The Buzz column

A blog reader researched the risks of building homes below an earthen dam. She intends to share her findings with homeowner associations that are mobilizing to oppose housing on the Casta golf course. She wrote, “The problem with developers is that they can pay a consultant to say anywhere is a safe place to build homes regardless of obvious risks. Eventually, someone should ask who owns the dam, and who is going to be sued if it breaks.”

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What were Capo USD Trustees Ellen Addonizio and Sue Palazzo doing in Supt. Woodrow Carter’s office on July 25 when he wasn’t there? The story hit newspapers as if they were burglars, with writers calling it “CapoGate” and “TrusteeGate.” Addonizio said she was showing Palazzo around the building, and the superintendent’s suite includes a bathroom with a shower. It’s a frequently mentioned feature of CUSD’s Taj Mahal, with the common folks thinking a shower in a school administrator’s office is a little unusual.

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If CUSD administrator Sherine Smith was truly alarmed about seeing the trustees in Carter’s office, why didn’t she call Carter – her boss? Instead, she called the media. With Smith as a loyalist of the old Fleming regime and Carter at odds with the new majority, it’s a flap that isn’t going to end quietly. The next CUSD board meeting is Aug. 11, and public comments are going to be interesting.

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The majority of students at Trabuco Hills High School who did no wrong when taking their Advanced Placement tests deserve credit for fighting back. While it’s understandable that the testing service can take no chances about the legitimacy of results, its decision to disqualify all tests came across as mass punishment. The students who formed a coalition lost the court battle, and the test has been rescheduled.

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As reported in the Aug. 1 OC Register, Earthlink decided to end its wireless Internet service for citywide coverage in Anaheim. Earthlink cited few sales and technical difficulties as reasons to end the service. What’s the Mission Viejo connection? Councilman Frank Ury has allegedly been trying to sell such Wi-Fi coverage to cities as part of his unspecified “consulting” business. A similar contract has been discussed by the city of Mission Viejo – what a coincidence.

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The 5.4 shaker centered near Chino Hills on July 29 reminded everyone that it takes only one event to change an inactive fault to an active one. How’s that emergency kit coming along that everyone is supposed to have prepared – food, water and clothing for three days, etc.?

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Mission Viejo had a quake of its very own on Sept. 12, 2007, centered 15 miles northeast of the city. Another small one hit near the same area on Aug. 2, 2008, but this time it was referred to as Rancho Santa Margarita’s earthquake. Another fault that’s near Mission Viejo is the Cristianitos Fault, which geologists estimate hasn’t been active for more than 125,000 years.