entire town Busted for Yard-Sign abusement

The Judge declared the entire town "GUILTY!"
of election-time Campaign Yard Sign Abusement.
The Judge - clearly not amused.
It was precedent setting.
The charming, sleepy seaside village was the
first known city-wide civil-case brought against
abusers of a candidate's good name, in ink, stuck
in the ground for everyone to read. Libelous affronts.
Rampant and pervasive proliferated across the
village faster'n hot ashes during a Santa Ana.
How very nasty the sleepy town's pre-election
yard sign-habit / circus, had festered into.
According to eyewitness reports: sign-abusement
by folks both private...and surprisingly, some
Public Official'doms?, vaulted from childish
pranksterism, into full blown angry campaign
signage buffoonery.
Finally - 1 fed-up 'good' public official, wanting
to stem the evil tide of sign-slanderousness,
so lasciviously libelous in content, the 'good'
official yanked a particularly offensive cardboard
character assassinator from its improper rooting
i.e. placed illegally, and was promptly busted.
Busted for doing, "the right-thing."
This happens when strident subversives are
allowed to spew unchecked. Subverting good-laws
in their warped march towards righteous misbehavior.
Twisting truth to lies in the service of bad-natured
self interests. And innocent folks get battered.
On the Plus-side: had the arrest of the town's 'good'
public servant not happened, there'd been no public
Hearing, where it was revealed (on TV), certain
elected officials were witnessed running amuck
in trucks, committing all kind'a campaign-sign
skullduggery for who knows how many election
cycles (the sleepy seaside village's dirty little
secret...until now?).
So - dear tourist, should you visit that quaint and
charming, sleepy little seaside village, and notice
what looks to be upstanding citizens down on
hands and knees scrubbing curbs, sidewalks,
clearing debris (wearing bright orange safety
vests), stop and say "Hello!"
It may be a city councilperson. Or a local land
developer. Who knows who you'll meet.
Apparently the whole town was in on the fun.
Well, maybe not everyone.

LTE - LATimes - The Region - Nov. 17 08

Susannah Rosenblatt's "behind OC's toll road issues"
was accurate if not wholly formed. How could it be?
TCA's (OC's toll road purveyor) have a 25-year head
start on spinning-out TCA's toll road illusion / yarns.
Their big electric road signs warn us: take a toll road,
or our lives won't last as long. What TCA never reports:
they're broke (no question). Upside-down. Like housing
and our economy - BROKE.

Difference is: TCA ain't ever gonna recover.

Their "Star" toll road, the 73 thru Laguna, never has been
right-side-up, since day-1. Now TCA's 241, the supposed
healthy one is worse off than Laguna's 73. How you say,
"in the tank?" Yet, TCA is adding lanes (???) to both the
73 and the 241 (as toll traffic plummets), while hobbling
freeway and arterial improvements via Non-Compete
agreements. That TCA would pave thru a state park for
no good traffic reason, in a direction I-5 traffic doesn't want
to go, at $15 one-way - predicted by OCTA MIS-07 Study:
the least traveled pavement in South County by 2030,
makes TCA scream, "Fixing I-5 thru San Clemente takes
100's of homes!" What they don't report: OCTA (grand pooh
bah of OC transportation) recommends adding the
necessary lanes to I-5 thru SC utilizing "Context Sensitive
Engineering" aka no "Takings," erasing TCA's bogus 241
extension entirely.

Sad fact: majority of OC-electeds pray daily at TCA's alter
of "failed" toll roads, at our expense: the majority of OC
commuters who never drive toll roads; makes one wonder -
who is steering OC?

We all know the direction. The question is, why go there?
And or, when is 25-years of a failed transportation model,
enough? In 2008? 2009?, or 2030?

public-litter versus the common-good

This is the sign Brenda Miller removed (thank you Brenda) from
public property, where it was illegally placed.

Who would not call this slanderous material?
Placed illegally on public property, who would not call this the
worst kind of personal-attack-graffiti.

Post election: Mr. Baker was elected by over 8,000 SC voters
and Mr. Mann received over 7,000 SC votes of endorsements
placing him 4th in a field of 9.

2 percentage points from victory and 12 percentage points
ahead of 5th place.

Clearly, between 1st and 4th-place, in this council election,
it was neck and neck to the finish.
2%, the difference 1st to 4th.

It is my firm belief, Brenda did exactly what needed to be
done (by any thinking SC official) - removing this sign from
our pre-election public landscape.

For the Record, she did it in broad daylight, 1-block from
SC's Sheriff's office. Then turned the trash-talking signage
into SC's City-yard, receiving a receipt for same.

City-yard on Pico is where campaigners go to retrieve lost,
stolen, or in any way salvaged campaign signage.

In my humble opinion: anyone approving of this sign's
blasphemous character assassination message is as
confused and misguided as whoever funded its production.

Elections get heated.

08, on every level - was particularly heated. But it's over.

The economy remains terrible for everyone and getting worse.
Open Spacer's battle developers and visa versa.
Tempers are understandably on edge.

Regardless, our common sense goal must always be,
in dire times, and in good times, keep your wits about you
when others are losing there's. Don't stoop to base instincts.
It solves nothing.

This sign is blatantly slanderous.
Who in their right mind does this?
Anger, and paranoia, its only message.

Unwarranted character assignation on two of SC's selfless
valued public servants is both pathological and dangerous.

That Brenda would be sited for removing it from its place of
obvious illegal placement - reprimanded for doing it - ticketed
for doing it - publicly humiliated for doing "the right thing," is
wrong in every way imaginable in an orderly society.

Aren't we all encouraged to remove litter from our public landscape?

For those who know and work with Brenda: her neighbors,
friends and colleagues, Brenda only ever fights the good fight.
Conscientious to a fault, and law abiding. The Law is her
avocation and occupation. Brenda is a treasured value to
this city, both privately and publicly.

So - rather than being publicly harangued for "doing the
right thing" for all of us, Brenda needs an apology for the
unfair treatment she's been subjected to. Immediately.

Take a long hard look at the sign.
Study it.
Now imagine your name, or the name of your favored
candidate emblazoned in quotes across it.

Try and imagine how you'd feel reading it, if your most
valued-candidate - whoever that is, was labeled "Hypocrite."
How would you feel?

You know how you'd feel - Violated.

Now imagine, finding this slanderous signage placed
illegally on public property - not private property.

A twofer: Violated and Illegal.

City Sign Rule 1a: never plant yard-signs on public property.

If it was 'your' candidate being slandered, most likely you'd
thank whoever removed it.

One might assume, local law enforcement and or code
enforcement officers would have the same good sense to
remove it. That didn't happened.
It was allowed to stay, and slander.

If this brand of dangerous personal public slander, against
anyone - your candidate, you, or any candidate, in any election,
is allowed to fester, it will proliferate and spread.

Without strict civic oversight, local elections will spiral down
into nothing more than base hooliganism in the name of free
speech. Are we there now? This signs says yes.

That's not America. And it's not San Clemente.

Brenda Miller is not who's at fault here.

Let's hope SC's current leadership recognizes freedom
of speech is not freedom to slander. Otherwise the noun
"Hypocrite" will soon enough define us all.

The election is over. Times ahead are challenging beyond
compare without the negative efforts of an overambitious
mischievous few who apparently know no bounds in
employing antisocial tactics.

We suffer these fools equally.

Brenda Miller did the right thing, and is chastised for it,
while someone else does 'wrong' intentionally, for effect,
and there's no penalty? Hmm.

Question: what's lettered in Gold, in Council Chambers,
above our San Clemente Seal - "Who Do We Trust" - in?

Will we act accordingly?

One can hope.

ladling soup to power, on SC pier

None of us need be reminded, the plus and minuses
of good political-power versus political-abuse.

Etched across our crowded landscape, daily reminders:
good planning versus "what were they thinking?"

We live in the future tense, too often hobbled by bad
planning from before. The results of self-interest
trumping the public-good.

On San Clemente Pier this past Sunday (Oct-5-08),
at SC's annual Chowderfest cook-off, the 5-Time
Individual-Best-on-Pier winningest chowder recipe
Won Again!

Ladled out by S.C.A.T. - SC'ians Against Toll-Roads.

S.C.A.T.'s message: a toll road thru SC is bad-soup
for SC - for the environment - and won't help traffic
a lick. Still TCA keeps its foul toll-stew boiling away
no matter toll road rider-ship's a thing of the past:
gas too high - no more Wall St. backstop - no more
local development fees pouring into TCA's tolling
house of mirrors. OC Toll roads are out of gas.
Their last-ditch ponzi hope: pave to San Onofre.
Scam a couple more Billion in construction-bucks.
Bulldoze hemorrhaging Bond-debt down the road
to the year 3000. Do the math. Who reading this
today will be here to protest?

S.C.A.T. says "STOP." Stop Now.
Bad road-recipe. Dump it.
Can't afford toll.
Tastes really yucky.

One visiting Boston lady (on her 3rd helping)
ran up to S.C.A.T's table exclaiming, "No Competition!
You're the Best Chowder Out Here. I Need More!"

So, Congratulations S.C.A.T. Your winning recipe for
San Onofre and San Clemente remains miles ahead
of the competition and will never leave a bad aftertaste
to our kid's future.

S.C.A.T wins #6
Toll Road - 0

(you are what you eat)

jer

Toll Road to Nowhere, we agree

Thanks to the LATimes for the editorial headline
I've been waiting to read for 10-years,

"Toll Road to Nowhere" - Oct 8, 08.

The follow-up headline should ink:
"A Toll Road Agency to nowhere good."

OC's TCA/Transportation Corridor Agency aka
toll road purveyors, have met their larcenous match -
the economy and high fuel costs, causing TCA's
price-managed toll-traffic to vaporize, as panicky
Supervisors cut toll fares on the 91's vacant toll
lanes now that TCA's once lucrative development
fee stream, fed from OC home-building has gone
bone dry. TCA's mythical traffic-relief via toll roads
is hot on the heels of Wall St's dive into the abyss.

OC's Private Investor Highway model only ever
worked on Wall St spread-sheets, causing OC and
Riv-County commuters to stall-out on decades long
politico-mischief & mass transit prejudices - their
only commute choice: private-interest, quick-buck
car-commuting to lands further and further out with
no way home today, except on overtaxed freeways
at $60 to $100 a tank fill-ups.

Result: TCA's 51-mile toll-folly basks empty in So-Cal's
sunniest clime thanks to 30-years of shortsighted
development greed and political-gaming, driving
us nowhere fast, with no train in sight.

So, throw the bums out?

OC's harsh transportation reality leaves little choice,
because "They" - OC's brain trust (gone-bust) believe
everything's just fine. Going according to plan.

Ironically, TCA plans to widen their empty toll roads
to nowhere. So who pays? Who always pays.
Stop TCA before they pave again.
Stop TCA, period.
And let our traffic flow.

OC Reg: Mimi Walters - a wave of misinformation,
Guest Column, Sunday, Sept. 14, 08
----------------------------------------------------------------------

a citizen response:

Used to be, mustachioed men in stripped suits
and tall hats sold Snake Oil. Now women can too.

Mimi Walters is credited with describing San Onfore
State Beach Park (our state's 5th most popular) - our
Yosemite of Surfing, as "nothing but dirt and weeds."

Mimi's open space ignorance is bliss - and convenient,
with her goal to pave a toll road thru San Onofre (if open
today, its toll fare would be $15 one-way). Even OCTA
knows no one's going to drive it. Same as no one's
driving TCA's 'busted' 73 now - or the suddenly
tanking 241.

Where did TCA's toll payers all go?
They're at the gas pump paying $4 a gallon.
A scary enough toll.

Here's what Mimi calls dirt & weeds: The Donna O'Neill
Land Conservancy, the San Mateo Watershed, San Mateo
Creek / the Panhe village site - the Acjachemen People's
sacred ground, dating back 10,000 years.

All totaled, they make up the last, intact, naturally perfect
coastal watershed (open space treasure) along southern
California's coastline - Tijuana to Ventura.
Lose that to a an unaffordable toll road and we lose SoCal's
last consistently healthy coastal waters / San Onofre.
Some leadership.

Mimi admits to loathing "Labor," then flies the Union label
when it suits her toll road pitch.

Truth to Power: With SoCal's sagging highway infrastructure
requiring a decade's worth of make-over, there's no shortage
of highway-work / construction jobs on OC freeways and
arterials going forward.

Ironically the state park Mimi would plow asunder is not even
in her Assembly District - or her County. Maybe it's Mimi's road
map that's clogged with dirt & weeds?, because blindly paving
away priceless State Park land and watershed for a toll road
no one would drive, rather than solving OC's real world
transportation issues: how to get OC commuters to work
'affordably' today, tomorrow, and when gas hits $9-bucks
a gallon, smacks of 100-Proof Mimi pitching TCA snake-oil.

Don't drink it OC.
It's bad medicine.

Smart Pizza

Saturday, August 23, 2008

If the toll road don't fit - go to Sonny's.

To: sunpostnews/ local SC-daily

In response to Sue Waltman's criticism:

Sonny's Pizza 'not being smart' opposing

the toll road. That widening I-5 would be

the result, stems from a lack of information

(or misinformation) on Ms Waltman's part.

Fact: toll road or no toll road, widening I-5

thru SC is a done deal. Currently I-5's

widening-plan calls for 3 1/2 new lanes.

Fact: there's plenty of room. No homes

need be taken. OCTA and Caltrans

implement 'Context Sensitive Engineering

Rules' in cases such as SC, where homes

and business sit close to freeways.

Note: all Caltrans Freeway projects,

(planned 25-30 years in advance) right of

way (roadway foot-print) exceeds amount

of actual paving - meaning: a close look

at I-5 here (available space) - additional

lane-width-requirements meet Caltrans

12ft-max standard so there's room to widen

I-5 without destroying SC. Rumors to the

contrary are TCA myth, designed to snare

SC'ers into TCA's superfluous toll road net.

Apparently Ms. Waltman swallowed TCA's

bait - hook, line and sinker (she's not alone).

OCTA's 07-MIS (Major Investment Study)

reveals a 241-south extension to I-5, by

2030, would be the least traveled pavement

in South County. At upwards of $15 a one

way toll, no wonder. That's why, OCTA -

OC's Transportation "Authority" says -

"toll road, or no toll road, know I-5 thru SC

must be widened to accommodate SoCal's

future North-South 'Free'way traffic."

Reality: A Trestles toll road would do

nothing to alleviate I-5's traffic.

What Ms Waltman's question should be,

"Well then, why pave the toll road?"

10's of 1000's of smart, pizza eating,

commuting SoCal citizens ask the same

question.

Sad Fact: governmental bodies can, do

and will make dumb policy (they're only

human). It's up to us - informed, voting

citizens to bring high flying politicians

down to earth where we live, breathe,

eat smart pizza, and commute.

Fact: 8 of the 9 SC City Council Hopefuls

running for council election today, oppose

the toll road in its current nonsensical,

destructive path to Trestles.

May I suggest: Sonny's is not only the

best pizza in town - it's the Smartest.

Remember - we are what we eat.

Jerry Collamer, SC resident, is an active

participant in OCTA's South County Major

Investment Study Stakeholders Working

Group representing Wild Heritage Planners.

SONGS gone for Good

She Leaks, She Creaks, She sucks & blows billions of gallons of sea-water in & out 24-7.
How much sea-life goes with?
How much radio-activity (not KROK bubby) gets pumped
out too? How big 'are' 18ft-diameter suck & flush pipes (hmm) doing SONGS' binge & blow? Hugely Big.
SONGS' More Bad News: Patterns of internal problems.
SONGS is "doddering dysfunctional!" Swell.
Enough so Edison's hired new top-level lion-tamers to
keep her from going totally ballistic all over us.

Scary on a scale of 1 to 5: 1 being Best, SONGS is a high 3?, which is way closer to 5 than 1, and rhymes with RUN!!!

But the issue closest to San Clemente's sleepy village is:
We Take All The Risk, while Riverside splashes happy in backyard pools safely 50-miles away gulping 100 Proof
SONGS juice.

Depending who you read, SONGS' powers between 1.5 million to 2-million Riverside homes, keeping things cool
in Riv-city's sunny summer shine (92º today), while San Clemente sucks Riv's-risk.



Want to de-fang SC's dangerous suck & flush machine?

Here's how:

San Clemente's / SONGS No-Risk Riverside Option:
Begin decommissioning SONGS No. 2 Reactor now.
At the same time, begin covering Riverside's rooftops
(all of them) with solar panels.

Soon as Reactor No. 2 is taken down (just like we did
with SONGS old #1 reactor) begin decommissioning
No. 3 while keeping on with Riverside's solar and wind power-conversion until Riv-city is 100% self-sufficient.
And SONGS is sung.
And SC's safe (like it used to be).

No doubt, we're stuck with SONGS' bones: the stored
nuc-waste and polluted beach plant site. But we'll have
a sunny solution (happy ending) to Riverside's power
needs and San Clemente's next generation will be so
much better for it.

What shaky San Andreas Fault?
What lame TCA toll road evacuation excuse?
What leaky, creaky, rusty internal plant problems?
What scary plume / cloud.
What radiated ocean and nuke-tainted ground well-water?
What suck & flushing billions of gallons of sea-water (and marine-life) daily?
What Nuke-plant in the middle of California's 5th most popular State Beach Park?
What Nuke-plant on SoCal's Yosemite of Surfing beach?
What worry our kid's health issues?

Rather, SONGS becomes a glowing history lesson
if we dare imagine San Onofre without SONGS.
A sunny solution to SONGS' old timey power source.

Imagine SONGS' gone.
It's legal to imagine it.
We have the technology.
This is "Sunny" Southern California.
Let's just do it - now.

Because don't you really wish, SONGS wasn't here.

Why Sonny's is SC's best loved

The lines outside Sonny's Pizza on El Camino
attests to its quality hometown product: excellent
food, service, and that good ol'SC vibe.
Ongoing successes such as Sonny's offer proof
to the good judgment of what SC'ers like.
On Sunday at Fiesta Day, the Save Trestles Tent
hosted over 700 State Park and San Onofre-Loving
'Save Trestler's,' putting face, name and words
to where their hearts are too: Saving Trestles
and San Onofre. Sonny's loves Trestles too.
700 polaroided Save Trestler's stapled their pic's
to handwritten postcards addressed to the Sec of
Commerce in DC, asking, "Help Us, The People,
Save Trestles and Sano" from TCA's hapless,
needless, pointless, dumb toll road idea, no matter
TCA's next weak excuse for paving thru SoCal's
last perfectly natural public space - for a nonsensical
private road no one will ever afford???, want?, or need?
So Sonny's gets it right again. That's why it's SC's #1
choice for great chow and that good'ol SC-vibe.
Same with Trestles and Sano - 3 perfectly natural
SC originals broadcasting SC's village spirit and
all-natural vibrancy out to the world: as in World-Class.
Call'em SC's Unique (3) Quality of Life Providers.
Sonny's, Trestles and Sano is why we all live here
(and not in those other places).
It's why the World lines up to come to San Clemente
on any given Sunday. "Hello City Council, GET IT?"
Pray SC's naturally good Spirit never changes.
It won't, long as we all work to make sure it doesn't.
So, it's "Yes" to Sonny's, Trestles and Sano.
And "NO" to TCA's nutty toll road idea - wrong time,
wrong place, wrong town, wrong idea.
We don't need TCA's funny (bad) business paving
its dubious way here. We're doing fine. Sunday's
25,000-plus Fiesta fun-in-SC's-sun revelers found
their way here, no problem. So TCA, stop serving
us your blah, rehashed menu. It's enough to make
a good town sick. Let's all go to Sonny's instead.

What Price Trestles

Reported July 31-08: TCA (OC Toll Roads) paid a
Scripps institute scientist $6,000 to tell them (TCA)
what they want to hear - "Go ahead, ruin San Onofre."
No Surprise, TCA's been paying pollsters for 10-years
to tell'em what they want to hear - "Go ahead, pave
thru San Onofre."
TCA has an old ex-surfer on speed-dial, at the ready
(soon as TCA's check clears) to tell'em what they
want to hear, "Go ahead, ruin Trestles."
TCA tried bribing the Governor with $100million to
allow their toll route thru San Onofre State Beach Park.
Guv said, "You betcha."
State Parks said, "Not for Sale."
TCA offered a willing Native American (so-called
spokesguy) $350,000 to let'em plow-thru San Mateo
Creek's 10,000 year old ancestral site.
Tribal leaders said no way, "Hands off San Mateo."
TCA even has a Congressman invested to the tune
of $20,000 of his own dough. Same fellow who
ear-marked $8million from Congress straight into
TCA's one-way cash register (is that how TCA affords
to buy anyone buyable?).
TCA's generous Congressman happens to be
a local land developer. Good governance? Not.
Just easy money.
TCA couldn't buy CA's Coastal Commission,
or the 4.500 citizens who showed up in Del Mar on
Feb. 6th to politely request TCA not ruin San Onofre
State Beach Park with a toll road no one would ever
drive on at $15…one-way? Ouch.
Who Will TCA Buy Next?
Some wonder if TCA's Trestles toll road, unnecessary
to I-5 traffic relief - destructive to both land and sea
(as OC's toll road traffic numbers tank faster'n you can
shout "Icebergs Ahead!!!"). That just maybe, Federal
officials better start looking at TCA's "buying power"
in a time of deep recession? Especially with their toll
roads running on empty.
Scary Remembrance: OC - only county in America to
ever bankrupt (1994 and still carrying the debt load).
So, is TCA's failed toll-model OC-history repeating itself?
Is TCA, OC's next uber-Titanic, taking on water while
OC's leadership is up in the ballroom dancing?

Question: How, and with who's dough does TCA keep
buying influence, when they have no 'real' earnings?

TCA's moldy green

TCA paints its ludicrous idea for a Trestles toll road Green?
TCA's warped vision of what's good for Nature is paving it over for a toll road that wouldn't relieve I-5 traffic, is routed in the wrong direction and unaffordable to drive. Only thing green about TCA's proposed fool's road is the moldy spin they've been spraying us with for two decades.

a bad road drives to no good end

On Sat July 26th, in SC's local Sun Post
Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, 70th District
(Irvine) rebutted my visualizing exercise:
Imagine San Onofre without SONGS
(nuke plant). Mr. DeVore wants us not
to imagine it.
Mr. DeVore believes, without Nukes,
we can't fix greenhouse gas emissions
here. Mr. Devore has a distinguished
military background. He wrote a book
titled China Attacks. His views on Nukes
are fervent. He wants more Nukes
everywhere. Nukes are his thing.
But, have you ever not driven by SONGS
at San Onofre State Beach Park without
wondering,
"How dangerous is that thing?"
"What does melt-down really mean?"
"Is it true, kids living near Nuke facilities
have higher cancer rates globally, than
kids who don't?"
"What did happen to the so-called
survivors of Chernobyl? Did They?"
Because its first responders didn't.
Yet, pontificating politicians, doing
nuke's queasy business swear, hot
mystery juices leaking from old old
SONGS ride its flushing current of
billions of gallons of super-cooked
water daily back to sea, with no
effect on us?
Or marine life?
What do you believe?
Scary named stuff like Tritium absorb
into our body's are sold to us as,
"No more dangerous than the glowing
numbers on your wristwatch."
Then we think,
"3-Mile Island. Here?"
And what about SONGS' non-disposable
spent-fuel rods stored onsite waiting to cool?
5,000 years is a long wait.
Too Hot To Handle comes to mind.
Too hot for anytime, as visions of passive solar
panels atop every roof become our sane focus.
Sunshine beaming our ice cream frozen, while
wind turbines spin, keeping home-computers
powered up. Non-threatening. Not deadly. Safe.
SONGS is so potentially nasty, OC's toll road
pavers (TCA) claim, they MUST pave an
evacuation toll road to it.
In case of "Oops?"
Come on!, if SONGS is so creaking fallible
that it needs it's own Escape toll road east,
it's gotta go. And go now.
If we Imagine SONGS Gone, dismantled; like
what they did to SONGS' tired old #1 reactor,
it erases TCA's insatiable desire for an otherwise
nonsensical Toll Road to Trestles.
With ol'SONGS' scary, creaky, leaky, rusting
double boilers Gone, puts minds at ease and
protects our children's future.
And - not accidentally gone, as in Oops-Go-POOF!
In nuke-speak, going Oops is labeled a Plume.
Think large - lingering - scary cloud overhead
for who knows how long, or how sickly, or covering
how many of us?
Blathering Nuke-lobbying politician's go silent
at such occurrences.
Imagining SONGS-Gone is a Win-Win for the
mental and physical health of our precious
seaside community and the millions who visit.
With SONGS Gone there's absolutely no need
for TCA's Escape-From-SONGS toll road.
A road serving no other purpose.
Call it a twofer.
Call it a comforting image:
No SONGS at San Onofre, and no toll road.
The more you imagine SONGS Gone,
the better the idea looks.

Jerry Collamer - San Clemente resident surfed
Trestles before SONGS, left and came back to
SONGS being here. He's the founder of
Save Trestles, Stop The Toll Road.

Good Neighbor SONGS versus Passive Power


Imagine San Onofre without SONGS (again)

In my July 10th Sun Post op-ed
"Imagine San Onofre without SONGS,"
my visual thesis suggested 'imaging something'
different than what is, is the first-step in the
direction of change.

I also suggested, employees of SONGS, and
or anyone deriving profit from Nukes would
argue No SONGS is an impossible vision.

Like the Horse and Buggy salesman
quipped when seeing the first motor car
rattle down his muddy rutted road,

"That's cute, and entertaining, but horse
and buggies are here to stay."

Encouraging words did come from one
pro-nuker, "I think we all would prefer a
solar-source of power, or a wind-source,
or a wave/tide source. Let's build those first."

But he also wrote I'd suggested herds of
weak bladdered cattle fouling streams was
equivalent to SONGS leaking Tritium into
San Onofre's ocean (I never once mentioned
bovine discharge. Only SONGS discharge).

He went on: Tritium is not absorbed into
the skin - can be ingested harmlessly.

I quickly got back to my Tritium sources.
They disagree with both his points.

They report: Tritium does, indeed, absorb
directly through the skin, the gut, the lungs, etc.
Tritium is a radioactive hydrogen atom. No
other radionuclide is capable of absorbing
through skin like tritium can.

Apparently in its tiniest dose, Tritium is a
real go-getter. Goes for the throat. Maybe that's
why a few years back when SONGS leaked,
us San Clemente residents received little
anti-nuke thyroid pills to swallow if the
Big-One ever happens. Yummy.

This is why WE (you, me) must imagine
SONGS all gone, because SONGS'
old-schoolers just can't.

Same as dinosaurs couldn't imagine their
own demise when they ruled the world.

Nukes in general are a Lose-Lose.
Their spent-rods, never spent.
Their hot-shelf-life living forever.
Scariest yet - the world has no safe place
to store the ever-radiating ol'hot stuff
stored at SONGS now.

So they stay at SONGS radiating,
incased in concrete and steel.
But steel rusts (by the sea) and concrete
is porous, and there's earthquakes and
terrorists and sleepy night watchmen,
and FOREVER is a longtime.

Remember SONGS' humongus 18ft diameter
pipes running out to sea, sucking & flushing
our Pacific Ocean in and out, in and out,
nonstop for 4-decades as SONGS' moving
parts rust, creak, leak, laboring to keep the
ol'girl's suck & flushers cooling (are you
imaging it all?).

Now imagine a solar panel basking in the sun.
Maybe on your roof. Maybe on everyone's roof.
Maybe anywhere and everywhere there's room
to make electricity passively, with No Moving Parts.

No more suck & flushing our Pacific Ocean in
and out, spewing stuff like Tritium to absorb into
fish and surfer's skin, and their guts.

But rather: a passive way to power homes silently
and safely, producing even more Power than
we need, so then we can share it.

Homemade power. What a concept.

Imagine that.

Now imagine SONGS gone.
It's getting easier, isn't it.

It's almost believable.
Like dinosaurs, horse and buggies,
78 records, cheap gasoline and
San Onofre without SONGS.

traffic reality

Social Engineering.

As TCA continues its lie: their toll roads
were never about less freeway traffic here,
with high gas prices absolutely killing
their already minimal toll traffic, I recall
a conversation 6-months ago with a high
level Caltrans Planner (or maybe he's
OCTA?) - I was carping about how, the
toll lanes on the 91, traffic-wise, we're
counter productive. That, if our real
purpose on freeways, is moving the
greatest number, most efficiently, over
a given distance - the marginally used
two lanes, blocked from use by the majority,
keeping the other 4-freeway lanes jammed
to a halt made absolutely no sense, as
the cost of paving those two toll lanes
would never be reimbursed from the
few paying their $10 / 10-mile toll cruise.
He replied, "Opening the toll-lanes to
freeway traffic would only marginally
increase the freeway traffic (Caltrans
considers 45 mph for 15 miles as
adequate freeway flow), so I'm thinking,
45 is way better than dead-stopped;
then he said, "besides, we're trying to
socially engineer people out of their
cars..."

In my family we have a 55-mile door
to door commute each a.m. - 18-miles
north on I-5, 37-miles north on the 405.

10-years ago, it regularly took easily
70 minutes (no toll road, no HOV Lane,
pure freeway).

Today it's approaching 40-minutes
(no toll road, no HOV lane, pure freeway).

$4.50 a gallon makes for some pretty
effective social engineering.

Exxon's socially engineered what
Caltrans and OCTA never could -

TCA's worst nightmare.

The Cat's out of the Bag

Pete Van Nuys, South County toll road observer and
transportation realist points out why OC toll roads will
always fail, regardless of how OC's transportation cabal
schemes to protect TCA's private investors, rather than
solving OC public transportation boondoggle.

As Pete points out; either way, it's our money.


Cat's out of the bag - SHADOW TOLLS CREEP OUT

Last month Orange County Transportation Authority staff began a series
of appearances before OC city councils presenting:
their "Locally Preferred Alternative for South County's Major Investment Study Area."

The major investment they're talking about is: upgrade to streets, arterials
and freeways in the area from the 55 freeway south to the San Diego County line.
Funding for upgrades will come primarily from the renewal of Measure M,
the extra half-cent sales tax we all pay in Orange County.

Included in the plan are tax subsidies for the TCA.

Like we told you last year, the political 'might' of the Transportation Corridors Agency (TCA)
knows no bounds, or shame around here.
So despite trumpeting, "We're a private entity using no Public Funding to construct our toll roads,"
blah, blah, blah, they've not only inserted themselves into our Measure M funding,
they've devised a new term, "Shadow Tolls," to help save their sorry financial butts.

What would we get if TCA's shadowy plan is adopted?

First, we'd get lower tolls;
50% is the discount currently tossed around.
To address the congestion these lower tolls would cause,
TCA will add lanes to their toll roads!
That's right.
Not only will your tax money subsidize a failing concept / agency,
TCA will be adding lanes to their Loser-toll-system (while freeways,

streets and public mass transit in its many forms continue playing
second fiddle to OC failed toll roads).

What are Shadow Tolls?

The implication is, every time you'd pay a toll, some generous entity would match it
with money from heaven. But where does the money really come from?
OCTA pretends it doesn't know.
What they're suggesting (at TCA's behest) is adoption of a plan with no stated funding source?
Though it's clear to any thinking citizen the source is your pocketbook.
More taxes with a sneaky name.

What's the claimed benefit?

Through a lengthy process of traffic modeling and cost/benefit analysis,
OCTA purports to show regional traffic will be reduced, and service levels
improved. Highway Science clearly jiggered.

OCTA is the agency steadfastly refusing to allow modeling of any plans
in south county without completion of the 241.
Even though, it is increasingly likely the road will never be built.
Still, OCTA's Board won't allow a No-Trestles-toll-road version modeled?

Who are these guys (and some gals)?

Through the years, OCTA and TCA boards have shared many members.
Their politics are clear. Their loyalties not surprising.
Chalk this
blatant bit of bad transportation management up to OC politics.

Why TCA needs money:

As detailed elsewhere on this site, OC toll roads have failed, practically and financially.

TCA roads comprise over half the superhighway-miles in South Orange County.
But even before the meteoric rise in gas prices, they attracted less than a 5th
of the drivers in the region.
Why?
Because the basic model-- toll-ways / toll roads surrounded by freeways,
is a ridiculous business model.

In 2008 there are nearly 1-million 'less' toll-way users than in 2007.

There are thousands of loyal TCA patrons, but five x times that number never use toll roads.
As a result, the 73 has never (and the 241 only rarely) met it's monthly bond debt obligations
through monthly toll revenues, since the day it opened.
TCA makes up the difference with interest-earned on their dwindling investment portfolio.
And, on the failed 73 toll road, from money borrowed from the 241.

TCA's road to financial ruin from Day-1.

So, more than just a shot in the arm, this blatant tax grab / Shadow Tolls, is designed to facilitate
yet another refinancing of their sinking operation.

Bloated bureaucracies don’t die easily.
Across the nation, boondoggles like TCA survive through shenanigans regular folks get locked up for.

TCA continues to talk about “freeing up the toll roads.”

But since they’ve never (far as we can tell), paid a dime on the principal to their bond debt,
the date of "freeing up" gets pushed ever farther into the future. Think 2065.

Historically, only a few toll facilities nationwide have ever been freed-up / paid-up.
Most are continually refinanced to support the agency, and the careers which built them.

Shadow Tolls are another scam to finance TCA’s failed enterprise and to perpetuate itself.

Shadow Tolls won’t fix South OC traffic.
But rather, will continue to confuse it, and us more.

Short term benefits versus long term reality.
Toll discounts will probably increase toll road use, temporarily.
But studies by UC’s Transportation Center confirm what drivers already know:
any restriction on one part of a system causes congestion on the rest.
Therefore 'any' toll required, to use TCA’s folly-roads will contribute to
more freeway congestion.
With half the highway miles in South County under Toll,
the other half (the freeways) will always carry a disproportionate
share of OC traffic.

OC freeways will grow increasingly congested as long as the 73 and 241 charge even nominal tolls.

But forget nominal.
There’s a limit to how much 'subsidy' from cities, county, or state,
will be willing to kick in.
So, toll discounts will be artificially low when introduced; reflecting
“congestion pricing” (highest tolls during peak commute hours);
subject to the ebb and flow of political-will for as long as they’re
in effect, as tolls slowly rise and rise and rise...again.

How 'they' pulled this off:

TCA is the tail that wags OCTA's dog.
With roots in Orange County’s Republican Central Committee, TCA founders
and board members are longtime county politicians, aspiring to higher office
and or continued employment.
The Toll Roads stand as this county’s symbol of independence from Sacramento:
a thumb in eye to state transportation planners and politicians who balked at funding
county freeways in the 70's, so local developers could grow fat / ever richer on OC's
profitable urban sprawl.
Rather than pay for the roads themselves, TCA encouraged bond sales to clueless
investors who believed, erroneously, OC drivers would pay any-price to live the
California Dream. Too bad they didn’t do their homework.

Now TCA faces the inevitable admission of their failure.
But not before one stupendous last blast public snow job - Shadow Tolls.

TCA's Shadow Toll Game Plan:

1) They’ve quashed studying any and all alternative no-toll-road plans.
Like the obvious: Freeing up OC-toll roads now, getting back 51-miles
of instant new freeways now, instead of 2065 or later.
2) Twisting arm of puppet agency, OCTA, to include Shadow Tolls
in its “preferred alternative” master plan.
3) OCTA floats idea (sans any reference to source of subsidies) before
their 'friends' on local city councils.
None of whom ask one pertinent question.
4) Launch low key PR effort to lubricate voting public (YOU) for the inevitable.
5) Then, if we squeal when the real thieving starts, they’ll buy the biggest media
blast ever. Bigger than before Del Mar, to convince us, Shadow Tolls are the
most generous thing TCA has ever done for the motoring public.

Stay tuned - it gets even better.
TCA's cooks are busy stirring.

Sign of the times

Anyone looking 'here' knows the drill:

The TCA make wild-eyed OC Toll Road claims as those of us
with eyes to see, ears to hear, and voices to speak ask,

"Ahh, hold on pal, that's more TCA-BS you're spewing.
Ya'wanna hear some TRUTH!"

And we tell'em.

On Feb. 6 - 08, in Del Mar CA, California's Coastal
Commission spoke pure-sweet-Truth to TCA:

"A toll road to Trestles, thru conservancy land, thru
the San Mateo Watershed, thru Panhe Native American
land, thru San Onofre State Beach Park, will never happen.
There are solid traffic alternatives - go figure it out, because
a toll road to Trestles would have no positive effect on
1-5 traffic, period."

TCA did not want to hear that.

Typically, TCA slandered CCC's decision, calling all of us,
(the largest citizen-group in CCC's 25-year history ever to
attend a CCC Hearing), an out of control circus.

We were not surprised.
And we were not a circus.

4,500 surfers, campers, hikers - folks protecting what's
rightly ours, in 1-room, behaved magnificently. All the
while bombarded by TCA's typical avalanche of spin,
half-truths, and lies.

25-year old TCA lies - recooked, rehashed, regurgitated
adnauseam for 18-hours. We took it.

Then the CCC delivered.

Their omnipotent power, even greater than TCA's lies.
Trestles won the day.

But we didn't win the war.
We knew that.

A huge victory regardless.
It felt like a miracle.

CCC's perfect decision Feb 6th showed what happens
when very good people are well informed, make common
sense decisions, based on facts, backed by huge public support.

Now that same public support for Trestles, and for San'o,
our Yosemite of Surfing, is needed one more time.

That's what the sign's about.
We must save Trestles again.

Friday July 25th, on the UCI campus, in the Bren Center.

Let's hope it's a REALLY big room.
TCA is panicky.
Their back's to the wall.
Who knows how many paid-toll road shills they'll
bus-in this time.

TCA's entire 51-mile toll road system here is failing.
With gas heading to $7 a gallon, OC toll roads are the
wrong idea at the wrong time.

TCA lost nearly a million riders in the last 12 months.
They're literally, running on empty.
They are empty.

The upcoming July 25th Hearing, most likely will be
all day and into the night.
Del Mar began at dawn and went to 11:30p.m.
That was Big Wednesday.
This will be bigger - Big Friday

The Federal Commerce Dept wants to hear our/your
Public Opinion – State Park versus toll road.

Over 2000 signed up to speak in Del Mar for our side.
Obviously we didn't all speak.
Our Coastal Commission spoke for us.

So come on Citizen, let's do it one more time for Trestles.

Because, like it says on the website:
Save Trestles, and we save everything good.

The TCA is so looney, they predict taking 8-lanes worth
of capacity/traffic off I-5 at Trestles. But their road-plan only
calls for paving 2-lanes each way? At $15 a one-way toll
they won't be taking one-half of one lane off I-5 ever.

If we let it happen, the joke is on us, our kids, our grandkids
and our great, great grandkids.

Let's finish-off this hideous, destructive,
useless toll road idea July 25th.
Be there. It's gonna be huge.
You wouldn't want to miss it.

Save Trestles, and we save everything good.
Lose it, and it's gone forever.

The following 4-panels offer a brief visual summary
of what TCA's been up to since Feb 6th -

OC's eyes wide shut, but the worm never sleeps
(Supe's snooze as Reality comes to OC)

If we are what we read, eat, hear and see,
then OC is in serious trouble of striking out.

With our World zooming to 'renewables'
(finally) - oil, a shrinking commodity, profiteers
hawk Nuke-power as the second coming.

But one must ask, "What about Nuke's
ever-lasting too-hot-to-handle by-product
Spent-Fuel-Rods? They never ever cool.
Incased in concrete prayers, we pass our
dangerous, deadly legacy on to our great,
great, great, great, great grandchildren.

Thanks a hot-heap grandpa.

But the worm has turned neighbor.
Future Shock is here.

In 1972 Alvin Toffler wrote,
"In the three short decades between now
and the twenty-first century, millions of
ordinary, psychologically normal people
will face an abrupt collision with the future."

Who knew it would be at our gas-pump?
Our light bulb?
Our commute?
Our addiction to oil, suddenly unaffordable.
OC's daily car commute - unaffordable.

Still OC's Supervisors crazily champion
more Toll Roads; unaffordable to ordinary,
psychologically normal people wondering
HOW we'll afford to get to work tomorrow,
as OC's development interests slither
under political backdoors, paving TCA's
way to ever more freeway congestion.

Gated highways to Gated communities.
Self serving private highways for the few,
as the-many sit stalled in freeway traffic.

When LA saw the light (rail), laying track in
every direction, OC Supervisors (here and now)
scoffed at rail commuting as not the OC way.

With eyes wide shut they rabidly endorse
TCA's failed toll road system - "Build More!!!"
cried the village idiot as the ground beneath
him caved from the weight of his own Reality.

Memo to OC Supes:
Can't see the future with your eyes wide shut -
WAKE UP!

Memo to OC Public: On July 24th or 25th (TBD)
at the Bren Center, UCI Irvine (exact day to be
announced) ordinary, psychologically normal
people like YOU will have the opportunity to
tell our Fed Commerce Department,
"NO Toll Road to Trestles.
A dumb transportation concept, out of step with
the times, with nature, and OC's REAL WORLD
everyday transportation needs. Just say no."

It will be an eye & ear popping experience.

Be there.
Or be asleep,

pass the word.

OCTA skims over SC...casting a shadow

SC Smog Test, from sea

Smog Test for Mr Alford of SC (SP-LTE-June 14-08), floating his boat off SC, determining our air quality -

1) At $15 a one-way toll (TCA's prediction), how many polluting vehicles would a Trestles toll road 'take' from I-5 at Cristianitos Rd. with gas at $5 a gallon heading to $8:
A. None.
B. Only Rock Star limos and the Pope's motorcade
C. Tons of Nuke-waste, transported thru Mission Viejo
D. High speed car-chases short-cutting to Corona

2) With gas soaring towards $8-bucks a gallon, every automaker in the World is dumping SUV production, making way for electric-hybrid production.

A hybrid's smog output is:
A. None
B. Smells like garlic (no that's a converted diesel)
C. No smog, just evaporating water drops
D. No smog. And no sound

3) How many car-commuters are high-tailing it into van-pools, buses, light-rail, car-pooling, generally driving less period:
A. All who can (with more onboard everyday)
B. Even more than "A" suggests
C. More than OC Supervisors admit to, as they death-grip TCA's failed, tanking toll road myth. D. All of the above and then some

4) At $5 to $8 a gallon "Border-traffic" / Caltrans' label for SC's typically heavy Weekend I-5 traffic, is:
A. Fast diminishing
B. Lightening up quicker'an you can say, "who needs a border fence?"
C. Here today. Gone tomorrow.
D. Being lessoned by OPEC as you read this.

Finally: To Mr. Alford (floating his boat off SC), contemplating the beige air-quality overland - turn your boat around and head for the horizon, or come to shore. Gas'ly events are transpiring here to do what TCA's toll roads never will do for OC freeways - lighten their load. It's absolutely electric!

Either way, Bon Voyage!

Dahl Daze

 

Every town has one, some have two, some have a complete set of inexplicably confounding council folks, who regardless of common sense rulings and majority opinions, will always row their 'own' boat over-the-falls repeatedly. It's a given. Like in the scary movie, when you know bad things are behind the door, and the actor goes in anyway.

You're thinking "Don't Go In There!!!" but they go in and get slimmed, or eaten, or turn into a mummy. San Clemente has one of them.

He claims to be a surfer. But he would pave Trestles tomorrow, for a toll road absolutely no one would ever drive on?

A retired local fireman - grew up in SC's quiet village by the sea, yet approves every sprawling development idea that sneaks its way into Council Chambers. We gotta keep City Hall's backdoor locked.

Probably needs a guard there. Because several besides 'Him' (on

Council) are also suckers for the swooning temptations of the next pretty faced developer looking to intercourse the layers of protective governmental safe-guards cities keep in place to shield the town (any

town) from the slime-factor. The slime factor is readily visible 'after the fact' by anyone. It's when you look at, or experience something 'in-place'

anywhere, and think, "Who the hell approved that?" Spend time observing your Council or town's Planning Commission. It gets real clear, real fast who's 'back-rooming deals.'  The panel above was inspired by SC's last council meeting when "He" stuck to his solo NO vote (rest of council voted YES) on a truly bizarre effort by a small number of bullying View Blockers wanting to build-up, in front of their neighbors, in a terraced section of town, where each house has an ocean view. He sided with the view-blockers. Even when his battle was clearly lost "voted down" by the entire city in a special election. Now come on, That's nuts aka "over the falls!!!"

 

  

 

toxic panderer paddles solo

Kevin Kehoe ("Build The 241," LTE, Mon-June-9) surfs in a majority of one - as he would destroy Trestles / San Onofre State Beach Park thru personal slander and misinformation to achieve what end - another OC toll road serving too few at the cost of 'the many?' Mr. Kehoe's paddling upside down on his so called surfboard. No wonder he's all wet.

To the editor: Mr. Kehoe, labeling concerned OC citizens "eco-nazis?" is worrisome, but not unexpected - as the development community here 'tanks' in its self-created economic sub-prime disaster, dragging the county, the state, the nation, even foreign markets down in another OC-generated out-of-control greed-driven screw-up.

That you "ink" Mr. Kehoe's hate-filled rambling is certainly dangerous, but again, not unexpected. I subscribe to the OC Reg., and will continue to, monitoring OC's Daily dark-side of self interest you apparently relish. When lies no longer work to one's larcenous goals, what's left but the bully-tactics of slander and vicious personal attacks to achieve hateful, wrongheaded ends - by any means.

Eco-nazis? Hmm.

Obviously you realize the potential personal danger you put every environmentally concerned OC citizen in, by encouraging crazy-talk from the likes of Mr. Kehoe. Or do you?

When the county bankrupted - it was because no-one was watching the store.

When our Sheriff went off track - it was because no one was watching the sheriff.

When a Supervisor sleeps-it-off on the County Court House front lawn - with repeated rumors of bad-acting, who's watching the Supe's?

As admitted by Supervisor Campbell, our toll roads are tanking worse than ever. Considering the 73 toll road has failed since day-one, that's a scary admission. No one knows better than Mr. Campbell.

Quixotically, OC "Influential's" are pushing hard towards another unaffordable toll road snafu. When objective-observers point this out, he or she are labeled eco--nazi's?

TCA toll roads fail 'the majority' of OC commuters 24-7.

Not withstanding their environmental destruction, their private purpose runs counter to OC's transportation needs.

Mr. Kehoe is drunk with TCA koolaide. Many in the county are - but many in the county are not. As gas soars to $5 a gallon, a sober majority of OC commuters have woken to the fast & loose transportation / toll road chicanery OC's development community conjured to facilitate South County build-out when the State said no more freeways.

TCA is a scam, and a determent to OC's commute. Call us what you will, but we're not going away, as our numbers grow exponentially. Mr. Kehoe is a sad, clueless majority of one.