Monday, February 15, 2010

What Day Is This?.. And The Week Ahead

WHAT DO YOU CALL TODAY?
Quick, what's the name of the holiday you're enjoying today? President's Day? BRRAK! WRONG! Nope, it's Washington's Birthday! I know, I know, Washington's birthday is NEXT Monday, but the government - way back in 1968 - decided the holiday should fall on the third Monday of February, regardless when he was
actually born! There was a move to call this date "Presidents Day", to honor both Washington and Lincoln, but it failed. You know how government works, right? This is a perfect example of it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GEORGE
Actually, according to Wikipedia, HERE, George Washington was born on February 11, 1732, based on the Julian calendar used at the time. When the Gregorian calendar was adopted in the English Colonies (1752), he opted to begin observing his birthday anniversary on the equivalent date of February 22nd. So, Happy 278th birthday, George - today and next Monday, too.

FAIRGROUNDS GENER
AL PLAN AMENDMENT
Tomorrow, Tuesday the 16th, the Costa Mesa city council will hold it's regularly scheduled council meeting and will discuss, among other things, the General Plan amendment to lock in the designation of the Fairgrounds property. That could make for some interesting discussions.



BEVER'S BONEHEADED RE-HEARING

Under Old Business, #1 is Eric Bever's re-hash of the designati
on of the entire city as a Recovery Zone under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. I don't know what bug Bever has up his butt on this issue, but it's a waste of staff time and money and continues to demonstrate how out of touch he really is. The way it stands right now, there is much more flexibility for potential applicants for the government recovery funds.

LOOSENING CONSTRUCTION NOISE RULES
Old Business #2 is an ordinance to modify the hours in which
construction activity is exempt from the city's noise regulations. If passed as written, your neighbor could proceed with his remodel today, Washington's Birthday, just as though it was any other Monday.


FAIRGROUNDS BALLOT MEASURE

New Business #1 deals with the proposed ballot measure relative to the General Plan Land Use Designation for the Orange County Fair and Events Center and calling for a Special Municipal Election on June 8, 2010. If passed in June, this will effectively lock up the land use to it's current uses and require another vote of the electorate to change it. A future City Council could not, on it's own, make changes to the Fairgrounds General Plan designation. This will drive a stake in the heart of any future development schemes for that 150 acres.

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