Council Meeting Report From The Cheap Seats

FOLEY VS. THE MOUTH - AGAIN
As anticipated, the Costa Mesa City Council meeting last night did provide some fireworks between Councilwoman Katrina Foley and the racist buffoon, The Mouth From Mesa North. You can watch the entire meeting HERE.

"GRINNING IDIOT"
The Mouth, still fuming from Foley's rebuff two weeks ago, ended his first rant of the evening by turning to leave the speaker's podium and tossing back over his shoulder the phrase "grinning idiot" directly at Foley. If you really want to, you can scroll to 24:00 on the timer for the meeting to see that rant.

MANSOOR SHOULD HAVE SPOKEN UP
In my view, and others as well, this stepped well past the level of decorum normally expected by participants in the process. At that point Mayor Mansoor should have address that issue with The Mouth - it was an unacceptable breach of proper etiquette and should not be tolerated.

AVOIDING THE STENCH
Later, as The Mouth jumped up to the podium to address the SR-55 Access issue, Foley left the dais for the duration of his rant. I sure don't blame her - the stench of his racism is palpable!


A CLIP WORTH WATCHING
Speaking of the SR-55 issue, Eric Bever requested the city staff show the video clip they prepared for presentation to the Orange County Transportation Authority. It's an excellent production and can be viewed on the streaming video clip at 51:20 on the timer.

DOPERS ON PARADE - AGAIN
Another covey of medical marijuana advocates spoke at the meeting again last night. Even more interesting was the fact, as relayed by some of the speakers, that Mayor Mansoor had taken the time to speak with several of them during the hours before the council meeting at exactly the same time the Costa Mesa Police Department was raiding yet another of the illegal dispensaries in our city. As you might imagine, the dope advocates were flummoxed by the raid.

GRAFFITI ORDINANCE
One of the big items on the agenda was a lengthy discussion of graffiti in our community. Possible amendments to the municipal code were discussed, including tightening up the definitions of graffiti and the penalties involved. One thing that caught my attention was the recommendation by the staff of a penalty to be imposed on property owners who suffer graffiti application on their site. As I understood the discussion, it is the intent to penalize a property owner who experiences frequent graffiti vandalism in the form of fines and, possibly, liens being placed on the property. Further discussion with some involved informs me that this would be directed primarily at absentee property owners who either fail to remove graffiti or do not do so in a timely manner - that it is not anticipated it would be applied to single family residential properties, but it was not specifically excluded. This needs more study.

LET THE COUNCIL KNOW HOW YOU FEEL
The council voted to "continue" this issue to their meeting on April 20th. They and staff are looking for input from the public on this subject. I suggest you review the tape and staff report, then communicate with your leaders to let them know how you feel.


A "MEA CULPA" FOR MONAHAN
Finally, it seems appropriate on this day, St. Patrick's Day, that I again address the sign plastered all over Skosh Monahan's pub. It seems that our Code Enforcement folks have determined that, since it is a "political sign", it may remain in place. Unclear is just how long it may remain. Part of the Municipal Code requires it be removed "10 days from the date of the election to which it pertains"... well, I'm not sure that sign pertains to any election. Anyhow, I guess Monahan is not in violation of the sign ordinance - this time. Enjoy your St. Patrick's Day - drive safely.