The Buzz

Reader response to lane restriping at Olympiad Road and Alicia Parkway, near the Stoneridge gates: “I noticed the restriping of northbound lanes at the intersection, and I don’t agree with City Manager Dennis Wilberg’s statements [in his December newsletter]. Does he have data to support there is a ‘very high volume of right turns’ from Olympiad onto eastbound Alicia? I have never seen a high volume of northbound traffic waiting to turn east. All cars get through in one green light. If he’s saying there’s a surge of traffic going to Rancho Santa Margarita, the only surge is already on Alicia, not turning from Olympiad. There’s more traffic on Olympiad from the opposite direction, southbound turning onto Alicia. From the photo in Wilberg’s newsletter, it looks like the bike lane was eliminated, and that’s a bad idea. There was no need for a right turn lane going east, and if a bike lane was taken out, it was at the expense of safety.”

***

Readers should be aware of what precipitated the right turn lane, which never went before the council or Planning Commission. Councilman Frank Ury lives in Stoneridge, and his wife works in Rancho Santa Margarita. No further explanation is needed, and his demanding a turn lane for his wife’s convenience should come as no surprise. Outrageous, but not surprising.

***

In every city election, candidates complain their campaign signs are stolen. City contractor Jamie Clark is paid to remove the signs. Residents have photographed campaign signs in the back of his pickup – no doubt about his involvement. When a candidate followed Clark after seeing him take down a sign, Clark drove to a parking lot next to city hall, where signs were stacking up behind a locked gate. Signs are taken from medians and city property, which Clark might be contracted to do, but signs are also taken from businesses and other private property. In a council race years ago, an incumbent’s confiscated signs were delivered to his house while challengers’ signs disappeared.

***

A city watchdog recently posted a Facebook comment, and he mentioned Jamie Clark’s no-bid contracts with the city. Several years ago, other watchdogs perused Clark’s invoices. As an example, Clark has a crew that inspects city parks. Clark’s employees were reporting children’s chalk drawings on concrete or any chalk mark on playground equipment as “graffiti.” A second crew would then go to the location for professional removal of the “graffiti.” Calling hopscotch squares graffiti is laughable, but it was a staple on Clark’s bills, occurring every month. Another memorable charge was the incredible number of times twigs were removed from spigots of drinking fountains in parks – fairly costly to remove. The implication was vandalism – the same prank month after month in parks all over town, but who was watching the store? The same contractor who reported the vandalism was paid to fix it.

***

Candidate update: In the 73rd Assembly District, Diane Harkey is terming out in 2014, and Jesse Petrilla has announced his candidacy. Other potential candidates include Anna Bryson, Frank Ury and Bill Brough, who was elected to the Dana Point City Council in 2010. Probably running in 2014 are Mimi Walters for Pat Bates’ Fifth District Board of Supervisors seat and Pat Bates for Mimi Walters’ State Senate seat, when both women term out of their current office. Harkey says she is running for the California Board of Equalization in 2014.

***

Check out a complaint about the city’s controversial tennis resort remodel, posted on the Mission Viejo Dispatch, http://missionviejodispatch.com/budget/letter-tennis-reply/ . Incredibly, one of the tennis resort members who complained three years ago that the remodel was essential (he claimed watchdogs were being negative for objecting to the cost, now more than $5 million) is still complaining. He doesn’t like the new lighting. By the way, another great big problem claimed by proponents of the remodel was the lack of parking space. After more than $5 million to satisfy approximately 200 Mission Viejo residents who are tennis resort members, the city actually reduced the number of parking spaces – a net loss of seven spaces.