The Buzz Column, April 4

A story in the OC Register by Maria Hsin misrepresented the Mar. 20 council vote to provide wireless Internet access at City Hall. According to Hsin, making City Hall a WiFi zone is the “first step” in taking the service citywide. Said an insider, “Either she’s spending too much time listening to Frank Ury or she doesn’t understand the technology.” He explained, “The council didn’t discuss having the city provide everyone with Internet access at no charge, as was done at the civic center. In order to have citywide WiFi, a private company would do that, and residents would pay to access the network.”

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How quickly is Roger Faubel blowing through $100,000 the city gave him to “educate” the public that Crown Valley Pkwy is being widened? After the pricey VIP balloon-fest on March 24, two signs appeared on the median announcing the road-widening project. Motorists say the signs are a distraction, not an education. Consultants listed in Faubel’s original proposal are allegedly not working on the project.

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Planning Commissioner Brad Morton led the commission on Mar. 27 in slowing down traffic on residential streets near Trabuco Hills High School. A child was previously hit and severely injured by a car and is undergoing several surgeries. Residents had been asking for 10 years for relief from speeding drivers. Commissioner Chandra Krout annoyed audience members by panning speed bumps, saying she speeds between bumps. She apparently annoyed the adults on the commission as well, including Richard Sandzimier, who said comments from the dais should be responsible.

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In her usual hushed tones, Councilwoman Trish Kelley has “secretly” been telling everyone she thinks the Capo school district trustees might be unethical. After 3 1/2 years on the council and many years in PTA, does she finally have a clue she was bamboozled by her buddies who rule the Flemingdom? This is 180 degrees from Kelley’s public praise of the trustees – and they haven’t changed.

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Connect the dots. Six months ago, a story floated around the county that John Cavanaugh’s law firm had the job nailed as Mission Viejo’s city attorney. Cavanaugh is an acquaintance of Ury’s campaign consultant from Orange. Ury apparently couldn’t muster the votes for Cavanaugh behind closed doors, and the job slipped back to Richards, Watson and Gershon, the city’s old attorney. Who showed up at Diane Greenwood’s political get-together last week? John Cavanaugh. Greenwood is Ury’s prot‚g‚, a Republicrat who announced she’s running for council this fall. Ury would need three votes to flip the contract over to Cavanaugh.

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Meanwhile, Ury’s minions continue to block for him at public meetings. The pack, including some former watchdogs, bark, fetch and roll over on command. The 2002 election put an end to a council majority trying to name buildings after themselves. By comparison with Ury’s agenda and ties to special interest, the former council members were merely annoying.

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Ignorance of the law excuses no man … from practicing it. The city attorney amused everyone at the April 3 meeting, demonstrating how long he could talk without answering a question. Saddleback Valley News reporter Maria Hsin was absent from the April 3 meeting, and the only person sitting in the row reserved for the press read a magazine while he was there. The resulting SVN coverage should be about the same as usual.