The Capistrano Insider

'Birther' Lawsuit Against Obama Dismissed

Yea, it's not a San Juan Capistrano issue, but many people are interested in it, so:

Federal Judge David O. Carter today in Santa Ana dismissed the lawsuit contending Barack Obama was not born in the United States, so therefore is inelgible to be President.

Here's the ruling.

Download Birthers lawsuit - lawsuit dismissed

Is California Going to Fail?

A very well written and interesting article from the Guardian in the UK about the future of our state ...

"California has a special place in the American psyche. It is the Golden State: a playground of the rich and famous with perfect weather. It symbolises a lifestyle of sunshine, swimming pools and the Hollywood dream factory.

But the state that was once held up as the epitome of the boundless opportunities of America has collapsed. From its politics to its economy to its environment and way of life, California is like a patient on life support. At the start of summer the state government was so deeply in debt that it began to issue IOUs instead of wages. Its unemployment rate has soared to more than 12%, the highest figure in 70 years. Desperate to pay off a crippling budget deficit, California is slashing spending in education and healthcare, laying off vast numbers of workers and forcing others to take unpaid leave. In a state made up of sprawling suburbs the collapse of the housing bubble has impoverished millions and kicked tens of thousands of families out of their homes. Its political system is locked in paralysis and the two-term rule of former movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger is seen as a disaster – his approval ratings having sunk to levels that would make George W Bush blush. The crisis is so deep that Professor Kevin Starr, who has written an acclaimed history of the state, recently declared: "California is on the verge of becoming the first failed state in America." "

Here's the piece.

Supervisor Bates: Anderson Retiring, SONGS Drill Success

From Supervisor Pat Bates' most recent report:

Thank You Assistant Sheriff Jack Anderson

Assistant Sheriff Jack Anderson has announced he will be leaving the Department next month, creating a significant loss for the Sheriff’s Department. Over the course of his 23 year career with OCSD, Jack has provided the Department with steady leadership. His passion for law enforcement and dedication to public service is evident by the enthusiastic manner in which he has carried out his duties on a daily basis.

Perhaps most notable in his service to Orange County was his tenure as Acting Sheriff for five months in 2008. Taking on the task of Acting Sheriff was a challenge, and Jack met that challenge well. At a time when the Department’s reputation had been damaged by the previous administration, Jack took important first steps towards restoring the community’s trust. He initiated significant changes including introducing the concept of staffing our jails with professional correctional officers other than sworn deputies. This is a reform that will ultimately save the taxpayers millions of dollars and has been used successfully in many other agencies. It is with much appreciation that I ask the public to join me in thanking Jack for his dedicated service to protecting public safety in Orange County. He is truly one of OCSD’s finest.

SONGS Exercise

This week, I participated in a training drill at the County’s Emergency Operations Center designed to prepare the County in responding to a potential disaster at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). The event was a dress rehearsal for a federally graded drill that will take place next month. The SONGS exercise is particularly significant to the 5th District because of our close proximity to the nuclear plant. Virtually every department in the County, as well as local cities, the Orange County Fire Authority, the Orange County Transportation Authority, and local school districts were involved in the extensive drill. I am extremely impressed by the professionalism and diligence of all those who participated. Not only as an elected official but as a resident of Orange County, I am comforted in knowing that we truly have a first-rate team that is well-prepared to handle any emergency or natural disaster.

More Salvos at Open Space Committee Work

Residents expressing concern about various proposed open space deals have fired a couple more salvos:

This weekend, some of 6,000 fliers questioning whether the committee has been open enough in its work were distributed in neighborhoods in town. The flier took issue with negotiations by committee members that saw OCTA move forward with an MOU that would have allowed double-tracking from Laguna Niguel to La Zanja in town.

The council rejected that.

And then today, some of the same folks -- but not all -- filed a complaint with the City Attorney's Office, saying members of the group have not filed conflict-of-interest reports as required.

That letter was signed by Jim Reardon, former Mayor Roy Byrnes, Kim Lefner, Lennie DeCaro, Helen Welch and Kevin Murphy. Noteable is that those folks were among Mayor Mark Nielsen's strongest supporters when he was running for office: He's now heading up the Open Space Committee and taking their heat.

Here's the letter.

Here's a link to the group's Web site.

Open Space Committee member Tom Lunnen will be at Coffee Chat on Friday, August 14 to talk about some of the potential deals. Coffee Chat is at Metro Java at 8 a.m. Metro Java is across from Wells Fargo Bank on Camino Capistrano.

If you want to tour the 132 acres the city is negotiating to buy from Rancho Mission Viejo, call Cathy Salcedo at 949.443.6317.

Council Roundup: August 4 Meeting

The San Juan Capistrano City Council's August 4 meeting started out in an unusual manner, as supporters of a deal to buy 132 acres of Rancho Mission Viejo land at La Pata and Antonio Parkway -- the Rodeo grounds -- flooded council chambers at 4:30 to comment before the council even went into closed session.

The vast majority of the speakers -- including many equestrians and soccer-league organizers -- urged the council to go ahead with the deal, but at least two homeowners -- Helen Welch Reardon and Kim Lefner -- repeated earlier concerns that the details of the deal should be made public. Both said the property is beautiful and could be an asset to the city, but the city has not disclosed how much they're talking about spending on the property. Capistrano has about $27 million left in the bank from the $30 million open space bond.

There's also a question whether buying the land will prevent construction of already-approved homes and buildings on the Ranch land -- probably not; the Ranch approvals are for units within bubbles, and the approvals for the property allow them to juggle development within the bubbles, so the projects probably don't go away, just move around a bit.

After closed session, the council took a few key actions:

1. Rejected an appeal from the Verizon wireless for a sign on their store off Del Obispo. The store, in Del Obispo Plaza, opened in 2007, but has been without a legal sign. In 2008, code enforcement jumped on them for putting up illegal signs. Even in the days before the appeal went before the City Council, the store had an illegal hot air balloon up as an advertisement.

That angered the council, which noted it several times, before rejecting Verizon's appeal.

Here's that staff report.

2. A staff study says the Catholic Health Enrichment Collaborative (CHEC) which provides social-service referrals out of the city-owned Old Fire Station on La Matanza, does not have a negative impact on the neighborhood. Residents have complained about the center, but the staff report says there's little or no impact from CHEC, although two religious groups that use the facility on weekend bring the most traffic.

Residents complained the center serves illegal immigrants, though, which angered Councilman Sam Allevato. "I'm shocked and dismayed by some of the comments I've heard here tonight." The other council members agreed the issue was actually two discussions: Whether the services impact the neighborhood, and whether CHEC should or shouldn't serve illegal immigrants.

The council decided there was no impact, and the other discussion was best saved for another day.

Here's that staff report.

The meeting ended with a robust conversation during  council comments -- the room was empty as the 11 p.m. hour passed -- about a planned public hearing on another project, the proposed senior development at the north end of town. That deal, which also came out of the Open Space Committee, would see construction of a 750,000 square foot senior community, while the city would pay $10 million (in redevelopment taxes generated by construction of the project) to buy more than 100 acres of open space in the Rancho Capistrano area.

The date for a public hearing on the deal has not been set, but the council debated whether it should include only the development deal or whether the option agreement with the city -- the tax money and other details -- should be discussed then, too. Council members Sam Allevato, Tom Hribar and Mark Nielsen won that battle, to keep the future meeting focused on only the development details.

The proposal has also drawn fire from some residents -- and Councilman Lon Uso -- who contend too much has been negotiated behind closed doors.