Advice for the Politically Lovelorn
Editorial staff

A blog reader wrote: “Did you see the letters in Saddleback Valley News on January 19? Mission Viejo’s nutballs hit the trifecta.”

It’s not unusual for all three members of Councilman Frank Ury’s fan club to send crank letters to SVN. However, to have all three in one issue had a cumulative effect of complete lunacy.

Letter writer No. 1 has become Mission Viejo’s sorest loser. This angry woman lost her 2006 council race and, of course, it’s everyone else’s fault. While complaining about two council members accepting corporate donations, she should have mentioned all the out-of-town cash benefiting her candidacy from a county lobbyist who lives in Orange. Her letter makes vague claims of “hate and lies” but gives no examples. What exactly was printed or said about her that was untrue? The blog’s advice for this letter writer: the voters were right – her calling is clearly not in public service.

Letter writer No. 2 is still wearing a tinfoil hat and defiantly standing directly below the SCE power lines in north Mission Viejo. This is not a joke – he goes out at 3 a.m. to check the electromagnetic field readings. Question of the week: what are normal people doing at 3 a.m.? His Jan. 19 letter to SVN complains that the city council decided to take no action about excessive EMF. As a result, it sounds as if Mission Viejo residents will have to fashion their own tinfoil hats until the next city election. The blog’s advice: anyone who is scared to death of EMF should stay away from power lines.

Letter writer No. 3 is still ranting about Councilman Frank Ury being bypassed as mayor during a council meeting nearly two months ago. If Frank wanted so badly to be mayor, perhaps he shouldn’t have publicly attacked the other four council members over a period of two years or tried to unseat three of them in the last election. Additionally, the third letter writer tries to imply that Southern California Edison controls city politics in Mission Viejo, and that’s funny. Finally, she has the nerve to quote the late Gerald Ford but seems not to grasp one word of the quote. The blog’s advice: those who are extremely unhappy about everything in Mission Viejo should exercise their right to be extremely unhappy somewhere else.

The caption over the three Jan. 19 letters is “November Election Unplugged.” What’s really unplugged is Ury’s fan club. Ury has moved on in a big way. Perhaps his groupies haven’t noticed their champion couldn’t care less about their issues – EMF, Southern California Edison, allegations against the Sheriff’s Department, removal of boulders from street corners or all of their other complaints gathering dust since Ury’s 2004 election.

The Buzz column, Jan. 25

What’s the real completion date for the Crown Valley widening project? Those who daily inch their way by the construction signs are commenting about the lack of progress. One person said, “Aside from all the signs, I don’t see anyone working on the road.” Those in charge of P.R. can blame the weather – too windy to haul rocks.

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The city council at a recent meeting decided to put itself in charge of economic development. A former planning commissioner commented, “The Planning Commission for years had responsibility for economic development, but the council never gave the commission any money, staff time or authority to do anything.” Who on the council has a background in economic development? Will the council next grant a contract to a consultant like Roger Faubel in return for his campaign contributions?

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Following all the noise from three people about electromagnetic-field readings around the power lines, has anything changed regarding Southern California Edison’s Viejo System project? A city hall insider answered, “No, nothing has changed.” SCE received the go-ahead from the California Public Utilities Commission in 2004 to install new lines above ground. Despite claims from several council candidates who ran in 2006, there’s no smoking gun, no bombshell report and no plan to bury the lines.

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Given a choice, most people would probably like to have all power lines buried. If anyone wants to start over and promote the idea honestly, they need to begin by announcing how much it will cost to bury the lines and who will pay for it.

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Mission Viejo residents who live near the intersection of Jeronimo Road and Los Alisos Blvd. have plenty to say about grading for the Target store and Steadfast’s housing project. Comments made to The Buzz include “It looks like a strip-mining operation” and “I will never shop at that store.” Residents should keep in mind the council vote was 5-0 to overturn commercial zoning in favor of high-density housing. Had the council not sold out to the developer, the parcel should have remained part of the business park that surrounds it.

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The blog’s editor in chief forwarded the following information with a message, “Keep passing this on until everyone knows what to do. The life you save may be your own.” To identify the signs of someone having a stroke, remember the first three letters, S-T-R. S – ask the person to smile. T – ask him or her to talk and repeat a simple sentence coherently (e.g., It is sunny out today.). R – ask the person to raise both arms. Saving the life of a stroke victim can depend on recognizing, diagnosing and getting the patient medically cared for within three hours of the beginning of a stroke.