Chief Neth Honored, But...

CHIEF NETH INDUCTED..
Former Costa Mesa Police Chief Roger Neth - Badge #1 and Chief #2 for more than two decades and one of the most innovative law enforcement leaders in California history - was inducted along with fourteen others in the Newport Harbor High School Hall of Fame last night.

MUCH DESERVED HONOR
This honor - for his service to the community, service to his country in World War II and his athletic prowess before and after that war - was much-deserved.  We here at A Bubbling Cauldron wish to add our congratulations to Chief Neth, and thank him one more time for his service to our community.

REALLY?
Reports from the scene tell us that not a single member of the City Staff - including the Costa Mesa Police Department, which he nurtured, molded and built into one of the premiere agencies in the state - were present at this event.  If that's a fact, it's certainly hard to understand... and very disappointing.  If my information is not accurate I hope a credible source will correct me - pronto.

Prop. 47 and Realignment Are Epic Failures

HOT OFF THE PRESSES

A friend shared the following recent essay from the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs blog.  It will come as no surprise to those of us in Costa Mesa, where crime was up 33% through the end of 2015, HERE.  The January, 2016 numbers are better, HERE, but Burglaries and Stolen Vehicles are still off the charts. Realignment and Prop. 47 are epic failures and we, the public, are the ones who will suffer for that failure.

CONTRIBUTING FACTORS IN COSTA MESA

In Costa Mesa the issue is exacerbated (not "exasperated", Steve) by the proliferation of sober living facilities in our city.  It is estimated at more than 28% of all Orange County sober living homes are in Costa Mesa.  Those "clients" who run out of insurance money or cash, or otherwise fail to complete their course of rehabilitation, are summarily dumped out onto our streets, where their options are grim.  In many cases it means homelessness and/or a life of crime to feed whatever their habit is.

STILL UNDERSTAFFED
The Costa Mesa Police Department remains significantly understaffed - as I write this there are 25 open positions - even though the Human Resourcs staff and the CMPD are pushing forward with recruitment efforts with all prudent haste.  We've been able to hire many of the best of the best from academy classes.

TOXIC ENVIRONMENT
Over the past four years we've lost nearly half the staff due to retirements - early and regular - and departures to other jurisdictions due to the toxic environment created by the elected leadership majority.  You cannot expect the same level of performance by the new officers filling those holes in the organization that you got from those old hands who left.  Police work takes experience to develop proficiency.  And, because of the tension caused by the bogus lawsuit filed against the men and women of the CMPD by the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem - combined with an unwillingness of the city to negotiate a new labor contract - it was nearly impossible to attract lateral transfers from other jurisdictions.  We're told there is a new labor contract pending - after nearly two years without one - and the lawsuit continues to linger.

OPPORTUNITIES LOST
Specialty units were decimated and positions in them were not filled, creating a disincentive to officers hoping to make a career with the CMPD.  Many of the forward-thinking steps taken by previous chiefs - Roger Neth, Dave Snowden, and Tom Gazsi - have been chopped.  Steve Staveley tried to hold things together as Interim Chief (twice)The current city administration was non-responsive to the needs for a couple years.  In the spring of 2014 CEO Tom Hatch received from then-chief Gazsi his plan for the resurrection of the Costa Mesa Police Department.  That plan was never acknowledged, much less acted upon.  The elected leadership refused to permit Gazsi and his team recruit to fill existing and anticipated vacancies for more than eight (8) months!  That put them far behind the recruitment curve, where they remain today.

READ THE ESSAY
So, this essay below is just one more exclamation point on the issues facing law enforcement throughout the state, and Costa Mesa particularly.  You won't enjoy it, but you should read it.  Some sycophants of the current elected "leaders" in town will say, "Well, look who wrote it!  Those darn union thugs!", or words to that effect.  Well, ignore the authors if you must, even though they are the men and women who have to deal with these failed ideas every day, but read the facts.

FBI Statistics Show  "The Experiment" Has Failed By ALADS Board of Directors When Realignment was introduced, it was described as one of the "great experiments in American incarceration policy."   Unfortunately, the guinea pigs in this experiment were not the inmates released from the state prisons, but the residents of California who lives and property were purposely put at risk.  That change was followed in short order by Proposition 47, which not only led to the release of prison inmates but reduced former felony drug and theft crimes to misdemeanors.  While law enforcement warned crime rates would increase if Proposition 47 passed, voters fell for an initiative duplicitously labeled "The Safe Neighborhood and Schools Act." After the passage of Proposition 47, our deputies and law enforcement across the state saw an increase in crime.  Law enforcement leaders who attempted to inform the public of increase in crime due to Proposition 47 were shouted down.  For example, when Sheriff Jim McDonnell was interviewed by the LA Times in a series of videos entitled "Thanks to Prop. 47, Californians are less safe than they were a year ago," some people claimed the Sheriff was "spreading disinformation" and such claims were "rhetoric" that was not supported by "data." Well, now we have the "data" the some claimed was missing-and it proves the point Sheriff McDonnell had been making.  As detailed in a release from the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank, FBI statistics released last month documenting nationwide reported crime rates for cities with populations over 100,000 for January-June, 2015 showed California suffered a drastic increase in crime rates in both the violent and property categories. In the violent crime category, California had 3 cities in the top 5, and 5 of the top 10, for increases in violent crime rates. The grim news didn't stop with the "top 10." 49 of 66 California cities in the report had increases in violent crime rates; 34 of those cities saw the violent crime rate increase by double digits. It was even worse in the property crime category.  California took the first 3 spots for increases in property crime rates, and 5 of the first 10.  48 of the 66 California cities saw an increase in their property crime rates, with 24 seeing the rate rise by double digits.  In a blog by the Public Policy Institute of California, the authors noted the property crime rate increase was "widespread and not trivial in magnitude." Of particular note, wrote the PPIC, was that that large cities in the next four largest states (Florida, Texas, New York and Illinois) saw decreases in property crime. Another misleading claim about Proposition 47 and Realignment was that there would be a cost savings as a result of those laws.  In truth, the cost of crime was merely shifted from the state to crime victims and local jurisdictions.  Thus, while a report proudly touted a savings to the State of California of $128 million, it did not set a dollar amount due to this burden shifting-which is enormous.  For example, in Los Angeles County, (we examined cities in LA County that were in the FBI report) and calculated the "cost of crime" using widely accepted Rand Corporation cost method first introduced by New York City Police Commissioner and former LAPD Chief William Bratton. The result- a cost of crime of over $249 million for just six months of 2015 (and only including cities with a population in excess of 100,000.) The sobering numbers above vividly prove that we cannot afford, both in the fiscal and public safety sense, yet another "experiment" with public safety.  We will continue to educate the public on the true cost of the crime experiments now underway, as an educated public is the surest way to defeat new proposals that would cut the amount of time felons serve in prison The Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs (ALADS) is the collective bargaining agent and represents more than 8,200 deputy sheriffs and district attorney investigators working in Los Angeles County. To contact the directors, click here. # # #

Kudos To Neth, Boos To Righeimer And More

STARTED UPBEAT

The Costa Mesa City Council meeting Tuesday night started out on a very happy note with the presentation of the Mayor's Award to former Costa Mesa Police Chief Roger Neth - a man who served this city proudly - as one of the first three officers hired and the second Police Chief- for more than three decades.

NICE NETH PRESENTATION
Costa Mesa Television prepared a very nice tribute video about Neth's career.   Mayor Steve Mensinger gave a preamble and a key to the city.  Current Chief Rob Sharpnack also paid tribute to Neth as he spoke about the core values he instilled in the department and the Chief also spoke about a few of the things of which he was most proud.  He mentioned that the Costa Mesa Police Department was on the cutting edge in using technology, such as the CAD/RMS system, videoing DUI suspects.  He didn't mention the helicopter program which he began, nor did he mention that Costa Mesa provided contract policing for the brand new city of Irvine, instilling those same values in that department.  Many of the contract employees became Irvine police officers when that department was formed.  That City is acknowledged to be one of the safest in the country.

WHERE WERE THE COPS?
It was a very nice ceremony, with some of Neth's family present.  However, I, personally, was disappointed that there were no other police officers except Sharpnack in the auditorium.  That surprised me...

POINTING OUT FALSEHOODS
The meeting fell straight off the cliff following the Neth presentation.  During Public Comments Mary Spadoni criticized the decision made at the last meeting regarding keeping the medical transport situation as-is, and cited chapter and verse from previous meetings where council members agreed to move forward with medical transport - and pointed out the falsehood made previously.

FIREFIGHTER'S PRESIDENT SPEAKS OUT
Costa Mesa Firefighters Association President Rob Gagne then stepped up and also expressed his disappointment.  He gave a history of the steps the CMFA took to help the city with their contract and their support of  Interim Chief Tom Arnold's 17-point plan.  He then directly criticized Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer for statements attributed to him from an Orange County Register article, HERE, in which he made false statements .  In that article Righeimer accused the CMFA of blocking more efficient options, which Gagne vehemently denied last night.

RIGHEIMER RANT
At that point Righeimer flew off the handle and demanded a "point of personal privilege" to respond to Gagne, even though he would have time during his Council member comments segment.  As it turned out, he used BOTH opportunities.  He ranted and raved, saying he found it "shocking" that the Union President would make those statements.  He went on and on.  Not only was it embarrassing, but he lied during his rant again.

TAMAR RIPS THEM
Tamar Goldmann began her three minutes by hoping out loud that there were still firefighters in the house because Righeimer's rant caused her blood pressure to rise.  She then cited Chief Neth for his service and the standards he established.  She mentioned a conversation she had with former Chief Tom Gazsi - now the Chief of the Los Angeles Port Police - in which the performance of the members of the department was discussed.  She observed that, despite the unpleasant atmosphere created by the council majority, those men and women who had not departed continue to perform at a high level.  She said Gazsi attributed that to the culture created by Neth and other chiefs who preceded him.

EASTER EGGSTRAVAGANZA
Beth Refakes reminded us of the current candy/easter egg collection for the children of the 1/5 Marines at Camp Pendleton.

COMPARING CARE
An unidentified person provided a personal anecdote about the difference between Costa Mesa Paramedics and CARE Ambulance drivers, citing the inexperience of the CARE staff.

JAY TURNS HIS BACK
Former councilman Jay Humphrey, who lost a seat on the council to Righeimer by 47 votes in the last election, and a regular speaker before the council was apparently so upset with how the meeting was going to this point that he abandoned the several things he had planned to address and told the council that it was clear that they don't listen.  So, he decided to use his three minutes to communicate with them the only way he could - and he promptly turned his back to the council and just stood there.  He made his point.

WENDY JOINS THE CHORUS
Former councilwoman Wendy Leece, who has stayed involved in city issues since being termed out, also expressed disappointment in the Medical Transport vote.

CINDY'S SIGN
Cindy Brenneman also stepped up to express her disappointment in the council's unwillingness to listen to its staff and the consultants on the Medical Transport issue.  She spiced up her commentary, then simply used the remaining half of her time holding this sign.

HOPING FOR ACCORD
Robin Leffler joined in on the Medical Ambulance issue.  She indicated that friends called her a "Pollyanna" because she continued to hope for a good solution.

INITIATIVES AND MORE
Cindy Black told us "I'm no Pollyanna", then blasted Righeimer, saying, "That is not a pulpit and you're no preacher."  She then spoke of the citizen unrest and cited the Smart Growth Initiative that is in the works and the new Fairview Park Protection Initiative for which signatures are currently being gathered.  She also talked about the meeting Saturday at Fairview Developmental Center where input is being solicited from the public.  And, she encouraged folks to attend the meeting on February 10 in Morro Bay to reject the plan to oust the current Director of the Coastal Commission by developer groups.

CHAD (?) CONFERENCE
During Council Member Comments Katrina Foley mentioned the "CHAD" (?) conference in November.

GENIS ON CMPD PERFORMANCE AND FAIRVIEW PARK PLANS
Sandra Genis thanked the Costa Mesa Police Department for the professional way it handled the recent incident in her neighborhood where a man ran from an accident, fired a shot at police, but was later captured.  Among other things, she mentioned the recent agenda for the Parks and Recreation Commission that included items dealing with Fairview Park, citing the road that's planned, plus the parking lot lights, neither of which are part of the Master Plan for the park.  She also commented on CARE Ambulance response times, then mentioned that no council member may unilaterally decide on a relationship with another agency - that requires a discussion by the council and a vote.

GARY SEES DRUGGIES ALL THE TIME
Gary Monahan addressed CARE Ambulance and his vote.  He said he didn't like the numbers provided by the consultant.  He talked about Sober Living, citing the fact that Costa Mesa has two laws on the books but the courts have put a stay on their enforcement.  He spoke to the drug deals going on throughout the city- a speaker brought it up.  He said, "I see them all the time."  Interesting, no?  He also told us he profiles customers in his gin mill....

ANOTHER RIGHEIMER RANT
Then it was Righeimer's turn.  After mentioning the police action near his home, he went off on another anti-union screed about paramedics.  He reiterated the lie again that he didn't vote to buy the medical vans to transport patients, despite the fact that speakers had refuted his comments earlier.  He told us he was "Tired of this charade."  He said it twice.  He said he's only got 3 years left, then mumbled something.  Can he be that stupid?  Gee, I guess so.  By the way, while we're back on this subject, some of you may not have seem my commentary in the Daily Pilot Sunday on this issue.  You can read it HERE.

CLOSING REDHILL
Then came time for the CEO's report.  Tom Hatch had three issues.  The first was the closure of Redhill from Main Street to Pullman starting soon.  Here's a chart that shows it.

FAIRVIEW DEVELOPMENTAL CENTER
Then he addressed the Fairview Developmental Center issue, speaking that the General Plan would address that site for zoning for re-use should the State actually close it and sell the land.

FRANCIS' HOMELESSNESS REPORT
He then turned the segment over to Assistant CEO Rick Francis for an update on the Homelessness issue in the City.  The following series of slides explains what he told us.  Click on them if you need to enlarge them.

 BROWN ACT VIOLATION?
As the council members began to discuss this issue Genis interrupted and asked City Attorney Tom Duarte about the propriety of this practice - having an item presented without being agendized and having a discussion ensure.  She was concerned about Brown Act violations - this is not the first time this has happened.  There was NO mention of this presentation on the agenda.  Duarte told the council to keep any comments general in nature.  Mensinger blew it off, stating to Genis, "We have our City Attorney's opinion."  The arrogance of these guys is just unbelievable!

CONSENT CALENDAR
Finally, at 7:35, they got to the Consent Calendar and one item was pulled - the Warrant.  It would be discussed later.

FIFTEEN GRAND TO THINK ABOUT A FEASIBILITY STUDY
At 7:38 we got down to business on the only item on the agenda, New Business #1 - Katrina Foley's request for $15,000 for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District to BEGIN a feasibility study to provide more bleachers and other enhancements at the new Costa Mesa High School athletic complex.  This should have been a quick issue - it wasn't complicated until the council got their hooks into it.  This request is simply the starting point - and $15,000 likely wouldn't be the only funds necessary.  Earlier they had approved $50,000 for a feasibility study.  Round and round they went, trying to resolve issues that were not before them.

SCHOOL OFFICIALS AND MORE
Costa Mesa High School Principal Jacob Haley spoke briefly.  Costa Mesa High School Football Coach Glen Fisher addressed the need and thanked the council for moving this forward.  Two "football parents" spoke, also in support of the plan, as did Gay Royer.

KIRK'S INSIGHT
Foley asked Dr. Kirk Bauermeister to come up from the audience to speak to the issue, providing some insight to the school district's process.  He affirmed that they needed the $15,000 and a letter from the City outlining what they were looking for in order to proceed.  He also said there was no guarantee that they would proceed.

FINALLY, A VOTE
And round and round the conversation went before Monahan moved to follow the staff recommendation, but increase the amount to $25,000.  It passed, 5-0 at 8:30.

PEA GRAVEL AND SHODDY CONSTRUCTION
The Consent Calendar items were heard.  Al Melone complained about a couple bucks paid for pea gravel at the bark park.  An unidentified person wondered why we were doing business with Blackrock Construction, since we fired them for shoddy construction on streets projects in the city and resident, and former council candidate Lee Ramos was injured and sued the company.

COULD HAVE BEEN EARLIER
We were out of there at 8:40 - an hour later than we would have been except for Righeimer's rants.  I think I have a solution... the way he waves his arms around when he gets wound up, perhaps we should just have the Sergeant-at-arms handcuff him to his chair - or just slap some duct tape on his mouth.