• Coffee with a Cop and Transportation NOW

Today in Wildomar there were a few things going on. Over at the westside Starbucks was Coffee With a Cop. An informal meet up with several officers, including Wildomar's Chief Leonard Hollingsworth, and interested members of the public.

It was a good chance to meet some of our law enforcement officers. I'd say that between 9:00 and 11:00 there were about 20 people that stopped by, including our 2015 Mayor, Ben Benoit. It was good to meet more of my fellow Wildomartinis (or Wildomatians if you prefer).

Wildomar Chief, Captain Hollingsworth (middle left) Listens to the concerns of the residents.

It was just a chance for some casual conversation. No speeches, just officers listening to concerns from the residents.

Joseph Morabito (me, center right) speaking with  Lieutenant Leonard Purvis. In the middle is Mayor Ben Benoit.

The next Neighborhood Watch meeting is Thursday June 11th at the council chambers. If you would like to be informed of such events as Coffee With a Cop, be sure to join the city's Stay Connected email blast by clicking here.

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Also on the list of things to do was go to a Southwest Transportation NOW meeting at the Wildomar Library. There was an interesting slideshow presentation by Sierra Club member Pam Nelson regarding the coming Murrieta Creek  Regional Trail.

Mark you calendars for Saturday June 6th. There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony at Marna O'Brien Park heralding the official opening of the MCRT (Murrieta Creek  Regional Trail). Also that same day will be a bicycle safety event and a Volkswalk too. (Keep an eye out for a coming blog about Volkswalk)

Be sure to check out the official trail website for more details by clicking this link SCSMG.

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Daryl Hickman and Nichole Dailey were speaking about the coming roundabouts in Lake Elsinore at Railroad Canyon. I remember hearing about that more than a year ago and didn't think it was possible, but the way the talk was going, this looks like it's coming. Though Lake Elsinore is out of my purview, I'll have to ask for more details next time I see them.

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Kristen Huyck, of Supervisor Kevin Jeffries' office, mentioned that Grand Avenue will be under construction for the next 60 plus days. It will be getting repaved and widened a bit. There won't be any additional travel lanes, but there I was hearing about some right hand turn pockets in key areas. If you use Ortega Highway, you should anticipate delays of up to 15 mins during this time period.

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Deni Horne, of Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez's office, spoke about ACA 4 as a bill to keep an eye on. It's a Constitutional Amendment that threatens the strength of Prop 13. Read more about it here. In short, it's trying to reduce the 67% needed today to raise taxes to just 55%.

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Last on the list of interesting tidbits was AB 278. It deals with district-based municipal elections in cities with more than 100,000 people. I'm sure there's at least one Dub-Marian (another name for Wildomarian) that is giddy about the idea of district based voting (hint hint, nudge nudge, say no more), but from reading the bill, and hearing the talk about it, it is going to be Gerrymandering on Roids by the time it's implemented.

Check out this language and see if your stomach doesn't turn a bit

5) Requires a city that is establishing districts pursuant to this bill to ensure that all of the following criteria are satisfied in preparing the boundaries of the districts for the city council:

   a)   The boundaries are drawn to ensure fair and effective representation of all city residents including racial,  ethnic, and language minorities;

Bobby Swann, Wildomar Planning Commissioner and Secretary for Transportation NOW, mentioned that Wildomar's build out is just over 50,000. That's when it was suggested that 100,000 would be the opening salvo, that could then be followed up with lower population numbers in following years.

When Wildomar first voted to become a city, I voted against it but was glad to see that we had districts at first. Years later the downside of districts in small cities, like Wildomar, was explained to me. On the one hand you get representation from each area.

So, for example, that would have meant that Israel Leija would now be a council member from The Farm, while two out of three from the group of council members that includes Marsha Swanson, Tim Walker and Ben Benoit would have to go, since (at the time of the election) they all would have been in the same basic district.

On the other hand, if you have a concern you have five people that are working for you. If it's district based, you have your guy, and that's it.

If AB 278 becomes law, it'll be another disaster in the name of multiculturalism, which only divides us instead of uniting us as a people.

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Heaven knows what seeming nonsense may not tomorrow be demonstrated truth. — Alfred North Whitehead

Wildomar Rap is still on the fence when it comes to which is better: Java with a constable or Sandwiches with board members. Looks like more research is in order. ☺