The Capistrano Insider

Recommendations for Commissions: Nothing Radical, but a Little Payback?

It seems like the current recommendations for San Juan Capistrano's advisory panels seek to undo some of the changes pushed by former Councilmen Mark Nielsen and Lon Uso, who had both argued for a little more turnover on city commissions.

The commissions are voluntary posts with no pay, but some of the folks holding the spots have been there for well over a dozen years.

In this round of recommendations, though, the council is looking at bringing back Kathy Hooper and some other commissioners who'd been removed. One other big change: Bruce Tatarian's name is gone from the list of recommended Planning Commissioners. Tatarian was well respected in that post, but he was also a trusted advisor and friend of Nielsen.

The council meets tonight (Tuesday, Jan. 18) at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 32400 Paseo Adelanto.

Here's the staff reports.

Download Commission Staff Report

Download Commission Recomendations

Capistrano Juanenos Get a Little More Time on Federal Decision

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR GRANTED 75-DAY EXTENSION REQUEST

REGARDING TRIBE’S PETITION FOR FEDERAL RECOGNITION

 

Washington, D.C. – On September 24, 2010, the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation (Petitioner 84-A) was informed that Larry Echo Hawk, the Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs (AS-IA) U.S. Department of the Interior (Department), requested a 75-day extension on the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation 28-year old petition for federal recognition.  The reasoning for the extension was that “the Office of the Solicitor and the Office of the Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs need this extension to allow for the review of the recommended decision.”  The new date for the issuance of the Tribe’s Final Determination by the Department is December 15, 2010.   

“The Tribe is pleased with the attention and time that AS-IA Echo Hawk is placing on our petition evidence.  The Tribe is confident that the AS-IA will review the proper recommendation from OFA and come to the proper conclusions of the existence of the Acjachemen Nation both past and present,” said Chairman Anthony Rivera, Jr., the Official OFA recognized spokesperson for the Governing Body of the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation.  Based on the thousands of pages of credible evidence, the Tribe will move ahead over the next 75 days with stronger conviction toward the ultimate acknowledgement by the U.S. Government of our inherent sovereignty.  The Tribe will use the time to secure that no further denial of the rights of Acjachemen People are extended.

 On August 03, 2010, the Tribe’s request was denied for an additional 60 day extension under technical assistance regulations in order for the Tribe to ensure that the AS-IA was evaluating the Office of Federal Acknowledgment’s (OFA) recommendation and the Tribe’s credible evidence were being properly examined.  This recent extension requested by the AS-IA balances out the progression for the Tribe and the Department to have due process on the Tribe’s Petition.  The Tribe has submitted thousands of pieces of credible evidence over the last 28 years under the 25 CFR 83.7 federal regulations as the basis for the fact that the Tribe completely complies with all seven criteria for federal acknowledgement.   

The federal government requested additional documentation in March and July 2010 from the Tribe that contained over 3,000 additional pieces of evidence that proves the existence of Acjachemen leaders and Chiefs since 1776 to present, the existence of an Acjachemen community that governed itself since 1776 to present, official history written by Chairman Rivera and other experts of the Acjachemen Nation from 1776 to present, and evidence that all the Acjachemen Indians descend directly from these historic Acjachemen Indians. 

The Tribe also submitted to the Department a Certified Tribal Roll with all 1,941 certified membership files.  All enrolled Acjachemen Indians in the Tribe have demonstrated direct genealogical descent to the historic Acjachemen Tribe.  The almost two thousand enrolled Acjachemen Indians comprising the Tribe are not a faction of a Tribe as falsely reported in the media, but comprise every Acjachemen Indian enrolled with the Tribe.  The small group of individuals not enrolled with the Tribe is not a faction of the Tribe either, but primarily represent individuals that cannot or have not proven direct descent to any Acjachemen Indian or village.   

The Juaneño Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation (Petitioner 84-A) is the one Tribe that descends from the historical Acjachemen Nation, the indigenous people of San Juan Capistrano and Orange County.  The Tribe is a Sovereign Nation that governs itself under one Constitution and one Tribal Council.  More information will be provided at the October General Council meeting.  For more information on the Tribe visit the official website at www.juaneno.com.

OC Fire Authority Disbands Volunteer Program -- Open Houses Set Oct. 2

This write up from Supervisor Pat Bates -- the volunteer program had deep roots in San Juan Capistrano. Councilman Mark Nielsen, who represents SJC on the Orange County Fire Authority Board, voted to shut down the program because of poor response from the volunteers, he said.

From Bates:

Orange County Fire Authority to Disband Volunteer Firefighters Program

At Thursday night’s Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) Board of Directors meeting, the Board of Directors voted 15 – 6 with 1 abstention to disband volunteer firefighter units at eleven of the OCFA’s fire stations, including three within the Fifth District.

Facing rising costs to train and equip volunteer Reserve Firefighters, in May 2009 the OCFA Board formed a Reserve Firefighter Program Ad-Hoc committee to review the long-term feasibility of continuing the Reserve program, which consists of 21 squads made up of 259 reservists. As part of that study the Board also adopted the requirement that beginning in January 2010, if a station is deficient upon 6 months of review (January 1 – June 30), the station is to be allowed 6 additional months (July 1 to December 31) for the opportunity to correct its deficiencies in order to avoid closure.

At a Special Board Study Session held September 9, staff presented the final report and recommended that the Board dissolve 11 of the 23 reserve stations due to not meeting established performance standards. At that time, I asked that the Board follow the process set forth by our earlier board directive which requires deficient stations be allowed additional time to address deficiencies. Unfortunately, that motion failed and the staff recommendation to dissolve 11 of the 23 reserve stations was again placed on this week’s agenda.

I did not vote in favor of this action for several reasons. Our Board of Directors adopted a directive in May 2009 to allow deficient stations an additional 6 months following the evaluation period to fix their squads and raise their performance.

The action taken did not respect the original Board directive as it accelerated that process and did not allow deficient squads the chance to address their performance issues. I believe that there are options that deserved to be initiated that could have potentially helped deficient squads raise their performance standards and remain on the job.

A critical need to reduce costs in the FY10-11 budget was the reason given for accelerating the elimination of these units instead of giving them the promised time to correct deficiencies. While that might be a short-term solution, I remain concerned that the true picture of long-term community and financial impacts of eliminating a well-trained and supervised volunteer firefighter program has the potential for serious unintended consequences. A more thorough analysis of these long-term impacts needs to be part of the second review of the remaining volunteer reserve stations. I wish to extend my sincere appreciation to the volunteers who have given dedicated service to their communities for many long years.

Meet Your Local Firefighters

The public is invited to meet their local firefighters and learn how to protect family and property during two educational and fun-filled community events hosted by the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) in October.

Meet your local OCFA firefighters Saturday, October 2, during a special open house from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM at your local OCFA Fire Station.

The Oct. 2 event, which caters to people of all ages, will be followed by OCFA’s 5th Annual Open House on Saturday, October 9, from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM at 1 Fire Authority Road in Irvine.

The open house will include live demonstrations and a host of activities, as well as important information for protecting homes and property through OCFA’s "Ready! Set! Go!" program.

Marco Forster, Tony Forster's Son, Passes Away

From O'Connor Mortuary:

Marco T. Forster passed away on July 19, 2010 at his home in San Juan Capistrano, California. Marco was born December 3, 1969 to Thomas A. Forster and Mary Jane Forster Foley in South Laguna, California. He was a seventh-generation, San Juan Capistrano native.

As a boy, he attended Old Mission School, where he was a star basketball player and served as President of the Student Body and King of Swallows Day festivities. He graduated from Capistrano Valley High School in 1988 and attended Saddleback Valley Community College, where he focused on the fine and technical arts. He was employed by Moulton Niguel Water District. On April 17, 2010, he married his long-term sweetheart, Sharon Lynn Forster nee Mageno.

Marco was a talented musician and artist, a surfer, a man of service, an incomparable storyteller. He will be remembered as a treasured friend, a beloved husband, and a cherished son and brother.
He is survived by his wife Sharon; his mother Mary Jane Foley and her husband John V. Foley; his sister Christa M. Forster and her husband David A. Brown; his brother Carlos A. Forster and his wife Celine Bleu; and his sister Alicia F. Forster. He is also survived by several nieces and nephews.

All services will be held at the San Juan Capistrano Mission Basilica: Rosary and Memorial Service on Thursday, July 22 at 7 p.m.; funeral on Friday, July 23 at 10 a.m.

The family requests that donations, in lieu of flowers, be sent in memory of Marco T. Forster to the Boys and Girls Club of Capistrano Valley, One Via Positiva, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675. Secure online donations may be made at http://bgccapo.com/donate/select.htm .

1949 Cartoon Features Swallows Return to Mission Capistrano

When Jan Siegel and I were discussing her discovery of an old black-and-white film that featured Mission San Juan Capistrano, she mentioned a Looney Tunes cartoon about the swallows returning to the Mission.

Called "Swallow the Leader," the cartoon is a cute depiction of Mission San Juan Capistrano and the swallows. It was released in October, 1949.

Here's a snyopsis (caution, it gives away the ending!) from www.imdb.com:

Migrating swallows are making their annual spring return to San Juan Capistrano, and a hungry cat awaits them with a radar scope and with his mouth and head disguised as a bird's nest. The clever advance scout for the flock of swallows tricks the cat into ingesting a metallic statue of a swallow, then uses a magnet to pull the cat through pipes and the prongs of a ladder. Hundreds of swallows then dive-bomb the cat with light bulbs and thumb tacks. Written by Kevin McCorry <[email protected]>

And here's the link:

http://www.slashcontrol.com/free-tv-shows/looney-tunes/3342257076-swallow-the-leader

I say we get the new Regency theater in town to screen it next year in March ... or maybe the Chamber can incorporate it in it's annual farewell to the swallows in October?