Search Results for: zahra

Yesterday U.S. District Judge Fernando Aelle-Rocha hit cannabis lobbyist Melahat Rafiei with a six month jail sentence and a $10,000 fine for fraud. In reality she had already pleaded guilty to trying to bribe two Irvine councilmembers to help her client – somebody in the local marijuana cartel. This seems like a light penalty for what she admitted.

Her adherents (she has some thanks to her years of disingenuous self-promotion in Democrat politics) claim that her ratting out some of Anaheim’s crooks should have meant no jail time at all.

What will this mean for the dope lobby in Fullerton? Hard to say. We know that the business has insinuated itself into Fullerton. Ahmad Zahra appointed one of its political spokesholes, Derek Smith to the Fiscal Sustainability Ad Hoc Committee. And the Dutiful Doctor from Damascus has been an active and open drum-beater for the marijuana dispensary cause for years. He actually recommended Rafiei as a lobbyist to at least one commercial property owner that I know. How many others have there been?

We also know that Zahra and the dope lobby worked real hard to elect Cannabis Kitty Jaramillo (above) last fall. Had Jaramillo won we would have MJ stores in Fullerton, possibly 100 feet from your house.

People have been speculating about Zahra’s ties to the local Marijuana Trust. How beholden is he? Ditto Sheena Charles, whose husband, Andre, got a tidy $4,000 from the marijuana worker union’s PAC, “Working Families for Jaramillo.”

The Fullerton Observer and their followers have been vocal about the political influence of Tony Bushala, but have been completely silent about the long reach of the MJ cartel into Fullerton politics. I don’t wonder why.

The August 19th Fullerton City Council meeting has a few sort of interesting items.

First, we have the Closed Session topic of Fullerton joining the class action lawsuit against ICE behavior on our streets.

This is interesting because it aligns with the “transparency” protest cooked up by the Kennedy Sisters long before the agenda was even published. Obviously Zahra and Charles leaked confidential attorney-client information from the City Attorney as to why this should be discussed first behind a closed door, as Harpoon insinuated in the linked post, above.

Anyhow, whatever happens behind this closed door will soon be leaked by Zahra and Charles to Fullerton Boohoo, some of whom will show up to blow three minutes (each) of everybody’s time with the usual rhetoric. But now the rhetoric will be about the lack of transparency of Jung, Valencia, and Dunlap.

Consent Calendar Item 12 is so poorly written it’s impossible to understand. Are “Downtown Parking Program Funds” just dumped into the General Fund (10) and then doled out to the appropriate downtown projects? The agenda report gives no separate accounting. If those funds are buried in the General Fund, why? Why aren’t they just placed in their own enterprise fund to begin with? Are downtown parking revenues being used to pay General Fund responsibilities? Typical opacity. Don’t expect anybody on the City Council to inquire, and don’t expect Young Elijah Manassero to demand transparency with his special brand of tender earnestness

Consent Calendar Item #14 deals with the usual pea-under-the-walnut shell budgeting for “Phase 2” work on the dismal disaster formally known as the UP Park – The Poison Park in FFFF jargon. The slow and incredibly expensive death march has begun with no mention of why the park was fenced off decades ago. The staff report just says “the park closed approximately 20 years ago” as if the park just decided to close itself. The City closed the park with zero fanfare because it was a complete fiasco from the beginning, a multi-million dollar monument to six-figure bureaucratic failure; a thing something nobody outside City Hall asked for or wanted.

The really bad part about this item is how the Council is being asked to transfer another $300,000 to the project. Why? More mission cost creep, of course.

Item 21 is the start of something big. Fullerton’s trash service contract is coming up in June, 2027 and staff wants to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP). The RFP solicitation document itself remains a mystery to the public because it isn’t attached to the agenda. Sorry.

These contracts with trash haulers involve huge amounts of money over the term of agreements. Hundreds of millions. Republic Services is our current “vendor,” grandfathered in from the old MG Disposal operation, if you go back far enough. Republic’s foot in the door may not help in obtaining future contract. It recently underwent a work stoppage by Teamsters workers in solidarity with Republic employees in…Boston. We were the ones affected.

Another Republic problem, apparently, has been their continued unwillingness to come to terms with the City about stuff required by a state mandate, as described in the staff report.

Oops. Making the City look bad to the pointy heads in Sacramento is no way to endear yourself to city staff. The inclusion of this episode in the staff report can’t be good news for the good folks at Republic.

Republic has, no doubt, been busy greasing the Fullerton council axle recently, and no doubt others will soon follow.

Tomorrow’s Fullerton City Council meeting has been cancelled. How come? I don’t know why.

I do know that the first meeting in July was cancelled, and the first meeting in September, the day after Labor Day holiday, is often cancelled in that circumstance.

Even if the agenda were light it seems like a better strategy to have meetings so as to reduce the length of other meetings, which can be excruciatingly long.

At least some of Fullerton Boohoo isn’t happy about the cancellation. One of them emailed to alert Fr. Dennis Kriz, who seems to have forwarded her message to the City Council. This was intercepted by the Boys in the White van and is faithfully reported below.

Aha. Our old friend Diane Vena. The woman who nominated phony MAGA candidate Scott Markowitz in last year’s 4th District election. She did this while still endorsing Vivian Jaramillo on the latter’s website. Why Vena contacted his holiness is unknown but she seems to be upset. Somebody rattled her cage about the ICE lawsuit issue. That must have been “Dr.” Ahmad Zahra and/or Shana Charles.

Somebody told Vena that “the council” didn’t cancel the meeting, but that “someone” cancelled it to attend something called the National Night Out, whatever that is. Council meetings are often cancelled without the whole council deciding. In fact a special meeting would have to be called to do that, so that’s just dumb.

What’s really interesting is how Vena got her information, and who gave it to her.

Damn City Hall is leaking like a sieve.

There is something entertaining when a professional know-it-all runs into somebody who isn’t going to accept her bullshit.

And so we have the hilarious spectacle of Shana Charles – cloistered, third-rate academic – confronting and over-talking George Bushala, Jr. because she doesn’t like his answers about how come he hasn’t built a restaurant on the Bushala Brothers, Inc., portion of the Santa Fe Depot loading dock. Enjoy the video:

Somehow Shana, who has never ventured a nickle into anything, thinks BBI should have built a fancy restaurant (like Trevor’s at the Tracks!) despite the stonewalling of staff, and the animosity of Jennifer Fitzgerald, Jan Flory, and Ahmad Zahra. Then there’s the little problem of economic recessions in the early 2000s and 2008-2012, the real estate crash in 2007, and the COVID disaster in 2020-2002.

It has also escaped poor Shana’s feeble intellectual grasp that the City’s portion of the loading dock – east of the centerline of Pomona Avenue, is structurally connected to the Bushala leasehold, an awkward situation that is obviously an impediment to development. It’s going to take a million bucks to build out – something no one would do under the present situation.

Shana actually believes there is a “structure” suitable for a restaurant – instead of an unenclosed, unsound, ramshackle frame on a concrete bulkhead with no utilities.

When you know what you’re talking about, the whole cooked-up lease “controversy” is ridiculous.

Shana has the ignorant audacity to mention people who ran COVID businesses out of their kitchen, a comment so fucking stupid that it doesn’t even need repudiation.

The final sentence from Bushala is classic: “that’s why you don’t do what I do.”

What Dr. Charles does is talk self-important ideological blather to vacant-faced students looking for an easy elective, and whose multiple choice tests are graded by a computer.

The other day I shared the City Attorney’s response to unfounded allegations and threats the tender, green bud, Elijah Manassero, made about the Santa Fe Depot lease. His mission is to connect Mayor Fred Jung to bad decisions, even when they are not bad decisions. He’s been working hard at it with his friends “Dr.” Ahmad Zahra and the Kennedy Sisterhood Coven.

Some cynical folks are saying sweet Elijah is working on behalf of the Buena Park carpertbagger, Connor Traut, seen above with his close personal mentor, Jordan Brandman.

Therefore it is no surprise that sweet young Elijah refuses to be educated in the ways of municipal legal thinking and submitted a response to the response. In his response he stubbornly refuses to understand that a breech isn’t a default; and something nobody cared about hardly merits his conniption. Moreover, if the City thinks historic plaster restoration is within its purview, it has the latitude to do so.

Dear Mr. Bettenhausen,

Thank you for your response. I appreciate your office’s willingness to engage on this matter.

That said, your reply raises serious concerns that warrant clarification.

Your letter states that “notice and cure” must occur before a default is recognized. However, Section 6(e) of the lease amendment plainly states that “If Tenant is in default (beyond applicable notice and cure periods), the Third Extension Term… shall not commence.” The City was made aware, before approving the amendment, that:

• Mr. Bushala admitted to a sublease on the record,
• Staff publicly acknowledged having no record of any authorized sublease, and
• The City had already incurred costs repairing the tenant’s plaster, repairs that are the tenant’s contractual obligation under both the original lease and the 2025 amendment.

In short, Council knowingly proceeded with lease approval while credible evidence of an uncured default was in plain view. That is a failure of due diligence and, arguably, of the lease itself. Whether or not the lease term technically commences until 2027 is beside the point, the City has bound itself to a long-term extension with a tenant under active investigation for breach. That defeats the purpose of the default clause entirely and undermines the City’s leverage.

I also note that between the prior version of the lease and the final version adopted, Section 8(g) was materially altered. The earlier version allowed the City to terminate the entire lease if the tenant failed to construct agreed improvements within five years. The final version, however, softens that enforcement mechanism, allowing only for loss of the 13-year extension, not lease termination.

The modification to Section 8(g), which weakens the City’s enforcement authority and softens default penalties, represents a material change in the terms of the lease, if not the price. As such, it triggers public disclosure and review requirements under Government Code §54956.8, which applies to leases of public property involving ‘price and terms of payment.’ To my knowledge, this change was not discussed by Council in open session or disclosed to the public prior to final adoption.

You argue the City may fund ADA improvements on its own property. While I agree in principle, the repairs at issue, including the plaster restoration inside the leased premises, are explicitly listed as tenant responsibilities under both the 1992 lease and the 2025 amendment. Public funds should not be used to subsidize private tenant obligations, especially under a lease that explicitly absolves the City of those duties. If the City chooses to assume those costs anyway, it is:

• Waiving a breach of lease without formal Council action or public justification, and
• Potentially engaging in a gift of public funds under Article XVI, Section 6 of the California Constitution.

I had hoped the City would proactively enforce its rights under the lease. Instead, your office appears to be shielding the Council’s actions under the narrowest possible reading of the agreement, despite clear signs of default, fiscal exposure, and procedural irregularity. I intend to proceed with a formal Brown Act “Cure and Correct” demand based on the post-continuance modification of lease terms and other irregularities cited above.

If your office or the City has documentation or a timeline that explains how the Section 8(g) change was reviewed or approved by Council in open session, I welcome it.

Sincerely,
Elijah Manassero
Fullerton Resident

Well there you have it. Like a small, angry child with a drum, delicate Elijah intends to keep banging out the same noise until somebody responds and gives him a cookie. However, there is no default. There is no fiscal exposure. Any irregularities were de minimis, have already been cured, and have nothing to do with a lease extension that won’t occur for another two years.

None of this boy’s accusations mean anything. The City’s own lawyer has said so. Repeating the same thing isn’t going to help. Of course tender Elijah doesn’t care that his buzzing about is actually costing the public he pretends to care so much about. We have to pay Jones and Meyer to deal with fresh Elijah. Think about that for a second.

I hope Jones and Mayer are told by the Council to drop this correspondence with the delicate sprout. He doesn’t deserve a response, not even to tell him to shove it.

.

A lot has been made by fresh young Elijah Manaserro, his mentor Ahmad Zahra and the Kennedy Coven about the issue of Albert Bushala’s lawsuit against his brothers and its potential impact on the Santa Fe Depot lease.

We here at FFFF have continually reminded folks that it doesn’t have any bearing at all. It’s a fake issue. The City’s lease is with the corporation Bushala Brothers, Inc., and BBI still exists as a corporate entity with officers and everything. It pays its rent to the City of Fullerton. If they fail to do so, it would be adios.

Yet Zahra and his minions, including the lively and tender young Elijah continue to peddle the non-issue.

So we decided to consult a lawyer with a lot of experience in public property leases. He is Jonathan Goldblatt, Esq. and has dealt with lots of these contracts for his clients over the years. Here is what Mr. Goldblatt had to say:

You requested a legal opinion regarding the impact of Al Bushala’s involvement in the original lease agreement in light of his lawsuit against the Bushala family and specifically the Bushala Brothers, Inc. (the “Tenant”).   There should be no impact.   The City’s agreement is with the Tenant entity.  Two family members, in their capacity as officers of the Tenant entity signed the recently approved amendment and represented in writing that they had authority to so sign on behalf of the Tenant. That is sufficient to legally bind the Tenant and allow the City to enforce the lease.  After reviewing the current complaint in that case, there is no cause of action would would invalidate the lease or the amendment. 

So the lease is safe – enforceable, and the City’s interests protected.

That’s pretty damn clear, unless some political or personal vendetta is driving your allegations; or your desire to play politics in a deeper end of the pool than you’re used to swimming in. That means Zahra and fresh young Elijah.

A Friend has sent in some images to FFFF of summer wear that may become a fad in Fullerton. Obverso we find pictures of Fullerton City Councilman Ahmad Zahra, the first gay, Muslim councilman in the history of the USA, so he says. Pictured next to him is his one-time wife, Michelle Salmon, the Arkansas woman he married just after coming to the country.

We are reminded of the strange case of a gay, penniless, Syrian immigrant with no job and no prospects hooking up an American woman. Naturally, it didn’t work out.

Verso we discover a facsimile of the happy newlyweds’ marriage license hot off the Pulaski County press.

Will these be appearing at council meetings this summer? They won’t work for me because I have four legs, but they sure look good enough for me to pee on.

One of the curiosities that emerged from the Bushala depot lease hearing at Tuesday’s Fullerton City Council meeting was a letter from the Bushalas’ lawyer demanding Councilman Ahmad Zahra to recuse himself. Why? Because he is biased against them, as indicated by numerous derogatory comments about their supposed negative influence on the Council majority. Here’s the letter, sent to Zahra on Tuesday afternoon.

At the outset of the meeting Zahra innocently claimed his impartiality and lack of animosity to the Bushalas, a claim that his past behavior has shown to be false, and that his behavior that very night was to belie. Anyone watching the charter city hearing, and watching Zahra’s ten minute meltdown, knows this.

Zahra began to question staff about all sorts of details in the existing and proposed lease amendment; about staff’s procedures in negotiating, etc. a strategy never before displayed by Zahra when it came to dozens and dozens of previous lease agreements he approved on the nod.

Zahra’s behavior didn’t escape the notice of two public commenters who took him to task for his blatant bias, observing that he never before showed much, if any interest in the details of lease agreements set before him, most of which were passed on the consent calendar.

Later, Zahra felt the need to defend himself. The subsequent speech explained his constant attention to details and outlined his incredible diligence looking out for the welfare of the “people.” Mayor Jung felt constrained to point out the disastrous “boutique hotel” vote of Zahra and Charles, in which conmen were essentially the beneficiaries of a massive gift of public funds – obviously no due diligence had been performed by either Charles or Zahra before they voted for the boondoggle.

My own favorite Zahra dereliction was the proposed “fish farm” in which a closed public park was to be illegally converted into a private event center with a fish tank in the middle. Remember? The unsolicited proposer had no money to pay rent or even possessory interest tax, and no collateral to get a loan; there was no parking; instead of thinking about the impact on the neighbors, Zahra even dragged up some of his toadies to gargle about trees and green space, not noise and lack of parking. All the details would be figured out later, said Zahra. The Big Idea, not the details were what was important.

Last night the Fullerton City Council voted 3-2 to amend the lease at the historic train station between the City and Bushala Brother, Inc. (BBI). Jung, Dunlap, and Valencia voted yes. Charles and Zahra no. The later tried to obfuscate and stall, but to no avail.

The Fullerton Observer and its brand new “writers” – political flacks Sweet Young Elijah Manassero and Steve Sherry tried their gosh darndest to mobilize a wave Observer troops to oppose the deal. In the end only a small ripple washed up on the sand to repeat the bullshit talking points they had been fed by Zahra and the Kennedy Sisters.

Comically, some of the self-appointed experts on commercial real estate were the near-homeless council regulars.

Mayor Jung did a good job upfront of clarifying some of the misinformation being peddled, to Zahra’s obvious annoyance.

Staff did an okay good job defending their negotiations against the disingenuous questioning of Ahmad Zahra who kept trying to compare the depot with completely different agreements on completely different properties. Zahra had been challenged for his (in)ability to be impartial and then showed to everybody that he was not impartial at all.

Sheena Charles wanted to talk to the Bushalas about the fact that no restaurant had ever appeared on the loading dock; she made the mistake of engaging George Bushala, Jr. in a conversation that ended in a comical overtalk exchange that left this viewer gasping for air.

According to Bushala, City staff had been causing problems for decades and had been using delaying tactics for years; and of course there was the obvious problem of the piece of loading dock not in the original lease is physically connected to the Bushala portion of the dock – a deterrent to development.

Dr. Sheena went to great lengths to act out her pretend astonishment. She bemoaned the lack of a “Trevor’s at the Tracks” like they have in San Juan Capistrano (I was immediately reminded of the idiot lefties who periodically demand the City bring a Trader Joe’s into town). She also wanted to know why the wealthy Bushalas (she is just a poor renter, she reminded everybody) wouldn’t give back a piece of gross sales as a sort of philanthropic gesture, I guess.

Mr. Bushala casually suggested her ignorance and confusion demonstrated: “that’s why you do what you do, and I do what I do.”

In the end Zahra pulled his usual “I have questions” that are nothing other than self-righteous speechifying – even interrupting Jung as the latter made a motion to approve the item. After a substitute motion by Sheena and Zahra to keep yakking it up failed, the original motion was approved and the deal was done.

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.