Wednesday, October 22, 2008

CM PRESS # 517



THE BEST CHOICES FOR AN IMPROVED COSTA MESA

Most Improvers agree that the best choices for an improved Costa Mesa this year are Jim Righeimer, Gary Monahan and Eric Bever.
And, the CM PRESS agrees.

As you know, the CM PRESS pays attention to what goes on in Costa Mesa, and we attend most city functions on even the most mundane matters. We also participate when we think we may have something to add.

We don't do this for our health, or because we don't have other things to do, but because we understand that what you see in the almost daily Daily Pilot or in some other blogs or on your TV is just the tip of the iceberg.

To understand this tip of the iceberg, you have to start where it starts--down below, out of sight in the study sessions and committee meetings and in the halls of City Hall.

You can't really understand things in Costa Mesa if you sit at home and watch City Council meetings or no-Planning Commission meetings on your TV.

The TV cameras are selective and narrowly focused. They often miss the details,the nuances, the human chemistry--a nasty look, a smile, a nudge--that give an indication of something larger.

So, the CM PRESS goes to meetings and we usually sit at the rear of the room so we can see the whole room and everyone in it. We watch and we listen and we form our opinions and look always for indications that this or that politician or public person is on the right or wrong track for making Costa Mesa the best Orange County city.

Are our views subjective? You bet. The CM PRESS is all about opinion.
WE WEIGH WHAT THEY SAY AND DO

And, when we form an opinion about this or that politician or public figure, we do so by mentally putting pebbles on each side of a balance scale. A pebble on this side for things the politician or public figure does or says to improve Costa Mesa, and a pebble on the other side for things they do that keep Costa Mesa from improving.

We often say that we have no friends in politics and we mean that. When someone is elected, we often back off any friendship with that person that may have started. We do this to try to remain as objective as possible and not let personalities sway us.

We don't want politicians to smile at us, shake our hand and pat us on the back. We want them to say and do the things that will make this a great city. And, if any politician tries to blow smoke up our skirts by saying one thing and doing another or by obfuscating issues, we're usually on them like fleas on a dog.

A few years ago we helped elect a politician who did say one thing and do another. That politician even said he believed that we were the reason he got elected.


However, he apparently forgot that we do pay attention and we do attend most meetings and we do listen and we do watch. As soon as it was clear that this politician wasn't walking the walk and was blowing smoke, we began working to make sure he would not serve another term. We went from being his biggest supporter to being his biggest opponent.

The current election

In the current election, we believe that Jim Righeimer, Gary Monahan and Eric Bever are the best choices to help improve Costa Mesa.

Do we think they're perfect choices? Nope. We think each has some flaws and weaknesses, but we also think that of the nine candidates running, these three will, on balance, get more of our pebbles on the improvement side of the balance scale than on the other side if they are elected.
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MORE CHANGES AT THE ALMOST DAILY DAILY PILOT

Tony Dodero has been let go at the almost daily Daily Pilot. LINK


Interestingly, when we followed the above link this morning, we arrived at a screwed up page (it may be fixed by the time most people follow the link).
Could that be because Tony is no longer there and it was his responsibility to make sure the internet version of the paper is presented correctly?

We hope the almost daily Daily Pilot survives--Business 101


Newspapers are businesses. They do not exist to deliver the news or opinions. They exist to make money for their owners. They make money by selling advertising. Advertisers advertise because they want to reach as many people as possible who will patronize their businesses.


Newspapers attract people to the advertising by publishing the news and opinions that attracts readers.


In a down economy, fewer people buy homes or cars--two staples of newspaper advertising--even if readers do see advertising for these things. This causes home and car sellers to cut back on their advertising. This means less money for the newspapers and leads to layoffs;usually in the editorial and reporting end of things first.


Add to the bad economy the fact that many people are now getting their news and opinions from the intenet and you can see a real problem for newspapers.


Local newspapers can often ride out bad times because of their focus on local matters and local advertisers, but when they're owned by big media giants, the income generated by such small local newspapers is often just a drip in the bucket and does little to help with the red ink of the parent companies.


Thus,small local newspapers are often considered to be worth more to their parent companies if they are sold.


When you deal on the level of a Sam Zell, the parts of businesses you buy are often worth more than the whole, so you begin selling off the parts.


Will that be the fate of the almost daily Daily Pilot? And, are some former bigs at the Pilot even now standing in the wings and waiting for a fire sale? Your guess is as good as ours.


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OVERWHELMING NUMBER OF JUVENILE GANG MEMBERS ARE HISPANIC
According to an article in the OC REGISTER today (link), 93 percent of juvenile gang members
in Orange County are Hispanic.


Of course, if you listen to some liberals and lefties in Costa Mesa, you're probably shocked by this number because they've tried to make you think that most gang members are white, even though your common sense, your own eyes, newspaper crime reports and the statistics say something else.


What the Reg didn't report is the percentage of these Hispanic gang members who are illegal aliens or are the children of illegal aliens. Our bet is that the percentage is very high.

The libs and lefties will probably use this statistic to try to grab more money from citizens for phony intervention programs that don't really work and which are often mostly used by nerds who wouldn't become gang members anyway.
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LAST TWO CANDIDATE FORUMS
TONIGHT--Candidate Forum--Wed. October 22nd, 6:30pm to 9 pm, Halecrest Park Ballroom, 3107 Killybrook Lane, CM 92626
Candidate Forum--Tue. October 28th 6:30 pm, Presbyterian Church, 2850 Fairview Road CM 92626
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

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