It's Fish Fry Weekend!

IT'S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR AGAIN!
The 66th annual Costa Mesa Newport Harbor Lions Club Fish Fry launches Friday and runs through the weekend at Fairview Park, and this year it includes the Costa Mesa Community Run on Sunday.  President Mike Scheafer invites one and all to enjoy this event.

THE FUN STARTS FRIDAY - FISH ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
Friday the carnival will be open from 6 to 10 p.m. and the yummy fish will be fried on Saturday and Sunday starting at 11:30 a.m.  Read all about it below and/or go to the Lions Club website, HERE:

COSTA MESA COMMUNITY RUN
For more information about the Community Run, read the following or go to the website HERE.

A PERFECT WEEKEND FOR FUN IN THE SUN
It's going to be a perfect weekend for these events, so drag your family over to Fairview Park and have a great time for a great cause.  With any luck you'll be able to rub elbows (or bump chests) with local dignitaries - if you really want to, that is.

SEE YOU AT THE FISH FRY!

More On The Week Ahead

MORE STUFF GOING ON!
You'll recall that I mentioned last week that this coming week is going to be hectic.  Well, it just got MORE hectic.  Taking it from the top...


TUESDAY, MAY, 28TH
Budget Study Session
At 4:30 p.m. the City Council will hold a Special Study Session on the 2013-2014 Preliminary Budget in Conference Room 1A.  A meeting of the Finance Advisory Committee, scheduled for earlier in the day, has been canceled so those members can attend this study session.  Finance and Information Technology Director will lead a discussion to look for ways to resolve the current $12 million deficit.  This meeting, usually anticipated for 90 minutes, may run much longer.. which leads us to the next meeting.

City Council Closed Session

Scheduled at 6:00, but will probably be held immediately following the Budget Study Session, the City Council will hold a Special City Council Closed Session meeting to hear from labor negotiators.  The public may not attend this meeting.

Planning Commission

The Costa Mesa Planning Commission, led by Chairman Jim Fitzpatrick, will hold a regularly-scheduled meeting at 6:00 in City Council Chambers.  The agenda for that meeting is HERE.  Of particular interest may be the possible creation of a 4th Neighborhood Improvement Program, HERE;  The upcoming Capital Improvement Programs, HERE; The proposed Public Nuisance Ordinance, HERE and the General Plan Housing Element, HERE.  Regarding the latter, you can find the entire schedule of meetings involving the update of the General Plan HERE.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 29TH

Pension Oversight Committee
The Pension Oversight Committee seems to have a full agenda for its meeting Wednesday in Conference Room 1A, HERE.  I'm still curious about the precise mission of this group, since there is virtually nothing they can do about our pension situation.

THURSDAY, MAY 30TH
Meet The Mayor?
It's unclear whether Mayor Jim Righeimer will, in fact, hold another in his series of "Meet The Mayor" events at a venue somewhere in town.  When that is confirmed I'll announce it for you.

FRIDAY, MAY 31ST - SUNDAY, JUNE 2ND
Fish Fry
The 66th Annual Costa Mesa/Newport Harbor Lions Club Fish Fry at Fairview Park kicks off Friday night for rides only.  The famous fried fish and games continue on Saturday and Sunday.

Costa Mesa Community Run
On Sunday, June 2nd the Costa Mesa Community Run will be conducted, also at Fairview Park and in conjunction with the Fish Fry.

HOW IS THE STAFF HOLDING UP?
Just a thought... all these meetings take up a heck of a lot of staff time, both for the preparation and attendance at the meetings themselves.  I find myself wondering just how exhausted these staffers must be these days.  And this doesn't even take into account those council members and commissioners who prowl the corridors of City Hall, taking up valuable staff time with inappropriate requests.  It's clear that the city policy that specifically forbids council members from giving direction to members of the staff is being ignored by more than one such person.  Somebody - CEO Tom Hatch - should set them straight and do so promptly.

Fish Fry/Community Run Coming Up!

FISH FRY COMING SOON 

Just a little reminder for you that President Mike Scheafer invites you to the 66th annual Costa Mesa/Newport Harbor Lions Club Fish Fry - coming up next weekend.  Festivities begin Friday, May 31 and continue through Sunday, June 2nd. Here's a little graphic to tell you all about it.  Also, you can go to their website, HERE, for more information.

(click to enlarge)

PLUS THE COSTA MESA COMMUNITY RUN, TOO!

And, this year, the Costa Mesa Community Run will be held in concert with the Fish Fry on the Sunday of that weekend.  You can read more about it on their website, HERE. 

(click to enlarge)

Costa Mesa Community Run

On Saturday, April 26th the first annual Costa Mesa Community Run will be held to recognize the grand opening of the new stadium at Estancia High School and to raise funds for programs at Costa Mesa's high and middle schools.

Here's a link to the web site that will provide information about this very worthy event.

This promises to be a very family-friendly event, including a pancake breakfast and Health Fair in addition to the running events. The organizers are still looking for sponsors, so open your checkbooks if you can.

So, come one and come all. This should be a great, historic and memorable event.