• More Legal Wrangling, City On Sidelines This Time

"Wildomar Project Opponents Must Abide by Their Agreement and Cease Litigation Threats," Developer Sunbelt Communities Says in Lawsuit.

Some people, when they're no longer punching a clock, decide to pick up one hobby or another.

Jigsaw puzzles, crocheting, book clubs, traveling, mentoring, suing their local municipalities —or local developers— costing the residents of their towns many thousands of dollars in legal fees and staff costs, or future homeowners many thousands of dollars in needless costs hidden in the price.

Wildomar has several such accomplished geriatric litigants. They often make up cutesy names to take the brunt of the flak. Names like Alliance for Intelligent Planning (AIP pronounced APE) or Citizens for Quality Development.

Back in October it was reported that the city paid out $120,000 to the group that includes former Wildomar city council member Cheryl Ade, a person that still holds the sole distinction of being the only council member to be voted out of office in Wildomar. (Link to the blog about it) 

That group has also had Gary Andre in it (he may still be in it, but it's hard to keep track of shadowy circles like that.) Suffice to say, if you'd like to play connect the dots I'll be happy to toss some dots out there for you.

• Gary Andre runs for city council in 2014 and claims to be indigent so as to avoid the filing fees, which he later pays anyway the next week.
• Gary Andre is a member of AIP as described by the Press Enterprise "Andre’s group Alliance for Intelligent Planning".
• Alliance for Intelligent Planning gets $120K payout in October 2015.
• Gary Andre, the man that filed as indigent the year before, shows up to a council meeting in a brand new, $27,000 Kia. Complete with a leather bra. (not him, the car)

Interesting dots, not sure if they connect or not, but I'll let the individual do their own sleuthing.

So why is this topical? Because he's part of another group... the one mentioned above: Citizens for Quality Development (better known as Crud).

That group has been trying to derail the 275-home Oak Creek Canyon residential housing project, which is just west of The Farm on Bundy Canyon Rd.

This project was the big news right before I started going to the city council meetings back in 2013. I didn't get to see a lot of the action as it unfolded. Yet, back in November of 2014, there was a settlement agreement between the developer and opponents of the approved 275-home Oak Creek Canyon residential housing project in Wildomar.

However, when you're dealing with Gary Andre things never go smoothly. There's always a hitch. If he's got your phone number he'll be calling you half a dozen times a day.

True to form, at the February 2015 planning commission meeting he showed up with another laundry list of demands (Click this link to the blog covering it).

Today Sunbelt Communities issued a press release. Here's an excerpt.

Sunbelt Communities said it had no choice but to ask the California Superior Court to set aside requests by a group calling itself Citizens for Quality Development for inordinate additional soil testing in and around the development site. Sunbelt has already accommodated numerous requests from the opponents for project changes, including a payment of $60,000 to their lawyers.

link to full press release.

“The motives behind the call for more unnecessary testing are obvious: additional legal fees for the opponents’ attorney, with no additional benefit for prospective homeowners of an already approved project,” said Larry Markham, a spokesperson for Sunbelt Communities. 

“This has become a meaningless exercise spurred on by opponents’ repeated threats of litigation, and we have no choice but to ask the Court to put an end to it,” Markham said.

It's good to see the developers finally standing up to theses mindless lawsuits. Let's hope that the rest of them take a cue here and stop looking to settle with any of them from now on.

•       •       •

Recently I was referred to as a "sheeple" for "lumping together" all the various lawsuits that are going on in the city. Fine, though drawing that conclusion is akin to a child's crayola drawing being confused with the Mona Lisa.

I have no skin in the game when it comes to development in Wildomar. I have a house and if no more houses were built, it wouldn't affect me (isn't that part of the NIMBY mindset?) I'm not pro developer any more than I'm anti developer. I'm pro sanity, and that is a quality that seems lacking in the Lawsuit Lennys of Wildomar.

I don't come equipped with an agenda, and I think that confuses many people that know me. As long as you're a straight shooter, I can get along with you even if I don't agree with your views. For all that, if you are one of those that loves to repeatedly sue the city, then even if I happen to agree with some of your points I have minimal respect for you. 

It's a shame really, because the right to sue city hall is a terrific privilege that we all enjoy and should guard well. When the system is abused, it gets people looking to curb their own rights just to stem the parade of garbage that gets pushed onto them.

•      •      • 

Oh yeah, you completely disgraced yourself and almost destroyed an entire town!

― April Ludgate, Parks and Rec

Wildomar Rap tip of the day: Sit back and relax, the ride isn't half as bad as you're making it out to be.

• Meet Mayor Pro-Tem Ben Benoit

Here is the last in the blog series Better Know a Candidate for the 2014 Wildomar City Council election. Ben was out campaigning and took a break to meet me at Teakwoods for some lunch and a chat.

Ben Benoit

 WR:  Everybody's got a story about how they got to Wildomar. Tell me yours.
 BB:  I met my ex-wife out in Palm Desert/La Quinta area, her family was all from this area. Her parents made us the offer once we got married that we should come live on the back forty of their property. I did get an opportunity to build a house on that property and go through the development process, it was a 2100sf modular home on it. 

Did all the county work, all the grading plans... all the plan checks through the county to get that done ten years ago. It was a neat opportunity to go through the development process and also see the development process in that area, Oak Circle Drive, which is right in the middle of our habitat areas. I got to hear about the kangaroo rat, and hear about all these other programs that now I'm on those boards.

 WR:  Tell me a little about your home life... the joys of being a dad.
 BB:  The joys of being a dad have been watching my little girl grow up in this community, where she's got a great loving environment. She loves being around Wildomar. I like to say, "She can work a room faster than I can."  She likes to go to events with me and likes to get out and talk to people. [She] Knows most of the people that I know in town... because she's out talking to everybody. 

And lately, family life has been really amazing, (looking to his right) since I've met my new love here —Jaimie. It can't get any better right now. 

 WR:  How about hobbies?
 BB:  I have the same hobby that Tim Walker has... I play video games occasionally. Besides that I like to go shooting. I have a little collection and like to go out and spend some ammo; some target practice.

 WR:  What does Ben Benoit do to put food on the table?
 BB:  I have my own computer networking business. I've had it going on fourteen years now. It's a good business that keeps me mobile, and allows me my own schedule. Allows me to get some work in, get some money in the bank and then be back to doing my civic duties. 

 WR:  Most people are aware that your father is a Riverside County Supervisor. Two Questions: 1) Do you use him as a mentor when it comes to being an elected representative, and 2) Do you have future aspirations to serve in higher office?
 BB:  I definitely use him as a mentor. A lot of people think I grew up with this (a father in political office). I was pretty much out of the house when he was on the school board, those were my high school years. When he ran for State Assembly I was already living on my own. I saw that experience from an arm's reach. 

I'd come home and visit mom and find out mom was sitting home by herself, and I get to hang out with mom while dad's up in Sacramento. I have a neat story about that. Dad got to buy my mom and me dinner every Wednesday night. I made a deal with dad, where I'd take out mom every Wednesday night, keep her company, and he'd get to pick up the check. So my mom and I know every nice desert restaurant that there is. (punctuated with some laughter)

As for higher office, people keep asking me that. My response, for as long as I've been doing this is —I have a daughter and I want to see her get out of high school before I do anything else. Having been as close as I was, through my dad's eyes —to see Sacramento, and what it means to be up there. The time commitments and everything else, I've got no ambition to be up there anytime soon. To get a flat forehead for the most part —probably. And not to be able to do as much as you can at a local level.

 WR:  You're trapped on the Palm Springs Tramway. For some inexplicable reason it has two working video game systems. You're going to be stranded for a couple of hours so which do you choose to pass the time: Old School Nintendo or a new release FPS/RPG?
 BB:  Is it a computer RPG or is it on X-Box?
 WR:  It's on a console.
 BB:  Nintendo. I don't do the controller. I'm a keyboard and mouse guy. Which is why Tim and I don't meet up online... he's an X-Box guy.

 WR:  There is a very vocal minority that appears to dislike everything that goes on in Wildomar. I've actually read repeated assertions from them that City Staff and the City Council are both INEPT and CORRUPT. When you get wind of such comments circulating around, what are your reactions and thoughts on it?
 BB:  That they are a very small minority. They're a very disingenuous group that's in it for the wrong reasons. If you had to pick out who's corrupt... I'm sorry, they're the ones getting the checks from the developers at the end of the day when they are extorting the money from them. That's probably the biggest part of CEQA I'd love to see changed is —where does the money go? We know in these lawsuits, when these attorneys get paid, six, ten, twelve times their normal hourly rate... they're not keeping it all. It's likely going other places. That's the toughest part, when they're calling us corrupt.

It's my belief, that they're doing it because they used to run this place. Sheryl [Ade] and Gary Andre would be down at the planning commission, if they were giving the thumbs up to the planning commissioner for this area, the project would go forward. If they gave it a thumbs down Dave Stahovich and Bob Buster would kill it... and they ran this area. I think it's unfortunate that they [seem to] think now they have to use CEQA to try and keep some of that control. I wish they would move on.

 WR:  About how much energy gets eaten up by discussion/defense of the various legal maneuvers faced by the city?
 BB:  It's very difficult to quantify that when it involves the city. Because a lot of times we're not billing a client, but what we can look at is when they're suing, for instance, Bill Lo (Sunbelt Properties). You can ask staff, they can give you the exact dollar figures of how much it cost Bill Lo to defend his lawsuit that Martha Bridges brought, and then the second lawsuit that Gary Andre and Sheryl Ade are continuing to bring forward. That's very countable money and it's easy to to look at.

 WR:  When it comes to the City Council closed sessions, how much time goes to lawsuit talk?
 BB:  I can tell you that in closed session probably 75% of the stuff we're talking about is related to some sort of a lawsuit, and it's usually from one of those three people.

 WR:  With Governor Brown's recent veto of SB69, does that signal an end of the fight to restore the VLF funds to Wildomar?
 BB:  I'm still in communications with our lobbyist, I'm still in communications with Jurupa [Valley]. We're game planning, we're talking about various avenues, what would be successful, what wouldn't be. I don't know that our city will be able to carry on our fiscal connection with our lobbyist, because it is expensive. At some point we have to come to the realization that this isn't really going to happen. I think our only next opportunity, in any foreseeable future, would be to get the governor to tell us what he wants and put it in his own budget in February.

Beyond that, going through another legislative cycle, I've got no reason to do that in my mind unless we can get some word from the governor of exactly what he would want. To that end, I'm continuing to press my contacts to try and get that question asked to the governor. Either way, if our city isn't going to continue to pursue that, I'm personally going to continue to pursue that in every channel I can.

 WR:  I know that city services, such as police protection are important to you. What are some realistic options to increase the level of patrols in Wildomar?
 BB:  Open a Walmart. The tax revenue from Walmart can support one more officer on another shift. We'll slowly move forward on that. It's very upsetting how long it can potentially take to get back to where we even were... let alone more. Because even when we had what we had it was not enough.

One of Ben's many signs seen throughout town.

 WR:  You're at the dentist office with ten minutes to kill, and your smart phone is NOT getting a signal (gasp!). Which magazine do you reach for: The New Yorker, Sports Illustrated, Mad Magazine, Highlights or Vogue?
 BB:  New Yorker.
I let Ben know that I'd choose Highlights. The Hidden Pictures page is cool no matter what your age is.

 WR:  Can you name some projects that are in the works, even just the early stages, that you're excited about seeing come to fruition in Wildomar?
 BB:  Besides Walmart? I think one of the ones I'm most excited about is our potential development of the park near Ronald Reagan Elementary School. Of all the things that could come forward on this side of the city, in the near future, that's the one I'd love to see happen. The next one would be the college. I'm really hopeful that the college can move forward, we'll have to see how their bond measure does.

 WR:  Assuming you had to choose... If a dear relative had their heart set on buying you a replica of a famous painting, which one would you opt for: A Rembrandt Selfie, Edvard Munch's The Scream, Whistler's Mother, a Norman Rockwell classic or a Jackson Pollack?
 BB:  Rockwell... definitely Rockwell.

▼

 WR:  If you had the attention of the Wildomar voters, what would you tell them are some key things they should be looking for in a city council member? Conversely, what are some factors that a voter should be concerned about when it comes to the list of 2104 candidates?
 BB:  I think everyone should be looking at their candidate(s) —someone that's willing to not just be there for the monthly meeting. Someone that's willing to put in the time to give this community what it needs, and respect that this is not just a monthly meeting type of job where you've got to actually be involved way beyond that. Through your civic duty, chamber of commerce, through interaction with other outside agencies, and not just get the title and pretend you're doing it.

As far as the current candidates, I think you've got one... that staff would have difficult time interacting with, and congealing with —Gary Andre, to put it frankly. He would go in there and want to butt heads with everybody. Other cities have seen this happen and it's cost them a lot of money. We can't afford to lose anymore money at this point. On top of that, he's been so anti THE CITY, he's sued in every which way that would cause legal issues. We'd probably have city attorneys spending lots of money on how do we get through a lot of these problems when you can't have one of your council members involved because there is a potential conflict —and would Gary listen to that?

Our two other incumbents do a great job, they really support our city, they're always out there doing stuff in the community. I would have liked to have seen Israel [Leija] get a little more involved before he decided to run.

That's my biggest concern with those two candidates. One, over involvement, the other, a lack of involvement. In that, we've seen a lack of understanding of what the job is.

•     •     •

There's not a lot for me to add here, other than this. I first met Ben Benoit (and Tim Walker) quite by mistake about a year ago. I'd just started doing Wildomar Rap and it was at Heritage Regency Park the week of The Great Day of Service. As it turned out, I bumped into both of them as we were lugging bottled water for the next day's work crews.

It never dawned on me who they were until Ben reached over, threw out his hand and introduced himself, followed by Tim Walker doing the same. I'd seen their pictures on the city's website, but that had been all. For about five minutes before the introductions, we were chatting about a forklift that had run out of gas, blocking the lane. 

When they told me who they were, having been so thoroughly negatively infected about them, from some recent meetings I'd had with Martha Bridges, Gil Rasmussen and Sheryl Ade, I thought "uh oh, now I'm hanging out with those evil, corrupt city council people I'd been warned about."

What a joke. It wasn't simply a case of the pot calling the kettle black, it was more like the discarded ashes from the fireplace calling the white linen table cloth black. So far off the mark that they couldn't have been more wrong in their assessments, even if they'd applied maximum effort. 

I've never had a bad/negative conversation/interaction with Ben Benoit... and a few months ago, in a blog, I even alluded to how I thought his "Opening Pitch" at a Storm Game resembled that of a XX chromosone holder (you know... like a girl) and I constantly harp on how I'm not a fan of WRCOG. Point being, the guy possesses plenty of self confidence and isn't bothered by such silliness... off a duck's back.

He knows me today, but the first six months or so I was just Joe Windsong Valley as far as he knew... but he still made time to chat if I approached him. If you haven't made time to speak to him about the issues that Wildomar is facing, I'm confident that he'll make time for you. 

You can only vote once per IP address, so don't try and cheat.

Click to participate

Even when my arm was hanging from overuse, and I had to throw sidearm just to get the ball back to the infield... I delivered it with a very distinct XY arc.

Pinky,  are you pondering what I'm pondering? 
I think so, Brain, but if they called them 'Sad Meals', kids wouldn't buy them!

• Candidates Forum

I got to the venue early so I could set up the video camera. The first contestant to arrive was Gary Andre. He wanted it clear that he cannot take any narcotics for his chronic back pain and showed me his doctor's instructions and asked me to post it... seems that the topic had been batted around a bit on FaceBook.

FaceBook... Ugggh! Don't get me started on that one. ☺

Next in the building was Ben Benoit, followed by Israel Leija, Tim Walker and then Marsha Swanson.

Just before the mic check, about a half an hour before the event, Israel Leija shakes hands with Tim Walker.

I went up to all the candidates and asked for their autographs on the program... I told them it was going to be a collector's item and I was going to put it on ebay as soon as I got home; so far the bid is up to 11¢.

When I approached Gary Andre he let me know that he wasn't happy that I've been less than complimentary to him in my blogs. I told him that he was getting a bit of collateral damage due to those that back his candidacy [people I call APEs aka AIP... the people that look to sue everything that wiggles in this town].

Reminds me of the Aesop's Fable I used to read my kids called →

THE STORK AND THE CRANES

A FARMER placed his nets on his newly sown plough lands, and caught a quantity of Cranes, which came to pick up his seed. With them he trapped a Stork also. The Stork, having his leg fractured by the net, and was earnestly besought the Farmer to spare his life.Pray, save me, Master, he said, and let me go free this once. My broken limb should excite your pity. Besides, I am no Crane, I am a Stork, a bird of excellent character; and see how I love and slave for my father and mother. Look too, at my feathers, they are not the least like those of a Crane. The Farmer laughed aloud, and said: "It may be all as you say; I only know this, I have taken you with these robbers, the Cranes, and you must die in their company."

Moral:
Birds of a feather flock together.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, he's a nice enough fellow when I talk to him. Even tonight, though he wasn't pleased with me, he made it clear he'd rather be friends than enemies. I agreed, and told him we should be able to have our different views on the way the city should be run, and NOT allow the differences to get to a personal level. That said, I am not going to shy away from pointing out said differences, and that means I'm going to feel free to lampoon a person that is asking for it.

He mentioned in the forum that he'd never sued anyone before... before his first lawsuit here that is... watch the video and you'll see that he has been a supporter of more than one lawsuit against the city [skip to 29:30 of the first video].

If he wants to run with the APE's, he's going to get the same lack of respect they get. It's not personal, it's business.

Also, I've already created a mock TV ad for the Andre campaign, and it isn't very nice. Sorry Gary, but it's already out there. Thing is, I've got plans for doing "Mock Political Ads" about the other candidates too, and I hope they don't have thin skin, or I might be run out on a rail before I know it.

So, to wrap up the Andre angle, I offered him a No Sandbag guarantee blog, where he can just tell me who he is and why he wants your vote. Though at first he didn't want to give me his autograph, it turned out he was the first to sign my program... which I appreciated.


You'll hear audience applause in places. I joined in once... when Israel Leija asked for applause.

Here's how I see what went down... you watch the video and let me know if I'm too far off.

Gary Andre said many of the right things, but he didn't give straight answers when questions about lawsuits came up. He also seemed to be in favor of Walmart, which is something I wasn't expecting.

Although he just did the document dump at the last city council meeting, where legal action was threatened over improving Bundy Canyon, he did seem to agree that Bundy Canyon should be improved at the forum... which was nice to hear, but rather confusing at the same time.

Ben Benoit was the most prepared and delivered his responses with adroitness and aplomb. A pros pro and I'm glad we have him in Wildomar. He took the opportunity to mention the need for more policing more than once. I'd love to take a swipe at him, but there isn't anything to be miffed at with him. [But I'm still planning on a mock political ad for him so I'll have to come up with something soon]

Israel Leija was in over his head, but based on his answers, I can say that his head is in the right direction, he just needs some seasoning. Which would include learning the community more by delving deeper into it.

Marsha Swanson gave good answers and kept to the questions that were asked and didn't wander away from the topics. She showed good vision for where she'd like to see Wildomar in the future. As she noted, without rooftops (more houses) you won't be able to attract businesses here. Most businesses want customers to be present when they open their doors. Without businesses, the revenues stay low and city services stay at a starvation level (my paraphrasing).

Tim Walker Showed passion when speaking on the topics, and one time asked for the question to be reread... not because he didn't remember it, but because the previous person's answer was well off topic and he wanted to remind the audience what it was. Another time he started off into a danger zone. He made a comparison to presidential politics. He didn't mention President Barky O'Bambam by name, but you could detect his "conservative" leanings just the same.

FTR: in 2012 I "threw away" my vote by voting against both
O'Bummer and Mittens and voting Libertarian.

*_*

Please consider weighing in on this straw poll.

You can only vote once per IP address, so don't try and cheat.

Click to participate

After the forum, I went up to Gil Rasmussen, a blogger that has moved away, extended my hand and said, "How's it going Out of Town Blogger".

If looks could kill, you'd be reading my obituary. We went around and around, about the comments that have shown up at the bottom of my recent blogs.

Nothing like a good Kodak moment.

In the end I agreed that some of the comments were way over the line, especially the ones about Sheryl Ade in reference to a condition she has. I also told him that I'd been chastising those that left such comments and that it was pretty lame when people would then NOT be upfront enough to also leave their names. So, when I got home I did some house cleaning in the old comment section. I couldn't delete particular words, so entire comments went bye-bye.

Some people have said, "Yeah, but he is far, FAR worse than you've ever been, and he wants a double standard?"  Yeah, and I'm good with it. My motto has long been "I'm better than you are" and now and then I need a reminding of it. I don't want to lower my standards to that of a person with a less than stellar reputation on such matters.

A note on the double standard in question. 

If I was hearing correctly, over the din of the crowd, as he was telling me that the ADA doesn't look to kindly over people being teased, referring to the disrespect Sheryl Ade got from some comments (though never by name)... he lobbed a gay insult my way.

He suggested that I had some, shall we call it mayonnaise, on my upper lip. So let's get this straight... I'm responsible for people that leave anonymous comments on my blogs, but it's ok to use gross sexual innuendo against me... all the while it's a well known fact that my 27 year old son is GAY. Somehow I'm thinking this double standard runs deep. Thing is, as I told him, who cares what anonymous people say... it seems he does. Good thing I have skin on par with an elephant, and such things don't bother me.

Oh well, enough of that. I don't need to be chums with everyone, but it's nice to be able to say hello and discuss things. The fact that local politics of Wildomar's early cityhood actually turned into something that got really nasty, tells me that a lot of people really are lacking.

►►►►►►►►►►►►►►►►►►►►►►►►►►►►►►

On a different note:

Hey, did you know that the Freedom Swing is almost installed... and this Saturday there is a ribbon cutting ceremony at Marna O'Brien Park at 5:30pm. 

Getting ready to pour the concrete.

◄◄◄◄◄◄◄◄◄◄◄◄◄◄◄◄◄◄◄◄◄◄◄◄◄◄◄◄◄◄◄◄◄◄

The road to resolution starts with doubt...

The best way home's the farthest way about.

Wildomar Rap implores you to show good sense when commenting. It's not really that much to ask is it?

• Poll on City Council Race

It's a little more than six weeks until the election, and this coming Tuesday, September 23rd at 6:30pm, there will be a Candidates Forum at Elsinore High School. It's being presented by Wildomar Chamber of Commerce and the host for the 2014 Wildomar Candidate Forum will be LEUSD Board member Tom Thomas.

There are plenty of topics/reasons that should motivate you into coming to this. The proposed Walmart being chief among them. This is the time to be heard, and the people that can't seem to get any further than a FaceBook chatroom when it comes to whining about our city (you keyboard commandos know who you are), this is your chance to put up or shut up. 

 WILL YOU BE COMING? 

Here is a look at this year's candidate's mugshots.

We all love polls, and you know it. So I created this one, asking who your choice for Wildomar City Council is. Audience participation is always appreciated and you can vote for up to three... like in the real election. But I set it so that you can only vote once a year. So if you'd like to stuff the ballot, set your watch for September 2015 so you don't forget.

Be sure to "vote" for your candidate(s).

Click this link to get to the poll

This is what the poll looks like when you click the link.

I scrambled the order of the candidates, so don't make too much of it. 

You shouldn't be voting based on how the names are slotted in the first place.

Thanks for your participation, and feel free to share the poll with others. There is a way to do so at the polling site... or you can share this url→  http://vote.pollcode.com/68656175

ô     ô     ô     ô     ô     ô     ô     ô     ô     ô     ô     ô

A word about comments on this blog.

I'm not going to bother doing a lot of policing, and I do try and respond to the comments that call out to me, but some of you are really showing a lack of decorum and a lack of originality at the same time. Name calling is Hi-Larry-Us, and all, but too much of a good thing is rarely beneficial.

If you haven't already found Wildomar Rap on facebook, there's still time to do it. Click here and get on board.

• Notes From the City Council Meeting September 10, 2014

Where to Start... how about at the beginning?

I got to the meeting about a half an hour before kickoff and saw Candidate Gary Andre chatting outside the back entrance with Les Chapman. I went up and joined the chat. I thought that Andre was there to attend the meeting... you know, because he's running to be part of the council and all... but I was wrong. He was there representing his homies, the AIPs (pronounced like the primate —APEs) with what's known as a "document dump".

The APES have spoken.

It seems that the Alliance for Irrepressive Pompous asses (I'm pretty sure that's what AIP stands for) threatened more legal action against the city, and since Candidate Andre still actually lives within our city, he drew the short straw to deliver it —last minute style per usual.

Actually, if it weren't for the APEs, and Miss Miller, this would have been a much shorter meeting, and I'd be telling you about the proposed widening of Bundy Canyon. Very exciting proposition, that every sane person in the area would be completely for.

I'd also be telling you about the Freedom Swing getting final approval with a ribbon cutting ceremony set for Saturday September 27th... and how the much maligned PV Maintenance (Needlessly castigated by Captain Caveman Zak) is donating the cost of installation of the swing.

Maybe I'd tell you about the fact that Ben Benoit and City Manager Gary Nordquist were asked to come to Sacramento by the governor's staff Friday (do I need to remind you about SB 69 and that we have been cheated out of what every other city gets?) I'm hoping they aren't asking our team to make the trip just so that they can extend their hand, then quickly withdraw while saying "Psych!"

The limp fish handshake is almost as bad as the psych version.

I'd be telling you about the slurry project that is coming to Windsong Valley later this month, or the new sidewalk coming to George Avenue. 

I could tell you about the Proclamation —Adult Literacy Awareness Month (September 2014) made by the council, and that we all met the new librarian for the Wildomar Library. She reminded us that she has a couple of more semesters until she can officially be called a librarian... thank goodness for bureaucratic red tape.

I could elaborate on how Bob Cashman didn't "get it" again when it comes to zoning and California law. In agenda item 1.11 and 1.12 he seems to want to continually rehash the whole MUPA (Mixed Use Planning Area) overlay scheme that all cities have to stomach. After seeing him do this several times, I'm nearly convinced that he is grandstanding for someone. Who, I can't even imagine.

But instead, most of the meeting was eaten up by lawsuit threats and Miss Miller doing her Vaudeville act —six times no less. I get it, they don't have lives, and they find it great sport to waste everyone's time, and the city's money, with their gags. Too bad they don't stick to things like hand buzzers, exploding cigars, whoopee cushions and squirting flowers like other oafs in their strata do.

Property of the Alliance.

The following video is of the city council discussing agenda item 3.2 Bundy Canyon Road Improvement Project Final EIR.



In this video you'll hear Mayor Pro-Tem Ben Benoit discussing part of APE's problem with this project. Imagine it if you will, Gary Andre, and his out of town scabs, suggesting that this project be put off... or even cancelled altogether.

A project that was supposed to begin in 2008 —until the economy collapsed.

If that isn't comedy gold all by its lonesome, they are claiming that parts of the EIR, that are a whopping 4 years old, are TOO OLD to use. This is the same group that clings to an over sized scrapbook that a few people worked on before we were a city... and claim that we need to stick to the plans they made for us back then.

Ideas that some well intentioned citizens cobbled together can be timeless in their view, and above revision, but a professional EIR has a shorter shelf life than DeJong's chocolate milk in their world. I get it... they are slapstick clowns of the first order... too bad they are so incredibly tone deaf as to not get the message that NO ONE is entertained with their bucket of confetti level antics.

I like the way that Council Member Tim Walker didn't pull any punches when discussing the APEs. In the above video, his comments begin at the 10:30 mark. He talks about threatened lawsuits and document dumping while calling Gary Andre out by name.

Gary Andre Picks Up Key Endorsement

Candidate Andre had a banner night. First the Docu-Dump, next being mentioned —by name— from the dais multiple times, and then he picked up Miss Miller's endorsement. She spoke for more than 15 minutes cumulatively (just one song tonight).

I posted a video of her telling you who to vote for.

She did manage to mispronounce both Melissa Melendez's name along with that of Gary Andre. From now on, out of respect for Miss Miller's preferred pronunciation, his name is Gary Adee... as you'll see in my mock campaign ad. The second half of the video shows how far gone she is.

Sorry, but unless you are also a resident of Backward Land or Upside Down World, you pretty much can assume that anyone she is endorsing has something seriously wrong with them somewhere down the line.

Lastly, I finally got to meet Candidate Israel Leija. He looked a bit like a fish out of water. First time at a city council meeting and all... I hope to see him at the candidate's forum, though I was hearing he may not get out of work in time to attend it. I guess we'll see.

_ . _ —•—_ . _ —•—_ . _ —•—_ . _ —•—_ . _ —•—_ . _ —•—_ . _ —•—

Shake. Shake. Shake your sillies out.

He who has a thousand friends hasn't one to spare. While he who has a single foe shall meet him everywhere. Ralph Waldo Emerson's ghost loves Wildomar Rap.