The Buzz column, Feb 28

Former Councilman Bill Craycraft is telling residents he wants to run for council in November. Perhaps he thinks the council is short on law-breaking egomaniacs who name public facilities after themselves. With Bill’s name removed from a city park (unofficially dubbed Craycraft Regional Athletic Park – C.R.A.P.), he might have delusions about reinstalling the park’s old monument sign bearing his name.

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In an email read during the Feb. 20 council meeting by Councilman John Paul Ledesma, CUSD Supt. James Fleming mentioned "the distraction of the recall" and a possible bond issue to address needs at Newhart Intermediate, the district’s long-neglected stepchild. News about Ledesma’s public reading of the email may have set off a furor at CUSD. Turns out, the email was internal, and such information must first go through the district's spin cycle. CUSD’s reaction to Ledesma was minor when compared with the March 1 news release of a criminal investigation raining bricks on the trustees.

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An L.A. Times reporter, apparently mainlining the bilge from Councilman Lance MacLean, would like to know if Mayor MacClown’s Happy Hour preceding council meetings is improving the tone of the meetings. Is she asking if MacLean's “entertainment feature” can substitute for Prozac? To the contrary, the warfare ratcheted up a notch when Ury struck out twice at the last meeting while trying to fund a large project of affordable apartments with developer fees and taxpayer dough.

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The CUSD recall group spent nearly two months investigating results following the petition drive to put a recall election on the ballot. The Registrar of Voters announced on Dec. 22 that one-third of the 177,000 signatures had been disqualified; thus, the recall effort failed. Check out the video :

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County Treasurer-Tax Collector John Moorlach spoke at Casta Del Sol’s Lincoln Day Champagne Brunch on Feb. 26. Moorlach, a candidate for supervisor (O.C. Second District), focused on the county’s unfunded pension problems. Mission Viejo resident Jim Woodin was introduced at the event as a city council candidate in the November 2006 race. Woodin, a former banker and trust officer, has spoken during council meetings on the city’s financial obligations, including approximately $3 million of underfunded retiree healthcare benefits.