Mission Viejo Buzz - 01/07/12

The Buzz

From blog reader G.H. about the nation’s financial health: “The day the Democrats took over was not Jan. 22, 2009, it was Jan. 3, 2007, when the Democrats took over the House of Representatives and the Senate, at the very start of the 110th Congress. At that time, the Dow Jones closed at 12,621.77. The GDP for the previous quarter was 3.5 percent. The unemployment rate was 4.6 percent. … Jan. 3, 2007, was the day Barney Frank took over the House Financial Services Committee and Chris Dodd took over the Senate Banking Committee. The economic meltdown 15 months later was in what part of the economy? Banking and Financial Services.”

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With the end of redevelopment agencies, Mission Viejo residents are asking about the status of apartment projects the council already approved. UDR on east Los Alisos has been the focus lately, but redevelopment money was also set aside for the Watermarke apartments on Oso. Watermarke appears to be inactive. The developer purchased the parcel at the top of the market ($21 million in 2007) and inaccurately projected rents would go up. Water table issues added to anticipated building costs, and the return on investment didn’t warrant proceeding.

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Assemblyman Tim Donnelly sent an email last week to announce results of the petition to overturn the Dream Act. “Despite an incredible effort by so many of you and tens of thousands of volunteer circulators working alongside paid petition-gatherers, I regret to inform you that we fell short. 504,760 valid signatures were needed to qualify the referendum for the November 2012 ballot. Although we put in a herculean effort, the count as of late last night was 447,514 signatures, which precludes us from submitting the signatures today to the registrar of voters at each of the 58 counties. This is disappointing news, but it is no less of a warning to Governor Brown, and every Democrat legislator who voted to create a new entitlement program for illegals while the state still has a budget deficit over $9 billion, and cannot even meet its obligation to legal California students.”

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As of this writing, the most recent 2012 Republican presidential poll is Gallup Daily tracking, Jan. 2 – Jan. 6. In percentages: Romney (29), Gingrich (17), Santorum (16), Paul (12), Perry (6) and Huntsman (1).

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In Chinese astrology, the 2012 Year of the Dragon begins Jan. 23. “This will be a year of great opportunity and many achievements, but these gains will require investments of many forces and labor.” http://2012surviver.com/posts/2011/05/year_of_the_dragon_2012 . On the other hand, those predicting the end of the world note the Mayan calendar runs out Dec. 21, 2012, doomsday.

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The Planning and Transportation Commission will hold a public hearing during the Jan. 9 meeting, Agenda Item No. 3, Conditional Use Permit CUP 2011-309. The PRS Group wants to operate a temporary recreational vehicle storage facility on the Unisys site at 25725 Jeronimo Road. The building is vacant, and its owner has donated to campaigns (e.g., Councilman Frank Ury and anti-Measure D) with hope of rezoning the parcel to high-density housing. RV storage would be a beneficial use of the 26.85-acre parcel and preserve its job-generating potential.

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The status report attached to the Jan. 9 Planning Commission agenda shows a number of projects “deferred due to budget constraints.” What’s this – a city allegedly rolling in cash has projects on hold? Also on the status report, $520,000 is budgeted for “median rehabilitation” on Marguerite Parkway. This is a relatively low figure for City Hall – hardly enough to create a circus atmosphere like the medians on Crown Valley Parkway. It would barely cover a row of stone outhouses, grotesque graphics and ripping out foliage just for the heck of it.

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The Capo school district includes approximately half of Mission Viejo. CUSD constituents will get to vote on only one school board representative because voters approved Measure H in the 2010 General Election. Voters were duped (thanks to union cash for campaign trickery) into giving up their right to vote on all seven CUSD trustees. Maps G and F are under consideration, and neither is good for Mission Viejo (see Agenda Item #5) http://capousd.ca.schoolloop.com/cms/page_view?d=x&piid=&vpid=1325328563740

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From the Patriot Post: “According to the U.S. Labor Department, the private sector added 212,000 jobs in December, while the public sector shrank by 12,000. The headline unemployment rate is now 8.5 percent, the lowest since February 2009, though November's rate was revised up to 8.7 percent -- an indication for December as well. More important than the number is that many of the jobs added were temporary couriers and so forth related to the Christmas season, meaning January will absorb some losses. Furthermore, if the workforce was as large as it was in 2009, the headline unemployment rate would be nearly 11 percent. Some 7.5 million people have dropped out of the market since January 2007. As it is, real unemployment is north of 15 percent.” http://patriotpost.us/edition/2012/01/06/digest/

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Here’s another crucial reason to repeal Obama(s)care, heard in a call to Mark Levin on Nov. 11, 2011, MarkLevinCall11-22-11.wma. Patients who suffer a brain tumor or stroke will get “comfort care” instead of advanced neurosurgical treatment if they’re over age 70. Human beings in the Obamacare plan are referred to as “units,” as in the Third Reich. The phone call came from a surgeon who attended a closed conference. The surgeon indicated the public wouldn’t learn about the plan until after the November election. Anyone over 70 (or hoping to live that long) should vote accordingly.