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The Buzz Meetings this week – see the political events calendar on this blog for details: Mon., Jan. 13, 7:30 p.m., ACT! for America hosts guest speaker John Steinreich at the Norman P. Murray Community Center, 24932 Veterans Way, Mission Viejo. Tues., Jan. 14, 7:00 p.m., SOC912 leaders Cathy and Kevin Richardson will present “Celebrate America – One Nation Under God!” at the Norm Murray Center in Mission Viejo. Wed., Jan. 15, 9:00 a.m., Capo Valley Republican Women Federated host guest speaker Barbara Stone at the Marbella Country Club, 30800 Golf Club Drive, San Juan Capistrano. Thurs., Jan. 16, 7:00 p.m., Saddleback Republican Assembly will have a roundtable discussion of issues and goals, Norm Murray Center in Mission Viejo. *** Who saved Mission Viejo taxpayers $42 million by ending a Mello-Roos tax? Thank you, Sharon Campbell and Wayne Tate. For many years, they’ve supported Capo schools and worked tirelessly on behalf of students, parents and taxpayers. Sharon’s expertise in school finance is widely acknowledged, and Wayne is an attorney. On the school board, Trustee Ellen Addonizio led the effort, and Trustee Jim Reardon was very supportive and helpful in ending the Mello-Roos tax *** Who is taking credit for ending the Mello-Roos tax? Within hours of the 7-0 vote at the Jan. 8 CUSD meeting, Trustee Anna Bryson issued a press release, telling Mission Viejo residents she saved them $42 million. Is that a joke? Until Bryson decided to run for higher office last year, she voted every year for a TAX INCREASE, adding two percent annually. Here’s her voting record, which has been published on this blog, http://www.missionviejoca.org/html/article290.html, and in Community Common Sense, http://www.ccsense.com/2013/12/mission-viejo_1627.html *** This blog has documented that the cost of a city dog park exceeded $1.4 million a long time ago. In addition to city staff members’ amnesia on how much has been spent, their figure of $1.4 million doesn’t include cost of the property. Real estate brokers who have commented on the city’s land swap with the county for the dog park site estimate the value per acre is approximately equal. The city gave away 7.18 acres but received only 4 acres in return. One of the brokers commented, “The county got a sweet deal.” Last week, Community Common Sense published the cost per acre of land the city gave up. An appraisal found by a Mission Viejo watchdog indicated the value of city property given to the county was $12.2 million (7.18 acres x $1.7 million per acre). In return, the city received 4 acres of unknown value, using 2.71 acres for the dog park. The loss to Mission Viejo taxpayers on the real estate swap (given the per-acre values are equal) would be $5,406,000. *** Last week, the Capo Valley News reported an email exchanging involving San Juan Capistrano Councilman Sam Allevato. The communication between Allevato and his political consultant Dave Ellis shows Ellis encouraging Allevato to have the city pay for an “advocacy piece masked as a city newsletter.” The email is the subject of the Jan. 9 front-page article: http://epaper.ocregister.com/Olive/ODE/OCWCapoValleyNews/LandingPage/LandingPage.aspx?href=T0NXQ2Fwb1ZhbGxleU5ld3MvMjAxNC8wMS8wOQ..&pageno=MQ..&entity=QXIwMDEwMg..&view=ZW50aXR5 *** Who will eat crow at City Hall in Mission Viejo? During the Jan. 6 council meeting, Councilman Dave Leckness interrupted the city’s business meeting to show a video of crows flying over the city. It appeared to be a pointless self-promotion of Leckness as mayor pro-tem. Unlike SJC’s Allevato, who is facing a recall, Leckness is merely running for reelection this year. Who approved the cost of a city contractor going out to the site and producing the video? If Leckness did this, he should pay for it. The city check register will reveal if it was charged to taxpayers. *** The decline in letters to the editor of the Orange County Register has become obvious, and OCR’s online version lacks reader comments. The evolution of OCR from a newspaper into a daily magazine has resulted in an abundance of columns and advertorials. Mission Viejo residents are fortunate to have an alternative newspaper, Community Common Sense, which focuses on city news reported by watchdogs. *** More than 10 years ago, OC Weekly investigative reporter Scott Moxley was writing about the crimes of then-OC Sheriff Mike Carona. Last week, Moxley wrote about Larry Agran, who directed more than $200 million in Great Park funds to his political cronies instead of building a park. When Agran lost power in the 2012 Irvine city election, the new majority called for an audit, which was released last week. Moxley describes the audit as Agran’s political obituary: http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2014/01/larry_agran_great_park.php *** For information about Common Core Curriculum’s impact on children, families and education, check out the website of an Orange County group opposing Common Core: http://orangecountycccc.com/ Current message on the website, “IMPORTANT SCHOOL BOARD MEETING, Wed., Jan 15, 8:00 AM. Board Room, Orange County Department of Education, 200 Kalmus Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92628. Let’s continue to encourage the Board against Common Core.” *** California Assemblyman Tim Donnelly slams Jerry Brown’s budget, saying “the incumbent was taking a rosy, short-sighted view of the state’s fiscal health that fails to address systemic challenges facing California.” http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-pc-gop-gov-candidate-donnelly-brown-budget-proposal-shortsighted-20140109,0,183753.story?fb_action_ids=245779648931751&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_ref=s%3DshowShareBarUI%3Ap%3Dfacebook-like#axzz2q72kW5Wy According to Donnelly, Jerry Brown needs a new pair of glasses. “The facts remain:
“The real bottom line: the fiscal outlook for millions of Californians isn’t as rosy as Jerry Brown would have you believe.” |
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