Friends For Fullerton's Future

July 2, 2010Food and Drink

4th of July Celebration at IvyCrest Montessori

We pass along this invitation to a rockin’ 4th of July party put on by the folks at IvyCrest Montessori to celebrate their 40th anniversary. Have fun!

Make sure you mark your calendar for the 4th of July, when IvyCrest will be pulling out all the stops and treating everyone to an entire day of wholesome family fun including games, complimentary food and beverages, performances by current students, music and entertainment!

IvyCrest will play host to Grammy Award Winner, Tom Chapin, local favorite “Sing Along with Jules” and wildly entertaining Fantastick Patrick and Friends. This 40th anniversary school year is a very important event in the history of IvyCrest. The celebratory weekend will also mark what would have been the 80th birthday of Mrs. Smith, the mother of Ms. Holly Smith Constantin who currently owns the school. Every family has their own traditions when it comes to special occasions, and in the Smith family, education and supporting the school was a legacy that they passed down to their daughter.

In this spirit, Ms. Holly wants to share the joy and inspiration of her mother’s dream for IvyCrest with all the alumni, children, and families that have been touched by the school over the last 40 years. We welcome you to join us for some wholesome, child-friendly entertainment, take advantage of the opportunity to tour the historical Hale House and newly renovated campus, or simply enjoy a safe 4th of July among family and friends.

Please RSVP and let us know if you would like to join us. The cost is free and the whole family is welcome. Please join us between 10AM and 7PM for wonderful entertainment, food, beverages, and wholesome fun for the whole family!

July 2, 2010July 2, 2010Behind Closed Doors

Pacific Strategies & The Case of the Great Disappearing Agenda Item

by Grover Cleveland12 Comments

fartboy — Hey, I didn't write that agenda entry. Or did I?

A quick perusal of the OC Children and Families Commission meeting for July 7, 2010 might be a bit misleading. Item six talks about a Strategic Communications Work Program and lists the “consultants” – really lobbyists and promoters whom we’ve seen before – Pringle and Associates, and O’ Haren, and the comically named White House Writers Group, that are lining up to line their pockets at the expense of hungry kids.

However, it’s not until you actually look at the agenda item staff report that you see our old friend Matthew Cunningham from Suite C described. Hiding something? The budget item is for “on call” services for a total of $30,000. I’m not sure what on call services amount to, but clearly Cunningham is still to be employed doing whatever it is he does for the Rob Reiner Tax and Redistribute Commission at the princely rate of $200 an hour.

The somewhat ambiguous phrase “a no-cost extension will be executed, and as necessary, modifications within the contract and budget authority” is appended. Apparently “Final” FY 2010-2011 budget actions take place in October.

July 1, 2010July 1, 2010Dead heads

Ye Gods! Now There’s a Disturbing Image!

by admin15 Comments

Once again political whiz kid Billy Turner provides FFFF with fun fodder for our humble blog. Courtesy of a facebook image we are favored with the unsettling image of Orange County’s #1 Repuglican John Lewis being asked to dance by its #1 carpetbagger, Hide and Seek Harry Sidhu.

No, we don’t know who led, but presumably it wasn’t Sidhu, who is widely regarded as nothing but a tool. And oh yes, we see you, too Billy!

July 1, 2010July 1, 2010Union Goons

Jack Dean on the Growing Wave of Public Pension Debt

by Travis3 Comments

Here’s a clip that might be helpful to those who are still unaware of just how much public employee entitlements are costing us. Fullerton resident Jack Dean discusses bounteous union pensions and the careless drive towards financial ruin.

June 30, 2010June 30, 2010Boohooism

OC Human Relations Commission Dodges Budget Bullet. Sort of.

by Joe Sipowicz4 Comments

The much-maligned and much-praised Human Relations Commission is still alive, although life signs may be diminishing.

On Tuesday, as part of its annual budget process, the County Board of Supervisors voted to eliminate an unfilled position in the department, thereby reducing its budget by about $100,ooo.

Without anymore editorial comment I have to note that many of the organizations that sent in their kudos for the good offices of this Commission, consistently refuse to contribute a dime from their own budgets to support it.

June 29, 2010Boohooism

Yellowing Submarine Advocates Tax Increase

by Joe Sipowicz12 Comments

the-observer-ostrich4-300x225 — Things are lookin' up!

Well of course they do. That’s what they know.

In the most recent edition of the squalid rag (page 1, 20% recycled paper) known as the Fullerton Observer, an unnamed editorial writer bemoans the fact that “City businesses fees” (sic) “may be outdated and too low.”

Well of course they are too low – for taxers like the Yellowing Observers, whether they are outdated or not.

Then there’s this gem: “While city (sic) employees and residents are being required to help out through layoffs, furloughs, increased fees, and reduced services, nothing has been asked of the business community.”

Huh? If anybody in Sharon Kennedy’s family had ever owned or run a business they would know that the business license is not a “fee,” it’s a thinly veiled tax, levied on businesses, and that it confers absolutely no service to the business owner. It’s just a revenue grab. Then of course the whole thing is pitched in the obligatory “look how small the increase per business is and look how many jobs it will keep!” routine.

If anybody is dumb enough to buy into I’d sure like to hear from them. And thanks Observer for a 2010 campaign issue! Let’s hear it. Whose for the new Observer tax increase?

June 29, 2010June 29, 2010Brick Veneer, Fake Old, And Other Horrors

Look Up In The Sky! It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! No It’s a Pringle!

by admin3 Comments

MTD_JRW_RAIL_HELICOPTER_2.mi_embedded.prod_affiliate.8 — The boondoggle takes to the air

Don’t feel so bad. The consultants, lobbyists, con men, and other assorted rip-off artists are pushing the multi-billion high speed rail in other places, too. Here’s an article from the Fresno Bee that tells all about how the local gentry are trying to grab their share of the HSR gravy that they think will be a big deal for the raisin capital of the state.

PringlePower — You are becoming very sleepy...

The common denominator, of course, is Anaheim’s termed-out Mayor-For-Hire, the irrepressible Curt Pringle who figures to make big bucks as a “consultant” for this boondoggle when his days as a conflicted politician are over. The Fresno crowd wined and dined hizzoner and he was clearly impressed with the show of unanimity – much more than he’s getting down south these days. He even promised them a 2012 start for the project.

Come December Pringle will be out of office, and will no longer be able to pull the strings at OCTA either, although it sure looks like he’s getting his ducks in a row, puppet-wise there and at Anaheim’s City Hall.

June 29, 2010June 29, 2010Boohooism

OC Human Relations Commission Working Hard, But For Who?

by admin4 Comments

By Friend Helen Logan.

Our $300,000 tax dollars a year working hard for us?

I found this article in the PR Newswire, United Business Media dated 17th June 2010.

“This was an invaluable opportunity for our mediators to experience the common physical and emotional challenges that are a part of the aging process,” said Mike Finkle, Human Relations Specialist for OC Human Relations. “For awhile, our mediators were able to, nearly literally, ‘take a walk in the shoes’ of seniors and others who live with such challenges every day.

To simulate experiencing the difficulties of living with arthritis, for example, program participants were asked to don heavy, clumsy gloves and then button their shirts or open medication bottles and handle small pills. Participants also put popcorn in their shoes and walked around to simulate the feeling of painful joints.”

The Orange County Human Relations Commission, a dinosaur agency foisted upon tax payers for thirty years, again shows how negligible its services are to our community.

Orange County Human Relations Specialist Mike Finkle, an employee of this commission, earns his tax dollar subsidized paycheck by walking around a room with popcorn in his shoes and attempting to button his shirt and open pill bottles while wearing, thick, clumsy gloves.

When will our county government leaders wise up to this sham agency and pull the plug on funding this silly tax dollar subsidized commission and its executive director who pulls down a six figure salary.

Our economic crisis that experts predict will be a double-dip recession, forces our county government to cut needed police and fire protection to Orange County’s residents. Yet, our county’s board of supervisors is afraid to stop funding this piece of fluff called the Orange County Human Relations Commission.

I believe most will agree with me when I say I would rather have more police or fire protection in Orange County than a person walking around with popcorn in his shoes who puts on thick, clumsy gloves to button his shirt.

For our county board of supervisors to have credibility with the voters, they must sensibly act and trim the real fat from government by cutting funding to the Orange County Human Relations Commission.

June 27, 2010July 17, 2010Boohooism

Doug Chaffee Announces Candidacy For City Council

by The Fullerton Shadow23 Comments

Aha! Our old acquaintance Doug Chaffee has announced he is running again for Fullerton City Council. He must feel that the number of vacancies this fall will improve his chances. His two prior forays into elective politics were expensive and disastrous.

Anyhoo, here’s the announcement:

NEWS RELEASE

FROM: CHAFFEE FOR COUNCIL

Contact: Paulette Marshall, (714) 529-4513; chaffeemar@earthlink.net

CHAFFEE WILL SEEK SEAT ON FULLERTON CITY COUNCIL

Fullerton, CA, June 22, 2010. Doug Chaffee will file papers with the Fullerton City Clerk indicating that he will seek a seat on the city council. The general election is scheduled for November 2, 2010. In announcing his candidacy, Chaffee said that he is extremely concerned about the city’s financial situation, which has resulted in diminished city services.

“My campaign will emphasize sustainable financing for the city and restoring a sense of inclusiveness, openness and civility among the people who work, live, and serve our city. There are many challenges facing Fullerton. I want to hear from the community – residents, homeowners and businesses. I’m a good listener and welcome everyone’s ideas. Working together, we can create common sense solutions to the economic and social challenges that face Fullerton.”

A business attorney who has practiced law in downtown Fullerton for more than 40 years, Chaffee is a graduate of Fullerton Union High School, University of Redlands (BA Economics), and Northwestern University School of Law. He lives in Fullerton with his wife, Paulette, and sons Marshall and Adam.

Chaffee is vice chair of the Fullerton Planning Commission and past president of Fullerton United Way and Sunrise Rotary Club. He serves on the board of directors, North Orange County YMCA and the Advisory Board of Fullerton Interfaith Emergency Service. He is a member of Friends of Jazz and the Sierra Club.

He can be reached at (714) 726-0521 or chaffeemar@earthlink.net.

END

We received this notice in an e-mail from a Chaffee volunteer who hopes FFFF will be fair to Mr. Chaffee.

Well, hell, we’re always fair.

Anyway, about Chaffee: he is one of those unrepentant liberals who almost always seems to believe government knows best. On the other hand his position on the City’s doling out entitlements on massive projects with gleeful abandon has been better than others.

In the past some of us meanies have singled out Chaffee as the recipient of our acerbic affections. This time? Who knows? We’ll have to see how good, or bad, the ultimate crop of candidates is.

June 25, 2010August 5, 2010Behind Closed Doors

Hypocrite Hugh Hewitt Says “Enough”

by Grover Cleveland4 Comments

Okay Friends, fight the gag reflex as you peruse this column written in something called The Washington Examiner under the by line of Hugh Hewitt, sanctimonious repuglican blabbermouth. I say “under the by line” because we recently disclosed how this allegedly literate yakmouth had stuff written for him by Children and Families Commission Scribe/Flack and $200 an hour Toothbrush Distributor, Matthew J. Cunningham, and it would now be risky to assume Hewitt writes anything for himself.

“Enough!” Hewitt loudly admonishes his ignorant readers at the end of his drivel. Ignorant? How so?

If they are reading anything attributed to this hypocrite they are almost certainly unaware that he serves on the biggest Tax and Redistributionist Commission in the history of California – the OC Children and Families Commission; and no doubt unaware that his words may very well be written by someone else – Cunningham, perhaps – his protege, and the fellow whose $200,000-a-year PR contract with the Commission Hewitt annually votes to approve.

Yuck.