The Fullerton PD just publicized these photos of a patrol car that was tagged with graffiti by a downtown reveler over the weekend. The vandalism allegedly occurred while the officers were away on “proactive” foot patrol.
The social media pronouncement was accompanied by some humorous posturing, including the hashtag #WeWillFindYou.
Now anyone who’s filed a graffiti or vandalism report in the city of Fullerton knows that these types of crime reports usually get stuffed in a drawer, dismissed as non-priorities. You’d be lucky if you can get a cop to come out and take a report, let alone collect evidence and track down the perp.
In this case, some egos have been offended and so we might expect to see some sort of minimal effort expended. But I wouldn’t count on it.
File this one under “Jeezus We’re getting Desperate.” Trotting out a stock photo of an old lady and comparing ripping off “Grandma” with the recall of Josh “Gas Tax” Newman? Man that’s lame.
Opponents of the recall, i.e. the building trades who work on public boondoggle projects like high speed rail, seem to think this sort of nonsense sells. Well, the consultants will burn though a lot of that union cash, but there’s really no way to defend the indefensible: Newman voted for a highly regressive gas tax that will hammer the poor and people on a fixed income while his pals in the trades make bank building stuff like Jerry Brown’s $60 billion bullet train – whether it’s needed or not.
The Democrats in the Legislature have climbed all the way up onto their high horses claiming that recall petition signers were lied to and that recalling Newman won’t get rid of the gas tax, an objection that is really just based on a desperate semantic ploy. The fact is that getting rid of Newman is simply the first step in yanking the chain of the politicians in Sacramento who would rather tax us then curtail their own addiction to wasting the gas tax money we have already been sending them every time we fill up. The end game is a repeal of the tax, and of course, prevention of any more gas or car taxes.
The Democrats have pulled out all of the ethical stops in attempting to derail the recall. They tried to pass midnight legislation changing the recall rules after the recall signatures had been submitted. Then they put pressure on the California Fair Political Practices Commission to re-interpret their standing rules so that Dem politicians can help bail out Newman financially, proving that when it comes to maintaining their super-majority, no trick or hustle is too low to put into action.
An unhappy customer left a comment yesterday on Facebook about a post FFFF ran regarding new signs at the depot that are not only physically obtrusive, but are also based on erroneous or outright fraudulent Municipal Code citations. These facts would bother a normal citizen, but not a gentleman named Wayne Elms who perceived something “outstanding” about these signs and something wrong with “lifeless losers” who would take exception to being lied to by their own government. Here’s a snapshot:
Naturally, a little investigation reveals that Wayne Elms may not be a normal citizen at all, but rather a highly compensated City employee whose function could be easily contracted out if the City were really interested in a balanced budget. Here’s what the eloquent Stanley Wayne costs us every year:
When FFFF asked the slippery Elms if he had anything to do with the installation of the fraudulent signs, he decided to delete his own comment.
How well can you read? Good enough? Somebody at City Hall desperately needs your help.
These obnoxious signs were installed at the train station last week. Not only are they ugly and obtrusive, parts of the text are a lie. Apparently City staff expects nobody to double-check their work.
“NO Loitering” — Hello? This is a train station where people are encouraged to loiter while waiting for their train. What’s worse is the code citation, FMC 17.105.020, is completely bogus because Title 17 doesn’t exist in the municipal code. The City doesn’t even have a “no loitering” ordinance that would apply here. Somebody made this up!
“NO Handbills” — They cite FMC 7.30.030. Funny, the title of Chapter 7.30 clearly says this part applies to “Private Residential Property” (see below) which the train station obviously is not.
“NO Soliciting” — Here’s what the code says:
7.106.030 Solicitation.
No person shall accost any other person in, or on, any public place, or in, or on, any place open to the public for the purpose of begging or soliciting alms or soliciting donations in exchange for a token service that has been provided or promised.
This section shall only apply to areas within fifty feet of a business establishment, unless such area is located in a shopping mall or center, in which case this section shall also apply to the parking and common areas of that shopping mall or center…
I took the liberty of drawing circles with a radius of 50 feet from the Amtrak office, Spaghetti Factory, and Santa Fe Express Cafe. Good news for solicitors, despite the new signs posted all over the place, about 75 percent of the train station is still fair game!
Last, but not least, don’t feed the birds!
A real shocker, I know, but FMC 9.12.208 on the sign only applies to Parks and is worded for the protection of waterfowl. This isn’t enforceable at the train station.
9.12.208
1. “Waterfowl” means and refers to any ducks, geese, or other birds which can be found in a restricted area, which have used a restricted area as a habitat, or are reasonably capable of using a restricted area as a habitat. 2. “Restricted area” means and refers to any publicly owned lake, pond, stream, creek, fountain, or body of water in the City of Fullerton, including, but not limited to, Laguna Lake.
What’s the point of this exercise? To prove just because the City makes a sign, or assures us something is true and correct — that more often than not — they are wrong.
I know you’re reading this [new City Manager] Ken Domer. Now would be a great time to take a stand against the perpetual incompetence that emanates from all levels of City government. Your predecessor, Joe Felz, had no problem doing things poorly. Will your tenure be marked by more of the same?
Recently we have been introduced to the mind of Ms. Mildred Garcia, current President of CSUF and champion of the downtrodden minorities everywhere. Her record in support of “diversity” is no doubt impeccable and she will surely find a place waiting for her in a properly diverse Heaven. In the meantime there’s that old saying about doing well by doing good.
Forget The Punchy Professor, Mil.’ Next time just hit ’em with your wallet.
President Garcia pulls in a tidy $450,000 per year courtesy of the taxpayers, and not only that, she, as befits her office, gets to live on a palatial estate – the old Chapman “El Dorado Ranch.” Here’s a shot not from the famous FFFF Spook Drone.
Tennis anyone?
Of course the apologists for the social justice crusader will argue that the estate is needed to host fancy parties for all those high roller, big donors.
The caviar and champagne are on ice, come on in. Oh, wait, not you!
It would be interesting to see how Ms. Garcia characterizes her estate living on her income tax forms, but something tells me that this type of quotidian annoyance is taken care of by the taxpayers, including utilities, landscaping and painting that tennis court.
Of course that’s the real point of this post – not Garcia’s tired, old diversity screed pitched at 35,000 gullible kids, half of whom enter her university as unable to read a coherent sentence as Garcia is to construct one. The real point is to remember next time you hear someone boohooing about the underfunded CSU system to point the boohooer in the direction of Millie’s Mansion.
At the last Fullerton City Council Meeting, a posse of local bar owners demanded that the city council allow them to stuff more drunken twenty somethings into their bars. They went so far as to claim their businesses were suffering because Fullerton’s FIRE CODE prevented them from making as much money as their peers in neighboring cities.
The response from our elected city council?
Absolutely. More drunks. And it was unanimous.
Now I know what you’re thinking. You’ve been to downtown Fullerton on a Friday night. You’ve seen young ladies puking on the sidewalk outside of the Tuscany Club at 9pm. You’ve seen young men getting into brawls behind Joe’s at 10:30. And you’ve seen the rivers of piss and vomit trickling into the parking lot behind Matador early in the morning. It all just glistens in the moonlight.
But hey, we need more drunks! According to Fullerton Bar owners (and I’m not making this up):
Under the current situation, if coming to historic downtown becomes a negative experience for patrons because they can’t get into restaurants and bars and they are uncomfortable with the crowded streets, sidewalks, and parking lots; they may go to other cities that offer a more positive experience. As a result, if business owners income’s (sic) decrease to where they are not profitable, some will have to close.
Wait, some of the 50 odd bars in downtown Fullerton will have to close if we keep the FIRE CODE as it is?
GOOD! And don’t the the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
Because let’s be honest. More people in bars means one thing: MORE DRUNKS.
Instead of caving into the Bar owners who profit on littering our streets and alleys with vomit and excrement each weekend, perhaps our city council should finally take a small step to restore civility.
Let’s not amend the fire code to allow for more drunks drinking. Let’s keep it exactly how it is and how about we shut down any bar that exceeds its occupancy limit down for a month. Fullerton’s current practice allows a bar caught breaking the law to reopen on the same night.
Betcha didn’t know that.
What do you think Fullerton? Do you want more drunks? Let your city council know how you feel about their vote, 5-0, to give you more of this, this, and this.
But hey, we’re just a bunch of malcontents. Maybe more of this, this, and this is exactly what you want.
Congratulations Fullerton Bar Owners. You went fishing for a handout and caught the means to finally bring some order to the shit show that is Saturday night.
There’s one thing about government officials that we can always count on: they are in love with themselves. Give a public official a platform and they’ll gladly blab about their own greatness.
Of course, most public officials are stupid. Their self-promotion inevitably leads to self-humiliation. Look no further than the sad case of Orange County Counsel, Leon Page.
Earlier today, the Voice of OC published an update on the still pending case involving ex-City Manager Joe Felz. While we’re approaching the one year anniversary of Mr. Felz’s alleged hit and run while drunk, still without a scheduled trial date, a few months ago an Investigator working for the District Attorney made a formal accusation that the DA’s office was involved in yet another cover up.
The Investigator, Abraham Santos, claims his boss interfered in his investigation of Felz and the circumstances surrounding that night. Specifically, he was explicitly forbidden from investigating the involvement of the Fullerton Police Chief, Danny Hughes. Santos made additional claims concerning other cases, but we’re obviously more concerned with this one.
We don’t have a clear picture of what happened during and after Joe’s Wild Ride, but we do know that Hughes was contacted by phone, that he spoke with Mayor Jennifer Fitzgerald, and he spoke with officers at the scene and at the station. We also know that the City of Fullerton has refused to hand over records concerning Hughes’s call log as well as recordings taken by officers at the scene.
According to Santos, those conversations included instructions to conceal evidence collected from the scene and Felz, to not take Felz to jail, and to drive Felz home.
Put bluntly, Santos– a public employee charged with a duty to investigate criminal activity and report on truth and facts– accuses the Fullerton Police Department and Danny Hughes of committing multiple felonies including Obstruction of Justice, which not only has the potential to send Fullerton sworn officers to prison, but to revoke their tax-payer funded pensions as well.
Someone is lying. It’s either Hughes and the DA or it’s Santos.
The other day FFFF ran a post on recent efforts by the Fullerton Police Department to share its Heroic doings with the public. Some were struck by the blatant and ongoing hypocrisy of the department’s alleged attitude toward DUI driving, given the fact that our former drunk-driving City Manager, Joe Felz, was given a free pass by the FPD after running off the road, plowing over a tree, and trying to escape the scene of the crime.
Sleepers, awake!
I’m struck by the constant effort of the department to spin PR yarns to make itself look good – despite all the evidence to the contrary. Get a load of the “while you were sleeping” shtick. It’s the old “we Heroes are keeping the streets of Fullerton safe while you get to sleep safe and sound – and how can you put a price tag on that?” routine. This relentless drum beat of the upbeat continues long after Chief Danny “Galahad” Hughes‘ departure, meaning that the strategy of fooling the public into mistaking a tsunami of PR for reform, is alive and well.
Anyway, I though I’d share a few other FPD activities that happened while we were sleeping, or maybe even when we were wide awake, sort of a public service announcement. Please observe the veritable FPD crime wave:
Well, now I’m completely exhausted. Please feel free to remind FFFF of any other misbehavement by our boys and girls in blue and I’ll be sure to add it to the list.
