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Mission Viejo NewsBlog “Dedicated to Keeping the California Promise” Carl Schulthess, Editor in Chief Front Page You have received this NewsBlog in an email from a friend in Mission Viejo who believes that you will appreciate being properly informed about the important issues and events occurring in our fair city of Mission Viejo. If your email program gives you a poor copy of our NewsBlog, please click here and load directly from our website. If you would like to read this NewsBlog issue on one page, click here. The goal of the “Mission Viejo NewsBlog” is to share with our neighbors, knowledge of issues and events that will affect our quality of life and our property values. We will keep an open mind and report only the important news in a fair, balanced and transparent manner. We will endeavor to do this weekly. Put another way, our goal is to protect the “California Promise” that we all bought into so many years ago. This fourth issue will again focus on the City Council. How did we arrive at this point? When egos collide. Staff Editorial Council Meeting Summary, October 17, 2005 Spending someone else’s money, Editorial Some politicians just don’t get it. You will note below, that there is an Editorial Subject called “Electeds Point of View. This is an opportunity for elected officials to explain their motives for a vote on a topic discussed in a previous NewsBlog opinion. If they choose NOT to explain their vote, then it is a fair assumption that they are voting their “Campaign Contributions” During the elections, we will provide FREE space to the candidates to answer pertinent questions and to express their views, provided that they renounce contributions from special interest groups.
Good News Department The City of Mission Viejo has many ”Points of Light” ranging from City sponsored events to individual accomplishments of our citizens. The City’s website does a good job of informing us about these “Points of Light”. Click on http://cityofmissionviejo.org/news/index.html for the details. A Golden Opportunity Military College Applications Due November 1 High school students interested in attending a U.S. military college next year have until November 1 to submit a nomination application to Congressman Gary Miller’s Brea office. Prospective applicants must be unmarried, U.S. citizens, between the ages of 17 and 23, have no obligation to support children and be a resident of the 42nd Congressional District. For more information visit Mr. Miller’s website or call 714-257-1142 to schedule an appointment with an advisor. The military colleges are West Point (Army), U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and U.S. Air Force Academy. Many of the following “Opinion Letters” were ignored by the Saddleback Valley News and have not been published. We promise to publish all pertinent opinions and not stifle any voices. As the Mission Viejo NewsBlog matures, we will add more editorial subjects as listed below. If you have thoughts as to important subjects, please let us know. We invite you to contribute to the Mission Viejo NewsBlog by either “Reporting” or Writing your “Opinion” about any subject related to Mission Viejo that is near and dear to your heart. (Note that ALL contributors to this NewsBlog WILL publish their email addresses with their contribution.) Please forward this NewsBlog via eMail to ALL your friends and neighbors in Mission Viejo but also print as many copies as you like, to share with your non-computer friends. This NewsBlog is operated entirely by volunteers and is distributed Weekly at no charge to ALL Mission Viejo citizens via email. At some time in the future, we will add sources of revenue (NO Special Interests) that will permit some of the staff to be paid for their services. If you do not want to receive this Citizen operated NewsBlog, please tell the person that sent you this email. Please consider it your civic duty to let your elected City Council members know how you feel about the decisions they are making on your behalf. It is not an accident that their names appear prominently in this NewsBlog. Their votes are key to Keeping the “California Promise”. Only YOU can influence their vote. Your Elected City Council Members Again, please let your elected Council Members know how you feel about their actions. Remember, they are accountable ONLY to YOU, a citizen of Mission Viejo. You elect them to office to represent YOU and YOU pay their salary. The Mission Viejo character word for the month of October is Respect. Insist on just that from your elected Representatives. Insist that they listen to YOU Table of Planned Editorial Content
We invite YOU to participate in the creation of this “NewsBlog” as an editor for any of the above subjects. Founders' Quote The Federalist Patriot Many good men and women have died so this NewsBlog can be published and we can complain about our government without fear for our lives. Honor those sacrifices by getting involved in YOUR government. Carl Schulthess, Editor in Chief Opinion Letters Joint Use Gymnasium Last night many of us attended the Council meeting primarily concerned about approving a Multi use gym to be located on the grounds of Newhart Jr. High school. It became apparent to me that from the very outset this issue had been decided. For the rest of this letter, Click on; Capistrano School District The Orange County Register recently published an editorial, "It's the principle of the thing, principal" (Commentary, October 9) about Dana Hills High School Principal Carolyn Williams' phone call to residents within Capistrano Unified School District (CUSD) urging them to vote against the recall of the CUSD Board of Trustees. For the rest of this letter, Click on; Financial Issues The Real Cost of Education The El Toro Road project in Lake Forest involved total destruction of long-term businesses, major off-El Toro Road demolition, removal of blocks of existing establishments, taking property through eminent domain, causing many major disruptions, serious displacements, some total loss of businesses, as well as the widening of El Toro Road -- a huge redevelopment project. Mission Viejo is only widening a parkway. For the rest of this letter, Click on; Item No. 21 on the Consent Calendar [$100,000 public outreach contract for Crown Valley Parkway widening] is a tragic proposal. Mission Viejo staff, city council and commissioners are perfectly capable (I would hope) to keep the press, the citizens and businesses aware of the widening of Crown Valley Parkway. .For the rest of this letter, Click on; Is Mission Viejo really a city of asleep or ill-informed citizens? Should we ask four members of our city council this question following their 4-1 vote for a public relations program? Does it seem sensible to pay Faubel Public Affairs $100,000 to "educate" the residents of Mission Viejo regarding the widening of Crown Valley Parkway? At least Councilman John Paul Ledesma, with his vote against the contract, credits us with intelligence and awareness of this issue. . For the rest of this letter, Click on; If you don’t like what we are doing in this NewsBlog, please tell me how to improve it. If you like the direction we are going, please forward this to as many friends in Mission Viejo as possible and sign up for a direct subscription by Clicking on; Carl Schulthess |
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