CM PRESS # 209

WESTSIDE BUSINESS CULTURE NAMES OFFICERS

There's a piece in the Daily Pilot today about a relatively new group calling itself Westside Business Culture, that is trying to help revitalize the Westside.

According to the Pilot, the organization has been around since earlier this year but has now taken the next organizational step by appointing its official leaders.

Steve Jones, co-owner of home developer 1.7 Ocean, was named president. Dan Bradley, owner of the Detroit Bar and Memphis Cafe, became vice president. Pete Zehnder, who is Jones' partner, is chairman. Frank Gutierrez, owner of Mesa Framing, is the treasurer, and Julie Thompson-Dobkin, co-owner of Costa Mesa based wine producer Thomkin Cellars, is the secretary.

The CM PRESS is certain that Improvers wish the new organization well and that they will support the Westside Business Culture organization's efforts to bring in more of an arts/cafe society on the Westside.

On a cautionary note, many Improvers hope that the new organization will narrowly focus its attention on retail businesses--bars, restaurants, cafes, art galleries and the like--and even on improving the housing stock, but will not let the organization be co-opted by mostly out of town interests that don't want to see meaningful changes on the Westside.

If the Westside evolves in the right way, it can become an eclectic fun place to visit and be a major destination location for all of Southern California. Hopefully, this group will help hasten that day.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 208

PEOPLE MAKE A CITY WHAT IT IS

There's an article in the Daily Pilot today about how residents in various areas that have been traditionally in Costa Mesa's sphere of influence want to be annexed not to Costa Mesa--that has been supplying the areas with all their infra-structure support over the years (police, fire, sewer, water, etc.)--but to Newport Beach.

Now, the quick surface answer as to why these folks prefer Newport to Costa Mesa is because their property values will increase with the new brand name. Hey, they're trading an old Chevy logo for a new Rolls Royce logo.

But, the deeper question is why has Newport become so much more desirable than Costa Mesa, and how can Costa Mesa close the gap so that it becomes the place to be and not the place to flee?

Again, the quick answer is that Newport is more desirable because it has all that ocean front property and Costa Mesa is completely land locked.

And, while that is a good answer, it's not the whole story. Beverly Hills has no ocean front property and it's desirable. Now, don't get us wrong, we at the CM PRESS believe that Costa Mesa needs to get an opening to the sea and that this will change things in major ways, but we're trying to make the point, here, that a city can be top drawer without an ocean.

The deeper answer about why Newport Beach is more desirable than Costa Mesa is because that while Newport has constantly upgraded itself over the years, Costa Mesa has not been as quick to do so.

Newport has developed the amenities that attract upwardly mobile people who have spendable income and who, by their very nature, take pride in their community and who work to make it nicer. If you want to attract bees, you put out honey. Newport has done this. Costa Mesa has not.

It's been many small decisions over the years that have caused the gap between the two cities to grow ever wider. For example, Newport has put homes on its bluffs. These homes attract people with the money who can afford to live there. Their presence in Newport is a plus for that city.

Costa Mesa, by contrast, has kept 60 acres of prime ocean close land on the Westside Bluffs mired in industrial uses. Instead of attracting upwardly mobile people to the Westside Bluffs, Costa Mesa has attracted paint shops and similar businesses--often owned by people who live in Newport Beach.

But, there's more...

Costa Mesa seems to have a love for slums that are chock full of people who work in the industries on the Westside Bluffs and in some of our shopping centers and office buildings.

Costa Mesa is too tolerant of gangs, of illegal aliens, of downscale conditions.

Costa Mesa is too full of people who are willing to defend things such as failing schools and other negatives. You've seen the letters, and even columns and editorials, from such people in the Pilot. They try to put a happy face on low student scores by saying that they're higher than they used to be or even that the kids have a good school spirit. What they fail to say is that these scores are below scores in schools in Newport Beach, which is in the same school district.

We should not be lowering the bar, but raising it.

The CM PRESS has talked to many people on the streets of Costa Mesa and we've found far too many who have a slum mentality. They actually take pride in having a down scale city. They won't put it that way, but they'll inadvertently reveal their slum mentality when they couch their feelings about the two cities in terms such as that they don't like "snooty" Newport Beach or the "phonies" who live there.

If we want upwardly mobile people to move to Costa Mesa and if we want whole neighborhoods wanting to be annexed to our city, then we have to make our city a desirable place to be.

There's no other way. We can't hold people captive here who want the best for themselves and their families and who know that it's important to be around others with similar attitudes. We need to attract the best and the brightest to our city and provide them with the things that will make them want to stay here.

In other words, we need to improve Costa Mesa and make it more upscale. Period.

And, know this, we can't stand still. The flow of time doesn't allow that. We either move up or we move down.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 207

ICE DETAINERS PUT ON 52 SUSPECTED ILLEGAL ALIENS IN AUGUST--SAME NUMBER, EXACTLY, AS IN JULY---HMMMM?

Back in CM PRESS # 199 published on August 23, we wrote this:

Sure, we have an ICE agent in our jail, but the CM PRESS keeps hearing a buzz from citizens who believe there are some within local law enforcement and local government who are resisting bringing some illegal aliens to the notice of the ICE agent.

Some have wondered whether or not there is some sort of informal quota system working whereby, for the sake of appearances, a few illegal aliens are arrested for serious crimes, while others get a wink and nod. Those who suggest this, point out that the detainers for illegals seem to be about the same each month (averaging approximately 50 per month). They wonder why the number seems to remain so constant.

With this latest monthly report showing that 52 ICE detainers were put on suspected illegal aliens both in July and in August, the buzz is sure to increase.

If someone is imposing some sort of informal quota, it should be easy to detect by examining internal documents (not available to the public) showing the who, why, what, where and when surrounding the details of the detentions of suspected illegal aliens. From these documents, one might expect to see certain patterns emerge if there is such a quota system in place.

As with most residents of Costa Mesa, the CM PRESS is a big supporter of the CMPD, but we've been around long enough to know that there is a small clique of hold-over officers in the department who are highly politicized and it wouldn't surprise us to learn some may be letting personal feelings that favor illegal aliens color their judgement in a number of ways.

We personally witnessed this when we were trying to keep grade school kids safe by having the CMPD stop allowing cars to park with engines running at a red curb at Davis School. Every day we would see little kids darting between these cars and we expected to see a kid hit by a car at any time.

When we tried to get the CMPD to do something about this, one cop laughed at us and actually told us that it was okay for motorists to park in front of the red curb and that the CMPD wouldn't do anything. Even after we read the law to him on this point he just laughed and said it was okay.

Our guess as to why this cop was acting this way was because most of those parking at the red curb might have been suspected illegal aliens.

We've experienced the same thing in other instances, and we get reports from around the city of similar things.

At the City Council meeting this Tuesday, a resident went to the podium and told the City Council that he and his wife can't sleep at night because of barking dogs in a nearby house.

He said the police wouldn't do anything about the problem and that the last cop who showed up actually told him that the "Dogs have a first amendment right to bark." This got a number of guffaws from those present at the meeting, and City Manager Allan Roeder shook his head and suggested that the resident speak to the Chief of Police who just happened to be sitting in the audience that night.

The resident and the Chief then spoke outside of earshot. We don't know the resolution of this issue, but from everything we've heard so far, Chief Shawkey is doing a good job as police chief and we're sure he is looking into this matter.

One important thing about this resident who was complaining about the barking dogs, is that we've never seen him at City Council meetings before. Our guess is that like most citizens he probably doesn't like going to such meetings and speaking out about problems and would prefer to handle neighborhood disputes out of the public eye.

But, in this instance he apparently felt so frustrated about the situation that he felt the only thing he could do was to come to an open meeting and discuss his problem publicly.

Now, we don't know if this barking dog situation involves illegal aliens or not. Not every situation does, but because we do keep hearing a buzz from citizens who believe that some cops are reluctant to take action on quality of life issues, when those who are impinging on the quiet enjoyment of our properties are suspected illegal aliens, it wouldn't surprise us to learn that the owners of the barking dogs may be suspected illegal aliens.
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IN THE DAILY PILOT ISN'T BIASED DEPARTMENT

The latest scribe at the Daily Pilot to tell readers that the paper--run by publisher Thomas H. Johnson of Newport Beach who was a founder of the Latino Business Council--is not slanted and doesn't favor Latino illegal aliens, etc. is Joe Bell. Ho hum.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.
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CM PRESS # 206

THE COSMIC SANITARY DISTRICT

As Joey Bigears and I are walking down the street on the Eastside this fine day, a small ugly dog starts following us while nipping at my new imported five buck shiny shoes manufactured of all man made materials in China.

Joey Bigears asks why I do not just kick the noisy beast. Joey Bigears is like this. He is a man of the streets who packs a shiv in his belt and who has a tattoo of a green squid on his right arm. Now, do not ask me why Joey Bigears has such a tattoo of a green squid on his right arm. I do not know the answer to this question and I do not care to ask Joey Bigears about this subject. It is of no moment. I do not care. If Joey Bigears wishes to volunteer this information, I will, of course, perk up and listen attentively, as the polite person that I am. But I do not wish to disturb Joey Bigears with small talk questions about the green squid tattoo on his right arm as we walk down the street on this particular fine day.

Joey Bigears, you will understand, is a good fellow. But, he lacks finesse and refinement, as we say in the polite and genteel company to which I am more accustomed at Skosh Monahan's fine establishment for Bog Irish gentlemen. Joey Bigears does not know that this word Skosh is not Gaelic, but Japanese, and I do not choose to tell him this fact that I know, lest he think the joint may not be an authentic Irish pub. I do not often bother Joey Bigears with such dissertations of my extensive knowledge, for this would be a digression and I do not wish to be perceived as a know it all.

In addition to running this gin joint, the proprietor, one Skosh Monahan by name, also serves on the Costa Mesa Sanitary District where he recently voted to raise our sewer rates. I tell this to Joey Bigears and this does not make him very happy. I sense the loathing coming from Joey Bigears at having his sewer rate raised. Being that Joey Bigears is a man of action, often known for taking matters into his own brawny hands, I quickly tell him that he must not write bad words on Skosh Mohahan's bathroom walls about this troubling turn of events.

"Kick it?" I retort, as I finally deign to answer the most probing question that Joey Bigears asks me about this dog nipping at my shiny new shoes . "I will not kick this creature, my good Joey Bigears. This would be a most ungentlemanly thing to do. I pity this dog that is so ferociously but impotently nipping at my shiny new shoes. It is, I divine, trying to get attention to put some meaning into an otherwise meaningless life."

Says, Joey Bigears: "Boss, with all due respect to your superior and most excellent way of looking at things, I do not think that this mutt is doing that which you say that it is doing. I think that this mutt is just intent on masticating your new shiny shoes. I sense in my innermost self that this dog is not very existential. I believe in my being of beings that it may just be as nasty inside as it is outside."

"Joey Bigears," says I, "you must try to understand the finer points of the psychology of those who are born as losers and you must attempt to be compassionate toward them. We must treat this poor creature with all the noblesse oblige feelings that we can call up from our souls. It is indeed sad that nature has not been very kind to this canine that you see right before your squinty blue peepers at this very moment; which is most busy nipping at my shiny new shoes. This is obviously a stupid creature. It is most indubitably very ugly. It is clearly weak. It smells bad. It has a foul disposition and it is old. On the plus side of things, well, in truth, Joey Bigears, I cannot, at this moment in time, think of anything on the plus side of the ledger for this nipping dog."

"Now," says I, to Joey Bigears, after a few moments of silence, as we are continuing to walk down the street, "I happen to know the history of this particular dog. You see, in addition to the clearly visible problems of this most unfortunate mutt, it is also sterile."

Says Joey Bigears to me: "You mean it does not got no germs, Boss?"

"No, my dear Joey Bigears," says I, "and, despite your most unfortunate and uncouth double negative, this is not what I mean at all. I mean that Mother Nature has a way of keeping such problems from being passed on--Mother Nature has let this dog live, Joey Bigears, but has made it so that it can not reproduce to pass on its many afflictions. There are no more little nasty dogs born of its loins in its foul image. When this one is gone, it is gone for all eternity."

I continue: "This poor despicable mutt already has one paw in the grave. It is not, as we say, Joey Bigears, in the best of health. But, the real problem that I discern with this mutt, is that it has wasted its life in being bitter and hateful. Now, Mother Nature is coming around the corner with a handful of Karma to return the favor. Mark my words, Joey Bigears, there is a balancing in the universe that takes strange forms and surprises those who do not understand the unseen and interweaving forces as they work upon each other and flow and swirl eternally. The big wheel just keeps turning. What you put on it here, comes back around. Do not try to understand this Joey Bigears, I speak of physics and the subatomic particle world."

"You mean that it is like a Lazy Susan, Boss?" asks Joey Bigears

"Indeed," says I to Joey Bigears. "It is like a Lazy Susan or like a merry-go-round. Put something bad on it here and it'll come back around. Put something good on it and that will also come back around. You decide what you put on it in life. This most despicable mutt nipping at my shiny new shoes has put bad on the merry-go-round. Stand back, Joey Bigears, lest you receive some of that bad that is coming back around.

"You must remember, Joey Bigears, that I am a respecter of all life. This is why I will not kick this unfortunate dog as you have suggested. Even though it is not my fault that this mutt has so many things wrong with it; out of my most wonderful kindness, I will let it nip at the heels of my shiny new shoes and I will let it think in its tiny brain that it is important. But, just as I will not kick it, I will also not acknowledge it. I shall walk on and I shall do nothing to it.

"Mother Nature has a higher purpose for this mutt. The higher purpose is that it is a walking bag of fertilizer. That is its purpose and that is its only purpose. You do not think it would be fitting for Mother Nature to simply hike up her skirt and carry bags of fertilizer from one place to another so the earth would be fertile, do you Joey Bigears? That would be most unladylike. That is why she has designed mangy mutts like this. The mutts do the job for her and in return, she allows them to live out their lives, miserable though they may be. So, you see, Mr. Bigears, Mother Nature is the big Sanitary District in the sky, and she flushes all according to her own schedule and never raises the rates."

"You do wax very philosophical, and maybe metaphorical with a touch of allegory added in, Boss," says Joey Bigears.

"That, Joey Bigears, is why I am the Boss," says I.

"But Boss," says Joey Bigears, "what do you say to those who say this has no point?"

Says I: "That is the point, Joey Bigears, that is the point."

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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 205

IDIOT PRESIDENT OF MEXICO STUFFS FOOT IN HIS MOUTH

On Sunday, President Felipe Calderon of Mexico whined about the U.S. starting to enforce some of our laws against illegal immigration and said that [link>]"Where there is a Mexican, there is Mexico."

Calderon, makes no distinction between illegal aliens and legal immigrants. As arrogant and outrageous as Calderon's statement sounds, we're actually pleased that the moron said this.

It just points up what many U.S. citizens, who have been fighting against illegal immigration, have been saying about the Mexican establishment--they're trying to reclaim large parts of the U.S. for Mexico and they're trying to Latinize the U.S.

Those who pay attention, daily see the negative effects of having a large population of illegal aliens in Costa Mesa. As Calderon said, "Where there is a Mexican, there is Mexico." So, by that reasoning Costa Mesa is part of Mexico.

And, the proof is in our failing schools, our gangs, our high crime rate, our low property values, our growing chasm with our coastal neighboring cities.

Remember what Calderon said as we get closer and closer to the election in Costa Mesa next year.

We will probably have a clear choice once again. There will be the candidates supported by the Improvers who want Costa Mesa to be as nice as our neighboring coastal cities, and there will be the other side--those in the Katrina Foley and Linda Dixon camp--whose policies will lead to more illegal aliens, more crime, and more problems for citizens who want to live the American dream in Costa Mesa.

And, of course, you can expect the illegal alien friendly and out of touch with Costa Mesa Daily Pilot to support illegal alien friendly candidates as it has in the past.

As you read in # 204, the publisher of the Pilot, Thomas H. Johnson, lives in Newport Beach and, according to Wikipedia, was a founder of the Latino Business Council.

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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 204

TONY DODERO WANTS YOU TO KNOW THE DAILY PILOT IS NOT CONSPIRACY RIDDLED & IS NOT PRO-ILLEGAL ALIEN

All is swell down at the Return to Reason El Daily Pilot newsroom, according to Anaheim resident, Senor Tony Dodero whose title at the rag is director of news and online.

The newsroom, according to Tony, is full of professionals sitting around doing, ah, professional newspaper types of things and not conspiring with one another or pushing a pro-illegal alien company line.

The pros at the Pilot, says Tony, are more concerned with what they'll eat for lunch each day and are thus too busy to be engaging in conspiracies. Illegal alien bias at the Pilot? Pshaw. Not according to Tony. They're all thinking about those tofu tacos.

Oh, before we go on, Tony might want to have one of his professionals take a minute out from thinking about lunch and proof read what he wrote. You see, he had this line in his column: "That it was towing the Bush administration line...." Ah, Tony, that should be "toeing [the line]."

Well, Tony, we do think there is a conspiracy at the Pilot. It is a conspiracy of opinion and we think it starts with your boss, Newport Beach resident Thomas H. Johnson, known to us here at the CM PRESS as Waving Johnson.

You see, Tony, it appears that Johnson surrounds himself with sycophants who share his pro- illegal alien world view. They want to keep their jobs in the shrinking dead tree press world so they, er, toe the line. Do what the boss wants. Kiss up. Bend over. Ask how high when he says jump. Brown nose. Polish the apple. Become fellow travelers. Get our drift, Tony? There's no future in writing things the boss doesn't like.

Here's some clues about Johnson:

According to a Wikipedia article on Johnson, that has since mysteriously disappeared from Wikipedia, but which the CM PRESS downloaded before its disappearance, Johnson was "a founding member of the Latino Business Council in Costa Mesa in 1994."

Now, why did Johnson become a founding member of a group with a racial/ethnic name in its title?

With a name like Johnson, wouldn't you think it would be more logical for him to be a founding member of something that might be called the European-American Business Council? Oh, but that would be racist, right? Maybe, he just prefers Latinos over European-Americans? If so, isn't that a bias based on race/ethnicity?

Or, how about the time that Johnson wrote a piece in the Pilot supporting keeping the goofy job center open? You'd have to be PC stupid to not know that the job center served many suspected illegal aliens.

You may recall that Johnson sat at the job center for about an hour and then gushed in a column about how wonderful the place was. Oh, the humanity of it! As we've written before, that's when we added "Waving" to Johnson's name.

In our fictionalized version of Johnson's slumming, we suggested that Johnson, appearing somewhat wan, looked like a combination of Where's Waldo and Alfred E. Neuman as he waved and yelled "Yoo hooo" to prospective employers while seeking day work as a publisher.

As we wrote it, Johnson lost out on a job to an illegal alien who had more publishing experience than Johnson--in making false I.D. cards for other illegal aliens--and who in addition to doing the day job of publisher also promised to mow his employer's lawn. Johnson, being a white guy, doesn't know how to mow lawns, you see.

How about Johnson using his paper to try to defeat Chris Steel, Alan Mansoor, Eric Bever and Wendy Leece and elect individuals who share his pro-illegal world view and who support the status quo in Costa Mesa? Any indication of a conspiracy of opinion in that?

How about the paper being largely silent about pollution from the Westside Bluffs? Could that have something to do with the fact that Johnson was, according to Wikipedia, the past president of the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce? In addition to supporting the businesses on the Bluffs, the Chamber was also against closing the job center. See how these things all link up?

How about the story about the European-American girl who was told by a local non-profit that she was the wrong color and that they only wanted to serve Latinas? Johnson's Daily Pilot didn't write a word about this even though the Feds caught the non-profit and forced it to sign a consent decree promising to stop such racial discrimination.

Or, how about all the smears that Johnson lets in the paper about U-know-who at the CM PRESS? The Pilot even put U-know-who in its silly 103 most influential whatevers this past year and had smears in the verbiage about this.

Johnson wrote this about U-know-who: "There's primarily one man behind the quest to get rid of 'soccer players' in Paularino Park which leads me to believe it's race related."

Now, dear reader, you know that when Johnson puts "soccer players" in quotation marks that what he really means is "Latinos." You get the ham handed attempt at a smear by innuendo, right?

Johnson also got his facts wrong. It is not primarily one man behind...etc. The Mesa North community, composed of people living in more than 700 homes, was behind it. The City even held a community meeting and the consensus was to make the changes to Paularino Park that are now being made. Residents of Mesa North said they want a safe park and they don't want to be fearful that they and their toddlers will be injured by inappropriate activities in this tiny little park that has no sports fields.

But, isn't it ironic that it is Johnson who seems to have race/ethnicity so much on his mind?

How about the Pilot having a special column to cover the "vibrant Latino community, in Costa Mesa"? Isn't that race/ethnicity related?

Where is the special column to cover the "vibrant (white, black, Asian, whatever) community"? It doesn't exist. At least not in the Daily Pilot.

We think the bias at the paper even colors the way the paper reports news. Are we mistaken or does it seem that the Pilot almost never reports the race/ethnicity of outstanding criminal suspects when they are Latino, even when this might lead to their capture and make our city safer?

Do you see a pattern with Johnson and the Pilot? Maybe even a conspiracy of opinion? Birds of a feather all singing the same song? And, who hires all those birds of a feather and who dictates their song? Right. And doesn't that song seem to have a Salsa beat?

Here's how it looks to us: Johnson has pro-illegal alien views. He also wants to keep the Westside Bluffs full of industrial businesses (that hire many suspected illegal aliens). He also favors the charities that put out a welcome mat for illegal aliens in Costa Mesa. He uses the Pilot to push his views. He hires people who share his views. To us, that looks like a pro-illegal conspiracy of opinion.

It also appears to us that Johnson may have a touch of that almost congenital liberal mind set that causes him to believe people who oppose illegal immigration or who want a nicer Costa Mesa want to harm people based on race/ethnicity and that this causes him to see racial motives in everything. If U-know-who orders a hamburger, there must be a racial motive. If U-know-who tries to stop cars from endangering kids at a grade school, there must be a racial motive.

In this, he reminds us of a character that Woody Allen played in a movie who thought he was surrounded by anti-Semites because when people would say "Did you have lunch," Woody's character would hear "Did Jew have lunch?" [Note for trivia buffs: U-know-who appeared in a Woody Allen movie].

Because of his world view, as evidenced by what he has done and said, it appears to us that Johnson opposes the Improvers who want to make Costa Mesa nicer and more like our surrounding coastal cities. It also appears to us that he uses the Pilot to push his agenda in this regard.

Johnson can afford to take such a cavalier attitude since he doesn't live in Costa Mesa and is not directly affected by bad things that happen in our city.

He hasn't seen dead bodies in his neighborhood--caused by drive-by gang shootings--as has the CM PRESS. He doesn't have kids in schools that are trending more like schools in Santa Ana. He doesn't have multiple families of illegal aliens living in homes in his neighborhood. He doesn't have gangs putting graffiti all over his neighborhood (He probably hasn't seen the gang graffiti on trees in Paularino Park, either). He doesn't have abandoned shopping carts up and down his street in Newport Beach.

But, dear reader, these are just our opinions. Maybe we have it wrong. What do you think? Does it sound as though there is a conspiracy of opinion at the Daily Pilot?

Do you think that the Daily Pilot is an illegal alien friendly paper?
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 203

AN AIRPORT RUNS THROUGH IT

As you may have read in the LA TIMES this week, people who live near Los Angeles Airport are trying to keep that airport from growing again.

They'll lose the battle, also again. I guarantee it.

The reason they'll lose is that air safety requires that LAX grow. "Air safety," trumps all. Bake sales and whining may make some feel all warm and cozy, but LAX is about to expand. You can take that to the bank.

The reason the folks near LAX can't win is because there is no alternative site to replace LAX.

Jump now to our own ever expanding John Wayne Airport.

There's a letter in the Daily Pilot today from a Nancy Alston of Newport Beach who says she's a member of AirFair, a group that is trying to keep JWA from expanding.

Now, we at the CM PRESS have not been pleased with AirFair, but we're always hesitant to criticize those who are doing something, even if we think it's just busy work, because the obvious retort is "Well, what are you doing?"

Our answer to the question about what we're doing relative to JWA is that we have other fish to fry and it should be those who live closest to the airport who take the lead.

Notwithstanding this, however, we will do this: we'll prod those who are most affected by the growth of JWA to start becoming more effective. We'll write about JWA and we'll give our opinions on what we think should be done. In fact, that's what we're doing here.

We've listened to representatives of AirFair addressing the Costa Mesa City Council and we've read their literature and visited their website.

We see "let's wish really hard to keep JWA from expanding" all over their efforts.

In fact, we think the group is just creating the illusion that something meaningful is being done to stop the expansion of JWA when it isn't. It seems to us that AirFair is just giving us a new version of the old duck and cover advice when facing a nuclear attack.

Instead of finding meaningful approaches to stopping JWA from growing, we've only found constant whining from the group as they cite statistics about how the number of commercial jets increased 5.7% this year over 2006 etc. and how we have to cap the number of flights.

Look folks, we already know the flights have increased. We already know that JWA in our backyard is not a good thing. We also know that JWA is an accident waiting to happen. Now we need real solutions.

While those fighting the expansion of LAX will lose, this does not have to be the case for those fighting the expansion of JWA--if, they'll stop the bake sales and knitting bee level of activity and focus on what will really work.

THERE IS HOPE

The only way JWA can be tamed is by finding a new location to replace it with a truly modern and large international airport.

Those living near LAX are out of luck in finding such a location to replace their beast, but here in Orange County we have massive Camp Pendleton just down the road over the border with San Diego County. It has "large international airport" written all over it.

Camp Pendleton is about as perfect a location for a new airport as we could hope for. The place is huge and a new airport many times the size of LAX could be put on a portion of that base and the Marines wouldn't even miss the land.

Want to stop JWA from expanding and maybe even shrink it? Focus on building an airport at Camp Pendleton. Start getting the politicians on board.

Now, while you're working to get an airport built on Camp Pendleton, continue trying to cap flights at JWA, but understand that the latter activity is just a stopgap and is not the real battle.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 202

NO POLLUTION ON THE WESTSIDE BLUFFS?

During the last election campaign, City Council candidate Bruce Garlich said that there's no pollution on the Westside Bluffs.

He was wrong.

He also lost the election; much to the chagrin of Katrina Foley, Linda Dixon, the folks in Return to Reason, and a bunch of industrialists with factories on the Bluffs.

The State of California is now in the process of cleaning up a 6 acre site on Monrovia near 16th Street that is contaminated by a "pool" of toxic chemicals approximately 20 feet down that has apparently moved to that spot from another location in the area.

Some believe that the Monrovia site is just the tip of the iceberg.

The CM PRESS believes that the City of Costa Mesa should take a more active role in seeing that the Bluffs are cleaned up.

In addition, and although this is unrelated to the pollution issue, the CM PRESS believes that the City should consider buying land on the Bluffs in the area south of 19th Street down to the Newport Beach border for a new soccer field/park/skateboard park.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 201

MORE PARKS AND SPORTS FIELDS NEEDED IN COSTA MESA

It should be clear to all who are paying attention, that Costa Mesa simply needs more sports fields--soccer fields, especially--and parks.

As it is now, we're seeing various types of sports activities in some of our parks that, while fine for sports fields, are dangerous to players and others in parks that are not designed for these sports and where they conflict with other uses.

Some folks in Costa Mesa with a political agenda are saying that people should be allowed to play running ball team sports in any park they can find and that it's fine for them to throw, kick, or hit balls in disregard for the safety of others or themselves.

This does not do the players or others who use the parks any favors.

It's just common sense that the City, which is solely responsible for our parks, should ensure that all our parks are safe and that activities that may foreseeably cause injuries should be stopped. The City has done this with golf and bars this activity from all parks that the CM PRESS is aware of.

Because of the increasing popularity of soccer, it behooves the City of Costa Mesa to start buying land and putting in more soccer fields where the players can play without running into trees, or falling on sidewalks, or tripping in sprinkler holes, and without kicking balls into tot lots, nearby streets, or the backyards of adjacent homes.

Where will the money come from for buying park land and soccer fields?

The two most obvious possibilities are a hotel bed tax increase and/or fees from new developments. But, there are others.

The CM PRESS is a big believer in having government close to the people, and we're also a big believer in having the municipal government form citizen committees to explore various possibilities.

So, why not form a citizen committee whose charge is specifically to come up with recommendations to the City Council about new park locations and funding sources? Let's get the people who want more park land and soccer fields, and those who may have professional, semi-professional or a hobby level of knowledge about such things, involved in the process.

Without more parks and sports fields, we're probably going to see increasing conflicts between people with different ideas of how our parks should be used.

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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 200

OKLAHOMA SAYS IT'S GOING TO DRAIN THE SWAMP--ALLIGATORS START LEAVING!

The state of Oklahoma is about to start enforcing some tough anti-illegal alien laws in that state. It hasn't done so yet, but already, according to this report, tens of thousands of "Hispanics" are fleeing Oklahoma.

Hispanics who are legal residents of Oklahoma need not flee, but the main stream press wants to falsely spin this as an anti-Hispanic move by Oklahoma. Ho hum. Yawn.

All living things gravitate to where they feel comfortable and they flee places where they are not comfortable. Oklahoma has decided to make itself uncomfortable for illegal aliens.
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There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.
Henry David Thoreau

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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

Posted by CM PRESS at 9:09 AM

CM PRESS # 199

COSTA MESA NEEDS TO DO MORE TO PROTECT CITIZENS FROM ILLEGAL ALIEN CRIMINALS


In the aftermath of the execution style murders of three teens (pictured) in Newark, N.J. earlier this month by illegal aliens, the attorney general of N.J. is now requiring local law enforcement officers to notify ICE after the arrest of any illegal alien for any indictable offense or for DUI.

It's sad that N. J. government officials only took such action after illegals murdered citizens and after the citizen community demanded that our laws be enforced.

One of the illegal alien killers was known to local police and was facing charges for the alleged rape of a 5-year-0ld at the time he helped murder these teens.

Had these illegal alien killers been deported, as they should have been, these three teens would be alive today and on their way to college instead of now lying under six feet of dirt.

IS COSTA MESA DOING ENOUGH TO PREVENT SUCH A TRAGEDY IN OUR CITY?

We had a 16 year old citizen girl murdered behind Estancia High School by a man who then fled to Mexico. Where is the outrage from citizens?


We had a long time employee of the Daily Pilot murdered by an illegal alien. This murderer was living with about a dozen others in a tiny apartment in the Shalimar slum. Where is the outrage from the Daily Pilot?

Sure, we have an ICE agent in our jail, but the CM PRESS keeps hearing a buzz from citizens who believe there are some within local law enforcement and local government who are resisting bringing some illegal aliens to the notice of the ICE agent.

Some have wondered whether or not there is some sort of informal quota system working whereby, for the sake of appearances, a few illegal aliens are arrested for serious crimes, while others get a wink and nod. Those who suggest this, point out that the detainers for illegals seem to be about the same each month (averaging approximately 50 per month). They wonder why the number seems to remain so constant.

Here's what California Penal Code Section 834b says local cops should do:

(a) Every law enforcement agency in California shall fully cooperate with the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service regarding any person who is arrested if he or she is suspected of being present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws.

(b) With respect to any such person who is arrested, and suspected of being present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws, every law enforcement agency shall do the following:

(1) Attempt to verify the legal status of such person as a citizen of the United States, an alien lawfully admitted as a permanent resident, an alien lawfully admitted for a temporary period of time or as an alien who is present in the United States in violation of immigration laws. The verification process may include, but shall not be limited to, questioning the person regarding his or her date and place of birth, and entry into the United States, and demanding documentation to indicate his or her legal status.

(2) Notify the person of his or her apparent status as an alien who is present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws and inform him or her that, apart from any criminal justice proceedings, he or she must either obtain legal status or leave the United States.

(3) Notify the Attorney General of California and the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service of the apparent illegal status and provide any additional information that may be requested by any other public entity.

(c) Any legislative, administrative, or other action by a city, county, or other legally authorized local governmental entity with jurisdictional boundaries, or by a law enforcement agency, to prevent or limit the cooperation required by subdivision (a) is expressly prohibited.

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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

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