Monday, November 21, 2011

Councilwoman Provides Tax Relief

As much as I don't like corporate welfare programs, I think Councilwoman Melendez's idea is fair and reasonable.  Rather than limiting the tax relief to just new businesses or just those that are within certain districts, Melendez's program provides ALL Lake Elsinore businesses with small but meaningful incentives to continue operating and expanding with in the City.  Being a small business owner, she gets it!

Can Fullerton implement a similar program?

Here is a press release from her campaign for the State Assembly about her business tax relief measures:


Lake Elsinore Councilwoman Melissa Melendez
Successful In Drive to Provide Business Tax Relief


(Lake Elsinore, CA) – Lake Elsinore Councilwoman Melissa Melendez successfully introduced and passed several business tax relief measures to provide local businesses with much needed savings from taxes and fees Tuesday night

These measures included:
ü Waiving the fee for business license renewal through January 31, 2012
ü Waiving the fee for a new business license through January 31, 2012
ü Waiving the fee for minor design review through January 31, 2012
ü Waiving the fee for a temporary banner/sign through December 21, 2011

“Californians have had enough of politicians who simply grandstand and self-promote, but never take a real stand to support the business community,” said Melissa Melendez.  “California has a jobs and economic crisis on its hands, and that requires action from elected officials, not hollow campaign promises and rhetoric.  I’ve stood consistently on the side of businesses and I will continue that stance in Sacramento.”

“I’ll work to implement similar measures that suspend job-killing taxes, fees, regulations and mandates in Sacramento,” continued Melendez. “Our Legislature must take substantive measures to relieve taxes and fees and encourage small businesses to grow and create desperately needed new jobs.”

Melissa Melendez is running for the 67th Assembly District.  She is proud to have the support of key leaders like State Senator Joel Anderson and Assemblyman Jeff Gorell.

Elected to the Lake Elsinore City Council in 2008, Melissa Melendez quickly earned a reputation as an articulate fiscal conservative and free-market advocate. As Mayor, she gained a national following after her 2010 guest appearance on Fox News Channel’s “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren.” 

Melissa is a 10-year veteran of the United States Navy, where she achieved fluency in the Russian language at the Defense Language Institute, Monterey, CA, and then served as a Russian translator during the Cold War and Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. She is also one of the first women approved by the U.S. Navy to fly aboard EP-3E reconnaissance aircraft overseas to conduct intelligence-gathering operations in partnership with our allies.

After receiving an honorable discharge from the Navy, Melissa built a transcription company, contracting with the Chief of Naval Operations, and providing services to the Secretary of the Navy as well as other top-level Pentagon officials. She holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA).

Melissa Melendez’s commitment to the local community includes service on the Regional Conservation Agency Executive Board, the Lake Elsinore San Jacinto Watershed Authority (LESJWA) Board of Directors and the Boys & Girls Club local fundraising Board of Directors. She is a former PTA president, former homeowners’ association president, a member of the American Legion, a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, and a volunteer youth soccer coach.

Melissa and Nico Melendez live in Lake Elsinore and are raising their five children. Nico is a United States Navy veteran and active reservist. He also works for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

City Task Force Seeking Ideas


Here is a Press Release from the City of Fullerton as they begin their work to address Fullerton's homeless. 
_________________________________


Do you have an idea – large or small – that could improve the resources and services provided to Fullerton’s mentally ill homeless? The City of Fullerton and the Fullerton Task Force on Homelessness would like to hear from you.
           
Just log onto FullertonTaskForce.info and share your ideas.
           
FullertonTaskForce.info is an interactive virtual “town hall” website dedicated to soliciting ideas and feedback from the community about improving information sharing, services and resources related to the mentally ill and homeless in the community.
           
Al Zelinka, community development director for the city, said FullertonTaskForce.info provides residents, business people, students and other interested stakeholders with “a creative and convenient way to share ideas, provide feedback, and make recommendations on a broad variety of issues related to this outreach effort.
           
“This new public engagement platform allows a more diverse audience of participants that might not be able to attend conventional public meetings. Anyone interested in providing constructive ideas and solutions can simply jump on-line from work, home, school or wherever they have Internet access, and join in the discussion.”  

The on-line forum will be used in conjunction with traditional public meetings to provide information to the task force.
           
“We are always looking for better ways to capture input and ideas from citizens,” said Rusty Kennedy, director of the Orange Cou8nty Human Relations Commission and task force chairman. “FullertonTaskForce.info is a great way to engage with people who cannot attend public meetings.”
           
Kennedy added, “This technology allows us to interface with hundreds of Fullerton residents and the public at-large. We appreciate that Fullerton residents have a strong desire to be involved in a constructive discussion regarding these issues in our community and this platform will allow us to better listen to citizens’ ideas and solutions.”
           
Further information about FullertonTaskForce.info may be obtained by calling Zelinka at (714) 738-3347, or Rob Ferrier, assistant to the city manager, at (714) 738-6760.

Greg Sebourn

The Beauty of a Storm

The Beauty of a Storm
Orange County, Ca.

My Grandma - A Eulogy

LET'S TALK ABOUT 1914 FOR A MOMENT.



FOR STARTERS, GRANDMA WAS BORN TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1914 IN HER FAMILY'S ATWOOD RANCH HOUSE.



IT IS WORTH NOTING THOSE ALSO BORN IN 1914:

JACK LALANNE

JOE DIMAGGIO

DANNY THOMAS



AND WHO DIED IN 1914:

JOHN MUIR, THE FAMOUS NATURALIST FOR WHICH NUMEROUS ROADS, PARKS, HOTELS, AND NATURE RESERVES ARE NAMED.



IT IS ALSO WORTH NOTING THAT IN 1914 WOODROW WILSON SIGNS MOTHER'S DAY PROCLAMATION AND BABE RUTH MAKES HIS MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUT WITH THE RED SOX. MOTHER'S DAY AND BASEBALL- TWO OF MY FAVORITES!! (PERHAPS HER NICKNAME "BABE" CAME FROM BABE RUTH???)



GRANDMA WAS BORN INTO A PERIOD OF TIME FILLED WITH TURMOIL. IN JUNE OF 1914 ARCHDUKE FRANZS FERDINAND WAS ASSASSINATED. WITHIN ONE MONTH WORLD WAR I RAGED ACROSS EUROPE. TWO DAYS AFTER HER BIRTH HOWEVER, GERMAN AND BRITISH TROOPS INTERRUPTED WWI TO CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS. (PERHAPS THEY PAUSE KNOWING THAT A GREAT WOMAN WAS BORNE) WORLD WAR I CONTINUED UNTIL THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES IN 1919.



ALTHOUGH SHE WAS ONLY 5 YEARS OLD, SHE SAW THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS CREATED AND THE 19TH AMENDMENT WAS APPROVED BY THE U.S. CONGRESS GUARANTEEING THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN TO VOTE.



SHE LIVED THROUGH MANY NOTABLE EVENTS. LIKE THE 1933 LONG BEACH EARTHQUAKE OR WHEN ATWOOD FLOODED ALONG WITH MOST OF ORANGE COUNTY IN 1938 AND THE FLOOD-WATERS CLAIMED MORE THAN 50 PEOPLE, 43 OF WHICH WERE FROM ATWOOD! ALL OF THIS DURING A TIME THAT WE READ ABOUT IN SCHOOL AND KNOWN AS "THE GREAT DEPRESSION". SOMEWHERE IN ALL OF THAT SHE FOUND THE LOVE OF HER LIFE, GRANDPA LEO, GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL, GOT MARRIED, AND HAD KIDS!



THEN THERE WAS WORLD WAR II. FROM PEARL HARBOR TO HIROSHIMA, GRANDMA WAS RAISING MY UNCLE BOB AND MOM ARLINE. WITH AIR-RAID SIRENS AND BLACKOUTS SHE WAS A WIFE AND MOTHER. WHAT A TIME TO RAISE CHILDREN! I BET GRANDMA'S PARENTS WERE ABEL TO TELL HER A THING OR TWO ABOUT RAISING KIDS IN WARTIME.



GRANDMA WAS THERE WHEN THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA HELD THEIR 3RD ANNUAL NATIONAL JAMBOREE IN 1953. SHE SAW AIRBASES OPEN IN '42 AND CLOSE IN '99. SHE WATCHED WALTER KNOTT START UP HIS BERRY FARM AND WALT DISNEY TURN ORANGE GROVES AND STRAWBERRY PATCHES INTO DISNEYLAND!



SHE SAW THE HORSE AND CARRIAGE FADE AWAY INTO HISTORY AND SPACE TRAVEL EXPLODE BEFORE HER WITH THE FIRST LUNAR LANDING. JUST IMAGINE HOW MUCH TECHNOLOGY HAS CHANGED OVER THE LAST 100 YEARS. FROM TUBE RECTIFIERS TO SUPERCONDUCTORS; FROM TRANS-ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH CABLES TO SATELLITE TV.



SHE SAW MORE IN HER 93 YEARS THAN MOST OF US WILL EVER READ ABOUT, LET ALONE LIVE THROUGH!



OF THOSE 93 YEARS IT IS MY HONOR TO HAVE BEEN HER GRANDSON FOR 35 OF THEM. SHE WAS MY MOTHER WHEN MOM HAD TO WORK. SHE WIPED MY NOSE AND PUT FOOD IN MY MOUTH. SHE LET ME PLAY WITH GRANDPA EVEN THOUGH SHE NEEDED HIM TO TAKE HER TO THE STORE. SHE WAS MY GRANDMA AND I WILL MISS HER IMMENSELY.



JUST LOOK AROUND THIS ROOM; SHE DID THIS. SHE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR BRINGING SO MANY GOOD PEOPLE INTO THIS WORLD AND TOGETHER TODAY. THIS IS HER LEGACY.



A Dedication To My Loving Wife, Stacey. Thank you for all you do for me!

Brad Paisley - I Thought I Loved You Then


I remember trying not to stare the night that I first met you
You had me mesmerized
3 weeks later in the front porch light taking 45 min to kiss you goodnight
I hadn’t told you yet but I thought I loved you then

Chorus
Now you’re my whole life now you’re my whole world
I just can’t believe the way I feel about you girl
Like a river meets the sea
Stronger than it’s ever been
We’ve come so far since that day
And I thought I loved you then.

I remember taking you back to right where I first met you
You were so surprised
There were people around
But I didn’t care I got down on one knee right there
And once again I thought I loved you then

Chorus
Now you’re my whole life now you’re my whole world
I just can’t believe the way I feel about you girl
Like a river meets the sea
Stronger than it’s ever been
We’ve come so far since that day
And I thought I loved you then.

I can just see you with a baby on the way
I can just see you when your hair is turning gray
What I can’t see is how I’m ever gonna love you more
But I’ve said that before.

Now you’re my whole life now you’re my whole world
I just can’t believe the way I feel about you girl
Well look back some day at this moment that we’re in
And I'll look at you and say I thought I loved you then
And I thought I loved you then...