The Buzz

Residents of Palmia and surrounding areas in north Mission Viejo need to watch out for the latest tactic by UDR Pacific, the developer of the former Kmart property on Los Alisos near the 241 toll road. A well-placed source is saying that UDR wants to put apartments at that location instead of townhomes. UDR’s representatives would probably want to increase the density and change other aspects of the development agreement they signed in order to get the high-density townhomes approved. UDR representatives agreed to one set of promises in order to get permission to build, and now they want to break their promises. Whatever they want, it can't be good for Mission Viejo or the residents surrounding the UDR site.

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The Capo school district recall election will be held June 24. It’s a special election, and voters won’t see the CUSD recall on the June 3 Primary ballot. Four candidates have emerged as challengers to replace two trustees, Sheila Benecke and Marlene Draper, who are recall targets. None of the parents who have led the reform effort are among the challengers. Who can blame them for staying out of the fray? The district is nearly bankrupt and in constant crisis over leadership, management and irresponsible spending.

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A candidate for state assembly has a Mission Viejo connection that hasn’t been mentioned. Neil Blais is politically close with Roger Faubel, the P.R. agent for Sunrise, the care-facility corporation trying to rezone the Casta golf course. Blais touts his endorsements, and Faubel was among the first to sign on with Blais. According to a political insider with a good memory, Faubel was the campaign consultant for Blais when he first ran for the Rancho Santa Margarita council. Faubel served on the Mission Viejo council as an appointee – not for long, but long enough to push for a policy of benefits for domestic partners of city employees, in effect since 2000. Voters can react accordingly in the June 3 Primary.

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What are the options for city hall administrator Keith Rattay after he misrepresented what happened to 500 custom-made easels? He indicated all of them would all be put to good use after the city’s 20th anniversary celebration, with half being stored and half to be given away. The city has made no comment following the revelation approximately 200 of the easels turned up in a dump. At least two queries from school principals followed the information in the newspaper that 250 easels would be given to churches and schools. Two questions warrant an answer: why was money wasted on a photo display in the first place, and how will city hall deal with an administrator’s lie to the public.

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Mission Viejo’s council race is six months away, but it’s already a discussion topic. Two incumbent council members, Gail Reavis and Frank Ury, are up for reelection in November. Ury’s backing from the Orange County GOP power club will ensure him endorsements and funding from out of town. He ran in 2004 on a platform of burying the power lines that run across the city’s northeast side, but the power line issue had already been settled before the election. The California Public Utilities Commission said no to burying the new lines, and residents rejected paying to bury the lines by taxing themselves as a special-assessment district. Ury’s win by a wide margin was an indication a lot of people weren’t paying much attention. Ury has spent the past 3 1/2 years ignoring all those who were concerned about power line issues.

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A city hall insider says Ury and failed 2006 council challenger Diane Greenwood will run as a slate in November for city council. This would be an odd pairing, given that Ury claims to be a right-wing, anti-abortion Republican. Greenwood was a longtime Democrat prior to changing her voter registration at the time she decided to run for a council seat. She reverted to her roots during the 2006 campaign, being endorsed by a pro-abort women’s caucus and another far-left group.