Author: The Fullerton Harpoon

At Tuesday’s Fullerton City Council meeting both Ahmad Zahra and Shanna Charles went to great lengths to decry the current rampage of ICE goons in our community. While there should be no support for the current administration’s unconstitutional activities anyplace, Zahra’s oratory struck me as ironic.

How come? Because we know that the openly gay, Zahra came to America from somewhere in the mid 1990s and immediately hoofed it on down to Arkansas where he married an American female, a woman named Michelle Salmon. Zahra told Vern Nelson of the Orange Juice blog that they liked each other but it didn’t work out.

That was a Zahra lie.

The illegal marriage fraud scam did work out, just as planned.

Just contemplate the ridiculousness: here’s a new, gay immigrant without his own address and with no work permit. What a catch for the young Arkansan woman.

Very soon after Zahra’s nuptials, he lit out for California to pursue his dream of becoming a filmmaker, abandoning his new bride in Little Rock. Five years or so later Zahra divorced Salmon, and with the help of a green card, no doubt, stayed in the country paving the way for ultimate citizenship.

Most immigrants that come here are damn hard working people doing jobs that Americans have become unwilling to do. Zahra, on the other hand appears to be virtually unemployed. Check out his 2023 economic interest Form 700, for example.

It looks as if Ahmad is doing a lot more political schmoozing and manipulating than he has been actively engaged in gainful employment. For a while he was collecting four grand a month going to Orange County Water District meetings, but that gravy train came to a screeching halt four years ago. It’s anybody’s guess how he pays his rent. A real audit of his campaign finances might be useful.

Then there’s the problem of Zahra’s assault and battery case against a Fullerton woman, a case that disappeared. Zahra says he was exonerated, but that’s was a lie, too.

US Immigration policy should be focused on keeping out deadbeats and bums and assaulters, not harassing people who want to work, and who do.

I have never met Mr. Matt Leslie but I already like him. For some reason the Sisters at the Fullerton Observer don’t ban him from commenting on their blog – even though he often deflates their silly rhetoric and unprofessional lack of standards. The latest example was his response to the tendentious essay posted by the political operative Steve Sherry.

Sherry regurgitated the same old absurd talking points about the Bushala lease at the Santa Fe Depot, including the nonsense that the new hotel next door will jack up rental value at the depot; he comically suggests a brand spanking new restaurant like they have in San Juan Capistrano to replace the “downtrodden” café.

Here’s Leslie’s common sense response:

Mr. Leslie points out to naïve Observer readers the nonsense of kicking out the existing café in order to install a fancy restaurant in a space where there is no large kitchen and virtually no seating. Implicit in Leslie’s response lurks the truth that the knucklehead Sherry has never even been inside the café space.

Naturally, this comment provokes one of the Kennedy sisters to leap into the breach with one of the Observer’s obnoxious “ED Responses.” The erection of a hotel adjacent to the depot is “planned,” ED reminds us. ED takes the erection for granted.

Do the Kennedy sisters really believe a hotel is coming, or is this just a (poor) talking point meant to persuade their uninformed readers? It doesn’t really matter, I guess.

Anyway, Leslie ain’t buying the nonsense, and rightly concludes that a hotel – even if there ever were one – isn’t going to make the café space any bigger, and suggests the “aspirational” hotel include fine dining for its customers. Of course aspirational is far too kind a term for an unsolicited project that was hijacked by bankrupt and disgraced conmen, is tied up in litigation, and is years behind meeting contractual milestones.

The following missive was discovered in the FFFF In Box this morning. It may seem gratuitous to point out the hypocrisy of the Fuller Observer and the two Kennedy sisters who run it, but it good to seem others cotton on to the complete lack of journalistic ethics involved there.

In the realm of local journalism, consistency and fairness are paramount. Unfortunately, the Fullerton Observer, a poseur “newspaper” in Fullerton, has shown a glaring inconsistency in its coverage of recent development projects in the city – projects that ironically happen to be adjacent. This selective criticism proves the paper’s lack of objectivity and its fundamental inability to hold local government accountable.

A few years ago, the City of Fullerton entered into an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement (ENA) with an individual who, remarkably, had no prior experience in the type of development planned – a “boutique” hotel. This agreement granted him exclusive rights to develop a 2-acre parcel of city-owned land adjacent to the train station. Despite the lack of experience and the complete lack of market demand for the proposed hotel, the Fullerton Observer remained silent. There was no critical analysis, no questioning of the city’s decision to entrust such a significant project to an inexperienced developer. The paper seemed content to report the facts without delving into the potential risks and implications for the city and its residents.

When the project was passed on to two individuals with a record of fraud and loan default, the Fullerton Observer ignored the glaring problem – even as the City prepared to up-zone the land and hand over title to the land before a development agreement was even reached. The project is now in limbo as all of the required milestones have been missed – but the land belongs to the conmen. Silence from the Observer

Fast forward to the present, and we see a stark contrast in the Fullerton Observer’s supposed civic concern. Currently, the Observer has stirred up opposition to a lease amendment at the citiy’s adjacent property, a historic train station listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The city is considering whether to include in the lease the area of only 1000 sq. ft. of its extended portion of it’s “loading dock” that’s been fenced off for nearly thirty five years with no access other than through the current tenant’s leasehold. The tenant of the station has made substantial improvements to the train station building, and has twenty two years remaining on its current lease if he exercises extension rights. However, the Observer has been highly critical of this proposed lease amendment, questioning the results of the City’s staff’s negotiations with the tenant.

The discrepancy in the Observer’s coverages is vivid. Why was there no scrutiny when an inexperienced developer made an unsolicited proposal and was given an exclusive agreement for a high-profile project? Why no scrutiny or criticism of how the deal and the land were handed over to a couple of con artists? Why is there such intense criticism now when a tenant with a proven track record is involved; a tenant who is incentivized to build out the loading dock into a tax-paying space; a tenant who is willing to double his monthly rent to the City? This double standard demonstrates that the Observer’s editorial stance is influenced by factors other than journalistic integrity.

It is crucial for local newspapers to maintain a consistent and critical stance when reporting on city developments. They have a responsibility to question decisions that may not be in the best interest of the community and to hold city officials accountable for their actions. The Fullerton Observer’s selective criticism undermines its credibility and raises concerns about its commitment to fair and unbiased reporting.

As residents of Fullerton, we deserve a real newspaper that provides balanced, critical, and thorough coverage of all development projects. It is time for the Fullerton Observer to reassess its editorial practices and ensure that its reporting is consistent, fair, and in the best interest of the community.

– A Friend of Fullerton’s Future

As a highlight, I’ve added a comment made by David Curlee on the Observer blog that eviscerates the idiotic post by poor Steve who is now left holding his own on a canal bridge. Fortunately, common sense still exists in Fullerton.

The Observer’s new action figure’s name is Steven Sherry who is on the Fullerton Transportation Commission and is also a Democrat political consultant of some sort; meaning he is on some politician’s payroll, or desperately want to be. He doesn’t seem to have ever held a job outside of political wheedling and and political campaign hackery.

Gee, I wonder who put this person on a city commission. Any guesses?

He is the author of a recent post in the Fullerton Observer attacking the proposed lease amendment at the City-owned Santa Fe Depot with Bushala Brothers, Inc. The lease would activate the long dormant east end of the loading dock and would get rent for a derelict structure that would be adaptively reused.

Steven Sherry is not happy about it. And spells out numerous reasons why. They are nothing but unfounded opinions, typical Observer innuendo, and of course, outright falsehoods. The title of his screed is “Opinion: Fullerton’s Train Station Could Be a Jewel—If We Stop Settling.” Settling. That’s funny, Steve.

Let’s review Steve’s complaints one by one.

WASTED POTENTIAL. Steve claims Tony Bushala has reneged on all sorts of (undocumented) promises from 1989 (3 years before the lease started) and comically lists things that aren’t and never were in the Bushala leasehold. He cites no sources for verification for his allegations, as usual. We do learn of a place called “Trevors” is in the SJC depot. Hooray.

AN UNNECESSARY MIDDLEMAN. Steve asserts that the City should build out the loading dock and rent it out itself, eliminating a “middleman.” But poor dumb Steve seems to be unaware that the City controlled portion of the dock is the eastern, skinny butt-end – a mere 1000 square feet. Without the Bushala leasehold portion that far end of the loading dock is completely useless. Plus, the City doesn’t have the money to build a birdhouse and has no facility for property management; but let’s not let facts get in the way of a political essay.

LEGAL JEOPARDY. A recurring Observer theme. Because Albert Bushala is suing the rest of the Bushala family the City could end up in…LEGAL JEOPARDY. Forget for a moment that the City is ALWAYS embroiled in legal jeopardy because of its own actions with no complaint from the Fullerton Observer, the issue is irrelevant. What is relevant is that the rent is paid on time. If it isn’t, the tenant gets evicted. Pretty simple unless you don’t know what you’re talking about.

DOUBLE DIPPING. Bushala Brothers were recently paid by the City for exterior plaster and interior renovation. Over $100,000 for what should be obligated maintenance under the lease! What Steve doesn’t share with his readers is that The Bushalas responded to a solicitation by the City itself to do this work, work the City obviously considered outside the scope of routine maintenance in the existing lease. Another contractor bid significantly higher to do this work. Gee, Steve wants an audit!

LACK OF REVENUE. Steve complains about the current low-rent. What Steve doesn’t know, maybe because it happened before he was born, the Bushalas put in hundreds of thousands of dollars into the initial historic preservation and rehabilitation – money the City didn’t have to fork over at all. Over the past 30 years this investment is worth many times more.

Steve wants the tenants to share the wealth! Kick back a percentage of revenue says Steve. But Steve doesn’t seem to grasp that the loading dock has produced $0 revenue for the City over the past 35 years and without this deal, never will; but with renovation that loading dock would generate sales and possessory interest tax revenue to the City and County of Orange. Steve cites the Summit House restaurant – a completely different type of agreement.

QUESTIONABLE TERMS. All terms are questionable once they’ve been questioned. And Steve is trying, gosh darn it. Then he steps on his own weenie by citing rising land values thanks to “The Tracks at Fullerton” a project that really is mired in the inability of its conmen Johnny Lu and Larry Liu to perform to the agreement, two grifters who were never “audited” by anybody in City Hall and whose multiple frauds, crimes and, massive loan defaults have never been mentioned once in the Fullerton Observer. Fortunately the odds of this monstrosity ever getting built are very long.

Poor Steven never bothers to explain what elements of his essay would make the Santa Fe Depot a “jewel” if it isn’t one already. He says the cafe is “downtrodden,” whatever that means to him. It might be news to the proprietor of the establishment.

And so Steve Sherry pops up to join the tender young sprout Elijah Manassero, in a desperate attempt to twist language and logic in an effort to defame the Bushalas, and doing it at the behest of somebody else.

Yesterday Sharon Kennedy published a post by tender young Elijah Manassero – Part 2 of what is supposed to be a damning legal revelation against the Bushala family. It’s really the wild product of an angry man-child against all of his relatives, but no matter. The point of the post is to try to make Tony and George Bushala look bad to Fullerton Boohoo, and at the same time call into question the upcoming lease agreement between Bushala Brothers, Inc. and the City of Fullerton at the Depot.

Sharon Kennedy telegraphed this intent by making the following comment on her own blog:

This is clearly supposed to be a talking point for the usual gaggle who loudly harass the City Council majority at every meeting over some silly grievance or other.

It’s funny how nobody evert hears from Fullerton Boohoo about the legal entanglements surrounding Mario Marovic’s stolen sidewalk or about the legal entanglements and bankruptcies that enveloped Johnny Lu and Larry Liu before the entitled land for the so-called boutique hotel/rabbit warren apartments was essentially gifted to the grifters. That would require intellectual and moral consistency, two qualities sorely missing from Fullerton Observers.

Well, the item is on the agenda for next Tuesday, so we can expect a vocal shrieking from the banshees Sharon Kennedy and her younger sister, Skakia intend to call out.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t point out (again) the secondary, perhaps primary purpose of the Kennedy Klan’s plan: to create fodder for next year’s campaign for County Supervisor, in which fresh young Elijah’s (alleged) boss, Connor Traut is running against Fullerton Boohoo Public Enemy #1 – Fullerton Mayor Fred Jung.

A couple of month ago a delicate young shoot named Elijah Manassero popped up on the Fullerton scene like a new flower nourished by a spring shower.

Who was he, and where did he come from? Who knew? He repeated all the talking points of the Fullerton Observer crew, for which he began writing “articles” under the guise of news. He posted comments on line. His themes were always the same: attacking the council majority and decrying the influence of Tony Bushala; particularly obsessed has he been with the Bushalas effort to lease the long-abandoned portion of the loading dock at the Santa Fe Depot.

Just yesterday I posted about Manassero’s ridiculous complaint to the FPPC regarding a perfectly legal campaign donation by George Bushala Jr. to Councilman Nick Dunlap. There may be others that haven’t surfaced yet. A couple days ago sweet Elijah published a story in the Observer about a lawsuit levied by a disgruntled son against everyone else in the entire Bushala family. It wasn’t newsworthy, but its purpose was to embarrass Tony Bushala by giving credence to the allegations in the lawsuit.

I got the feeling there was more to young Elijah than random concerned citizenry. I think I was right.

Sources are saying that fresh young Elijah is working for Connor Traut, the Buena Park carpetbagging councilman who is running for County Supervisor. How does attacking the Bushala family advance Traut’s goal? Easy. His only opponent so far is Fullerton’s mayor, Fred Jung.

Many people are starting to ask questions. Questions like: is the Fullerton Observer being used by Traut to create fodder for a political campaign against Jung? Are the Kennedy Sisters complicit in this or just brainless dupes? They certainly ran cover for Team Jaramillo by actively ignoring the Scott Markowitz perjury scam conspiracy, so we know they have no moral compunction against this sort of thing; and they have no professional or personal code of ethics to restrain them.

According to the Fullerton Boohoo narrative, Jung is a puppet of Tony Bushala’s, and every effort to tie them together in various nefarious schemes would be used in next year’s campaign. Will it work?

Previous efforts to attack Tony Bushala as part of a broader campaign have failed miserably, most notably in 2012. In that year’s recall the anti-recall efforts were focused on making Bushala look bad. They lost that election by 30 points.

Connor Traut may think this is a winning strategy but he is wasting his money if he is paying tender young Elijah anything. Angering the deep-pocketed Bushala clan is not a way to get yourself elected.

Our new acquaintance, a tender young fleur named Elijah Manassero is making something of a name for himself in Fullerton. And that name is “Somebody’s Lackey.”

So get this – apparently, the callow youth recently sent a complaint to the California Fair Political Practices Commission. The topic? He swore under oath that Fullerton Councilman Nick Dunlap violated the law by voting on something related to a donor – George Bushala Jr. – who had given Dunlap a $500 campaign contribution.

I don’t have the complaint, but I do have the FPPC response, here:

Oops!

No fire, no smoke, no smoking gun. Sweet Elijah apparently doesn’t know the law, yet proceeded to waste other people’s time, time seemingly more valuable than his own with a phony complaint. This harassment by the green young sprout is starting to get weird – there seems to be more to fresh Elijah than just a pop-up concerned citizen. A funny smell is emanating.

Anyhow, the law is clear. A contribution above $500 triggers the prohibition against voting on a contributor’s “license, permit, or other entitlement.” And Dunlap hasn’t done that, either. This is just a silly effort to harass Bushala and Dunlap. The set up? The upcoming Bushala lease at the Depot where Elijah has been nattering (falsely) about a giveaway to the Bushalas.

Now who would gain from that?

Well, this wasn’t exactly mail. It was a polemic that seems to have passed through a few hands before it ended up in our Boondoggle In Box. It’s about the notorious “Trail to Nowhere” project, set to break ground Wednesday. It is worth reproducing.

I have edited some of it for the sake of brevity, correct spelling and to protect the anonymity of the author whose permission to reproduce has not been given. The sentiments expressed are worth consideration and reinforce what FFFF writers have been saying all along.

As I watched the City Council meeting on tv recently regarding the Union Pacific Trail  it is becoming noticeable that these meetings are being hijacked by unhinged liberal women, young people from our city colleges, and non-English speaking women needing translators. It is clear that these individuals, many who are being groomed to create the “appearance” of a majority, are not tax paying homeowners. They are demanding that city leaders kowtow to their demands because they are the loudest voices in the room.  

It is unfortunate that Mr Dunlap chose to placate these individuals who had a disrespectful and inappropriate tone towards anyone who disagreed with them. It is appalling to see hundreds of thousands of city dollars, let alone a penny going towards such a ridiculous project as this, when there are so many other more serious issues. Drug dealers, drug addicts, homeless individuals, and criminals on bikes that come into our neighborhoods at night to steal and burglarize properties are the inhabitants of this property where they hang out at night. This is where you can see holes cut in the chain link fence at Independence Park, and many other locations where they leave their bags of possessions stuffed into the bushes. I liken this to Fullerton’s beloved Methadone Clinic that is next to the historic US Post office on Commonwealth that I had to visit when the Sunnycrest post office was temporarily closed. Meth addicts with tattoo tears next to their eyes hanging out at the post office blocking the stairs, and post office access causing fear as they jumped up and pretended to run after customers when they left. Why I have never been back to that post office.

The out and out lies about this being the perfect location for a nature trail is laughable yet disturbing. This location is as far as it gets from a peaceful nature locale. If you enjoy a “nature trail” with a jackhammer going off frequently, note that the BNSF Railway often hauls 60 to 150 cars each time they blow through the city. A person next to you talking are steps away from a roaring rail line – not a relaxing place for a conversation. These trains with up to 100 rail cars  are moving over 125 tons alongside proposed sections of this nature trail with families, and potentially children riding bikes. In addition, many speakers completely lied about this location being “lined with homes.” This location is flanked predominantly on both sides of the railroad with Williamson Ave. and Truslow  where there are solid tightly packed commercial/industrial/service businesses, and an extremely dense amount of the most filthy dirty auto repair businesses in Fullerton most notably on Williamson.

There are security cameras on all sides of Fullerton Ford. These cameras record the truly unbelievable crime taking place on Williamson and nefarious activities coming from the railroad area. Brazen organized crime gangs commit daring thefts at the tracks stealing hundreds of thousands of merchandise recently. A call was made to the Police Dept. of a crime in progress at the trains/rail line. This call to report a  crime was not reported to the “Call for Service” log that is on the Fullerton Police website. If there is a dead body, or crime in the area of the BNSF rail line, or significant organized crime moves the criminal activity onto the street that started at the rail  line, from what I understand these crimes may not be reported at the City Police Dept. When my husband first called, he was told by the police Dept. that these crimes near the rail line are under the jurisdiction of the Sheriff department!  When these crimes go unreported, this information then does not appear in the media. There are many mixed messages on this subject as the information changes depending on what officer you speak to. This creates a significant false sense of safety and security for the public at large, especially when a “nature trail” is built next to such a foul, unsafe environment. 

Last weekend we had to see with our own eyes the area of this proposed trail. As we drove and walked near these businesses along the rail line we noticed it was shockingly dirty, desolate, and trashy, with junk cars and refuse. More garbage, graffiti, empty bottles of alcohol and other disgusting items left on the other side of the fence at Independence Skateboard Park. I am curious if every City Council member walked the entire length of this proposed “nature trail?” Did they feel safe? Did they notice that this section of property along the BNSF Railway is one of the most decrepit, and disgusting areas of Fullerton? 

Our city is broke and we are now adding more long term maintenance costs. Those 176 trees and any bushes will be dead in no time. All sprinklers and water will be quickly abandoned (as in previous projects) and lighting will be broken and not maintained. The trash and garbage laying around our city right now can’t even be cleaned up! This walk along Williamson where there is a mattress, and refuse of all kinds that have been there for 9 months along with trash along the length of that street, at the end of cul de sacs and opposite side on Truslow is a constant. I am all for trees and landscaping, but the city has allowed miles of landscaping median shrubbery along Bastanchury and other areas to die. It was originally created as a “Scenic Corridor,” we now call Bastanchury a trash and weed corridor. Our city cannot maintain the parks we already have. This will be a rogue neglected area of crime that will go unreported because it lies on the BNSF railroad line. 

This sweet benign “perfect” location for this faux “nature” trail is a joke on the citizens of Fullerton. This project is like putting lipstick on a pig. I never use this phrase, but it fits this project perfectly. The public was fleeced by the screeching women at those meetings. The proposed renderings of the project are very misleading. Where I live – The Fullerton Observer is not the mouthpiece or moral majority for the City of  Fullerton.

I am sorry I was not at that meeting, I know this is too little too late.

Our new friend, sweet young Elijah Manassero, has written a letter to selected Fullerton City Councilmembers and FFFF got a copy. This communication is very is ignorant and confrontational; and if the writer thinks it is going to persuade through reason or threat, he’s sadly mistaken.

The topic is the Bushala lease revision at the Santa Fe Depot that would be expanded to include the abandonned loading dock area. Here’s what tender, innocent Elijah had to say to Councilman Nick Dunlap:

Dear City Council,

I’m writing to express deep concern about the lease agreement approved for Mr. Tony Bushala. The terms are lopsided, irresponsible, and betray the values you claim to uphold: fiscal responsibility, transparency, and local control.

Worse, they come in the context of political donations from the very party benefitting. This is a breach of public trust.

⸻

Councilmember Dunlap,
With your background in commercial real estate, you know how bad this deal is.

Section 10 of the agreement allows Bushala to assign or sublease the lease to any entity controlled by George, Tony, or Salma Bushala, including shell companies. This eliminates oversight, obstructs transparency, and gives one political donor unchecked long-term control over public property.

Even more troubling: the lease includes rent credits that discount the already-low rent by up to 75%. That means Bushala can pay pennies on the dollar and then turn around and sublease to a third party at market rate, pocketing the profit with little obligation to improve the property. The City receives nothing from this resale.

You know this isn’t standard in municipal leases. Cities typically reserve the right to renegotiate when property is flipped for private gain. That clause is missing. The power to cancel a lease or require public bidding? Gone. That’s not fiscal responsibility. It’s a giveaway.

This lease is also next to the development, The Tracks at Fullerton Station, which makes the low rent and numerous benefits even more egregious. Mr. Bushala can lock-in a low payment now, before major development takes place which will raise the value of the surrounding area.

You say you believe in local control. But locking the public out of a city-owned property next to a major transit hub until 2060, while giving control to a donor network, is the opposite of local control. It’s donor control.

Ah, poor, sweet boy. Completely uninformed; and he doesn’t let ignorance interfere with the enthusiastic gush of opinion. Elijah wants to come across as knowledgeable and yet shows his political motivations at every misstatement. He’s obviously Ahamad Zahra’s latest toy, and he shows it.

It’s a bad deal because Elijah was told it was.

1. The term “shell company” nonsense is rolled out for sensational and perjorative effect. Really the object here is to secure and expedite future assignment rights for the leasee, acceptable to the landlord, too. There is nothing illicit or objectionabl about this; it’s not uncommon.
2. Excitable young Elijah’s next objection (he’s even more troubled!) is a “rent credit” of 75% – lowering the rent even more. Poor, sad Elijah. He’s referring to the construction rent credit that offsets rent by applying the contruction cost to rent over a long time. But the poor boy misunsterdands (or pretends to). The 75% figure refers to the qualifying amout of the credit – 75% of the construction cost – agreed to by the City. Construction rent credits are not rare, in fact they are used all the time, althought young Manassero doesn’t know anything about it. At the end of the lease the owner gets a built facility, in this case commercial/retail space in the otherwise useless loading dock. And, by the way, how does this impressionable sprout know what’s “standard” in any sort of lease?
3. Newly blossomed Elijah seems to think that something is being “flipped” and a “resale” is going on. Oh, well, how can you even respond to nonsense like that?
4. Finally! The young bud mentions “The Tracks at Fullerton Station” a project that will make the Bushala’s “low rent” even more “irresponsible”egregious.” How, Elijah doesn’t say. And he doesn’t mention that “The Track” developers are convicted conmen, have missed all of their required milestones, and are embroiled in a lawsuit with the heirs and assigns of the original mastermind, Craig Hostert. And Elijah isn’t done omitting facts, probably because Zahra never told the eager youngster: “The Tracks” (that Zahra voted for) amounted to a fantastic giveaway, entitling property that increased in value geometrically and was concurrently sold (by Zahra, again) for 6 cents on the dollar: a real giveaway. Naturally, the land involved was never offered to the public in the form of a developers RFQ. Finally, if “The Tracks” ever happens I’ll fly with callow Elijah to the moon on gossamer wings.
5. Our puerile interlocutor wraps up by asserting that the lease will somehow “lock out” the public from a city-owned property. I have no idea what this means. We could guess what Elijah means, or what he thinks he means, but really, why bother?

Nick Dunlap is involved in commercial real estate. As such he knows that the Santa Fe Depot space is highly unique and not in the way typical real estate types use the phrase. The three parts, not counting the loading dock, are comparatively small, noncontiguous areas that are hard to lease; the Bushala’s are also responsible for a share of the maintenance that would otherwise be paid for by the public. The Loading Dock is of no use to anybody but the Bushalas: there is no access to the dock except through their existing leasehold. In other words the rents here are not comparable to other properties downtown and certainly not to any other city leases. Dunlap surely knows all this, even if sweet, young Elijah and the Kennedy Sisters and Zahra don’t.

The public’s trust is not being “breached” as asserted in young Elijah’s attempt to make his rhetoric take flight. It’s actually being tended to in a way that will generate sales and property taxes to the city and to the county.

On Tuesday the Bushala Depot lease agreement was not voted upon. It item was continued until July 15th.

But that didn’t keep a gaggle of Zahra followers from trying to continue the narrative of subsidies and below market rate rent.

Our new friend, tender young thing Elijah Manaserro, local scholar, was there to do just that. And a few other callers in.

My favorite speaker was the itinerant pest Curtis Gamble, whose near homelessness makes him qualified to opine on real estate deals.

When public comments were done, Zahra showed his role as coordinator of the opposition. He wanted comparative market rates, he said; there won’t be any, but okay, fair enough. But then he displayed his fundamental ignorance by including agreements with The Summit Restaurant and the Boys and Girls Club – completely different properties.

The fact is that the Santa Fe Depot doesn’t have any “comps” in Orange County. The historic building is is unique and made up of several disparate areas, each of pretty small space; in other words, hard to rent out. And the Loading Dock, proposed for inclusion in a revised overall lease, is only connected to an area already leased by the Bushalas. Adaptive reuse will require a huge outlay of money to effect structural reinforcement, enclosure and interior finishes. And because there is no place for kitchen or restrooms, it is functionally useless for anybody except the Bushalas who have ten year lease extension options.

Here’s the hypocrisy part. Remember the ill-fate “boutique hotel/monster apartment,” an unsolicited proposal with no RFP, no RFQ, no RF-anything? Do you remember any of Fullerton BooHoo raising Hell about that? Me neither. I do remember that Ahmad Zahra and Shana Charles voted to give con-men Johnny Lu and Larry Liu a $14,000,000 price subsidy on a parcel they upzoned themselves. Talk about short-term memory loss.

Hopefully when this item returns, staff will explain (based on their extensive expertise) the expertise Fullerton Boohoo is always praising – that the deal they negotiated is not a subsidy and that rather than losing money, the deal will bring in tax revenue to the City and to the County; and that letting the Loading Dock fall down doesn’t help anybody – even those taxpayers Zahra and Charles pretend to care so much about.