Bland Council Meeting - Fireworks Later
SLOW GOING Funny thing happened last night. I went to the Costa Mesa Council meeting - got there before 5, in fact, so I could see what, if anything, might be said before the council adjourned to a closed session. Not much. Former mayor Sandra Genis reminded them that they could only discuss price and terms of the Fairgrounds Sale in that segment of the closed session - nothing else. Yeah, like that happened! Unlike previous weeks, when the chambers were packed with orderly demonstrators from the public safety organizations, there were only a couple of us in the audience. When the council returned at 6:30 after having discussed the four items on the closed session agenda and began plowing through the rest of the evening's agenda there were only a couple dozen people in the auditorium -mostly the "usual suspects" - and the remainder of the agenda was uninspiring. If you really want to you can watch it HERE.
WATER DISTRICT CELEBRATES 50 YEARS
The Mesa Consolidated Water District, at least 4/5ths of it, was honored for the 50th anniversary of the water district. Congrats to the district, who decided to celebrate with a VIP event - no members of the public were included. Ah, the lives our bureaucratic aristocracy leads...
STATUS OF FAIRGROUNDS SALE BLEAK
Duri
ng Council Member Comments Katrina Foley asked City Manager Allan Roeder for a brief report on just where we stand on the Fairgrounds deal. Let me summarize his comments - he said things are at a standstill and, "it does not look good", further indicating that he anticipates a legal challenge regardless how the sale turns out. Foley asked the City Attorney for a report on the legal remedies available to the City on the Fairgrounds Sale. That set the tone for much of the rest of the meeting.GENIS RE-HEARING REQUESTS REJECTED
When it came time for the council to address the two re-hearing requests filed by
Genis the council made quick, unenthusiastic work of them by voting each request down. It was clear following those discussions and Roeder's earlier comments that the heart pretty much has gone out of our negotiating team on the Fairgrounds sale and lease. Genis may have gotten off the best line of the night when, discussing the recent closure of bidding on the new RFP, it was learned that Facilities Management West had presented a bid directly to the State, she said, "This all may be moot. From what I read in the newspapers, it looks like our prom date may be going to the dance without us."TOUGHER GRAFFITI ORDINANCE PASSED
At the tail end of the meeting the council passed the new, tougher Graffiti abatement ordinance - the product of more than a year's work by the staff. Resident John Feeney, normally a sometimes amusing, always grumpy curmudgeon when speaking before the council, lavished well-deserved praise on Officer Jason Chamness for his efforts to craft this new ordinance and for spearheading the visible improvement of graffiti issues around our town.BEVER ABSENT - AGAIN
By the way, I teased in an earlier post anticipating this meeting that Councilman Eric Bever might pout during the contract negotiations in the closed session. I was wrong. Nope, Bever was a no-show for the entire meeting. I guess when he says he's boycotting, he means he's boycotting his entire job as a councilman. Perhaps someone can go back and check the records to see just how many other meeting's he's missed in the past year or so. It could well be that he's just adjusting his work hours to fit the pay reduction the council agreed to take last year. More likely that Bever is throwing a little fit of petulance because he's been roundly criticized for his pronouncement about boycotting negotiations. We didn't miss him...
WWW.RIGHEIMER.COM WHITE HOT!
The real e
xcitement of the evening occurred AFTER the meeting was over and I returned home and checked my computer. In an online article that will likely appear in print today, HERE, Daily Pilot reporters Joseph Serna and Mona Shadia report that there's a new website up and running, www.righeimer.com, that - according to the article - is the product of members of the Costa Mesa Police Department. Apparently Righeimer once owned this domain but missed a payment so it was snatched up by someone else. To say this site will be inflammatory is the understatement of the year! By the time I saw the site it had gone viral throughout Costa Mesa - many Facebook page entries and white-hot emails flew through the ether. I find myself wondering how the content on this site will square with the letter I received from Righeimer's lawyer last week? I guess we'll find out.MAY CHANGE THE CANDIDATE FORUM TONIGHT...
I'm thinking the candidate forum scheduled for this evening may take on a very different dynamic because of this new website. We'll see in a few hours. See you there.
Labels: Eric Bever, Fairgrounds Sale, Jim Righeimer, Mesa Consolidated Water District
posted by The Pot Stirrer at 10/06/2010 01:16:00 AM
39 Comments:
I'm sorry, did you say that Righeimer missed a payment and that is why he doesn't own the www.righeimer.com domain name? Well, the missed payment shocks nobody... typical of him as the website shows.
Yeah, jim, that's what the article says... It's hard to understand since those registration payments can be automatic.
A new low for our Police Department. I'm afraid this whole thing will backfire on them. Going so negative on a candidate by a union in this anti-union environment is a real gamble. I suspect the true Costa Mesa voters will see through the sleaze of the Police union and vote for Righemer. The other candidates are pretty terrible. Looking forward to hearing all of them tonight. Thanks for staying on top of this Geoff!
Will R., thanks... trying to keep track of this stuff is kind of like herding cats! :-) I fear you may be correct about the public perception of this whole mess. Right now there is an anti-Righeimer banner truck being driven around town and, I'm told, will be parked near the forum venue tonight. The police with whom I've spoken are seriously concerned about Righeimer on the council - understandably. It's not like he's hiding his views - they are right out there, like it or not. I'm attending the forum - stop by and say hello if you feel so inclined.
Would any of you prefer the sale of marijuana in our school cafeteria? We don't have many choices this time around.
Geoff, I agree with Will R. This City belongs to the people, to the unions. The police aren't saying Righeimer is soft on crime, only that he wants to reform our of control public safety salaries and retirements. That's what scares them. Can anyone say "City of Bell." Righeimer's problem has always been his method of delivery, not the substance of his position. For that reason I will vote for him and against the police unions. I hope once he is elected, the union and him can make up and we can move forward!
"Public Pension Crisis Worse Than Expected"--OC Register- http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2010/10/05/pension-crisis-worse-than-suspected-report-says/65746/
Without guys like Righeimer, who is going to protect our children from the out of control pensions that will bankrupt our City and State. Thanks for standing up and speaking out Jim.
Costa Mesa Police officer Clay Epperson retired last year after working for only 29 years and will get $146,000 a year for the REST OF HIS LIFE. Check it out yourself. http://database.californiapensionreform.com/database.asp?vtsearchname=&vtsearchemploy=costa+mesa&vtquery=1&vttable=calpers
CALPERS own actuarial says that our current pension plans are not sustainable. They will bankrupt our City and leave nothing for our children. We need reform now and it won't come from Sacramento. We need local leaders who will step up, stop this nonsense and take on the unions. Righeimer is endorsed by the Orange County and Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Associations. That is why my wife and I are voting for him.
Red in Costa Mesa, thanks for the comment, but if you want old Riggy to get your message I suspect you'll have to choose a different venue. I doubt he's a loyal reader of these pages. Perhaps www.righeimer.com?
Gail, marijuana is already available on any school campus and has been for decades. So is alcohol. The price is high and the cost of "policing" the stuff is outrageous. It's time we decriminalize marijuana and then tax the heck out of it.
The unions are making a HUGE mistake, this will backfire - AS IT SHOULD.
Flo, please mark my words, legalizing marijuana will be the biggest mistake ever made by Californians.
Legalized medical marijuana is the marijuana I am talking about at this time. It is available all over Costa Mesa, and no prescription is necessary.
I hope residents have better sense than to vote for the pro medical marijuana candidate.
You obviously aren't keeping up!
Gail said...
Would any of you prefer the sale of marijuana in our school cafeteria? We don't have many choices this time around.
Where did you come up with that?
Gail said...
Legalized medical marijuana is the marijuana I am talking about at this time. It is available all over Costa Mesa, and no prescription is necessary.
Where would this be?
Every dispensary currently operating in Costa Mesa have very strict policies and they enforce them. The dispensary that Susan runs has a strict 21 and over policy for example.
You may not be a medical marijuana advocate and that's fine.
Susan has made it very clear she would abstain from votes on marijuana issues due to conflict.
Susan and Chris out shined Righeimer at the last forum and could quite possibly due the same tonight.
Do you care to provide any facts as to why you think legalization would be a mistake?
Geoff,
I'm not very sure about this latest strategy from some members of the Police. If a journalist does a professional and objective research, I'm for it. The mess in the City of Bell was uncovered by a team of LA Time Journalists. Coming something like this from our police concerns me. This doesn't mean that Righheimer is a cool guy. On the contrary, I am looking forward for someone in the media to come out with something big about his financial troubles, which, by the way, the city has the right to know.
I can't believe what this city has become. It literally is "Gound Zero" for outside political forces. The OC GOP has targetted this city. When Allan Mansoor was elected to city council they moved in and set up shop.Short time later Riggy moves in. Then it was, game on.We've had the Minutemen, The Family Action PAC, we've lost our fairgrounds, we now have the Unions going ballistic, our city is the only one in the county that is losing money. When is this madness going to stop? We need to put this city first, and as long as we are some sort of launching pads for political buffoons , everybody suffers. It's time to put a stop to this . All this insane political gaming. First of all say "No to Riggy and ALL his baggage". His brand of carpetbagging political bullying needs to go away. Vote for Chris McEvoy. He's a twenty seven year resident who will put the interests of the citizens and the city first.We don't need the Democrats or the Tea Partiers either.
Once a pension has been awarded, it cannot be taken away. Righeimer has no authority and no way to even touch the police or fire pensions. This is not the issue. The issue is that in a time of fiscal crisis, Costa Mesa has no business being on the city council when his history has shown that he is fiscally not responsible. He is scary for that reason. He reminds me of Treasurer Chris Street- he had bad business deals too. This is the problem, and the police association is the only group willing to show citizens who Righeimer really is.
Funny how McEvoy is attacking Jim Righeimer for his questioning the DUI checkpoint but McEvoy himself got a DUI in 2007, and plead to a wet reckless. We were able to get the arrest report and the court findings. We even have a nice mug shot of ol McEvoy. He was on probation until May. Which means he was on probation the last time he ran for council. Don't let McEvoy tell you he was arrested because of his disease that slurs his speech. He was arrested cause he drank and drove. We have the arrest report and we're making lots of copies to pass out. We will have those plus a huge blow up of his mug shot for the Eastsiders to see at the next forum.
MS Patient, you said:
"Every dispensary currently operating in Costa Mesa have very strict policies and they enforce them. The dispensary that Susan runs has a strict 21 and over policy for example."
Yes, and my son is over 21, however, he does NOT need medical marijuana, nor does he have a legitimate prescription. There are pushers all over town now handing out prescriptions to people they trust. Apparently you don't know the right people.
Face it, the more marijuana those dispensaries sell, the more money they make. Be careful what you wish for!!! It won't be long before they will be dispensing marijuana from vending machines.
I would never vote for Susan Lester. She is the front person for a new kind of mob. What used to be a wonderful city is now being ruled by thugs and mini-marijuana mobs. They make Jim Righeimer look like an angel.
If I remember right, wasn't Jim the one who suggested medical marijuana be dispensed from CVS and Walgreen's pharmacies? Hmmm .... that could be another reason to vote for him! He seems to be the only person truly interested in the well being of Costa Mesa. How ironic is that?
Hmm... sounds like Righeimer's people are attacking McEvoy the same way they are complaining the the police union is attacking them. ANOTHER RIGHEIMER HYPOCRACY. This guy is soooooo dirty.
Gail, please try to make sense when you post.
Yes, and my son is over 21, however, he does NOT need medical marijuana, nor does he have a legitimate prescription. There are pushers all over town now handing out prescriptions to people they trust. Apparently you don't know the right people.
What kind of prescriptions? Do you mean a weed dealer who sells out of his house? Dispensaries do NOT issue prescriptions. If your son buys weed from a dealer that is a whole different story and weed dealers have been flourishing in Costa Mesa for years and years and years! Just ask the owners of Chronic Taco!
Epperson gets $146K a year after 29 years of service?Incredible!!!!!!!!! My retirement, after 26 years of public school teaching, is a measly $44,800. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE???
Flo, as you can see from these posts there is a bad element taking control of our city.
Medical marijuana dealers are permeating this town and the police aren't doing anything about it, in spite of their humongous salaries.
Costa Mesa is blending in with Santa Ana now and it's becoming very seedy in the process. Maybe it's time the decent people in town pack up and move to greener pastures.
ms patient:
Apparently you can't read. But then, pot does tend to mess with a person's head.
Geoff:
You are going to piss a few people off because all emails addresses not in my address book are automatically deleted.
McEvoy made no attempt to hide his DUI duriing his last run. He even spoke about it.
Unlike Righeimer, Mcevoy admits his wrong doings and should be commended for it.
McEvoy should also be commended for growing his hair out. His plans to donate his hair to cancer patients is a great example of his character.
Flo, the only thing wrong with that picture is you not seeing the difference between a school teacher and a cop.
I can think of many great things Epperson has done for Costa Mesa but I can't seem to recall ever hearing your name.
Gail, I have no clue about what you mean with your last comment... among the many things about which I have no clue. Can you clarify?
Geoff:
You listed my email address for people to respond to. Any emails sent to that address will bounce because I don't receive emails from unknown return addresses. They are automatically deleted.
Anonymous Gail, I don't have an email address for you and just looked back to see if you might have inadvertently provided it in one of your comments... don't find it. I think you are mistaken and, perhaps, paranoid. Provide me with more information. If you choose not to do it here, my profile (which is open, unlike yours) contains an email address with which you can contact me privately.
My email address is CLEARLY posted just above the "Open ID" selection and underneath the "Leave Your Comment" section. No wonder so many people chose to leave their comments as "Anonymous".
If you prefer, I will start reading CM PRESS. I thought you were inviting comments, and enjoyed being read. My mistake.
Gail, that information is unnecessary and I don't see it anywhere at my end anyhow. All I get is your name. I post what is there - only your comment. I tested the system by using an alternate browser, one that didn't include my login information, so I could see what kind of problems you commentors might be having. If you just click the "name/URL" button and enter your name - I assume you're doing that - I just get your name. I'm happy to have you commenting here, but if you want to test your gag reflex, please go on over to the CM Press - your call. Again, if you wish to have a less public discussion about this use the email address on my profile.
Geoff,
It looks to me like the Daily Pilot is deleting all their comments now (probably in light of the election). Maybe you should do the same until after the election. It's getting pretty ugly.
It's not necessary to post all these email address comments for public consumption. You are only going to scare off other comments (and readership). You might want to delete those you have already published. It won't hurt my feelings.
Geoff,
Your comment to the commenter of another comment suggested that Righeimer doesn't read the Bubbling Cauldron. I bet his lawyer-in-law does.
Gail, when you view this comment thread do you see ANY email addresses? No? Neither do I. When you submit a comment it comes to me in the form of an email. I can choose to "publish" it, "delete" it or "moderate" it - the latter tool has never worked for me. So, I decide what appears here and seldom - but not never - refuse to publish a comment. Some have fallen well below any civil standard and have not been included. But, NONE of those include the sender's email address and such email addresses NEVER appear on the comment thread. I couldn't write back to you if I wanted to do so. With that in mind, your phrase, "email address comments" have me just flat baffled. If you have examples of your email address - or anyone else's - being published in comments here, please copy and paste it into an email and send it to me. Otherwise, please quit yapping about it!
Kent, I have no idea whether Righeimer reads my blog or not. Recent events would lead one to think he does - or has hired a "reader" to do it for him. Regardless, I have not violated the commandments laid out in their threat letter, even though Righeimer has spoken on those subjects in public.
Medical marijuana dealers are permeating this town and the police aren't doing anything about it, in spite of their humongous salaries.
State law permits dispensaries.
Gail is obviously a troll who probably all ready reads the CrazyManpress.d
Epperson was a police manager and not part of the Costa Mesa Police Association. Sorry to burt your bubble Flo. How much do School Principles make in their retirement, because that is the closest equivellent to him. The Costa Mesa assistant city manager is a close equivellent too. How much does that guy make? Your pension reflects that you were not management, his reflects that he was.
Why would Eppersons name be brought up by readers of the irrelevant cmpress.
Could they still be upset he exposed the white power factions operating in Costa Mesa?
Could it be he was one of the few with the balls to expose their decrepit leader for what he is?
hmmmmm?
Ahh, "Jimmy the mouth"
Rohrabacher campaign chairman James Righeimer said Thursday that Capizzi is punishing Carmony and Baugh, who faces 18 counts of alleged violations from the same election, to further his 1998 statewide campaign for attorney general.
Always a conspiracy with this hack.
I think Gail's been hitting the weed clinics...
McEvoy'sDUI and others of your ilk, be advised that Chris McEvoy has NEVER been convicted of a DUI. By spreading that false information you are defaming him and are subject to legal recourse. Perhaps you should read the letter your pal, Righeimer, had his lawyer/brother-in-law send to me and others for some appropriate legal threat language. The record is absolutely clear on this issue. Of course, I know you know that, if required by the legal system, it's possible to backtrack a blog comment, right? No? Too bad for you.
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