OC Blog

Making the Grade

Why doesn't the 2005 Infrastructure Report Card which gives the County a "C+" in for its transportation efforts,

Orange County Infrastructure Improving, Though Not Acceptable, New Report from UC Irvine Civil and Environmental Engineering Affiliates Finds; Annual Investment of $4.8 Billion Necessary to Improve County Infrastructure over Next 10 Years,

square with the OCTA being recently named "No. 1 transportation system in the United States" by a professional association? 

The Report Card was put together by the UC Irvine Civil and Environmental Engineering Affiliates and the Orange County Branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers.  It's supposed to be available here but it's not; so we're left with the Summary which says rather little, but does shill for Measure M:

Transportation - Orange County has achieved high standards for transportation system maintenance and improvements through Measure M. Additional progress will require high levels of investment. To continue maintaining and improving our transportation system, we need the reauthorization of Measure M.

The OCTA also scored high in the Register's "Innovators in O.C." series.  Per this week-long focus piece, the OCTA gets a stroke in Trains and buses on 10/23, quoting their Chief Engineer,

We have bits and pieces, but not the whole integrated system, OCTA planning director Paul Taylor says. We mainly have cars, plus the nation's 11th-largest bus system, and Metrolink, which is mostly for commuters to Los Angeles.

It's those damn cars, Mr. Engineer.  And it's not acceptable that a freeway interchange gets prejudicially shut down as we're about to see in a few hours: 22/5 connector to close tonight.  Such a loss of service wouldn't be acceptable to your bus or train riders.  While the need for an "integrated" system might make for good reading and strokes from the academicians and press, the real need is simpler: pavement.  Autos carry more people than trains and buses, and deserve the transit system's priority -- and no more car pool lanes, please -- just pavement, as much as you can afford and as fast as you can put it down.

Unfortunately, a Prop. 77 Win Wouldn't Fix Everything

From the Register this afternoon, Barbara Boxer on the Alito nomination:

“I believe this nomination is aimed at appeasing the most right-wing elements of the president's political base, and in so doing the president turns his back on the hopes and dreams, and the rights and freedoms of the majority of the American People.  "Judge Alito may be soft spoken but if many of his opinions had prevailed the hard reality of his views would have hurt our families.  "Had the President simply asked Justice Sandra Day O'Connor to finish this term on the Court, he could have avoided a bruising battle and united the country, instead of once again dividing it."

Chuck DeVore On Prop. 77 Campaign

Assemblyman Chuck DeVore penned this column examining where Prop. 77's support -- and opposition -- is coming from:

California Redistricting Reform Draws $23 Million of Support and Opposition

You can tell much about a measure by its opponents.  In California, with its almost yearly crop of ballot propositions, this is especially true.

Proposition 77, the redistricting reform initiative backed by Governor Schwarzenegger, Common Cause (a liberal group), and the California Republican Party is looking like it may pass over major financial opposition of a number of interesting people and groups.

There are three committees specifically opposed to Prop. 77 and a fourth that’s opposed to four of the initiatives backed by the Governor.  Together, they have raised $14.8 million to counter the $8 million raised by the Governor's allies.

Who are these people and groups opposed to having competitive and fair legislative and congressional districts?

One of "No on 77" committees has raised $7,915,500 so far, the bulk of it, $4,250,000, coming from Hollywood's Stephen Bing, the wealthy scion of wealthy scions described by Mother Jones magazine as, "a notorious playboy."

Bernard L. Schwartz also opposes Prop. 77.  Schwartz is the former CEO of Loral Space, a company that was fined $20 million by the State Department in 2002 for teaching the Communist Chinese how to build more accurate nuclear missiles.  Schwartz gave about $4 million to Democrats and 527s opposed to President Bush over the past two years, so we should be relieved that he only shelled out $25,000 against Prop. 77.

As expected, California's state Democrat politicians are opposing Prop. 77, with $480,000 chipped in so far.

Congressional Democrats from all over America are rushing to the fight against Prop. 77 too, with 33 separate checks totaling $151,000 from politicians who must really care about California such as, Murtha of Pennsylvania, Hooley of Oregon, Green, Reyes, Hinojosa and Johnson of Texas, Nadler of New York, Inslee of Washington, Obey of Wisconsin, Clay of Missouri, Tierney of Massachusetts, Berry and Ross of Arkansas, Sabo of Minnesota, Davis of Tennessee, Chandler of Kentucky, Stupak of Michigan, Cramer of Alabama, Schakowsky of Illinois, and Larson of Connecticut.  With this unbroken list of liberals in opposition to Prop. 77, it kind of makes one wonder what the heck California Republican Congressman John Doolittle was thinking when he joined this liberal wrecking crew in opposition to Prop. 77.

Trial attorneys are also busy opposing Prop. 77.  The Association Of Trial Lawyers Of America wrote a $200,000 check with more than 30 slip and fall firms throwing in another $300,000 for good measure.

Labor unions are also weighing in against Prop. 77, with almost $1 million so far.

In spite of all this spending against Prop. 77, opinion polls show the initiative may win.  And, a Prop. 77 victory combined with a win for Prop 75, the public sector union "Paycheck Protection" measure will provide a foundation to completely remake California politics and reform state government.

Speaking of John Doolittle, I received a cleverly-package mailer from Citizens for Good Government this weekend. It came in an enveloped designed to make the recipient think it was something to do with jury duty and it behooved them to open it:

Inside, was a a slip of paper with scare verbiage from Rep. John Doolittle about how Prop. 77 is "bad for the Republican Party." Of course, it is the current gerrymander that is bad for the CA GOP and good for Rep. Doolittle.

Then, there's this little card that intimates to the GOP recipient that Arnold is actually against Prop. 77:

Sometimes, you just gotta admire the creative minds behind political mail.

UPDATE: Assemblyman DeVore sent me this update:



More Indignant Letter Writing

From this obscure story (hipped by Ray Haynes' Monday Morning Memorandum) we find ALL 19 California Republican members of the House have dusted off the old word processor and written a nastygram to Attorney General Gonzales (the one who wasn't nominated for SCOTUS today, thankfully).  "We're not going to go away. We're going to insist that this happen sooner rather than later" they say.  They insist.  They're not going away (unless 77 makes them).  They're collectively stomping their 38 little feet.

We dumped on Reps. Miller and Rohrabacher about ten days ago in here for writing letters and doing little else about the illegal swarm.  We'll believe the Republicans are serious about this when do they a little more than just sign letters.  For instance, when we see all 19 of them get behind Haynes' California Border Police Initiative that's hurting for signatures (and CASH, Darrell) right now (he's about one third of the way with less than 60 days to go).

Jim Gilchrist's Bankruptcy

The subject of Jim Gilchrist's bankruptcy has been floating out there throughout the 48th CD special election. Does he have one, or doesn't he?

He does, and you peruse it here and here and here and here and here. Back in June, when Gilchrist  first threw his hat in the ring, I asked what anyone really knew about him and wondered if he was really prepared for the rough and tumble of a congressional campaign. I think the unprofessional and unfocused nature of his campaign, the weird political statements and unconvincing explanations of those statements, and now this example of personal financial recklessness should convince any remaining doubters that Gilchrist is finished as a candidate.

More Reasons for Prop. 77

Ken Masugi, father of the Local Liberty Blog and a Director at Claremont, had an interesting piece in the Register this morning: Prop. 77's immigration angle.  In part,

Illegal immigration is imposing a new three-fifths-clause blotch upon our nation. Illegal immigrants need to count, as slaves should have, as zero persons for purposes of drawing political districts. Let the politicians who defend the current arrangements justify counting illegal immigrants.  Illegal immigration undeniably contributes to the current, corrupt redistricting scheme. Outraged citizens can protest this injustice through a vote for Prop. 77.

Rick Reiff On Tunnel Trouble

OCBJ Executive Editor Rick Reiff reports on the controversy over the proposed Santa Ana Mountains tunnel:

More trouble for The Tunnel: The Laguna Beach and Lake Forest councils have come out against the proposed Riverside-OC connector through the Santa Ana Mountains. “That’s just what we need, another 100,000 people on a summer weekend,” a Laguna resident complained at a public hearing. Former assemblywoman Pat Bates, heretofore favorable toward the tunnel concept, is now “undecided” and “shares the concerns” expressed by residents. Bates’ move follows a highly-charged, anti-tunnel mailer from Laguna Niguel Mayor Pro Tem Cathryn DeYoung, who is competing against Bates for Tom Wilson’s county supervisor seat ...

DeYoung goes around with three cell phones—one that’s personal, one for city business and one for her supervisor campaign: “Thank God I don’t have a Blackberry, too” ...

OC Blog News Roundup -- October 31, 2005

Happy Halloween! Today's top stories from behind the Orange Curtain:

Martin Wisckol's The Buzz: Prop. 73 Backers Avoid Roe v. Wade -- OCR
Wisckol reports on the headline's topic, as well as the candidate fields in the 37th SD special and the 67th AD primary.

Teacher vs. Teacher -- OCR
Two OC teachers take opposing viewpoints on Prop. 74, the mild teacher tenure reform initiative.

22 To I-5 Transition Closed For Construction -- OCR
It took Chinese coolies from 1865 to 1867 to blast the Central Pacific railway through the Sierra Nevada mountain range, using dynamite, nitroglycerine and no machinery -- yet it takes modern government at least eight months to finish construction on one part of a freeway interchange.

Editorial: The Fast Track to A-Town -- OCR
The Reg opines on Anaheim using a free-market approach to take a quick step toward developing the Platinum Triangle.

Provocateur Waters Charms The OC -- LAT
John Waters mixes with OC art patrons.

Urban Afterthought -- LAT
Anaheim's A-town is reversing the process of building a ballpark to renew an urban core. Here, the ballpark's in place; the core's coming.

NB and CM Police Departments Upgrade Weaponry -- DP
Shotguns and mounts for motorcycle cops, AR-15s for patrol cars.

Three OC Cities Want To Emulate Anaheim's Example -- OCBJ
Santa Ana, Fullerton and Costa Mesa looking to streamline redevelopment.

Probolsky On The Bates-DeYoung Contest

OC pollster Adam Probolsky posted on the FR Blog with some good insights into the 5th Supervisorial District contest between former Assemblywoman Pat Bates and current Laguna Niguel Councilwoman Cassie DeYoung -- particularly the absence of a host committee for her upcoming fundraiser. That may strike some as too inder baseball, but as Probolsky points out, host committees on these early fudnraisers are an indication of a candidate's community support at the beginning stages of a campaign.

Measure D Mailbox -- October 29, 2005

This mailer from the No On Measure D campaign hit my mailbox yesterday:

OC Blog News Round up -- October 30, 2005

Today's top stories from behind the Orange Curtain:

OCR guest column from NRO: The case for Justice Chris Cox.  There's that dismal response to illegal immigration (for example) while he ran the House Homeland Security Committee which needs to be remembered.  One of our commentors, Logical, also per a previous post on Cox:

Cox had his judicial chance when rumblings of a 9th Circuit appointment were floated (a court where he is desperately needed); Boxer and Fienstein came out against it; Cox, with his infinite non-confrontational trait, asked to be withdrawn from consideration.  I'd rather have someone with more spunk on the Supreme Court.

OCR covers traffic congestion: Creeping along in our cars.  The point of this front page story?

OCR on citizens for careful development: Howling and growling.

OCR's Greenhut on the special election: Restoring the balance.  In part,

This...is about restoring a little balance to the ... balance of power. Our governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has his flaws. But he recognizes the need to give the average California citizen a chance to stand up to those interest groups that have treated the treasury as a pig treats a trough.

...certain interest groups have gained a disproportionate amount of power in Sacramento. The main one is the public-employee unions, who are the beneficiaries of the government's explosive growth. When government grows, their membership, pay and benefits grow. They use money taken by force from members to maintain this power, paying for advertising and advocacy.  They have undue influence on legislators.

OCR on Arnold's visit to Westminster yesterday: Governor courting Little Saigon.

OCR's continuing 100th Anniversary series, this week on tourism and the Mouse: Innovators in O.C.

OCR Reader Rebuttal: Orange County's Measure D.  "Since it (172) passed, over $2 billion in dedicated public-safety funds have been raised," so where's the new jail as we asked in Another Funding Dilemma?

OCR's Seiler with a good review on a good idea: Why charter schools work.

MUST READ OCR (badly edited) guest column by Jill Stewart on the Teachers Union: Breaks in teachers union ranks.  In part,

Where does all that money go? CTA spends it on ludicrous political campaigns that are not aimed, in the least, at fixing California’s schools. As Beach noted, “The CTA used union dues to back the [failed] measure to roll back ‘three strikes and you’re out.’ How does this help children in the classroom?”  It doesn’t.  CTA poured big money into a $14 million campaign in 2004 for Proposition 56, a nutty plan to make it easier for our beloved Sacramento Legislature to raise taxes on us all. And CTA even poured millions into fighting the recall of Gray Davis. None of this helped children one whit.

I find it fascinating that when two teachers recently signed an e-mail to 95,000 teachers criticizing CTA for spending $50 million on politics, only 50 teachers demanded to be taken off the Yes on 75 e-mail list.  Eric Beach, of Yes on 75, told me he normally would expect a few thousand to ask that their names be removed.

LAT: Valley's Orange Line a Hit Out the Gate.  Why link this?  Not because it's orange, but because it's $350 million for 14 miles when the CenterLine was $1.1 billion for nine.  Bus Rapid Transit isn't the best answer, but it sure beats light rail.  Otoh, there are the unconvinced, as we were in March in Bogus Rapid Transit and in April.

LAT's Pasco on our $?4 billion man: Bren Aims to Keep Riches Private.

LiberalAT wants us to think Santa Ana isn't so bad after all: Hardship City. 

And that's regular OC Blog commenter Gustavo Arellano that writes "Ask a Mexican" whose name you didn't publish when you quoted him.

35th Update

I don't think I am the only one who is skeptical about DP Councilwoman Diane Harkey's conservative credentials, but I was impressed with her enewsletter that came out last week.  She not only takes a clear position on Prop. 73 (in red below) but also shows her sensibility with her opposition on Measure D.  I am liking her more and more:

Dana Point "lite" a highlight of news & events in our city By: Diane Harkey

My Picks for November 8th...I know I may going out on a limb here, as some of you may not see things as I do on a State or National level. However, no one who knows me would expect  me not to express my views.  So here goes...   I supported the Recall and so, for this as well as other more in-depth reasons, I will vote YES on Propositions 74, 75, 76, and 77.  I also am a strong advocate of parents knowing where and what their children are being exposed to (since responsibility for raising our children remains with the parents), and will also vote YES on Proposition 73.   I think both Propositions 78 and 79 are bad medicine for our already overtaxed health care system and taxpayers, so I will say NO to both.   As for Proposition 80, the first rule for me is "do no harm" and so due to the complexities of this one, unless anyone can convince me otherwise, I'm voting NO.   I am also voting NO for the inter-related, tug-at-the-heartstring Ballot Measures: B,C, D, and E. I regret that the firefighters an law enforcement are caught in the midst of what appears to be a tug-of-war between the unions.  However, Measure D began the war and will, if successful, impact the future O.C. Sheriff and O.C. County Budget (which could transcend to higher costs for contract services for the City of Dana Point).  Since the entire Board of the OC Supervisors is opposed to Measure D, and the Supervisors (and taxpayers) will have to deal with the impacts to the budget, I think I'll side with them, and again do no harm.   That's my line-up. Let's see what happens, and good luck if yours differ!

Goonism

Hipped by the Local Liberty Blog, check this sterling example of collective bargaining per the indispensable Michelle Malkin: UNION THUGS UNHINGED.  "...Whipping the crowd into a frenzy was none other than (Assembly) Speaker Fabian Nunez, who was a featured speaker at the rally in Pershing Square."  There was absolutely no mention of this incident in the MSM today, excepting the Channel 9 clip that apparently was provided by the CRP.

And also from Local Liberty, not the worst idea you'll hear today in Cracking Down on Employers of Illegals:

Conor Friedersdorf proposes an equivalent of the Minutemen for employers of illegals. See his Beyond Borders Blog and regular columns in the Daily Bulletin.

Work site arrests dropped 83 percent between 1999 and 2003, according to the Government Accountability Office. Over roughly the same period, fines issued to employers fell from 427 citations in 1999 to just three citations during fiscal 2004!

OC Blog News Round up -- October 29, 2005

Today's top stories from behind the Orange Curtain:

LAT on the Crush: No Trick: 22 Freeway Link to the 5 to Close.

LAT on the IRS: Checks Await O.C. Taxpayers.  Pasco says "log onto the agency's website at http://www.irs.gov to see if they have a refund coming."

LAT and OCR on electronic bracelets, GPS by the Sheriff: Program Links Crime Scenes, Sex Offenders.  In part,

In the first program of its kind in the country, high-risk sex offenders in Orange County are being tracked via satellite using electronic ankle bracelets to determine their proximity to crimes, officials said Friday.  Orange County's collaboration between the Sheriff's Department and the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is the first to automatically cross-reference parolees' whereabouts with crime locations. 

Monitoring a parolee with GPS costs the state $8.75 per day in addition to the $9.70 per day it costs to supervise someone on parole.  The state is paying for the two-year pilot program.

Per the OCR, 40 parolees are involved and "If the parolee comes within 500 feet of a crime reported that same day, the individual's parole officer and the sheriff's investigations unit will be alerted."  How about near a school or playground?

DP yesterday on Measure F: Measure F campaign funds mounting.  And incoming Fed money: School district cashes in grant.

HBI on more Coastal Commission nonsense, still sticking it to a developer: Mesa sale is almost a done deal.

OCR on every neighborhood's controversy: Dogged determination.

OCR: O.C. mails corrected Korean sample ballots.  Just how hard is this to get right?

OCR: Volunteer gives self up for deportation.  ICE actually deports an illegal alien criminal?

OCR on development plans in the Great Pork: Lennar presents sketches of future.  We could see this boondoggle coming weeks ago,

...Great Park board members will be visiting the three design finalists next week and looking at some of their completed projects in New York, Paris and Barcelona.

Speaking of gutless bobbleheads, Greenhut from the Register's Blog on the OCSD's attorneys covering up for the Dean of Dung:

Yesterday, I blogged that Yorba Linda council member (and Assembly candidate) Mike Duvall and Anaheim council member Harry Sidhu supported a motion at the Orange County Sanitation District to release the audits of Blake Anderson and the New Age guru, Dharma consulting. They did and they deserve kudos for this action. I should have also mentioned that Orange council member Carolyn Caveche not only joined with that group, but she actually authored that motion. These three solid conservatives pushed for open records while the rest of the board reportedly sat there like bobbleheads. The Sanitation District's legal counsel refused to release the audits, describing them as a personnel matter and refused to let the board members vote! As I mentioned before, audits of how the top person misspent tax dollars is NOT a personnel matter. Had other board members shown any guts, they could have pursued the matter further. At least there were three profiles in courage.
Posted by Steven Greenhut -- sgreenhut@ocregister.com at 2:50 PM

LAT on the Alphabet Measures

The Left Angeles Times has parroted the Register's positions on D and the other Measures.  From today Editorials, their Endorsement in A chorus of no's.  In part,

ORANGE COUNTY VOTERS will be plenty confused by, and many will probably ignore, the four competing measures on the ballot Nov. 8. They needn't be. All they have to know is this: No, no, no and no... 

Only one measure can win, but they are all losers. The Fire Authority deserves some Proposition 172 money — it protects huge expanses of brush-laden unincorporated land — but this is a straightforward case of ballot-box budgeting. The best system is the current one, in which supervisors can decide to distribute money as they see fit, even if that isn't always wisely.

Cox for SCOTUS?

While this from the WSJ.com's Opinion Journal isn't the worst idea you'll hear today, we'd still hold out for Janice Rogers Brown:

Justice Cox?

When the nomination of Harriet Miers was at its most beleaguered, one political commentator suggested the president should appoint Chris Cox, the newly installed chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, to the Supreme Court and name Ms. Miers, a skilled corporate litigator, to the SEC. Now that she has withdrawn, Ms. Miers seems determined to resume her duties as White House counsel. A perch on the SEC might not interest her, but the idea of putting Mr. Cox, a former California congressman and deputy White House counsel in the Reagan years, still holds a lot of appeal.

Mr. Cox would have several advantages. As a former member of the House leadership, he personally knows more than half of the Senators and has impressed many with his temperament and judgment. Only this past summer, Mr. Cox was fully vetted and won unanimous confirmation by the Senate to the SEC post. His experience in the business world as a corporate litigator would add invaluable perspective to a high court largely staffed with former federal appeals court judges. He also has experience with the many terrorism cases that will come before the court: He was the founding chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security.

As for confirmability, it's true that California Senator Barbara Boxer threatened to veto his nomination to a federal appeals court four years ago. But for the Supreme Court, no individual Senator can exercise such a veto and there is a good chance that Ms. Boxer's more moderate colleague, Dianne Feinstein, would back Mr. Cox. While his views are well known, the Harvard Law School graduate is clearly no ideological hothead and his calm and reasoned approach to the law has won admirers across the political spectrum.

-- John Fund

An Alternate Take On The OC Sanitation District Carnage

Yesterday I posted that (according to sources) sacked OCSD GM Blake Anderson fired his communications director, Carol Beekman, for disloyalty shortly before he himself was shown the door.

This morning I received an e-mail from another source in a position to know that, in fact, Beekman was not fired for being disloyal and "the leak," but for creating a hostile work environment. This source contends that Beekman was a faithful Anderson internal henchperson. The OCSD human relations department brought in an outside attorney to investigate the situaton, and although Anderson attempted to render the investgation ineffective, he was ultimatley forced to terminate Beekman.

What would Dharma Consulting have to sat about all this negative kharma at the San District?

OC Blog News Round up -- October 28, 2005

Today's top stories from behind the Orange Curtain:

Anh Do: Missing Local Color -- OCR
U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam visits OC but skips Little Saigon.

Placentia City Council Advised To Switch Rail Project Chiefs -- OCR
Conflict-plaged OnTrac honcho Chris Becker will finally get the heave-ho.

Governor Takes His Case To Business Leaders -- OCR
Pitches his props to a hroup of ethnic business leaders.

Op-Ed: Tunnel Just 1 of 2 Bad Ideas -- OCR
Cassie DeYoung, candidate for the 5th Supervisorial District, pitches her opposition to the tunnel proposal as well as to widening Ortega Highway. Lots of "South County suffering for North County's benefit" rhetoric. FordeMollrich must have polled these issues and concluded they're the new "airport" issue in South County.

Feeling Those Hookah Headaches -- LAT
Anaheim and Garden Grove looking at regulating hookah bars. I'll bet if the hookah bars change their names to "peace pipe bars" and allow gambling, the Garden Grove council will reverse course.

Tunnel Scorned By Some In OC -- LAT
South County is concerned it will increase traffic for them. Is there some way we can encase South County in a giant, sound-proof biosphere?

Dispute Between OC, Christian Group Heats Up -- LAT
These guys are kooky, but gutsy, too.

CCPOA Gives $25K Against Measure D -- LAT
No, Jeff Flint -- that doesn't make supporting D the anti-govermnent union stance.

OC's 31 Scariest People -- OC Weekly
The alt. paper's annual list.

Ask A Mexican! -- OC Weekly
Educate yourself with Gustavo Arellano's weekly offering.

New Candidate, Old Politics

Just when you thought OC might have turned a corner and left old, outdated and divisive politics behind, we're reminded of just how simplistic some candidates world views are.

Check out today's Register column by Councilwoman Cathryn DeYoung from Laguna Niguel. http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/opinion/columns/article_737156.php

This piece showcases one of the classic old-OC political tricks: gin up an issue that is simmering quietly into your centerpiece.  Or, in layman's terms - to make something out of nothing.

I share a number concerns with many of you about this type of treatment of real issues, in addition to taking issue with her two arguments.

To wit:

On the whole, DeYoung's column reminds me of certain other Orange County politicians who rode the El Toro Airport debate up and down through fund-raising, ballot battles and town hall meetings all over the county for the better part of a decade.  The result:  instead of getting a reasonable debate about the merits of an airport at El Toro (or leveraging this discussion to include a broader look at our regional transportation needs throughout the OC-Inland communities) we got two polarized sides, some now has-beens and some current electeds riding this issue as if it were the greatest crisis ever to face the county.

What's more, a real debate about issues was eclipsed by the shear desire to gin up support for ones campaign.  That's exactly what is happening in DeYoung's case. 

She tackles two transportation challenges facing Orange County as a whole: the Ortega Highway widening discussion, and the discussion of a tunnel under the Cleveland National Forest into OC from the Inland communities.  Perhaps most interesting is the way she writes as if South County is so different and so protected from it's older, more established communities to the west and north.  This alone shows the narrow worldview that may be great at the city council level, but ridiculous when you are one of five supervisors managing the fifth largest county in the nation, the second largest in the state.

On the issues her assertions deserve some review.

DeYoung tackles what she calls the "Terrible Tunnel" idea, to connect the I-15 corridor in Riverside County to Orange County's freeway network via a dozen mile long tunnel.  She claims the tunnel would generate between 80,000-160,000 vehicles per day.  It's estimated the 91 corridor currently sees about 250,000 vehicles per day.  Readers should take two concerns away from this discussion.  First, she's willing to place the "concerns" of south county suburbs ahead of the greater transportation needs of the county as a whole and second is using rhetoric and style so doomsday-laden that it makes any further discussion or debate challenging.

We see no willingness to even consider a reasonable alternative to the 25 mile long snake of idling traffic that parks, er drives between Corona and OC every day.  No discussion either of the pollution and local traffic along the 55  /91 corridor created by the virtual parking lot freeway.  Nor is there acknowledgement that like it or not these people presumably like their jobs and lives and aren't willing to take trains or other means to travel.  Bottom line: it's a problem that's here, so deal with it and find a solution!

Next DeYoung tackles what she terms the "Ortega Corridor Nightmare."  She takes issue with plans to widen or expand this mountain highway in the interest of protecting people from themselves.  This is a winding, dangerous road but like it or not there are hundreds, if not thousands of people who consider the risk of the drive less than the inconvenience and hassle of the I-15 to 91 corridor route.  Ignoring their issues in favor of the south county NIMBYs should also speak volumes about her approach to and consideration of issues.  Again, DeYoung the supervisor candidate is more interested in her small parochial interests than actually addressing a problem.  Any fifth grader can highlight a problem - the good politicians however actually find, craft and implement solutions.

Serving as a supervisor in Orange County is a big job, and as Orange County's raw land development boom slows over the next decade, the county's job will also change.  In the future county government will provide social services and serve as regional transportation, safety and infrastructure service agencies - far beyong it's once prominent role as a development-approver.  DeYoung acknowledges the region needs more planning - why not lay out the plan rather than sitting on the fringes pissing and moaning about others attempts to actually do so?

While DeYoung's outlook shows the NIMBY panic rhetoric so prevalent in small, local debates it should cause concern for those in the public policy realm who actually want to LEAD and make tough choices. At the end of the day, the tunnel may be a solution worth considering -- like it or not, OC's job centers in the Spectrum, South Coast Metro, Newport Center and Airport areas are the economic engine and job base for both OC and the inland counties.  Ignoring this draw and the needs of both our workers and residents will create a "terrible nightmare" far greater than the political risks of brave leadership.  If this is all the candidate has to offer in her campaign, please wake me when it's over and her opponent has won.

Off Base

Register guest columnist Charles H. Rivkin got his say (again) in their Orange Grove section yesterday, pitching in Airport at the end of the tunnel for the sharing of March Air Force Base in Riverside County for commercial aviation.  Rivkin made the same useless argument in the Reg in October, 1999.

The Anti-Airport fanatics just aren't going to be satisfied with the theft of El Toro from the rest of us for its development as LarryLand -- seems they still want John Wayne gone too.  Rivkin says (as he did six years ago, with almost the same verbiage):

John Wayne Airport could reduce its air traffic to private planes and local commercial flights, or additional property-tax revenue could be generated if John Wayne Airport were to be closed. The land could then be developed into commercial and office use, or a variety of sports facilities, such as a stadium or horse racing track.

Perhaps Mr. Rivkin could tell us how much property tax revenue WAS LOST when the Anti-Airport cult and the Larrylubbers sold us out to 3,885 acres of unneeded park?  Perhaps Mr. Rivkin might tell us how we're to get to March since his 1999 speculation about a "bullet train" hasn't happened.  He also said then we're only a "20 minute" ride from the base.

OC Sanitation District Stonewalling Makes For Bad Karma

Getting rid of Blake Anderson apparently hasn't lessened the stench at the Orange County Sanitation District:

OCSD Stonewalling Dharma Audits

The Sanitation District has conducted a forensic audit and a management audit of former General Manager Blake Anderson, who resigned under fire for spending $15,000 a month on a New Age management consultant called Dharma consulting. I talked to board members Harry Sidhu and Mike Duvall today, both of whom said they pushed for public release of the audits. The district took all copies of the audits back from board members to keep them from getting out, and is viewing them as personnel matters. That's absurd, an attempt to cover-up important information from the public. This is about how the top person misspent public dollars. This is not a personnel matter. I contacted the district and the spokeswoman told me to file a Freedom of Information Act request.

OCSD must release the information so the public can understand the scandal, or else it is complicit in the matter with Anderson.

Posted by Steven Greenhut -- sgreenhut@ocregister.com at 7:55 PM on October 27, 2005

Not only is this bureaucratic stonewalling wrong, it shows what a complete waste of money the Dharma Consulting contract was -- because obviously Eric Klein's spiritual principles didn't take with the OCSD staff! I think they need to repeat the Journey of Self and awaken their corporate souls.

Finally, why are OCSD Directors allowing their staff to take the audits away from them? Who's running that place?

New Polling

Real Clear Politics has updated its California polling with new data from the Public Policy Institute of California (more detail here):

Proposition 73: Parental Notification
• Termination of Minor's Pregnancy. Waiting Period and Parental Notification. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.

Poll	YES	NO	Und	Spread
PPIC (10/16-23)	42%	48%	10%	NO +6
Survey USA (10/15-17)	60%	38%	2%	YES +22
Survey USA (9/30-10/2)	59%	39%	2%	YES +20
Field Poll (8/19-29)	45%	45%	10%	Even
PPIC (8/8-15)	44%	48%	8%	NO +4
Field Poll (6/13-19)	48%	43%	9%	YES +5

Proposition 74: Public School Teachers Tenure
• Public School Teachers. Waiting Period for Permanent Status. Dismissal. Initiative Statute

Poll	YES	NO	Und	Spread
PPIC (10/16-23)	46%	48%	6%	NO+2
Survey USA (10/15-17)	53%	45%	1%	YES +8
Survey USA (9/30-10/2)	55%	44%	2%	YES +10
PPIC (9/12-19)	43%	47%	10%	NO +4
Field Poll (8/19-29)	46%	37%	17%	YES +9
PPIC (8/8-15)	49%	42%	9%	YES +7
Field Poll (6/13-19)	61%	32%	7%	YES +29

Proposition 75: Union Dues -- Political Contributions
• Public Employee Union Dues. Required Employee Consent for Political Contributions. Initiative Statute.

Poll	YES	NO	Und	Spread
PPIC (10/16-23)	46%	46%	8%	Even
Survey USA (10/15-17)	56%	42%	2%	YES +14
Survey USA (9/30-10/2)	60%	37%	3%	YES +23
Field Poll (8/19-29)	55%	32%	13%	YES +23
PPIC (8/8-15)	48%	33%	9%	YES +15
Field Poll (6/13-19)	57%	34%	9%	YES +23

Proposition 76: State Spending Limits
• School Funding. State Spending. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.

Poll	YES	NO	Und	Spread
PPIC (10/16-23)	30%	62%	8%	NO +32
Survey USA (10/15-17)	54%	41%	5%	YES +13
Survey USA (9/30-10/2)	58%	36%	6%	YES +22
PPIC (9/12-19)	26%	63%	11%	NO +37
Field Poll (8/19-29)	19%	65%	16%	NO +46
PPIC (8/8-15)	28%	61%	11%	NO +33
Field Poll (6/13-19)	35%	42%	23%	NO +7

PPIC has been said to be "left-leaning", and with about ten days to go it's going to be hard to find any polling to rely on as they've been all over the place so far.  We'd be curious what Adam Probolsky thinks.

UPDATE -- The Register's Blog confirms our suspicions re. the PPIC:

Before supporters of the governor and his reforms get too upset, remember the following PPIC polls from two weeks before the 2004 primary election, provided to me from a political insider:

PPIC showed Prop 56 (making it easier to pass taxes) ahead 41 percent to 40 percent. It lost, 60 percent to 34 percent.

PPIC showed Prop. 57 (debt reform) losing 41 percent to 38 percent. It won 63 percent to 37 percent.

Before the 2004 general election:

PPIC showed that Prop. 72 (mandatory health care) was ahead 41 percent to 38 percent. It lost 51 percent to 49 percent.

One week before that general election, PPIC showed Prop. 64, limiting shakedown lawsuits, down 37 percent to 32 percent. It passed 59 percent to 41 percent.

I'm sure PPIC has predicted other things accurately, but I, personally, am eager to see what the Field Poll has to say.
Posted by Steven Greenhut -- sgreenhut@ocregister.com at 11:31 AM

Charlton Heston

 

I normally avoid non-OC topics, but since our compadre Gustavo Arellano asked for more Charlton Heston, I had to deliver. Here are some of my favorite Heston movie lines:

"Soylent Green is people!"

"Damn them!... Damn them all to hell!"

"You maniacs!... You blew it up! ... Ah, damn you!... God damn you all to hell!!"

"Take your stinking paws off me, you damned, dirty ape!"

"It's a madhouse!... a madhouse!!"

"The Lord of Hosts will do battle for us!... Behold His mighty hand!"

[H/T to WavSource.com]

DeVore Panel On Government Employee Pensions

Following is from the release sent out by Assemblyman Chuck DeVore's office about last night's panel on government waste:

PANELISTS ZERO IN ON GENEROUS PUBLIC EMPLOYEE BENEFITS AT COMMUNITY FORUM ON GOVERNMENT WASTE, FRAUD AND ABUSE

IRVINE, CALIF. – Attendees to last night’s Seventieth District Community Forum hosted by Assemblyman Chuck DeVore came away with at least one clear message: California’s government employees enjoy overly generous salaries and benefits packages that have created a near catastrophic financial crisis.  Testifying in concert, former Assemblyman Tony Strickland, Orange County Treasurer John Moorlach, Dr. Steven Frates, and DeVore blasted collective bargaining and lack of accountability as other contributors to the mess.

“There are fifteen boards and commissions in the State of California that pay their members over $100,000 a year to show up once a month.  Does that seem fair to you?” former Assemblyman Strickland asked a large audience of shaking heads.  “We can’t account for twenty-five percent of the state’s fleet of vehicles.  The situation is unacceptable.”

“Government offers twenty-six percent higher benefits on average than the private sector,” explained Treasurer John Moorlach.  “The unions have just done a great job at securing these amenities, and they’re sore winners.  This is your tumor.  We need pension reform in this state.”

“We need access to useful information,” demanded Frates.  “School districts will pay more for employee healthcare than they will for textbooks, but you won’t know that.  We need to make the dollars follow the children and make districts accountable.  We can’t do that if we aren’t promptly delivered an open, itemized account of where our money is going.”

“We need more events like this held across the state,” concluded Assemblyman DeVore.  “I think when people hear how their taxes are being misdirected on administrative overhead and lush benefits packages, they begin to pay attention and demand accountability.  Experts are telling them real, drastic change is needed to right our path toward fiscal certainty.”

Assemblyman Chuck DeVore represents the Seventieth District in the California State Assembly.  The district includes the cities of Aliso Viejo, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Newport Beach, and Tustin. The assemblyman’s website may be found at www.assembly.ca.gov.  Elected in November 2004, Assemblyman DeVore is currently serving his first term in the California State Assembly.

MSM Lags in Credibility

This AP story is all over the web: Poll: Gov. Schwarzenegger's Measures Lag. 

In reading it, you'll need to sift through all the "news" about Arnold's polling and the idea he's just a jerk until you reach, seven paragraphs in, this:

The spending cap (favored by just 30 percent of likely voters) and the redistricting measure (favored by 36 percent) are furthest behind, according to the poll.

That's it -- no other hard information, no numbers, nothing.

Measure D Mail Box: October 27, 2005

Measure D, et al.  Not sure who "Continuing the Republican Revolution" is -- the fine print says they're "not an official politcal party organization".  They don't have a website, but do have a Newport Beach address.

Diane Harkey Exploratory Senate Candidacy In The News

This article ran in the Dana Point News today:

Dian