The Buzz column, Nov. 17

Oops! The secret is out: Mission Viejo officially has gang activity. Both the OC Register and LA Times covered a judge’s approval of a gang injunction, designed to help law enforcement break up South County gangs. Anyone who watches city council meetings might conclude Mission Viejo has no gangs, no crime and no problems except for a few grumbling gadflies. Mission Viejo is the “safest city in the universe,” particularly when a city election is on the horizon. According to residents, gang activity started years ago along Crown Valley as well as Los Alisos Blvd. Gang members are leaving their marks around town, tagging and cross-tagging.

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What will the council do since the media broke the news? The OC Register story provided the name of Mission Viejo’s very own gang, Varrio Viejo. This being the City of Character and all, how about having a city-funded outreach program for gangstas? Maybe they’re just misdirected youth who dropped out of school before learning all 12 character words. The Buzz suggests “Hugz for Thugz.” Stop the violence with social engineering.

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The city held a Housing Element Workshop on Nov. 13, which wasn’t real well attended. Only one Mission Viejo resident showed up. He was greeted by city staffers and others in attendance, who identified themselves as developers, planners or members of the Urban Land Institute. For anyone unfamiliar with the ULI, it’s the group that presented a concept for turning the retail center at Marguerite and La Paz into an affordable housing project – stores on the bottom and residents (who apparently don’t own cars) living upstairs. The ULI/affordable housing director spoke on the benefits of high-density housing, claiming there is no more crime in affordable projects than in market-rate complexes. The ULI’s conclusion: Mission Viejo will have to live with all the developments to come. Resident’s reaction: Who’s running this city?

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An item on the council’s Nov. 5 agenda indicates some speed limits will be raised around town. Residents might be happy to know the speed limit on Marguerite Parkway will change from 40 mph to 45 mph. between La Paz and Avery. Now that nearly every Mission Viejo resident has either received a ticket on that stretch or hit the brakes upon seeing a patrolman, traffic will flow again. Alicia Parkway’s speed limit will go from 45 mph to 50 mph between Marguerite and Trabuco. With stoplights at each end, plus two more in between, good luck on reaching 50 mph. The real problem on Alicia is the cut-through traffic coming from communities to the east. Drivers reach speeds of 60 mph or higher as they fly by the lake, where pedestrians walk and cross the street at Finisterra.

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Assemblyman Todd Spitzer was the guest speaker at Saddleback Republican Assembly’s Nov. 15 meeting. He surprised audience members by indicating he didn’t approve of the way Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley handled the Capo school district recall. An attendee later said, “This is the first time I’ve heard an elected official of his stature take a stand against what Neal Kelley did.”

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According to a blog reader, Mission Viejo is among cities that will get fully fluoridated water as of Nov. 19. While fluoride occurs naturally in water, the Santa Margarita Water District hadn’t previously added supplemental levels due to the lack of state funding. As of this weekend, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (the agency that supplies the Santa Margarita Water District’s drinking water) will add enough fluoride to reach the target range of .7 to 1.2 PPM – the optimum level to prevent tooth decay. The resident who relayed the information wasn’t thrilled about it. She added, “I’m checking on filtering systems. I want to be the one who decides what’s in the water I drink.”