• Press Enterprise Takes Swing At "Local Activist" In Editoral

There I was, having my usual breakfast of champions (espresso, a wedge of dark chocolate and the Press Enterprise → hard copy no less), when what do I see in their opinion section?

Wildomar being discussed at the top of the page. 

The topic was the Martha Bridges sue crew and their recent "unequivocal" loss in Riverside County Superior Court, in regards to her quixotic battle against higher education in Wildomar.

Link to the Press Enterprise editorial.

Her contention, in the voter pamphlet against Measure AA, was all about money, and what a hardship it would be to the residents as they would be obligated to pay $26 a year (based on property values of $200k).

Here is a link to the online version of the ballot arguments. 

Rarely has a list of more dubious names
been all seen in the same list.

The Press Enterprise editorial writer basically called her a liar with this statement.

Indeed, the Prima Facie evidence that her true motive was the lawsuit she filed last month, along with fellow serial litigant and co-plaintiff John Burkett, challenging the district's proposed purchase of 80 acres of land owned by the county in southern Wildomar.

Here is a link to the 2014 blog that covered the city council meeting where Measure AA was discussed. 

The editorial writers seemed to be channeling their inner Wildomar Rap as they concluded the editorial with these choice words.

Such an unequivocal ruling by the judge ought to persuade Ms. Bridges and Mr. Burkett from taking their legal challenge against the county and the community college district any further. But we suspect that the plaintiffs cannot help but to continue their dubious litigation until the bitter end.

Wildomar Rap summed it up this way days earlier: 

Now let's hope that the message sinks in, and that she doesn't look to delay the building of the college again. However, if Las Vegas laid odds on such things, I'd be betting that she has already worded her appeal and typed it up in triplicate.

Reads the same to me. 

Link to previous blog on this topic.

Another look at my "Mean Spirited" editorial cartoon of
the outcome of Ms. Bridges battle against MSJC.

I'm still looking for someone to lay odds on this. I smell the makings of an office pool. It'll be more fun than March Madness.

Some people around town have suggested that Wildomar Rap is beating a dead horse when it comes to this topic (people frivolously suing the city). If the horse was dead, I wouldn't be bothering with it.

I've been told that I'm being vindictive, mean and engaging in character assassination by posting the truth about what our city has had to deal with from a small group of geriatric malcontents. I'm fine with such silly suggestions, now toss those same fatuous accusations at the Press Enterprise editorial department too... M'kay?

•      •      • 

And come he slow, or come he fast,

It is but death who comes at last. 

― Sir Walter Scott

Wildomar Rap tip of the day: 
once you get a bad reputation, the only way to fix it is to STOP doing the things that got you there in the first place.

• Mt. San Jacinto College Update

Carol Toone and Teri Safranek were guest speakers, on behalf of Mt. San Jacinto College, at the recent Wildomar Chamber of Commerce breakfast.

As we all know, Measure AA passed last year which was a bond measure for $295 million to benefit Mt. San Jacinto Community College.

In case you were unaware, there is already a new MSJC campus site in Wildomar, on Clinton Keith, in the works. Take a look at the images below to get a feel for it.

You can see that this areal photo is quite old. I don't see Ronald Reagan Elementary School in it. 

This one is so old that City Hall wasn't built yet, and neither was Stater Bros.
That's how long this has been in the works.

The presentation included a take off on BINGO called FOCUS. It was touting various studies they offer and benefits that come with them.

Most of us know that having a college campus in the area will open many doors for Wildomar and we're eager to see it progress to completion.

When it came time for questions, my hand shot up and I asked:

What are some of the remaining hurdles or obstacles before you guys can put the first shovel in the ground? 

As Teri and Carol were about to answer, Kristen Huyck of Supervisor Kevin Jeffires' office had an answer.

I'm with the county of Riverside, in Supervisor Kevin Jeffries' office, we're working with the college district. From my understanding there is a lawsuit regarding the draft EIR. The college district knew it, as well as the county, so when the property was sold, there was actually money imbedded into the sale, about $300K, knowing that this was going to happen.

It shouldn't hold it up too much, other than just typical litigation... but it is moving forward and with Measure AA going through they have funding too, so it'll [be] coming to fruition very soon.

The city should be seeing some applications for development around that area too... it is moving forward.

George Taylor, long time resident out at The Farm, asked: Is the prognosis good?

To which Huyck replied.

Yes. It's looking pretty positive. It [the litigation] was all anticipated, so it's nothing surprising. 

Hey, it's Wildomar... so if there hadn't been some Ambulance Chaser... or maybe we should upgrade that to K-Rat/Gnat Catcher/Fairy Shrimp Chaser in this case... that would be the surprise.

After the breakfast I asked Huyck what the name of the litigants were, but she didn't have that info. I was given an email at the college for my inquiry, if I get that info, I'll post the update.

In the meantime, isn't it just grand that instead of getting this campus up and running, that MSJC anticipates the litigation process to take up to three years?

Thank you self appointed community activists... it's not like the time and money could be better used elsewhere.

•      •      • 

The sins that you do, two by two... you pay for one by one. —Rudyard Kipling

If Wildomar Rap were to open a gourmet restaurant, I wonder if Gnat Catcher Under Glass would be more popular than the K-Rat Pâté or the Fairy Shrimp in a red wine reduction?

• Bridges endorses Cambero UPDATED

UPDATE below

Sometimes I don't know enough about a candidate and waiver about which way to vote. So I dig a bit deeper and I look for other things that might tip the balance.

EVMWD Board of Directors District 3's seat is up for grabs. I had a good conversation with George Cambero a couple of weeks back, and thought he made some strong points for his election. (You can read that blog here).

The incumbent, Judy Gugliemana, is supposed to get back to me this week for a Q&A session. I've chatted with both candidates, and like both of them. (You can read that blog here)

My wife likes to post Wildomar Rap over on the Patch website. Why, I can't imagine since it is a shell of what it used to be. It's basically in the MySpace phase of its existence, but she likes to post it, so it's cool by me. While over there, I noticed that my blog on George Cambero had a comment... so I went over to go see what it was.

Well, ok... looks like the kiss of death to me. Seriously, George, if you're good with Ms. Bridges' endorsement, then I'm thinking that many people will be reconsidering their vote on this. Just as I almost always vote against a bond, after her silly argument against Measure AA I'm no longer voting against it. I doubt that I'll vote for it, but I know I won't be opposing it.

Follow this link to her ballot statement against Measure AA.

It is nothing but the same old scare tactics that are always used by such groups.

Someone told me my approach is shortsighted. I then compared it to other things on the ballot that I might have been wavering on, and that a good deciding factor is who is for and who is against a proposition/measure/candidate.

If I see that the ACLU is for it, I know it isn't worth my vote. Same if it's being backed by public employee unions... in such a case, it'll be getting a NO vote from me (or at least an abstention). If I see that something is being backed by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, I give it serious consideration. If I see it's from PETA, I know it needs to be voted down... and so the story goes.

I had been given a small little tidbit about a form that George filled out when registering his campaign with the county. He said he was running for district 5, but he actually meant district 3.

When I got the info, I thought it was funny, but along the same line that a former Wildomar Planning Commissioner didn't know something in his own neighborhood had already been built... two years earlier no less. And, more recently an end of the meeting misspeak by the mayor when she said she'd like to see street signs that pointed to the library.

Those signs were already there.

I don't find that kind of brain-fart reason to discount a candidate... same thing with the faux pas about George Cambero writing "district 5" when he meant "3". so I didn't think it was really worth a mention.

Until I saw the endorsement from The Wildomar Timex (if you don't know who that is, check out her act earlier in the year when she made this infamous statement about the Girl Scouts cookie program "...mulit-tiered marketing of poor quality products using aggression, intimidation and overly emotional tactics to do fundraising.").

So, my question to George is: I'm not of the old guard in Wildomar politics, so I don't know, or care, why certain people act the way they do... I just know that many people are true snot pockets when it comes to anything involving this city. Do you accept or reject Ms. Bridges' endorsement?

Oh, as an aside are you shocked to learn that self stylized Community Advocate is endorsing Gary Andre for city council? Birds of a feather...

UPDATE:

I asked George his opinion on this, and like a responsible candidate he responded right away. Here is what he sent me.

I would have prefered something like, "I completely disavow anything from Martha Bridges because she has proven to be nothing more than a pox on Wildomar"... but I understand such a move would be difficult for a person running for office in this town. It's way too easy to anger voters one way or the other.

Thank you George for your response.

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End of Update

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 Just grist for the mill. Take it or leave it.

Chance makes our parents, but choice makes our friends.

At Wildomar Rap... the enemy list grows. I must be doing something right..

• City Council Meeting 10-8-2014

The basic notes first.

• October 11, 2014 Relay for Life walk Canyon Hills Middle School, Saturday,  (click for details). 
• CERT Training this weekend
• October 14th, 6:30-7:30pm, Parks Master Plan Public Workshop. City Council Chamber.
• October 18th, 6-9PM. Concert in the park. Marna O'Brien Park featuring the band Courgarzz Rock. 

Much of the public comments, about non-agenda items, dealt with the flood we had. I'm very sorry for those that are in areas that are prone to flooding, but much like I tell my friend that lives near a park when he discusses the noise at night... you're the one that signed on the dotted line. 

The rains we had were something that we all will talk about for decades to come, because they were that far out of the ordinary. No matter what level of drainage that could have reasonably been installed, flooding was simply going to occur when that much water falls from the sky in that short amount of time. 

The other things of note were when Miss Miller wanted it made clear that she still is Gary Andre's number one supporter for city council, but she regrets having changed his name to Gary Adee the last time she tried to endorse him. A move that lead to a parody commercial for candidate Gary Adee... a la the old plumbing commercial with the catchphrase "Adee-do".

(Here's the link to the blog with the parody commercial)

Now I want to ask all you stalwart Gary Andre voters out there. Are you sure you like the camp you're in? Do the Santa routine and check the list twice... the list of his most ardent supporters... You really want that stink on you?

•     •     •

1.6 on the consent calender was something that was supposed to be discussed at the planning commission meeting of the week before, and it was. Thing is, due to the last minute document dump, the focus was only about the drainage issue and not revising the boundary line for Phases 1 and 2 to move Pad A from Phase 2 to Phase 1. Which actually triggers more than just the drainage issue when it comes to public safety.

To refresh your memory of that debacle, click the link for the blog.

Glad that Mayor Pro-Tem Ben Benoit asked to have the issue pulled from the consent calendar and put onto the November meeting. To see the council's discussion on it, view the video below.



2.1 on the Agenda was a little bit of house cleaning the way I saw it... Basically making certain decisions take the action of the Planning Commission and not just the Planning Director (approval authority). The best part was that Miss Miller didn't know what she was talking about, but decided to chime in just the same. Then before the vote on the matter, Ben Benoit assured her that this was strengthening, not weakening the safeguards. 

I sure would love to have her endorsement, that would bring in ones of new votes.

3.1 Measure AA Regional Bond Overview.
This was NOT about bonds, it was simply... as it said in the agenda: Staff recommends that City Council receive and file the report.

That's it.

Still, there was discussion on/about the proposed MSJC campus. In the video you'll hear from all the council members, all are in favor of the campus and... though not emphatic, it appeared that Tim Walker was in favor of the bond measure too... especially after he heard about the slate of cranks that wrote the argument against Measure AA in the voter pamphlet.

If you look at the argument against [measure AA] it's the same people that have been against Wildomar from day one. 
—Mayor Marsha Swanson

If you'd like to get right to the mayor's quote, hit the 5:30 mark on the vid.

I've heard people say they don't want to antagonize the APEs (which I think stands for Amoral Pompous Egotists, those that always sue Wildomar no matter how idiotic it makes them look). That they'd rather not discuss the things that have happened to Wildomar at the hands of these people. Hoping that by appeasing them, they'll all of a sudden start playing nice.

Sorry, Homey Don't Play That...I don't make room for evil. I'll reproduce their ballot statement, and you judge for yourself if it is reasonable or about the stupidest thing you've read in months... or since the last thing they issued forth.

Looks like they're banking on voters being emotional basket cases.

How do they not know that those names in yellow are RADIOACTIVE to a huge number of Wildomar voters? They will easily lose 2-3% points by boastfully insisting their names be prominent.

Anyone remember Bush 43?

Anyone ever wonder why he wasn't asked to campaign for McCain and Palin back in 2008?

Same thing with Obama in 2014... they were (and he is) RADIOACTIVE and they were at least smart enough to grasp it and try and fly under the radar.

Then look at the actual wording they opted for... do they think they are speaking to kindergartners? Well, if you've ever chatted with any of them the answer is a most redounding YES, they think everyone outside of their circle is a dimwitted child that can't blow their nose without assistance from them.

They actually thought going with "Wall Street types are salivating over stuffing their pockets full of your cash" was a good idea? Guys, you need a new writer... here, let me try my hand at some hysteria that you might like to use next time.

 

If I were head writer of Team APE...

The Wall Street One Percenters are looking to enslave you as they confiscate your social security, foreclose on your house, sell your first born off to an Ebola test farm as they only allow you to eat potato peels and all the grubs you can find under that old log down the street —to pay for their country clubs, yachts and send their own kids to Harvard and Yale simultaneously.

Stop the Cash Grab NOW, before you end up in a Dickensian debtors prison.

Now wasn't that a lot more fun, and just as believable as what they put in the ballot statement too.

 ◄ I've always said, "If you're going to abuse hyperbole, then abuse it with some panache." ► 

I usually vote against bond measures... but, then again, most bond measures don't actually have such a profound impact on the local level like this.

This is going to cost Wildomar residents $13 per year per $100K assessed value of their home. I'm guessing this is going to cost me about $26 a year. Sure, I'd love to save half a tank of gas worth of money a year... it's not like having a college in town is going to increase my property values or anything like that... errr.... Wait a sec... just like having parks in a city increases the home values, so would having a college campus.

But try explaining that to a bitterman and they'll flash that classic face of theirs.

•     •     •

3.2 is the last item of note.

Speed Humps are coming to Catt Rd.
You people that race through the southside of Windsong Valley know who you are. The stop signs haven't gotten through to some of you —this is a neighborhood. Perhaps the speed humps will.

I actually got up and spoke about this issue. First I told the council that I'm in favor of these, but then told them I could think of at least three more places in Windsong Valley alone that could use them, and about 100 other places throughout town.

•     •     •

Hey, how 'bout them Dodgers and Angels? 
Arrrgghhh! Don't get me started.

Wildomar Rap is available in three sizes. Awesome, More Awesome and Awesome Beyond All Reason.