Political talk radio hosts John and Ken announced that they will be coming to Fullerton on Thursday to counter the demonstration for higher taxes put on by the Fullerton teachers’ unions.
Apparently they were egged on by the receipt of a flyer listing five hundred and eighty five Fullerton teachers and administrators who make a lot of money.
DT HB has even more bars than DT Fullerton, apparently, and that’s saying something. Looks like some citizens are finally fed up with the trouble and the reputation all the bars bring to town. The City has no idea how to fix the mess they’ve made.
Here in Fullerton we have the answer to the problem: declare victory, legitimize the troublemakers and subsidize their fire sprinkler infrastructure. Why? ‘Cause this is the New West, dagnabit, ‘n we’re open fer bidness!
On the eve of my departure for Sacramento to the repuglican convention, I was just about to enter Steamer’s to visit with city councilwoman Sharon Quirk-Silva at her annual St. Patty’s day party and listen to my Friend OJ blogger and entertainer extraordinaire Vern Nelson play the piano (and trust me Vern is quite the entertainer) and who did I see? None other than Fullerton’s biggest sissy – city councilman (by 91 votes) Pat McPension.
At first I thought about going up to him to ask how the Hell he had the nerve to show up at Quirk’s party. After all, this is the same puppet that followed his repuglican string pullers and stuck a proverbial knife in Quirk-Silva’s back on that old Mayor pro-tem stuff. Remember? But then I thought: it’s not that big a deal – he’s probably use to sticking knives in people’s backs.
The Orange County Register is reporting that the Food Truck Jamboree is coming to the Hyatt Regency Irvine January 27th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Imagine if Downtown Fullerton had something like this but on a weekend. Maybe add some music and activities for the kids.
Unfortunately, many communities do not support food trucks because they compete against brick and mortar restaurants and generally have lower operating overhead. Local government doesn’t like food trucks for a few reasons. Their tax structure is such that they pay their sales tax within the city/county which they’re based and not where the tax was collected. Some cities have began regulating food trucks in an effort to capture tax revenue and level the playing field for local businesses. The fact that the trucks can drive into a city, sell food for an hour or two, then drive out of the city has caused code enforcement officers to take notice and issue citations for not having a city business permit.
Sadly, redevelopment agencies give cheap taxpayer funded loans to new businesses to come into town and compete against long existing and well established businesses, many of which are already struggling under the weight of employee benefits, higher taxes, and a depressed economy.
So, as one arm of a community attempts to level the field, another arm, the redevelopment agencies, cuts deep ruts and pits for the losers while building up a taxpayer funded framework for their chosen winners.
I support food truck operators in their endeavor of the American Dream and prosperity. I don’t see the trucks as a threat to local business so long as everyone adheres to the often cumbersome regulations governing businesses and food safety.
Food trucks may not always be the healthy choice when it comes to food consumption but they will certainly help to spur some healthy competition.
Have you noticed the ever present searchlight in the sky above downtown each night? Could you possibly miss it? Anyone curious enough to follow this beacon to its source will find it right outside of Joe’s restaurant in Soco:
Say, do you think Joe’s has some kind of permit for that thing? If they do, I’ll bet they didn’t tell anyone they were going to park it in the middle of a sidewalk, blocking access for everyone, including people in wheelchairs. I’m guessing they probably aren’t supposed to have it set up in front of a handicapped parking space either. And I’m pretty sure they aren’t supposed to cable it to a natural gas meter pipe!
And while you’re there be sure to turn around and wish Rosco’s a Happy New Year!
This corner is where it all got started in Fullerton almost 125 years ago.
Now that Tiger Yang’s safely down the road, the building at the northwest corner of Harbor and Commonwealth is being remodeled, or as is more likely, given Fullerton’s history of downtown Redevelopment and design foilbles, remuddled.
Still, it’s hard to imagine anything worse than the aesthetic horror that’s there now – pure 1970s schlock.
We just received the following notice from Friends for a Livable Fullerton:
The Fullerton Transportation Center “Specific Plan” is an approximately 40 acre project at the southeast corner of Harbor and Commonwealth. Built over the next few decades, it will take up over 6 full city blocks at one of our prime city intersections and will have a huge effect on our historic downtown and on alternative transportation for years to come. Maximum buildout would be about 2 dozen (!) 3- to 9-story buildings:
1,560 multi-family residential units
100,000 square feet of retail
100,000 sf office space
120-room, 120,000 sf hotel
Note the density and scale compared to the surrounding area:
While the plan doesn’t yet have specific building designs, the approval of this Plan and its 2,290 EIR will allow it to proceed.
City Admits Many Unavoidable Impacts
An unusual aspect of this plan is the large number of City–admitted significant environmental impacts the City Council will be called upon to “override” due to the project benefits outweighing the impacts:
Who is Jesse La Tour? I have no idea. But he is the first candidate to throw a bone to Fullerton’s poultry-loving voters.
A cursory search of the new Fullerton city council candidates revealed the blog of La Tour, who is bent on discovering the secrets of the culinary curiosities known as “chicken fingers.”
Nine out of 10. Winner!
On his blog, Jesse journals his journey to five Fullerton eateries, tasting varieties of fried fingers at places like Bill’s Burgers, Stadium Tavern and the Cajun Swamp.
“I love chicken strips. They are delicious,” writes La Tour, who began his quest at Roadside Burgers where he observantly declared that the nuggets probably came in a frozen bag. His suspicions were heightened later when he discovered that the fingers of Bill’s Burgers a few blocks away were almost identical. Both eateries earned a 6 out of 10 on La Tour’s scorecard.
He's not messing around.
So who won? After five plates of simulated poultry appendages, Jesse La Tour finally declares that the best Fullerton fingers can be found at The Pint House in downtown. “These strips are made from scratch, hand-dipped in beer batter and fried to perfection, so they are crisp on the outside and juicy in the middle,” he writes. Sounds tasty.
It is unknown if any other candidates will capitalize on La Tour’s willful abandonment of vegan voters, although some hope other candidates will be as forthcoming as Jesse has been on his carnivorous preferences.
In all seriousness, the lineup for Fullerton’s city council races are nearly complete. Today is the day when FFFF begins combing through the histories of each candidate, distilling fact from fiction and shining light on everything they hoped you would never find out. Despite what you may hear from those who prefer to keep their heads in the sand, this process is not about negativity, personalities or vendettas. This is about the truth, our choices, and ultimately, our future.
The following commentary was sent to us by a friend who is concerned about a questionable Metrolink service expansion from Fullerton to Laguna Niguel.
A fourth track is currently being built at the Fullerton Station, exclusively for Metrolink’s new Orange County service — dubbed Metrolink Service Expansion Program (MSEP) by the folks at OCTA. I believe the concept is flawed from the start, and last I heard it is costing taxpayers at least $417 million.
Anyone up for a ride to Laguna Niguel?
I’ve asked numerous people at Metrolink how OCTA justifies the demand for this service. Nobody has an answer. Since it will run between Fullerton and Laguna Niguel only, it’s totally useless for commuters needing to get to Los Angeles. In my experience riding Metrolink, there are very few passengers riding such short distances in Orange County. If a person can afford $14 for a round-trip ticket Fullerton to Irvine and back, there’s a very good chance they already have a car and won’t bother to ride the train.
Furthermore, this service won’t appeal to bus riders unless OCTA drastically reduces the fares. That won’t happen… they just raised the fares again on July 1st. OCTA’s pipe dream to operate this service “every 30 minutes” makes a stupid idea all the more ludicrous.
There’s an angle to this which will affect the Fullerton Station (and the surrounding area) in a big way. Since the northbound trains terminate at Fullerton, the station area will become a layover terminal (akin to an airport) for people needing to get to Los Angeles. Suppose somebody takes the wrong northbound, thinking it goes to Los Angeles, and finds themselves in Fullerton having to wait HOURS for the next train to Los Angeles. There will be people sleeping on benches, sleeping on the ground, leaving their trash all over the place, etc, etc. The local restaurants will have to deal with freeloaders using their bathrooms. It just won’t be a good situation.
