CM PRESS # 499

GENETIC LINK TO DEPRESSION FOUND
Link
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TWO NYPD COPS BEING EYED AS POSSIBLE SERIAL KILLERS
Link

Bodies of young women have been turning up in brush on Long Island, and cops are looking at a couple of their own as suspects.
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SCIENTISTS FIND 'MASTER SWITCH' GENE FOR OBESITY
Link

It's KLF14. 

An important thing that is once again pointed out in the above linked article is that very small changes in genes can have major effects on the complete individual.

Genes are us.
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COSTA MESA HAS LOWEST HOMEOWNERSHIP RATE OF ANY CITY IN O.C.
Link to OC REGISTER article and full list.

Costa Mesa has a homeownership rate of 39.6% vs. 60.4% renters.

Newport Beach has a homeownership rate of  54.8% vs. 42.2% renters.

Huntington Beach has a homeownership rate of  60.%% vs. 39.5% renters.

Fountain Valley has a homeownership rate of  72.2% vs. 27.8% renters.

Irvine has a homeownership rate of 50.2% vs. 49.8% renters.

Santa Ana has a homeownership rate of 47.5% vs. 52.5% renters.

What's it mean?

Costa Mesa's stats are just about opposite of what they should be. 

Our city would probably be more stable if we had 60.4% homeownership and 39.6% renters, instead of the other way around.

In other words, as a City, we should be trying to increase our homeownership stats.

The best way to do that, in our view, is to build more executive level homes on the Westside.
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IRVINE IS TOUGH COMPETITION FOR COSTA MESA AS WE TRY TO GET YOUNG, UPWARDLY MOBILE FAMILIES TO LIVE HERE
Link

Irvine opens a new village with 597 homes.  When you go to the above link, note that "access to Irvine Unified School District," is featured in the article as an enticement to new home owners.

What that tells parents: "Move to this village in Irvine and your kids will get a leg up on life by being in a top rated school with other kids who are also from upwardly mobile families. This may not guarantee that your kids will be successful in life, but the best way to be successful is to be around successful people."
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TIME TO INVESTIGATE THIS GUY

Below in blue is a comment from "bigdawg," one of the usual haters and bigots, that is appearing below the story linked to in the CM PRESS article below.

What's concerning about this comment is that, as far as we know, the information that "8 plain clothes officers" had to work about "4 hours of overtime each to guard their homes [threatened Councilmembers] on St. Patty's Day," was never published in the newspapers or publicly revealed.

So, it's reasonable to believe that "bigdawg" somehow has internal and confidential information from the police department.  Is he putting people at risk by revealing internal CMPD information?  It could be.

Is bigdawg one of the bad cops--part of that left wing clique within the department that works against citizens of this city?

Suppose you or your loved ones are stopped on a dark road some night in Costa Mesa by a cop.  Will that cop be bigdawg or someone like him who has some kind of emotional problem and/or political/social agenda that he's using his badge to further? 

bigdawg at 9:57 PM May 14, 2011
Hey Joe Serna, why don't you ask Mensinger why he didn't care that he and Righeimer forced 8 plain clothes officers to work about 4 hours of overtime each to guard their homes on St. Patty's Day? Seems appropriate due to his comments printed here. My guess is no city expense can be spared for the protection of his and Righeimer's families, but rest of the city be damned. He is the definition of a hypocrite.
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PROPAGANDISTIC MEET AND GREET CALLED OFF

Link

 

Photo of A-Frame Sign on Trailer used by out of town cops

 

One would have to be a complete naif to not know that the meet and greet that the mostly out of town political police and political fire department wanted to put on at this time was a propaganda event to stick it to the City Council and the citizens of this city.

The political types also wanted to do it while getting paid by us and by using our equipment that we bought.

Naturally, Wendy Leece, who got big time support in the last election from the mostly out of town cops and out of town fire fighters, didn't like the event being called off.

If there is to be a meet and greet, then let it be conducted at City Hall and let all elected officials and employees of the City schmooze with citizens.

And, don't hold it until the City government is right sized and citizen faith and confidence in our uniformed services is restored.

The last election, in which cops drove around the city with a huge A-frame anti-Righeimer sign on a trailer, isn't being forgotten by most activist citizens.  That action and some other anti-Righeimer actions by those who are supposed to be professionals caused a major rift between citizens and the uniformed services.

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Those are our opinions.  Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 498

WHAT ABOUT ONE POLICE FORCE FOR NEWPORT BEACH AND COSTA MESA?

We already have one school district for the two cities, so why not one police force? 

Newport-Mesa Police Department?

As with any proposal that is floated, there are negatives and positives.  One of the main negatives would be that some residents of each city would think that their city is getting the short end of the stick.

But, one has to wonder if combining the two police forces might save money and still deliver good service.
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COSTA MESA'S CREDIT RATING DROPPED
Link

In the above link, be sure to notice the words "socioeconomic factors," being part of the reason for the drop.

Now, what do you think that means?  Right.
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MAN SPENDS LIFE SAVINGS TO TELL PEOPLE THE WORLD WILL END ON MAY 21, 2011
Link

We can hardly wait to hear what he says on May 22, to explain why it didn't happen.

If he follows the usual pattern of those who predict the end of the Earth and then fail, he'll probably use some variation of one of the following excuses:

1. People prayed, so God changed his mind and spared the Earth.
2. I got the math wrong.
3. Only God knows the day of doom, and I was arrogant to think that I could predict it. God has now humbled me and I believe more than ever.

Ho hum.
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ABOUT THOSE PERCENTAGES WE USED...

You may have seen our recent column in the Daily Pilot [HERE] in which we wrote:

"There are ratios based on what other cities spend on labor versus other things in their budgets, and it turns out that Costa Mesa spends more than 80% of its budget on wages and benefits while the average for California cities is down below 50%."

Did you wonder about those percentages we used? Here are parts of two different OC REGISTER columns on this which confirm our above percentages:

"The city [Costa Mesa] is running a $1.4 million deficit this year, after cutting most non-essential services in recent years. But more than 80 percent of the city budget goes to pay employees; the statewide average is 47 percent."
 LINK to full OC REGISTER column.

And...
"In 2007-08, the statewide average for cities was 47 percent of the operating budget spent on salaries and benefits; the median figure was 49 percent. Costa Mesa's figure was 80 percent that year, and 78 percent for the fiscal year just ended.

Over the last 17 years for which data was available, Costa Mesa spent between 61 percent and 93 percent of its operating budget on salaries. Most years, the number was in the high 60s or low 70s."
LINK to full OC REGISTER column.

You read that right.  In at least one recent year, Costa Mesa spent 93 percent of its operating budget on salaries. 

In other words [takes off shoes to count toes] 93 percent of our operating budget went to salaries and just 7 percent went to other things.
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Those are our opinions.  Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 497

ASSOCIATION OF CALIFORNIA CITIES--ORANGE COUNTY WORKING ON PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PENSION REFORM

The group released polling data from Probolsky Research showing that about two-thirds of Orange County taxpayers agree with the urgent need for pension reform. Specific measures, received even higher marks. Some of these include:

83% support requiring local government employees to contribute the same amount as their employers
73% support capping benefit amounts
72% support allowing local government agencies to freeze unaffordable pension plans
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COSTA MESA SHOULD RAISE FEES ON BUSINESSES TO PAY FOR GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES?  HUH?

One frequently heard argument from those who don't want Costa Mesa's government to get right sized and to be more business like is that Costa Mesa should raise its fees and especially its business license fees.

Why should Costa Mesa do this?  According to those who argue this way, Costa Mesa will then be able to pay its workers and not lay anyone off.

Such an argument is flawed and fails to recognize that government expands to take all the money it can get and then it demands more to expand more.

And, it never ends.  More and more money is demanded by government, simply because it can demand it.

We think the present City Council is on the right track in right sizing our government and attempting to buy the services citizens need at the best price.

Where we think there can be more improvement is in letting businesses nation wide know that Costa Mesa is a great place to do business, precisely because it does have low fees, and our low fees help offset the high cost of doing business in California.
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TECHNICAL PROBLEMS WITH BLOGSPOT.  CM PRESS # 496 WENT MISSING AS DID ALL POSTS FROM ALL BLOGS DURING THAT TIME PERIOD.  SHOULD BE RESTORED SOON.
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Those are our opinions.  Thanks for reading them.

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.

CM PRESS # 495

WHAT TO DO WITH TRIANGLE SQUARE

Had we been active when the City Council back then was considering approving building Triangle Square, you would have seen us go to the podium and say to the Council: "Are you out of your friggin' minds?"

Triangle Square should never have been built as a retail center.  It just doesn't work.

And, the facility will never be a money maker for its owners unless certain things happen or are done.

Here's what we would say to those who want to make Triangle Square work.

1. If it is to remain a retail center, the 55 Freeway has to be undergrounded and the area up above--which is now a busy street--has to be turned into a pedestrian friendly square.  Maybe with no cars at all. 

Then, the area from the present Mother's Market to Triangle Square would turn into a prosperous Town Square for Costa Mesa (assuming proper traffic circulation elements and parking are added on the fringes).

Unfortunately, undergrounding the 55 with present economics is way off in the future, if at all.

2.  Triangle Square could be turned into a college. 

3.  Triangle Square could be turned into office space. Maybe even a new City Hall for Costa Mesa, and the present City Hall could be sold to Vanguard University, which wants that building as part of its campus.

Or, maybe we could get the DMV to move from W. 19th Street to Triangle Square and free up its 19th Street site for a proper retail center or supermarket.

Options 2 and 3 get around the problem with the underground parking, because students or those working in the offices or going to those offices would have little choice but to park in the caverns--which is something that retail customers, who have a choice, prefer not to do.
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Those are our opinions.  Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 494

SEVERAL DAY OLD ARTICLE IN THE DAILY PILOT ABOUT WASTE WATCHERS
Link

We meant to write a few lines about this before, but it got lost in the shuffle.  Frankly, we're all for this idea. 

We can't tell you how many City Council meetings we've gone to over the past few years in which one of our main purposes in going was to castigate various City Councils for spending like drunken sailors.

But, it wasn't just spending per se that got our goat, it was the lack of proper priorities to fix our city.

We're of the fish hook instead of a fish view on this and we want the City Council to spend money on fish hooks, not on fish.

Hopefully, the employee group behind this will even start a blog or website to point out where our money is being wasted. 

Who better to spot waste than those on the inside?
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GOOD SCHOOL ARTICLE IN THE DAILY PILOT
Link

From the DP article: "The five lowest-scoring elementary schools [in the district] — Adams (768), College Park (743), Pomona (725), Whittier (722), Rea (712) and Wilson (718) — are in Costa Mesa."

The truth about school scores is that they are based on how the students score.  They have very little, if anything, to do with  funding, the teachers or the school buildings.

The high scoring schools, which are all in Newport Beach, have about the same funding, the same quality of teachers and the same type of school buildings as the low scoring schools in Costa Mesa.

If you have students who score well on standardized tests, the school scores are higher.

And, when you have an upscale area, full of students from upwardly mobile parents who live in those areas, you usually have students who perform better on the tests.

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A CAMEL IS A HORSE DESIGNED BY A COMMITTEE

While the CM PRESS has been calling for the City Council and the Planning Commission to dust off the Westside plans and implement them, we have to tell you that there are some possible mistakes in those plans that should not be implemented.

How did possible mistakes get into the plans?  They were the result of various compromises made by the committee members--most of whom didn't know anything about how to develop retail shopping areas so retailers can make money.

We do not need more Triangle Squares all up and down W. 19th Street.

Here's a few basics that you need to know about the optimum way to design small retail shopping centers in our area:

1. Retail stores have be on the ground floor.
2. Proper parking should be out front, not in the rear, and not underground.
3. There has to be a proper tenant mix.
4. Ingress and egress must be via wide curb cuts.
5. The parking lots should not be cut up with too much foliage, but should remain as flat and open as possible.

The problem we have with W. 19th Street, as we've written before, is that the lots are mostly very shallow and won't allow for proper parking out front (# 2 above).

The solution is to either find a way to make those lots deeper and then assemble several of them with frontage on W. 19th Street or to try to make a Belmont Shore model work.

Belmont Shore, as you probably know, is a trendy, upscale, neighborhood in Long Beach with the main retail drag being 2nd Street.

The retail stores in Belmont Shore are all right on the sidewalk and the parking is either in front along the curb, in back in small lots, or up and down the residential streets that back up to 2nd Street.

Belmont Shore works primarily because of the upscale demographics of the area. And these demographics overcome any negatives relating to parking and design.

Could the Belmont Shore model work on W. 19th Street?

Possibly, but many other changes would have to happen in the surrounding neighborhoods or the retailers would probably starve.

DEMOGRAPHIC REPORTS

Say you're the owner of a successful retail store, bar or restaurant someplace and you want to expand.

How would you pick a new location?  Throw darts at a map?  Just guess?

If you're a sophisticated retailer, you'll first find out the demographics surrounding your present successful location and then look for another area that has very similar demographics.

Fortunately, there are such reports for all areas of the country.  You can usually get those reports in one mile, three mile and five mile circles, with the one mile circle being your primary market.

So, if you have a business in Belmont Shore, would you find the demographics around W. 19th Street similar to Belmont Shore?  The answer is no.

But, say you have a pawn shop or a second hand store in a downscale area, would you find similar demographics around W. 19th Street?  The answer is yes.

You see the problem.
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Those are our opinons. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 493

PLANNING COMMISSION TO DISCUSS THE WESTSIDE PLANS AT ITS 5/23 STUDY SESSION
Link

The CM PRESS has been urging the City Council and the Planning Commission to dust off the Westside plans that many of us worked on and to see if they can start being more aggressive in implementing them.

This discussion sounds like it may be a good first step. 

What the Commissioners do after this step is even more important.  

For example, one good thing the Commissioners could do is make a strong recommendation to the City Council to hold its own or a joint City Council/Planning Commission meeting on implementing these plans. 

A significant part of these plans involves revitalizing W. 19th Street and making it a destination location. 

However, one of the problems with W. 19th Street is that many of the lots are too shallow to accommodate new development even if lots are assembled.

Maybe the City Council and the Planning Commission will have some ideas on how to get around this problem.
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HISPANIC GANG FIGHT ON WESTSIDE--TWO STABBED--TWO ARRESTED
Link

Unless the City Council gets serious about fixing the Westside, we're going to see more gang crime and we're going to see the crime spread all over the city.

Here's what to do to fix the Westside:  Hire more cops.  Drain the friggin' swamp.  What does that mean?  It means buy slum buildings, tear them down, and put in pocket parks.  It also means stop feeding the charities that are acting as magnets for a down scale population.

Let's start competing for upwardly mobile residents by improving the Westside.
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[UPDATE ON AZ STORY:  Cash pouring in to build fence.  HERE'S WHERE YOU CAN DONATE.]
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AZ FED UP WITH DO NOTHING FEDS IS GOING TO BUILD ITS OWN BORDER FENCE USING ON LINE DONATIONS AND PRISON LABOR
Link
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PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING TONIGHT
Link to agenda.

What's important on the agenda is what isn't there--applications for trendy restaurants on the Westside.

There's an application for a new restaurant called Greenleaf that wants to go in on E. 17th Street and which is going through the hoops because of perceived parking problems.

Now, why aren't we seeing any trendy restaurants going in on W. 19th Street?

When will the Planning Commission and the City Council do what is necessary to open up W. 19th Street for proper development?

ASIDE:
The Planning Commission still has some deadwood on it.  We need five activist members on that body.  We don't need people on the Planning Commission who are either party hacks or who just want to collect their checks and have a resume enhancement by being on the Commission.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 492

GET OUR TROOPS OUT OF AFGHANISTAN
Link to OC Register article.

We should go even further than this.  Any time we topple one government and put another in power, we should send a bill to the new government and get paid for our work.  The pay we demand should also compensate our military people and the families of any who didn't make it.
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WE IMAGINE...

UPDATE TO CRISSY BROOKS STORY ABOUT THE WAYWARD MATTRESS
Link to original Daily Pilot column by Brooks.

In the above linked column, Brooks writes that a man from her Shalimar neighborhood was discovered to be an illegal alien (An illegal alien in Shalimar? Who'd a thunk it?), and was deported.  This caused some unhappiness among his mattress needing family that remains in Shalimar.

Brooks then gave a used mattress to the family.

We now imagine the adult woman who received the mattress writes a letter to Brooks.

Dear Senorita Great White Mother Brooks,

Gracias for the used mattress that you gave us.  You shouldn't have done it. Really.

Now, my children are scratching all the time from  bedbugs and one of them has head lice. 

Another one has ringworm. A third smells of old urine all the time and the fourth one has some sort of rash from head to toe.

Also, the  illegal aliens  our, er, cousins, who are renting floor space in our apartment, ah, visiting, say that after they take their turns to sleep on the mattress they get back pains and can't get hired when they stand on the corner looking for work. have trouble working.

My husband says that as soon as he sneaks back into Costa Mesa he's going to come find you.

We wonder, would it be possible for you to maybe go practice your compassion in Africa in the future?

We hear that Barack Obama's brother is living in a tiny hut with a dirt floor.  Maybe you can take the mattress with you when you go?


 /s/ Senora Not really needing a Great White Mother


P.S. Do you know a fumigation company that will tent our entire apartment building for free?  The bedbugs, the lice, the urine smell and even the backaches have now spread to all the other units from your demon mattress.
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Mother o' Mine by Rudyard Kipling

If I were hanged on the highest hill,
Mother o' mine, O mother o' mine!
I know whose love would follow me still,
Mother o' mine, O mother o' mine!

If I were drowned in the deepest sea,
Mother o' mine, O mother o' mine!
I know whose tears would come down to me,
Mother o' mine, O mother o' mine!

If I were damned of body and soul,
I know whose prayers would make me whole,
Mother o' mine, O mother o' mine!
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CM PRESS # 491

H.B. GETS COMPETITIVE AND MEANS BUSINESS
Link

If you buy a car in Costa Mesa, you get a car. 

 If you buy a car in Huntington Beach, you get a car and a beach pass worth $ 150.
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POSTER FROM ESTANCIA HIGH SCHOOL

The Mr. Flores named on this poster is Joel Flores, a Language Arts teacher at Estancia High School. LINK

You may have seen  Mr. Flores in the Repair Costa Mesa TV commercial [HERE @ 12 second mark].

Mr. Flores, you may recall, got into some sort of verbal altercation with Councilman Steve Mensinger recently.

After the story of the altercation hit the newspapers and blogs, some parents of students apparently wanted to know exactly what was being taught at Estancia.

In an apparent attempt to answer those parents, the Daily Pilot then ran an article on May 2, [HERE] in which Estancia Princpal Kirk Bauermeister was reported to have said that Flores kept his political beliefs out of the classroom.

However, on May 4, the PILOT issued a correction [HERE] and said that  Principal Bauermeister did not say that Flores kept his political beliefs out of the classroom.

So, given the PILOT's correction, many parents are probably wondering if Flores does keep his political beliefs out of the classroom or not.

Here's a notice that is now appearing on the Estancia High School website [HERE] that mentions Mr. Flores and room 250, again.

Answer Club Day of Silence– To commemorate Thursday’s Day of Silence the Answer Club is showing movies about LGBT rights today at lunch in Mr. Flores’ classroom (room. 250). Estancia’s Day of Silence is Thursday, April 28 to remember those we have lost.

If Mr. Flores or Mr. Bauermeister want to comment, they are welcome to do so. We may even feature their comments up here on the main page as well as in comments down below. We're sure parents would like to know more about what's going on in our schools.
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Those are our opinions.  Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 490

UPDATE:  WE JUST RECEIVED THE ANSWERS TO A READER'S QUESTIONS

Push poll question: 12. City council spent thousands on new carpet and remodeling of city hall, do you agree with this type of spending?

Mr. Lobdell's answer: The proposed $7 million in upgrades for City Hall in the 2010-2011 budget was part of an unfunded, 7-year, $204-million capital improvement program, which included needed road repairs, fire station renovations and park improvements that have been on the city’s to-do list for years. The City Hall renovations have not been started—and there are not plans to do so in the foreseeable future—because the city doesn’t have the funds. Though needed, the City Hall repairs are not a priority right now.


Push poll question: 13. City bureaucrats keep changing the size of the budget deficit. It's changed from a large deficit to a small deficit and now no deficit in an effort to make the city more partisan. Do you think their actions are misleading?

Mr. Lobdell's answer: The council passed the 2010-2011 budget last June with a deficit of more than $11.2 million. Because of increased tax revenues, employee concessions and budget cuts, that deficit now stands at about $1.6 million (including the $200,000 added for consultant services), and that’s the budget gap the City is projected to finish the fiscal year with.

The budget gap for the 2011-2012 fiscal year initially came in at $5 million from the first numbers submitted by each department. In addition, council has indicated that it wants to adequately invest in infrastructure and technology and replenish its reserves, which would add more to in the initial budget gap.

City Chief Executive Officer Tom Hatch has said he’ll submit a balanced 2011-2012 budget to the City Council on May 17, along with a 5-year budget projection that will include estimates of revenues, expenditures and funding for infrastructure, technology and replenishment of its reserves.

It’s also important to note that Costa Mesa still has $222 million (the actual market number, according to CalPERS) in unfunded pension liabilities and $35.4 million in unfunded retirement health benefits.

Push poll question: 14. City politicians are laying off employees while they spent $90,000 printing newsletters available online. A $50,000 car allowance for 3 council members, and hundreds on gold name badges the same day they sent out layoff notices to city employees. Do you agree with their actions?

Mr. Lobdell's answer: It will take some time to research the alleged $90,000 in printing costs for newsletters, but, for example, the City does print a Recreation Guide that for its residents. Not everyone in the City—especially seniors—get their information online.

Council members do not get a car allowance.

I think the badges are a reference to what the employees association is calling “jewel-encrusted” nameplates. These are not “nameplates” but council badges that cost $175 a piece. For decades, the City has given badges to all council members as ceremonial gifts when they first take office. I suppose the badges can used to identify oneself as a council member but I imagine they are rarely, if ever, used that way.

Another error: The badges weren’t ordered on St. Patrick’s Day. They were ordered on Feb. 9, 2011 and shipped on March 17, 2011.

And finally, they aren’t “jewel-encrusted.” The badges have a single tiny fleck of what the vendor calls a “ruby” for the eagle’s eye.

In a city that faces $222 million (current market value, according to CalPERS) in unfunded pension liabilities, $35.4 million in unfunded retirement health benefit liabilities, recent depletion of its reserves by more than $30 million and is working to close a multi-million dollar budget gap for the 2011-2012 fiscal year, questioning the purchase for two council badges for $175 each is a diversion from the real budget challenges.
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LOBDELL MORE OPAQUE THAN TRANSPARENT? [3:44 p.m. 5/6/11--See Update above for answers we just received from Mr. Lobdell.]

In the old days (just a few months ago), if the CM PRESS had a question regarding the municipal government, we would often email City Manager Allan Roeder and we'd always get a quick answer.

Now that the City has hired Bill Lobdell  as the City's communications director we can't seem to get quick answers. This is not the first example of this, either.

Below is an email that we sent to Bill Lobdell at 8:35 a.m. this morning.

It's now 1:55 p.m. and we haven't even received an acknowledgment of our email.

5/6/11--8:35 AM



Hi Mr. Lobdell,

The following three questions are reportedly part of a telephone push poll that is being conducted in Costa Mesa.


A reader of my blog, the CM PRESS, wants to know if there's any truth to the assertions in these questions and, if not, exactly what might the pollster be using to make such assertions.


Do you have any short answers that I can publish?


Respectfully,


M. H. Millard
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12. City council spent thousands on new carpet and remodeling of city hall, do you agree with this type of spending?


13. City bureaucrats keep changing the size of the budget deficit. It's changed from a large deficit to a small deficit and now no deficit in an effort to make the city more partisan. Do you think their actions are misleading?


14. City politicians are laying off employees while they spent $90,000 printing newsletters available online. A $50,000 car allowance for 3 council members, and hundreds on gold name badges the same day they sent out layoff notices to city employee. Do you agree with their actions?


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THE HARM THAT MISPLACED COMPASSION IS DOING TO ALL CITIZENS OF COSTA MESA

Suppose Wendy Leece or Crissy Brooks or any of the other charity mavens just came over and cut one of your bedrooms out of your home? 

Imagine that they could just rip it out and patch up the hole. Then imagine that they used the wood from that bedroom to, oh, build a fire to keep illegal aliens warm and comfortable in Costa Mesa.

What would the result be for you?

Well, you just lost thousands of dollars in value to your home because now it's smaller and has one less bedroom.

That, in essence, is what is going on in Costa Mesa.

By keeping parts of our city downscale, it's almost as though these two and other charity mavens have ripped out part of our homes and made them less valuable. 

Compassion that helps those who shouldn't even be in the city, at our expense, is false compassion and it is not praiseworthy.
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CRISSY BROOKS HELPS ANOTHER FAMILY WITH AT LEAST ONE ILLEGAL ALIEN MEMBER STAY HAPPY AND COMFORTABLE ON THE WESTSIDE INSTEAD OF MOVING TO WHERE THEY CAN AFFORD TO LIVE
Link

Misplaced compassion is helping keep part of the Westside a skid row.

And, when our City Council gives our money to charities that are magnets for people who can't afford to live in Costa Mesa without subsidies the problems grow.

Wendy Leece also promotes the magnet charities.  Wendy's usual excuse for helping keep the Westside down is that she's helping "the kids."

"The kids" is always a big excuse for lefties like Leece.

Hey, Wendy and Crissy, how about the citizens of Costa Mesa and the Westside?  Don't they deserve a better and safer city with high performing schools?  Why are you snubbing them?  Why are you helping illegal aliens?

If you want to help poor people, why don't you two go to a poor country instead of importing the poor country here for your limousine compassion?
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PUSH POLL SCRIPT BEING USED BY BIG UNION
(According to a reader. This also appears in comments section of CM PRESS # 489.)

J said...

I got a call from California Opinion Research (916) 443-4722 at 6:00pm this evening. They say they are contracted by “Costa Mesa City Wide” to conduct a survey of people in the area.

Asked to answer with not likely, most likely, or definitely:
1. How likely are you to vote in the 2011 special election?

Asked to answer the following with positive, negative or neutral:
2. Have you heard of mayor Monahan?
3. Have you heard of Steven Mensinger?
4. Have you heard of Mayor pro tem Righeimer?
5. Have you heard of Wendy Leece?
6. Have you heard of Costa Mesa Public Employees Association?
7. Costa Mesa City Council?
8. OC Employee Association?
9. City council proposal to outsource city employees and services?
10. The city council has proposed to outsource 213 jobs or nearly half the city staff what do you think of this proposal?

Asked to give an answer to:
11. Where did you hear about this proposal?

Asked to answer the following with disagree neutral or agree:

12. City council spent thousands on new carpet and remodeling of city hall, do you agree with this type of spending?

13. City bureaucrats keep changing the size of the budget deficit. It's changed from a large deficit to a small deficit and now no deficit in an effort to make the city more partisan. Do you think their actions are misleading?

14. City politicians are laying off employees while they spent $90,000 printing newsletters available online. A $50,000 car allowance for 3 council members, and hundreds on gold name badges the same day they sent out layoff notices to city employee. Do you agree with their actions?

15. Instead of outsourcing these city jobs should the city consider reducing council members pay and perks including a 10,000 car allowance for the city manager?

16. Some people claim city employee wages and Pension costs are bankrupting the city should the city council be considering outsourcing city jobs and services to balance the budget?

17. Do you support a recall of Mayor Monohan

18. Recall Eric Bever?

19. Recall Mayor pro tem Righiemer?

20. Recall Steve Mensinger?

21. City workers say the top 4 council members efforts have polarized the city are they out of line or doing the right thing?

Asked to give an answer:
22. Do you own Cable or Satellite TV?
23. Do you consider yourself a liberal moderate or conservative?
24. Last year of education completed?
25. Do you or any member of your household belong to a labor union?
26. Do you have a facebook account?
27. Whats your race?
28. What year were you born?

This is the order questions were given and I did my best to use the exact wording used. I got the impression the survey was intended to be negative towards members of the city council and the proposal to outsource employees to balance the city budget.

Another reader comments on the above:

May 5, 2011 7:03:00 PM PDT
Anonymous said...
Interesting comments about the opinion survey! I believe this same polling company has been calling my home to speak to my wife - a Dem and in a union. They are calling several times a day for the last week and so far missed her because of her busy schedule. Their persistance suggests she is selected specifically because she fits some model of who is likely to provide answers they are seeking. It appears the survey is designed to produce a desired result calling into question their selection criteria.
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CM PRESS # 489

AS YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED...

The CM PRESS mostly supports what we think the City Council majority is trying to do: Get the government on more of a business footing and put our tax money where it will do the most good for the citizens of this city and improve the Westside and the rest of the city.

However, and we've written this before, we don't have loyalty to people or political parties. 

Our loyalty is to the improvement of Costa Mesa.

If the Council majority doesn't start doing things to improve the Westside in meaningful ways, our support is going to go away very fast.

THE GOP ESTABLISHMENT SAW THE PARADE AND JUMPED IN FRONT AND SAID THEY WERE LEADING IT

Some readers may recall that the CM PRESS opposed Jim Righeimer when he ran for the City Council the first time.

At that time we didn't think he'd been in Costa Mesa long enough to understand anything about improvement.  He lost that first election.

We knew when Righeimer first popped up what was going on. 

The GOP establishment had noticed that the Improvers were winning elections in Costa Mesa, and that we were doing it with candidates who the establishment types thought could never win elections and who had almost no money.

So, they probably figured that there was some sort of magic working in Costa Mesa that they could take advantage of, if they just moved their players into the city.

And, that's what they've done. We still have no problem with that, so long as they help improve Costa Mesa.

In fact, we don't care if it's the Raving Mad Looney Party that moves in so long as they help improve Costa Mesa.

As part of this moving in process, the GOP establishment has put some of its unknown operatives on the no-Planning Commission and the no-Parks and Recreation Commission and in other nooks and crannies of local government.  We still have no problem with that so long as they help improve Costa Mesa.

Take a look at the website for the Costa Mesa Taxpayers Association.  That's not homegrown.  It's a GOP establishment site. Again, we still have no problem with it or the group so long as they help improve Costa Mesa.

But, the GOP establishment types are foolish if they think the hard core Improvers are patsies who can just be used with no payback.

If the GOP establishment types want the continued support of the Improvers, they have to step up and (are you ready?) HELP IMPROVE COSTA MESA and ESPECIALLY THE WESTSIDE.

TANSTAAFL
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HEY, I AGREE WITH THOSE OTHER SISSIES  GUYS ABOUT BULLIES
(We imagine the weakling in the photo is  speaking.)

"Every time I walk up to some guy who has even a smidgen of testosterone and I start mouthing off and using fighting words and that guy says "Boo" I feel like I've been bullied. Whaaaaaaa, whaaaaaa, whaaaaaa."

"If you ask me, the world is full of bullies.  I see them all over the place.  Why, the other day I was bullied by a 10-year-old girl who wouldn't move out of my way at the 99 cents store where I was buying some new panties for myself."


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