Weekend Potpourri

EASIER THAN HERDING CATS...
While driving up to a luncheon with high school classmates on Saturday, I noticed a CHP cruiser driving very slowly along the shoulder of the Glendale Freeway, with his two left wheels in the right traffic lane. As I approached the CHP cruiser from the rear I noticed, off to it's right, a scruffy coyote walking erratically parallel with the cruiser. It seems the CHP officer driving the cruiser was herding the coyote, trying to keep it off the freeway traffic lanes just as a cowpoke might use a quarter horse to herd a heifer. My off ramp was just beyond the cruiser, so I didn't see if this operation was a success. Hopefully, for the coyote's sake, he was able to direct it down the offramp and away from the freeway traffic. After driving the California freeways for more than a half century, this one takes the cake!

CITY HALL DEMONSTRATION GARDENS
Sunday my wife and I took advantage of perfect weather and went to Costa Mesa City Hall to view the recently-completed drought-tolerant demonstration gardens that surround the building. The eight separate areas were designed by a cadre of local landscape architects and the plants were donated and installed by Village Nurseries. We both were impressed by the new plantings, which should really be beautiful in a few months, once they've had a chance to adapt to the new locations and grow a little bit. If you are considering using drought-tolerant plants in your gardens a trip to City Hall for a peek at these new gardens will certainly be helpful. The complete plant list for each is available online at the city web site.


NO COUNCIL MEETING UNTIL APRIL 6TH, BUT...
We don't have a regularly-scheduled City Council meeting again until April 6th, but that doesn't mean the wheels stop turning by any means. The staff has begun preparation of the 2010/2011 budget even as they continue to refine methodologies to balance the current budget.

WAITING FOR THE DGS TO DROP ANOTHER SHOE...
And, the seemingly never-ending drama of the Orange County Fair and Events Center continues to percolate. The State Department of General Services has promised Governor Schwarzenegger that they will move "promptly" to get the Fairgrounds sold, so I wouldn't be surprised at all to find a special council meeting being called before the next regular one.

VISIT "CHUCKMEISTER UNLEASHED" OFTEN
A reminder that my pal, Chuck Cassity, is producing some very interesting stuff over on his "Chuckmeister Unleashed" blog. You can find the link to it on the right side of this page. Whether you enjoy Chuck's ideas or not, he will certainly provoke you to think a little.