Fullerton Observer Up To Old Tricks
Those Fullertonions who know about the Fullerton Observer are well aware of the bad habit of this operation of passing along editorial content as news.
Here’s an example.
An “article” running under the heading: Union Pacific Trail advocates hold peaceful demonstration asking to use the $1.78 million grant for its intended purpose.
Reading this headline you might suppose that somebody had been shot by the cops, and that violent protest could have broken out at any moment, and kudos to the protestors. But no. This drama was about not wasting a couple million bucks for a useless Trail to Nowhere that runs through one of the most dangerous parts of Fullerton. Were those octogenarians and 13th graders likely to break out in a rage-induced riot?
The editorial under the headline, written by one S. Kennedy, followed suit. Readers were not informed why the trail might have been considered a poor idea, for that would have been real journalism. Instead we learn the identities of a few of the those who spoke against giving the dough back to the state. We are told that nobody spoke against the Trail to Nowhere, a stupendous mislead since there was no agenda item to discuss it and the only people there had been orchestrated to yak about they knew not what during open mike public comments.
Readers were helpfully informed that there going to be another protest at today’s council meeting just in case some of the eager didn’t get Ahmad Zahra’s memo.
What the author of this piece didn’t tell you was that she was one of the cheerleaders of this event; that speaker Egleth Nunccio is a part of a conspiracy to ignore the City Council majority’s previous direction; that speaker Diane Vera is an Observer scribbler.
Of course the authoress, Saskia Kennedy, got up and spoke her ignorant piece. (She did so again today, above -10/3/23 – and then plopped down in the audience to smugly encourage the “outraged” protesters she helped stir up). In other words the Observer, which calls itself a newspaper, is actually helping create the crap it is “reporting” on – and not telling anybody.
Comments were varied, some calling out the obvious Astroturf protest. One happy soul named Angela offered: “Civics in action. Love to see it!” Except, Angela, this was a lot less about civics and a lot more about a petty political game by Zahra to embarrass his opponents. The Trail to Nowhere isn’t coming back, the public at large doesn’t care, and Zahra knows this.
As I started this essay (see I know the difference between opinion and news) I pointed out that none of this should really come as a surprise to those who have been around a while. And as the Observer passes from one generation of ignorant, self-righteous Kennedy to the next, it would be foolish to expect otherwise.
FFFFers shouldn’t give hanger on Adrian Meza, a Parks and Recs commissioner, a pass.
He wasn’t mentioned in the article, but his appearances indicate one of the ringleaders. Probably a Zahra stooge with political ambition.
This isn’t the first time The Observer helped create the news they report on.
Remember when Stupid Sharon got involved to help Kim Barlow sue FFFF, Joshua and Dave? Sharon’s so-called forensic expert was a complete ass clown!
With the help of The Observer, the City lost $1 million dollars suing the blog.
I do remember that! I think I’ll republish the FFFF post on that. Thanks for the memories.
The less said about the Observer the better. No one has ever taken it seriously.
The daughter published her mother’s illiterate screed. Nuf’ said.
Since it’s inception, no one has ever taken the Fullerton Observer seriously. It is widely known as the underlayment for the cat box; he paper you grab to make arts and crafts paper mache things like pinatas; the stuff you lay down so you don’t get paint on your nice table; etc.
I used to put my copy under the bird cage until Jake (a parrot) objected.
“They get dumber, more illiterate and more untruthful every year,” he said.
“Put in under the cat’s litter box,” he demanded.
The woman in the box photo speaks English. She speaks English until she needs to extend her time by speaking Spanish.
Shocking!!
Everyone ought to get 3 minutes. Period.
The recreational trails in North Fullerton are dirt trails. They are classic examples of adaptive reuse. The RR right-of-way that was abandoned once belonged to the Pacific Electric RR company. There are no lights, no meandering sidewalks, no DG paths, and no horse coral railing. People started walking the trail and it happened to intersect the Juanita Cook trail. The Juantia Cook trail was a remnant piece of land that was a ravine left behind by the developer who developed the track of houses that sits on both sides of Juanita Cook trail. Over the past 50 years the people who live in N. Fullerton, as well as mountain bikers created the trails organically. Mountain bikers come from all over O.C. to ride the 11 mile Loop. My point is the Union Pacific R.R. pulled their tracks out of the ground in 1997. They abandoned a 55′ wide swatch of land adjacent to a bunch of old industrial properties. It’s .8 miles long. I have never seen a mountain biker on the UP trail from Highland to Independence Park. Yes, it IS a trail. It doesn’t go anywhere other than Independence Park. So why would anyone use it? THEY WOULDN’T! The existing UP trail has a 25 foot wide path of flat dirt right down the middle of the trail. In fact it IS a trail!
If government funding the concrete, D.G. horse fencing, and lights (it’s closed at night) is so important to make it a trail for the “protesters” acting like they’re gonna die if they don’t have a government funded trail, I’d say they have no business spending other peoples money. And that is exactly what a Grant is. It’s tax dollars our intelligent city leaders must spend wisely. Thank you Mayor Jung, Mayor Pro Tem Whitaker, and Councilman Dunlap. Shame on Zahra and Charles.
Too bad you can’t speak logic to the well-intentioned boohoos. They thrive on the gesture and cost. The higher the better. See, it shows how much you care.
And when “underserved communities” are involved any kind of reason goes out the window. The older ones (like Ralphie Kennedy) openly admitted that the waste was okay so long as the gesture fit the right criteria of helping the oppressed. It didn’t make a dime’s worth of difference if it was a complete boondoggle. Nowadays they accept the conclusion without even knowing how they got there.
“I have never seen a mountain biker on the UP trail from Highland to Independence Park.”
Dirt trails are great. But so are paved trails. Horses for courses.
Mountain biking, hiking, trail running is served pretty well in Fullerton. But support for road bikes is pretty awful.
I’d like more and safer, dedicated bike lanes routes. The new trail would have been one point on the board. Instead they gave up 1.78M for fuck all.
“So why would anyone use it?”
Someone going between those two points or whose route includes those two points.
I used to ride my bike all over Fullerton as a kid. I knew where all the trails and shortcuts were. This would have been a nice one for some set of residents.
“I’d say they have no business spending other peoples money. And that is exactly what a Grant is.”
Nonsense. The process is you make a proposal and the grant is awarded or not. It was awarded. We jumped through the hoops.
From the perspective of our city it was use it or lose it. In this regard, other cities are an externality, irrelevant in rational decision making. That’s the system. It’s a competition, we won, and council snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
Johnny Windbags is a know it all. Your arguments are weaker because you are a dogmatist. Or you’re just a crybaby.
My argument is fine, and and as good as you’re going to get on a comment board. Am I supposed to produce estimates and data of how many people would use the hypothetical trail? Based on what? You’d dismiss it out of hand anyway. Why bother even if I had that kind of info at hand… and I don’t. And neither do you so we’re all “dogmatists” here.
Let’s play a game. See how many times we can get Get a Life Johnny to visit the blog and comment. He is such a cry baby and has to have his dumb thoughts heard. My guess is 50 times.
Bo-ring.
“I used to ride my bike all over Fullerton as a kid. I knew where all the trails and shortcuts were. This would have been a nice one for some set of residents.”
Name them. Where do they live? Why would they go there? “Some” imaginary people are behind this, used as a stalking horse for Zahra’s vanity project, his pork gift to the barrio to show how he delivers for La Communidad.
And for God’s sake, for whom would it be a short cut.
“The new trail would have been one point on the board. Instead they gave up 1.78M for fuck all.”
One point on the board? What is that claptrap even supposed to mean? Unless you’re agreeing that the Trail to Nowhere is just a point, like in geometry. An imaginary point. 1.78 + plus the City’s money, and maintenance in perpetuity for a point on the board.
Speaking of points, you have made Jung/Dulap/Whitaker’s point. The new trail would have been one point on the board. Instead they gave up 1.78M for fuck all.
So “they” got one. Only one problem, I mean BIG problem, nobody from the “Community” visited the Park, except for the hypes, bums, and prostitutes. So the Community wanted it fenced off, and the City fenced it off. Total loss of several millions of dollars. It was funded by Grants, City’s General Fund, and the Fullerton Redevelopment Agency.
Put this one in your pipe, J.R., an existing Multi purpose Bike route, again, I repeat existing, goes down Walnut Ave., adjacent to the Fullerton Transportation Center, to Richman, then West to Valencia, to Euclid. Geeze Louise. Guess what? It’s seldom used, but its really there. What IS all this nonsensical fuss REALLY about?
It’s there and not used? Gee, could it be because the area is unsafe and unattractive? Could it be that nobody wants to go from the Transportation Center’s south side to…ANYWHERE?
And how come those barrio moms aren’t out there on Walnut riding their bikes with kids it tow, enjoying the healthy fresh air and shedding the calories? Come to think of it how come they aren’t recreating on the ever-so successful Phase I they all keep bragging about.
Well, hell, let’s no let earlier failures get in the way of the Future Fiasco Express. This failure would have been a total accountability orphan, too, just like the Poison Park has been.
Saskia Kennedy
October 3, 2023 at 4:24 pm
“That is correct Ronald. We want to make sure people are reminded that there is a City Council meeting tonight and a community effort to change at least one mind of the Council Majority that voted to use the Union Pacific Trail grant for something else. Of course we do not know the something else they want to use the money for.”
Why just report news when you can make it AND report it?
She got up last night and blatantly lied about “Phase III” that she just pulled out of her ass. Like mother like daughter.
I wonder what she thinks she’s getting out of this sad bit of performance art.
Her famous line last night “I believe” this and “I believe” that.
Do you know for a FACT? or going by what you been told to say?
SAD!
The Kennedy females have all been kooks.
I met grammy once. She was a just a little bit of a nut.
Most people use The Observer to wipe ass or kindle fires on camping trips.