Tippin' A Few Cops

WHAT A WONDERFUL EVENING!
My sweet and very patient wife and I joined many Costa Mesans at the Claim Jumper Restaurant at South Coast Plaza last night for some really good food, outstanding fellowship and a chance to donate to the Special Olympics.

PLENTY OF PROTECTION
We arrived around 6 and found the entire front of the restaurant blanketed with members of the Costa Mesa Police Department and the Costa Mesa Fire Department - but I think that latter group was just there for the grub.

GUARDING THE EQUIPMENT
We made our way past Lieutenant Greg Scott and associates, guarding the bicycles and motorcycles, to a table where raffle tickets were available - we bought a few.  It was great to see Park Ranger Lorna Lyttle, safely back from her tour with the United States Army, selling raffle tickets.

BAO - WHAT A GUY!
We also saw one of my favorite people in the world - officer Kha Bao - king of the DUI arrests - decked out in his SWAT garb.  We had a chance to visit with him about his role as lead officer for the Police Explorers - a job he loves.

GREETING
We found our way to our table and were promptly greeted by Park Ranger Ortiz and friend, making sure we were being treated right.... we certainly were.

FOLEY-SWANSON CLAN
We plowed through the delicious meal and, as we were about to depart, saw a familiar trio sit near us.  How is it possible that Katrina Foley is just EVERYWHERE?  I swear she's triplets!

A TABLE FULL OF TROUBLE
We saw many other friends enjoying the event and came across this table of rowdies, almost certainly preparing to make trouble.  I learned later that one of those lovely young women - the one giving us the "V" sign - was having a birthday celebration, too.  That explained the firetrucks outside.

BACK OFF, FELLAS!
As we left and were saying goodbye to many of our police officer friends and thanking them for their service to our city these three young fellas apparently mistook me for some kind of a miscreant, so I just took things into my own hands and put them where they belonged! :-)

GRACIAS, AND KUDOS
Thanks to the staff and management of the Claim Jumper for hosting this wonderful event last night, and to the men and women of the public safety organizations for helping collect funds for a very worthy event.

CMPD Issues Fireworks Safety Reminder

CMPD FIREWORKS SAFETY ANNOUNCEMENT
Today Public Information Officer Lieutenant Greg Scott of the Costa Mesa Police Department issued a safety warning for the use of fireworks over the upcoming holiday.  The advice provided in the announcement - reproduced in its entirety below - has some excellent common-sense advice PLUS some rules of law that must be followed.

NOT A FAN... BUT
Long-time readers know I'm not a fan of so-called "safe and sane" fireworks in our city.  I believe we should have a community event with a big fireworks show with most displays/explosions visible from most of the City.  However, after fighting this battle for years, I'm giving up.  Nope, I'm afraid it's going to take a tragedy to swing folks toward my view on this one.

BE SMART, BE SAFE, FOLLOW THE RULES
So, please follow the guidelines listed below, have fun and BE SAFE.  In our experience, it's usually not the kids that are the problems with fireworks - it's thoughtless, sometimes half-drunk, adults.

AND REMEMBER...
Enjoy the holiday and, sometime on Friday, July 4th, try to remember what you're celebrating.

(Click on the image below for easier reading, or view it on the web HERE.)

Residents Hear About Coyotes

KENT SMIRL PRESENTS...
Wednesday evening the Costa Mesa Police Department hosted approximately 40 residents in City Council Chambers for a very informative presentation by Lieutenant Kent Smirl of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife on the subject of Urban Coyotes.  He was joined by Costa Mesa Police Sergeant Bryan Wadkins.  CMPD Public Information Officer Lieutenant Greg Scott and Chief Tom Gazsi, plus Animal Control Officers Anna Rodriquez and Art Beames, were also present.

(CMPD Sergeant Bryan Wadkins)

LOTS OF DATA
During the hour-long program, most of which was a Question and Answer period, Smirl provided a wealth of information about urban coyotes and how to deal with the problem. Here are some of the highlights:

(California Department of Fish and Wildlife Lieutenant Kent Smirl)

• There have only been 21 attacks by coyotes on humans in the past 7 years.
• During the same period there have been 4.5 million dog bites and 31 people killed by dogs.
• The best way to deter coyotes from invading our neighborhoods is to deny them the "Big 3" - Food, Water and Shelter.
• If you encounter a coyote, "haze it" - make yourself as tall and loud as possible.  Typically, the coyote will run.
• Encourage your entire neighborhood to discourage coyotes.  Spread the word.
• Don't feed feral cats.  It's against the law and they are a food source for coyotes.
• Don't feed raccoons, possums or skunks.  They are a food source for coyotes.
• Don't feed coyotes.  When you do its signing it's death warrant.
• Coyotes may not be trapped and released elsewhere.
• Coyotes prefer domestic pets because they are easier to obtain.
• Coyotes can easily leap a 6 foot fence.
• Coyotes WILL enter a doggie door, following the scent of your pet.

PERSONAL ANECDOTES SHARED
Many residents shared personal stories of encounters with coyotes in our city.  Sergeant Wadkins told us that the CMPD will NOT respond to a coyote sighting unless there is an eminent danger to the public.  The animal control officers will not attempt to trap and remove a coyote.

 (Animal Control Officer Anna Rogriquez)

 CONTACT NUMBERS
To reach the Animal Control officers call 715-754-5311 and leave a message or call the CMPD non-emergency line at 714-754-5252 for Dispatch.  As always, if there is eminent danger call 911.

 (Rodriquez and  Coyote activist Christy Roget)

COMMUNITY EFFORT
One speaker suggested that the best solution was a Collective Community approach - where everyone in the community understands what to do about attractants that lure coyotes into our neighborhoods and agree to band together to eliminate those attractants.  Following the meeting many members of the crowd lingered to speak with Smirl and Wadkins.

MORE GOOD INFO
This was only the most recent effort on the part of the CMPD to educate the residents about the issue of urban coyotes.  HERE is an excellent piece created by Scott last year from the City's website.  In addition, take a look at this excellent video clip by Costa Mesa Crime Prevention Specialist Kelly Vucinic on the subject.

Costa Mesa Emergency Notification Systems

TWO NEW GREAT TOOLS
In a press release today Costa Mesa Police Department Public Information Officer, Lieutenant Greg Scott, announced the availability of two new information resources for the public.  The following is the text of Scott's message:

"The City of Costa Mesa is proud to partner with AlertOC and Nixle. Both of these programs are mass notification systems meant to inform the public of emergency or noteworthy information.

AlertOC is designed to keep Orange County residents and businesses informed of emergencies and certain community events.  By registering with AlertOC, time-sensitve voice messages from the County or City in which you live or work may be sent to your home, cell or business phone.  Text messages may also be sent to cell phones, e-mail accounts and hearing impaired receiving devices.  It is also commonly called "Reverse 9-1-1," but this is a registered trademark.

Nixle is also up and running in Costa Mesa!  Nixle is currently being used by over 5,000 public agencies.  Nixle will allow the Costa Mesa Police Department to communicate with residents, via text and email messages, at no cost to the populace, through Nixle's high performance messaging network.  In addition to City-wide messaging, Nixle will also allow the Police department to contact residents within specific geographical areas.

Notifications can be made to residents about a variety of things, including emergency preparation, traffic management, event management, community outreach, hazardous situations, press releases, and missing and wanted individuals.

Communication with the public is critical to effective emergency responses.  Over 85% of civilians can be instantly reached on their mobile phone by text messaging.  In crisis situations, timely information saves lives, and there is no more effective means to quickly reach large populations than mobile text messaging.

You can register now, via a link located on the Police Department's website at www.costamesapd.org.  Nixle is one more tool that will enable the Department to keep it's residents informed about important safety issues in the Costa Mesa community!

The City encourages all of our residents to register for both of these great programs!"

MORE INFORMATION AND SIGN-UP
You can find information on AlertOC HERE and Nixle HERE.  I participate in both these excellent programs and find them very useful.  I encourage you all to investigate them and sign up now.

Another Long, Eventful Evening

FINISHED BEFORE MIDNIGHT - AGAIN!
What should have been a relatively short meeting of the Costa Mesa City Council Tuesday night turned out to be another long one, although it "only" lasted until around 11:30.

MY PREVIOUS REPORT
You can refresh your memory about everything that was on the agenda from my earlier post, HERE.  However, here's a summary of what transpired last night. 

KUDOS TO OFFICER KHA BAO
The council recognized police officer Kha Bao as employee of the month for his remarkable accomplishment of arresting 432 drunk drivers last year.  He led a team of CMPD officers in achieving "Century Club" status - snatching up 100 or more drunk drivers for the year.  Officer Bao is shown here with members of the CMPD command staff.  Left to right, Captain Les Gogerty, Captain Allen Huggins, Sergeant Greg Scott, Officer Kha Bao, Chief Tom Gazsi and Lt. Rob Sharpnack.

SMART KIDS
Mayor Eric Bever also presented certificates to members of the Costa Mesa High School Business Academy/Virtual Enterprise teams for recent accomplishments.

MORE NEW HOUSING
The council approved a small-lot residential development at 743 West 20th Street despite numerous and significant variations from the established guidelines.  They also heard the screening request for 40 live/work units at the location of the present Anchor Mobile Home Park on Newport Boulevard near Industrial Way.

 RELAXED RESTAURANT PARKING REQUIREMENTS
They adopted the resolution relaxing parking requirements for certain types of establishments where food and beverages are sold in the city and gave second reading to the ordinance that forbids sex offenders from entering any park or athletic venue within the city.

AN EXPLOSIVE INDEPENDENCE WEEK AHEAD
The council also affirmed the current ordinance about sale and discharge of fireworks.  That means that this year residents will be able to purchase so-called safe and sane fireworks from June 30, 2012 through July 4, 2012 and discharge them from July 2 through July 4th.  Very little discussion was conducted on this item and there were no voices of opposition heard even though there seemed to be no good reason to permit the discharge of fireworks on the two nights leading up to July 4th.  Pet owners beware - it's going to be a long week for you.


FISH FRY, BEER AND WINE AND DEMOLITION
The council made quick work of the two items on the agenda involving the Fish Fry.  They approved moving it from Lions Park to Fairview Park and also approved the establishment of a beer and wine garden - similar to the one approved for the Concerts In The Park last year.  They also approved the demolition of the picnic shelter at Lions Park using $60,000 from the CEO's contingency fund to get it done immediately.

WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS...
The most fun came during the discussion of sending Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer and his pal, councilman Steve Mensinger to an economic development conference in Las Vegas later this month.  The amount of money was small - probably less than $1,000 (the Convention and Business Bureau is picking up about half the cost) - but the discussion was lively.  Actually, despite the fact that this reeks of a boondoggle, sending those two council members to this particular conference makes a lot of sense.  As Gary Monahan observed, they ARE developers and speak the language, so if we're serious about enticing developers to consider Costa Mesa in their future plans, their presence at this conference makes sense.  The council approved it, 4-0.

ROAD TRIP!
An amusing sidebar was during the public comments on that item.  Resident Terry Koken, who has been known to croon his message to the council in the past, suggested that, because much of the discussion on this subject implied that some folks didn't trust Righeimer and Mensinger in Las Vegas, perhaps Wendy Leece should accompany them as chaperone.  Koken then expressed concern about possible Brown Act violations so suggested an alternate chaperone - ME!  It may have been the high point of the evening.  I later asked Mensinger when he and Righeimer would be picking me up and asked if I could ride shotgun.  Mensinger suggested the Mitt Romney approach - me in a dog crate on the roof.  Sounds like fun...
CALL FOR CIVILITY REJECTED BY THE COUNCIL
Early in the meeting, during public comments, resident David Kincaid suggested the need for more civility in the discourse about city matters.  He wasn't very specific, although he did glance back my way a couple times.  Members of the council agreed with him.  I must observe, however, that the only rancor last night came from the dais when, near the end of the evening, Mayor Bever was his usual snippy self and Monahan criticized the long discussion of the Righeimer/Mensinger trip as "getting personal" against those two men.  He aimed his comments at Leece and the audience.  And, Bever topped it off with another snide remark about Leece that got her daughter, Amy, so angry that she sprinted up to the dais after the meeting closed, ready to confront him.

BEVER THE BOOR
Bever continued his petty, boorish behavior when he dashed down into the audience at the end of the meeting to confront young Orange County Register reporter Sean Greene, raking him over the coals for apparently not contacting Bever for comment on an issue recently.  This from a guy who is notorious for his lack of responsiveness to the media!  Greene, during his brief tenure as a writer for the Register, has done a very good job and this meeting may have been his last - he's off to grad school.  He probably should have told Bever to stick his complaint where "the sun don't shine", but he didn't.  He just stood there and took it, much to his credit.

JUST A WARM UP
So ended another adventure with the Costa Mesa City Council.  And, since May promises to have perhaps another half-dozen meetings due to the budget, I fear this is just the warm-up for this month.