Sunday, October 7, 2007

CM PRESS # 218


CONSTANT IMPROVEMENT


Many Improvers (we're using the "I" version in this column as a convenience) think it's pretty funny that some kooks who want Costa Mesa to be a sanctuary city for illegal aliens are trying to portray Improvers as the establishment trying to keep a different class of people down.

In fact, it's just the reverse.

The establishment in Costa Mesa is not the Improvers.

The establishment is the anti-Improvers--composed mostly of wealthy out of town industrialists, some well off charity bosses, some highly paid newspaper executives, some liberal activists and some well paid people who work for Costa Mesa, but who mostly don't live here.

The Improvers are mostly work-a-day average people. They aren't really an organization. They're just individuals who want a nicer Costa Mesa. There are no leaders and no followers. Many may not even call themselves Improvers at all. In fact, the CM PRESS just uses the term for convenience and we define it very loosely.

If you want a nicer Costa Mesa and if you think the way to achieve this is to have Costa Mesa be more like some of our neighboring coastal cities and if you think that we can achieve this by fixing the Westside and by upgrading our neighborhoods and by being less of a sanctuary city for illegal aliens, then you're an Improver.

Of course, just about everyone would say they want a nicer city.

What distinguishes Improvers from others who say they want a nicer city is the fact that the Improvers constantly scratch the surface to find out why Costa Mesa is not as nice as some of the surrounding coastal cities and why, in many respects, Costa Mesa is trending more like Santa Ana.

They also differ in that they don't accept sweet-nothings as genuine improvement. For example, they know that simply planting flowers in front of a gang hangout doesn't address the real problem but is just a bandaid that causes some gullible people to think things are improving when they're not.

What Improvers generally agree on is that:

1. The Westside is the key to improving all of Costa Mesa.
2. A necessary step to improving the Westside is to bring in some upscale housing to attract upwardly mobile people to the area. When that happens, the retail sector will improve.
3. A large part of the 60 plus acres of industrial properties on the Westside Bluffs need to be transitioned to housing.
4. Mixed use artist lofts make sense for much of the Bluffs area and these can fit in with light industrial units.
5. West 19th Street can be a destination location with outdoor cafes and upscale retailers to help revitalize the Westside.
6. Costa Mesa should not become just another overly manicured city, but should retain and nurture some of its unique artsy character.
7. Costa Mesa should not be a sanctuary city for illegal aliens.

Many of the anti-Improvers make their livings off the backs of illegal aliens but try to paint this as compassion. Some use illegal aliens as cheap labor. Some use them to fill their charity rolls. Some have deep seated psychological problems that causes them to treat illegal aliens as stray cats who have to be mothered by the "superior" anti-Improvers. Some are full of self-hatred.
Their false compassion helps drive down the city for the middle class citizens.

Some of these people are like the old plantation owners in the South. Instead of slaves, they now have illegal alien slave labor. And, like many plantation owners, these new-plantation owners will tell you that they're actually helping to improve the quality of life of their workers.

By contrast, the Improvers are mostly middle-class people who want to live the American dream here in Costa Mesa. They want a low crime rate. They want schools up to American standards. They want to have the quiet enjoyment of their homes and neighborhoods. They want a city that they're proud to call home. They don't want to have to worry about gangs and violent criminals in their neighborhoods. They're pretty much live-and-let-live people who have been forced to become activists by declining conditions in Costa Mesa.

Activist Improvers ask of every decision being made by the City Council, the Planning Commission, the Parks and Recreation Commission, by committees and by those on City staff: "Will this help improve Costa Mesa or not?"

Often, competing values have to be balanced. For example, we need more owner occupied housing to reverse our present upside down 60% renters vs. 40% owner occupied figures, but simply allowing more housing without adequate parking and other quality of life factors is a mistake. Thus, Improvers will often speak out against some quality housing if there isn't enough parking.

Lastly, the definition that a conservative is a liberal who has just been mugged, probably applies to many Improvers.
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ANOTHER NEGATIVE FOR COSTA MESA--SCHOOL LUNCHES

The CM PRESS has been hearing rumors that some people believe some are taking advantage of the free and reduced rate lunch program at some schools.

Here's how the school lunch program works. If you aren't poor, your kids have to pay the full price of $ 2.95 per day for lunch. If you have low income, your kids only pay $ .40 per day for lunch, and if you have very low income, your kids eat lunch for free.

The CM PRESS asked the NMUSD for some statistics comparing Davis School in Costa Mesa with Andersen School in Newport Beach. These two schools were chosen because they have roughly the same number of students. Davis has 570 students and Andersen has 513 students.

At Davis, in Costa Mesa, there are 300 students getting completely free lunches each day, 70 are paying $ .40 per lunch per day and 200 students are paying $ 2.95 per lunch per day.

By contrast, at Andersen, in Newport Beach, there are only 3 students getting completely free lunches each day, 3 are paying $ .40 per lunch per day and 507 are paying $ 2.95 per lunch per day.

We asked the District how it makes sure all those receiving free or reduced rate lunches are honestly reporting their incomes to qualify.

The District says that it follows Federal guidelines and does a random check of 1% of those receiving free and reduced rate lunches.

So, and although the District emphasized that this 1% is District wide, we might, just to make this simple, say that of the 370 students at Davis receiving free or reduced rate lunches, only about 4 of their parents will be checked to see if they really do qualify.

But, just to be clear about this, since it is a District wide random 1% that is checked each year, it might be that some schools are not checked in any given year at all.

Even if all of the 300 who receive free lunches at Davis are legally entitled to them, what does this say about Costa Mesa when we have so many students in one school getting free lunches while in a comparably sized school in Newport Beach there are only 3 students who get free lunches?

Our guess is that some of the schools on the Westside of Costa Mesa have almost all of their students getting free or reduced rate lunches and almost no students paying the full price.

These statistics do not make Costa Mesa seem like a First World city.

With so many "poor" children in Costa Mesa's schools, you might expect them to be dropped off in the morning in rickety old cars. Silly you. The drop off lane is full of expensive cars. Check it out yourself. Not having to pay full price for things and being able to get free medical and dental care and free bags of groceries sure helps pay for new cars and other luxuries.

Also, with so many "poor" children, you might expect them to be licking their lunch plates clean because they're so hungry. Sillier you. Check out the trash cans in the cafeterias for all the food that is thrown away.

Can you say, "illegal alien sanctuary city," boys and girls?
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SHOCKING CRASH ON ADAMS AT MESA VERDE DRIVE

The CM PRESS was at the scene to witness the aftermath of the shocking crash that killed a 21-year-old girl from Huntington Beach on Sunday. The photos that you may have seen in the dead tree press don't do justice to the destruction to her vehicle. It appeared to us that the light pole sliced from the front of the car right into the trunk.

Costa Mesa should probably take a look at Adams Avenue. Cars really do go too fast on this street all the time.

In fact, while we were there looking at the scene and while the area was bustling with CMPD officers in the middle of the street taking measurements and while there was police tape and flares and police cars and police motorcycles all around and while there were officers directing traffic, cars were still speeding through the accident scene. We kid you not. We even heard CMPD officers yelling to cars to slow down, but in many cases they were ignored.
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CITY COUNCIL TO MEET WITH SUPERVISOR MOORLACH TUESDAY

At Tuesday's City Council study session (4:30 pm, Conf. Rm. 1A), the Council will have a discussion with Supervisor John Moorlach about various matters relating to Costa Mesa.


If time permits, the CM PRESS will be there. During our one minute public comment time we plan on suggesting to the Council and to Supervisor Moorlach that they may want to:

1. BANNING RANCH/BEACH--Try to give Costa Mesa as much of Banning Ranch as possible and at least enough of that property and/or any additional land that would allow Costa Mesa to establish a pocket beach either directly on the ocean, perhaps at the mouth of the Santa Ana River between Newport Beach and Huntington Beach, or further back in the marshy area adjacent to the Santa Ana River where there is a tidal effect and enough brackish water such that a small river beach would be viable.

The CM PRESS believes that many Costa Mesa citizens would agree that it is not in the best interests of our city to be completely blocked from the ocean (by a gerrymandered 12" border in at least one area), and that Costa Mesa's property values and status as a city would be improved by being a city with ocean access or at least by becoming a city with a beach close to the ocean.

2. AIRPORT
--Contact state and federal officials about the possibility of putting a new international airport on the northern part of Camp Pendleton instead of letting John Wayne Airport keep expanding to the detriment of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

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