CM PRESS # 346

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER LAWSUIT OVER THE SALE OF THE FAIRGROUNDS

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 Here's what we see in our crystal ball: In the end, this will all be for naught.  The center of gravity has moved to South County, and we expect the Orange County Fair to be held at the Great Park in the near future.  

So, with no county fair, what will become of the Costa Mesa fairgrounds?  We expect that whoever ends up with it will say that they want to keep it as it is right now.  Then, when some time passes, they'll announce that they need to sell some of the land because they're losing money.
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LA TIMES EXPLAINS WHY IT GIVES THE RACE OF PERPS AND VICTIMS IN ITS CRIME STATISTICS
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What caught our eye in the above linked article is the fact that some readers complained about race/ethnicity being shown in the statistics. They seem to think it's not relevant.

It is relevant.  Violent crime is not an equal opportunity employer and if you know this you can better play the odds and perhaps avoid being a victim.
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SCHOOLBOARD TO DISCUSS CHARGES AGAINST SUPERINTENDENT IN CLOSED SESSION TONIGHT--FOLEY WILL BE SWORN IN BEFORE THE CLOSED SESSION
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MOORLACH ON PENSION REFORM AND THE UNIONS
Link to Moorlach's OC Register article.
The above is worth a read because the problems for the county that Moorlach writes about apply in similar measure to the City of Costa Mesa, and the options for a solution are also similar. As above, so below.
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HUNDREDS MORE ISRAELI RABBIS DEMAND 'NO HOUSING FOR ARABS'
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Many of the Rabbis are mainstream and are paid by the government.  Will America ask Israel to stop the discrimination against Arabs and other non-Jews?
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MORE ON LOCAL NON-PROFITS

The CM PRESS has repeatedly said that there are non-profits in Costa Mesa that are not using money they receive in the best way for the improvement of Costa Mesa and that some are just magnets.

We're now calling on the City Council to conduct its own independent investigation of all the non-profits that receive our tax money that is funneled through the City Council to the non-profits.

One thing that the Council should determine is whether our tax money is being spent to improve Costa Mesa or is it just being spent to bring more people to Costa Mesa who need even more freebies to continue to stay here so that the non-profits can ask for even more money in the following year because their client rolls have grown?

The Council should also ask for accountability and evidence that the non-profits are doing what they say they're doing.  For example, the Westside has many non-profits that are supposedly helping kids be better students.  If they are using our money wisely, then why are so many schools on the Westside doing so poorly, year after year?

We have other things that we think the Council should look at, but we'll hold them for now.

The way to proceed with such an investigation is to first look at the records submitted by the non-profits to HUD as required when the non-profits receive CDBG funds. These records are on the fifth floor of City Hall. [CDBG=Community Development Block Grants=Your tax money]

At the same time, the City Council should work to make the 3R Committee do what it should be doing: be junk yard dogs carefully watching over our money. 

The 3R Committee is the committee that has the responsibility of interviewing the non-profits and looking at their records when the non-profits submit applications for CDBG funds. 

The 3R Committee submits its recommendations to the City Council which usually just rubber stamps what the 3R Committee submits.

Here's the problem.  The 3R Committee has too many friends of the non-profits on it and it even had one head of one of the non-profits sitting on the committee.  And, there are too many people on the 3R Committee who just want to go along to get along.

How do we know these things about the 3R Committee?  We served on it.  When we were on the committee we were surprised that the committee wasn't even getting the public 990's (annual tax forms) of the non-profits.  So, we made a request that these 990's be supplied.  And, they were. 

We were also surprised that few members of the committee ever actually visited any of the non-profits.  We made it a point to do so.

Will the City Council investigate the non-profits as we request?  Probably not.  But, if you, dear reader, care about Costa Mesa and want to see your money spent wisely to make this a nicer city, you might also email the City Council and ask that they look at the non-profits.

Here's the link to City Hall.  The contact information is on the right side of the page.

By the way, the CDBG records are all public documents and you as a citizen can also view them.
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Those are our opinions.  Thanks for reading them.