REMEMBERING THE PAST AND CONTEMPLATING THE FUTURE

CONTEMPLATING THE PAST - AND THE FUTURE

As I sat on my front porch on another perfect Southern California afternoon contemplating life and awaiting hoards of trick or treaters on this glorious Halloween day, I was having very mixed feelings.  

A SOLID FOUNDATION FOR A GREAT LIFE

I’ve had a wonderful life!  I grew up in a loving family with hardworking, honest,  parents who guided my sisters and me in preparation for life ahead.  I have many valued friends from those early years and still have contact with some of them.  They helped form the foundation of my life.

EXPERIENCE AND PROUD SERVICE

I’ve had a variety of work experiences, sprinkled in among my college days.  I worked as a shipping and receiving clerk, box boy and lifeguard.  I baked baseball bases, put sticks in popsicles, was a carpet layer’s helper,  pumped gas at a marina and learned something about life and myself in every assignment. I was a very good competitive water skier and a darn good teacher of that sport.  I taught hundreds of people to ski. Although I had no competitive swimming experience in my youth and had only seen one water polo game, I competed in both sports in college.  I proudly served my country during the Vietnam War era.  I flew helicopters for awhile - but didn’t see combat.  I’m grateful for that.  I learned a lot about myself as a leader during that time.

MY BEST CHOICE

I met my Sweet Susie, the love of my life, more than 58 years ago and have been married to her for 57 of those years - and counting.  That union made me part of HER wonderful family.  Her parents had a very different background than mine - they were World War II immigrants - but they had the same family values and it shows in their offspring.

A LITTLE LUCK AND A LOT OF HARD WORK

I’ve had a wonderful career - a couple of them, actually.  When I mustered out of the Army I lucked out and found a job with a terrific company that provided fantastic opportunities for advancement.  During my seven years with them I worked in six different cities in progressively more responsible jobs.  My Susie and I followed a gypsy life - we drove across the country for a promotion a week after we were married - and were living the American Dream, in which our hard work paid off.

THE FAST TRACK TO THE FROZEN EAST

When it became clear that the only place we could end up with that company was on the East Coast - two winters were enough - I left them and we moved home - south from the Bay Area back to Southern California where, once again, I was very fortunate to land a job with another wonderful company.  During my six years with that company I held several positions that provided me with exposure to sophisticated, cutting edge technology and gave me more depth in my career as a Human Resources professional. 

OOPS!

When the lack of a college degree became an artificial roadblock for further advancement I changed jobs - this time for a very short 6 weeks - to a position with a company that was NOT the kind of place I wished to work.  I began seeking another job on my second day.

RUNNIN’ AND GUNNIN’

Then I became the Employment Manager of a high-tech company that was, at that time, the fastest growing company in Southern California. That was lots of fun - fast paced in a very creative environment where the staff I managed developed new techniques so essential to quickly and efficiently filling those positions.  And, oh, yes - it was also financially rewarding.

A VALUED CONSULTANT

After a couple years I chose to strike out on my own and created a consulting practice, specializing in Executive Search and Team Building.  Among my client companies, in addition to a couple previous employers,  were small start-up organizations that needed help building a management team and guiding their organizations through their early days.  I never advertised for work - word of mouth as a result of my efforts was all it took.  I loved that job!  I was pretty good at it and made enough money to retire after 20 years.  

LIFE-MATE, SOUL-MATE AND PARTNER ALONG THE WAY

Through this all my dear wife stayed at my side, pulling more than her weight with every oar stroke as we navigated our life together and supporting me every step of the way.  She is the best thing that has happened to me in my life.

WRITING OPINIONS

After retiring I began paying attention to the world around me - particularly local issues.  I wrote the occasional letter to the editor to local newspapers, offering an opinion or observation on local happenings - usually political issues.  Over the years the Daily Pilot (our local “newspaper of record”) offered me the chance to write a regular column for them - 12 times.  Each time I politely declined - I didn’t want to write “on assignment”.  They continued to publish my contributions - sometimes  as many as 3 of my letters a week.  Similarly, the Orange County Register and the Los Angeles Times published my contributions and also offered me regular space on their pages.

THE BLOG

Then, nearly 20 years ago, I decided I needed more space to express my views.  By that time I was attending almost every important city meeting and event, so I started my blog, A Bubbling Cauldron.  After 18 months and nearly 180 posts I changed hosts so I could include photos and comments.  Since then, after posting nearly 3,500 entries, I’ve throttled back on that effort in recent years, but the blog still receives upwards of 10,000 pageviews each month!  As of this date the blog has recorded 3.8 million pageviews on the current host site.  I had no way to measure traffic on the other site.  Over those years the blog was chosen as the best blog in Orange County - twice - and I was selected by the editors of the Daily Pilot as one of their "DP 103" people who positively influenced their communities - 9 years in a row.  I certainly appreciated that recognition and I’m grateful for the continuing interest in what I’ve written over all these years.

MY POINT - SOCIETAL DECAY

All this background is slowly dragging me to my point - the societal decay I see these days!  It deeply saddens me to watch as the level of political discourse has degenerated to something akin to a bar fight!  I guess I can attribute much of this to the evolution of Donald J. Trump as a political force in our country.  He has lowered the bar for statesmanship, conducting himself as a pre-pubescent teenager might in junior high school.  His example has encouraged many elected leaders to follow his lead, which hamstrings progress.  His mere presence has coarsened our society to the point where fans at college football games feel it’s appropriate to lob water bottles on the field when they disagree with decisions made by officials.  This decay was most recently exhibited by two “fans” at the New York Yankees/Los Angeles Dodgers World Series game at Yankee Stadium when they yanked a ball from the glove of Dodger Mookie Betts in an attempt, apparently, to help the batter achieve a home run.  One of those idiots - both of whom were ejected from the game -  proclaimed when asked during a post-game drinking binge at his favorite bar,  why he did it, he proudly said that he was just “providing some D” for the team.  

IGNORING THE RULES

In our broader society we see more evidence of the decay.  We see more and more people completely ignoring the rules of the road.  Speed limits are apparently viewed as mere suggestions and stop signs are consistently ignored, for example.  They just blow right on through them - a trait many of the children driving E-bikes now emulate.  

COARSENING OF DISCOURSE

No longer is it sufficient to simply disagree with someone and move on.  Today, thanks in great part to Trump,  his acolytes and the anonymity provided by social media sites, it is becoming more a standard practice to attempt to demean and belittle those with whom we disagree.  Civility is disappearing.  Courtesy is a dying art.

FEARING THE FUTURE

I join many Americans in fearing for the future of our country, regardless who wins the election next week.  While I agree with some of the policies he advocates, Donald Trump has clearly shown that he possesses neither the intellect nor character to be entrusted with the job of the most powerful man in the world.  Kamala Harris is completely unqualified for this job, so we voters are left with the choice of, according to outstanding Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan, between ”empty and awful”.

WHAT’S NEXT?

So, what do we do?  Well, I did not cast a vote for President of the United States when I completed my ballot two weeks ago.  I did focus on the down-ballot measures and candidates and, although I no longer attend meetings, I do pay attention to local issues and do still comment occasionally when the spirit moves me.  I can do very little on national issues, but I know I can provide input to my neighbors on local issues and, sometimes, influence the outcome of important decisions made by our local elected leaders.  Although I no longer have the energy I did two decades ago, I will continue to be a voice in my community and let others judge the value of that voice.

RE-DISCOVERING CIVILITY

In the meantime, I think it’s very important for our society to re-discover civility.  We need to take a collective remedial course in civil conversation - something we could observe in the mainstream media in years gone bye.   Not so much today.  The examples set by Walter Cronkite and Huntley and Brinkley are long gone.  Our children - your children - need better boundaries and need to learn and to understand and follow the rules.  We ALL need to include a lot more “Please” and “Thank You” in our daily lives.  We need to do a lot more “listening”, not just hearing, the other side of arguments.  We need to be willing to make intelligent, well-reasoned choices and compromise for the better good when necessary. 

THE GREATEST GENERATION

My parents generation, the so-called “Greatest Generation”, had gone through years of sacrifice to make happy lives and keep our country safe, first during the Great Depression when they were teenagers and then through World War II when they sometimes worked two jobs for the duration of the war.  They learned to ‘make do” and to ‘do without”.  They developed frugality into an art form.  In those years our society pulled together for the common good.  Today we are so factionalized that we seem to be pulling against each other, shouting each other down instead of having a meaningful dialogue to resolve issues.  When our leaders behave like children, using denigration and name-calling as a staple of their dialogue, it diminishes us as a people.  We simply MUST change.  We MUST re-learn to work together to resolve the problems facing our society today.  As long as our elected leadership practices and encourages divisiveness our form of government is in peril.  We MUST demand better.

CHRIS THINKS HE'S RIGHT - BUT HE'S VERY WRONG!

RIGHT AND WRONG - My friend, former city council candidate and community activist Chris McEvoy, has become a frequent council critic at meetings and an occasional blogger at his Costa Mesa Lampoon site.  Click HERE to link to his most recent entry, which is the subject of this post.  By the way, I'm very grateful to him for his kind words about my blog.  I spent a lot of hours over a couple decades trying to provide accurate information to my readers.  It's always nice to know when someone thinks I succeeded.

THE "RIGHT' - In his latest angry post he complains that California has gone "too blue" - that the Democrats control everything and that's not good.  Generally, I agree with him.  He quantifies his feelings pretty clearly and I cannot refute the numbers he, a former math teacher, presents.  He blames an uninformed electorate for blindly choosing to elect Democrats rather than consider more conservative candidates.  He is correct that California, under the heavy hand of the Democrat Party, continues headed in the wrong direction, which is causing many folks to bail out and head for more conservative pastures, leaving the rest of us to deal with much higher costs, both financially and socially.  

HOWEVER - THE "WRONG" - In my view he gets it very wrong when, while citing what he feels is bad about Costa Mesa's government - the city council is too heavily weighted toward the liberal side of things - he suggests that the local voters should arbitrarily abandon their collective wisdom and blindly vote for candidates simply because they are conservative.  This is a HUGE mistake, in my view.

"BALANCE" IS GOOD, BUT - McEvoy suggest we need more "balance" on the city council - that there should be 3 conservatives and 3 liberals plus the 7th person to be chosen by those six.  Of course, under our current municipal code that's not possible.  More on that later.  

STEPHENS OR PETERS? - When my friend suggests that the voters toss aside our current mayor, John Stephens and mayor pro team, Jeffrey Harlan, simply because they are liberal and replace them with two individuals that, although "conservative", leave MUCH to be desired as candidates for office in my city, he goes too far.  James Peters, who McEvoy suggests should replace our directly-elected mayor, brings virtually nothing to the party except a strong allegiance to former president Donald Trump.  That's not enough for me, a lifelong Republican, to choose him over Stephens - a man who has served our city proudly and with distinction for many years.  Of course, I don't always agree with Stephens, but he always hears my viewpoint and I ALWAYS know he has only the best interests of our city at heart.  

HARLAN OR PETTIS? - Similarly, McEvoy suggests Harlan - a very bright public servant who brings a thoughtful, articulate, civilized demeanor along with his intelligence and very relevant professional experience to the role of a councilman - be replaced by Jeff Pettis, a person Harlan crushed in the last election.  And for good reason.  Pettis persists in demonstrating on his YouTube channel, that he is an ignorant, partisan hack who really has no clue about municipal governance.  Heck, through the last election cycle he didn't even know where the Costa Mesa Senior Center was located!  

ERETH OR BULEY? - McEvoy suggests that partisan lawyer Mike Buley - a man with no public service experience and has likely never even attended a city council meeting - is a better choice for the District 1 seat than current Planning Commission Chairman Adam Ereth.  That is ridiculous!  Not only does Dr. Ereth bring strong academic credentials to the council, he has demonstrated his competence and leadership as chairman of the Planning Commission and comes from a family with a demonstrated public service mindset.  I'd vote for him if I could.

HIS MEMORY IS SHORT - McEvoy's memory is very short.  He forgets the "bad old days" -  just how our council became so heavily-tilted to the liberal side of things.  He forgets that the previous iteration of the council was very strongly tilted to the conservative side, when Jim Righeimer and Steve Mensinger and their sycophants controlled the show.  He forgets the partisan, misguided, heavy-handed governance under those guys! He forgets their bogus (and illegal) attempt to lay off nearly half (over 200) "miscellaneous" employees - an act that resulted in one of those employees, Huy Pham,  jumping to his death from the roof of City Hall!  He forgets the disdain Righeimer and Mensinger had for municipal employees that caused a third of our police officers to bail out - seeking jobs elsewhere or taking early retirement.  He forgets that they refused to let then-chief Tom Gazsi recruit much-needed replacements for more than 8 months - an act that very likely contributed to Gazsi finding a new job at the Port of Los Angeles.  When the current crop of "conservative" candidates yap about public safety they conveniently forget the jeopardy the Righeimer/Mensinger regime created.  

"QUICK-PITCHING THE BALLOT MEASURE" - McEvoy forgets how, when forced by a lawyer to create a methodology to elect council members by district to provide more representation for the Latinos in our community - many of whom are McEvoy's neighbors - Righeimer and Mensinger quick-pitched the process and forced onto the ballot a "six council members elected by district and a directly-elected mayor" scheme - which not a single person who attended any of the meetings expressed a preference for - instead of the preferred "5 council members elected by district who would choose the mayor from among themselves".  He forgets how that scheme backfired and resulted in 3 members of the Latino community being elected to the council - Manuel Chavez, Arlis Reynolds and Andrea Marr - and Katrina Foley (whom they had summarily ousted from the mayor's seat a few months earlier) was overwhelmingly chosen by the voters as our first directly-elected mayor over appointed incumbent Sandra Genis.  Former conservative mayor Allan Mansoor was crushed by Reynolds in the District 5 race, but remained on as an "at-large" councilman until the next election. That election slammed the door on the Republican influence on city politics - a very good thing, in my view.

DON'T FOLLOW - THINK! - As you mark your sample ballots, or as you prepare to mail your completed ballot in, think about the decisions you will be making.  Our city is being effectively governed by a liberal majority and to attempt to force three incompetent Republicans onto the dais to provide "balance" accomplishes nothing except to perpetuate the decline of my Republican Party in Orange County.  Find better candidates - those who can actually bring an intellectual, persuasive discussion to the process, unlike the current lamebrain, lazy, incompetent Don Harper, who has chosen to bail out after nearly 4 years of sleepwalking through his job, not contributing to the sound governance of our city.  We don't need another version of him.  Every ballot counts, so make your informed choices, keeping in mind the future of our city is in your hands.

THINGS I'VE LEARNED ALONG THE WAY

IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER...

I've had a wonderful life.  Here’s a random list of a few things I’ve learned along the way over more than eight decades. It is by no means complete and I present them in no particular order. 

1 - Parental love doesn’t have to be articulated, but it should always be demonstrated. 

2 - There is never enough time. 

3 - With rare exceptions Higher Education is overrated. 

4 - Having the right tool is important. Knowing how to use it is essential. 

5 - Doing your very best is good enough.

6 - Being close to family is more important than big business success.

7 - Learning to read at a young age is a cornerstone to success. 

8 - Being in the right place at the right time is important. 

9 - Using good judgment is more important than having faith. 

10 - Enduring friendships are like having a pocket full of diamonds. 

11 - Find the right companion. 

12 - Work hard. 

13 - Always listen well. 

14 - Do not be afraid to take the next step. 

15 - The occasional step back can provide better footing for the climb ahead. 

16 - Don’t let your technological shortcomings stifle your intellectual achievement. 

17 - Succeed at something so you know you can succeed at many things. 

18 - Just because you haven’t done it in the past doesn’t mean you won’t do it in the future. 

19 - Wear your individuality proudly. 

20 - Always be willing to listen to the other side. 

21 - Cultivate mentors - learn from them. 

22 - Wear humility well. 

23 - Always share the credit. 

24 - Always say “Thank You” for a job well done. 

25 - Never fear the truth - it should be applied like a carefully-iced cake. 

26 - Always vet your “facts”. 

27 - Being available can be more important than being the most qualified. 

28 - Trust your gut. 

29 - A good reputation is like having a blank check for your life. 

30 - A little lust is ok, but true love really matters. 

31 - Yes, you can love more than one person simultaneously. 

32 - Liking a person is every bit as important as loving them. 

33 - Contrary to popular belief, STOP signs and speed limits are not just suggestions. 

34 - Excellent managers and terrible managers are easy to spot. It’s the ones who have not figured it out yet that require your patience. 

35 - True friendship is a rare commodity. 

36 - Don’t raise your kids to be like “the President”, raise them to emulate the most honest person they know - a teacher, coach, pastor, parent, aunt, uncle…. or the gardener. 

37 - Teach your kids to be kind - show them by example. 

38 - Military, or another form of public service, should be mandatory for every high school graduate or drop out. 

39 - Social security benefits should not be taxed. 

40 - Be sure those you love know it. Tell them before it’s too late. 

42 - Pay attention to what politicians do, not what they say.

43 - Winning a political point is not worth losing a friend over it.

44 - Yes, character does count.

45 - You can make a difference - look for a way.

46 - A thoughtless word can inflict a lifetime of pain.

47 - A kind word can create a lifetime of success.

ONCE MORE WE WADE INTO THE FDC MORASS

SPARSE CROWD FOR AN IMPORTANT ISSUE - Last night, once again, I attended a meeting about the future of the Fairview Developmental Center property - more than 100 acres near the center of Costa Mesa that has become surplus land for the State of California and, in theory, is available for new uses, mainly housing.  This meeting, at the Norma Hertzog Community Center, was very sparsely attended.  My guess is that fewer than 40 residents attended.  They were outnumbered by members of the staff and consultants.  I saw Councilman Manuel Chavez chatting with rookie Planning Commissioner David Martinez.  Former Councilman Jay Humphrey sat near me, as did the husband and wife team of activists, Cynthia McDonald and Rick Huffman.  Flo Martin also joined us at our table.  There were several senior staff members in attendance at this meeting, plus many other staffers.

CECILIA KICKS IT OFF - The meeting was scheduled to run from 6-8 p.m., but it was kicked off a few minutes late by Assistant City Manager/Acting Economic and Develop
ment Services Director Cecilia Gallardo-Daly.  Suzanne Schwab of the consulting firm Placeworks  provided the brief discussion, which was basically a walk through the 21 slides projected on the large screen and provided as a handout (copies of which will be included here - some, not all).  A Spanish interpretation was included, which slowed the process down significantly.  I could not tell how many Spanish-speakers were in the small crowd.  As far as I could tell, there was no audio nor video recording of this meeting.

BAIT AND SWITCH - The State of California originally told us the entire site was available for our consideration, with the exception of 15 acres of prime real estate earmarked for their Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and Heliport.  Over the months the heliport was abandoned, but they kept the entire 15 acres when all they actually needed was around 2 acres for an office building and warehouse.  And, according to the consultants and staff members last night, the State is unwilling to relinquish the prime site overlooking our golf course and move the site closer to the Harbor Blvd. entrance.  Of course, that makes a lot of sense, so they, naturally, won't do it.  In fact, the EOC could, and probably should, be located elsewhere - like a perfect 20 acre site in Tustin in an industrial area close to 3 freeways.  Nah, that makes too much sense.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE - Not only that, but last night we learned that the State also has decided to retain another 20 acres for "other uses", including infrastructure for managing services for developmentally disabled folks - just as the entire site did before the State declared it surplus.  So, that now leaves us with only 80 or so acres for which we can plan for much-needed housing.  It is that remainder on which the current schemes are based.

3 CONCEPTS - The consultants presented slides with three concepts - Fairview Promenade, Fairview Fields and Fairview Commons, images of which are included.  The Promenade involves just under 115 acres and provides for 2,300 units.  The Fields is just over 115 acres and provides for 3,450 units and the Commons is similar in size but provides for 4,000 units and less park space.  You can see the breakdown along affordability lines on the images provided.

WANDER AND ASK QUESTIONS - Following the presentation, which took about a half hour including translation, the attendees were encouraged to wander among the 5 “stations” set up and manned by staff and consultants to answer any questions.  Those “stations” were Land Use Concepts and Project Information; Housing; Mobility and Traffic; Open Space and Parks and Infrastructure and Site Development.  Images are included.  One staggering fact provided in the last slide is the estimate of more than $250,000,000 for site preparation costs - Demolition, Remediation, Infrastructure/Utilities, Streets/Landscaping, Grading and Impact Fees.

NEXT STEPS AND SURVEY - We were also provided with “next steps” and encouraged to provide input via a survey.  We are encouraged to provide feedback by email to FDCHousingPlan@costamesca.gov.

MORE MEETINGS - Tonight, Thursday, July 25th, there will be another similar meeting at St. John the Baptist School beginning at 6 p.m. and will cover the same information.  There will also be a virtual meeting in both English and Spanish on July 31st.  We were also informed that there will be a “pop up” meeting for Spanish-speakers at Iglesia Harbor Church on August 1st, also at 6 p.m.  Here’s a link with more information, including the information necessary to participate in the virtual meeting next week: www.FDChousingplan.com

SURVEY - I have not yet completed the survey, but will go online to do so. Question #4 is interesting.  It asks “Do you support allowing up to 4,000 dwelling units in the preferred plan?” and you are asked to respond by checking either “More” or “Less”..  I would have thought the more appropriate choices would have been “Yes” or “No”.  On the positive side, we were not burdened by being expected to place “stickers” on the charts this time!

MY TAKE - I was disappointed in the small turnout for this meeting.  This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for our City to create a new, special place for much-needed housing but only a few people showed up to hear the latest iteration of the plan.  I was also very disappointed that the proposed EOC is still on this plan, occupying the most prime piece of real estate on the entire site.  And, we are told, that construction on that ill-advised facility will start sometime next year!  Yikes!  I was pleased to see two of the plans included a second road from Harbor Blvd. into the site.  One thing that is not clear is whether there is a plan to provide emergency access to the site from the Fire Station on Placentia directly across the golf course rather than require emergency responders to drive around to the main entrance(s).  I encourage you to attend one of the other meetings scheduled or participate in the virtual meeting next week.

LINKS - I’ve written about this issue several times.  I’ve provided links to those individual entries below, just in case you want to refresh your memories.

Fairview Developmental Center Zoom Meeting 11/7/23

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/36907480/8516859097711182567

The Future of the FDC - The Resident’s Concerns 11/5/23

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/36907480/2282036690955319612

“Visioning” the Fairview Developmental Center 11/4/23

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/36907480/4364873693775678026

My correspondence Regarding the Proposed EOC 10/13/23

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/36907480/5777558731070983448

FDC Emergency Operations Center Meeting 9/29/23

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/36907480/4450809590635044181