Mission Viejo Buzz - 05/15/10

The Buzz

On May 15, Mission Viejo resident Mark Dobrilovic organized a group of 25 volunteers to walk precincts for candidates in the Primary Election. Stopping by was OC Weekly reporter Scott Moxley when the group met at Dobrilovic’s house prior to their walk. Moxley was especially interested in the race for OC Sheriff. Volunteers told him that South Orange County belongs to Bill Hunt. Those who have been campaigning for Hunt in Mission Viejo say they’re finding no support for incumbent Sandra Hutchens, and Craig Hunter has no name recognition despite posting campaign signs on thoroughfares.

              ***

Scott Moxley’s articles can be found at http://www.ocweekly.com . His investigative work is legendary, and information he dug up led to former sheriff Mike Carona’s resignation. Moxley described an offer he received after writing a few hard-hitting articles about Carona, who was still in office. Carona’s buddies offered him a ride in an OCSD helicopter. Moxley didn’t take that ride, and his articles became the undoing of a charismatic but corrupt sheriff. Moxley said on Saturday that he’s investigating another well-known Orange County political figure. His column can be found at http://www.ocweekly.com/columns/moxley-confidential-194799/

              ***

Ex-councilman Lance MacLean is still losing it in public. In an online story about a political watchdog group, Committee for Integrity in Government (CIG), MacLean blew a gasket at the mention of the group. CIG disbanded more than five years ago, but MacLean lashed out at community watchdogs who were CIG members. When Adam Elmahrek of Voice of OC asked MacLean a question, he called CIG members “terrorists.” On another blog, MacLean adopted a pen name, “Fonzie.” Readers quickly recognized it was MacLean who was posting angry remarks and personal attacks despite his attempts to cover his identity. MacLean has a long history of violence, including domestic abuse, attempted strangling of a UCI employee resulting in assault and battery charges and abusive outbursts on the Mission Viejo City Council.

              ***

City Manager Dennis Wilberg’s insider newsletter (The Week That Was, May 14), describes street repairs in a neighborhood near Avery Parkway. He says the project was funded with Community Development Block Grant money. Resurfaced streets include Plata Place, Jacinto Drive, Poco Place, Oliva Place, De La Luna Drive, La Quilla Lane, Consuelo Place, Oso Rojo Lane and Boleada Drive. All of these are on the on the list compiled by residents of more than 200 streets in need of immediate repair. In some cases, the entire length of a street is in poor condition, and in other cases the damage is limited to a pothole or area of pavement failure. A city hall official estimated the cost of $85 million to bring all Mission Viejo streets up to standards. The list of 200 includes relative few streets that are scheduled for repair this fiscal year. All the years of neglect and deferred maintenance have caught up with the city mismanager. As an aside, the city is also carrying a debt of approximately $60 million, which never gets a mention in the happy talk newsletters.

              ***

Residents are reporting an extraordinarily high percentage of Mission Viejo homes for sale. While May is traditionally a big month for listing homes, that alone doesn’t account for all the properties for sale. The May 14 edition of Saddleback Valley news contained 11 pages of foreclosure notices.

              ***

A parent with children in the Saddleback Valley Unified School District reported that SVUSD trustees last week took a position against Measure D, Mission Viejo’s Right To Vote Initiative. The parent said Superintendent Fish was the one pushing the board to come out against the ballot measure. Fish evidently said the measure could impact the district’s ability to get school property rezoned without approval of voters. Residents living near O’Neill and La Tierra schools should go on high alert. Why would a district be concerned about the ballot measure unless it wants to sell a closed school to a housing developer? Parents, neighbors and other constituents should now be able to put the puzzle together regarding SVUSD’s refusal to listen to anyone about keeping O’Neill open as a neighborhood school or converting it to a charter school.

              ***

Summary of the status quo: the city council majority can rezone property with three votes. The SVUSD school board can close neighborhood schools with three votes. Six people – three council members and three school board trustees – can transform a school campus into high-density housing. With Measure D on the ballot, these politicians are now saying “trust us.” Why on earth would anyone trust either the council majority or SVUSD majority? Those with strong reasons for voting YES on Measure D include residents living near a school, park, golf course, open space, commercial property or a shopping center. Obvious targets for apartments include closed schools, Casta del Sol Golf Course, the Unisys site on Jeronimo, vacant land near the former Kmart building on east Los Alisos and the retail stores at La Paz and Marguerite.