The Buzz

On Feb. 13, the Mission Viejo Planning Commission will discuss the environmental review for construction of a proposed bridge. The location would connect Camino Capistrano to the intersection of Cabot Road and Merit Circle. The location carries one of the lowest traffic counts in the city. With little traffic and no homebuilding going on in that part of Mission Viejo, who would benefit from the bridge? The planning commission has two savvy members – Swan and Ernisse – who ask the right questions, and they should start by finding out who initiated the proposal and what is driving it. If the primary beneficiary is the city of Laguna Niguel, say so.

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UDR now wants to punt the affordable housing units from its high-density apartment project on east Los Alisos. The city council majority has already bent over backwards to enrich the developer and appease AH advocacy groups. If not UDR, who lined up all the speakers (that didn’t live in Mission Viejo) at the public microphone over the years to demand rezoning the parcel for the sole reason of building affordable housing? When Mission Viejo residents told the advocacy groups that this city is already built out and filled with more than enough people and traffic, they were called elitists and racists. So what is UDR for abandoning the downtrodden who can’t afford a market-rate apartment?

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ACT for America will hold its monthly general meeting on Mon., Feb. 13, at the Norm Murray Community Center in Mission Viejo. Doors open at 6:45 p.m., and the meeting starts promptly at 7:30 p.m. The topic of the meeting will be “Forget the War Against Islam – Let’s Win the Skirmishes First.” Guest speaker will be Karen Lugo, constitutional law professor and activist, presenting practical advice and tips on scoring victories against the Islamist agenda at the local level.

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Following up on last week’s Buzz item about Ken Lopez-Maddox, Jonathan Volzke of the Capistrano Dispatch said the former Capo district trustee might be planning to run for a seat on the Aliso Viejo City Council. To answer a Buzz reader’s question, Ken is a resident of Aliso Viejo. Public documents state he’s a homeowner there.

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Some residents of Corona del Mar are rolling out the unwelcome mat for Barack Obama this week. On Thurs., Feb. 16, Obama is having a breakfast fundraiser in the Shore Cliffs development of Newport Beach, with attendees paying up to $35,800. A protest rally will begin at 6:45 a.m. on Thursday. Tea Partiers and other conservatives are meeting on Pacific Coast Highway and Orchid and walking to Shore Cliffs. An organizer of the rally who lives in Shore Cliffs asked attendees to gather in the same vicinity, Poppy Avenue and PCH. Tea Partiers are invited to wear red, white and blue and bring protest signs and American flags. Details about the rally can be found at http://www.coronadelmartoday.com/26040/home/anti-obama-protesters-planning-most-significant-political-rally-in-the-history-of-newport-beach/

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As of this writing, the most recent Republican presidential poll is Public Policy Polling, Feb. 9-10. PPP’s results (in percentages) are Santorum (38), Romney (23), Gingrich (17) and Paul (13). http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/us/republican_presidential_nomination-1452.html

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From Mission Viejo activist Bruce, “This is sheer genius. In a bid to stem taxpayer losses for bad loans guaranteed by federal housing agencies Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac, Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) proposed that borrowers be required to make a 5 percent down payment in order to qualify. His proposal was rejected 57-42 on a party-line vote because, as Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn) explained, ‘Passage of such a requirement would restrict home ownership to only those who can afford it.’ Does this explain liberals to you? I can't add anything to this! Who elected these idiots?”