Reader Comments

Friend Applauds Community Activist

As a longtime friend of Bo Klein from childhood on, I am honored to say we met
in elementary school, went on to high school together and finally college. Few people can say they have been friends that long. Bo stood out from the beginning as a person who cared about his friends and neighbors. He cared for his neighborhood and the people in it.

When there was backbiting going on, Bo rose above it. He took a stand for what he believed in. If he was on your side, you knew it. Moreover, he had a knack for determining who was on the side of the people and who was on their own side, and he let them know it. He was never afraid to speak his mind. For 38 years, I'm glad to say he was and still is a friend.

I wish Bo luck in whatever endeavor he decides to pursue, and the people of Mission Viejo should recognize the fact that they have someone who can and will get things done in whatever he decides to pursue. Good for you, Bo.

Charles Barnett

***

City Ignores Some Parts of Town

I've wanted to start a Website called the "Slums of Mission Viejo!" It seems to this reader that the north side (older side) of Mission Viejo is forgotten. We don't have associations, and the city is responsible for enforcing codes and addressing violations. But, good luck getting those people to do anything!  I've taken pictures to prove code violations, but the city workers are downright rude!  They've never enforced anything over here...in fact, four doors down, the house has had Christmas lights for three years – never taken down. 

My brother lives in Norwalk, and says he's always amazed that our neighborhood looks worse than his! How about 10 cars per house? Try getting the city off their butts to help with multiple families in single-family dwellings! And don't get me started on the barking dogs and the lazy animal shelter that touts itself as the best, when in fact, YOU have to do all the legwork, but nothing will be resolved.  If you live in Fullerton, after one phone call, a dog problem is taken care of! 

How about bringing some of those Christmas lights on La Paz, leading up to....CITY HALL, back to the intersection of Jeronimo and Alicia?  How about maintaining the slopes over here off Alicia? And what about the horrible traffic at Alica and Jeronimo?  And why build a super Target two miles from another Target and add some low-income housing on the north side! OH and don't forget the cell tower going in right behind my house, in the middle of the neighborhood!  Can't wait for that eyesore!

I applaud this Website.  I'd wanted to do it for years!

Debra Twardowski
Mission Viejo

***

Traffic Flow Takes a Step Backwards

In regard to the "non-progress" of the Crown Valley Parkway widening, I'd also
like to point out the INEFFICIENT new sequencing of the traffic lights between the mall and Bellogente. Instead of improving overall traffic flow, the signals at these intersections now run through their ENTIRE cycle EVERY TIME. It's one thing to do this during peak traffic hours, but at 11 pm on a weeknight, nobody should have to wait through an entire cycle just to make a left turn. I hope the city corrects this absurdity so that the signals revert to a "smart" cycle during non-peak hours.

Aren't these intersections equipped with "sensing" equipment under the roads to detect if a car is waiting? It seems silly to wait for the signals to run through their entire cycle when there are no cars waiting at signals perpendicular to me. Yet, the signals are currently programmed to give these "empty" sides of the intersection a full and elongated "green" all day, every day. Is this a topic the city plans to correct before the project is finished? Can I bring it up at a Planning and Traffic Commission meeting? I have lived just off Crown Valley for five years, and the nonsensical new sequence these lights have is driving me crazy (pun somewhat intended). Thank you!

Ryan
A Concerned Crown Valley Resident

***

Road Widening Stalls, Pillars Erupt

[Response to June 21 Or. Co. Register photo of pillars along Crown Valley Pkwy.] I have been driving Crown Valley for years, and I should now say I’ve been stopped in traffic on Crown Valley for years. I have plenty of opportunity to see the standstill of the road widening. In the Or. Co. Register, the city mistakenly said the pillars are “pilasters.” No, they’re not. They’re pillars. Ask someone who knows their ars from their asters.

Anonymous
Mission Viejo

***

Choosing New Sheriff Was Politics as Usual

We keep hearing that everyone will get to vote for a new sheriff in the 2010 election. What about the “election” that was held on June 3? Three supervisors made the decision “on behalf of” three million Orange County residents. People in Mission Viejo have supported most of the current supervisors and worked to get them elected. On June 3, they caved in to political insiders who were engaged in arm-twisting. I thought the supervisors indicated they would resist lobbying, but the facts are coming out. The new sheriff, Sandi Hutchens, would not have been in the running in a real election.

Anonymous
Mission Viejo