The Buzz

Two weeks into his new assignment, OC Register reporter Niyaz Pirani shows promise in covering his Mission Viejo beat. The June 26 issue of Saddleback Valley News contains no drivel from city hall disguised as news.

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Is the meaning of Independence Day slipping away? Saddleback Republican Assembly is doing its part to stir patriotic spirit with a rally on July Fourth. SRA invites community members to celebrate the day by attending a TEA (Taxed Enough Already) Party from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. near the intersection of Olympiad Road and Melinda Road. Participants will carry protest signs, wave flags and listen to live music during a 90-minute program organized by SRA.

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The best news coverage of the Capo school district can be found in the Capistrano Dispatch. The online version, http://CapoDispatch.com , includes up-to-the-minute posts from Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Volzke. Jonathan has done an excellent job of summarizing CUSD’s budget challenges. Read his articles by following the link, “Beyond the Blackboard” or go to http://capistranoinsider.typepad.com/beyond_the_blackboard/ . A lively online discussion includes 82 posts as of June 28. View the exchange of ideas at http://capistranoinsider.typepad.com/beyond_the_blackboard/2009/06/districts-offer-to-teachers-10-percent-cut-but-heres-some-options.html#comments .

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This blog has published numerous warnings from Mission Viejo watchdogs about the city’s declining revenues. Contrary to spin from city hall, the watchdogs were right. Read a discussion of the city’s financial problems with an incisive article and comments at http://missionviejodispatch.com/?p=9835

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Feedback from a Buzz reader about the city budget: “How much money are they going to spend on tennis courts? How far would that go if put to another use, say, a proactive approach to dealing with abandoned properties? Which would be most beneficial to the homeowners, a.k.a. taxpayers, of the city? Gee, I wonder...”

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Dr. Orly Taitz is a Mission Viejo resident who has become the No. 1 “eligibility activist” questioning President Barack Obama’s birthplace. She says he is foreign-born and ineligible to serve as president. OC Weekly published her story in its June 19-25 print version. Read it at http://www.ocweekly.com/2009-06-18/news/orly-taitz/

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“Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” – words written on the Liberty Bell.