The Buzz

Capo school district trustees will appoint an interim deputy superintendent of personnel on Tues., May 26. The current one, Suzette Lovely, is leaving June 5. The board meeting agenda doesn’t state who the replacement will be, but compensation will be $800 a day, maximum $14,000 per month, for consultant services. Also leaving CUSD are Deputy Supt. of Education Sherine Smith, Information Officer Scott Sexsmith, Principal Jerry Vlasic (Moulton Elementary) and Principal Kevin Rafferty (Chaparral).

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Reader feedback: “Did low voter turnout contribute to the failure of five propositions in the state election? If so, those who are celebrating the outcome shouldn’t feel disappointed about the number of people who stayed home.”

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May 20 was a big political night in Mission Viejo. Casta del Sol Republicans joined with the Saddleback Republican Assembly to host Sir Eldon Griffiths in Casta’s Vista Room. Following the program, SRA members elected a new board of directors, including Matt Corrigan as SRA’s new president. On the same evening, the Casta Democrats reported a good turnout at their club’s meeting.

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San Juan Capistrano’s council recently issued a Stage 1 water emergency, asking that residents voluntarily cut back on using water. Meanwhile, Mission Viejo’s city hall planted 400 new trees along Crown Valley Porkway and added irrigation to medians.

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A blog reader emailed about Mission Viejo’s Artes de la Vida in April, “It looked like thousands of plants had been brought in that residents were supposed to plant. I’d estimate that residents planted about 37 of them, and the rest had to be planted by city contractors. The initial cost is minimal compared with watering and other forms of maintenance. Taxpayers are dinged for life with all the watering, tree-trimming and other maintenance. When costs are estimated for a landscape project, all they consider is the relatively small initial costs.”

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As a follow-up of the reader’s comment about Artes de la Vida, taxpayers should ask why this contractor plant-a-thon is being presented as a resident-driven event. Were the costs of contractor planting charged to Artes de la Vida or were they slipped into landscaping contracts over a period of months?