The Buzz column, Aug. 15

The city’s July 3 amended budget report of $39 million in the General Fund was off a bit. The General Fund numbers have been “adjusted downward” by $15.2 million. Meanwhile, council incumbents Trish Kelley and Lance MacLean were so eager to write glowing reviews in their ballot statements they mistakenly claimed they “increased the General Fund by $12 million to $37 million.” It’s stunning that two people on the council who are supposed to be minding the store didn’t notice a $15.2 million difference. Someone in the audience was among the first to say the numbers were wrong. His name – Jim Woodin – and he’s running for city council this November.

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A letter to the editor this week about Kaleidoscope didn’t specify the problems with Howie’s Game Shack. Groups of up to 50 kids hanging out at Kaleidoscope – apparently drawn by Howie’s – have been wandering into other shops. Some kids distract the clerk while others damage the store and steal merchandise. There’s a huge difference between “kids being kids” and kids being vandals. When one business becomes a liability to other businesses, it shouldn’t be the city’s problem. If the city’s police force has to ride herd on a business attracting an undesirable crowd, perhaps Howie’s doesn’t fit into the Kaleidoscope mix.

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An email exchange earlier this week was initiated by someone posting racist remarks on a blog. A complaint was launched against Diane Greenwood’s campaign manager for “ethnic bashing.” A former council candidate sent the complaint to the city council, city staff and a distribution list.

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Some time ago, The Buzz quoted a Newport Beach policeman who said, “Mission Viejo doesn’t have the safest city in California, it has the most underreported crime in the state.” Residents making public comments during council meetings have stated they can’t find various incidents in police reports. The “Police Blotter” in Saddleback Valley News is a mere sampling of calls. Those who want to see the entire list can go to http://ocsd.org, scroll to the bottom, choose eServices, Sheriff’s Blotter and Mission Viejo.

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The district attorney’s Aug. 14 raid of the CUSD administration center was conducted by 10 investigators and two Sheriff’s Dept. deputies. The CUSD administration has refused for years to hand over various documents to citizens requesting public information. The district may have been surprised to learn the D.A. expects compliance. A CUSD spinner quoted in the OC Register said the district welcomed the request for information and would fully cooperate. Those who have been cooperative usually don’t get served with search warrants and subpoenas.

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When CUSD official statements conflict with what the parents are saying, bet on the parents to be correct. Parents who organized the recall have been saying the same things for more than a year. The district’s version changes as they get caught in lies. One of the parents said of Supt. James Fleming, “He has to be a pretty smart guy just to keep track of all the lies and remember which lie he’s told to which group of people.”

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As for the district’s lie of having to pay $600,000 to cover the cost of the recall, some district patsies went door-to-door last summer distributing a flyer against the recall, saying it would take money from classrooms. The Orange County Board of Supervisors has initiated an investigation of the false claim, which became the basis of a campaign against the recall.

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