Tag: Zoot Velasco

Posted onPam Keller

Fullerton Collaborative Collaborates on Stall

by 3 Comments on Fullerton Collaborative Collaborates on Stall
Grrrrr!
Grrrrr!

Yesterday our own tenacious Travis followed up, as promised, with Pam Keller, to find out what the Fullerton Collaborative board had decided about our request to divulge their donors.

Here’s what Travis got back:

Dear Travis,
The Board of the Fullerton Collaborative met today. Your request was included on the agenda. The Board suggested if you are interested in knowing about our financial state you are welcome to look for our 990 forms on http://www2.guidestar.org/. If you would like to know more details about how we are funded, where the funding comes from or how our Collaborative functions Zoot Velasco, Chair of the Board; Barry Ross, Treasurer and I would be glad to sit down with you to go over the information.
Thank you for your interest in the Fullerton Collaborative,
Pam Keller
Executive Director

Well, you didn't think it I was going to make it easy, did you?
Well, you didn't think it I was going to make it easy, did you?

Hmm. We didn’t get what we wanted, but rather we got a brush off – sort of. While we have nothing against sitting down with these good people, it hardly seems necessary. We don’t need face time with them. They are either going to cooperate or not.
The invitation that we view the Form 990 is really pretty disingenuous: Ms. Keller knows very well that we have already looked at their 2007 version of this document on line – which caused us to start asking our questions in the first place. We posted about it here .
This whole thing is really starting to smell like a stall to us – we’ve been put off for over a month already. Oh well! The truth will out, as they say.
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Posted onDick Jones

Bleeding Hearts Line Up for Redevelopment Cash

by 11 Comments on Bleeding Hearts Line Up for Redevelopment Cash

bleedh

Apparently, the Redevelopment staff got the word out to those already receiving City funds to get behind this redevelopment expansion if you want to score brownie points and maybe a little more dinero.

Speakers at Tuesday’s hearing in favor of the expansion included Jim Ranii of the Museum Board. Of course, the Museum is not blighted (is it, Jim?) and is not eligible for any funding by expanding the RDA. Muckenthaler Director Zoot Velasco talked of the “hidden blight” in Southwest Fullerton. Let’s hope its not so well hidden when it’s challenged in court. And, Zoot, the Muck cannot receive any future loot, so why allow yourself to be used by RDA staff? Then the folks from OCCLA who want grafitti removal (714-738-3108) and code enforcement (they don’t need redevelopment for either), and the Chamber of Commerce director Terresa Harvey, begging for hand outs for her fellow board members like Scott Dowds (who also spoke in favor). And lastly let’s not forget old Louis Kuntz Sr., who supported the expansion as well. Not surprising, since his son Louis Jr. and the Morgan Company who already got an $18 million public gift (including the gift of a public street–100 block East Whiting) from the Agency for his downtown apartment complex…. maybe there are some more profitable projects looming for him in the expanded area.

Now you know what happened to E. Whiting Ave.
Now you know what happened to E. Whiting Ave.

Of course, their pleas had nothing to do with blight. In order to legally declare an area “redevelopment” the area must be blighted.

The process limps forward towards a legal battle, with Shawn Nelson and Sharon Quirk in opposition. At least Nelson and Quirk respect the law that they have sworn to uphold. Stay tuned.

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