CM PRESS # 496

MENSINGER CLEARED
Link to Daily Pilot article.

Well, of course he was.  He was just minding his own business and walked away from a verbal altercation with a local activist who initiated the conversation with Mensinger.

Be sure to read the comments following the above article or any article that defends the City Council's attempt to right size our city government, or any positive article about the City Council at all, and you'll see the usual rapid response team of haters and bigots spewing their smears.

It's hard to believe that these haters and bigots believe they're going to win hearts and minds with such hateful comments or that they think they're going to intimidate the Council into not doing what is right for the citizens of Costa Mesa. But apparently they do believe this, so they continue doing it.

Say, maybe they can put some of their comments on an A-Frame trailer and pull it around the city.

The last time that was tried, it helped galvanize voter opinion against those trying that tactic and may have  caused more citizens to vote for Jim Righeimer than would otherwise have done so.
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DID THE COSTA MESA CITY COUNCIL VIOLATE THE BROWN ACT?
Link to OC REGISTER article.

Terry Francke of Californians Aware apparently thinks so. 

We think he's mistaken on the facts as we understand them, and also on the law as we read it. 

And, we think he knows this but figures there's no harm in sending a letter calling for more openness. And, because Costa Mesa is so much in the news, it gives Californians Aware some much needed publicity.

One thing to remember about opinions voiced by lawyers, including Mr. Francke, is that half the lawyers in the country are wrong every day in every courtroom.

Costa Mesa's City Attorney is apparently going to issue a statement  today about Mr. Francke's concerns.

Our guess is that the City Attorney will say there was no intent to violate the Brown Act, that there was no such violation, and, in any case, the two member committees aren't even meeting anymore so the issue is moot but if they do meet again, in the spirit of transparency, the public will be invited.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.