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Council Meeting Alert The Mission Viejo City Council will meet on Mon., Aug. 20. The open session starts at 6:00 p.m. The following information was forwarded to this blog as an alert to community members. Several items of importance are on the agenda that have long-term negative impacts on the community. The first is Item #10 on the Consent Calendar. This is the second reading of an ordinance that greatly increases the size of commercial real estate signage. This ordinance will bring visual clutter to neighborhood shopping centers, and commercial real estate signs will draw attention away from the store merchants’ signs. Item #20 is an appeal of the Planning and Transportation Commission's approval of a 7-Eleven Store at the site of a Union 76 gas station on the corner of Marguerite and Trabuco. Under Old Business is Item #21 - the second reading approving fire maps. The title is very misleading. The council majority (with a 4-1 vote: Ury, Kelley, Leckness and Reardon approved; Schlicht dissented) repackaged the fire maps and renamed them Special Fire Protection Areas. This is a combination of the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps, along with the two optional Ember Zone Maps that the council rejected on numerous occasions. With new wording, the council created a zone called Special Fire Protection Areas, which encompasses the same footprint of ALL the rejected maps. This is government at its worst – putting 15,000 homes - half the housing stock in Mission Viejo - into this zone without residents’ knowledge or consent. Not only will this new fire zone designation have a negative impact on property values, it will place new legal liabilities on the homeowners. Neither the council nor the fire authority has the power or ability to state that insurance rates will not be affected; additionally, the Civil Code requires real estate disclosures on any material facts that impact the value or desirability of the property. For background information, refer to research entered into the public record by Councilwoman Cathy Schlicht, http://www.missionviejoca.org/html/article123.html An article that lists streets within the fire zone districts can be found at http://www.missionviejoca.org/html/article125.html Please attend the council meeting on Aug. 20 and share your opinions and input with the council. Those who cannot attend the meeting but want their comments to become part of the public record may email City Clerk Karen Hamman, asking for inclusion in the public record: KHamman@cityofmissionviejo.org. Please state the agenda item in your correspondence. |
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ACT for America The Mission Viejo Chapter of ACT for America will hold a town hall on the topic of Sharia, Islamic Law, and the U.S. Constitution. Community members are invited to interact with a panel of experts. The event is on Mon., Sept. 10, at the Norman P. Community Center, 24932 Veteran’s Way, Sycamore B Room, Mission Viejo. Registration starts at 6:30 p.m., and the program begins at 7:30 p.m. Cost to attend is $10. Jamie Glazov, editor, Frontpagemag.com, will moderate the discussion between the audience and panelists. Is Sharia, Islamic law, a benign religious code or a grave threat to the American way of life? Discover what the experts say about this vital subject and participate in a lively question and answer session. The panel will discuss the relevance of Sharia's religious-political-legal codes for non-Muslims and their implications for America. Following are the panelists. Nonie Darwish - a modern-day freedom fighter who was born in Egypt and lived under Sharia. She is the author of Cruel and Usual Punishment: The Terrifying Global Implications of Islamic Law, and the founder of "Arabs for Israel" and "Former Muslims United." Brad Dacus - an attorney and the founder and president of the Pacific Justice Institute, a public interest law firm that defends religious liberties and parental rights. He has twice debated the president of the ACLU. Dwight Schultz - a Hollywood actor, student of Sharia and expert on Hollywood's "Evil Denial Disorder." David Wood - a Christian philosopher and activist who has participated in more than 30 debates with Sharia advocates. He was arrested at an Arab festival in Dearborn while talking with Muslims about Christianity. He is currently suing the city for enforcing Sharia. Eric Allen Bell - a liberal filmmaker who, while making a documentary to expose "Islamophobia," learned the goals of political Islam. Now a Counter Jihadist, he runs the blog www.globalinfidel.tv and www.MosqueConfidential.com The program is a Jamie Glazov Production, co-sponsored by the David Horowitz Freedom Center, Counter Jihadist Coalition of Southern California (CJCSC), Coalition of Americans for Individual Rights (CAFIR), and the Mission Viejo Chapter of ACT! for America. Please RSVP and address any questions to ACT.local.MV@cox.net |
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Non-government Events Following is a sampling of events and activities that are not funded by taxpayers or promoted by the Nanny State. Please support private enterprise and non-profit groups. Mount of Olives Summer Camp, ages 4 through 14, Aug. 20-24, music, photography, video production and visual arts, Mount of Olives Church, 24772 Chrisanta Dr., Mission Viejo, (949) 837-7467, http://www.moochurch.org Moore’s Sewing Center sewing class, Get To Know Your Machine, Wed., Aug. 22, 10:00 a.m., 25390 Marguerite Pkwy, Mission Viejo, (949) 580-2520, http://www.moores-sew.com/class-calendar-mission-viejo.html Shakespeare in the Park, “Merry Wives of Windsor,” Thurs., Aug. 23, and Sat.-Sun., Aug. 25-26, 6:00 p.m., the Dana Point Theater Company, Lantern Bay Park, Dana Point, (949) 291-5083, dptheaterco@hotmail.com Rancho Mission Viejo Rodeo, Sat.-Sun., Aug. 25-26, rodeo, music, food, activities for children, Oaks Blenheim Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park, San Juan Capistrano, (949) 842-3782, http://www.mvrodeo.com Tchaikovsky Spectacular, Sat., Aug. 25, 8:00 p.m., Pacific Symphony, music enhanced with fireworks and cannons, plus violin prodigy Chad Hoopes, Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, 8808 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine, (714) 755-5799, http://www.pacificsymphony.org Sawdust Art Festival, through Aug. 31, on the festival grounds, 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., 935 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, (949) 494-3030, http://www.sawdustartfestival.org Pageant of the Masters, through Aug. 31, 8:30 p.m. performances, 650 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, (800) 487-3378, http://www.pageanttickets.com Concert at Lake Mission Viejo featuring Hanson on Sat., Sept. 1, 7:00 p.m. Attendance is limited to lake association members and their guests. Call or visit the website for information, 949-770-1313, ext. 311, or http://www.lakemissionviejo.org Ramblin' Rogues' Beginning Square Dance Class, registration dates are Sept. 6, 13 and 20, Norman Murray Community Center, 14932 Veterans Way, Mission Viejo, 7:30 - 9:30 p.m., $6 per class. Couples and singles are welcome; no dance experience necessary. Save the date – Taste of St. Kilian, Sat., Sept. 8, 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Norm Murray Community Center in Mission Viejo, dining event and live entertainment for those 18 and older while children’s activities take place at the parish’s Hughes Hall. Information can be found at http://www.stkilianchurch.org |
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Political and Government Events Calendar Capistrano Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting on Mon., Aug. 20, 7:00 p.m., district office, 33122 Valle Road, San Juan Capistrano, agenda and supporting documentation are published on the website 72 hours prior to a meeting, (949) 234-9200, http://capousd.ca.schoolloop.com/ El Toro Water District meetings: Engineering, Finance, Insurance Committee on Tues., Aug. 21, 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.; Board of Directors on Thurs., Aug. 23, 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. ETWD, 24251 Los Alisos Blvd., Lake Forest, (949) 837-0660, http://www.etwd.com/ Orange County Board of Supervisors will meet on Tues., Aug. 21, 9:30 a.m., Board Hearing Room, First Floor, 333 W. Santa Ana Blvd., Santa Ana, (714) 834-3100. http://egov.ocgov.com/ocgov/Government/Board%20of%20Supervisors/Meeting%20Schedule “Meet Bruce Herschensohn,” lecture and book signing, Wed., Aug. 22, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., author of “Obama’s Globe: A President’s Abandonment of U.S. Allies Around the World.” Richard Nixon Presidential Library, 18001 Yorba Linda Blvd., Yorba Linda, (714) 364-1120, http://nixonfoundation.org/ Santa Margarita Water District Board of Directors on Wed., Aug. 22, 7:00 p.m., 26111 Antonio Parkway, Rancho Santa Margarita, (949) 459-6420, http://www.smwd.com Aliso Viejo Republican Women Federated, Thurs., Aug. 23, 6:30 p.m., Wine Tasting Fundraiser, with guest speakers Dr. Barbara Stone and District Director Lou Penrose from the office of Congressman John Campbell, hosted by Pat and Greg Bush, 22971 Femes, Mission Viejo, RSVP to (949) 859-5607. Concert at the Richard Nixon Library, Sun., Aug. 26, classical guitarist Lee Zimmer. Doors open at 1:15 p.m., and concerts begin at 2:00 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Concerts are free and open to the public. Schedule is subject to change. Richard Nixon Library, 18001 Yorba Linda Blvd., Yorba Linda, (714) 364-1161, http://events.nixonfoundation.org/concerts/ South Orange County Community College District Board of Trustees, Mon., Aug. 27. Meeting times unless otherwise posted: open session convenes at 5 p.m., followed by adjournment to closed session, open session reconvenes at 6:00 p.m. or 6:30 p.m., adjournment by 9:00 p.m. Ronald Reagan Board of Trustees Room, Room 145, Health Sciences/District Offices Building, Saddleback College, 28000 Marguerite Parkway, Mission Viejo, (949) 582-4999, https://www.socccd.edu Saddleback Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees will meet on Tues., Sept. 11, 6:30 p.m., “if necessary.” District office, 25631 Peter Hartman Way, Mission Viejo, (949) 586-1234, http://www.svusd.k12.ca.us/ Moulton Niguel Water District meetings: Community Relations, Wed., Sept. 12, 9:00 a.m., Engineering and Operations on Mon., Sept. 17, 9:00 a.m., Finance and I.T. on Wed., Sept. 19, 9:00 a.m., Board of Directors on Thurs., Sept. 20, 5:30 p.m., 27500 La Paz Road, Laguna Niguel, (949) 831-2500, http://www.mnwd.com/board-of-directors/agenda.aspx Saddleback Republican Assembly does not meet in August. The next SRA meeting will be on Thurs., Sept. 20, 7:00 p.m. Guest speaker will be John Moorlach, Orange County Supervisor, Second District. SRA meets on third Thursdays at the Norman P. Murray Community Center, 24932 Veterans Way, Jacaranda Room-B, Mission Viejo. For information call (949) 360-1717. |
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The Buzz City Hall is into its third straight year of deficit spending, with declining revenue and no attempt to cut costs. When the state informed City Manager Dennis Wilberg it was collecting $1.2 million in “redevelopment money” owed by Mission Viejo, did he hit the panic button? (link to his letter at the end of the article, http://www.missionviejoca.org/html/article124.html ). Wilberg wrote OC Supv. Pat Bates that the loss of $1.2 million would result in cutting city services. How does he reconcile this statement with claims to residents the city is rolling in cash? Whenever a resident wants a tennis resort upgrade, library room remodel, etc., a council majority member pipes up, “We have the money – let’s spend it!” City Hall spent its discretionary funds a long time ago, along with money from contingency funds, which it now cannot replace. *** Mission Viejo residents are generally unaware of fire map issues that affect their property values, insurance costs and marketability of their homes. While the fire maps have a negative financial impact on homeowners, a larger issue is deception from City Hall and spin to newspapers. Saddleback Valley News (a product of OC Register), formerly published news and letters about local issues, but SVN has been silenced by City Hall. Activists captured emails from City Manager Dennis Wilberg following his meeting with SVN personnel in which he directed them to get quotes and input from his hand-selected group. City Hall, a major advertiser in SVN and OCR, uses taxpayer dollars to buy compliance. So-called news articles appear in a variety of outlets with the same verbiage, likely written by the spinners in City Hall. *** The OC Register deceived readers by saying the council on July 2 rejected the high-risk fire zones ( http://www.ocregister.com/articles/fire-362050-state-zone.html ). The council majority (Councilwoman Schlicht dissented) implemented (did not reject) the fire zones. The name changed, but not the concept, application, impact, policy, etc. The OC Register headlines should have indicated the council majority accepted the fire zones, and it deceived the public as well. *** Another city, Villa Park, used the same approach to the fire maps as the Mission Viejo council majority and got the same results. Repeatedly, the fire authority states there is no difference between a Special Fire Protection Area and a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. Villa Park changed the terminology in city hall, which had no effect on the maps. From http://www.ocfa.org/menu/departments/FirePrevention/PlanningDevelopmentFAQ.aspx *** So, City Hall is deceiving residents – what’s new? City activists convened last week to discuss how City Hall tramples residents’ rights, lies to them, quashes letters to the editor, substitutes City Hall’s spin for news and hides financial data. Longtime residents have been asking about the Committee for Integrity in Government. The watchdog group is back. By the way, the city’s shell game is over, as there is no money under any of the shells. *** A blog reader asked about the extensive and expensive street upgrades on Camino Capistrano. To see the street (adjacent to the train tracks in south Mission Viejo), drive west on Avery and turn right on Camino Capistrano. Taxpayers will discover how their money was spent – thousands of plants, decorative curbs, trees, flowers and concrete planters where parking spaces should be. *** Here’s a watchdog’s reaction to the curb project: “This two-mile long section of road has always had street parking for local business. Now there is less parking, though never used before, because of all the new cutesy little planted islands. For as far as the eye can see from below In and Out to the depot and beyond, you will find only a small portion of this parking used in the past or today. I realize that the new extension bridge from Cabot will drop down there onto Camino Capistrano, but no logic whatsoever suggests a new need for highly upgraded street parking along this railroad track. If the city has this kind of Measure M money, why wasn’t this money spent on YOUR street?” |
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