Feet To Fire Forum Boycott

FOR SOME BACKGROUND...
In case you already have not heard about this, please read Barbara Venezia's Daily Pilot column, HERE.

ELLIS' CREW
It seems that three of the candidates for Newport Beach City Council seats in November have chosen - apparently on the direction/advice of their campaign advisor, Dave Ellis (he hates it when I call him Dave).

TOO STRANGE BECAUSE...
This is beyond strange, since this version of the series - the final one this cycle - adds to the panel of interrogators Orange County Register columnist and former Newport Beach council candidate Jack Wu and uber Republican insider and operator of the FlashReport site, Jon Fleishman.  Both would seem to be kindred spirits and more likely than not to cut some of their pal, Ellis', stable of candidates some slack.  I don't know for sure, but it seems likely.

SYSTEMIC STIFLING OF DISSENT
It sure looks like the OC GOP hierarchy is peeved at Barbara Venezia for the last Costa Mesa Forum, which can be watched HERE.  It would appear to me that the move to stifle dissent is not constrained to Costa Mesa in the form of Mayor Jim Righeimer and his minions, but looks to be systemic within the leadership of MY Republican Party!  I don't like it one bit!

DON'T KNOW THE GUYS...
I don't believe I know any of the boycotting candidates, but I do know OF a couple of them.  How do you not get a warm, fuzzy feeling when you think of Marshall Duffield of Duffy Boats fame?  And, I've read some of Scott Peotter's stuff in the Newport Beach Independent.  He has been a field representative for lame duck Assemblyman Allan Mansoor.  I don't know squat about Kevin Muldoon, but he must have a few bucks, because Ellis doesn't come cheap.

ELLIS AND GRUDGES
I DO know about Dave Ellis, though.  I have spoken with him a few times, shared a meal with him and the stories about him around these parts are legion!  Did you know, for example, that he advised Leslie Daigle during her Newport Beach council campaign in which Venezia was also a candidate?  Did you know that some of the political shenanigans he pulled during that race that involved the business operated by Venezia's husband so angered her that she dropped out of the race?  Do you think she might be holding a grudge?  I would be, but that's just me.

POLITICAL COWARDICE?
I have NO reason to believe that Venezia would attempt to make life difficult for Ellis' stable of candidates just because they have a personal history.  I DO think it's a cop-out on their part to avoid facing their challengers and members of the media to have important issues fleshed out in a community forum setting.

VOTERS LOSE...
So, the voters of Newport Beach lose on this one.  Because of what certainly looks like institutionalize vindictiveness and political cowardice, nearly half the candidates running will blow off the Feet To The Fire Forum next week at the Oasis Center in Corona del Mar.  What a shame.

Fairgrounds Drama Continues - CEO Resigns!

 WHAT'S NEXT AT THE FAIRGROUNDS?
Will the drama at the Orange County Fair and Event Center ever stop?  This morning The Voice of OC reports that Jerome Hoban, CEO of the Fairgrounds, has resigned to take a similar job with the Alameda County Fair.  Read the Voice of OC entry HERE.

MORE REVELATIONS
I won't attempt to regurgitate what is in that entry, but will observe that this is only the most recent "interesting" event at the Fairgrounds since the new Board has taken control.  Watching this all unfold over the years, one gets the strong impression that there's much, much more to the whole attempt to sell off that asset by the previous board - the one headed by Dave Ellis.

WHAT WILL RACKAKUS DO?
It's going to be very interesting to watch this play out, and to see just what the District Attorney Tony Rackakus will do with the information recently provided to him by the Fair Board-approved committee.  Could the not-to-faint whiff of corruption be mingled with the fragrance of animal waste over there?  We'll see...

Fairgrounds Sale Scab Ripped Off Again

RE-OPENING AN OLD WOUND
At the meeting of the Fair Board last Thursday morning the panel charged by the Board to investigate the proposed scheme to purchase the Fair Grounds property a couple years ago on the cheap presented their findings.  You will recall that the effort, in which several members of the Fair Board at the time formed a foundation to purchase the 150 acre Fairgrounds site, was quashed due, in great part, to the efforts of now-councilwoman Sandra Genis in her then-role as President of the Orange County Fairgrounds Preservation Society, HERE.

MEDIA ALL OVER IT
Norberto Santana, Jr., Managing Editor of the Voice of OC, first announced this move in an entry on January 17th, early in the morning, HERE.  He followed up after the meeting with another one, HERE.  Mike Reicher of the Orange County Register covered the event HERE and Bradley Zint covered it for the Daily Pilot HERE.  Read all those articles and you'll get a pretty good feel for what transpired on Thursday.

ELLIS' LIST

As you will read, calls were made for a forensic audit of the process of attempting to sell the Fairgrounds.  Major players were former state legislator Dick Ackerman and then-Fair Board President David Ellis, among many others.  When this first came up back in 2009 Ellis presented a long list to the Fair Board of individuals he insisted MUST be interviewed if the Board was to have a clear idea of what transpired in this drama.  That list in below.

As you can see, it looks like a list of everyone who ever muttered the words "Fairgrounds Sale".  I suspect Ellis knows that his challenge to interview all those people would be virtually impossible, particularly since the committee formed to do it had no subpoena power nor any authority to guarantee truthful responses.

WHAT ABOUT RIGHEIMER?
One thing that's missing in these articles is a mention of the role current Costa Mesa Mayor Jim Righeimer played in this scheme.  We know of his participation in "Save The Fair" web site, HERE.  We also know that his commentary in the Daily Pilot under his "Rigonomics" byline back in June of 2009 may have been one of the first mentions of this scheme, HERE.  Personally, I'd like to know more about his involvement.  I'm curious because it was clear at that time that he was likely participating behind the scenes.  Some will recall that ill-fated mistaken voice mail message left for a local reporter instead of community stalwart Rick Kapko informing Kapko that he was a lock to be a member of the Costa Mesa Financial Evaluation Committee before his appointment had been affirmed.  That kind of stuff makes many of us curious.

AN INVESTIGATION?

It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out.  Certainly, there are many questions left unanswered.  I find myself wondering just how far this Fair Board will wish to pursue it.  It is logical to speculate about potential legal sanctions if, for example, the State Attorney General decides to actually investigate this matter.  There is, of course, the cloud of conflict of interest hanging over that possibility, since the Attorney General is, in fact, the counsel for the Fair Board.  I guess we'll see.

Fair Board Like A WWF Match!

WE NEED TO GET A FENCED OCTAGON!
OK, I'm not a big WWF fan, but attending Fair Board meetings is clearly going to be like going to one of those events in person!  Geez!

SHOUTING MATCHES
I attended the most recent Fair Board meeting this morning and found it to be enlightening, to say the very least.  Suffice it to say that it's a darn good thing that fifteen feet and a big conference table separate new members Nick Berardino and Stan Tkaczyk from hold-over member Dave Ellis and his new pal, Ali Jahangiri.  A couple times during the two and half hour meeting I found myself wondering why we just didn't adjourn to the parking lot and let those guys go at it.

CRITICISM OF DAILY PILOT ARTICLES
As expected, the recent spate of Daily Pilot articles - three of them - that appeared in one edition caused much controversy.  Speakers before the Board took exception to how some of the information had been presented regarding the costs of keeping horses at the Equestrian Center.  The writer of the article, Jon Cassidy, and the Editor of the Pilot, John Canalis, both were present and heard the complaints.  It's my understanding that a correction will be published soon.

ASSUME ELLIS WAS "THE SOURCE"
Beyond that, it was clear from the heated discussion between Berardino and Ellis - with Tkaczyk occasionally chiming in - that the source of the information was most likely Ellis.

ATTORNEY GENERAL REBUFF - AGAIN
The second article dealt with the decision by the State Attorney General to step away - again - from the Fair Board as a "client", requiring the board to seek outside legal counsel.  Apparently the AG is unhappy that there remains on-going turmoil about the proposed sale of the fairgrounds by certain members of the board three years ago.  Lame duck CEO Steve Beazley explained the chain of events and correspondence that led to the AG rejecting the Fair Board.  In fact, on the agenda today was an item about the forming of a committee to investigate the whole sale mess.  More on that in a minute.

"WORKER" PUBLIC ART DISCUSSED
The first agenda item under "Governance Process" dealt with Nick Berardino's suggestion that there should be some kind of public art commemorating the contribution of agricultural workers to the growth and development of Orange County.  A very professional presentation was made by staffer Joan Hamill, showing examples of such art and describing probable methods of making a selection.  After a short discussion Chair Joyce Tucker appointed Berardino and Tkaczyk as a committee to get the ball rolling and report back to the Board at a future meeting.

FAIR SALE REVIEW COMMITTEE
The second item was the review and approval of the scope of work for the Fair Sale Review Committee and to provide direction regarding the appointment of committee members.  It all began smoothly, with Berardino announcing the names of various members submitted by community organizations that were involved.  The Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce had not been contacted yet, but would be, plus the chairwoman still had to name two at-large members from the community.  Apparently, from a comment she later made, two retired judges had declined positions in this organization.  At this point things really got interesting.

 ELLIS TRYING TO KILL THE INVESTIGATION

By the nature of questions raised by Ellis - a person who logically would be one of the subjects of any investigation into the fair sale - it was clear to most observers that his intent was to encumber the process to the point that the group would be unable to do the job.  He presented the Board with a list (which he described as a "partial list") of 71 individuals he felt should be interrogated by the committee to get to the bottom of the issue.  Besides himself and every other then-sitting Board member, it included state and federal legislators, county officials, elected city officials (past and present), other bidders on the property, consultants involved in the process and many, many more.  Ellis also raised the question of the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting law, indicating that this committee must be guided by the rules of that law.  He also suggested that every member should be required to complete financial disclosure forms.  As he indelicately put it, "You know what I make, now I want to know what you make."  That comment set the tone for the "discussion".  During one heated exchange Berardino accused Ellis of trying to stop the committee, stating, "I think you're hiding something!"   Newby Ashleigh Aitken helped un-muddy the water when it came time to vote specifically on the Scope Of Work segment, which eventually passed unanimously.

JAHANGIRI PROPOSES CHAOS
Then more jockeying about the participants on the committee ensued.   Member Ali Jahangiri threw a monkey wrench into the works by demanding that committee membership should be open to anyone and everyone!  Berardino reminded him that all this had been hashed out at a meeting he failed to attend and that such a request would make it virtually impossible for the committee to function.  I saw just the slightest glimmer of a smile on Ellis' face...  The Board rejected that irrational request and resolved to have a total of 5 "at-large" members on the committee, up from two, and that Chair Tucker would appoint them.   Eventually, after much public comment, the Board voted to move forward with the committee as recommended plus the additional at-large positions and a pending contact with the Chamber of Commerce.  Only Ellis voted no.

DOOMED EFFORT
No provision has been made for legal guidance for this committee, no budget has been discussed and - despite several pleas by proposed members - the Board did not approve a mechanism to extend the life of this committee beyond the original 120 days.  If, in fact, Ellis' list of 71 names is just a starting point and if each of them must be interrogated to reach a decision AND if the Board and other entities will be required to provide the documents demanded by at least one member, I fear this committee will simply be spinning it's wheels and is doomed to failure.

SOME MEMBERS ARE BAILING OUT ALREADY
A sidebar... some of the proposed members of the committee were in attendance at this meeting.  This afternoon I've been advised that some of them may be having second thoughts and will withdraw from participation.  It's hard to blame them after watching this disfunctional display this morning.  Chair Tucker had that perpetual "deer in the headlights" look on her face, failed to control the discussion didn't provide any leadership that I saw.  That's too bad.

PACIFIC AMPHITHEATRE RENOVATION DELAYED
The final item on the open session agenda was the presentation of the proposed remodel of the Pacific Amphitheatre.  It was a short presentation because the staff, after reviewing all the elements, have decided that it is just not possible to pull everything together - and find the money to perform this renovation - in order to begin this fall.  They asked, and the Board agreed, to extend the time for them to do further analysis.  By the way, the plans look GREAT!

BYRON MAY BE RIGHT
So, another interesting morning in the land of Newport-Mesa is under my prodigious belt.  This one was certainly an exercise in frustration - like watching a ship steam at full speed through stormy waters without a firm hand on the rudder.  The residents of our county deserve better...  Maybe my friend, Byron de Arakal - who was quoted extensively by one speaker today - is right.  Maybe we SHOULD just sell the place!

Curious Timing Or PR Spinning At The Fairgrounds? (Amended)

BIG NEWS AT THE FAIRGROUNDS!
Tonight I write to you about a curious phenomenon that occurred in one of our local newspapers today.  After what seems like months of absence from the pages of the Daily Pilot - it's really only been a few weeks - all of a sudden today there are three (3) big news stories dealing with the Orange County Fair and Event Center online Tuesday night which will likely appear in print Wednesday.  Yes, I know there is almost always some little piece in the Daily Pilot about this or that event at the Fairgrounds - it's what they do across the street from City Hall, after all.  While informative, I'd have to describe most of those as benign.  Not so with the pieces that will appear today.  NOTE:  Before I was out of bed this morning former Fair Board President Dave Ellis signed in with a couple clarifications.  You can read them below in green italics.

LAST "NEWS" A MONTH AGO
The last "news" story about the Fairgrounds before today was an article on March 22nd describing the cessation of elephant rides during the annual Fair.  Before that was a story a month earlier about two new Fair Board members - Ashleigh Aitken and Stan Tkaczyk - being appointed by Governor Jerry Brown.  Today the Daily Pilot made up for lost time.  In no particular order, here are the three stories regarding the Fairgrounds that appear today.

ONE-SIDED CALCULATION OF VALUE
First, is a piece by Jon Cassidy - former Orange County Register reporter who now writes the occasional story for the Daily Pilot as a contractor - titled, "Fair collects little from Equestrian Center".  You can read it HERE.  It outlines the financial part of the equestrian activities at the Fairgrounds with a slant on the story that would lead one to believe there may be a move afoot to further reduce - or completely eliminate - the equestrian activities at the Fairgrounds.  In recent years the footprint of that activity has been reduced by 50% and it is widely known that former Fair Board president Dave Ellis was a main proponent of ousting the horse folks and paving over that area and using it as additional parking.  No mention is made in this particular article of the value to the community of the equestrian activities on the Fairgrounds property.  Nor is there any historical context of those activities - only raw numbers.  It seems one-sided. (Dave Ellis says,"in 2009 former Fair Board President Julie Vandermost led the effort to terminate the equestrian operation, not me.  It has never come to a vote so you do not know what my position is, or might be.  I think you might be listening to some folks that have a different agenda.  However, I do have a concern fair revenues subsidizing private clubs operating on public land.")

ATTORNEY GENERAL DROPS FAIR BOARD AS CLIENT - AGAIN
The second article appearing today is another piece by the recently-ubiquitous Cassidy titled, "Attorney general drops Fair Board as client."  The thrust of the story, which you can read HERE, is the fact that the State Attorney General has, once again, refused to represent the Fair Board in matters involving the lingering questions about the bogus sale scheme that occurred a couple years ago, citing conflict of interest concerns.  Again, the equestrian users are a centerpiece of this article.  And, again, this piece seems to have a distinctly pro-Fair Board slant.

WHERE DID HE GET THOSE NUMBERS?
The third article appearing today is columnist Steve Smith's little epistle titled, "Fair Board gets it right when helping foster kids."  You can read Smith's disjointed piece HERE.  OK, some of you will say the use of "disjointed" is a little harsh, but that's how I view it.  He begins with a supposed quote from Robert Kennedy, then follows up with a couple other unattributed numerical quotes, including his statement, "80% of complaints will come from 20% of the citizens."  I don't know where he got that one, but I suggest it's not even close.  I suspect that most of the complaints by citizens come from a very small percentage of the populace - maybe 5% or less.  I state that based on a decade of watching our local government in action and realizing that fewer than 50 people regularly speak up at public meetings - those people that actually pay attention to issues.

FOSTER FAMILY NIGHT AT THE FAIR
He then veers into the excellent program wherein the Fair Board provides a "foster family night" - an evening at the Fair before it's open to the public where foster families may attend and not have to deal with the rest of us.  It's a good program and, according to Smith, was previously paid for by private funds.  This year the Board hopes to attract 25,000 people to the event - nearly three times last year's number - and it will be funded by an additional dollar charged on tickets for shows at the Pacific Amphitheater.  (Dave Ellis says, "One more small detail in your Foster Family story.  Steve Smith posted this comment (below) to his story as a clarification on the funding of the event.  This is an important item … Joyce Tucker and I start raising the 150K in the next couple of weeks … I’d like to make it clear that the vast majority of the funds for the event will be from private sources.  The $1 per PacAmp ticket is designed to help if we fall short.  In the event of a surplus of funds the remainder will flow to a college scholarship program for foster children.

smi161 at 3:32 PM April 24, 2012

Readers, please note: Funding for the foster family night will include significant private donations in the range of $150,000. Any leftover funds will be used to establish a scholarship program for Orange County's foster children. SS")

TAX OR NOT?
He then gets into the "is that buck a tax?" issue, and whether people should be subjected to paying an additional tax.  He decides that, yes, we members of the public should fork over another buck to pay for this program.  According to him, "it's the least we can do".  Really?

DISMISSING CRITICS
Smith then brushes aside criticism of the program wherein some apparently have suggested this is another "deal" contrived by the Fair Board.  I don't know if it is or not - Smith cavalierly dismisses that thought - but it speaks volumes about how at least a few members of the public feel about the Fair Board.  They've learned not to trust them.

OPPOSING VIEWS FROM "MALCONTENTS"
In his final sentence Smith says, "One night at the fair is the least we can do to say thank you to these families through a small charge, even if the malcontent 20% believe otherwise."  I highlighted that word because it rings of a phrase planted by someone pushing the Fair Board view of anyone who dares to criticize them.

COINCIDENTAL TIMING OR PR CAMPAIGN?
My point here is that each of these articles have managed to appear all at once on the pages of our local newspaper of record and have just the slightest whiff of PR-flackery in them.  I'm not suggesting that Cassidy nor Smith are biased in their reporting, but none of the three articles seem to carry the kind of balance one might hope for.  Yeah, I know - Steve Smith is a "columnist" and, therefore, not required to be "fair and balanced" in his presentation of issues.  And, of course, he makes his living as a PR flack.

I LOVE THE SMELL OF PR SPIN IN THE MORNING
What I AM suggesting is that this kind of smells like the work of a good Public Relations person - someone hired to pump out "news" with a definite slant in favor of the Fair Board's views.  In my view, there's nothing wrong with that as long as the local media is not complicit in presenting only one side of the issue.  It's something to consider.

Liberal Conspiracy Ousts Elephants From Fair

ELEPHANTS OUT!
Jenny Stockdale reports in the Daily Pilot, HERE, that the Orange County Fair Board voted today to not renew the contract with Have Trunk Will Travel to provide elephant rides at the Orange County Fair this year.



ELLIS VOTES NO
According to Stockdale, comments were evenly split and the board voted 6-1 against the renewal of the contract. Only member Dave Ellis voted in favor of the renewal and Kristina Dodge was absent. (Number corrected from original article. Member Ali Jahangiri was also absent)

LIBERAL CONSPIRACY
This is clearly a liberal conspiracy caused by the new tilt of the Fair Board as a result of Governor Jerry Brown's recent appointments. This is an effort to sweep ANY indication of Republican symbolism from the Fairgrounds. They certainly don't want those hundreds of children who have ridden elephants at the Fair for the past quarter century to be unduly influenced to think like a conservative. No sir! I fully expect to see this very popular attraction replaced with donkey rides in the very near future.

IT'S SATIRE, OK?
OK, cut me some slack. Sometimes you just have to have some fun with the news. More serious stuff to follow soon.

Snoopy Euphoria Over - Enter "The Grinch"

GOOD-BYE, SNOOPY - HELLO, GRINCH
Well, nobody is going to mistake Orange County Employee Association (OCEA) General Manager Nick Berardino for "Old Saint Nick"! Less than 48 hours after the euphoric launch of the Snoopy House display, which brought together hundreds of Costa Mesans on the City Hall lawn to sing Christmas carols and praise The City for salvaging that important piece of Costa Mesa's history and tradition, Berardino's comments as reported in the Daily Pilot by Joe Serna, HERE, were like being doused with a bucket of ice water (and not in a celebratory way) - a reminder of the on-going rancor between the OCEA and The City.

"...UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES"
During a segment of the Fair Board meeting yesterday in which they were discussing extending the relationship with classic car auctioneer Barrett-Jackson, Berardino reportedly balked at The City of Costa Mesa having any involvement in the negotiations. Serna quotes him as saying, "I'm not comfortable doing business with the city under any circumstances, and anyone who is has their eyes closed."

BOARD STIFF-ARMS THE CITY
City CEO Tom Hatch apparently spoke Thursday, indicating that The City could partner with the Board and Barrett-Jackson to facilitate a smooth community outreach. You may recall that Hatch was The City point man during the original negotiations that first brought the auctioneer to Costa Mesa in the first place. Based, at least in part, on Berardino's opposition, Serna reports that the Board voted unanimously to stiff arm The City from a seat at the negotiating table while agreeing to "keep it in the loop".

UNFORTUNATE, BUT UNDERSTANDABLE, DIRECTION
While I'm not happy that the Fair Board has taken this direction to block Costa Mesa's involvement in this negotiation - and the plans to expand the Pacific Amphitheater, as well - I understand his position. After having watched this new City Council in action for the past nine months, I don't trust them, either. The council majority, driven by the actions and agenda of Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer, has demonstrated a willingness to play fast and loose with the rules, ignoring the damage such actions are doing to the very fabric of our city.

STRANGEST OF STRANGE BEDFELLOWS
One amusing curiosity which resulted from Thursday's meeting was that this issue placed Berardino and his nemesis, former Board Chairman Dave Ellis, on the same side of an issue. Considering their strained relationship since Berardino was appointed to the Fair Board by Governor (Again) Jerry Brown, both must find this to be uncharted territory. And, Serna's article closes with a very unfortunate quote from Ellis when referring to the probability of legal action from the expansion plans for the Pacific Amphitheater. Here's the final sentence of that article, "'This is headed for an EIR lawsuit,' Ellis told the Fair Board's attorney, 'so make us as bullet-proof as possible'." Yikes!

OH, WELL...
Just when you thought the holiday season was bringing with it the spirit of goodwill and a throttling-back of hostilities...

Fair Board Unanimously Rescinds Tel-Phil Termination

UNANIMOUS VOTE TODAY
Sources from the meeting of the 32nd District Agriculture Association (Orange County Fair Board) today advised me that the Board voted unanimously to rescind the termination notice previously issued to four-decade swap meet operator, Tel-Phil Enterprises. Apparently Dave Ellis and Dale Dykema were absent from this meeting. Sounds to me like they were able to wet their finger, stick it in the air to see which way the wind was blowing and decided to absent themselves rather than be seen voting against the majority on the Board - but I don't know that for sure.

RFP FOR NEW VENDORS CANCELED
I'm also told that the next item on the agenda involving Requests for Proposals for a new Swap Meet operator was pulled. Naturally, since it is now irrelevant.

GOOD NEWS ALL AROUND
This is good news for Jeff and Bob Teller who own Tel-Phil, the vendors at the Orange County MarketPlace (swap meet) and the residents of Orange County who visit the MarketPlace each week. It also makes a new tone of conciliation between the Fair Board and those who have opposed some of their recent moves - the sale, etc. Norberto Santana, Jr., in an article in the Voice of OC, HERE, had this to say:

Fair Board Chairwoman Joyce Tucker, who took over the reigns from Ellis, said she wants her tenure to be known for peace, civility and transparency as opposed to the heated debate, secret negotiations and controversy of the past two years.

"The sale is behind us," Tucker said. "We're trying to move forward."

A NEW ERA BEGINS
So, let's see how this plays out. I think Joyce Tucker has it right and that, perhaps, we can put this rancorous chapter in the Fairgrounds saga behind us.

Breaking News! Fair Board Votes To Oust TelPhil

TELPHIL OUT AT FAIRGROUNDS
Joe Serna at the Daily Pilot, HERE, has reported that the Orange County Fair Board, on a 6-3 vote, has decided to oust TelPhil Enterprises as the operator of the Orange County Marketplace on the Fairgrounds site, severing a more than four-decade relationship.

DODGE VOTES NO!
This story is still developing, but it is reported that former Board Chair, Kristina Dodge, voted NO, along with two newbies - Nick Berardino and Gerardo Mouet. According to reports from the site, Dodge didn't join Chair Dave Ellis and the others in their vote to oust TelPhil because they were not in default of their contract.

ELLIS READY TO SPEND BUCKS ON LAWYERS
According to a couple of sources, Board Chair Ellis said at the end, "Well, that's that! Let the lawsuits begin!" Clearly, he's among those in the Orange County GOP hierarchy more than willing to spend taxpayer money on lawyers.



TELLER FURIOUS
It is also reported that Jeff Teller, the operator of TelPhil, addressed the board with heated, accusatory comments. I suspect Serna will flesh out the whole story in a modification of his brief tease posted in the past hour. Stay tuned...

Two Sides Of "Transparency"

MORE THAN A WORD
This afternoon we'll deal with two sides of "transparency", a word that has taken on a life of its own locally over the past few months.




FIRST THE POSITIVE SIDE
Today Costa Mesa's Interim Communication Director, Bill Lobdell, issued a Press Release, HERE, that announced to the world that a national nonprofit watchdog group, The Sunshine Review, awarded the City of Costa Mesa with a A+ transparency grade for the quantity and quality of public information available on the website. According to the press release, this places Costa Mesa in the top 1% of the more than 6,000 municipal web sites reviewed. The press release includes links to interesting segments of the web site and the most recent Sunshine Review of the site.

A GOOD TREND
While I do not agree with many of the moves our current city council has been making, the emphasis on transparency in recent months is noteworthy. I've only been paying serious attention to city business for a decade, but we've seen more and better information in the first few months of this year - basically, since Lobdell came on board - than I can recall at any time in the past. The planned revamp of the city web site will, hopefully, make a good site even better and more user-friendly.

WIFI COMING TO COUNCIL CHAMBERS SOON
And, to add a little frosting to that cake, in his E-Briefing last week CEO Tom Hatch announced that there will soon be a wifi hotspot in the council chambers to facilitate the timely reporting by journalists, who presently struggle with slower internet connections while trying to make deadlines. This is also excellent news and yet another example of a city trying to make government more accessible. It is hoped that this new technological enhancement will be available by the September 6th meeting. And, no, it's not going to break the bank to provide this capability. Lobdell tells me that it will cost less than $2,000 for the installation - money well-spent, in my opinion.

BUT, WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD...
However, while the presentation of information to the public is admirable, the attitude of the City Council toward personal "transparency" is not. In recent weeks we've seen the mayor, Gary Monahan, attempt to stifle free speech of Terry Koken, a resident who presented himself at the speaker's podium to address his grievances in song. Combine that with councilman Eric Bever's obvious attempt to quash councilwoman Wendy Leece's ability to place items of interest to her and her constituents on the council agenda by trying to require more than one council member's approval and you see a very focused attempt to abridge the free speech guaranteed by the constitution and to disregard the opinions of thousands of voters who selected Leece - twice - for a seat on the council. And, of course, we have the actions on the dais where individual council members personally vilify and chide speakers before them in an obvious attempt to intimidate them and give them pause before they step up to address the council. This willingness to stifle dissent is more than a little upsetting. Yes, transparency is great, but, where the rubber meets the road, our municipal leaders leave much, much to be desired.

ELLIS STIFF-ARMS BERARDINO
And, in an interesting bit of timing, Orange County Employee's Association General Manager Nick Berardino - a recent appointee by Governor Jerry Brown to the Orange County Fair Board - sent out a note today announcing that Fair Board President Dave Ellis has rejected Berardino's attempt to establish a citizens oversight committee and to conduct a forensic audit of the Orange County Fair and Event Center. According to Berardino's note, Ellis refused to have the items placed on the agenda for the August Fair Board meeting.

CHECK HADES WEATHER REPORT FIRST
Berardino will appeal to the Fair Board at the August meeting to vote to place those two issues on the agenda for the September meeting. When I spoke with Berardino about this issue earlier today I encouraged him to check the weather report for Hades on that date, because - considering political make-up of the board - unless a freeze is predicted, he has no chance of getting the board to go along with him. While I think it's a good idea to have divergent viewpoints represented on any public board, Berardino is going to find himself in the same position that Leece occupies today on the Costa Mesa City Council - a lone voice against an overwhelming majority.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
If you attended the Town Hall at the Neighborhood Community Center last night and drive a Scion XB - that boxy little cruiser, similar to the one in this photo - that is gold, bronze or orange in color, or you know someone with that kind of car at the meeting last night, please contact me directly using the email address on the profile page of my blog. I have very important information for you.