The Buzz

Anyone needing a revelation about personalities in city hall can read comments from the city manager and a city commissioner at http://missionviejodispatch.com/?p=15137 . The commissioner who makes abrasive and condescending remarks is Councilwoman Trish Kelley’s appointee to the planning commission. Each time he comments on the blog, he ratchets up hostility and demonstrates why he shouldn’t be on a commission.

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Mission Viejo’s representative in Sacramento, Assemblyman Jeff Miller, sent an excellent analysis to the OC Register. From his Feb. 11 letter about the massive budget deficit: “We spend too much, tax too highly and regulate too often. Like any binge, it was fun for some while it lasted, and now the bill is coming due. Buying a round of drinks for friends is one thing, but buying a round for everyone you've ever met every day for a decade will surely put you into bankruptcy. This is where we are today.” To read the rest of his letter, click here

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When residents said they’d like traffic improvements on thoroughfares, someone in city hall took a wrong turn. Instead of improving traffic flow on Crown Valley Parkway, the city staff stalled traffic for more than three years and then placed junk on the medians. The latest exhibit of pictures on the stone outhouses (pillars) includes children’s paintings. The idea likely capitalizes on a notion that those who would criticize children are mean-spirited. On the other hand, anyone who would foist a bad idea on taxpayers and then hide behind children is severely misguided.

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In supporting Mission Viejo’s Right-To-Vote Initiative on the June Primary ballot, five residents submitted a ballot argument favoring the initiative. Showing his loyalty to developers and other outsiders, Councilman Frank Ury volunteered to write the argument against the measure. In his personal attack against the initiative’s supporters, Ury claims they “conned” residents into signing the petition with false information. According to Ury, initiative supporters said the Casta del Sol Golf Course was in danger of being developed for housing. Apparently, residents are delusional if they think they remember Sunrise Development’s proposal to build an assisted living complex with 350 HOUSING UNITS on the golf course.

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If the Casta del Sol Golf Course wasn’t the subject of a developer’s housing proposal, why did the council approve a moratorium on housing development and then extend it when no other housing proposal was being discussed?