Disillusioned Ex-Hippy, Author at Friends For Fullerton's Future

April 12, 2026April 12, 2026Ahmad Zahra

More Trouble in College Park

After my post the other day, FFFF received this communication from a gentleman who refers to himself as Richard From College Park.

Dear Friends for Fullerton’s Future,

I’m reaching out about something deeply concerning in Fullerton that I believe needs immediate attention on your blog. You blogged about it yesterday.

The City of Fullerton has issued a permit for a development in our preservation district that is completely out of character with the neighborhood. As you can see from the attached image, this structure is a jarring addition that completely disregards the historic character and architectural integrity of the area.

What’s particularly frustrating is that this is happening in a designated preservation zone where there should be stricter oversight to maintain the neighborhood’s historic charm. The building looks completely out of place and frankly, it’s an eyesore that detracts from the surrounding properties.

I’m wondering how the city could possibly approve something like this in a preservation district. There seems to be a serious disconnect between the preservation guidelines and what’s actually being approved. This sets a dangerous precedent that could lead to more inappropriate developments that undermine the character of our historic neighborhoods.

I think this would make for an excellent blog post that could bring attention to this issue. Perhaps you could explore:

How this project got approved despite preservation guidelines
What recourse residents have when inappropriate developments are approved
Whether there’s been a pattern of similar approvals in preservation districts
How the city’s planning process might be failing to protect historic areas

I believe your readers would be very interested in this story, and it might help pressure the city to be more thoughtful about future development in preservation districts.

I really want my District Councilman Ahmad Zahra to do something about this travesty.

Please let me know if you’d be interested in covering this story. I’m happy to provide any additional information you might need.

Thank you for any assistance.

Richard from College Park

Thanks for the input. I’m going to stay on top of this. We need to find out who dropped the ball, and why Sunaya Thomas cooked up a rasher of bullshit for the City Councul.

April 9, 2026April 9, 2026Ahmad Zahra

Trouble in College Park

by Disillusioned Ex-Hippy36 Comments

College Park is an old neighborhood adjacent to Fullerton Junior College. Back in 1979 the City designated it as an historic preservation zone. That was 46 years ago if you’re counting. The area is full of little bungalows and small spanishy looking houses. It’s a nice neighborhood even if you add in the dinky roundabouts on Wilshire – the brainstorm of Wild Ride Joe Felz, who certainly could not have navigated them on election night, 2016.

But I digress.

At the last City Council meeting a woman who lives on Cornell Avenue in the district complained about a building on her street under construction that was completely out of character with the neighborhood and the preservation rules, adopted in 1996, that are supposed to protect against such things. She kindly reminded the Council that she lives in D5 – Ahmad Zahra’s district.

So I went over to the 100 North block of Cornell Avenue and snapped some images.

Now I’m not an architect, but something is awfully wrong here. Yeah, it’s a big box with cheap, misaligned windows that is completely out of scale with the houses around it. Yikes. Check out the puny little rooflet over the cheapo Home Depot door.

How could this happen? It looks like somebody in City Hall dropped the melon with a loud plop. As I understand it, there is a staff process for reviewing these developments. Did it occur? I don’t know. But whether it did or didn’t happen, the problem is obvious. If it didn’t, why not? If they did what sort of knucklehead(s) could have approved this?

Eyesore is right.

At the meeting Development Director Sunaya Thomas preposterously claimed this hulking monster was somehow an ADU development – meaning a mere accessory dwelling unit, a “granny unit,” and that the City had no real control over the design of the beast; and also that it was up to the owner to figure out parking for his tenants! Up to the owner? Since when?

Of course Ms. Thomas is talking out of her backside, as is so often the case. The rules for preservation in the R2P zone are called out in the Municipal Code – Chapter 15.17.60, from which I quote:

All proposed development, including the rehabilitation of existing structures, will be reviewed for compliance with established design criteria and standards, specific to the preservation zones and identified significant properties. These adopted design criteria and standards, entitled “Design Guidelines for Residential Preservation Zones,” are intended to serve as a baseline — a set of elementary guidelines — by which a proposal will be evaluated.

Here are the the guidelines, supposedly unknown to the very person in charge of applying them to new development in preservation zones:

https://www.cityoffullerton.com/home/showpublisheddocument/1232/637436214735730000

I learned a long time ago that it’s almost impossible to make Fullerton planning bureaucrats do their jobs (see noise ordinance issues). The defensiveness and lack of shame will always prevail. But this is appalling. The rules are there to follow, not to pick and choose.

Thomas failed and failed badly. The Council was lied to on Tuesday night. Does anybody care?

Hopefully the D5 council representative Ahmad Zahra, who champions transparency and accountability, will get to the bottom of this fiasco.

April 8, 2026April 8, 2026Ahmad Zahra

Supply Your Own Title

by Disillusioned Ex-Hippy24 Comments

Hey, pretty lady,’ lookin’ fer a wife. Mileage no issue. Clock’s tickin.’

Knock yourselves out.

March 5, 2026March 5, 2026Ahmad Zahra

Surpise!

by Disillusioned Ex-Hippy12 Comments

On Tuesday night the Fullerton City Council did something very rare for a government agency. Nothing.

The issue at hand was a response to a State mandate to get rid of non-functional turf by denying it potable irrigation water. Therefore it was believed that some sort of xeriscape would be needed to replace the lawn in front of City Hall. I have has posted a couple times about this nonsense.

Oh Dear. Surveys were conducted, the charade of public input was exercised, copious staff time was spent culling and collating in preparation for the inevitable routine: hiring consultants and “designers,” organizing charettes, redrafts; months of fruitful effort developing bid quantities, taking bids, awarding and managing contracts, etc., etc., ad nauseam.

And then the remarkable occurred: leave the damn thing alone. In fact, while you’re leaving the grass alone, re-open the fountain that has been shut down as a virtue-signaling gesture years ago. Staff didn’t see that coming. Neither did I.

Some folks rightly pointed out that the lawn was functional – as a gathering place for meetings, protests and even municipal-sponsored events! First Amendment and civic pride. That sealed the deal.

But the road of lawn laissez-faire was not without a couple of speed bumps. “Dr.” Ahmad Zahra wanted a grand public arts gesture somewhere on the lawn; maybe All the Arts for Kids could help! Seeing the opportunity for a grand social gesture slipping away Shana Charles asked that “options” be presented to the Council, completely contradictory to the motion that had been made to leave the damn thing alone. She used to make this strategy of last minute obfuscation work, but it won’t work this time, despite her insistence on MORE TREES, maybe even an enormous fig that would serve as shade for generations to come.

Completely absent was the Fullerton Heritage Group who should have been there to protect the integrity of the original building elevation’s relationship to its surrounding. Nick Dunlap got it. The formal exterior of the building was part and parcel with the site design – created 65 years ago. It’s a landmark. The Heritage Group wasn’t interested, apparently.

I wonder if anybody has notices several empty tree wells in the sidewalk along Commonwealth in front of City Hall. There used to be shady ficus trees there (see picture, above), but not any more. If anybody had given this any thought they didn’t say so.

Anyhow, well-done Jung and Dunlap and Valencia for doing the smart and the right thing.

March 2, 2026March 2, 2026Boohooism

Government Make-work Alive and Well

by Disillusioned Ex-Hippy29 Comments

Fullerton may be on the verge of financial crisis, but let it not be said that creative ways for its employees to stay busy aren’t possible, if you can find “other peoples’ money” to do it. We’ve seen it in spades on the ridiculous Trail to Nowhere, built mostly with money from an unaccountable and irresponsible State agency whose only observable job is to give away money with no answers to questions even checked for truthfulness.

The next silly project in line comes to us courtesy of the State Legislature, again, in the form of AB 1572 that mandates that “non-functional” turf can’t be watered with potable water. Municipalities are first on the hit list, and that includes the formal lawn in front of City Hall. The item is on tomorrows Council meeting agenda.

The City can declare that the City Hall lawn is functional and walk away. Oh, but that won’t do! We have to get rid of the grass and replace it with drought resistant plantings of some sort or other. This strategy scratches the itch of those who feel moral gestures are more important that facts, who love big government mandates, no matter how footling, and those who want city staff to be happy and productive.

How much water will *this* use? Who cares?

The City thoughtfully promulgated a call for ideas from the citizenry in a press release a couple of months ago. Re-imagine the municipal front yard! A blank slate! A blue sky! The world is your oyster! Presumably your idea will save water and respect the ecosystem, etc., etc. Grateful citizens sent in pictures of idyllic succulented and lavendered walkways!

At least one submission had a sense of the ridiculous nature of this nonsense.

A giant Hornet and a giant Titan! Come to think of it, maybe this suggestion was serious, Fullerton being Fullerton.

But there is no money budgeted, alas! What to do? Well a budget transfer from Water Non-Rate Revenue funds can be tapped. I have no idea where this money would even come from, the Water Fund being supplied by rate payers. Another option to pay for the new, giant cactus garden is to apply for, and get, a grant from the Metropolitan Water District, one of those huge, opaque agencies that practically answer to nobody.

I have to wonder what the ultimate savings would be water-wise, and what the existing cost of watering the grass is. The fact that the City uses free water paid for by the rate payers has always been an issue and naturally no facts about the acre foot volume or the cost to the rate payers are included in Tuesday’s staff report. No data will be presented except the results of the survey done to solicit public opinion.

I could make the pitch that the reflecting pool, steps and lawn were part of a neo-formal aesthetic that went along with the 1962 building, but that would be a waste of my time and yours. Somebody has decided that the pool and the grass is offensive to modern sensibility, and provides an opportunity to engage the public in a feel-good Kabuki drama.

February 20, 2026February 20, 2026Boohooism

Poor Pilfering Paulette Digs Hole

by Disillusioned Ex-Hippy15 Comments

A number of women’s group got together to buy some trees to be planted in the County’s Ralph Clark Regional Park. This effort produced a self-congratulatory press release by the Women’s Club.

Well, so far so good. Except for one thing. Pathetic perpetual candidate for office and admitted petty thief, Paulette Chaffee, has weaseled her way into yet another group photo.

There she is in her pretty pink sweater pretending to use a shovel at the ceremonial ground breaking (for a tree).

But even that’s not the problem, per se. The real issue is identified in the Women’s Club press release text, wherein we read:

Representatives from several of the participating groups attended the ceremonial groundbreaking, along with Mike Wilson, Deputy Director of OC Parks, and Paulette Chaffee, Fourth District Ambassador.

Wilson emphasized the importance of community partnerships in maintaining healthy public spaces. “Our parks thrive when community members take an active role in caring for them,” he said. “These new trees will benefit visitors for generations to come.”

Chaffee echoed that sentiment. “It is wonderful when community groups come together to purchase replacement trees and help out in this way,” she said. “Everyone loves OC Parks and we can all appreciate the beauty of the trees.”

Now we discover that Mrs. Chaffee’s presence, whatever her clubby associations may be, is in attendance in her role of “4th District Ambassador” a completely fake job created by her husband, the odious rodent Doug, who happens to be our 4th District County Supervisor. She got herself a mention and even one of those fatuous quotations that are only believed to be genuine expressions by imbeciles.

Mayor-for-Hire Fitzgerald and her pal, Pilferin’ Paulette the Perpetual Candidate

Pilferin’ Paulette has been photo bombing official photo ops courtesy of Doug for the better part of ten years in order to help her visibility in her various runs for office. So far the strategy doesn’t seem to have helped much, but it sure hasn’t been for lack of trying. This year her electoral attempt is for the North Orange County Community College Board of Trustees, so we can expect to stumble over a lot of images of the 4th District Ambassadress in the coming months.

My personal opinion is that the less people see of Mrs. Chaffee, the better she is likely to to at the polls.

February 11, 2026Ahmad Zahra

Tender Young Elijah Strays off Reservation

by Disillusioned Ex-Hippy27 Comments

The sweet young “investigative reporter” Elijah Manassero has posted an “opinion” piece at the Observer blog. No investigative research was necessary for the Kennedy Sisters’ cub reporter. It’s all sanctimonious cant about how Fred Jung and Nick Dunlap have demonstrated “how not to run a city,” by delaying a necessary tax increase, and of course by getting rid of the ever incompetent Jennifer Fitzgerald lackey, Ken Domer.

Fullerton is in dire economic straits because of the Jung/Dunlap mismanagement, says the youthful bud Elijah, whose grand experience running anything other than his eager mouth is exactly zero.

But hold on a second!

If I knew what I was talking about this wouldn’t be Fullerton!

It was just a few weeks ago that Shana Charles and “Dr.” Ahmad Zahra and Co. were touting Fullerton’s massive reserve funds, funs so well and amply stocked – $30,000,000 – that Fullerton taxpayers could easily cough up a tiny $200,000 to hand over to undocumented immigrants for lawyers, food and rent.

So which is it? Is it possible that Charles and Zahra deliberately lied to their acolytes? Or is the situation really as dire as the green sprout Elijah now asserts?

It seems both can’t be true.

Fullerton Boohoo is generally so stupid and so lacking in self-awareness that they end up arguing against what they have previously said. This sort of inconsistency is not abnormal for people clinging to ideology over practicality.

January 11, 2026January 11, 2026A Step in the Right Direction

A Modest Proposal: the Case for Cannabis Dispensaries in Fullerton

by Disillusioned Ex-Hippy33 Comments

The other day my FFFF colleague, Fullerton Harpoon, published a post on a possible move on the part of Fullerton’s annoying liberal claque to drum up support for legalizing cannabis dispensaries in town.

It’s really hard to get worked up over Doc HeeHaw’s illegal “hip hop drug guy,” and Fullerton Harpoon was quite right in pointing out the absurdity of the “it costs so much to crack down on illegal stores” as a good argument for legal dispensaries when the real reason to have them is to generate large amounts of cannabis sales taxes and fee revenue.

With the Fullerton budget in parlous condition, cannabis revenue derived from an intelligent program isn’t such an unreasonable idea.

Let’s quickly dive back into history when we examine the previous cannabis dispensary ordinance and its revocation in 2020 and 2021.

Throughout 2020 public discussion was held regarding a potential cannabis dispensary ordinance. Public input was clear people wanted a 1000 foot buffer from “sensitive receptors” such as schools, parks, and houses. In fact the consultant’s map that reflected this desire became known as “the People’s Map.”

That was the map approved for recommendation by Fullerton’s Planning Commission. But a funny thing happened on the way to the City Council.

The ordinance was pushed through by the Council 3-2, in the waning months of 2020, even though an election promised a new councilmembers. Jan Flory, Jesus Quirk-Silva, and of course Ahmad Zahra voted yes. Jennifer Fitzgerald and Bruce Whitaker voted no.

The problem that many saw was that in the modified plan there was now generous latitude of potential locations, even to have a dispensary 100 feet from a residential zone. This latitude was undoubtedly the result of dope lobby pressure on Zahra and Quirk-Silva to increase their opportunities as much as possible, and to “share the pain” as Quirk-Silva put it. The public could shove it where the sun didn’t shine.

The other obvious problem was that the ordinance invested the authority to approve cannabis licenses in the hands of the City Manager, who at the time was the incompetent Ken Domer; the decisions would be shrouded in secrecy instead of transparently, in public

The People’s Map had been sandbagged by Flory, Zahra and Quirk-Silva.

In December 2020 and in the early months of 2021 the two new councilmembers – Fred Jung and Nick Dunlap joined Whitaker in pulling the plug on the ordinance. No one has tried to resurrect the issue – yet.

So I have a modest proposal. Why not go back to the People’s Map? Why not go back to the earlier suggestions that would have banned these stores within 1000 feet of anybody’s residence? In addition, why not require street visibility from a Primary or Secondary arterial so everything is in plain view? Sure, almost all of the cannabis businesses would be in southwest Fullerton – Council District 5, so what? That’s the reality of Fullerton’s zoning code.

As far as other revenue options go, two proposed special sales taxes on the 2026 ballot might not pass as they require 2/3 majority; even if the council waffles toward reverting to a general sales tax there would have to be 4 council votes to put it on the ballot. Are they there? Without these revenue sources the practical financial aspect of cannabis-generated revenue appears useful.

The same argument against a special or general sales tax increase is always there: why should everybody be asked to make a sacrifice for the city’s welfare when the City Council and the hundreds of municipal employees, whose salaries and benefits paid for by the public, have sacrificed nothing?

And here’s a final thought: why not restrict cannabis revenue to specific deployment – such as roads, sidewalks and street lights?

Difficult decisions such as who gets licenses and how many there should be remain. I’m not confident in our existing bureaucracy to regulate this use successfully, but to me an intelligent rethink of the issue that minimizes citizen concerns is not a bad idea at all.

December 21, 2025December 21, 2025Boohooism

Fullerton Crazy

by Disillusioned Ex-Hippy38 Comments

Somebody posted a comment the other day about some guy named Tim Johnson. I don’t know Tim Johnson, and I hadn’t even heard anything about him. I was directed to his performance at the last council meeting.

I would really worry about this guy’s mental and emotional well-being. Or I would if he weren’t such a puckered asshole.

You can watch his performance on the City Clerk’s website. His diatribe starts at 1:49:35 mark, right after young Oliver, the No Account of Montecristo.

It’s become a rather worrisome trend lately for the harangues of a few malcontents at council meetings to vent their angry spleen in increasingly agitated, even violent language and behavior. This Tim Johnson individual is a good example.

Constantly slapping the podium; offering wild gesticulations; pointing at councilmembers; shouting angry and abusive language; this seems to be this person’s stock-in-trade.

There was no substance in Mr. Johnson’s diatribe except hatred for Fred Jung who has not been sufficiently contributory to making Fullerton fun! Like his kindred spirits at said podium he seems to think insulting people is an effective way to get them to do what you want. He also seemed to think he has a right for councilmembers to look at him as he denigrates them.

A little research suggests Tim Johnson organizes a bike parade on the 4th of July. His web presence is something called “Fullerton Loves.” He is therefore qualified to determine right from wrong.

Like many other local oracles he approves of those who gives him attention. Nick Dunlap does, apparently, and so does the relentless self-promoter Shana Charles, the otiose councilmember from District 3. The cops and firepersons go to his parades, I guess. And that is the launching pad for his little rocket: Jung makes backroom deals in a cigar lounge, etc., etc.

I’m glad there is a police presence at council hearings as a handful of angry people try to shout down councilmembers with catcalls from the back rows. The obnoxious Kennedy Sisters have already been escorted out for disrupting meetings. Sooner or later civility is going to have to be enforced by the FPD.

December 8, 2025December 9, 2025Boohooism

Grass Begone

by Disillusioned Ex-Hippy8 Comments

The City of Fullerton has decided that the lawn in front of City Hall has to go. Why? It’s obvious. Grass is a symbol of conspicuous waste, consuming scarce water and providing discomfort to people who believe in self-flagellation as a form of moral rectitude.

There used to be a shallow reflecting pool in front of the building that has been modestly covered up to display the right kind of environmental sensibility. The blame is laid at the feet of the Legislature, but no definition of “functional” is forthcoming.

The City has promulgated a call for ideas from the citizenry in a press release a couple of weeks ago. Re-imagine the municipal front yard! A blank slate! A blue sky! Presumably your idea will save water and respect the ecosystem, etc., etc.

My guess is “Dr.” Shana Charles is an enthusiastic supporter of this. It’s right up her alley. City staff don’t give a rat’s ass about conserving water use – Hell, the City gets its water for free from the Water Fund. When they waste it, they raise our rates. And raising our rates also raises the in-lieu fee charge, which is just sweet icing on the General Fund cake.

The City uses water everywhere – from all the parks to street medians, to all the City facilities, and nobody is keeping track of the waste or the cost. If they are, they sure aren’t reporting it to the public.

The water needed to green the lawn in front of City Hall is a miniscule percentage of overall municipal use.

Okay, let’s put in a cactus garden; or decomposed granite terraces for bocce ball courts. What the Hell. The world is our oyster! The more expensive, the better. No one will ever compare the cost of revision vs. the savings of decreased water use. We’ll charge it all to the Water Fund! We don’t pay the pay the water fees, the suckers do!

This is one of those pantomimes in which the ideologues get to exculpate themselves for our sins. City staff knows this; they also know that either way there’s time and material to be wasted. However, conducting a public dog-and-pony show – a public empowerment farce – is irresistible. And since there’s zero accountability, if whatever choice pursued fails, they can bank on the inevitable and costly remediation of what they just did.

No embarrassing questions will be asked or answered.