Banning Ranch Development Denied!

A HUGE STORY!
Better late than never, right?  In what is certainly the biggest story in our little slice of the world in many moons, the California Coastal Commission overwhelmingly denied the ddevelopment plans for the Banning Ranch oil field in West Newport Beach at the end of many hours - some reports say 8 hours, others say 13 - of discussion and testimony late last night.  The vote was 9-1!

LOTS OF FREQUENT REPORTS
I confess that I was not watching the live stream of the event, although several friends did text me with highlights and I did see a few images and videos via Facebook throughout the day.  But, that's OK, because there were plenty of very smart folks onsite, poised to report the results of the event.

LOTS OF TIMELY, EXCELLENT COVERAGE
When I head the news - just before 11:00 p.m. last night - I immediately began checking media for reports.  First up was Hannah Fry's excellent coverage, just before 11:00, HERE.  I also checked the Orange County Register and found Lauren Williams' report, HERE, that was timestamped just after 6:00 p.m., so it had been modified for the final result without changing the timestamp.  Win to the Daily Pilot.  There is also a Los Angeles Times story, HERE.  Television was all over the story.  Channels 2/9 had the story at 11:03.  KABC had it a couple minutes later.

THE FUTURE?
Nobody yet knows what the future holds for that chunk of land.  Murmurs of lawsuits, or re-filing in 6 months, float around the ether.  I guess we'll see.

LONG, HARD-FOUGHT BATTLE
The fact remains that, for those activists at the Banning Ranch Conservancy and many others who have battled tirelessly for years trying to save that piece of coastline from development won a huge victory last night.  And it wasn't just a squeaker, either.  Kudos to all those folks who have worked on this issue over the years, and to those who attended this final meeting on this issue yesterday.  Rumors of "cheating" - a Newport Beach official, or former official, may have permitted early admittance to the auditorium so prime seats could be occupied by imported "supporters" of the project - floated around.  It apparently didn't make any difference.

STEVE AND JIM WERE NO-SHOWS
An interesting sidebar - Mayor Steve Mensinger and Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer apparently had filled in speaker cards but failed to present themselves when the time came.  I'm not sure what to make of that - maybe they actually can read public opinion and chose not to oppose it in this case.

OOPS... TIMING IS EVERYTHING
In a bit of ironic timing, the first issue of Stu News Newport - the latest venture for former Daily Pilot publisher Tom Johnson - came out today and there was a featured interview with a Mike Mohler, Senior Project Manager of the Banning Ranch development.  This was the same fellow Tom had on his radio show last Sunday.  Oops!

 A BELLWETHER?  WE'LL SEE...
 Regardless, this is a huge victory for those who would preserve open space for future generations.  And, this may actually be the beginning of a broader movement that will influence the upcoming election in Costa Mesa.

A Typical Independence Day In The Newport/Mesa

PROMPT CMPD REPORT

The Costa Mesa Police Department issued a report late Thursday night informing us of their activities yesterday as they attempted to keep us safe - from ourselves, mostly.  Technological glitches prevented me from posting this earlier.  Since this report was delayed Lauren Williams published a report for the entire Newport/Mesa area, including the very significant police presence in Newport Beach, HERE.

INCREASED DEPLOYMENT
They deployed between 14-26 officers throughout the city, depending on the time of day, a very significant increase over normal staffing levels.

HOW THE DAY WENT FOR THEM

Here's their summary of events from 7:00 a.m. through 11:00 p.m. last night.

Calls For Service
224 fireworks related calls were received
40 fireworks calls were directly handled by officers dispatched to related locations
47 fight or disturbance-type calls (non-fireworks) were received and handled by officers

Arrests Made
1 drug possession arrest
1 drunk in public arrest
4 DUI arrests
1 warrant arrest
1 fireworks related arrest (refusal to sign citation)
1 "failure to register as an arsonist" arrest

I don't know about you, but that last one got my attention!  Yikes!

NO MAS!

The CMPD reminds us that, even though it was legal to discharge so-called "safe and sane" fireworks on the evenings of July 2nd, 3rd and 4th, it is NOT legal to discharge them at any time, on any other day, throughout the year.  That means tonight or the rest of this weekend.  They will be patrolling and they will bust you if they catch you.

 

HOPE YOURS WAS SAFE AND FUN
We here at A Bubbling Cauldron hope you had a great Independence Day holiday.

Sign Vandal Identified As City Employee

REGISTER IDENTIFIES THE PRESUMED CULPRIT
Orange County Register columnist Barbara Venezia and her colleague, reporter Mike Reicher, reported tonight in an article HERE, that the person captured last weekend on video tape vandalizing campaign signs is a Costa Mesa Maintenance Worker named Steve White.  According to the article, councilman and candidate for election, Steve Mensinger provided the identification to the press.

PILOT PROTECTS HIS IDENTITY
The Daily Pilot, in an article this evening by Bradley Zint and Lauren Williams, HERE, also identified him as a city employee, but withheld his name "because he has not been arrested or charged with a crime."  Of course, that seems to be the prudent course to take.

"VOLUNTEER" OR "PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR"?
There seems to be some confusion about just who did the video taping last weekend.  Proponents of the 3Ms and Yes on V have identified the videographer as a "campaign volunteer", but the press release issued by the Costa Mesa Police Department identified him as a Private Investigator hired by a councilman who was running for election.  It is widely assumed that councilman is Mensinger.
 
MIXED FEELINGS
I view this information with mixed feelings.  First, I'm glad the vandal has been identified.  As I've said many times here, the vandalism of campaign signs is a stupid, petty and ineffective act that's been going on with too much frequency by parties on both sides of the issues.  I'm glad someone has been apprehended and hope it will cause others to cease these acts.

GASOLINE ON THE FIRE
I'm saddened, however, that it apparently turned out to be a city employee because it will be like  tossing gasoline on an already-roaring campaign fire.  According to the Register article, Maintenance Services Manager Bruce Hartley confirmed that White had been placed on paid administrative leave and is under investigation.

FITZPATRICK'S ILL-TIMED PRESS CONFERENCE
I'm sure soon-to-be-former Sanitary District Director and current President of the Costa Mesa Taxpayers Association, Jim Fitzpatrick, will be giddy at the press conference he's called at City Hall tomorrow at 10:00 to address this issue.  Sadly, his circus will be held at the same time the ceremony for retiring legendary School Resource Officer Jess Gilman is being held in council chambers.

IMPROPER ACTION BY MENSINGER
I'm concerned about the propriety of a sitting councilman, Mensinger, announcing to the press the name of a city employee who has not been charged with a crime in this matter.  This is unacceptable, unethical behavior on Mensinger's part and is only the most recent example of his disregard for the rules that govern council members' behavior.  His premature public identification and condemnation of White may jeopardize any prosceution and/or any administrative punishment that might be levied on him by The City.  Remember Tom Johnson's recent description of Mensinger as a "bull in a china closet"?  This is a perfect example of what he may have meant. This behavior should make every employee and voter shudder when considering him in office if Jim Righeimer's Charter passes.  That document is virtually a blank check for malfeasance, with insufficient controls to prevent these kinds of acts.

UNWELCOME OUTSIDE INTERFERENCE
Just when you think things can't get any more bizarre in Costa Mesa during this campaign season, something like this pops up.  It's bad enough that the OC GOP and developers are pumping thousands of dollars into the campaigns and outside unions doing the same.  They all just need to butt-the-heck-out of our city and let us sort out the issues without their interference.  Of course, that's not going to happen.

Employee Free Speech Challenged?

I WROTE ABOUT THIS EARLIER
Tuesday I wrote an entry, HERE, that in part questioned a recent letter sent by Costa Mesa CEO Tom Hatch to all city employees defining "guidelines" for them related to political activities.  I wondered in that entry what penalties there might be for non-compliance and whether the City Council will be required to sign that memo.

SEPARATE CORRESPONDENCE TO HATCH
I also wrote to Hatch that day asking him for answers to eight (8) specific questions related to his memo dealing with the penalties and many other concerns I have, including the apparent prohibition for employees to speak before the City Council on political issues - like Jim Righeimer's Charter.  Other questions referred to the "guidelines" application to the City Council, since they, too, are employees; how he plans to monitor the use of the City's wireless network; how he plans to monitor employee conversations and how he squares the prohibitions on using "public funds" when the city has, for example, spent lots of public funds to promote the Charter.  In my last sentence to him I speculated that, if he followed his own rules, he might not be able to reply to me since there was a political element in my correspondence to him.  To date I've received no reply. 


DAILY PILOT COVERS THE STORY
Today the Lauren Williams wrote about this issue in the Daily Pilot, HERE, and included copies of Hatch's memo to the staff, HERE, and Costa Mesa City Employees Association President Helen Nenadal's response, HERE.


SO, WHAT IS THE TRUTH?
In Williams article she quotes Communication Director Bill Lobdell - who earlier said former City Manager Allan Roeder established a custom of this kind of correspondence - as stating, "CEO Hatch's memo followed in that tradition - a preventative action to avoid violations of state law during what promises to be a closely watched city election."  She then quoted Nenadal as saying that, in her 30 years with the city, she's never received a similar memo.  That leaves one wondering what the truth is... 


THE GOVERNMENT CODE
In case you're interested, you can find the section of the California Government Code relevant to this issue HERE.

THE ACT OF DESPERATE POLITICIANS
This situation reeks of certain desperate politicians attempting to discourage opposing views from major stakeholders in this process - the employees/residents who have a very large vested interest in this election.  We know, from having observed this council very closely for over eighteen months, that none of the majority handle criticism very well.  Steve Mensinger, for example,  just couldn't believe that actual residents of this city could possibly disagree with him, much less boo him so heartily at the recent Feet To The Fire Forum.  Get over it, Steve. Some people just are not buying what you're selling.

AN ACLU INVITATION?
There are knowledgeable folks in the community who feel Hatch's memo may create major legal issues for the city.  This seems to be precisely the kind of issue our friends at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) like to get their teeth into - remember Benito Acosta?  I hope they are wrong.  This current municipal administration has already spent way, way too much money on legal fees with their ham-handed attempts to bust the associations - unions, in their parlance.  I guess we'll see soon enough.

Fair Board Changes Guarantees Entertainment

MEDIA GUSHES ABOUT NEW FAIR BOARD MEMBERS
Over the past twenty-four hours the local media - print and electronic - have boiled over with the report that Governor Jerry Brown has made two new appointments to the 32nd Agricultural Association Board of Directors, commonly known in these parts as the Orange County Fair Board.


BALANCED APPOINTMENTS
The two new members are attorney Ashleigh Aitken, a 36-year-old Democrat from Anaheim and businessman Stan Tkaczyk, a 66-year-old Republican from Newport Beach. Aitken has a solid background in her profession and is the daughter of Uber-attorney Wylie Aitken. Tkaczyk is a retired president of Rainbow Disposal Company and is the husband of the irrepressible Orange County Register columnist, Barbara Venezia. I don't know Ms. Aitken, but Stan and Barbara are friends.

READ OTHER VIEWS
As I mentioned, local media outlets covered this story like a blanket. You can read Lauren Williams' Daily Pilot article HERE and Jon Cassidy's Orange County Register coverage HERE. In addition, you can read Vern Nelson's Orange Juice Blog almost apoplectic coverage HERE and Norberto Santana, Jr.'s coverage in the Voice of OC HERE. A note: Stan Tkaczyk is a member of the Voice of OC Board of Directors.

ANTICIPATING SPARKS
I, perhaps to a lesser extent than Nelson, almost salivate at the idea of Stan Tkaczyk sitting side-by-side with Dave Ellis on the Fair Board. I suspect the sparks between them might resemble some of those high school physics experiments some of us performed that shot sparks several inches and made us jump. Some will recall that Ellis, while the political advisor to current Assembly candidate Leslie Daigle in her Newport Beach City Council campaign against Venezia in the last decade, went beyond propriety and attacked Tkaczyk's business, which had been sold to its employees. Rather than subject those innocent workers to harassment, Venezia dropped out of the race. Memories of that event linger.

GOOD MOVE BY GOVERNOR BROWN
Personally, I think these two appointments will go a long way to producing solid, balanced decisions by this Fair Board. You can read the current roster HERE. The one-sidedness of the previous board led to mischief, much of which has been flogged at length by opponents of the bogus plan to sell-off the Fairgrounds that raised the community blood pressure for a couple years. I hope, however, that as other Fair Board terms expire, the governor will not permit the political pendulum to swing clear to the other side and only appoint liberals. The community is not well-served by a Fair Board that tilts extremely to either side.

THEY JOIN THE BOARD THURSDAY
Congratulations to both Ashleigh Aitken and Stan Tkaczyk on their appointment to the Fair Board. They will be officially welcomed to the Fair Board at its meeting Thursday, February 23rd at 10:00 at the Fair headquarters building. Tkaczyk got the jump today when he was sworn in by Judge Steve Bromberg - a former mayor of Newport Beach - in his court room. Barbara Venezia, in her own special way, was there to record the event as one of her "Barbara's Bits", and has permitted me to share that video clip with you.