If Explanation Doesn’t Fit, They Musta Quit
Staff editorial

Last week’s blog revealed that city employees trashed a hillside with hundreds of expensive, custom-built easels. A resident photographed the rubble, which could be seen from the road in back of Michaels craft store. City workers evidently dumped truckloads of easels, paper litter and other debris on city-owned property adjacent to the water treatment plant off La Paz and Marguerite Parkway.

This blog has criticized city officials for wasting tax dollars on a pricey photo display that had nothing to do with city government. Last week’s article reported hundreds of easels had been used by a city staff member, Keith Rattay, in his attempt to create a photo gallery of record-breaking length. An article in the May 2 Saddleback Valley News revealed the number of easels was 500.

A blog contributor reacted to information provided by Rattay in SVN. She said, “When I walked along the photo exhibit near the community center several weeks ago, I estimated up to 300 easels were in the display. I doubt there were 500. It demonstrates the failure of the project, and residents didn’t participate as claimed.”

Brad Morton’s Dispatch broke the story of trashed easels on April 22, and the city reacted by moving most of the rubble from sight by April 25. Residents who saw the pile of trash on April 22 said many of the easels appeared mangled, broken or disassembled.

Remarks by Rattay reported in the May 2 SVN conflict with an activist’s April 22 photos of trashed easels. “Five hundred easels were placed on the hillside due to lack of storage space, he [Rattay] said. They’ve since been moved to the city’s maintenance facility along the Oso Creek Trail near the Santa Margarita Water treatment plant. The city plans to keep half of the easels and donate the others to local high schools and churches, he said.”

Why were hundreds of easels carelessly dumped and then loaded up again and relocated a short distance away? According to Rattay, this was “due to lack of storage space.” Activists are following up on several aspects of Rattay's claims that don't make sense.

What does Rattay’s job description entail? Officially, he’s the director of public services. He seems unofficially to be the city’s director of pointless expenditures. Following the release of information about the wasteful project on Morton’s blog, a resident responded with a post that Rattay should resign.

According to city hall insiders, Rattay is the one pushing a clip-art tree as the city’s logo, “re-branding” Mission Viejo and coining a string of such hokey slogans as “Making Living Your Mission.” If Rattay were to depart from city hall, would the pointless expenditures end? Meanwhile, legitimate city projects fall well behind schedule and run significantly over budget. Is it any wonder when one the city’s top managers is doing everything but what he’s paid to do?

Congratulations, John Paul and Sarah Ledesma

Councilman John Paul and Sarah Ledesma announced the arrival of their baby girl, Samantha Claire Ledesma, on April 29 at 1:10 p.m. Samantha Claire, their firstborn, weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces.

In Councilman Ledesma’s announcement to community members, he added, “Samantha is the female form of Samuel, and it is derived from the Hebrew name Shemu'el, which means God has heard. Claire is in honor of my paternal grandmother Clara. Both Claire and Clara are derived from the Latin root Clarus, meaning clarity of thought, clear or bright.”

Congratulations to the Ledesmas!

Isn’t the Search Over?
Letter to the editor

When we contemplate hiring a new sheriff, shouldn’t we be aware of the applicant’s personal history and that of the community he serves?

Are you aware that Jack Anderson has been protecting us in Orange County for more than 20 years? That’s more than 10 years before Mike Carona’s appearance as Sheriff of Orange County. Sheriff Anderson and his family live in Mission Viejo. Is it any wonder that Mission Viejo has been named Safest City in California? We also feel very safe in most of Orange County. Do you think it’s only by chance or is it because of dedicated Sheriff’s Department employees like Jack Anderson? Mission Viejo has been one of the cities under Sheriff Anderson’s watch. As acting sheriff, Jack Anderson is a true leader. The new, thoughtful decisions and worthy new plans being made by him are amazing. Already, he has corrected many of Carona’s weaknesses and put into immediate action corrections to bad policies and decisions of Carona. Am I interested in a sheriff or policeman whose only experience is from Los Angeles, Santa Ana, etc.? I think not!

Our new leader should not just be an administrator. He should know all of our cities and make each area safer. Does anyone know Orange County better than Jack Anderson? This man is a sincere and humble person. Don’t we want a sheriff who is always “there” and easy to talk with? I’ve attended many events where he was a speaker about his duties or just a guest. His quiet authority gives everyone a sense that with Sheriff Anderson there, all will be well.

Beverly Cruse
Mission Viejo

Parent Reveals CUSD Pipeline Issues
Why was school site chosen?

The fuel pipeline at the San Juan Hills High School site that the public recently became aware of raises questions about why the school was built so close to a highly pressurized pipeline that carries all of the extremely flammable jet fuel, gasoline and diesel for San Diego County, and why so few people knew about its existence until a parent happened to stumble upon it and brought it to the public’s attention. 

On a Website created by parent Jim Reardon to inform the public about the pipeline, there’s a document entitled ”Opportunities and Constraints Analysis.” It was prepared by Culbertson Adams & Associates, an environmental firm hired by the district to evaluate CUSD school sites.

The analysis compares two school sites being considered by the board at that time for a new high school. One site was flat land at Ortega and La Pata on what is known as the polo fields. The other site was the hilly terrain up next to the dump called Whispering Hills.

The analysis lists the existence of a jet fuel line as being a “constraint,” or reason to reject the polo fields as a site for the new high school. Attached to the analysis, however, is a map of the pipeline that clearly shows that the pipeline at the polo fields site is inactive.

That same map also shows a larger 16-inch pipeline at the Whispering Hills site, which it shows as active; however, it wasn’t even mentioned in Culbertson Adams’ report.

So, this begs the question, why did Culbertson Adams recommend the Whispering Hills site for the high school, when it had so many more environmental and safety issues, including an active pipeline? 

Because the site is less than the state-mandated minimum distance of 1,500 feet from an active pipeline, it triggered a need for a risk analysis of the site. But the risk analysis was done after the site was purchased. Logic would dictate that a pipeline that carries such highly flammable fuel under such tremendous pressure should be evaluated to determine if its location next to the school would pose a danger to students.

And yet, not only was a risk analysis not done prior to purchasing the site, the school was built about 1,000 feet from the pipeline, on a road with only one way in and out, making evacuation in the event of a rupture extremely difficult. And we’ve learned that these pipelines do indeed rupture, with disastrous consequences.

Compounding the problem is that the district is now building stadium bleachers and the concession stand even closer to the pipeline. 

To make matters worse, we now learn that the risk analysis contains at least one major error and a number of flaws.

All this brings to mind several important questions:

• Who was responsible for the selection of that site?
• Why was it selected, given all the obvious problems associated with it and when a better alternative existed?
• Does SJHHS have an evacuation plan in place, as the risk analysis recommends? If not, why not?
• Since the property line adjustment the district is seeking will move the school even closer to the pipeline, how does that impact the risk?
• Why is the district continuing construction on a site that’s even closer to the pipeline, especially without having performed an additional risk analysis?

We look forward to your response to these serious questions.

Comments presented at April 21 CUSD board meeting
By Kim Lefner, CUSD parent

Parents Advocate League Update
Excerpts from news by Julie Collier

A rally is scheduled for Mon., May 5, from 4:52 to 6:30 p.m. It is another 98-Minute March for all Orange County schools. It is planned by teachers in SVUSD in anticipation of the governor's May 15 revise of the budget crisis. When attending a rally, please bring plenty of water and some snacks for the kids. Also, please be aware of traffic safety at all times.

Option 2 for Class Size Reduction is not going to be considered in CUSD (where students are moved to different classes or another teacher is in the class during core learning). This method is being used in the Saddleback district, and teachers aren’t happy about it.

It seems the state is thinking the budget will get worse for the May 14 revise. Those wishing to donate to reduce class sizes should visit the CUSD Foundation Website, www.cusdfoundation.org. Donors should state where their dollars should go, grades K-3 or 4-12.

The Wheel of Fortune and the Budget Development Update are on CUSD’s Website, showing the costs of what will be returning if CUSD gets money from the state or by fundraising. What is missing is the priority of the wheel. According to Supt. Carter, teachers will be a priority. Follow the links for additional information Carter shared at the April 21 board meeting: http://www.capousd.org/fiscal/2008-09%20Budget%20Development%20Update%20042108.pdf

The new requirement of parent volunteers is also on the district Website. Volunteers need a background check and TB test at their own cost. Costs have been reduced: TB test, $10; Live-scan fee, $10; Dept. of Justice (they process the scan), $32; volunteering in your child's class: priceless. There is a fund for parents who cannot afford this fee. It is based on income and/or principal recommendation. The great news is that the background check is a one-time test! Parents should get tested this summer to avoid delays for next year. Pick up the packet as early as next week at one’s school site to get started. The TB test can be taken at a doctor’s office or at the offices provided. The TB test will need to be repeated every 4 years.

CUSD Update
Editorial staff

Trustees Marlene Draper and Sheila Benecke struck out during their hearing on April 28 regarding their ballot statements. Following a legal challenge by the CUSD Recall Committee, the two trustees agreed to have their candidate statements stricken from the June 24 recall election ballot. The committee accused the two recall targets of making false or misleading statements. The judge gave Draper and Benecke a choice to have their statements stricken or to proceed to trial and defend their statements. The time period for withdrawal of statements had passed.

Draper and Benecke said in their response to the media that they didn’t want to go to the expense of a trial. The option of abiding by the law in the first place seemed to escape them.

Draper and Benecke’s ballot statements weren’t published in news reports, but a parent found them and posted copies on a discussion board. It’s easy to see why the statements were challenged. For example, Draper continues to claim the new administration building saves the district money. That’s false, and the district is still leasing the space it was supposed to give up after the new building was completed. Draper’s statement ends with: “Fight the school yard bullies who want to control our schools for their own special interests.” Parents who attend school board meetings would likely assert that Draper is one of the bullies.

Instead of sticking with her own attributes, Benecke’s candidate statement included schools that received awards. Additionally, she attacked the recall activists, which is not permitted in ballot statements.

The May 12 school board meeting should be interesting – they all are. Community activist Dr. Ron Lackey has placed two items on the board’s agenda: 1) Limit terms of CUSD board members to two terms. 2) Change the election of CUSD board members from election by the entire CUSD electorate to election by constituent area that the trustee represents. Dr. Lackey continues to protest the district’s practice of placing citizen-submitted items at the end of the agenda.

Parents continue to ask about a discovery a month ago of a high-pressure fuel pipeline running approximately 1,000 feet from the new high school in San Juan Capistrano. No answers have been provided, but CUSD hired a law firm – probably to defend the district’s controversial actions rather than investigate the defective safety analysis that allowed the high school to be built near the pipeline. The law firm chosen by the district seems to have ties to the old administration’s leaders, including David Doomey. Doomey, who retired last year, was at the center of many controversies, including the disappearance of significant documents regarding site decisions for the new high school.

With such ongoing actions as the above, do any CUSD constituents still believe the recall election isn’t necessary “just a few months” before the November election?

The Buzz

As reported in the Capistrano Dispatch last week, San Juan Capistrano is following Laguna Hills’ lead in asking the state to determine how many people can legally live in a single-family home. SJC is asking for legislation that would allow local governments to set their own limits. SJC Mayor Joe Soto cited parking issues, impact on schools and potential crime increases among the problems of overcrowding when a city cannot impose occupancy limits.

***

To no avail in Mission Viejo, residents have asked the city council for years to address problems of overcrowding and multiple families occupying single-family units. MV council members claim they have no say, but they turn around and vote 5-0 in favor of increasing occupancy. For example, single-family homes are routinely approved to become assisted-living facilities, usually over strong objections from neighbors. The Aegean Hills neighborhood has more than 100 such facilities. The council’s idea of being responsive to residents’ problems is to come up with such “solutions” as a word of the month and to approve such snappy slogans as “Make Living Your Mission.”

***

The city staff was so busy celebrating Mission Viejo’s 20th anniversary, some of them had to stop making lanyards at their desks. A blog reader lamented about all the meaningless hoopla, “Why can’t our city employees be like those in other cities where they just play games on their computers all day?”

***

The discussion of 500 easels from the city staff’s 20th anniversary bash hasn’t been adequately descriptive. The May 2 Saddleback Valley News quotes Keith Rattay as saying easels “were placed” on the hillside for lack of storage. That’s hardly the case. An activist’s photos show the wooden easels were splintered and broken – tossed off a truck or otherwise thrown on the ground. When Rattay said the easels will be given to schools and churches, he apparently meant as firewood.

***

Signs printed for the city staff’s weeklong 20th anniversary party are more than puzzling. One of them reads, “Walk you way around downtown.” A resident who saw the signs reacted, “Just where exactly is downtown? The closest downtown to Mission Viejo is in San Juan Capistrano. I think I’ll just take Main Street – the I-5 – to San Juan so I can walk my way around downtown. Are these people crazy?” Well, yes.

***

Blog staffers came up with the Top Ten things Mission Viejo doesn’t need: 1) a downtown, 2) a professional football team to replace its failed professional baseball team, 3) more cars, more housing and more residents, 4) more city staffers, 5) more Great Wall of China structures on Crown Valley made of brownish-yellow bricks, 6) a Rose Parade float, 7) four-story-high balloons in the image of council members to accompany the Rose Parade float, 8) more stoplights, 9) more nursing homes, 10) an international airport.