Measure "O" - The Bogus Charter

PLENTY OF REASONS TO VOTE NO ON "O"

There are many reasons NOT to vote in favor of Measure "O", the most recent attempt by Mayor Jim Righeimer to take over complete control of our municipal government and solidify his position as a de facto dictator.  We'll enumerate them as time passes and we get closer to election day.

MOONEY'S COMMENTARY
However, I cannot miss the opportunity to direct your attention to Charles Mooney's current commentary in the Daily Pilot, HERE, which outlines the two sections of this very flawed document that, from my standpoint - and Mooney's too - are stakes in the heart of this measure - Sections 104 and 806.

PROBABILITY OF ABUSE OF POWER

Those segments provide the elected leaders of this city with unlimited power to do whatever they wish to do once this flawed document is adopted.  The kind of probable abuse of power provided by those sections is precisely why Costa Mesa should remain a General Law city, with all the protections from abuse that form of government provides.

READ IT YOURSELF

You will likely hear and read lots of rhetoric about The Charter as we head for the election in November.  It's hard to sort fact from politically-driven fiction.  So, I invite you to READ the document itself - it's not that complicated - and focus on Section 104 and 806.  I think you'll find Mooney's opinion accurate.  You'll find The Charter HERE on the City web site.  Additionally, if you go HERE you'll find other links that might be helpful to you, including direct arguments for and against The Charter and rebuttals to each.

A "STACKED" COMMITTEE

Keep in mind that when folks tell you that The Charter was created by a "blue ribbon" committee, that committee was stacked by Righeimer and his majority on the City Council with folks who he knew shared his vision for the takeover of the government.  I attended most of the Charter Committee meetings - I saw the interaction among the members and the bias they brought to the table.  I watched as facilitators Kirk Bauermeister and Mike Decker toiled to keep the meetings productive.  Attorney and former City Council candidate John Stephens - an opponent of The Charter - outlined the process and the result in a recent Daily Pilot commentary, HERE.

DON'T BE FOOLED...
So, don't be fooled by the smoke screen of Pension Reform - The Charter will do NOTHING to resolve our Unfunded Pension Liability!  Don't be fooled by the mantra of "Local Control" being chanted by supporters of Righeimer's latest Charter.  That is code for more power in the hands of the elected leaders, NOT the people of the community.

VOTE NO ON "O"!

Busy - Possibly Explosive - Council Meeting Tuesday

CONTROVERSIAL ITEMS
The Costa Mesa City Council will hold its first council meeting of the new fiscal year on Tuesday, July 1, 2014 and this one promises to be "special" in many ways.  First, the Closed Session that precedes the regular meeting has a long agenda so it begins at 3:30 p.m.!  The regular meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:00 in City Council Chambers starting at 6:00 p.m.  The agenda report is HERE.

FREE SPEECH RULES
I've previously written about the onerous change planned late in the meeting in which it will be proposed to crush opposing viewpoints by speakers before the City Council, HERE.  One thing I neglected to mention in the proposed ordinance, HERE, in my last post was the element included in Section c., 1.  During the discussion of "Enforcement", beginning on page 2 and continuing to page 3, mention is made of "warnings" given to violators of the policy before further action is taken.  However, in the second paragraph the discussion turns to examples of when a warning shall not be necessary and includes this final sentence: A warning shall also not be necessary when an individual violates the rules of conduct more than once during a council meeting, or continuously violates the rules of conduct council meeting after council meeting.  I read that to mean that if you violate ANY of the eleven (11) in more than one meeting - yell in one, speak without being recognized by the presiding officer in another and continue to speak after the allotted time has expired in another, a person could - without any warning - be subjected to the sanctions listed further in the ordinance.

 THE CONSENT CALENDAR
As always, the Consent Calendar is packed with issues that some might wish to have pulled and voted upon separately.  Mayor Jim Righeimer always reminds council members that he would prefer them to NOT pull items, but to discuss them during Council Member comments.  That accomplishes a couple things.  1) It keeps the item from being "trailed" to the end of the meeting - one of his draconian practices that is used to stifle public discussion of issues. 2)  It forces a member of the public to pull the item and stick around to the wee hours of the next day, in many cases, to ask questions or offer comments.

THE WARRANT
Item #3 is Warrant 2518, HERE, which is packed with interesting information.  I'll just list a few of the items you may find illuminating.
Civil Source - $28,215.00 - Design Alleys, Apr. 14 and $4,255.00 - Water Quality/Storm Drain
Costa Mesa Conference & Visitor Bureau - $222,105.09 - BIA Receipts for March, 2014
Jones Day - $54,821.25 - CMCEA, March and April
Enterprise Counsel Group - $9,911/10 - Successor Agency DOF, Apr. 2014
FTOG, Inc. - $2,115.00 - Interim Buyer, 5/26 - 6/6
Government Staffing Services - $3,410.00 - Temp Svcs Proj Mgr.
Scientia Consulting Group, Inc - $3,800.00 - IT Tech Consultant 5/4-5/10
Jones & Mayer - $166,585.92 - various listed services
Interwest Consulting Group, Inc. - $9,990.50 - Bldg Inspection Svcs, Apr. 2014
Liebert Cassidy Whitmore - $6,480.00 - PD and CMCEA Negotiations

Once more, we racked up more than $235,000 in legal fees for one month.  Yikes!

 SALARY CHANGES FOR CMPD AND CMPMA 

Item #4  fulfills the contractual obligation the City has with the Police Association and the Police Management Association for a 4% increase if certain fiscal milestones are met, HERE.  They were met, so the increases kick in.

PUBLIC SAFETY SOFTWARE
Item #5, HERE, is the continuation of a software maintenance and services agreement for $127,334 Public Safety software. 

PROJECT MGT/SERVICES CONTRACT EXTENSION
Item #7, HERE, is a change order for the contract with Civil Source for Project/Construction Management and Public Works Inspection services on as-needed bases due to the volume of projects and diminished staff - to the tune of $600,000.

ARLINGTON AVE. BIOSWALE
Item #8, HERE, is for engineering services of $208,863.00 for the design of the Arlington Avenue Bioswale and Dry Weather Diversion Project.

SUNFLOWER AND ANTON
Item #9, HERE, is for construction at the intersection of Sunflower and Anton for $238,823.00

55 GATEWAY AND MAINTENANCE PROJECT
Item #10, HERE, if the Agreement for Maintenance of the proposed Gateway Monument Sign and Landscape Maintenance Agreement with CalTrans.

HARBOR AND ADAMS IMPROVEMENT INCREASE
Item #11, HERE, is for an increase of $478,00 in the Harbor and Adams Improvement Project and a budget adjustment of $100,000.

CONVERTING PRINT SHOP TO MEETING ROOM
Item #13, HERE, is to increase the scope of the original contract for upgrading the audio/visual and broadcasting equipment to include conversion of the former print shop into a community meeting room to make up for probable loss of meeting space with the planned re-use of the Neighborhood Community Center as a library.

CIVIC CENTER BARRIO HOUSING CORPORATION
Item #14, HERE, is a Cooperation Agreement much too complicated to describe briefly here.  Read the staff report.

HARBOR SOARING SOCIETY AGREEMENT RENEWAL
There are no Public Hearings scheduled, nor is there any Old Business.  New Business #1 is the Renewal of the User Agreement with the Harbor Soaring Society, HERE.  This item has been reviewed with the Fairview Park Citizen Advisory Committee and the Parks and Recreation Commission and the staff recommends approval of a 5-year renewal with some terms amended.

FIELD USE AND ALLOCATION
New Business #2, HERE, is the Athletic Field Use and Allocation Policy Information and Recommendations.  Extensive modifications are being recommended, including the expansion of Lighted Fields at Back Bay School, Kaiser School, Lindbergh Field and Woodland School.  Changes are also being recommended for "Resident Status", "Priority Use Classifications", "Group 3 Organizations", "Payment of Fees", "Specific Field Use"and the "Banner Policy".

MORE SECURITY CAMERAS
New Business Item #3, HERE, is the Authorization of Security Cameras at the City Corporation Yard, Key Access Points Along the Joanne Bike Trail, Exterior Areas Around the Senior Center, the Volcom Skate Park and locations in Fairview Park.

REWARDS TO INCLUDE PRIVATE PROPERTY
New Business #4, HERE,  is the replacement of Municipal Codes section 11-15 relating to rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of persons vandalizing property.  It changes the language to include PRIVATE property.  Read the Redline version of the new ordinance HERE. 

FREE SPEECH QUASHING
New Business #5, HERE, is the new ordinance about conduct while addressing the city council, which I mentioned previously.

THE LATEST CHARTER SCHEME
Finally, at the very tail end of the meeting, is New Business Item #6, the consideration of placement of a proposed Charter on the ballot in November, plus other related resolutions, HERE.   You can read the entire proposed Charter HERE and some Public Communications on the subject HERE.
Those of you who are regular readers already know I'm against this Charter.  Less than two years ago the voters of this city resoundingly rejected a similar document, 60%-40%.  There is nothing in this "new" document that makes it more acceptable than Jim Righeimer's Charter in 2012.  This document - prepared by a committee he personally stacked in his favor - is just another example of Righeimer's apparent belief that he knows what is best for the City regardless what the voters think, so he's going to attempt to steamroll this through - again.  That being said, I expect this will be placed on the ballot by a 3-2 vote, with Sandra Genis and Wendy Leece correctly voting NO.  That's fine - if it ends up on the ballot in the form proposed it will be just that much easier to defeat.  The voters  two years ago recognized the danger of placing unbridled power in the hands of the current majority and events since then have only further demonstrated that danger of abuse.


COULD BE ANOTHER LONG ONE...
It's possible this could be another long, long meeting.  I'm projecting it running until at least 11:00 p.m.  Pack a lunch...



 

A Short, But Very Important, Council Meeting On Tuesday

COULD BE AN EARLY NIGHT
The Costa Mesa City Council will meet for it's first meeting of June on Tuesday, June 3, 2014 beginning at 6:00 in City Council Chambers at City Hall.  According to the agenda for that meeting, HERE, for the first time in a very long time there will be no closed session preceding it.  There are also no presentations this meeting.

THE CONSENT CALENDAR
The Consent Calendar, which is normally presumed to be routine items which may be voted on in one vote, contains some interesting items.

MORE INTERESTING STUFF ON THE WARRANT
#3 is Warrant #2516, HERE, which lists payments recently made to vendors.  Thanks to Mayor Pro Tem Steve Mensinger we now get to see the detail of these entries and ask questions about them if we wish.  Here are a few of the items listed that I found of interest:

• Costa Mesa High School Football - $1,390.00 - 60th Anniversary Volunteer Pay
• Estancia Football Boosters - $2,310.00 - 60th Anniversary Volunteer Pay
• Harbor Mesa Lions Club - $1,210.00 - 60th Anniversary Volunteer Pay
• Marx Brothers Fire Extinguisher Company - $1,045.58 - Corp Yard Extinguishers Recert. (Sorry... it just made me smile)
• Scientia Consulting Group, Inc. - $7,600.00 - IT Tech Consulting
• Sierra Java, Inc. - $251.80 - Coffee for City Council
• City of Huntington Beach - $18,221.00 - Helicopter Svcs for March
• Costa Mesa Conference and Visitor Bureau - $222,105.09 - BIA Receipts for March
• Lilley Planning Group - $25,425.00 - Planning Consultant Services, April
• Scientific Resource Surveys, Inc. - $25,025.00 - Cultural Resource Assessment, Fairview Park
• Wondries Fleet Group - $222,884.69 - Police Interceptors
• Interwest Consulting Group, Inc. - $11,953.00 - Bldg. Inspection, March
• Liebert Cassidy Whitmore - $1,557.30 - Legal, 60th Anniv. Investigation & General
• San Bernardino County Sheriff Department - $4,160.00 - Ambulance Driver Training
• Vidacare Corp. - $4,741.20 - Paramedic Supplies
• Yellow Cab Co. - $1,273.00 - Neighborhood Improvement Task Force Transportation Services

I suppose if you scrolled down through the list you may find items that interest you...  there are several million dollars on the list.  Remember, if someone - a council member, staffer or member of the public - pulls any item from the Consent Calendar for separate discussion and vote it will automatically be trailed to the very end of the meeting.  Such is life in the land of "tranparency".

CMPD TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT FOR FAIRGROUNDS
Items #4, HERE, and #5, HERE, deal with Traffic Management Services to be provided by the Costa Mesa Police Department for the 32nd Agricultural Association.  #4 deals with this year's Orange County Fair and #5 is for an event next April. 

THE NEGOTIATION TEAM
Item #6, HERE, is the appointment of city negotiators for the Costa Mesa Fire Association negotiations and the authorization to proceed with the financial analysis required by Mensinger's COIN scheme. Assistant CEO Tammy Letourneau and two lawyers from Liebert Cassidy Whitmore - Richard Kreisler and Laura Kalty will be the team.

FUNDING THE CONFERENCE AND VISITORS BUREAU
There are only two other items on the agenda - Public Hearings.  The first, HERE, is the discussion of the Business Improvement Area (BIA) Reauthorization and Resolution to Levy Annual Assessment.  The staff report gives you the history and the accomplishments over the years.  You may also find their proposed budget for participating in city events during the next fiscal year, HERE, of interest.

CHARTER PROPOSAL
Public Hearing #2 is the second mandatory Public Hearing on the Draft Charter.  (I almost typed "daft" - seems appropriate!)  You can read that staff report HERE.  It includes the Draft Charter, HERE, a comparison of General Law Cities and Charter Cities, HERE,  and several changes recommended by Mayor Jim Righeimer's hand-picked Pension Oversight Committee for inclusion in the Charter, HERE.

WE DON'T NEED IT!
Those who read these pages regularly already know that I don't think we need to become a Charter City.  There has been NO GOOD REASON provided for this serious change in the way we are governed.  We've been a General Law City for 60 years and have gotten along just fine.  The voters made their feelings known overwhelmingly two years ago when they defeated Jim Righeimer's Charter, 60%-40%.  This time he, on the surface, at least, has kept his nose out of the process.  However, as one who has observed the process closely for a year, I can tell you that it had his paw prints all over it.

LAST CHANCE TO COMMENT
This will likely be the last chance interested parties have to address the council on the Charter proposal before the council decides whether or not to include it on the November ballot at their June 17th July 1st meeting.  In case you didn't notice, the silence from City Hall on this version of the Charter has been "deafening".  Two years ago all you could hear were the drumbeats in favor of what eventually became Measure V.  This time, crickets.  Of course, if (I say that tongue in cheek) the council majority votes to place this iteration on the ballot the hoopla will begin in earnest.

PREDICTING AN EARLY NIGHT
In any event, I'll be very surprised if this council meeting goes longer than 10:00 Tuesday - probably a lot earlier.  We'll see.

Latinos And Election Of Council Members By District

AN INTERESTING ARTICLE
A long piece by Jill Cowan in the Daily Pilot Saturday afternoon titled, "At-large voting: Latino handicap?", HERE, will certainly generate some interesting discussion in Costa Mesa political circles.

CHANGE IN STATE LAW?
A bill proposed by Assemblyman Roger Hernandez, would force all General Law cities with populations over 100,000 to elect council members by district.  In my view, this is a major over-reach by the State government.  If the objective is to provide more "representation" to our large Latino community, perhaps it should begin by getting out their votes.  History shows us that the large mostly-Westside population of Latinos seldom turn out at the polls, nor do they put forward candidates for commissions or committees.

REPRESENTATION
If the goal is to have each geographic area of the city "represented", we don't need this new law to do it.  Wendy Leece, Eric Bever and Allan Mansoor have represented the Westside in recent years.

NOT LIKELY...
However, if the Hernandez bill is an attempt to guarantee that one particular ethnic group is "represented", then perhaps we need a law that requires EVERY ethnic group have proportional representation on the City Council.  Of course, I offer that as an example of the absurd...

NO GUARANTEES
While I agree that we have seen few Latinos run for office - Cowan mentions Mirna Burciaga's failed campaign a few years back - simply forcing the city to elect council members by district would not necessarily result in more Latinos participating in the process.

PANDERING TO RADICALS
I began paying attention to local politics about the time Chris Steel and Allan Mansoor were elected.  Mansoor became the darling of the far right radicals among us.  He was named an honorary Minuteman, for goodness sake.  He is notorious for tossing Benito Acosta out of a council meeting and having him arrested after cutting short his time at the speaker's podium.  We are STILL paying legal fees on the lawsuit that resulted from his hasty, ill-advised act.  During his tenure, with the urging of current councilman Gary Monahan, the Job Center was shuttered, forcing day laborers back onto street corners - and it generated even more legal problems.

THE MOUTH FROM MESA NORTH
For most of the last decade a big part of the political agenda in Costa Mesa was driven by the persistent drumbeat of one racist individual, who took credit for both getting Steel elected and then, later, rejected by the voters.  He crows about getting Paularino Park - in his Mesa North neighborhood - turned into a passive park, forcing mostly Latino soccer players to find another venue for their after work exercise.  Fortunately, that campaign stopped right there.  Although that person continues to spew racist views from his blog and elsewhere online, his influence in the city has diminished - a good thing for all of us.

OK, BUT...
I DON'T necessarily have a problem with Costa Mesa council members being elected by district.   But the votes should be limited to residents within each district, not at-large, the way it's done in Newport Beach.  Candidate Lee Ramos, (shown here with his campaign manager, Dennis Popp) quoted in Cowan's article, seems concerned that by doing so we might "limit the talent we have in the city."  Of course, since he's part of the cabal controlled by country club cronies Mayor Jim Righeimer and Mayor Pro Tem Steve Mensinger, having been appointed to two very influential committees by them, I'm not surprised at his reaction.  If we were electing council members by district today he might be running against Monahan, who has shown to be virtually unbeatable each time he ran.

...THE STATE SHOULD BUTT OUT!
I DO have a problem with the State TELLING us how we must elect our council members.  Because of the strong liberal orientation in Sacramento, I won't be surprised if the bill proposed by Hernandez passes.  What I also have a problem with is that this bill will only add fuel to the fire for those in the community advocating a change to a Charter form of government.  Considering how the current council majority plays fast and loose with the existing rules, I shudder to thing of the damage they could do under a Charter form of government.

SHOULD BE INTERESTING
It's going to be interesting to 1) see what kind of discussion Cowan's article generates in the community and, 2) whether the bill Hernandez initiated gets passed by the state legislature.  It's an election year and his seat is up...

Governor Brown Signs Prevailing Wage Bill*

THROWN BACK INTO THE BATTLES
This morning I planned to ease back into discussions of Costa Mesa issues that happened while I was on my little vacation, but the rising sun brought news that flung me back into the saddle a little more abruptly than I anticipated.

GOVERNOR SIGNS PREVAILING WAGE BILL
According to news this morning, yesterday Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 7 into law and most likely sent hundreds of local politicians into a collective frenzy.  Certainly some of our local elected leaders will begin frothing on this issue as soon as they finish their granola this morning.

BI-PARTISAN BILL
SB7 - a bi-partisan bill co-authored by by Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D- Sacramento) and Senator Anthony Cannella (R- Ceres), limits charter cities authority on the use of prevailing wage by imposing financial penalties on them.

A FEW OF MANY LINKS
As you can imagine, this has been a polarizing bill, with the 51 Charter Cities specifically targeted fighting hard against its passage and labor organizations lobbying in support of its passage.  I expect the news media will be full of comments today by parties on both sides.  In the meantime, here are a few links for you to consider for background;

Senate Bill 7 - HERE
Capitol Week announcing the signing today, HERE.
California League of Cities view, HERE.
Public CEO on SB7, HERE
Construction Law Firm Bowles & Verna on the bill, HERE
Association of California Cities, Orange County on the bill, HERE
*This is from Public CEO this morning, HERE.

WAITING FOR THE RHETORIC
A couple things are certain.  In short order this morning we will likely hear from Mayor Jim Righeimer on this issue, either as a solitary observer or as a member of a panel of elected officials decrying its passage.  And, the Costa Mesa Charter Committee will now have to revisit the hard-fought language they finally agreed upon at their last meeting that would have precluded Costa Mesa from being bound by the prevailing wage rules.

A NEW BALL GAME
This is no small development, since Righeimer made the prevailing wage issue the cornerstone of his failed Charter attempt last year and, through his surrogates on the current committee, this effort, as well.  All along his mantra has been that Costa Mesa should be a Charter City to save "millions" on projects.  The passage of SB 7 kicks that argument squarely in the teeth.  Without the prevailing wage issue on which to build a new Charter scheme it's likely the voters will - AGAIN - find little to attract them to changing the foundational form of government in this city.

THE FAT LADY IS ONLY HUMMING RIGHT NOW
This battle is probably not over yet.  Through many of the opinions found via a Google search it's clear that some factions seem poised to challenge the constitutionality of SB 7.  We'll see.

What's Ahead In Costa Mesa

MEETINGS FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS
Here's a rundown on meetings that have been scheduled in Costa Mesa for the next couple of weeks.  In some cases there have been no agendas published yet.  Check the city website as the dates draw near for more info.

PLANNING COMMISSION - LIGHT SCHEDULE
This week is a slow one.  Monday, today, the Planning Commission meets at 6:00 in council chambers and has only one item on the agenda.  You can read the "full" agenda HERE.  The item in question is Peter Zehnder's proposal to develop 8 units on a couple lots in the 2500 block of Santa Ana Avenue, HERE.  This has been bouncing around for months and it still contains many, many variances and deviations to the municipal code.  I still wonder why two meetings a month are necessary...

UNUSUAL MORNING CLOSED SESSION
Next up, on Tuesday, September 24th,  is a Special Closed Session of the Costa Mesa City Council to discuss labor negotiations with the CMCEA.  This one is VERY unusual, since it begins at 9:30 a.m. and will immediately adjourn to Conference Room 5A.  You can read the agenda HERE.  It's unclear whether they will "report out" any results of this meeting.  One thing is certain, the discussions in that room way up on the fifth floor should be very interesting.

CHARTER COMMITTEE AGAIN
On Wednesday, September 25th, in the Emergency Operations Center, the Costa Mesa Charter Committee meets once again to continue hammering out the framework of a charter.  The progress has been slow.  You can read the agenda HERE.

THIN AGENDA FOR THE PARKS & REC. COMMISSION

On Thursday, September 26th, the Parks and Recreation Commission meets in council chambers at 6:00 p.m. to discuss a couple of tree removal requests and Adult Contract Instructional Class Proposals.  You can read the whole agenda for this short meeting HERE and the staff report for the Adult Contract Instructional Class Proposals HERE.

MEET THE MAYOR - SOMEWHERE
Also on Thursday, somewhere in the city, there is scheduled another "Meet The Mayor" event.  We suspect he will be more careful this time when he selects the venue, since he encountered a boisterous crowd at the last one.

ANOTHER COUNCIL MEETING
On Tuesday, October 1st at 6:00 p.m. in council chambers the City Council will holds its regularly scheduled meeting.  No agenda is yet available.

FAIRVIEW PARK ADVISORY COMMITTEE*correction!   The meeting will be held at the Neighborhood Community Center, 1845 Park Ave.  
On Wednesday, October 2nd the Fairview Park Advisory Committee will meet again, this time scheduled for Conference Room 1A at 6:00 p.m..  No agenda is available, but I won't be surprised if there are significant discussions about the controversy swirling around the decomposed granite path incursion on vernal pools, the model train contract extension and the possible involvement of Native American groups to protect artifacts in the park.

MESA VERDE GENERAL PLAN UPDATE MEETING
Also Wednesday, October 2nd, there will be a General Plan Update Meeting with the Mesa Verde Community Association from 6:30 - 8:30 at the Mesa Verde Methodist Church, 1701 Baker Street, Costa Mesa.

PUBLIC SAFETY RECOGNITION BARBECUE
On Thursday, October 3rd, there will be a Public Safety Recognition Barbecue at the Orange County Fair and Event Center beginning at 11:00.

FIRST FRIDAY ROAD SHOW
Friday, October 4th, here will be the next edition of the very popular and growing First Friday Road Show in the City Hall parking lot beginning at 5:30 p.m.

FIRE PREVENTION WEEK
The following week, beginning Monday, October 7th, is Fire Prevention Week.

COUNCIL STUDY SESSION AND HOUSING AUTHORITY MEETING
On Tuesday, October 8th, there will be a City Council Study Session at 4:30 followed by a Housing Authority Meeting at 6:30.

CHARTER COMMITTEE MEETS AGAIN
On Wednesday, October 9th, there will be another meeting of the Charter Committee at 6:00 in the Emergency Operations Center.

TAKING A BREATHER
OK, is that enough for you for a little while?  I hope so.  I gave you all that info because I'm taking a breather and will be turning the Cauldron down to a low simmer for a little while.  Comments will still be posted - if you're registered, that is - but it may take a little longer.

READ THE PILOT AND REGISTER
In the meantime, follow the action around town in the Daily Pilot and the Orange County Register - both publications are doing a good job of keeping up with our local events.