Man goes for gun at airport

SHERIFF-CORONER DEPARTMENT

COUNTY OF ORANGE

PRESS RELEASE

07-08-11

On Friday, July 08, 2011, at approximately 2:45 p.m. a male subject who was present within the gate areas of John Wayne Airport, attempted to remove a handgun from a Deputy’s holster. The Deputy managed to take control of the subject who was subsequently taken into-custody. No shots were fired. No injuries were sustained. The subject is currently being questioned.

Authorities believe this is an isolated incident.

The Fullerton Observer - Sins of Omission

With the Fullerton City Council scheduled to discuss and vote on the proposed West Coyote Hills development by Pacific Coast Homes, the Fullerton Observer is working overtime to derail the multi-million dollar development.

The Early July issue of the Observer has several stories of woe from authors, some named and some anonymous.

One such story by an anonymous author, “Public Park or Housing Development?”, pushes the notion that the OCTA was poised to purchase the 510 acre site for use as a park.  That is not entirely accurate and here is why.

OCTA never had enough money to purchase the property.  OCTA offered Chevron, the property owner, $27-million for the property estimated to be worth more than $250-million.

In a letter to OCTA dated March 22, 2010, Pacific Coast Homes project manager Jim Pugliese explained as much.

Pugliese goes on to further explain that they intend to open the property to the public, nearly 250 acres, as well as the liability of simply turning over an oil field without indemnification.

The Observer has chosen to omit these important details in an effort to thwart any development of the property.  Unfortunately, their readers may take as whole truths the misleading spin from the liberal paper without doing their own independent research.

Another misgiving is that North OC needs another park.  There are more than 120 parks north of the 91FWY which municipalities are struggling to maintain with deeply cut budgets.  Another park, as nice as it may sound, places a tremendous burden on already strained budgets.  Without a large endowment, like the one proposed by Pacific Coast Homes, we just cannot afford to operate or maintain another park.

The City Council will take up the issue July 12^th, 6:30PM at City Hall.

Open Coyote Hills group speaks with Fullerton Chamber of Commerce

The Fullerton Chamber of Commerce's Theresa Harvey and Open Coyote Hills' Jack Dean and Robert Hayden discuss the West Coyote Hills development by Pacific Coast Homes. 

This is great information for those seeking to understand both sides of the the issue: to build or to not build.

Click on THIS LINK to listen.

West Coyote Hills

July 12th is nearly upon us and with it the public hearing and “final decision” regarding the development West Coyote Hills property.  Please keep mark your calendar!

As many of you know, I support the development of West Coyote Hills – but not for the reasons you might expect.   

First, whatever toxins may exist on the site will never get cleaned up unless Chevron is compelled to do it.  How do you compel the wealthiest corporation in the U.S. to do anything?  Give them incentives.  In this case, allow them to build and, while they are at it, they can clean it up. 

Second, the area has been permanently scarred by grading operations for oil and gas extraction (see image below).  It would be far too costly for the City or even a private conservancy to attempt to restore the lands to an artificially created “natural” landscape and clean up the site.

Third, and perhaps most pressing for many, the property is closed to the public.  If you have been on the property, you were either escorted by a Chevron representative or you trespassed.  I would like very much to see more of it with out breaking the law or having an escort give me a guided tour.  I would like to see the various wild life and walk the trails with my family.  Unfortunately, until the land is open to the public, I can only dream.

Fourth, as many of you know, "sustainable" is a word over used in all the wrong places.  Coyote Hills represents an opportunity to have a truly sustainable open space.  As our city struggles to maintain our existing parks, we must question how we would pay to maintain a new park, especially one as large as the West Coyote Hills property.  Pacific Coast Homes has already promised a sizable endowment to maintain the new open space created by their development.  This is a first for Fullerton - sustainable open space - what a concept!

Furthermore, the opposition to the development asserts that Fullerton and the surrounding community is lacking parks.  The reality is that there are already more than 120 public parks north of the 91 Freeway which we can’t afford to maintain and the proposed development will finally create sustainable open space and public parks. 

For these reasons and more I gave my support to the development of WCH by adding my name to the Open Coyote Hills! Coalition.   

There are many other reasons to support the development of WCH, such as the new vistas, homes, and businesses.

Please join me by attending the public hearing at 6:30PM on Tuesday July 12th at City Hall.  Tell the Fullerton City Council that you support the development.  There is no petition to sign, no one to write; just show up to the meeting and say a few words supporting the development.

Here are a few links regarding the development:
http://westcoyotehills.com/
http://www.opencoyotehills.com/
http://www.opencoyotehills.com/?page_id=28
http://gregsebourn.blogspot.com/2011/04/observers-love-affair-with-chevron-love.html
http://gregsebourn.blogspot.com/2011/03/chevron-guilty-of-blackmail.html
http://gregsebourn.blogspot.com/2011/01/fullerton-observer-lost-in-twilight.html
http://gregsebourn.blogspot.com/2010/11/fullerton-observer-fear-mongering-news.html
http://gregsebourn.blogspot.com/2011/05/more-open-space-added-to-north-oc.html

State Controller Releases Salary and Pension Data

SACRAMENTO – State Controller John Chiang today updated his website showing the salary, pension benefits and other compensation for 256,222 State of California employees as well as 123,406 California State University (CSU) employees.
Last October, the Controller collected and posted wage information for more than 600,000 city and county employees. He also added 2,379 special districts’ payroll earlier this year.

The Government Compensation in California website covers elected officials as well as public employees. It includes the following information for each position:


• Minimum and maximum salary ranges;
• Actual wages paid;
• The applicable retirement formula;
• Any contributions by the employer to the employee’s share of pension costs;
• Any contributions by the employer to the employee’s deferred compensation plan; and
• Any employer payments for the employee’s health, vision and dental premium benefits.


In addition, the website shows employees who hold multiple positions within either State government or the CSU system. 
The Controller continues to update the site weekly with new information from local government agencies. A list of agencies that failed to file their payroll records with the State can also be found on this website.  Each non-complying agency could face a penalty of $5,000.

Happy Independence Day!