The Buzz column, March 30, 2007

Some Mission Viejo residents were polled this week in a phone survey by the Santa Margarita Water District, with an implication of water being in short supply. The timing was likely coincidental regarding the temporary shortage caused by replacing a filtration plant in Yorba Linda. If residents receiving the call responded that water supply isn’t a critical issue to them, they were polled on how the matter could be made more important. Other questions dealt with increased rates, the influence of such groups as the Sierra Club on public opinion, pursuing desalinization versus building a reservoir to increase supply and the public image of the water district.

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Question from a reader: “A blog article said Justin McCusker sold his house in Mission Viejo. Did he leave town?” Blog staffers heard McCusker (unsuccessful 2006 council candidate) moved to Rancho Santa Margarita.

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Reader feedback: “With County Supervisors Campbell, Norby and Bates already tied to lobbyists, does it matter if the newest one [Janet Nguyen] is also tied to lobbyists? Write these people off already.”

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A blurb in the March 30 OC Register mentioned Mission Viejo’s economic development program. Two councilwomen and a couple of city staffers are supposedly leading the city’s economic development effort. With housewives and government employees turning the wheels of commerce, an economic boom is unlikely. The program described in the paper is “Internet Marketing.” The goals of attracting popular restaurants and bringing big-name stores into town are apparently not part of the program. Meanwhile, Mission Viejo residents are patronizing popular restaurants and big-name stores in neighboring cities.

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After the council on March 19 voted 5-0 in favor of Councilman John Paul Ledesma’s worker verification proposal, Ledesma appeared March 26 on Neil Cavuto’s Fox News Network show. Several people remarked to blog staffers that Ledesma did a good job of explaining the city’s position and the importance of following the law to verify legal status for city employees and people who work for city contractors.

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As mentioned in last week’s Buzz column, the only Mission Viejo resident at the March 19 council meeting who seemed not to be in full support of the worker verification plan was Steven Guess, who was campaign manager for unsuccessful 2006 campaign candidate Brian Skalsky. Guess asked about the cost of verifying employment and following the law. Although his question was answered at the meeting, Guess repeated the question in his March 25 letter to the OC Register, claiming he didn’t get an answer. The long answer includes the economic damage of having illegal workers on the payroll when laws are not followed. Several Mission Viejo residents addressed this aspect in detail at the March 19 meeting during their public comments.