Friday, May 25, 2012

Precinct Walk - Saturday - May 26

Join me in walking Fullerton's neighborhoods to share my vision with voters from 9am to noon Saturday May 26.

Snacks and drinks provided.

If you would prefer to walk your own neighborhood, please let me know and I will make sure you get the campaign materials you need.

Email me for detail, GregSebourn@yahoo.com

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

OC Register Columnist Avoids the Obvious

OC Register columnist David Whiting shows the same trait as the Fullerton City Council members being recalled- denial.


Whiting gives his impression of the Fullerton recall election and the reaction of the public since the video was released.

While Whiting is entitled to express his opinion, he chose to use his creative writing skills over his journalist skills to express his support of the three doomed council members Jones, Bankhead, and McKinley.

I suppose when the facts are present, one need only close their eyes and the facts go away.  I'm sure my toddler would agree.

Unfortunately, sticking one's head in the sand doesn't resolve anything.  It only drags out the inevitable demise that is certain to follow.

Whiting gives the before and after impressions of the soon-to-be ex-councilmen and uses some mild quotes. He ignores, as city council candidate Matt Rowe pointed out, numerous tasteless, insensitive, and demeaning comments made by McKinley.  Bankhead and Jones also made plenty of similar remarks that have reflected poorly on our city.

From Matt's Facebook post at the OC Register on-line:

Here's some better quotes for Councilman McKinley.
---
Theme: Compassion
On sexual assault and the FPD (Rincon).
"Those ladies weren't people like this." 
This is not compassion. This is judgement. Does Pat McKinley side with the victims here or with the officer? You decide, then read the next one.
"It was just inappropriate touching. Not a good thing, but it ain't a dangerous thing."
This is not compassion. Pat McKinley actively dismissed what it feels like to be sexually assaulted and defended the officer's actions. Need more, read below.
 
On Kelly Thomas.
"You can't get six people around one guy."
This is not compassion. This is attacking witnesses to the crime. As the video demonstrates, you can certainly get six officers on one guy. They piled on and crushed Kelly to death. Again, this is not compassion, this is Pat McKinley defending the FPD on national television. Need more?
"I've had my eyes bloused a few times myself... facial injuries are not life threatening."
This is not compassion. This is Pat McKinley minimizing the injuries that Kelly Thomas received. He's making a foray into medicine and is not acting appropriately for a councilman. No eye blousing every received by Pat McKinley should EVER be compared to Kelly Thomas's injuries. Need more?
"I can guarantee neither of these officers intended for Kelly Thomas to die. They had no intention of murdering him."
THIS IS NOT COMPASSION. This is Pat McKinley, again, sticking his nose where it doesn't belong. He has no idea what the officers' intent was. Here he is AGAIN advocating for the FPD and not advocating for a citizen of Fullerton, a victim of the FPD. Still need more?
"This should be an interesting trial and Mr Barnett is an extremely competent lawyer, and he has said that he has other information."
This is not compassion. This is Pat McKinley alluding to evidence held by the defense that may exonerate the officers. He has no business stating this, true or untrue. He's supposed to be advocating for citizens, for Fullerton, and for victims of crime inside the city limits. Making a statement about how good the defense attorney is and how interesting he's going to make the trial is not compassion. If it is, it's only for the FPD.
---
Theme: Police Discipline:
"I probably hired them all."
Yup. You probably trained them, too. Not exactly who I want ensuring my rights aren't violated.
"We changed the entire culture of the department."
I have no doubt you did.
"We put Rincon on administrative leave, immediately."
Really? This is a lie. Pat McKinley left Rincon on the job after receiving multiple complaints. He assaulted many many women. What did Pat McKinley do about it? He left him on the street, retired, then blamed the incoming police chief. View it yourself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mg3uCUnivlU&feature=youtu.be
---
I have no idea why the person writing this article wrote what they did. What I can tell you is that we're not all on the same page. The quotes presented by the author, at best, occurred weeks and months after Kelly was killed. What the author should be presenting is what the council members said before the press got a hold of the case. That's the justification for the recall.
I guess this really sums up the reporter's journalistic ability: "As one speaker in council chambers put it, 'The world is watching this meeting.' I'm not so sure about the world."
The speaker was Ron Thomas. The world is most definitely watching. 10 million views and counting.
YES ON RECALL.

Well said Matt!  

Sticking our head in the sands of Fullerton have left us with over $1-BILLION of debt, no less than a dozen law suits, several former police employees incarcerated or on trial, accounting gimmicks and misappropriation of public funds, illegal taxes, and a blood on our streets.  \

The only cure for Fullerton's failed leadership is to replace the council with competent and caring leaders who will not look the other way while Rome is burning.

CAUSE: head in sand, EFFECT: (see images below)


A DUI crash mock-up. Unlike many
other Fullerton images, no one died
or was injured in this picture.



Tuesday, May 22, 2012

City Destroys Property Rights - What's Your City Doing?


A message from Mr. Michael Pallamary, PLS:

As many of you know, I have been battling with the City of San Diego for some time over their wanton and careless destruction of valuable survey monuments. They have essentially destroyed the cadastral network in many neighborhoods. From a surveyor’s perspective, it is quite devastating and from a home owner’s perspective, very, very costly. In many instances, property owners were required to pay a surveyor to set monuments in connection with a map filing. The city has now come in and destroyed these very same monuments. Now, the cost to replace or reset them is running into thousands and thousands of dollars.

In the Hillside Drive area discussed in this news story, I have inspected a large number of streets and maps. What has been happening is, other surveyors have come along and for one reason or another, they have opted to use other, secondary or tertiary control monuments instead of recovering the primary control monuments because they have been paved over or destroyed. I now have two disputes in this neighborhood and one is now in litigation and the other is very close, all because of confusion regarding the location of control monuments. Needless to say, it is going to get worse and expensive. I am doing the best I can to bring this problem to light. Mike Turko and I spent an hour and a half together and he has been working on this story for a week. He is going to do a follow up as he is just as upset as I am.

I am hoping other surveyors and property owners will join me in expressing their concerns about this problem. Turko and I talked about the monument preservation fund. I told him that for every one monument that is preserved using the fund, the city destroys another 100. He is going to do another story. This is a shame and under the law, it is also a crime and the city knows it. I have contacted the mayor’s office and the city attorney but they have no interest and are doing nothing. “San Diego - America’s finest city.”

Michael J. Pallamary, PLS
Principal, Pallamary and Associates
7755 Fay Avenue, Suite J
La Jolla, CA 92037
(O) 858-454-4094,
(F) 858-454-4667

Monday, May 21, 2012

Water Rate Study Ad Hoc Committee Meeting Canceled

The Water Rate Study Ad Hoc Committee meeting has been canceled with no reason given.

The meeting was scheduled for this Wednesday but City manager Joe Felz canceled the meeting.  No reason was given.

The meeting would have been held to review the City Manager's list of "costs" associated with operating the City's Water Department and determine how much should be billed to the Water Fund.

Meanwhile, Fullerton Water Department customers are still being overcharged 10% on their water bills.  

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...