Friends For Fullerton's Future

January 2, 2009January 4, 2010Dick Jones

OC REGISTER SPIKES BALL TOO SOON ON PENSION ISSUE

On Sunday the OC Register recognized Fullerton Councilman Shawn Nelson’s lone stand to protect the Fullerton taxpayer against a proposed employee pension spike plan that was being discussed behind closed doors last summer. Register Editorialist Steve Greenhut commended Nelson for saving Fullerton from an underfunded pension disaster of the sort that is bankrupting California cities like Vallejo. Click here to read article.

Poor Steve! He spoke too soon! This Tuesday the very council that chose behind closed doors to accede to union demands last summer will now conduct a hearing to approve the proposed pension increase.

The vote should be fairly predictable. Union water bearers Dcmocrats Sharon Quirk and Pam Keller plus quasi-Republican Don Bankhead are safe votes for the increase, which is all that is needed for passage. More entertaining will be the action of Mr. Dick Jones, another iffy Republican who previously supported the proposal, at least until the GOP Central Committee got wind of it. Then he changed his tune. Now that he has been re-elected it will be interesting to see if he will keep the promise made in order to keep the Republican endorsement, or if he will once again flip back to his natural inclination of giveaways to public employees at the taxpayers expense.

The issue is Item #14 & 15 on the meeting agenda. The Council will meet at 6:30 Tuesday night at City Hall. Public participation is strongly encouraged by Friends For Fullerton’s Future.

December 31, 2008January 4, 2010Fullerton City Council

When Opportunity Knocks

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Fullerton Police Capt. Geoff Spalding, 52, a 32 year veteran with the Fullerton Police Department, was hired to become the Police Chief of Beaverton, Oregon, on Monday. The Oregon town has a population of 85,000 and 132 sworn officers. Fullerton has 160 sworn officers for a population of 140,000. In a prepared statement, Beaverton Mayor-elect Denny Doyle indicated it was a difficult decision to select a chief, but (Spalding’s) experience and his history of involvement in his local community will serve Beaverton very well.

Raised in Fullerton, Spalding attended Woodcrest Elementary, Wilshire Junior High, Sunny Hills High, Fullerton Collage and Cal State Fullerton where he earned a degree in criminal justice. He also holds a master’s degree in emergency management from Cal State Long Beach. He and his wife have two sons, ages 18 and 20. He was involved with the Cub Scouts at the Fullerton Kiwanis Club for 8 years and is a volunteer for several other local civic organizations. He was a proponent of a new “gang intervention” program with Fullerton “at risk” youth. Spalding will be trading a salary of $153,000 plus benefits for Beaverton’s salary of $118,836 plus benefits. Because of CalPERS, Spalding will also receive 90% of his final “retirement” salary. The Fullerton City Council recently hired a search firm to the tune of $40,000 to conduct a search to replace retiring Chief Pat McKinley next month.Spalding spent Christmas day, what perhaps could be his last day on the force patrolling Fullerton streets so the younger officers could spend some holiday time with their families. “I would have loved to have become the Chief of my hometown” Spalding said.Oddly, the Fullerton City Council would save tax payers over $1.5 million over the next ten years if it were to happen.

December 31, 2008December 28, 2009Friends Around the World

Friends For Fullerton’s Future Honors Art Pedroza and The Orange Juice Blog

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Friends For Fullerton’s Future would like to thank Art Pedroza and The Orange Juice Blog. The Juice is the No. 1 ranked political blog in Orange County. Art has given us the opportunity on his blog to post important Fullerton issues, thereby giving Friends For Fullerton’s Future additional exposure. Art Pedroza has been a major influence in Fullerton.

The Orange Juice Blog addresses all types of important issues, and not just in Santa Ana, where Art lives. Those who write for his blog are very intelligent and good people. He doesn’t do it for the money (there’s no money in blogging), but to stimulate thoughts and ideas, and to help educate people. Blogging has become an exciting new way to communicate ideas and share views, a vehicle for discussing thoughts and opinions about elected official, their staffs and issues facing our communities.

Thank You, Art Pedroza and The Orange Juice Blog, for the opportunity that you have given to all Fullertonians.

December 21, 2008December 21, 2008About Us

Friends For Fullerton’s Future Celebrates 10,000 Hits for the Year.

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As of today, 10,000 hits for the year.. Thank You!

December 21, 2008April 29, 2009Downtown Fullerton

Fullerton Councilperson Quirk is Developing a Hearing Problem; or a Memory Problem; or a Truth Problem

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At the Fullerton City Council meeting on December 16, 2008, Councilperson Sharon Quirk said she had never had one person complain about the loud noise from Roscoe’s, and didn’t know it was an issue, and if it was so loud she should be able to hear it from her house. Quirk only lives a mile from Roscoe’s, as if anything less were unimportant! She said that right after Mrs. Teti spoke at the public hearing. Mrs. Teti lives next to and works at Richman School with Quirk, she told this blogger that she had spoken to Quirk on several occasions regarding her family’s years-long plight of being awoken between the hours of 10PM and 2AM by loud music and amplified background crowd noise emanating from Roscoe’s.

Now let’s hear from Mrs. Teti’s husband Mr. Ron Teti addressing the City Council on February 19, 2008.

December 19, 2008December 28, 2009About Us

Former Fullerton Councilperson Flory aims for young bicyclists; drives neighborhood into ditch

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Former Fullerton Councilperson Jan Flory (shown above, after three cocktails) filed a formal nuisance complaint on my property near the Brea Dam because my 14 year old son and his friends were riding their bikes on it. Mrs. Flory lives about half a mile from this property. Maybe she was offended because I put a fence around the area where she takes her dog to do its business. Seriously, Flory has never liked my family, and evidently saw an opportunity to cause trouble for me; but really, to take out her spite on kids is pretty low – even for her.

As ringleader of a phony neighborhood group she got a few folks agitated enough to believe they had a case. And for a while she must have thought things were going pretty well – Public Nuisance Inspector Clouseau agreed with Flory.

Fortunately reason and common sense prevailed over vindictiveness when the Planning Commission, acting as the Board of Appeals, unanimously denied Flory’s contention that riding bicycles on my property was a public nuisance. Click here to watch the meeting, scroll forward to 1:53:15.

The sorriest part of this nasty little episode was when Flory insinuated that my 14 year old son and his friends were responsible for a burglary and car theft in her neighborhood after the initial complaint was filed. This insinuation has become part of the record in two public hearings and stands as a permanent reminder of just how sad, bitter and vindictive Jan Flory can be.

Tony Bushala

December 18, 2008December 28, 2009OC Register

Barbara Giasone Wins Wurlitzer Prize

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Here in Fullerton we have long recognized Barbara Giasone’s special brand of journalism. Now it seems, others have caught on, too:

PHILADELPHIA – The Wurlitzer Press Foundation of Nanty Glo, Pennsylvania announced today that Barbara Giasone of the Fullerton (California) News Tribune has won the prestigious annual Wurlitzer Prize, which recognizes achievement in journalistic vacuity.

Herb Dillman of the Foundation was effusive in his praise for Giasone. “Barbara has established a new level of excellence in the regurgitation of city hall press releases. In her admirable career she has always managed to avoid writing anything with the slightest hint of criticism of officialdom; or anything that snacks of criticism of anything, really.” Giasone was generous to share credit with her employer. “My boss is wonderful,” she said. “Most editors demand that their reporters do things like investigate and report what really happened. Mine has never made me sully my principles with that kind of stuff. I’m really a team player at heart and I don’t want anybody in city hall to look bad. And, of course, all that digging and questioning that some reporters do really takes a lot of energy.”

Fullerton spokesperson, Cynthia Smudge was enthusiastic about the award. “I don’t know what we’d do without Barbara,” she said. “She is always so reliable and never asks any embarrassing questions. She’s a real treasure. Worth her weight in gold. We put out a press release and bang, there it is in the paper – just the way we wrote it. It’s great!” The Prize, a valuable coupon book good at unpermitted downtown Fullerton bars and dance halls, will be mailed to Giasone tomorrow.

Geez, we didn’t know there was a Nanty Glo, Pennsylvania.

December 18, 2008March 27, 2012Downtown Fullerton

Fullerton Council denies Roscoe’s appeal

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Under the wise direction of newly elected Fullerton Mayor Don Bankhead, City Attorney Richard Jones instructed the other City Council Members to deny Roscoe’s Famous Deli owner Jack Franklin’s appeal of the Planning Commission’s denial of an application to maintain a bandstand for live and recorded amplified music outside. Councilperson Quirk said “I’ve never had one person come up to me” and complain about the loud music and that it can’t be that loud because she “cant hear it from [her] house” which is about a mile away. However, Mrs. Teti who lives next to Richman School some 3,000 feet away, told this reporter that she had spoken to Quirk on several occasions regarding her family’s years long plight of being awoken between the hours of 10PM and 2AM by loud music and amplified background crowd noise emanating from Roscoe’s.

December 9, 2008March 27, 2012Downtown Fullerton

Roscoe’s “Famous” Deli is Appealing to the Council.

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Will the City Council uphold the noise Ordinance or will they break the rules for a prominent downtown businessman? The Fullerton Planning Commission instructed Roscoe’s to stop playing loud live amplified music outdoors on a patio built without permits. Click here to download a copy of Roscoes City Staff report Click here to watch the Planning Commissions meeting in streaming video, however, scroll to 1:37:25 in the video to get to the beginning of Roscoe’s public hearing. Click here to learn how noise affects the quality of life.

December 3, 2008December 30, 2009Downtown Fullerton

Fullerton Council Dumps Railroad Museum

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ChooChoo

On Dec 2, 2008 the Fullerton City Council voted not to include a first-class museum attraction, the Southern California Railroad Experience, in the Transportation Center Master Plan. Supporters of the attraction, which would be built on two acres of public land, claim that it could attract thousands of visitors into Downtown Fullerton. JMI/The Morgan Development Group is now planning to build more downtown apartments on this public land. The land was taken by eminent domain from longtime Fullerton businessman Harley Hartman. The Railroad Experience would have required a $22 million public subsidy. Councilman Dick Jones and Mayor Don Bankhead wanted to give the Railroad Experience supporters six months to come up with a fundraising plan. However, Councilwomen Sharon Quirk and Pam Keller wanted to put an end to the museum idea once and for all. Councilman Shawn Nelson recused himself due to a possible conflict of interest.