The Buzz

Polling numbers show Romney got a significant boost from the Oct. 3 presidential debate. The latest presidential poll is Rasmussen Tracking: Romney 49 percent and Obama 47 percent. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/us/general_election_romney_vs_obama-1171.html

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Obama’s poor performance on Oct. 3 was followed by dubious reporting of job numbers. Steve Elliot of Grassfire wrote, “Well ... they did it. It took 44 months, but they finally did it. The Obama administration and the Labor Department managed to fudge data and statistics enough to get the unemployment rate below the ‘magic’ number of 8 percent.” An AP article earlier in the week said weak job numbers were expected. But in the follow-up story the AP reported that -- according to the Labor Department -- "the number of people who said they were employed soared by 873,000 in September." As usual, watch these numbers change dramatically when “adjustments” are made next month.

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Don’t miss this informative program: the Mission Viejo Chapter of ACT for America will hold a General Meeting on Mon., Oct. 8. Doors open at 6:45 p.m. The meeting starts promptly at 7:30 p.m. and ends at 9:30 p.m. Bring a friend. This is a great opportunity to share your concerns with others. The Oct. 8 guest speaker Jackie Rogers will present her experiences with sharia when living in Islamic countries. The group meets on second Mondays of the month at the Norman P. Murray Community Center, 24932 Veteran’s Way, Sycamore B Room, Mission Viejo.

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Reaction from a parent about Mission Viejo’s focus on decorating the medians with brown pots and unsightly graphics: “Are city officials aware of how many families are hurting in Mission Viejo? It makes me ill to see all the money wasted on decorating the medians. Families that are hungry and desperate live in Mission Viejo. I have always believed the purpose of government is to take care of our citizens. The attitude of ‘let them eat cake’ shows our city officials are oblivious to anything outside city hall. Can anyone get through to them?”

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Entered into the public record during the Oct. 1 council meeting were documents revealing the South Orange County Chamber of Commerce (Wendy Bucknum’s group) initiated a drive to get people to send in form letters supporting electronic billboards. No one signing the letters was from Mission Viejo. The proposed billboard areas are along Crown Valley Parkway, along the I-5 from Avery to La Paz and a specific proposal for billboards on the Kaleidoscope building. A summary on City Hall letterhead dated Oct. 1 says “nothing has been formally submitted for consideration by the city.” Documents show city discussions took place on 1-3-12, including a formal presentation by Colby Durnin of Kaleidoscope. A motion made by Councilwoman Trish Kelley and seconded by Dave Leckness directed the city staff to present options for creating a sign district for Kaleidoscope and possibly a larger area. Motion passed 4-1 with ayes from Kelley, Leckness, Reardon and Ury. Schlicht voted no.

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From the 6-4-12 council meeting, Agenda Item No. 11: Colby Durnin proposed initiating an ordinance to create a new sign district allowing electronic signs and offsite advertising. Those speaking in favor were Bucknum’s cheerleaders: Jim Leach, Curt Stanley, Dennis O’Connor, Matthew Dragas and David Ohrn. Only O’Connor resides in Mission Viejo. Any claim there has been no formal proposal is false. Implications that electronic billboards and sign zones have been permanently rejected by the council majority are false. Any claim the city is not continuing to discuss billboards out of public view is false.