Posted onBehind Closed Doors

Count The Ironies

by 39 Comments on Count The Ironies
Retirement was on his mind...

The date is July 19, 2011 and Fullerton Chief of Police Mike Sellers has just returned from his cruise and is still on vacation. FPD murder victim Kelly Thomas has been off life support for one week. Clouds are gathering, alright.

“Chief” seems interested in sharing his knowledge of some newfangled strategy called “predictive policing,” which, presumably, would not predict crimes perpetrated by the cops themselves. His correspondent, Dennis Kies, then Interim Police Chief of Costa Mesa, is suitably unimpressed.

Some folks may remember Kies from his days as police chief in La Habra, a tenure punctuated by the over-reaction cop shooting of 25 year-old Korean-American artist Michael Cho on the final day of 2007.

Then discussion of a new job at Seal Beach comes up, and apparently Kies name had popped up. “Chief” shares the bennies package.

I don’t know what a “medical retiree clause” is, but it probably has something to do with Chief’s Disease. Ironic that in less than a month Sellers himself would be  rollerskating out of Fullerton with a bad case of it.

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Posted onArts & Architecture

Local Artist Movin’ On Up

by 19 Comments on Local Artist Movin’ On Up

A while back we had a new City seal contest here that was won by The Fullerton Savage. The Savage won a CD by local talented artist Nancy Sanchez. Nancy plays regularly at Steamers.

Nancy recently won the Orange County Music Award for “Best Latin” and was also nominated for “Best Jazz” as well.

She is currently recording her first full length album of Pop/Folk songs which she has penned in the last few years, and like most struggling artists, is in need of financial help in order to complete her goal.
Nancy has chosen www.kickstarter.com  as a way of connecting with fans and friends in order to help her achieve her goal with donations towards her recording process.
In return for donations, Nancy offers incentives that range from an advanced copy of the finished album, to a brand new acoustic Ovation guitar, House Concerts, a private invitation to the CD release party (in-studio), a Steamers Jazz Club Concert package and even the chance to record a vocal track on one of Nancy’s tunes to be used on the recording!
Here is a link to her Kickstarter page:
  …and here is an article just written from the O.C. Weekly.
Co-Producers
Evan Stone & David J. Carpenter
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Posted onBehind Closed Doors

Oops. Slidebro Backtracking?

by 100 Comments on Oops. Slidebro Backtracking?

Brandon Ferguson of the OC Weekly is suggesting that downtown Fullerton bar owner Jeremy Popoff appears to be talking out of both sides of his mouth considering his recent voicemail left at the Weekly, and assertions made subsequently on-line.

On Facebook, Mr. Pop denies dodging requests to talk to the Weekly about his establishment’s role in the Kelly Thomas murder. And he seems to be accusing Ferguson of somehow twisting the words of his voice message.

You can be the judge since Ferguson has thoughtfully posted a link to the audio and shares a screenshot of the facebook page.

True, enough, the actual word of the voice mail message are non-specific – but the topic is clear enough – Kelly Thomas – and Popoff clearly says the stories are “not true.” Since the only issue involving his establishment and the murder are the questions of who made the call to the cops, and why, we know exactly what he is talking about.

The only thing I can think of is that perhaps Slidebro is getting nervous about his denial that the call to FPD on the night of 7 /5/11 did in fact come from the Slidebar. But as Mr. Jeremy acknowledges himself, the preliminary hearing is only six weeks off and all sorts of things may start coming to light.

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Posted onBehind Closed Doors

Joe, Lou, and Mike; Does Anybody Know What’s Going On?

by 75 Comments on Joe, Lou, and Mike; Does Anybody Know What’s Going On?

Here’s a couple of interesting e-mails from the final day of July, 2011, between Acting City Manager Joe Felz and soon to be MIA Police Chief Sellers.

The options were running out...

On the surface it seems that Acting City Manager Joe Felz is unhappy with Lou Ponsi for writing “Very Old” news. But maybe he is really upset that the public gets to hear (again) that the cops who killed Kelly Thomas had been out on the streets for over three weeks like nothing had happened; or that maybe Sharon Quirk looks like she is actually in charge. Sellers seems to be concerned with the latter, and he can already see the writing on the wall.

“Hopefully the remaining three council members don’t feel left out” is code for: “Make sure the Three Dead Tree Sumps get lined up, fast!”

“Lou is Not a bad guy from what I understand,” means that Sylvia Palmer and Andrew Goodrich have previously informed Felz that Ponsi is a reliable regurgitator of their crap.

By the way, is anybody else appalled by the weird punctuation and capitalization deployed by these $200,000+ per year bureaucrats?

 

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Posted onFriends Around the World

Inspiring others, etc.

by 24 Comments on Inspiring others, etc.

Fullerton ain’t the only city in this world that needs a deep cleanse, but we like to think of this blog as a model to decent people all across this country who wish to start defending their own cities from the corrupt, the callous and the hopelessly inept types who’ve promoted themselves to positions of power at our expense.

Well, it looks like other people share that vision, too. Here’s a letter that came to us today all the way from Atlanta, GA.

I would have never thought or believed the amount of corruption at the city level. I found your website because of Kelly Thomas. I check your blog daily for updates on these police officers hoping they will serve justice one day but I found reading the rest of your blog to be very saddening about what goes on behind close doors. The amount of corruption goes from the top to the bottom and seems endless. I am amazed at how well you guys stay informed on the goings on. You guys do inspire people but I am curious as to how you guys stay on top of everything. I know you attend town hall meetings and such. I am gathering friends and taking an active roll in our community so things can look brighter for our future and our kids future. I just want to say thank you.

Also, I just viewed this video and wanted to share. It gives an inside view of a police officer who was with the New Orleans PD.

This is youtube, video is called “AVTM exclusive: New Orleans cop comes clean on murder, theft, corruption, quits the force”

All the ways from Atlanta , GA

Jeff L

Thanks for the letter, Jeff and thank you for sharing the example of a real cop upholding his oath and breaking the code of silence.

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Posted onAbout Us

Broken Bones and Blaming Whitaker for the Truth

by 132 Comments on Broken Bones and Blaming Whitaker for the Truth
Oh, oh! The truth almost escaped her mouth! (Image generously borrowed from Fullerton Stories)

It is July 22, 2011 and now-MIA Chief Sellers gets an e-mail from City Hall’s version of Andrew Goodrich, city publicist, Syliva Palmer.

She’s subsequently fled the the scene of the crime, and won’t have to answer embarrassing questions about this correspondence – like her insinuation that Councilman Bruce Whitaker leaked inside information to FFFF in a post. Apparently the otiose Palmer was too lazy to actually read the post, and too stupid to follow the link to The Fullertonian – the ones who actually caught Goodrich in the broken bones lie.

But so what if Whitaker had actually had a hand in disseminating the truth? The outright lie about Fullerton cops suffering broken bones was propagated by Goodrich, clearly with the blessing of Sellers and Plamer, and now we may safely assume, Palmer’s boss City Manager, Joe Felz. Perhaps with the blessing of the Three Dead Tree Stumps, too. That would certainly fit the truth-challenged profile of Pat McKinley.

Note also that Palmer laments the fact that the media didn’t talk to other reliable councilmen who, presumably were only too happy to toe the party line.

 

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Posted onDead heads

We Get Mail: Slidebar to The Rescue!

by 37 Comments on We Get Mail: Slidebar to The Rescue!

Found this in our “in basket” tonight from an anonymous correspondent:

Well, that's two of the basic food groups...

Here’s an in-depth article written by Sally French at the OC Register detailing the philanthropic spirit of the downtown Fullerton’s Slidebar “club,” and its owner, Jeremy Popoff, who has been much-maligned by people on this mean blog.

Unlike Friends for Fullerton’s Future, Sally recognizes somebody who gives back to the community – and in a big way. Feeding 700 people mac and cheese ain’t free!

The cynics on this site will say that this was merely a publicity stunt perpetrated by a douchebag with a guilty conscience or a Fear of the Living Jehovah. And I say: how much chloersterol and empty carbs have any of you given the hungry?!

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Posted onBehind Closed Doors

Slidebro Speaks, Sort Of; Denies Phone Call! Oh, and Yeah, Ban Lifted on Reporter;

by 164 Comments on Slidebro Speaks, Sort Of; Denies Phone Call! Oh, and Yeah, Ban Lifted on Reporter;

The other day we did a post on how the downtown Fullerton establishment known as the Slidebar had banned OC Weekly reporter Brandon Ferguson, speculatively for the latter’s passing along what had become common knowledge: that the “anonymous” phone call that initiated events culminating in the murder of Kelly Thomas was made by a Slidebar employee.

Here’s a follow up Weekly post in which describing a message Slidebar proprietor, Jeremy Popoff left at the Weekly.

In a Dec. 29 phone message to the Weekly in response to months of seeking an interview, Popoff–who is also a guitarist for the band Lit–addressed the rumor involving the killing of Kelly Thomas.

“I can tell you it’s not true,” he said.

But in the same message, Popoff said he will not accept the paper’s repeated invitations to field questions about the subject.

“I just don’t want to participate,” he said.

There has been considerable speculation that the call in question was actually orchestrated with the cops involved in the Thomas murder themselves, which of course, if true, would constitute a criminal conspiracy. While nobody in authority will discuss this possibility, it would account for the otherwise inexplicably provocative and violent actions of Ramos, Wolfe, and Cicinelli.

Whether Mr. Jeremy will ever have to participate in the Kelly Thomas affair against his wishes remains unclear. FPD documents relating to the phone call and its origin have apparently been redacted to Hell and back, although sooner or later the originals are bound to surface.

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Posted onRedevelopment

Time to Reach in the FFFF Mailbag

by 16 Comments on Time to Reach in the FFFF Mailbag

This just came in from “van get it da artiste”:

The California Supreme Court finally saw municipal power grabs of private property and tax dollars as illegal and made cities’ redevelopment agencies history.

But for those who wax nostalgic for the good old days of Fullerton’s redevelopment agency, they may warm their hearts and hands at the redevelopment agency’s legacy to us, “Heritage Walk”, an “affordable” housing development located near Richman Park in Fullerton.

In 2010 the Fullerton Redevelopment Agency agreed to pay the private developer, the Olson Company, to build thirty-four houses so persons with moderate to low incomes could afford to buy these houses. This development is called “Heritage Walk”.

Now, The Kennedy Commission, named after Ralph Kennedy, the father of Orange County Human Relations Commission CEO Rusty Kennedy, defines moderate to low-income as less than eighty percent of Orange County’s median income. Orange County’s median income in 2009 was approximately $71,000 a year. Only families earning less than $56,000 a year would qualify to buy Heritage Walk houses.

However, Heritage Walk housing development allows persons with annual incomes greater than a $100,000 to buy their low-income affordable houses.

The Kennedy Commission asserts affordable housing for low to moderate income earners is essential because most of these low-income earners can’t afford to pay the average Orange County $1,594 a month rent for housing.

Heritage Walk says its potential buyers may be expected to pay from $2,762 to $2,984 a month for the privilege of living in “affordable” housing built with our tax dollars.

Who will miss the use of tax dollars to fund private construction of affordable housing? Those who earn between $72,000 to $111,000 a year or those who will no longer be allowed to use public monies for private construction ventures?

But this is conjecture to be pondered by the good people of Fullerton.

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