Mr. Peabody, Author at Friends For Fullerton's Future

November 21, 2010November 22, 2010Dead heads

Orange County Fair Morass Gets Morassier; And Ackerman Questions Linger

Last week a judge stepped in to slow down the sale of the OC Fairgounds to a private developer as reported by the Voice of OC(EA). Seems hizzoner wants some time to look into all the allegations of hanky-panky that have been swirling around for the past year.

Tony Rackauckas — I have no evidence that that guy over there lied to me, and I don't intend to look for any.

More allegations of monkey business at the fair that creates a pattern of obfuscation, disingenuousness, and misfeasance that goes back well over a year.

But wait, hasn’t Tony Rackaukas already blessed the doings with his benediction? Yep, but despite our do-nothing DA’s whitewash of the entire 2009 Summer of Fair Love, lots of people have lingering questions about the role of some of OCs leading repuglicans in this whole mess.

Those doubts are fueled by a guy named David Padilla, a Fair trustee who apparently didn’t go along with his colleagues who were busted trying to create their own entity to acquire the property. As reported in the Daily Pilot, here, and the Voice, here, Padilla, who was recently removed from the Board by outgoing Governor Schwarzenegger, still has lots of unanswered questions himself. And even a few assertions.

One of the most intriguing parts of the story was this:

Among the things the board does not know are details of the activities of the law firm of Nossaman LLP through former State Sen. Dick Ackerman as well as the activities of the county’s lobbyist, Platinum Advisors, which has close ties to county GOP Chairman Scott Baugh.

Padilla was the only board member to respond to public inquiries and records requests for information on the role of both individuals. Padilla said earlier this year that he was told Ackerman was only paid $19,000 for his work.

“I have recently determined, after months of inquiry, they were paid over $150,000 for services I have not been able to get answers for,” Padilla said. “It was my intention to continue to press for the details on both these issues.”

AckermanHead — A repuglican warrior does battle on the steps of the Capitol...

We know that the DA has found nothing untoward in Ackerman’s behavior, despite Ackerman’s own morphing tale, but $150,000 grand would pay for a helluva lot of schmoozing with the Guv, and it’s about time the public found out exactly what Dickie Boy was up to in Sacramento during those long hot summer days of 2009, including billings, invoices, and diaries.

November 16, 2010November 16, 2010Boohooism

Chaffee’s Choke Cost Him The Election

by Mr. Peabody12 Comments

A lot of people in Fullerton are wondering why council candidate Doug Chaffee permited himself to be a GOP establishment punching bag. Did his natural inclinations lead him to avoid attacking the out-of-control public employee pension mess as embodied in his two GOP and union backed adversaries? Probably.

If so, it cost him the election.

When he finally reached down and grabbed hold of his huevos he produced this devastating comparison piece between himself and his “public safety” union-backed opponents.

Although effective, it was too little, too late. By the time it came out absentee voting was well underway. The oblique admonition to “bullet vote” was already an effort in vain.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

November 14, 2010February 28, 2011Dead heads

Name That Image!

by Mr. Peabody25 Comments

Provide your own caption to this picture snapped in a Newport Beach commercial center.

November 5, 2010November 5, 2010About Us

Another Nail in Pringle’s High Speed Rail Coffin?

by Mr. Peabody10 Comments

PringlePud — Always get your picture taken in front of a flag. They won't notice your hand in their pocket.

The Voice of OC is reporting that the Feds are finally getting tired of Anaheim Soon-to-be-ex-Mayor-for-Hire Curt Pringle’s misdirection of High Speed Rail priorities to feather his own Anaheim nest.

It appears that the Feds have suddenly realized that they require that the initial track be laid in the Central Valley – not in a stretch of territory already covered by existing rail and commuter lines, and where a high speed rail line makes virtually no sense.

Good to see the US Gov’t get one right.

In other news, the HSR hired a former Parsons Brinkerhoff executive to be project manager. Hmm. That’s a tentacle that may need to be lopped off.

traincrashthroughbuilding — Gee, we told it to stop.

And finally, more good news: the new Guv is said to intensely dislike Pringle’s HSR shennanigans.We know he got our letter.

So maybe soon Pringle will be off the HSR board althogether. And that would make for an early Christmas.

November 2, 2010June 13, 2017Fullerton City Council Candidates

Against All Odds

by Mr. Peabody27 Comments

Here’s Fullerton Council candidate Jesse La Tour, standing on the corner of Chapman and Harbor yesterday pitching his handmade campaign for Fullerton City Council. Click and enjoy.

Well, that’s pretty damn cool if you ask me: a guy having fun standing up for himself. His ideas? Debatable. But you’ve gotta love the stripped down simplicity of the whole thing: no IEs, no union or repuglican support. This guy would be a hundred times better than the empty sack Bankhead or the hollow log McKinley.

So here’s to you JLT! Thanks for the effort.

October 25, 2010October 27, 2010Dead heads

Like Father, Like Son? Sign Thief May Already Be on Probation… for Food Poisoning!

by Mr. Peabody36 Comments

There’s an old adage that goes: the apple never falls far from the tree.

Remember when we traced the “No McKinley” sign thief’s white van back to Roland Chi’s supermarket in Garden Grove?

Well, multiple sources have identified the photo below of the Fullerton sign thief as a close family friend of Roland Chi; very close, in fact. These people have identified the miscreant as Roland Chi’s own father, Jong Sik Chi, who is also the co-owner of Roland’s filthy Garden Grove market.

Well, that would explain an awful lot. Like the use of the family vehicle to commit another crime. Could it really be true?

If so, Chi senior may have wandered out onto thin legal ice.

See, according to the court documents linked below, the Elder Mr. Chi can hardly afford to be breaking the law. Senior Chi is still on probation for the 2009 AR Supermarket food poisoning incident, and the first condition of his plea agreement specifically commands him to Violate no law(s), or else.

Read the plea agreement

Presumably that would include petty theft and vandalism. In fact, according to an amateur translation of this court document, violating the terms of his probation could put him back on the hook for 2.5 years in prison!

Roland Chi’s entire campaign operation seems to built upon chronic and congenital dishonesty, disregard for the law, and criminal activity. There seems to be no connection between the Roland Chi Family and anybody’s standard of ethics.

You just couldn’t make this stuff up if you tried.

October 22, 2010October 27, 2010Dead heads

Back to The Bat Cave!

by Mr. Peabody24 Comments

Batman says... — Biff. Zap. Wham. Take that Roland!

When I was just a young Peabody there was a show on TV called “Batman.” It was campy and stupid and highly entertaining.

One thing I never quite understood, though, was how come nobody ever followed the Batmobile back to the Bat Cave – you know, just to find out who Batman really was.

Fortunately, at least one Friend in Fullerton showed more curiosity and initiative than any of the incredibly stupid denizens of Gotham City.

A couple of days ago we reported The Case of the Missing No McKinley Signs, a case that we predicted would be a real brain teaser for Fullerton’s versions of Chief O’Hara and Commissioner Gordon. Remember the little man and his white van? Click on the image below and check out the license plate.

Sign-Theft-42-500x495 — We told you to hide your tags, genius...

Well, now observe the image below, captured outside Roland Chi’s AR Market in Garden Grove, where all those people got food poisoning and behind which they barfed their guts out; and where Roland Chi ignored all those inspection failure notices and was finally rung up by the DA. Here’s some of their impressive fleet of rolling stock. Click on this picture, and note the license plate number on the van.

van2 — Meanwhile back at Stately Wayne Manor...

Yes, folks, we have a match!

And yes, FPD, you can go ahead and take the credit for the bust. This one’s on FFFF! Will you be wanting a receipt?

October 13, 2010October 13, 2010Dead heads

“Job Killer” Nelson Kills Job: Sidhu’s

by Mr. Peabody24 Comments

Old Hide and Seek Sidhu is getting pretty desperate. His squalid excuse for a campaign started putting up signs proclaiming that 4th District Supervisor Supervisor Shawn Nelson is a “job killer.” Of course they ripped off Bushala’s format, but imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, as they say.

Of course nobody is supposed to know that Sidhu can’t name a single job Nelson has ever killed; and that apart from a few chicken flippin’ jobs at his El Pollo Loco in Glen Avon, some campaign prostitutes, and the dude who cleans out his peacock cage, Sidhu has never created any.

assclown — No, Harry. Assclown is not a job.

Oops, sorry. Nelson did kill one potential job – Harry Sidhu’s attempt to be a County Supervisor!

October 11, 2010October 11, 2010Harry Sidhu

Comic Genius – Another Priceless Sidhu Moment

by Mr. Peabody23 Comments

DOUBLE UPDATE: While searching the dark corners of our FFFF blog-vault, deep in the basement of the Fox Fullerton, I just came across this gem: a video moment so pure and wonderful that it must be shared again. And again. Until we can safely say that Hairball Sidhu’s political “career” is over, once and for all.

UPDATE: I came across this earlier post today as I was thinking about “The Joke’s on You” post. This really is too good not to show yet again. Will we see a repeat performance by the Sidhu clan in the waning days of this year’s campaign? Don’t bet against it. Sidhu has an almost limitless capacity for clownish behavior.

Although we don’t get many glimpses of Hide and Seek Sidhu these days, video clips of his performances do exist. And some, like the one I share here, reveal a man who has seemingly missed his calling in life. Instead of a fast food operator and a political aspirant, Sidhu really belongs on a vaudeville stage someplace.

Harry'sFriend — Let me tell you, I renounce negative campaigning. Until I run again. And again. And again.

Here’s a priceless youtube clip starring Sidhu at that golden moment two years ago when Sidhu lost his nerve and started shredding his mailers in his campaign against Mimi Walters for State Senate. It’s brilliant comic performance art, and as usual he drags in his family to perform as extras in his hilarious political theater. Watch them dutifully shred his hit pieces against Walters as he introduces his rag tag collection of political allies – just about the only people who showed up (oh yes, I see you Bill Taormina!).

By the way, this clownishly hypocritical gesture didn’t help Sidhu at all. He was thoroughly pummeled and lost every precinct in Anaheim.

Video courtesy of our pals at Red County.

October 1, 2010October 11, 2010Repuglicanism

Pringle’s Perplexing Pitch for Public Prosperity

by Mr. Peabody8 Comments

gomez — An HSR project? Capital idea! Let's get down to brass tax...

If anyone had any doubt about the validity of a high-speed rail project in California, all they need to do is read a succinct editorial by Steve Forbes in the online edition of Forbes magazine.

Typically we think of high-speed rail projects as a local affair, but Forbes demonstrates that it’s really a not-so-original template for the grabbing of public money, and can happen just about anywhere. The ratio of dollars spent compared to the percentage of the public who would actually end up using such services is dramatically out of proportion.

Forbes points out that high-speed rail projects are a relatively risk-free ticket for politicians to further their careers, fleecing the taxpayers big-time in the process. The fact that the proposed line from Anaheim to San Francisco would cost an estimated $43 billion should be enough to make any sane person think twice, and perhaps even lose a little sleep, but apparently Mr. Pringle is immune to such basic human contemplation.

alfred_e_neuman — What? Me worry? Are you kidding?

This sort of shenanigans on such a grand scale would never occur in the free market, it’s only under the guise of government serving the public good that such perverse misuse of public funds could take place legally. Just what planet is he from, anyway?