Greg Sebourn: 3/11/12

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Results from Study of 10% Water Tax Released

The City of Fullerton has released the findings of a study that looked at transfers of funds from the Water Fund to the General Fund. In simple terms, this is the City's justification for skimming water revenue and using it for non-water related activities.

The study focused on the last three (3) years because legal counsel identified a three-year window of liability.

Here is the City's internal memo (click image to read):

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The memo notes that over the last three years water ratepayers have overpaid $2.5-million.

If you can accept the premise* of the report then the next logical question is what to do with the over payment. This question will be the focus of the Water Rate Ad Hoc Committee over then next several weeks.

*The bulk of the $5-million that the City would like to retain is being justified as rent for the water system's use of City-owned properties and is payable to the City's General Fund.

This latest study of the franchise fee will be the topic of conversation at Monday's Water Rate Ad Hoc Committee meeting at the Main Branch Library at 6PM.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

MARK YOUR CALENDAR - Water Rate Ad Hoc Meeting March 19 at 6PM

Fullerton's Water Rate Study Ad Hoc Committee will be receiving the Water Fund to General Fund Transfer Study prepared by the same consultant that prepared the initial water rate study in 2011, Municipal & Financial Services Group, Inc.

The public meeting will be held at Fullerton's Main Branch Library and will begin at 6PM. Anyone wishing to speak on water related issues, will be given an opportunity to do so.

This is the same group that reported the "Franchise Charge" as being 11%, or $2.49-million, of the total water sales on their May 23, 2011 presentation.

Contact the City Clerk's Office if you need any special accommodations.

(714) 738-6350 or CityClerk'sOffice@ci.fullerton.ca.us

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Join North OC Activists Seeking Accountability

Please Plan To Join NOCCC This Thursday!

We have a packed schedule with extraordinary speakers and information you won’t want to miss!

Thursday, March 15, 7pm at the Foxfire in Anaheim Hills

"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people; it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government, lest it come to dominate our lives and interests." - Patrick Henry 1736-1799

Do you know how many of our national and state laws and policies are not constitutional? If not, how can we fight back against the attack on our U.S. Constitution? Knowledge is power!

Please join us to meet and hear this special educator and speaker, former Dean of Chapman University School of Law Professor John Eastman. Dr. Eastman is the Director of the Claremont Institute’s Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence and once served as law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Also, Yorba Linda’s recognized speaker Constitutional Law Attorney Karen Lugo, founder of Libertas-West Project, contributing editor for FamilySecurityMatters.org and Co-director for the Claremont Institute’s Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence.

We joined the Tea Party, grassroots conservative movement because of what we felt in our hearts; now we must save our country by using our minds. Woody Woodrum, President Eagle Forum San Diego, Co-founder Salt & Light Council will tell us how we can be successful in taking back our country by using Tactical versus Strategic measures.

You will not believe what California’s majority liberal legislators are up to now! We'll get our legislative update from California Family Council’s Ron Prentice and then hear about Operation Swing State, the California Tea Party’s collaborative effort to get conservative legislators elected.

Bring your high school students! Orange County Youth Associates will be there to tell us about what they are doing to reach out to bring conservative youth into the political arena.

Mark Your Calendars For These Upcoming Events

Saturday, March 24, 2012, 1pm at Placentia City Hall

All are invited to attend a Town Hall Meeting hosted by Congressman Ed Royce on Saturday, March 24 at 1:00 pm at Placentia City Hall, 401 East Chapman Avenue (at Kramer). Free and open to the public. Call 714-744-4130 if you have questions. This will give him an opportunity to meet with us, to address our questions and listen to our concerns and hear our suggestions.

Thursday, April 12, 7pm at the Foxfire in Anaheim Hills

Know your candidates before you vote! All local candidates are invited to be introduced and a forum will be held for some races.

OC Register columnist Brian Calle will be our guest emcee and moderator. Brian is a Senior Fellow at the Claremont Institute, President of the Young Executives of America and editor of FreedomPolitics.com. Stay tuned for more information.

*We will also have important information on Precinct walking for your favorite candidates.

NOCCC's Convenient Meeting Location
Foxfire Restaurant Conference Room
5717 East Santa Ana Canyon Road, Anaheim
91 Freeway @ Imperial Highway

Dessert & Coffee provided. $5 suggested donation to help cover costs.
For more information, please email Desaré at deseric@sbcglobal.net

Why not dine at the Foxfire Restaurant before the meeting?
Separate reservations required through the restaurant.
Please call 714-974-5400 or visit www.foxfirerestaurant.com

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...

Greg Sebourn

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