a couple flights, just in case. I warned Katrina Foley to be on the alert for a Nigerian trying to light his shorts on fire...

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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

The Top Stories - Of The Year And Decade

CONTEMPLATING BIG STORIES
It's that time of the year when those of us who write a little begin thinking about the events of the past year, and wha
t they've meant to me, personally, and to the community in which I live.


BUDGET CRISIS AND FAIRGROUNDS SALE







For 2009, for ex
ample, the two biggies are quite obvious - the fiscal disaster that has beset our city, region and state and the potential sale of the Orange County Fairgrounds. More than any other events I can recall in recent memory these have turned our city upside down and forced decisions I wouldn't have thought possible only a couple years ago.

NOT JUST "TODAY" STORIES...
Sadly, both these stories will have "legs", and will carry over into 2010
and will probably big items again next year.

NATIONAL STORIES OF THE DECADE
Then I began thinking about the important issues we've faced in the decade tha
t ends on December 31, 2009. As a nation, the events of September 11, 2001 and the subsequent "War on Terror" are right at the top, followed by the election of our trainee president, Barack Obama and the ill-advised moves he's made that appear to be turning the most powerful Republic in the world into another socialist enclave. If he and his crew continue on their current track they will rack up a bill that your grandchildren will still be paying after Obama is long out of office.

LOCALLY - "IMPROVER" TAKEOVER OF COSTA MESA
Locally, though, in
my opinion the biggest event in Costa Mesa this decade is the takeover of our city government by the self-professed "improvers" in our community. Beginning with the election of the perpetually inept Chris Steel to the city council (and his subsequent un-election when he stood up to the "improvers") and the later elections of Allan Mansoor, Eric Bever and Wendy Leece, the "improvers" have established an iron grip on our city. That grip was tightened by the appointment of more "improvers" to city commissions and committees, which dramatically affected the way business is conducted and the residents of our city are treated.

"THE MOUTH" LEADS THE WAY
Led by the pontifications of one part
icularly prolific writer and speaker - our old pal, The Mouth From Mesa North - the "improvers" have established an agenda the cornerstone of which seems to be the expulsion of the Latino population from our city. For more than a decade The Mouth has inserted himself into local politics while firmly establishing himself as a voice for the rabid right via his hundreds of racists internet essays and his "little newsletter", now turned blog. His "drain the swamp" mantra, in which he advocates leveling many of the apartment buildings around our city to make parks, is a perfect example of his goal of expunging Latinos from our city.

CHRONICLE OF OPPRESSION AND REGRESSION
This group has successfully closed down the Job
Center, which had served our community effectively for almost two decades. That act, first proposed late at night by Councilman Gary Monahan, created an atmosphere of mistrust and tension within our city that exists to this day. The recent federal civil rights trial by Benito Acosta against The City and Allan Mansoor was a direct result of the Job Center closure and Mansoor's efforts to deputize every Costa Mesa police officer as an immigration screener. Those two actions created tension and demonstrations previously unseen in this city.

CONCILIATION REJECTED

The "improvers", through their elected surrogates, unceremoniously folded up the city Human Relations Committee, which had been a venue for resolution of cross-cultural differences in our city for more than 20 years without so much as a thank
you to those volunteers who served on that committee.

FAILED ATTEMPT TO CLOSE OCC SWAP MEET

They tried, unsuccessfully, to have the Orange Coast College Swap Meet - a venue for low-end commerce and social interaction for many within the Latino comm
unity - closed down. The excuse was that traffic from "other parts of the county" (meaning Santa Ana) was putting an undue burden on our streets. The motivation was clear. That effort was hyped by The Mouth, but it failed.

PAULARINO PARK BARS SPORT
They managed to turn Paularino Park - a neighborhood park in The Mouth's Mesa North enclave - into a "passive park", thereby mak
ing it off limits to neighborhood Latino men who would, on occasion, gather to kick a soccer ball around after work. They did that under the guise that it was a public safety issue. They, through their mouthpiece, ginned up the specter of marauding dark-skinned men, wildly kicking soccer balls all over the park and urinating and defecating in the bushes - none of which was found to be true. It was simply another way to make members of our Latino community uncomfortable. Fortunately, their move to ban similar sports in most other city parks failed.

UNDERLYING INTOLERANCE

The underlying motivation of all these actions, and many more over the past ten years, has been aimed direct
ly at the Latino population of our city - which represents more than 35% of the populace. With constant prodding by The Mouth, the so-called "improvers" kept up a constant drumbeat of intolerance which apparently, and sadly, struck a chord with many voters. It was on this wave of intolerance that Mansoor rode to re-election, carrying with him Wendy Leece on his coattails.

NEW BREEZE IN TOWN
However, there is change on the horizon. A
new movement is taking place - one that is not as overtly intolerant of our Latino neighbors. There are some new faces in the political spectrum in Costa Mesa - folks who don't share the angry, intolerant foundation of the so-called "improvers". Among them are current Planning Commission Chairman Jim Righeimer, a political operative who moved to Costa Mesa a couple years ago after providing political support for Mansoor in his re-election run and was promptly offered a plum spot on the Planning Commission. With him is his long-time business associate, Steve Mensinger, who also now holds a slot on the Planning Commission. Both of these men are developers and, when coupled with developer attorney Colin McCarthy, form an unbreakable "developer" majority on that important body. These men are not in the pocket of the "improvers" and can go toe-to-toe with The Mouth any time.

DIFFERENT, NOT NECESSARILY BETTER...

I'm not necessarily sure that having a developer majority on the Planning Commission is a great idea for our city, but at least it does clear the air of the stench of intolerance that has permeated many activities in recent memory. Residents better pay close attention to the Planning Commission in the next several months. The current majority seems more than willing to bully applicants and to impose their own, personal stamp on new projects.

NOVEMBER, 2010 ELECTIONS WILL BE FUN

The elections of 2010 are going to be very interesting. The Mouth has already provided Wendy Leece with an ultimatum in his blog. His instruction to her is clear - she had better continue to march to his beat - or else! We all watched him when Chris Steel got some spine and pushed back - it got him ousted. It will be interesting to see if We
ndy can actually carry her own weight in a re-election campaign. I'm not sure she can raise the money on her own to pull it off. And then there's her tendency to try to impose her own, personal religious beliefs on city matters. That's going to be a problem for her...

RIGGY - CAN WE TRUST HIM?

We'll see whether Righeimer makes yet another pass at a council seat and, if so, will he drag along any of his pals with him. He's a smart enough guy, with a solid business background and political connections up the wazoo. The question that lingers for me is, "Can we trust him?" His activities in the whole Fairgrounds sale dust-up makes me wonder... I guess time and close attention to his actions will tell.


POLITICAL MACHINES - BUTT OUT!
So, off we go, into a new decade. It is my hope that less strident, less polarizing voices will emerge to lead our city. I hope that national political organizations will butt out of our local politics and give the good, honest, hardworking voters in our city a chance to seriously consider the kind of leaders we want and need today.

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Monday, December 28, 2009

Enough Celebratin' - Back To Work!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Welcome back! Hope y'all had a great Christmas holiday and that Santa Claus brought you everything you wanted. I also hope that our little array of Christmas ditties helped brighten your holiday.

NOW, BACK TO BUSINESS...


VERN, THE ENTERTAINER
Over at the Orange Juice Blog, the Rabid Derailer, Vern Nelson, continues to carry the baton on the sprint to the finish in the matter of the sale of the Orange County Fair and Events Center. He points out, HERE, that we only have a couple weeks in which to influence Sacramento law makers to pass Jose Solorio's AB 1
590, which will quash the sale.

TIME'S RUNNING OUT!
I agree with Nelson - each of us needs to communicate with as many of those knuckleheads in Sacramento as possible, encouraging them to vote for Solorio's bill, and we need to do it promptly. Nelson provides us with a list of telephone numbers to call, so please use then promptly. That big clock is ticking, folks...

SIGN OF THE TIMES
An observation for you of a sign of the times. I subscribe to alerts from the City of Costa Mesa which include announcements of Requests for P
roposals (RFPs) for projects being sent out to bid. Today I received an announcement showing existing projects with the cryptic comment that there are NO pending projects to be released for bids. Yikes!

MIXED FEELINGS

Along that same line, I checked this morning with members of The City Finance Department to see if any more employees had opted to choose the enhanced retirement plan. The window on that plan slams shut on December 31, 2009. I was advised that the previous number of 52 is still the last head count available. And, the staff confirmed that only six of those would be replaced. This, in my view, is one of those good news/bad news situations. I'm glad so many of our friends have chosen to take retirement early and find myself hoping that they've thought this out thoroughly. I'm also glad that only six will be replaced - the budget savings that will result is double what was anticipated. However, I really worry about the service levels we can now expect as a result of those departures and the empty seats aro
und City Hall. We're used to darn good response to calls for service - I suspect those days are over - for the next few years, at least.

GOOD NEWS? LET'S HEAR IT!

So, as this year heads for the finish line, let's try to find some good news. I'll await your help with that one....

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Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas To You All



MY CHRISTMAS PRESENT TO YOU
Today I'm going to present, one more time, those Christmas music clips that I've been providing to you over the past couple weeks. I hope they enhance your celebration of this wonderful day.

We here at A Bubbling Cauldron want to wish each of you a Very Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year.

Enjoy...

BING CROSBY - WHITE CHRISTMAS

HEIDI KLUM - CHRISTMAS CAROL WONDERLAND

CELTIC WOMAN/CHLOE AGNEW - OH, HOLY NIGHT

HANDEL'S HALLELUJAH CHORUS

JOHNNY MATHIS - WE NEED A LITTLE CHRISTMAS



STAN FREBERG - GREEN CHRISTMAS


CONNIE TALBOT - DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR?
AMY GRANT & CE CE WINANS - COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS

NAT KING COLE - THE CHRISTMAS SONG

1 & 3 YEAR OLDS - RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER

JOSE FELICIANO - FELIZ NAVIDAD
ENYA - WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS


LIBERA - GOD REST YE MERRY GENTLEMEN

LINUS - WHAT IS CHRISTMAS ALL ABOUT?
CHRISTMAS LIGHT HERO
TROJAN MEN - ROCKIN' AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE

CHARLOTTE CHURCH - HARK! THE HERALD ANGELS SING

OLIVIA NEWTON JOHN - SILENT NIGHT
FAITH HILL - LITTLE DRUMMER BOY

HARRY BELAFONTE - MARY'S BOY CHILD

HUNTER BAPTIST CHURCH CHOIR - JOY TO THE WORLD

MORMON TABERNACLE CHOIR - O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL

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Thursday, December 24, 2009

WHAT A YEAR!

Dear Loyal Readers (and the rest of you, too)

THANKS FOR STOPPING IN...

I can't belie
ve we're a week away from yet another new year! Yikes! I want to thank each of you for taking the time to stop in at A Bubbling Cauldron from time to time, to see what kind of drivel I'm spewing.

COMMENTS WELCOME, EVEN WHEN THEY'RE WRONG!
I know from comments posted and from
separate email correspondence and phone calls that some of the views I've expressed struck a chord with you. I also know that some of you disagree completely with what I've written. That's OK - I'm always happy to hear an opposing viewpoint, no matter how wrong it might be.

THE NEWPORT-MESA BEAT
This blog is mainly focused on Costa Mesa issues, with a little slop over into Newport Beach from time to time. I'm always happy to share my "wisdom" with our friends over there in the high rent district.


A YEAR UNLIKE ANY OTH
ER
This year in Costa Mesa has been
one unlike any other I can recall in the more than three dozen years I've lived here. The budget travails alone would make it unique, but when you combine that with the potential sale of the Fairgrounds, it has made an amalgam of chaos that's almost impossible to explain. And that's just at the local level. When you consider that our trainee president is trying to turn the greatest representative republic in history into just another socialist enclave, I, for one, will be happy to see this year end!

ROEDER LEADS A STRONG TEAM
The budget problems were managed effectively by the City Staff, led as always by the best city manager in Orange County (at least), Allan Roeder. H
e and his team faced tremendous obstacles trying to find a way to balance the budget and maintain city services at the same time. The strength of the bench in Costa Mesa municipal government was apparent when, out of the blue and in the midst of the whole budget turmoil, Finance Director Marc Puckett left his position for reasons that have not been, and probably never will be, made known. The remaining Finance staff and the rest of the senior management team just hunkered down and all pulled together to help produce a budget that would work.

SAYING GOOD-BYE TO RETIREES
Many elements of that budget were necessarily nebulous. For example, one "great unknown" was just how many staffers would take advantage of the enhanced retirement package. Hopes were that maybe 50 of the 145 or so eligible might decide to bail out early. If that was the case, management was expe
cting to replace only 25 of those, which would result in an annual budget savings of around $3.5 million. As it turned out, slightly more than 50 have chosen to retire and, based on the analysis by the management staff, only six will be replaced. That resulted in a savings of over $3.6 million in this fiscal year alone - virtually doubling the anticipated savings. The final numbers are still fuzzy, but that part looks like it worked out just fine.

WE'LL KNOW IN A MONTH
By the end of January the staff will have prepared their mid-year budget review, which should tell us just how close we will come to the targets created last spring.

THE FAIRGROUNDS SALE!

Then, the city had the biggest curve ball of all - the potential sale of the Fairgrounds - thrown at it. This issue
has brought together some very diverse constituencies, all fighting the sale. It's created some new friends and more than a few new adversaries. Carpetbagger Planning Commission Chairman Jim Righeimer launched his "Save The Fair" effort, which was viewed by many as a smokescreen to facilitate the scurrilous attempt by members of the current Fair Board to form a non-profit group to purchase the fair after having hired a former legislator - Dick Ackerman - to go to Sacramento specifically to facilitate the Fairgrounds being placed on the block. Hearings were held, emissaries were dispatched to Sacramento to plead for the sale to be quashed, a bill was introduced by Assemblyman Jose Solorio - AB1590 - to stop the sale and the governor was contacted and encouraged to kill this bad idea. The City and The County of Orange agreed to form a joint powers authority for the purpose of bidding on the Fairgrounds - a choice of last resort if the sale cannot be stopped.

PROCESS IS MOVING FORWARD
As of this writing the sale process continues to barrel down the track with sealed bids due by January 8, 2010, which will be opened on the 14th and an auction
comprised of qualified potential buyers will commence. Fingers all over Orange County are turning blue from being crossed in hopes of the sale being stopped.

And those two items were just the "big" t
wo that faced Costa Mesa this year.

MORE BUDGET PROBLEMS AHEAD

Next year the budget difficulties will certainly continue as property tax revenues are certain to decline and sales taxes, already dropping, will likely continue to show weakness as our trainee president and his band of anarchists attempt to turn the strongest economy in the world into a second tier country.

ONE MORE TIME...

So, I want to thank every member of the Costa Mesa city staff, from Allan Roeder on down to the guys driving the street sweepers, for their efforts to kee
p the municipal wheels from coming off. 2010 will find many fewer people in place to meet the demands of our residents. It's going to take a whole lot of patience on our part as calls for service are delayed.

WITH FINGERS CROSSED...

2009 has been, in many ways, a truly terrible year. I hope, with fingers turning blue, that 2010 will be better - even if it only is a little better. I hope you all have a good year.

Here's some more Christmas Cheer for you today.

MORMON TABERNACLE CHOIR - O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL

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Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Water, Water Everywhere...

DID MESA CONSOLIDATED WATER PASS INCREASES?
I spok
e with Coleen Monteleone, Administrative Manager at Mesa Consolidated Water District, this afternoon. I was curious about how the hearing went on the proposed rate increases last night.

THE ANSWER IS "YES"!

Coleen told m
e that, first of all, the Board passed the rate increases as proposed. That means that we will be paying roughly 25% more for our water at the end of five years than we are paying now, and that the progressive increases will not require any further public hearings to implement the subsequent increases.

POWERPOINT ANSWERED QUESTIONS

She sent me the PowerPoint presentation used last night and answered several of my questions about this process. While it seems curious that such a huge increase would be bitten off in such a huge gulp, and that the only public hearing on these increases is
being held three days before Christmas, when most residents are preoccupied with holiday responsibilities, I'm personally satisfied that this process is OK.

ONLY 10 SPEAKERS SHOWED UP

Ms. Monteleone told me that 10 people spoke before the Board regarding the rate increases and that 8 of them approved the increases. Thanks to those folks who took the time during this busy holiday season to present their views to the Board. She went on to tell me that currently the ratepayers of the district are paying only $.003 per gallon of water and that, after the final increase as proposed in five years, will be paying only $.004 per gallon.

NO MEDIA COVERAGE....?
It's interesting that none of the local media has provided any mention of the meeting or the results. I guess our water and a 25% increase really isn't news these days.



SPREAD YOUR WEALTH

So, dear readers, we have one more day until Christmas. I hope you spend tomorrow wisely, buying gifts for those you love and also finding a little change in your pockets for those less fortunate. The land of Newport-Mesa has many, many wonderful groups more than willing to help funnel your spare change into the hands of folks who really need it.

MORE CHRISTMAS CHEER FOR YOU TO HEAR

Once again I leave you with a couple very nice holiday clips to consider...

HARRY BELAFONTE - MARY'S BOY CHILD

HUNTER BAPTIST CHURCH CHOIR - JOY TO THE WORLD

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Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Water Rates, Secret Meetings and Tiger...

WATER RATE INCREASE?
It's late Tuesday night and I find myself wondering if the Mesa Consolidated Water District passed the new water rates at it's meeting tonight. No word on the local media yet, but there really is no reason to expect they wouldn't pass what amounts to a 25% rate increase over the next 5 years.

SECRET FAIR BOARD MEETING?

Also, a friend asked if I knew if the Orange County Fair Board was holding a meeting on Wednesday, tomorrow,
at the Fairgrounds. Seems the Daily Voice makes mention of it, but the Fair web site has absolutely nothing on it's pages to indicate a meeting will be held and, if so, what the agenda will be. Sadly, this is precisely why so many activists have come to distrust this Fair Board. I'll post an entry if I hear anything about the meeting, which is theoretically to be held from 10-12 Wednesday in the Administration Building on the Fairgrounds. UPDATE! After spending much of last night trying to track down the source of the info regarding a possible OC Fair Board meeting today, finally this morning late I was advised that the information previously provided was in error. So, I called the Fair staff and was told that, indeed, the Board will not meet this month in their regularly scheduled meeting and will meet on January 21, 2010.

TIGER!

Oh, yes - Tiger Woods. There, now I'm no longer the only blogger who has failed to mention Tiger Woods.. 'nuff said, except that I'm certainly going to pull MY sponsorship dollars from him! :-)

MORE JOY TO ENJOY

More Christmas videos for you again tonight. Tonight I'm going to juxtapose two tunes, both in the Christmas spirit, but are somewhat of a paradox. In any event, enjoy...

OLIVIA NEWTON JOHN - SILENT NIGHT

FAITH HILL - LITTLE DRUMMER BOY

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Natural Disasters - Tsunamis and Steve Smith

The local news is kind of slowing down as Christmas nears.

TSUNAMI WARNING

In the Daily Pilot this morning Joseph Serna give us a little overview of Newport Beach's Tsunami preparedness, HERE. If I lived on the peninsula I wouldn't feel very comforted, since it would be unlikely most people could escape from their homes to higher ground in the event of a Pacific tsunami. Also for reference you can read the essay I wrote about the probable impact of a large earthquake along the Newport-I
nglewood fault shortly after Hurricane Katrina, HERE. In it I mention the impact of a "local tsunami", caused by the quake.

GRANDMA STEVE

Daily Pilot columnist Steve Smith, who has attempted to be the grandmother to us all for years, provides us with his take on Christmas letters, HERE. Don't worry, Steve-o, you're not on our list...

And, for your viewing and listening pleasure, more Christmas music...



TROJAN MEN - ROCKIN' AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE



CHARLOTTE CHURCH - HARK! THE HERALD ANGELS SING


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