The Buzz, July 4, 2008

Last week on another blog, someone anonymously posted that most Mission Viejo city hall employees are decent folks who don’t support what some of the top managers are doing. Here’s a thought. If an employee knows of wrongdoing, give specifics. Employees might be surprised how quickly a corrupt supervisor can be ousted when evidence surfaces. The Year of the Rat (informant) could be followed by the Year of the Exterminator.

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Why did two residents write letters to the editor of Saddleback Valley News with false implications against the Mission Viejo Right-To-Vote Initiative? The two supported failed candidate Diane Greenwood in the 2006 council campaign. Greenwood was proposing that the retail center at La Paz and Marguerite should be razed and rebuilt so she could enjoy dinner in “downtown” Mission Viejo. Mission Viejo as a master-planned, decentralized community has no downtown. Greenwood fails to mention (according to a study paid for by the city) that 350 to 450 apartments on top of stores would be needed for financial feasibility. The Right-To-Vote Initiative could derail putting apartments on top of stores if voters decide it doesn’t benefit the community.

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Lisa De Paul-Snyder wasn’t the only one who saw the pile of easels on a hillside. At least one resident called Councilwoman Trish Kelley to ask about the trashed easels. A way to remember the date of the discovery is that it happened on Earth Day, April 22 – a pile of rubbish that included mangled easels, laminated signs, etc., as the city staff’s tribute to Mother Earth. Activists toured the city yard (next to the sewage treatment plant, which stinks to high heaven) to view and count remaining easels on May 5. The activists dubbed the experience “Stinko de Mayo.” Perhaps other residents would like to share their knowledge of Easelgate by emailing this blog.

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A resident who received a copy of the “Easelgate” documents via the Internet wrote a comment: “I saw in the information that two city staff members and one Mission Viejo resident decided which photos were representative of what was important in Mission Viejo to those who live here. It’s nice to know that photos of a leaf, a rock, a tree and the sky were determined to be important enough to merit enlargement and lamination for display on the custom-made easels.”

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In long-delayed proceedings, two former Capistrano Unified School District administrators will be back in court on Fri., July 11, for a pre-trial hearing. They face multiple felony charges for their roles in the creation of “enemies lists” that included the names of parents and children. The “enemies” included community members who participated in the 2005 effort to recall all seven CUSD trustees. Former Supt. James Fleming is charged with using district employees and resources for political purposes McGill got tripped up when she lied to the Grand Jury. She has been charged with two felonies: conspiracy to commit an act injurious to the public and perjury.