The Buzz

OC Board of Supervisors candidate Robert Ming opened his campaign headquarters last week. His Grand Opening will be on Sat., Mar. 8, 10:30 a.m., 30012 Ivy Glenn Drive, Suite 150 (off Crown Valley Pkwy), Laguna Niguel. For additional information: http://www.robertming.com/campaign-headquarters-grand-opening/ In the most recent reporting period, Ming raised more money than the combined total of his opponents: http://www.robertming.com/robert-ming-outraises-all-other-fifth-district-candidates-combined/ Councilman Frank Ury is running for the same Fifth District seat, which includes Mission Viejo

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Post from city watchdog Larry Gilbert: “It has begun. Spring decorations. Keep your eyes open in the Fifth District for Robert Ming yard signs for Board of Supervisors. He is the best candidate to follow Pat Bates this spring and has invested his own money in the campaign, something one of his challengers has not. So nice to play with Other People’s Money. Proof. Look at the Dec 31 460 candidate filing reports.”

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Save the date – the Mission Viejo Chapter of ACT! for America will meet on Mon., Mar. 10, at the Norm Murray Community Center in Mission Viejo. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. The meeting starts promptly at 7:30 p.m. and ends at 9:30 p.m. sharp. Program topic: “How Islam's Glorification in Our Textbooks Threatens Our Liberty: an Activist's Mission to Preserve Truth, Equality and Fairness in Our Classrooms.” The guest speaker will be David Whitley, author and conservative political activist.

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Do voters remember Councilwoman Rhonda Reardon’s 2010 campaign speeches? She said, “I’m running to second Cathy’s motions.” For a glimpse into the roles council members are playing lately, view Reardon’s meltdown during the Feb. 17 meeting, http://missionviejo.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=12&clip_id=1296 , starting at 4:15 in the video. Councilwoman Cathy Schlicht asked for an assessment of the city’s gross overspending on a wheelchair tennis tournament that was supposed to be a privately funded operation with corporate sponsors. Instead of “seconding Cathy’s motions,” Reardon goes into a rage that such questions about fiscal accountability “insult” the tennis players.

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As moral lessons for viewers, Reardon makes constant references to her “grandchildren,” including a 14-minute segment during the Feb. 17 council meeting in which she describes visiting a park. Reardon has no children – no grandchildren.

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Wilberg reiterated a false claim during the Feb. 17 council meeting, stating last November’s wheelchair tennis tournament was “strongly supported by the community.” No, it wasn’t. The staff had advertised “free” tickets for various community members and apparently didn’t get any takers. Tennis has not enjoyed much popularity since the 1970s, and wheelchair tennis is a whole other sport. Despite a great deal of promotion, advertising and pressing city staff members into “volunteer service” of attending the tournament, the stands were practically empty.

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In public comments during the Feb. 17 council meeting, Mission Viejo resident Stephen Wontrobski addressed the council majority’s choice to change the city’s law firm to Lozano-Smith. Information about the firm’s problems has come out, and Wontrobski asked the council to reconsider its choice. View the video, http://missionviejo.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=12&clip_id=1296, at 3:32.

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A proposition to split California into six separate states has the green light to gather signatures. From conservative watchdog Kelly Hubbard: “According to this proposal, each county would be part of a particular state, unless that county votes otherwise. According to preliminary proposals, Orange County would be in a separate state from L.A. County. Everything south of the north Orange County border would be in South California. What many don't know is that this idea has been talked about and proposed for quite some time. It's only been in the last year that actual efforts were made to bring this issue before the voters.  Even if this proposition gathers enough signatures to be placed on the November ballot, voters would first have to approve it and then it would go to Congress for final approval! If this does eventually make its way to the voters, it will be an interesting barometer to see if Californians have finally had enough of being under-represented.” Read on: http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/02/19/plan-to-split-california-into-six-states-gets-ok-to-gather-signatures/ and http://www.sos.ca.gov/admin/press-releases/2014/db14-025.htm

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Last week, this blog published a paragraph about the city’s thousands of sickly sycamore trees. Mission Viejo residents can see for themselves, as sycamores line the city’s thoroughfares. These riparian trees would thrive if planted along streams or in regions with adequate rainfall. However, sycamores require a lot of water, and they aren’t drought-tolerant. The city’s sycamores are also distressed from too much salt in the soil due to lack of rain. Salt is not washed out by irrigation, particularly with reclaimed water instead of “clean” water (rain). During the Feb. 17 council meeting, assistant city manager Keith Rattay was asked if sycamores are riparian trees. He should have said “yes,” but he instead defended his choice of sycamores in this drought-prone area. Abundant information on sycamores can be found online, e.g., http://homeguides.sfgate.com/sycamore-trees-40884.html and http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/portals/9/pdf/pub395.pdf

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According to city staff members, the choice of the “dead tree” as Mission Viejo’s logo was made by Rattay and a consultant from Costa Mesa. No input was sought on the decision, and Rattay quashed discussion even among city staff members who didn’t like his choice. Residents have objected to the symbol as unimaginative clip-art having nothing to do with the city. Even as a clip-art tree, the logo is leafless and lifeless. Perhaps Rattay’s choice was prescient – this is how his riparian trees look along the road in a state with a severe drought and looming water war.