Friends For Fullerton's Future

April 20, 2010April 20, 2010Behind Closed Doors

Did Bankhead Shoot Self in Foot? Or have The People Really Spoken?

A Friend just passed along the minutes from a California High Speed Rail meeting back in May 2008. The city of Fullerton “strongly supports the HSR project” per Councilman Don Bankhead. Hey, wait a minute. Did the City Council of Fullerton adopt a formal position on the HSR , and did they appoint Bankhead to be it’s official spokesman on the subject?

And if the Council really and truly already decided that we’re on board the HSR, then why bother with one of those idiotic “work shops” at tonight’s council meeting, and why have another one on April 26th at the Senior Center?

Anyway check this out:

CALIFORNIA HIGH-SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY/ MEETING MINUTES / MAY 14, 2008

The meeting of the California High-Speed Rail Authority was called to order on May 14, 2008 at 9:30AM at Anaheim City Hall, 200 S. Anaheim Blvd in Anaheim, CA.

Mr. Bankhead stated the City of Fullerton strongly supports the HSR Project. To date the City, CalTrans and OCTA has invested millions of dollars in public transit services at the Fullerton Transportation Center. Mr. Bankhead stated Fullerton has the busiest rail station between Los Angeles and San Diego along the LOSSAN corridor. In addition, the City of Fullerton is working with CalTrans and OCTA to construct a new parking structure to accommodate up to 1000 rail passengers. There would be a platform adjacent to the parking structure that could accommodate high-speed rail. Mr. Bankhead stated the City of Fullerton supports the Authority’s budget request for $103M towards the development of high-speed rail. Mr. Bankhead stated on behalf of the City of Fullerton that the Authority consider a stop in Fullerton which would serve the region and build upon a previous transportation investment.

April 20, 2010Harry Sidhu

The GOP Central Committee Speaks: Nelson 47, Sidhu 8

by admin19 Comments

Shawn Nelson won the Orange County GOP Central Committee endorsement over Harry Sidhu by 47-8 votes last night at the Irvine Hyatt. That’s 85% for Nelson if you like numbers.

The room was designed to fit 200 people, and was standing room only. Besides Sidhu, who voted for himself (Sidhu got sworn in as an alternative to the OCGOP just prior to the vote), Matt Holder of (John) Lewis Consulting Services and Thomas Gordon went down in flames voting for their own interests instead of the better candidate. knowing that his client was going to lose Holder tried to forestall a vote, avoid a vote, but it was not to be.

To those in attendance it was painfully obvious that the more qualified candidate was Shawn Nelson. As usual Sidhu read his answers from a script prepared for him while Nelson’s answers were direct, forthright, and informed.

Nelson, the OCGOP’s 2009 elected official of the year won the Daily Double. It will be hard for Sidhu’s paid apologists to cast this in any other light than a resounding rejection of their candidate. You can expect the negative Sidhu mail to start coming furiously from here on out – and that won’t endear Sidhu to the party faithful, either.

For Nelson this victory provides important momentum heading into the final seven weeks of the campaign and can be used in mailings to fellow Republicans.

In short: Nelson kicked ass. I’ve got some good video and will be uploading choice nuggets for the benefit and amusement of the Friends.

April 19, 2010April 19, 2010Redevelopment

Will Redevelopment Borrow $50 Million for Affordable Housing?

by Christian11 Comments

Have you ever been robbed? Some robberies are violent and involve weapons or threats of force. Others are of a white-collar nature. Don’t be fooled, you are robbed either way. One robber let’s you know he is taking your money while the other is much more insidious and calculating. Our Redevelopment Agency is the latter.

Item 10 on this week’s council agenda deserves some attention.

According to the staff recommendation signed by Ramona Castaneda, for our illustrious Land Czar Rob Zur Schmiede and Charles Kovac, these fine public employees would like to sell a bond. They say that their autonomous agency could net between $26,900,000 and $32,000,000 in proceeds. That sounds like a great idea if you like to squander public money. The Staff report states that the debt service payments over a 17-year term would be approximately $2,900,000 per year starting September 20100 and ending September 2027. Okay, so check my math: $2,900,000 x 17 years = $49,300,000.

That’s a cost of nearly $50 MILLION! We are cutting staff hours, cutting services and rethinking the way we do business… at least everyone else is. Our Land Czar wants the money so he can build MORE affordable housing. That’s laughable since his agency has single-handedly destroyed and displaced more homes than any other in Fullerton. Oh, but wait! What’s that Doc? Oh, he says it’s that law, we just gotta do it! No we don’t.

Of course missing from the discussion about this venture seems to be the little matter of the lawsuit that Friends for Fullerton’s Future has filed against the Redevelopment Agency’s expansion plan. Is Zur Schmiede counting on tax increment from the proposed expansion area to pay off his bonds? Better hope not.

April 19, 2010April 19, 2010Dead heads

The Lorri Galloway Residency Comedy Rolls Along

by admin23 Comments

At the WAND candidate forum the other day Lorri Galloway asserted that she has lived in our district for seven months.

Not quite right. According to her voter registration she only started carpetbaggin’ the 4th District a mere 5 months ago. So who cares? She’s a politician and they just love to fuzz up the facts.

GallowayatDoor — Hi, I'm your new neighbor. I know I haven't been around much.

But wait. The really fun fact is that she began her so called 4th District residency by “living” in Anaheim’s O-P zone – on the corner of Lincoln Avenue And East Street. And even if she did actually reside there, which is extremely doubtful, that residency was illegal per Anaheim’s zone code; she was busted (by us) in January and she had to “move.” So even if the most credulous person believes that she is now actually living in the “5 Points” area, she’s only been a legal resident of the 4th District for a couple of months.

April 18, 2010Fullerton City Council

On The Agenda – April 20, 2010

by Christian3 Comments

High-Speed Rail is here! At 5PM you get to hear a presentation on the subject from the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA). Afterwards, they’ll take your questions. What they do with your questions is entirely up to them. Maybe you’ll get answers, maybe not. There will be another community meeting April 29 from 5PM to 8PM at the Senior Multi-Service Center to “…solicit input and begin CHSRA’s community outreach process in Fullerton.” Doesn’t it feel good to be part of a process?

After the presentation, council has a closed session with the labor negotiators.

There are some certificates, commendations, and proclamations to make before getting into any serious business.

On the consent calendar, items 1 through 7, we find the minutes, financial statement for period ending February 28, Appropriation of funds to comply with state obligation requiring… Wait a minute! Is someone trying to sneak something in as a consent calendar item? Let’s look a little closer at item 3.

The title is red flag: “APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS TO COMPLY WITH STATE OBLIGATION REQUIRING REDEVELOPMENT AGENCIES TO MAKE A PAYMENT TO THE SUPPLEMENTAL EDUCATION REVENUE AUGMENTATION FUND” So, on the surface the Land Czar’s agency is obligated to pay for some of the havoc they have created by blocking regular tax funds from going to education by declaring BLIGHT. $6,670,864 on or before May 10, 2010 and everyone is happy. There is a pending court case that could eventually halt the payment but I wouldn’t hold my breath over it. It just makes another strong case against having a redevelopment agency in the first place.

Item 4 is for the FAA’s 15-year lease of some of the airport’s tower. The lease is for $26,550 for the first 5 years with a CPI clause that could raise the rate every 5 years thereafter.

The OC Auto Theft Task Force (OCATTS – isn’t that cute!) is item 5. I’m not sure how OCATTS gets its funding but the staff report states that the detective’s salary, benefits, work vehicle (take home car?) and overtime are 100% reimbursed through the OCATTS fund.

Item 6 is a resolution that declares council’s intention to consider the designation and adoption of an underground utility district on State College from about Kimberly Avenue to Santa Fe Avenue. But why the district? Because there are currently overhead power, phone, and cable lines and doing this would bury them. This is somewhat tied to the grade separation work. I think it is a way to take advantage of the construction chaos and do it all at the same time while it is already tore up. Maybe not. Either way, I am glad I don’t have a business or live in that area! The staff report says there are no proposed costs associated with this resolution; however, I think a public hearing resulting from this project will have a direct cost associated with it. Another question to be asked is this: Is the City of Fullerton creating a District or altering the boundary of a district? If so, where is LAFCO?

The police want to accept a donation in item 7 of $750 from the Elks Lodge for the Police Explorer Program. Sounds good… But can’t the council pass an ordinance authorizing department heads to receive donations under a certain threshold? Then we don’t need the staff to sit in the council chamber the extra few minutes to hear this. Maybe just move it to the consent calendar.

Item 8 is a staff update on the Gilbert Community Center.

Item 9 is the All the Arts for All the Kids Heart Project that, if approved, will allow for sculptures to be placed on public property in the downtown area. The All the Arts for All the Kids Foundation wants 25 heart sculptures around the area. I think the reason it is actually on the agenda is because the City Manager wants to waive all of the permit fees. Since they will have to abide by standard city conditions and obtain permits through the normal process like anyone else, I suppose it isn’t a big deal. But what if another non-profit comes in and wants to put art on the corner, will we waive their fees? Will they be allowed to do it? What criteria does the City use to make these determinations? Or is this really a backroom deal that now needs council’s blessing?

Lastly, we have Item 10. I saved the best for last and placed it in it’s own post to follow this. Wait until you hear what our Land Czar wants now…

AGENDA FORECAST

MAY 4, 2010
• Public Hearing – 5 Year Consolidated Plan
• 10/11 Preliminary Budget
MAY 11, 2010 – Adjourned Regular Meeting – 5 pm
• Public Hearing – Coyote Hills
MAY 18, 2010
• March Financials
• Capital Projects
• Proclamation – Relay for Life Month – June 2010
• Closed Session – Property Negotiations – Fox Block
• Fox Block Extension of ENA
• Personnel Management System Changes
• St. College Grade Separation Change Order
• Service Recognition – Kathy Dasney, Former Parks Commissioner

Until next month, please feel free to add comments to this. If you have the inside scoop, shoot me a comment or email me through the Contact page on this website.

April 17, 2010Behind Closed Doors

What Are They Hiding at Anaheim City Hall?

by admin10 Comments

Over three weeks a go we made a public records request of the City of Anaheim to produce the phone log, the work product, and e-mails of a woman named Annie Mezzacappa.

Now you may well wonder who this individual is and what this has to do with anything pertinent. Ms. Mezzacappa is the personal assistant to Anaheim Councilman Harry Sidhu and she is a part-time public employee. It is rumored that it is she, not the virtually unintelligible Sidhu who scripts his performances. Yet, she is also his campaign employee and she is the contact person on all those e-mail blasts Sidhu sends out touting his endorsement by some dude or other from Stanton. See the potential problem? We were kind of curious to see if a public employee might just be doing Sidhu’s campaign business out of the Anaheim City Hall, and even on company time.

Harry'sFriend — I tell you this is nothing but candidate intimidation...

Anyway, our Intrepid Travis just got a letter from the Anaheim Deputy City Attorney. Mezzacappa’s phone log is ready. But after 24 days they are denying the request for 6 months of emails and work product because:

“The request is vague, overboard and uncertain in that it fails to request an “identifiable” record.”

Total BS. They seem to be saying that unless you can tell them exactly the document you want they’ll just say screw you. And they get to determine what is “overboard.” And that really defeats the purpose of requesting public records, doesn’t it?

We’ll be picking up those phone logs and let you know if anything fun pops up. In the meantime, we aren’t giving up on those other records, either.

April 17, 2010April 17, 2010Behind Closed Doors

More Register Fail

by Grover Cleveland4 Comments

Here’s a link to a Register article by Tony Saavedra that starts out with the breathtaking news that the OC Cemetery Board voted to hold a meeting to talk about raising it’s stipend 5%. That’s 5% of $100 per meeting, or a whopping five bucks per member. If they meet once a month that would total a mammoth $300 per year. Thanks for that earth-shattering news, Tony.

In the meantime, not a squeak about this opaque public district paying Anaheim mayor and general fixer/influence peddler Curt Pringle $6000 per month to locate a new graveyard site for the boneyard boys that we reported about here; a task that could have been handled by a realtor for the price of a commission paid by the seller. Of course Pringle was also supposed to grease the skids – which seems to be his only marketable job skill. No word yet on whether he accomplished anything at all, although this seems not to be a requirement to get a lucrative contract with one of these little known but apparently well-heeled public agencies.

But Saavedra seems to think his readers are more interested in the $5 per month scandal that’s he’s trying to brew up into something potable. Sadness.

And by the way, here’s a choice nugget from The Register’s OC Watch Dog, Teri Sforza, inviting whistleblowing news tips that I recently stumbled across. Maybe the Register reporters should (re)read Ms. Sforza’s stirring words. Here’s the kicker: “…we’ll put together a blogroll of local muckrakers like ourselves.”

Yeah. Right. Anything you say, Teri.

April 16, 2010April 16, 2010Arts & Architecture

Friday Haiku

by Yoshii The Bushido Poet5 Comments

On a pea-green pool

Skim the long-legged water bugs

A distant gong sounds

April 16, 2010June 13, 2010Harry Sidhu

Thanks, Krusty!

by Joe Sipowicz23 Comments

A commenter calling himself “Krusty” (among other assorted names) asked this morning how come we hadn’t posted anything about some lawsuit filed by some disgruntled investor who bought out Shawn Nelson’s stake in a Brea lounge.

And that reminded me that I did indeed want to post something about it. A story was posted by the Fullerton News Tribune replacement for Barbara Giasone on April 14th about this lawsuit. This intrepid newshound is called Adam Townsend.

I found it very odd that one of the Register’s do-nothing employees would suddenly become interested in Nelson’s personal business affairs, especially during an election campaign. After all, they have serially ignored real stories of political and management malfeasance like Tom Daly buying a 2.1 million dollar money pit or the fact that Harry Sidhu perjured himself twice on voter registration documents; or that Curt Pringle made a small fortune looking for a new graveyard site for the Cemetery District. Nary a peep.

The other shoe dropped this morning (it took a couple of days), when Mauve County blogger Jubal Cunningham, the “conservative” hypocrite who makes his living sucking at the welfare state teat, put this two-day old post on the top of his “Today’s top stories in OC.” Well, okay. Cunningham is just a limp tool who takes his orders from John Lewis and Lewis works for Hide and Seek Sidhu. So I guess for him and Lewis it’s a “top story.”

But why would this Adam Townsend guy let himself get used by the Sidhu campaign to publicize a private business deal of Nelson’s during a campaign – especially when he seems unable to get his keyboard to tap out the words: Harry Sidhu carpetbagging perjuror? Can he really be that dumb? Sadly, it appears so.

Either that, or something fishy going on here. And I really wonder – can we ever expect this Townsend guy to start writing about real public issues in Fullerton?

April 15, 2010Dead heads

Sidhu Admits Perjury At Candidate Forum!

by admin6 Comments

He didn’t mean to. It just came out. Asked about how long he had lived in the 4th District Harry Sidhu admitted “two-and-a-half months.” That’s ten weeks, folks, and takes us back to February 1st when Sidhu cooked up his second 4th District address. The one on Lucky Way.

Seems Hide and Seek Sidhu has conveniently chosen to forget his alleged residence at the beautiful Calabria Apartments in the month of January – the one he swore to twice under penalty of perjury. Well, he may pretend to have forgotten have, but we wont!

And of course we will be sending this video to the District Attorney to further support our case that Mr. Sidhu is a perjurer.