OC Blog

Red County/OC Blog Wins Its First Award

Mrs. Jubal and I hosted our 2nd Annual "St. Paddy's Day...South of the Border" party this past March 17, and Orange County Employees Association General Manager Nick Berardino was among our guests.

Nick and I obviously don't see eye-to-eye on a number of issues, but I like and respect Nick very much. He fights hard for what he believes, but doesn't make it personal.

In any case, at the party Nick presented me with this, the OCEA "Blemmy" (short for "blog Emmy") for our coverage of the 1st Supervisor District special election:

 

I think it is a wonderful irony that center-right Red County/OC Blog's very first blog award should come from a government employee union.

Thank you, Nick! And also thanks tot he rest of the Blogpen, to whom this award belongs, including Quang Pham and especially Mark Leyes. Without Mark's reporting, commenting and analysis, our coverage of the special election wouldn't have been nearly as good or complete.

Red County/OC Blog News Roundup -- March 31, 2007

Today's top stories from behind the Orange Curtain (better late than never edition):

Seeking More Resort Housing -- OCR
Property owners are lining up to seek residential zoning in the resort – a key reason resort businesses are trying to deter homes with a ballot initiative.

Increase In OC's Immigrant Detainees -- LAT
The number has tripled since December, overwhelming the local consulate. Some seeking help there have been deported before.

Water Supply In Good Shape -- OCR
Residents' conservation helps county out of trouble.

A Platform For Debate -- OCR
Conference discusses the fate of unused oil platforms and their surrounding sea life.

March Honors Chavez -- OCR
About 50 Savanna High School students carry Mexican and American flags in early morning tribute to labor leader.

RSM City Council Introduces Zoning Ordinance -- OCR (3/29/07)
The zoning ordinance establishes regulations related to the use of land and resources within the city.

City Eyes Residential Condo Conversions -- DP
Less than two weeks after putting a moratorium on industrial park subdivisions, the Costa Mesa City Council may also temporarily block residential condo conversions while the city beefs up the standards building owners must meet.

Costa Mesa Celebrates Business Leaders -- DP
Honored for his 36-year career at Orange Coast College, Jim Carnett humbly thanked those he worked with at the college throughout the years as he accepted a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce and South Coast Metro Alliance Friday.

World Class Clown Still Disrupts School Work -- LAT
Orange Unified's quirky trustee has worn out his welcome.

Alternative Fuels Fest Rolls Into Anaheim -- LAT
Southern Californians interested in "green" fuels and vehicles can get an eyeful as the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Institute wraps up its annual national convention.

The Winner Of The 1st Supervisor District Special Election Prediction Contest Is...

Now that we finally have an official winner in the 1st Supervisor District special election (assuming Judge Brenner's decision is upheld on appeal), it dawned on me I can now declare a winner in the 1st Supervisor District Special Election Prediction Contest!

I scanned the predictions and selected as winner the commenter who 1) predicted Janet as the winner and 2) came closest to Janet's winning percentage of 24.1%. Commenter Mark Brainard came very close to winning an unprecedented third prediction contest with a prediction of 22.3%, but was edged out by long-time commenter Eldad Taylor's prediction of 23%.

Congratulations, Eldad! You need to e-mail me with his/her mailing information so I can send the handsome prize bundle of a large Red County coffee mug and Magic 8-Ball.

Trung Nguyen Will Appeal

Peggy Lowe reports over at Total Buzz that Trung Nguyen will appeal Judge Michel Brenner's ruling that put Janet Nguyen in the 1st District Supervisor's seat:

Coming as a surprise to absolutely no one, the Consigliere Schroeder (see also: Darth Vader, Darth Schroeder, or any Godfather reference) says Trung Nguyen will appeal the judge's decision this week that made Janet Nguyen the winner of the First District supes seat.

You can read the rest of Peggy's post here.

Raymond Chandler Quote of the Week: March 25-31, 2007

The dark lady in the jodhpurs handed me a glass and perched on the arm of my chair. "You may call me Dolores if you wish," she said, taking a hearty swig out of her own tumbler.

"Thanks."

"And what may I call you?"

I grinned.

"Of course," she said, "I am most fully aware that you are a God-damn liar and that you have no stills in your pockets. Not that I wish to inquire into your no doubt very private business."

"Yeah?" I inhaled a couple of inches of my liquor. "Just what kind of bath is Miss Weld taking? An old-fashioned soap or something with Arabian spices in it?"

Janet Nguyen Replacement Attempts Deadlock

I queried Garden Grove Mayor Pro Tempore Mark Rosen on how things went last night with the city council's attempts to appoint a replacement for new-Supervisor Janet Nguyen.

According to Mark, twelve people spoke and expressed their desire be appointed to the vacancy. Councilwoman Dina Nguyen, who has expressed support for filling the vacancy via special election rather than appointment, made a motion to postpone any decision until after the council's upcoming Korea trip. That motion was defeated.

Red County/OC Blog News Roundup -- March 30, 2007

Today's top stories from behind the Orange Curtain:

Board Members Suggest A Less Strict Way To Hush Rocco -- OCR
Theatrics at an Orange Unified School District board meeting force the group to take a recess.

Editorial: New Home Sprinkler Mandate All Wet -- OCR
Requiring builders to put fire sprinklers in all single-family homes would raise housing costs

County Water Supply Leveling Off -- OCR and LAT
Water officials expect to avert a water outage, but urge continued conservation.

Elect Mayors, End Musical Chairs? -- DP
Costa Mesa's mayors assume the post by council rotation. Mansoor raises election question.

Accused Spy's Defense Bolstered By E-Mails -- LAT
Defense says the Anaheim company knew what the engineer was planning to present at symposiums. Officials say no permission was given.

Garden Grove Overrun With Rabbits -- OCR
Hundreds of abandoned bunnies crowding the flood control channel must go, county official says.

Supervisors Will Probe Killing In Jail -- OCR
Chairman calls the slaying of an inmate tied to child porn a 'tragedy.'

Sheriff's North County Commander Retires -- OCR
Lt. Chris Visconti says he'll miss his colleagues and the community.

Santa Margarita Water District Has Adequate Water -- OCR (3/29/07)
Santa Margarita Water District water supply adequate.

Frank Mickadeit: 'Housewives' Compete For 'Frankies' -- OCR
Frank gives awards for the second season of 'Real Housewives.'

Business Group Working To Make Westside Cool -- DP
It's time for the Westside to flourish and solidify its identity — a play-work-live identity full of hipster businesses neighboring the surf industry's "ground zero," according to a group of Westside business leaders.

Plans Approved For Schools Facing Sanctions -- DP
Facing federal sanctions, three schools in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District are set to add several hours to the school year, change curriculum for students learning English and make other changes over the coming months.

Newport-Mesa School Board: No Term Limits -- DP
The Newport-Mesa Unified School District board doesn't appear to have term limits in its near future, as the trustees turned back a proposal by school board member Karen Yelsey to hold officials to 12 years of service or less.

Hassle-Free Bankrolling -- OC Weekly
Public board lavishes OC GOP sugar daddy with $61,000 per month

Blind Spot -- OC Weekly
For OC jail inmate John Chamberlain, jailhouse justice served as judge, jury—and executioner.

OUSD Trustees Ready To Strengthen Tyranny Of The Board Majority

I just got off the phone with the Orange Unified School District Superintendent's office about what it is the Board of Trustees will be voting on tonight.

Today's OC Register article says this is what they're voting on:

The board will consider a proposal that would require the panel's president to decide whether proposed items should be placed on the agenda. A member can appeal the decision to the entire board if the president denies an item.

According to the OUSD Superintendent's Office, that isn't correct. That office told me the Board president already decides whether proposed items should be placed on the agenda. What is being changed is the appeals process when the Board President denies an agenda request.

I was told that currently, a trustee submits an agenda request to the superintendent, who then forwards it to the Board president. If the presidents decides against placing the requested item on the agenda, a trustee can override the president's decision if another trustee seconds the request.

That's what happened when Trustee Steve Rocco got his rant on "The Partnership" placed on the agenda. Fellow Trustee Rick Ledesma agreed to second his request and it got on.

What the OUSD Board majority will try to do tonight -- and I'm sure they'll succeed -- is require the support of a majority of the Board of Trustees to override a Board president's veto of an agenda request.

But that's just part of the story. The real effect of these proposed bylaw changes will be to muzzle dissenting Trustees who are out of favor with the Board majority, and to weaken elected trustees relative to unelected school district staff.

Wanted: A Rationally Designed OC Register Website

Virtually every morning since January of 2005, I have looked through the OC Register website while putting together the morning News Roundup. I have performed this daily task through at least two OCRegister.com re-designs, and I honestly cannot say if the site has gotten any better.

In some ways, it has gotten worse. It's increasingly common for me to look at the print edition later in the day and see a prominent news story that was virtually absent from the website:

The board will consider a proposal that would require the panel's president to decide whether proposed items should be placed on the agenda. A member can appeal the decision to the entire board if the president denies an item.

Like It Or Not, An Iraq Withdrawal Deadline Is Defeatism

I've noted previously my desire to keep this blog focused on Orange County issues. But I'm going to make an exception today in response to the Congress's vote to establish a schedule for pulling U.S. troops out of the Iraq War -- particularly this OC Register editorial and this TheLiberalOC.com post that spelling out when American forces will be gone isn't somehow defeatist -- a triumph of wishful thinking over historical experience. It's such an absurd statement, it deserves comment.

Reasonable people can argue until they're blue in the face about whether we should have invaded Iraq, but it's a moot point. We are engaged in a war there, so are we going to win it or we're are going to bug out and abandon the Iraqis for the second time in 15 years.

It's amusing to read advocates for a withdrawal deadline try to convince themselves and others that telling the enemy when you'll be gone really, really doesn't help them and hurt us. The OC Register editorial contains this line intended to assure readers that "we've really thought this out":