Hats Off To Wastefulness

Rose Parade watchers who saw Mission Viejo’s float on TV might wonder why the city was barely mentioned.

Those viewing Mission Viejo’s float on KTLA Channel 5 said the announcers gave Julie Foudy (who no longer lives in Mission Viejo) three mentions and Greg Louganis (who never lived in Mission Viejo) two. Louganis’ dog got more TV coverage than the city. The announcer glossed over Mission Viejo except to say the official city flower is a rose. All other recognition from the city taxpayers’ $360,000-plus expenditure went not to the city but to Tim Estes of Fiesta Parade Floats of Pasadena, the float’s designer.

A month ago, Councilwoman Trish Kelley said an entry in the Rose Parade would be a national TV ad for Mission Viejo – as if having a float would equate to a Super Bowl ad. Kelley was quoted in the Jan. 2 OC Register, claiming the float would bring homebuyers to the city. Does her balloon ever land? Kelley fails to grasp that a built-out community with zero tourist attractions doesn’t need a $360,000-plus national TV commercial.

This blog’s contributors were correct to challenge the float’s flawed engineering. TV commentator Stephanie Edwards said the designer had to “take a couple swipes” at the water issue, adding that water ran out of the pool unless it was on level ground. Edwards also mentioned the weight of the water. Two weeks ago, a blog reader noticed that the city’s estimate of weight was off by 64 tons. The projected size of the pool (specified as 20 feet long, 10 feet wide and 12 feet deep) was scaled back considerably. As seen on TV, the pool looked more like a rectangular horse tank with a ladder borrowed from a construction site – not a class act for $360,000-plus. The crucial measure is how deep the water is, not how “deep” the structure is, and the tank obviously didn’t contain enough water for diving.

Edwards gave high praise to Estes for re-engineering on the fly – adding a lower pool to catch water as it splashed out of the upper pool. The water in the lower tank was then pumped back into the upper one, but apparently not fast enough (if the pool was full in the first place). By the time the float was in view of cameras, the pool appeared shallow. A “diver” paused on the platform, as if trying to gauge how to jump in without injuring herself. She chose a belly flop for her moment on national TV. The artist’s rendering of the float showed an elevated diving board which, like the lake and sailboat, went missing on Jan. 1.

Despite its high cost, Mission Viejo’s float reflected a bygone era prior to animation, high-tech or other special effects of modern floats. With the city’s attempt to smooth over its bad judgment by engaging volunteers, it attracted children young enough to need childcare. For the price tag of a professional float, Mission Viejo’s entry lacked the ingenuity of floats costing much less. Ironically, its flat scenes, amateur approach and lack of pizzazz caught the attention of judges, who awarded it their Special Trophy. The float isn’t just an overpriced and inappropriate boondoggle. It can now be touted in city-issued press releases as an award-winning, overpriced and inappropriate boondoggle.

During the Rose Parade, announcers talked about students in marching bands and others who traveled great distances and paid their own way. Some had bake sales and washed cars to raise money. The entire cost of L.A.’s float was donated, and most other entries relied on corporate donations or sponsorship. By contrast, Mission Viejo officials raided their own city’s dwindling treasury. City staffers advertised extensively to attract volunteers as a PR scheme, offering “free” meals, “free” transportation, “free” parting gifts, “free” parties and a ton of fun. Wouldn’t that define community DIS-service – volunteers who participated to entertain themselves – taking without giving? Bottom line, the float provided no benefit to the community.

The parade is over, and the money is gone.

SVN Struggles To Cover City News

Saddleback Valley News on Dec. 17 published its final Wednesday edition after trying for several months to produce Wednesday and Friday papers.

Fourteen years ago, SVN was an independent community newspaper located on Fabricante in Mission Viejo. The OC Register finalized its purchase of SVN in 1994, merging the two papers’ editorial, advertising and production departments. Within a year, the Mission Viejo operation, including more than 20 editors and reporters, moved to 22481 Aspan in Lake Forest.

City activists who met with OCR employees on Dec. 15 walked through the newsroom in Lake Forest, which was practically empty. SVN editor Freda Freeman explained to activists that she puts together nine community newspapers in South County. Reporter Lindsey Baguio does double-duty by writing for OCR and SVN. Is anyone surprised that SVN depends heavily on city hall’s press releases as filler? Most articles appearing in SVN are previously published in OCR, and letters to the editor are reprints about national or international issues.

Freeman also revealed that OCR managers have given editors a mandate to include email posts, which are usually sent anonymously to OCR’s Website. While blogs often publish anonymous posts, readers expect newspapers to have higher thresholds for reader comments. OCR scrutinizes letters to the editor and demands the name, street address and phone number of anyone wanting a letter published in OCR or SVN. Readers who post email comments can have multiple identities or pseudonyms.

An activist at the Dec. 15 meeting asked Baguio if city officials had pressured her to write only positive pieces about the city. She said no. However, city administrators Dennis Wilberg and Keith Rattay in May called Baguio into their office after she’d written about Easelgate. From that point on, only the city’s side of issues has been published. No negative letters about the council majority were published after mid-August when council candidates filed their paperwork. At least two residents said their letters were censored when they criticized the only incumbent running for office, Frank Ury.

The city staff and council majority often get a pass due to SVN’s lack of investigative reporting and blackout of local news. City officials hide bad news, deny it or create an elaborate cover-up, as they did with Easelgate. Blogs have blown the cover off the city’s spin machine, but many residents remain unaware of the city blogs.

Blog readers can help spread the word by forwarding information to their email distributions. Websites are http://missionviejoca.org http://missionviejodispatch.com and http://orangejuiceblog.com

TCA Regroups

Is the TCA desperate or just thinking outside the box? It ran the same full-page ad in the OC Register on Dec. 30 and Jan. 4 about completing the 241 Foothill Toll Road.

On Dec. 18, the Commerce Department announced it would stand by the California Coastal Commission’s February decision to deny the TCA’s plan to extend the 241. In Mission Viejo, an unusual alliance of environmentalists, Democrats, Independents and Republicans celebrated the news.

Environmentalists argued that alternative routes are available that don’t cut through the California Coastal Zone. Others objecting to the TCA’s plan include Mission Viejo activists, who said the TCA’s preferred route wouldn’t relieve traffic congestion as claimed. Additionally, the TCA wants a “non-compete” clause, whereby the I-5 can’t be widened without a payoff to the TCA for loss of toll-road use. Forcing taxpayers to enrich private investors doesn’t set well with a lot of folks who might otherwise be undecided.

While nearly everyone acknowledges the need for traffic relief, the TCA appears to have trouble letting go of the route that’s been rejected. The Commerce Department’s suggested alternative, the La Pata route, would run from Oso Parkway to La Pata in San Clemente. The TCA objects, claiming the La Pata route would take out 200 homes and cut through agricultural areas.

Some Mission Viejo residents support an alternative route using the planned Cow Camp connector to the I-5. This alternative would serve Ladera Ranch and the planned development of Rancho Mission Viejo, and it would relieve traffic on Oso, Crown Valley and Ortega.

Headlines of the TCA’s ad state: “As always, we’re all about moving forward.” The ad then proceeds to slam the Commerce Dept., Coastal Commission, environmental groups, “anti-road and anti-growth organizations” and anyone else who dares to oppose the mighty TCA. The ad commends those who supported the TCA’s preferred route – such lovable entities as elected officials and labor unions.

The last paragraph of the ad implies the TCA will next implore the Obama administration to come to the aid of its lobbyists, developers and elected officials who are lined up at the trough. Why would Obama support a group that comprises the Orange County Republican power club? Democrats who control the state long ago backed the Coastal Commission against the TCA, and President-elect Obama will likely figure this one out.

Initiative Update

Activists continue to verify signatures collected in support of the Mission Viejo Right-To-Vote Initiative. After five months of walking neighborhoods and working at storefronts, supporters of the initiative are preparing to take the petitions to the Registrar of Voters.

Prior to submitting the petitions, activists will finish comparing the names and addresses with the Registrar of Voters’ database to make sure signatures will count. Some residents working on the initiative were involved in the 2005 attempt to recall all seven CUSD trustees. After 177,000 signatures were submitted, Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley said one third of them weren’t valid – a percentage so high it was stunning. The lesson learned was not to hand over signatures to Kelley’s office without knowing how many are valid.

In their favor, initiative supporters expect to exceed the minimum requirement by a wide margin. It’s not too late to sign the petition, as signature gatherers will continue to work at storefronts and in neighborhoods throughout the verification process. Please call (949) 837-1997 if you have signatures to turn in or want to sign the petition.

The Buzz

Reader comment about the Rose Parade float: “I hope the council is real proud of the fact that they spent $300,000 of the taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars for their egos only to have the TV commentators make stupid comments about Mission Viejo. We sure got our money's worth out of all that – HA! It causes grinding one’s teeth to nubs!”

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Another comment on the float: “With a city employee getting more than $100,000 a year to write constant spin, I think she could have written two sentences about Mission Viejo. On the channel I was watching, they chit-chatted and made small talk as Mission Viejo’s float was going by, talking about the Goodyear blimp and the weather.”

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The anticipated recall of Councilman Lance MacLean apparently isn’t a secret. Activists were at a storefront getting signatures on the Mission Viejo Right-To-Vote Initiative, and they said someone came to their table wanting to sign the petition to recall MacLean.

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As the momentum grows for recalling MacLean, residents are asking why not recall the M-U-K majority, MacLean, Ury and Kelley. Getting three signatures at one time makes sense, but the critical need is to change the 3-2 majority. Council Members John Paul Ledesma and Cathy Schlicht need only one more vote to promote fiscal responsibility. While not all residents are Ledesma enthusiasts, they should keep in mind that he has never initiated a pet project during his 10 years on the council.

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The Orange County Register has had display ads for two weeks heralding its “Meet the Publisher” breakfast from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Wed., Jan. 7, at the newspaper’s main office in Santa Ana. Among the “Five W’s” of an invitation, the “why” is missing. Aside from providing a complimentary continental breakfast for those who attend, the reason for the meeting isn’t stated. The ad says go to the Website for additional details, but none are given.

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If Register bosses want feedback on why the paper is failing, they can find out by reading the blogs, where complaints about the Register abound. First, a paper should report the news instead of attempting to create it. Second, have reporters write balanced news instead of publishing press releases and pretending that feature stories are news.