Fullerton Observer Fails at Local Journalism

I’m glad to see that Woodward and Bernstein over at the Fullerton Observer have decided to deviate from their usual city council puffery in order to run a twopart summary of the Mueller Report. Lord knows not enough people are covering THAT story in the media. It sure shows the local journalist chops at work in the local media to… rehash what the entire global media establishment won’t shut up about.

Observer Mueller

Normally I wouldn’t take time out of my day to poke fun at the Observer but I need to point something out for the sake of clarity. If you search for the Observer on Google or go to their About Us page they ask for money from people in order to… wait for it:

Protect local journalism –”

I’m pretty sure this website has broken more local news in Fullerton in the last few weeks alone than the Observer has in a decade and we got hit with an ethically and legally dubious Cease and Desist letter from the “City Prosecutor” for our efforts.

When we were being threatened by City Hall where was the Observer? They’ve been silent on the whole issue because of course they have been. They likely won’t report on anything critical of the city we’ve published without us identifying our sources but no source info is needed for that Cease and Desist letter and yet still radio silence.

Sadly, as has been the case for far too long, if the Observer isn’t crying about the liberal cause-de-jour they’re spending their column space blowing smoke up the skirts of city bureaucrats and avoiding any issue that might shed light on how things actually function in our local government. It may be a bad look to call one’s staff “journalists” if you function more as a local government PR firm.

Maybe after the city follows up on their anti-First Amendment threats against this blog, and one of our contributors, the Observer will have raised enough money to “protect local journalism” in order to actually write about the issue. But don’t hold your breath.

Maybe the Story is Down Here

Looking Back on His First Campaign

Local art gallery owner Jesse La Tour just blogged an honest retrospect on his grassroots campaign effort for the 2010 Fullerton city council race:

http://jesselatour4citycouncil.com/2011/01/why-i-ran-for-city-council/

Whether you agree with him or not, it’s hard to ignore a refreshingly forthcoming guy who jumps in as an unfunded but creative underdog, gets licked by the moneyed interests, but then dusts himself off and vows to return again.

And five thousand votes for a $1,000 ain’t bad at all. See you in 2012, Jesse.

Against All Odds

Here’s Fullerton Council candidate Jesse La Tour, standing on the corner of Chapman and Harbor yesterday pitching his handmade campaign for Fullerton City Council. Click and enjoy.

Well, that’s pretty damn cool if you ask me: a guy having fun standing up for himself. His ideas? Debatable. But you’ve gotta love the stripped down simplicity of the whole thing: no IEs, no union or repuglican support. This guy would be a hundred times better than the empty sack Bankhead or the hollow log McKinley.

So here’s to you JLT! Thanks for the effort.

Candidate Searches for the Perfect Chicken Fingers

Who is Jesse La Tour? I have no idea. But he is the first candidate to throw a bone to Fullerton’s poultry-loving voters.

A cursory search of the new Fullerton city council candidates revealed the blog of La Tour, who is bent on discovering the secrets of the culinary curiosities known as “chicken fingers.”

Nine out of 10. Winner!

On his blog, Jesse journals his journey to five Fullerton eateries, tasting varieties of fried fingers at places like Bill’s Burgers, Stadium Tavern and the Cajun Swamp.

“I love chicken strips. They are delicious,” writes La Tour, who began his quest at Roadside Burgers where he observantly declared that the nuggets probably came in a frozen bag. His suspicions were heightened later when he discovered that the fingers of Bill’s Burgers a few blocks away were almost identical. Both eateries earned a 6 out of 10 on La Tour’s scorecard.

He's not messing around.

So who won? After five plates of simulated poultry appendages, Jesse La Tour finally declares that the best Fullerton fingers can be found at The Pint House in downtown. “These strips are made from scratch, hand-dipped in beer batter and fried to perfection, so they are crisp on the outside and juicy in the middle,” he writes. Sounds tasty.

It is unknown if any other candidates will capitalize on La Tour’s willful abandonment of vegan voters, although some hope other candidates will be as forthcoming as Jesse has been on his carnivorous preferences.

In all seriousness, the lineup for Fullerton’s city council races are nearly complete. Today is the day when FFFF begins combing through the histories of each candidate, distilling fact from fiction and shining light on everything they hoped you would never find out. Despite what you may hear from those who prefer to keep their heads in the sand, this process is not about negativity, personalities or vendettas. This is about the truth, our choices, and ultimately, our future.