Red County/OC Blog News Roundup -- November 4, 2006

Today's top stories and commentary from behind the Orange Curtain:

Lou Correa knows nothing in the OCR (link n/a): Baded.  Republican says Correa supporters are pulling 'dirty tricks' by funding write-in.  Wisckol's lead,

A write-in candidate in the 34th Senate District race is getting thousands of dollars in help from backers of Democratic candidate Lou Correa, resulting in cries of "dirty tricks" from Correa opponents.  Those foes say write-in candidate Otto Bade, a registered Republican, is a decoy candidate intended to suck votes from GOP nominee Lynn Daucher in the neck-and-neck contest.  ...Correa said he had no knowledge...

LAT: Fullerton considers a high-rise condo development.

DP: Mailboxes filling with mud.  Alicia Robinson's lead,

An unprecedented amount of last-minute spending on Costa Mesa council campaigns is flooding mailboxes with negative mailers and filling the final days before the election with low-blow attacks.  And it all may be too late. Some voters say they simply throw the mailers away, and others have already cast absentee ballots.  Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor, in a tight race for one of two open council seats, this week decried two recent mailers that attacked him and supported candidate Mike Scheafer.

Mansoor's main complaint is that the group that paid for the mailers, the Santa Ana-based Strengthening Our Lives political action committee, was partly funded by the Service Employees International Union. A filing with the city clerk's office shows the committee spent $28,750 on "voter contact" to oppose Mansoor, a little more than $15,000 on voter contact to support Scheafer and a similar amount for candidate Mirna Burciaga.

And: Last-minute mailers, and Insider, outsider in race.

DP's online poll as of this morning:

OCR: Voters' table is set with bread and butter.

OCR: Caltrans says it's made good on O.C. property payments.  Lead,

The director of the California Department of Transportation told Orange County tax officials this week that all legally required payments have been made on land Caltrans owns or has sold within the county, according to a document obtained Friday by the Register.  The 27-page document responds to last month's request by the county treasurer-tax collector to Caltrans for any money owed to the county for local properties purchased under eminent domain.

State law requires Caltrans to pay back taxes, under some circumstances, when unused property is sold by the department. The law also requires the state to pay counties a 24 percent cut on all rent collected on Caltrans-owned properties.  Chriss Street, Orange County's treasurer-tax collector elect, said his office plans to do its own analysis and that his quest for money from Caltrans is far from over.  "I didn't expect them to just send me a check,'' Street said. "I believe that when the facts are out there in the open, that Caltrans will follow the law. We are talking about very large amounts of money and I intend on being tenacious about recovering these funds for the county."

OCR: Extortion complaint names councilman.  A letter to the district attorney accuses Dana Point's Jim Lacy.

OCR: Fullerton plans ahead on big projects.

No work, no pay.  Anaheim, other cities need to support refund per this OCR Money story: Refunds being sought after trash strike ends.

Nanny State funds education bureaucracy to survey the kiddies -- no actual link or benefit to educational programs found: Richer youths cite more drug use.  Who knew the OC had a "Prevention Program Coordinator" who justifies the program saying "this data...can help a district home in on where their community has needs".  Wouldn't that be the parents' job?  Find a real job, Linda.

Comments

[Immature Sheriff]

Confirming they are accusing Lou of doing the same thing Scott Baugh did several years back? Interesting.