CM PRESS # 421

BREAKING NEWS--UPDATE AND CORRECTION TO GENDER

Friday--7/11/08--1:23 PM--According to the Daily Pilot, the deceased was a 39-year-old woman who appears to have commited suicide by dousing herself with gasoline and setting herself on fire. (The CM PRESS did spot a gasoline container near the body, but we didn't see any signs of fire). LINK

FRIDAY--7/11/08--6:30 AM---DEAD MALE FOUND IN STREET IN 900 BLOCK OF SPRINGFIELD (near Cheyenne) IN MESA NORTH.

Body was found in gutter and perpendicular to gutter in front of a house with two gardener's trucks in the driveway.

Deceased, age unknown, but most likely an adult, and who appeared to be wearing shorts and T-shirt, was lying on his back. Could have been white, Hispanic or Asian. From the CM PRESS's location outside the police lines, we could see no visible causes of death.

No other details known other than that a CMPD officer said the department was conducting a criminal investigation and refused to answer any questions.

Developing...

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ITEMS OF INTEREST AT NEXT CITY COUNCIL MEETING (LINK)

A. Westside Bluffs Condo/Apartments

At its July 15, 2008 meeting, the City Council will consider whether to uphold or overturn a no-Planning Commission approval for the Nexus project on the Westside Bluffs. See CM PRESS # 405 of June 24, 2008 for details of this project.

B. Let voters decide on fees/taxes?

Also at the July 15, meeting, the Council will vote on whether or not to put two measures on the ballot for the November 4, 2008 election. If these measures are on the ballot...

Voters will be asked:

1. Do you approve of increasing business license fees in Costa Mesa?

2. Do you approve of increasing the transient occupancy tax (TOT)? *

MAIN PRO ARGUMENT: Both of the above are lower than in other communities and if raised will bring in millions of dollars to the City's coffers.

MAIN CON ARGUMENT: The business climate is bad right now and raising either of these will hurt businesses in Costa Mesa.

*FYI--The transient occupancy tax is really a hotel tax. Hotels would have to pay a tax based on the number of guests they have. When this tax was last presented to the voters it failed.

But, it did so because of a poor campaign of explaining what it does and also because its proponents wanted the money to go into the general fund instead of just being used for parks. The former requires a 2/3 majority and the latter only requires a simple majority. It is expected that if the Council puts this on the ballot, that taxes raised by this measure will once again be earmarked for the general fund.

IF THE CITY DOESN'T RAISE MONEY, SERVICES WILL HAVE TO BE CUT (?)

Some are arguing that if these two measures aren't put on the ballot and if voters don't pass them, that the City will have to cut services.

Exactly which services would have to be cut has not been said, and there are many citizens of Costa Mesa who feel that the City is now providing services that should be cut.

Here's just two examples. The City is providing free day care on school campuses when school is out for the day, and the City is paying to pick up shopping carts. And, it goes on and on. It's ten grand for this little thing and forty grand for this other little thing.

Frankly, the citizens of Costa Mesa are being nickel dimed with all sorts of fluff and then when those such as the CM PRESS say we need to reorder our priorities to make some basic changes to our city that will save lives and money in the long run--such as buying up and razing gang infested slums--we are told that we have no money.

So, each year, the crime increases and instead of fixing the problem by removing slums, we hire ever more police officers. And, it's not just the salaries of the police officers that we then pay. We have retirement plans and medical plans and on and on. And, the police officers need more police cars and more equipment.

And, the graffiti? It keeps increasing, because our gang problem keeps increasing (We pay a couple hundred grand to remove it). And, the gangs? They find safe havens in the slums that the City is not removing (The CMPD gang detail keeps increasing in size).

For what it costs us for one cop (when you add in all that is required to field that cop), we could remove one slum building and remove a major source of our crime problems that we are now hiring more cops to handle. Fewer slums = less crime = fewer police officers & less graffiti abatement.

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THE HOW AND WHY OF THE UNIVERSE CONFIRMED IN AUGUST?

Here's a pretty good overview of the Higgs Boson, Peter Higgs, and the Large Hadron Collider that is expected to be turned on this month and be fully cranked up in August. LINK

If the above link doesn't work, try this one for a different article on the same subject. LINK

If Higgs is right, count on him getting a well deserved Nobel Prize. If he's wrong...well...he can always collect cans and bottles for a living.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 420

THREE-CAR GARAGES COMING TO COSTA MESA?

At its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, 7/14, the no-Planning Commission will consider changing parking and garage requirements in R-1 neighborhoods. LINK

The CM PRESS likes Alternative 2 which calls for three-car garages in homes with five or more bedrooms, but we believe this should only apply to new construction and not to existing homes that are increased to five bedrooms or more.

The problem with requiring a three-car garage in existing homes is that few homes in Costa Mesa have the necessary lot width to tack on an additional garage without in some way covering up the entrance way to the home or in some way negatively impacting the ambiance of the home.

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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 419

WANT A BETTER IDEA ABOUT THE GANG PROBLEM IN COSTA MESA?

(Here's a hint: It's related to illegal aliens)

Here's the LINK to the CMPD's "Gang Status and Gang Initiative" report presented at the March 13, 2007 City Council Study Session.

The report says that we have seven local [Latino] gangs with approximately 300 [Latino] members.

Although the report is flawed in that it doesn't once mention the words "Latino," "Hispanic" or "illegal alien," the apparently conscious omission of these words makes them even more obvious to anyone with a little common sense who can understand what he or she is reading and who keeps track of what's going on in Costa Mesa.

The report also gives nine examples of some recent gun related crimes including murder committed by these Latino gangs in Costa Mesa (pg 4 of the report).

Every one of the nine examples is of a violent Latino gang crime. There's not one example of a violent non-Latino gang crime included in the list.

And, you can bet that at least some Return to Reason types looked high and low to find one but failed to do so.

So, why do some local bigots and haters want you to believe that the gangs in Costa Mesa are equal opportunity employers? Hmmmm? Why do they want to hide the color of crime in our city?

Why do they want to convince you that some non-Latino criminals who are engaged in economic crimes are the real problem for the safety of you and your children?

Have you heard of any credit card drive-bys with phony credit cards being shot through the air all around neighborhoods where they could kill innocent people?

Look, this isn't difficult. Criminals of all stripes live in all cities the size of Costa Mesa. And, criminals are found in all races and ethnicities. No one denies it.

We might have some Russian Mafia members, some Italian Mafia members, some Yakuza members and some Chinese Triad members living in Costa Mesa.

Cities of Costa Mesa's size have all sorts of people living in them.

However, the real and present danger in Costa Mesa is from Latino gangs who have a strong connection with illegal aliens, the slums and some non-profits. That's the reality folks, no matter how many neurotic lefties try to deny it.

So long as Costa Mesa keeps the slums where illegal aliens and gangs can find safe harbors, and keeps funding certain non-profits where illegal aliens and gangs can get freebies that you and I have to pay for, we'll continue to have such gang problems.

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MEANWHILE IN AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE...

CRIME IN PC SHEEPTOWN

Lately,the crime rate in PC Sheeptown has risen and violent crime is out of control.

Statistics show that almost all of the violent crime is committed by wolves from another country who have been drawn to PC Sheeptown by the easy living.

To confuse the sheep and keep them, er, sheeplike, some local lefty sheep try to hide the identity of the wolves in violent crimes and don't give full descriptions.

Thus, the wolf suspect in a recent armed robbery was only described as a male with four legs.

And, some lefty sheep even drag red herrings across the trail by saying that some sheep are also guilty of crimes. "Why, some steal fleece and commit other economic crimes."

Then,the PC sheep, being ever PC, say to one another: "Why we just need to give more money to the non-profits and we need to hire more police officers."

Of course, when the next year rolls around, there is even more violent crime. "Why, we just have to give more money to the non-profits and we need to hire more police officers," say the PC sheep once again.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 418

ICE RESULTS FOR JUNE 2008

Another 42 illegal aliens were nabbed by ICE in June 2008 after they were arrested for various felonies and misdemeanors on the streets of Costa Mesa and were taken to Costa Mesa's jail.

That's 42 more criminals we won't have to worry about.

In June of 2007, by comparison, 50 illegal aliens were nabbed and were sent back to their own countries.

Year to date totals show that 151 illegal alien criminals have gotten the boot out of Costa Mesa.

The total would probably have been higher (around 180), but the jail was closed in February while the police station was being renovated. As a result, there was only 1 ICE detainer issued in February 2008. In February 2007, by contrast, there were 30 ICE detainers issued.

Detainers issued year to date are running about 6 percent of bookings. This figure is artificially low because of the aforementioned jail closure earlier this year.

The CM PRESS believes, based on statistics from other cities and our demographics, that the monthly detainers to arrests should be around 10 percent.

Bearing up our view on this, and now that the jail is fully operational, the June 2008 percentage of detainers to bookings is up to 9 percent, which is close to where our own projections say it should be, given the present methods used by the CMPD.

Of course, if the CMPD were to take a more aggressive stance regarding illegal aliens, we would expect ICE detainers to rise to about 20 percent or more of bookings.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 417

CMPD LOOKING FOR GUY WITH SHAVED HEAD

The OC REGISTER is reporting that a motel clerk was hit over the head and robbed in Costa Mesa on Sunday. LINK

The lousy description of the suspect that appears in the REG: "The man is described as 20 to 25 years old, medium build, with a shaved head."

As of press time, the Return to Reason almost-daily Daily Pilot hasn't even reported the incident, and the CMPD hasn't put up a press release with more details on the City's Web site.

The suspect should probably thank all involved for keeping details of his identity from being known to the public. After all, someone might realize who the guy is and drop a dime.

Wouldn't giving a little description of the largest organ in the human body help in identifying the perp?

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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 416

REPORT ON JOHN WAYNE NOISE

At its regularly scheduled Study Session on 7/8, the City Council will hear a report on John Wayne Airport noise. LINK

While the noise from JWA is an issue, we think there is too much emphasis put on noise and not enough emphasis put on the danger of airplanes and parts of airplanes (like, engines) falling to the ground.

Like thunder, the noise of planes isn't going to kill you. It's that which causes the noise that is the problem.

Cutting back on the noise is a little like ducking and covering to avoid the harm of a nuclear explosion. Again, the noise is not the real problem. It is just a symptom of the real problem.

So, here's our take on this, once again:

1. Air travel is going to continue and it's going to increase.

2. JWA can't safely handle the increase unless it expands.

3. An alternative to JWA has to be found pronto.

4. Desert airports with rail travel from OC to them, are not going to work.

5. A minuscule portion of Camp Pendleton could become a true international airport larger than LAX. This should be the focus of all who want JWA to stop growing. We're in the election season now, and this is a perfect time to get local, state and national politicians talking about building a new airport at Camp Pendleton.

HOW STUDY SESSIONS WORK

City Council Study Sessions are informal meetings where the City Council discusses various issues that may then come up at a future City Council meeting. The Council can't vote on issues at the Study Sessions but the members begin forming opinions at these sessions.

The public is allowed to speak at the start of the meeting about any of the subjects on the agenda. (You can thank the CM PRESS for this because, before we complained, the public wasn't allowed to speak.)

You only get two minutes to speak, so you have to be something of a speed talker if you want to talk about several issues.

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CONCERTS IN THE PARK

Here's the schedule for the concerts in the park. LINK

The first one is this Tuesday, 7/8.

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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 415

CM PRESS # 414

ASK NOT FOR WHOM THE ZELL TOLLS

The LA TIMES announced today that it's cutting about 250 more jobs. LINK

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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 413

FIVE CITIES RESPOND TO WESTSIDE BLUFFS HAZ MAT INCIDENT TODAY
(Stock photo)

Here's the LINK to the OC Register report on an incident at J.D Lincoln Advanced Composite Materials at 851 W. 18th Street at around noon today.

Although the Reg describes it as a "gas" leak, residents who live several blocks away from the site told the CM PRESS that it smelled like a strong solvent of some type and did not have the typical gas smell.

Before responding, the authorities should have called failed Return to Reason City Council candidate Bruce Garlich who would have probably told them that since there is no pollution on the Westside Bluffs (a stupid claim he made during the last election), that there are probably no toxic chemicals on the Westside Bluffs.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 412

CITY COUNCIL APPROVES NON-COOKIE CUTTER CONDOS FOR WESTSIDE
(Photo of cookie cutter homes--which is not the Westside)

At its meeting last night, the City Council let stand the Planning Commission decision for 7 condos to be built on a lot that runs from 616 Center Street to 613 Plummer Street.

The CM PRESS recommended this action in CM PRESS # 409 dated 6/29 and we spoke in favor of this project at the City Council meeting last night.

The real importance of this approval is that it indicates the City Council and also the Planning Commission may realize that the Westside is a special case in our city and that flexibility and creativity are needed to improve the area.

Each development or home improvement project that comes forward on the Westside must be viewed individually.

Boiler plate rules that apply in more cookie-cutter areas of the city can't be applied across the board on the Westside because of the historic way the area developed with many industrial properties along with many odd, small residential lots with homes on some of these lots that need serious upgrading to modern standards, but which are difficult to upgrade if rules applied elsewhere are strictly applied to them.
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EVOLVED FROM APES? NOT THIS GUY.

Some say that we haven't evolved from apes. Reading the comments from one reflexively frequent and ignorant blogger, who posts the most pedestrian and predictable crap imaginable on the almost-daily Daily Pilot Web site, leads us to the conclusion that they may, at least in this specific case, be right.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 411

COSTA MESA CMPD GANG UNIT STATISTICS

(Lt. Clay Epperson is in charge of the Gang Unit)

Year to date statistics(through the end of May 2008) show the Gang Unit:

Issued 96 citations for infractions.

Made 104 misdemeanor arrests.

Made 80 felony arrests.

Issued 110 STEP notices.

Made 1221 gang contacts.

Seized 1 firearm.

Reported 374 incidents of gang graffiti.

Reported 390 incidents of other graffiti.

SRO Stats

Presentations made 52.

School investigations 249

Meetings 168.

Students Counseled 597.

Arrests 33.

WHAT THE GANG UNIT STATISTICS REPORT DOESN'T SHOW (BUT SHOULD)

One alert reader of the CM PRESS, who receives pre-publication reports from us via email, noted that the report doesn't show how many of the gang members reflected in these stats are suspected illegal aliens or whether any of them were interviewed by ICE.

Since it has been shown in other cities that many gang members are illegal aliens (maybe something like 50% to 70% in some cases), the lack of this information in this report left the reader wondering if the Gang Unit is bringing suspected gang members to the ICE agent or not.

Also missing from the report are the ages and ethnicities of the gang members. This information would help flesh out the demographic picture relating to the gang and crime problem in Costa Mesa.

It would also be helpful in determining causes and solutions if the report quantified the data by neighborhoods.

THE REALITY OF OUR PROBLEMS

There are anti-White bigots, brown racists, and enablers in Costa Mesa who are trying to make it appear that gangs and crime in Costa Mesa are equal opportunity employers. They're not.

Whenever we or others mention that most of our gang and crime problems, as well as our failing schools, and many other social problems in Costa Mesa have a direct link to illegal aliens, these anti-White bigots, brown racists, and enablers try to distract citizens from the truth with red herrings about White prison gangs.

You may recall that the CMPD's own report last year about gangs in the city stated that there is no White gang problem in Costa Mesa.

Clear and complete statistics would tell the truth, and citizens deserve to know the truth.

To solve a problem, you first have to correctly identify the problem and not be distracted.

For more info, see CM PRESS # 392, 6/11;CM PRESS # 372, 5/25; CM PRESS # 288, 1/30.

If you look at these earlier issues of the CM PRESS you may notice that some of the statistics are different from those shown above. Be assured that our statistics (even when they seem to be different) have come from the CMPD.

The presumed explanation for the differences is that the present GANG UNIT stats are just from the GANG UNIT while the stats we posted earlier were from the CMPD as a whole or from the CMPD, not including the GANG UNIT.

For example, the earlier report from the CMPD (see CM PRESS # 392) indicated that there were 35 STEP notices issued for the first quarter of 2008, but the internals of the present GANG UNIT statistics show that 89 STEP notices were issued for the first quarter.

So, we wonder if this actually means there were 124 total STEP notices.

[Note: Because of format requirements, all the internals of the spread sheet of the GANG UNIT stats shown above are not included in this issue of the CM PRESS. However, they show that 34 STEP notices were issued in January; 36 in February; and 19 in March for a total of 89 for the first quarter.]

THIS IS YOUR CITY

Remember, you are the bosses. This is your city and you have a right to full and complete information on the state of this city. Don't let anyone tell you that you have no right to statistics on crime, gangs and other matters.

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HOMICIDES down 44 percent; RAPE down 33 percent; ROBBERIES down 23 percent; AGGRAVATED ASSAULTS down 18 percent.

WHY?

Because of a crackdown on illegal aliens, say Virginia officials. LINK

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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.