• City Council Special Meeting August 2021 Tres Lagos

There's no point in completely rehashing this matter. If you would like more backstory, please click the keyword Tres Lagos at the bottom of the blog.

It's just a hastily cobbled-together mock-up to give a rough idea of what it might look like. I have no idea if the "French Style" will look anything like this or not, and the windows aren't the same. It's just to give you an idea of what three-story buildings on those ten acres might look like. 

I want to thank the residents that came in person (and those that watched on zoom or live stream). It was a full house considering the lingering covid restrictions, and despite the fact that this was a foregone conclusion since day one.

To sum up the meeting without getting into the weeds, it started with Wildomar's city attorney explaining a series of laws that Sacramento has passed over the years. 

Capped off by the odious SB35 that threatens elected officials to not say things that could even "chill" the project. I'm sure that they weren't using the modern slang version of "chill" which is the super hip way of saying "cool".

Even though there is scant similarity between classic "cool" and modern day hipsters and their "chill" neither is anything remotely like the "chill" mentioned in reference to SB35 and what Scott Wiener intended when he wrote the bill. 

After the attorney was finished speaking, the planning director gave an overview of the project. Followed by another presentation by the developer.

Next was public comments, and I counted nine residents that spoke in the chamber and another five online. They were all good comments, but the two that were stellar in my view came from Janice Hare and then over zoom, Kory Stare. 

This isn't the academy awards where I'm going to thank everyone involved, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention Mari Bacon by name, and acknowledge her tireless efforts in getting the word out to the community through her group Save Windsong Valley.

Like I mentioned at the top, I don't want to give an exhaustive postmortem on this meeting. The link to the complete video is below and I encourage you to watch it if you have a spare three hours lying around. 

As a quadruple reminder, this meeting didn't legally even need to happen 

SB35 allowed for all the paperwork to be done by the planning department and the city council could have thrown up our hands and said, "Aw shucks folks, the power was taken away from us."

I'm so appreciative that when I was going over Tres Lagos in a one-on-one meeting with staff, and I said that we had an obligation to go in front of the community, no matter how uncomfortable it may be, they agreed without hesitation.

Believe me, lesser city councils would have gladly dodged this bullet. Remember, Wildomar didn't. 

The way that city councils work in California is that a voting majority cannot work on an issue together (the vaunted Brown Act). That means only two members can discuss any one item. I worked on this item with Bridgette Moore for at least this entire calendar year.

She was very helpful and carried my Dragon A-- more than once as she arranged many Zoom meetings with countless concerned residents. 

For all the things already on her plate, she added this monster to it. Even though the project is well outside of her district, and it would have been completely understandable had she not been able to find the necessary time. I think she actually gets 36 hours in a day and just hasn't told anyone else about it. 

She and I were both contacted by the developer in the final weeks before the August 26th meeting. I inquired with staff whether Palm Communities had been willing to change the things that the Save Windsong Valley group had asked for.

When I'd heard that there were no changes made, I couldn't imagine the point of meeting with them. However, Bridgette did opt to meet with them, and afterward thought she might have a deal in the works to at least move the buildings off the property line.

I don't want to speak for Bridgette, but I know that she wouldn't have brought the subject up at the meeting if she wasn't fairly certain that it would be accepted based on the meeting she had had. 

It was in hopes of moving the buildings further back from the property line and having the parking closer to the street. If you want to see how that part went down, go to this part of the meeting video: 2:27:30 

Remember, with SB35, this type of project gets to dictate the process. They are the ones that can demand conditions and waivers, the city cannot.

When given the chance to prove that they were indeed, good neighbors (as they'd been proclaiming), they balked and said, "We've met the city's guidelines." 

They also said how they'd already spent tens of thousands of dollars as part of the reason why they weren't interested in making this concession. 

Imagine what they could buy with that kind of largess... probably a corrugated patio cover with a disco ball, maybe one of those rusty metal T-Rexs for their front yard, and a couple of cases of Coors Light for their yearly Christmas party.

There are soooo many more important things to use those funds on than the neighborhood they're in the process of wrecking... and since the state said they could run roughshod over anyone they damn well please, they did. 

Congrats, time to contact the humanitarian of the year organizers and get to nominating them. (What, I poured it on too thick there? Fine, strike that part about humanitarian of the year from the record)

Then it was my turn to speak

I had some prepared remarks that pointed the blame to myself first, then to staff, followed by the developer of course, but then reminded everyone that it was the one-party rule that has been in Sacramento for decades... and those that keep voting them in that owns the root cause of this whole fiasco.

The thing is, all levity aside for a moment, that area was failed by the very people put in place to keep a watch out for them. Sad and pathetic!

"But now that they have the power of SB35 behind them —they're in charge. Not too dissimilar to when a preschooler is in possession of a loaded Glock wanting a cookie. It's their show and their demands must be met." 

The above was part of my comments... check out the video.

Being in love with the camera, I actually set up my phone to take some reverse-angle footage of when I was speaking. If you think my blogs can get convoluted, take a look at my nearly eight-minute verbal diatribe below. 

Note to self: next time don't use the water bottle as a tripod, you might get thirsty and have no way to wet your whistle. 

That was it, we voted on it and the final vote was 4-1 to approve the waivers and conditions. 

I'm not some hero here

The others knew that we had no choice but to approve it or face a losing lawsuit from the developer, not even attaining a Pyrrhic victory... (is a Pyrrhic defeat a thing?)

Which could have cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars to defend, or to put this back on the next agenda to then switch the vote... and I would have switched mine before costing the city money on a no-win situation.

If this would have been allowed to go through the standard review process I have relative confidence that it would have been a 4-1 or a 5-0 vote to deny it.

It was a long meeting, with just one topic, and if you choose to watch the video you'll get the complete picture of what transpired. 

The only other thing that I'll address, and here I'll go back to glossing over something that is actually rather serious, but it doesn't directly affect the residents... so if you can read between the lines, cool. 

Towards the end, staff seemed to forget the pecking order of things and who works for who. Let this be a friendly reminder, that such actions won't go unanswered in future meetings.

You do not attempt to throw your employer under the bus, much less all five of them —especially not on a moot point that has nothing to do with what's being voted on, and delude yourself into believing that is acceptable.

If you have a difference of opinion and you want to clear the air, that's what backrooms and woodsheds are for, not an open meeting. I'm not here to kiss anyone's hindquarters.

But Joseph, isn't a blog just as inappropriate a place for such a thing? 

Hmmm.... you may have a point there. 

PostScript. After the meeting, as I was making my way out of the council chambers I met up with one of the developers and remarked, "Well, you survived. You absorbed the arrows well."

Despite my palpable dislike for Tres Lagos, I don't carry that over to the people involved. He seemed to understand our positions, even if not to the point of changing anything. Sort of the difference between empathy and compassion. I wished him a good evening and a safe trip back home. It is possible to disagree and still be civil. 

• Planning Commission Item: Wildomar Trail Town Center

I'm going to try to make this blog quick (famous last words).

Thank you to the planning commission for really going deep into the proposed Wildomar Trail Town Square development and getting many important questions addressed.

To get more details on Wildomar Trail Town Center use this link to the blog covering it.

Let's start with the planning commission recommending approval of the four phase development... which rests with the city council at 6pm on Wednesday, September 8th. 

Take a look at this slide from the presentation and then sit back and thank our lucky stars that we are getting 109 townhomes, and NOT 227 apartments (which a large number had the low income designation).

Be careful what you wish for. Consider this, if the city council derails this project, it leaves those 227 RHNA units on this property. 

You'll find a link to the video of the meeting if you'd like to hear the staff presentation, the applicant's presentation, questions from the public, answers to the questions and solid input by the commission members.

To keep this short, this won't be an exhaustive review of the meeting, just highlights that stuck with me.

In no particular order...

There will be no improvements to the Wildomar Trail overpass or on and off ramps... That's a Caltrans thing, and they thought there wasn't a need. NOT EVEN FOR A TRAFFIC SIGNAL HEADING EAST. 

To me, that is one of the biggest affronts imaginable. We pay ridiculous amounts of gas tax, but somehow something as obvious as better traffic control isn't understood by whatever matrix is coming out of Sacramento? 

Where the city does have control, Wildomar Trail will be a four lane road along with turn pockets into both developments at the new street of Margaret.

It's already challenging to get to the freeway in the AM rush, but I was glad to hear that the city will be putting in an additional lane for right turns only onto the southbound onramp at Wildomar Trail. 

That will help some, but once Wildomar Trail Town Center and Baxter Village (the spot with the hotel and medical building) come fully online, it's going to be a nightmare if Caltrans holds that line.

Plus, imagine how much easier it would be to put in the improvements now, and not after they are desperately needed... and to think, some people want the government to get more control over our lives??? Well, this is what that looks like in action when they are. 

There were a few things that the developer didn't want to agree to that were part of his conditions of approval. One of those was a 10 foot sound wall where the carwash is slated to go. 

I get it, those are probably very expensive, but the residents don't want to hear your jet driers and I was glad that the commission didn't agree to any of his challenges.

I had nearly two dozen questions and concerns, but half of them were answered with the presentation and first round of commissioner questions.

1) what are their plans to mitigate rodents as they disturb their habitat with grading?

Before grading vector control will be onsite. For those that don't live right near the field, you may not understand how many rodents live there at night then invade the nearby houses in the daytime. I'm glad that this is a priority.

There will be no parking along Cervera or Wildomar Trail.

3) What is the timeline for completing Wildomar Trail improvements? 

I was happy to learn that the entire stretch from Cervera to the freeway will be completed before they can start doing business.

Also, the entire 26 acre, 4 phase project will be graded at once instead of piecemeal. 

There was a concern about privacy between the homes on Hunwut that will share a wall with the townhomes. The commissioners got the developer to plant the vegetation that will be along the shared wall with phase 1. 

Knowing how slow these types of projects can take, that is an amazing get. Phase 4 could take many years before it's built, and that means according to the conditions on this project, the trees and vegetation will have many years' head start.

Something most other neighborhoods don't enjoy when new developments come in next to existing homes.

Another thing that I was very concerned about was the Cervera green belt. 

The developer initially was going to remove the trees when he graded with no particular timeline to replace them. 

I was yelling at my computer as I was hearing that over the zoom platform... much to my delight Commissioner Eric Filar really pressed that point.

Written into the conditions was that the Cervera green belt will also be dealt with during phase 1. 

Part of my comment said, "When will it be planned, and will you take input from the residents? This needs major league community outreach before anything is done. There cannot be a lag between removing what has existed for 30 years and planting new vegetation and trees."

I asked about a left turn pocket on Cervera to enter the proposed townhome community, but didn't like the answer I got. I'll have to bring it up at the city council meeting. It sure sounded like they weren't going to make any changes to the lane striping, and that's after extending Prairie into the new area.

There were a few questions that I asked that didn't get answered. 

I'll be speaking as a resident at the city council meeting and I'll be sure to ask the mayor to get his pen ready so that the questions get answered this time.

1) What about the turn pocket on Cervera, something must go there before they can build those townhomes?

2) Will there be walkable connectivity between the commercial retail and Cervera? 

3) I asked the developer by name about his trashy fence along Wildomar Trail, but he must have been inundated because he didn't answer that one. 

"Mr. Kofdarali, have you seen the condition of the perimeter fence on your property? Some of it is very beat up and looks terrible. I know that you want to be a good neighbor, can we get that fixed and maintained until it gets taken down?"

That fence looks like crap, and he needs to show that he cares as much as he claims by sinking that gimme.

He actually shared his phone number during the meeting, I'll just give him a call and see if I can scratch that one from the list.

The last question I have, more of a bonus question that came to me after hearing residents speak on it... Mr. Kofdarali, why can't you put your gas station and car wash closer to Wildomar Trail, and not so close to the backyard of existing homes that have been there for more than 30 years?

Last note, I don't get why people in my own neighborhood, that live within 100 feet of my house, have not asked me questions about this. I brought this up to all that would listen in 2018, and even in 2019, before Covid. 

I've written blogs on this, and posted on social media multiple times

I'm here on your behalf, you should use me as a resource. I'm very easy to get ahold of, and would be happy to meet with you, or just exchange emails if that's all you want. Showing up at a city meeting without pressing me first is very odd. 

When I speak on September 8th, I'll have three minutes. If someone that is attending wants to donate their 3 minutes to me, I'll be happy to speak for you if you're on the shy side.

Anyone that is reading this, please email me and we can set up a meeting or a phone call. 

Penultimate last note 

I received zip, zero, nada emails or calls about this project (facebook posts don't count in the real world), and very little input on social media either. I got more people wanting to comment about who parked in a handicapped parking space or if there is a gate across the private dirt portion of Wesley than I did over this very weighty matter. 

That tells me that you don't really care, and that's what it tells the rest of the council too. We all want to hear your thoughts on the issues, but if you'd rather just announce that you're moving instead of emailing me, I guess that's an option you'll be exercising. 

There were a lot of concessions tonight. It was because of the public's input which was then pushed by the commissioners. That made for a good one-two combination the community is well served keeping in mind.

• Wildomar Trail Town Center

I've lived in Wildomar for twenty solid years. We moved here in the Spring of 2001. 

Those were the pre 9-11 days where things were far simpler both in the nation and in W'mar. The field that will be the site of Wildomar Trail Town Center was more like a dog park in those days. 

Our dogs loved running there.

The entrance to Windsong Valley didn't have a traffic light, and not even a four way stop. On the days that the pepper tree was overgrown and it was high traffic time, getting out of Windsong was almost as dicey as getting across Clinton Keith from Hidden Springs at morning rush hour is in 2021.

From the moment I moved here I knew that something would eventually be put into that field. 

You may have seen this sign if you've entered the Windsong Valley neighborhood from Wildomar Trail. 

Being a realist, that it was someone else's property, and right on the freeway (though with poor line of sight visibility), that something other than a nature reserve would be going in there. 

My joke was always, as long as they don't build a tire fire (like in the Simpson's hometown of Springfield), I'd be good with it.

It's a toss up between a tire fire and a Sriracha factory as worst potential development options, unless an international airport is being considered too. 

But if you look at the proposal, it's really the best of all possible options

Mixed use project with a gas station and mini-mart along with 41K sf of commercial retail (phases 1 and 2). 72K sf of professional office space (phase 3) and a 109 unit FOR SALE town home community (phase 4).

The water basin near the corner of Cervera and Wildomar Trail will be part of phase 1.

From what I can see in the images, there are two drive thru pads and one restaurant pad too. Also, the bend in Wildomar Trail will be smoothed out a bit too. Look at the top part of the yellow portion to see it.

If you look at the configuration of the maps, you'll see that there is a rather healthy buffer between the commercial areas and the existing Windsong Valley neighborhood. 

The buffer consists of a parking lot, and a water quality basin.

I have heard concerns about traffic from the 109 homes onto Cervera. I don't share the same concerns, but if this is something you want the planning commission, or the city council in a subsequent meeting, to discuss... please, PLEASE email your concerns to the planning director and ask him to distribute them the various members.

mbassi@cityofwildomar.org

As for me, the only question I'd have when it comes to the ingress and egress to the town homes from Cervera is if there will be a turn pocket for those turning left. If not, I can envision some potential issues. 

There is the same buffer between the town homes and those that we find throughout the rest of the neighborhood... which is minimal, but we're already used to that. 

If I haven't already made it clear, I live close enough to this development that I could throw a baseball into it even with my aging arm. Therefore, I won't have a vote on this.

You can see the RV Fueling Area that is part of the gas station, and also the car wash.

But I still have some questions.

1) what are your plans to mitigate rodents as you disturb their habitat?

Seriously, as someone that lives at ground zero of a daily squirrel infestation, I want to know that there is something in place to keep them from moving their living quarters here too.

2) Will there be an ongoing rodent mitigation plan that the new center will be obligated to keep up from here on out?

I can't stress this enough, we don't want any more rodents in our neighborhood from that field, and considering the several water quality basins I'd like to know that there is a real plan in place to not allow new colonies of rats with fuzzy tails to take hold. 

3) What is the timeline for completing Wildomar Trail improvements? 

I sure hope that there will NOT be any certificates of occupancy issued before the entire frontage of Wildomar Trail is improved from Cervera to the freeway.

4) What is the potential timeline for breaking ground on Phase 1?

I'd love to see this begin soon, and that goes for the projects on both sides of Wildomar Trail in that area. 

5) Will there be walkable connectivity between the commercial retail and Cervera?

6) What is the plan for the Cervera buffer between the neighborhoods and Wildomar Trail? (I used to refer to this as the Cervera green belt, but it's time to give up the ghost on that one)

This has been a sticking point for many for a very long time. It's too complicated to go into here, but I'm looking forward to a real plan that will make the entire stretch look attractive again, though I know it's unreasonable for it to be grass.

I would like to know the specific plans and the specific time tables.

The town homes that are on Cervera's edge are in Phase 4 and I do NOT have confidence that it will be built anytime soon.  

I'd love to be wrong, but I've seen time tables for similar things stretch to well more than a decade with no actual forward movement.

Also, everyone should be celebrating that high density low income units that were originally slated for there have been moved to the other side of the freeway. 

I want these built post haste because who knows what Sacramento will do in the interim, they may allow far more units and much higher than three stories if this gets delayed too much into the future.

If you have opinions or concerns I invite you to email either the planning director as mentioned above mbassi@cityofwildomar.org or the other four council members individually. 

I'm more than happy to receive an email from you (jmorabito@cityofwildomar.org) but I have no vote here, so it'll just be a conversation between neighbors at that point. 

Gotta love the protections that Sacramento has laid out for us all. Since I live within a literal stone's throw from that field, and somehow could make money in the value of my home going up, I cannot even get first hand info from staff, much less be able to vote on this. 

Here is a link to the city page with the agenda packet listed. It's far larger than usual city agendas. If you're interested in more details, use this link to navigate the contents. 

• Fentanyl, Not As Bad As We Think?

Did you see the viral video of a law enforcement officer from San Diego having a severe reaction to fentanyl exposure... or so that was the premise of the video that was a mixture of bodycam footage and interviews after the fact.  

The Dangers of Fentanyl - San Diego County Sheriff's Department from San Diego County Sheriff on Vimeo.

The video was shared by RSO's Facebook page and I was more than happy to send it along to whoever might see it that follows Wildomar Rap.

Not long after, I got some push back by a friend about it. 

Facebook Post in Question

He posted one word: Illicit

I didn't get the point. 

In the post I had said, "You don't have to be a drug user (or know someone that is) to potentially be a victim of exposure to it."

It was just a quick PSA of sorts, nothing I figured would need much nuance.

Essentially it was a longer way of using South Park's Mr. Mackey's famous saying, "Drugs are bad... m'kay".

Who is going to argue with that?

Then the video started getting push back from other sources too, saying that the story didn't add up.

Link to NBC San Diego News Story

"While the sheriff's department stands by the video as an archive of what one of the world's deadliest street drugs can do just by being in its presence, some experts see it as an improbable, if not impossible, incident."

You may be wondering, why write a blog about it? I'm wondering that myself, but none the less here I am...

Since I was one of many outlets that shared this video, and it got questioned by major news outlets, I wanted to answer the direct question(s) I received.

Screenshot of the post

This is not the type of subject that takes a short answer, no matter what Mr. Mackey may think... m'kay?! 

Long Answer part I

Drugs are bad, and when that is said it is understood by most as reference to "illegal/illicit" drugs, that can quickly take over a person's life. There is no need to differentiate between prescription and nonprescription once a person reaches adulthood.

I will say that when I was a kid in the '70s I was always a bit confused by hearing about the downside of drugs, and then visiting the drug store... or hearing about how people from the previous generations used to get ice cream sodas from the drug store (such a confusing idea at an early age).

On the Facebook post I responded to my friend's comment of "Illicit" this way: 

I'm missing the distinction if you're making one.

I don't know anyone that confuses the context where I used "drug user" with someone on prescription medication.

If that were the case, my wife would be one of Wildomar's biggest druggies. 

 My wife is also on very strong pain meds (Oops, I think I just threw HIPAA right out the window there, sorry not sorry).

I'm not making light of it, I'm accepting it. While at the same time recognizing the limitations to our otherwise awesome language. 

Long Answer part II
What about the claim of this being a video pushing a false narrative?

From what I've been reading, reports of such reactions may be overblown. Here's another couple of paragraphs from the NBC story linked above:

"The peer-reviewed Journal of Emergency Medical Services has suggested "growing hysteria" about fentanyl for the adverse first responder responses and said "victims complain of a variety of nonspecific symptoms including dizziness, anxiety, fatigue, dyspnea, nausea, vomiting and syncope."

"Sheila P. Vakharia, deputy director of research and academic engagement at the Drug Policy Alliance, said by email that the video contributes to "opioid phobia" and the most egregious aspects of the unsuccessful war on drugs."

As it happened, after I got done reading the other side of this story I was listening to my new favorite morning radio program Armstrong & Getty and they were talking about this very thing.

I don't have a direct quote from the show, but I agreed with the views that went something like this.

I'm not a fan of misinformation, but was this done to intentionally deceive? Was the footage faked/staged? Couldn't it be authentic, and captured on bodycam footage, then misinterpreted? I'm not sure that I back the idea of playing down the dangers of illegal drugs, especially fentanyl. 

That was a very loosely paraphrased quote from the show, mixed in with my views. Sorry, I don't have time to go track down the verbatim at this point. 

I don't know what the argument is supposed to be? 

Why must everything get conflated with something similar, but not the same (pyrite is not gold).

As far as the "Opioid Phobia" mentioned above I don't get it. What's the alternative? 

Opioid Tolerance?

Long Answer part III

For all the various overblown claims out there, this is one that I am not interested in quibbling over. I'm just not. 

Drugs are bad... m'kay.

That works great for kids, and it's up to their parents to fill in the details of why ice cream is available at drug stores; it's not the responsibility of those that put together basic PSA videos.

But what about adults that are watching the PSA in question?

If adults can't think their way out of a wet paper bag, then they really aren't going to get the subtle differences in a longer format message anyway... not even if the Kardashian sisters get out the whiteboard and analogize it with one of the their many product lines.

Maybe Ted-Talk could make a snappy animation about it?

"Gee Wildo-Rap, sure sounds like you're in favor of government agencies lying to the public, don't you think we can handle the truth?"

There's no doubt that we can handle the truth. 

Look at what we learned adults did in the Spring of 2020 when we horded toilet paper. Ok, I was taking a (get off the) pot shot there. >>ZING<<

Of course we are mature enough to handle anything that we hear... but then there's that one guy that ruins it for everyone. You know that if the powers that be let up on the "opioid phobia" this guy would stock up on Oxy, Morphine, Heroine and Fentanyl. 

How much am I NOT into feeding questionable stories to people?

Yes, I was the other that guy that didn't teach his kids that Santa or the tooth fairy were real. Just congenial characters that make childhood more fun.

The thing is, even when I raised my three kids to know the truth about Santa Claus, at least my middle child still insisted that he was real. I have video of it, but I don't want to have to go into witness protection, so I'm not sharing it here.

Oh wait, it's already on YouTube and has over 140K views. 

"Hey kids, there is no Santa, and what you saw in the SDCSD video was fake too"

NBC News quoted a physician who raised serious doubts about the scenario.

"We have a lot of scientific evidence and a good knowledge of chemical laws and the way that these drugs work that says this is impossible," said Ryan Marino, medical director for toxicology and addiction at University Hospitals in Cleveland.

Link to another article saying that fentanyl can't do what we've been told.

Let's sum this blog up

1) Drugs are bad, m'kay!

2) I see nothing wrong with the PSA put out by the San Diego Sheriff's office.

3) There is no need to differentiate prescription drug use and illegal drug use when discussing it, even if it's the same substance, unless that's part of the story itself; hone your perspicacity.

4) Complaining about "Opioid Phobia" is about as senseless as complaining about "Playing on the Freeway Phobia".

This is a screenshot of a video I wrote and produced. It was awesome. If you care, search "Dumber Ways To Die". 

5) I didn't see any diabolical plan by the San Diego Sheriff looking to get over on the public, though I will leave that door ajar if it turns out that it was as staged as the moon landing. 

(No, I don't think the moon landing was faked... please update the drivers on your sarcasm detector if you weren't sure) 

6) I believe in truth and transparency, and those in the government should never lose sight of the fact that we the people are citizens, not subjects, and the only reason why elected leaders are in their positions is that we've consented to it. (Hear that Joseph???)

10) What happened to 7, 8 and 9. 

This is why six was afraid of seven... because seven ate nine.

There are many other things on the grievance list to get bent about... overselling the dangers of a dangerous (illicit) drug isn't on the list... not even if the list was 500 items long. 

•                •                •

I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues.

– Duke Ellington

Wildomar Rap just writes blogs after the pouting begins.

This blog was produced for viewing on a desktop or a laptop. Though it's been optimized for smartphones, the formatting can look odd on a smartphone or if you get this delivered through email (such as missing video links). Link to proper format.

• Wildomar Conversations: 2 Opal the Heroic Cow

It's not too often that you hear about a protective cow, but this is Wildomar and you're about to hear about Opal, the heroic cow. 

Opal, the heroic cow.

Her owners, Michelle and Chris, have lived in Wildomar a year... to the day as of the writing of this blog, and they love the pace of our community. 

In March they heard about Opal from a family in Menifee and they knew they had the room for her on their property and in their hearts so they adopted her. 

Opal loves her yard, and though she's not a bull, if you mess with her territory you'll be getting the horns, as if she were.

Then the other day Michelle was out with Opal when some commotion began near the gate on their property. Chris called Michelle to warn her, but it was too late. She came face to face with someone that the police were pursuing. 

He had hoped their gate and when Michelle saw him she let out a scream. That got Opal into gear and she chased the bad guy and cornered him, at which time the police apprehended the suspect. 

Opal was rewarded with horse cookies, and all was well.

These look eerily similar to the carob, oatmeal, peanut butter balls I used to make. 😋 

Please watch the four minute video to learn more about this beautiful animal and the story of how she saved the day.

This blog is formatted to fit all screens, but if you're having a problem seeing the video link click here.