The Buzz

Reader reaction: “Parents are worried about how to preserve Class Size Reduction, but it could happen without fundraisers, especially in the Capistrano district. With the deterioration of school buildings and the decline in education, more students will be in private schools. The districts will see smaller classes if they can afford it or not. Beyond that, illegal immigration is a big cause of overcrowding in the schools, as well as impacting everything else. If everyone weren’t so busy being politically correct, we could be honest about solutions.”

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A longtime community activist commented after seeing two letters in the Saddleback Valley News that were complimentary to the city staff and council members: “The letters from Evelyn Olson and Margo Kutner in the last two weeks reminded me of the days of Councilwomen Sherri Butterfield and Susan Withrow. Whenever the old queens did something outrageous, they’d have their friends write letters to the newspaper proclaiming their brilliance. The city staff must have done something pretty bad to solicit such transparent letters two weeks in a row.”

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What misdeeds has the city staff committed lately? Here are 10 recent examples: 1) destroying 200 easels – a letter writer blames someone on a bike, 2) lying to Saddleback Valley News about the price of easels and why they were trashed, 3) constantly wasting money on pricey brochures that look like corporate-image pieces, 4) creating make-work projects for 140-plus city employees, including several Assistant City mis-Managers, 5) making a mess of Crown Valley Parkway with a botched road widening, 6) overpaying a city traffic mis-manager to say “nothing can be done” to improve traffic flow or coordinate lights, 7) stating that the only possible place for a dog park is near residents’ homes, 8) falsely stating the day-laborer issue near Los Alisos and Jeronimo is under control, 9) placing cheap-looking banners along Marguerite Parkway to uglify the city, and 10) spending an outrageous amount on a weeklong 20th anniversary party that was given good reviews only by city staffers, council members and their buddies.

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Reader reaction: “As I drive by the corner of the hospital property on Crown Valley, I wonder what image the hospital is trying to project with a sculpture that’s so odd and cold. It has no appeal, and some of the colors (rust?) clash with everything. When I’m stopped in traffic, which is often, I notice the sculpture doesn’t relate to the building or its surroundings. The hospital is now overdoing it with landscaping, as if to distract from the mistake. The more they pile on that corner – buildings, sculpture, walls, rocks and plants – the worse it looks.”

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City council candidates could learn something from the Primary Election last week. First, the winner wasn’t the person with the most signs. Second, the order of candidates’ names on the ballot wasn’t related to which ones won. This was especially true in the races with many candidates. Two years ago in the Mission Viejo council race, three candidates running together (Diane Greenwood, Bill Barker and Justin McCuster) had the first three positions on the ballot, and all three lost. As another point of comparison, in the recent Primary election as well as the 2006 city election, those with the biggest signs lost.

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The Orange County Board of Supervisors threw Mission Viejo residents a curve in choosing finalists for the permanent sheriff. When narrowing the field to two on June 3, the choice of Sandra Hutchens and Paul Walters surprised almost everyone. Mission Viejo residents of all political stripes are disappointed that acting Sheriff Jack Anderson isn’t in the running.