Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Costa Mesa's Not Alone In The Rehab Battles

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO DEALING WITH REHAB HOMES
Late last night online and in today's print edition the Orange County Register published an article by staff writer Fred Swegles buried on page 4 of the Local Section titled, "San Juan seeks freeze on rehab homes".  Click on that title to read the article.

THE TEXT SOUNDS VERY FAMILIAR
This timely piece summarizes what's been going on in that South County city as it deals with the infestation of rehabilitation homes - a problem exactly like the one Costa Mesa has been wrestling with for a few years now.  Costa Mesa residents have been asking for a moritorium on rehab homes for several years - San Juan Capistrano is poised to do exactly that.

OUR PROBLEM IS SIMILAR, BUT BIGGER
As you read through that article you'll get the sense that you're reading about Costa Mesa, except our city has been mired in this problem longer, and to a much greater extent.  It's been estimated by some that Costa Mesa has nearly one-third of all the rehab homes in Orange County.

RECENT MEETING - DANA CLUELESS
The article also mentions the March 18, 2016 meeting in Irvine attended by many elected officials - Sandra Genis was the only elected official from Costa Mesa based on reports from the scene - in which the issue of the proliferation of rehab homes throughout Orange County was discussed.  And, Congressman Dana Rhorabacher apparently has been quoted as saying something like "I've just become aware of this issue.", or words to that effect.  OK, there are a couple ways you could interpret that.  Since he's a resident of Costa Mesa - a couple blocks from me - it seems virtually impossible that ANY person with ANY political position could actually NOT be aware of this situation.  He is either clueless or not truthful - neither option seems satisfactory to me.

STATE-WIDE SOLUTION SOUGHT
There is a group in San Clemente - San Juan Capistrano's neighbor - that is attempting to generate signatures on an online petition to force the folks in Sacramento to DO SOMETHING about this problem.  A local organization, Take Back Our Neighborhoods (TBON) has been working with the San Clemente group and has provided a link on their web page that will take you directly to that petition.  The TBON page can be found at www.tboncostamesa.com.  The large red alert banner at the top of the homepage includes a link to the petition.

TWO ORDINANCES - NO ENFORCEMENT
Costa Mesa has passed two (2) ordinances in an attempt to regulate the way these rehab homes operate.  The first, pertaining to R-1 residential neighborhoods, is currently unenforceable due to litigation.  The second, for all other residential neighborhoods, should just about be going into effect now.

STAY ALERT AND SPEAK UP
Costa Mesa residents should continue to be vigilant because the proliferation of these homes appears to be adding to the spike in crime in our neighborhoods.  We should continue to require our elected leaders to look for solutions - including lobbying state and federal officials for a comprehensive solution -  and hold their feet to the fire until they do.

Labels: , , , ,

4 Comments:

Anonymous Where's My Coffee? said...

Rather than attempt to fight this battle with the individual cities, it makes more sense to work for legislation to stop the insurance companies from paying for this type of treatment in private homes. Target the insurance companies. Stop it at the base.

3/31/2016 08:35:00 AM  
Anonymous It has to be said...

We all pay extra for these Sober Living Homes, WMC.

Under the Affordable Healthcare Act, there are "10 Essential Benefits" that must be provided by insurance companies in order for them to be certified and offered on the marketplace. Among these 10 essential benefits:

"...mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment..."

https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/essential-health-benefits/

In other words, we all pay extra for these sober living homes.

4/01/2016 12:17:00 AM  
Anonymous Ken Nyquist said...

With the current state of affairs going on with the legal system, I have no doubt that the Sober homes will grow in number, rather than decrease. Judges are lawyers first, rely on their $185,000 a year salary to pay the bills, and will not do anything novel. I believe it will take the Supreme Court to settle the issue. The California Assembly is actually meaningless to the court system, as the test to secure a victory of any particular law, is case law. You can write anything you want, pass any law you want, the citizens can vote in anything they want, but there is always a winner and a loser in court. The CMPD as with any agency, does a lot of hand wringing these days, hamstrung by the inability to enforce many laws on the books. It takes a loser appealing, and winning or losing for there to be case law. The decision to consider alcoholism and drug addiction to be a disease, is where all of this went south. How do you catch alcoholism or drug dependency? Is it a communicable disease?
I go back to the day that CNN came on the scene, soon followed by CSPAN. Once the TV cameras hit the House and Senate for all in the world to witness, we lost something in the translation. I was opposed to cameras in the Congress then and still do today. That is expressly why there are no cameras in the Supreme Court. Think about it. Why not in the Supreme Court? The day a camera appears in the Supreme Court, is the day this country will fall. Scream all you want about what an ass I am, but the Sober home next to your home, is a direct result of all of the liberal arm twisting for our rights to know everything about everything. I want to vomit every time a Kardashian peels off another article of clothing to expose another private part to a little girl looking up to a supposed idol. It's just plain sicko stuff. Splashed all over the media. Why is she exposing her vagina to the world rather than doing something constructive? How about our messed up court system and 24 hour a day media presence everywhere. TBON lists 268 Knox Street as a real problem in Costa Mesa. Tell me about it. I lived right next door many years back in a family trust property. 4 of them within 200 feet of 268. It has had a chilling effect on income for the trust.
Have you ever voted for something in California and sat while it went through years of appeals and in the end, what you the voter, voted for is determined to be illegal? I have and it's bunch of shit is what it is. I have a neighbor right next door to me that is running an illegal marijuana dispensary right out of his home and cars. I scream to the Town Manager, the Town Council, call the Sheriff, take photos and in the end, the Sheriff tell the illegal dispensary operator that I am the one calling them, criminal rights and all ya know and then they drive away to leave me to deal with it. That is our new world in a nutshell. Smoke another bowl officer. Payola is a pretty solid income. When the elected leaders of any particular city happen to own property specifically to rent to sober hellholes, as may be the case in Costa Mesa, you know you are screwed. God help the United States..

4/01/2016 11:01:00 AM  
Blogger mesa verde madman said...

Get a load of Menninger's commentary in the Pilot. What a steaming load...

4/01/2016 08:29:00 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home