Giving Thanks

To all of our veterans, those currently serving in the military, and their families this Thanksgiving, I thank you. This holiday season, remember those who are defending our country and the sacrifices they and their families make every single day.


Here is the text of the message from Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to military families worldwide:


As we count our blessings this month, America's soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen and Coast Guardsmen serve day and night around the globe to defend our Nation. We are all very proud of them, and yet we should never forget that none of them do it alone. The extraordinary families who support them sacrifice every bit as much to make their service possible. In the spirit of giving thanks, we devote this week to honor and appreciate our military families.

Our families serve as the bedrock for our Nation's defense. Family members may not shoulder a weapon, drive a ship or fly combat sorties, but their commitment, support and endurance is a source of great pride and inspiration for us all. From care packages to emails to invaluable friendship, your love and devotion helps our forces do their very best. I can think of no better words to express this than those spoken by a Soldier from the 25th Infantry Division upon his return from Afghanistan. Reflecting on his family's help while deployed, he said "just receiving letters ... seems to give you the motivation needed to stay upbeat. I couldn't do this without your support."

Our combat readiness stems from readiness at home, and America's might is a reflection of the power of military families. As a Nation, we can certainly never say or do enough to express our gratitude for their devotion and sacrifice, but this week is one way in which we show our appreciation.

On behalf of my family and those of the Joint Chiefs, to all our military families, past and present, we thank you for your service and for your love.
Our Nation's strength and honor depend upon you. Because of you, we truly accomplish far more than we ever could alone.


Sincerely,
M.G. MULLEN
Admiral, U.S. Navy

What are we talking about here?

Items of interest for this Tuesday's council meeting are as follows:

1) Consideration of an appeal of the Planning Commission's decision to approve Amendment #1 to Residential Design Review for Broadleaf & Silverthorne project areas within Canyon Hills

The planning commission approved a residential design review for applicant (Pardee Homes) to allow 40 homes that were to be 2,300-2,700 sq. ft. to be replaced with 40 homes that are to be 1,630-2,360 sq. ft. Pardee stated they only plan to build 5 homes at the smaller size, the rest would be at the larger end of the scale. Five residents in that area spoke against the proposal. One of those residents filed this appeal.

Those opposed feel it's unfair for the developer to change the size of the homes, that it will effect their property and resale value. Homebuyers in that area signed a disclosure statement, which states the developer has the right to change size, configuration, etc. of homes.


2) Implementation plan for establishment of permanent dog park

In September council was given a petition signed by 200 residents who wanted the lower baseball field at McVicker Park to become a dog park. Council, by a 3-2 vote, agreed to allow this use for a period of 90 days, until a possible permanent location could be found.

Staff has identified an area for the dog park within Rosetta Canyon Park, which is currently under construction.

The cost is estimated to be around $55,000. The construction of Rosetta Canyon Park will cost $68,985 less for water than what was expected. Staff is recommending the city use that money to build the dog park.



3) Ordinance amending Municipal Code regarding grading standards

This is an amendment to the Lake Elsinore Municipal Code (LEMC) to address hauling and grading operations. Specifically, it allows the city more control over these operations that ultimately impact residents and commuters.

It's a 3 part ordinance -
the first relates to mining operations during grading

the second relates to hauling in excess of 2,500 cubic yards of material (this amounts to 125 trucks, the big 18-wheelers),

the third relates to hauling in excess of 20,000 cubic yards of material (this amounts to 1,000 trucks, the big 18-wheelers)

You'll Never Believe This One

All of you out there thinking about surprising your honey with a flat screen or plasma TV for Christmas, boy do I have bad news for you.

California energy regulators gave final approval on Wednesday to a mandatory energy curb on television sets. It seems they think you waste too darn much energy watching TV!

The rules will require all new TV's sold in California to consume 33 percent less energy than current sets starting with the 2011 model year, and 50 percent less starting with 2013 models.

In other words, they're going to require the manufacturers of these sporting event must have's to make their product more energy efficient. It will of course probably cost more to do that, so guess how the cost will be absorbed? That's right, YOU!

You can't blame the manufacturers, they can't stay in business if they're losing money. They can't stay in business unless they follow the new guidelines.

Supporters of this latest effort to punish businesses say "lower electric bills will more than offset any price hikes".

Uh-huh, and the Ft. Hood Texas murderer Major Hasan was just misunderstood.

Water, Water everywhere...

On November 4th our state legislature approved an $11.1 billion water bond.

That $11 billion water bond, approved by the Legislature, will be placed on the November 2010 ballot for your voter approval. In an effort to let everyone know what they will be asked to decide upon, I contacted our assemblymen for Lake Elsinore and asked how they voted.


Below is the response I received from Assemblyman Jeffries regarding the most recent Water Bond Deal. I did not receive a written response from our other assemblyman, Brian Nestande, but I did speak with him on the phone. He stated he voted for all portions of the bill as he felt this was the only chance to make significant changes.

From Assemblyman Jeffries...
I was appointed several months ago to serve on the bi-partisan water negotiating conference committee for the Assembly and Senate. From the very first meeting we were hit with an onslaught of hard-line partisan bill (policy) proposals that were very hostile to farmers and southern California. After several months it became evident that the only way to make progress was for the Republicans and Hispanic Democrats to work together. In general terms both groups had common needs and common values (helping farmers, helping small business, helping working families, creating jobs). As a result the two groups were able to do what has not been done in the legislature for the past 20 years or so and take what started as really hard-line environmental water bills and significantly amend the policy proposals and water bond to the level of "good" or at least "acceptable" (depends on your perspective) for farmers and water users (which also includes some important fixes for the deteriorating Delta).

I _*supported*_: the water bond (SB-2) and the governance-lite policy (SB-1).

SB-2: The Water Bond will now go the voters to decide. On the positive side it contains important funding for long and near-term water projects in our region and it helps to indirectly facilitate the eventual construction of a new canal around the Delta in an effort to improve the long term delivery of water to farmers and southern California. On the negative side it contains funding for projects that most of us would agree are not critically important for California's statewide water solutions.

SB-1 (Governance) will facilitate administrative oversight of future Delta related projects and management. (Note, this policy bill originally started with the empowerment of a heavy-handed hard-line environmental council that was basically charged with "killing" any hopes building new facilities to get water to farmers and southern California).
　
I _*opposed*_: the water conservation (SB-7), Ground water monitoring (SB-6), and water enforcement (SB-8).

SB-7: Because of their political power - Los Angeles and the Bay area were exempted from the 20% water conservation requirements contained in this bill - however the rest of the state must still meet this requirement.

SB-6: This bill is the first step towards inserting state regulators into the management of local ground water. The state can't manage what it has now.

SB-8 (formally AB-900) was "okay" - until it was amended to fund and hire 25 state "water police" employees.

Nov 10th Council Meeting Happenings

The following are highlights of agenda items for this week's council meeting.

To view the full staff report for these items, click on the underlined title of this post above.


1) Community Development Block Grant Funding Allocation (CDBG)
Each year the city receives an allocation of CDBG funds through the Economic Development Agency of Riverside. These allocations are based on population and are designed for assistance in areas serving low and moderate income.

Three community based non-profit organizations have requested funds through this program, as well as city departments/projects which also request funds.

The three community agencies requesting funds are The Boys & Girls Club, H.O.P.E, and The Assistance League of Temecula Valley.

The city hopes to receive $215,321.00 in funding this year.


2) La Strada Project Update
This development is in the Tuscany Hills area of the city. This report is on the agenda to answer lingering questions about the activity taking place, specifically the apparent quarrying of aggregate material.

I have watched 18-wheelers going in and out of that area for several weeks now, and have not had my questions answered to a level of satisfaction I am comfortable with, thus its placement on the agenda.



3) Approval of loan agreement in connection with the issuance of Public Finance Authority Tax Allocation Revenue Bonds.

This one is hard to explain using the language in the staff report, but essentially it is a suggestion to refinance some bonds and save money. It's estimated the savings would be $100,000.00 a year, depending on the interest rate.



If you have any questions or concerns, you can leave a post (which I prefer!) or email me at
mmelendez@lake-elsinore.org

Fir Circle Update

I know I said I would do a new post about this problem, so here it is, but it's the same old story unfortunately. The title and mortgage company need to get their ducks in a row, legally, before they can evict. That is what they are currently STILL working on.

I wish I had some terrific news, other than the same line everyone is tired of hearing, but I don't. I've been in contact with those involved and those in the position to do something, or at least have some responsibility in the matter. I'm passing on the information as I get it.

I can tell you they are probably anxious to resolve this so they stop getting emails from me, and every other official in the city.

As always, I'll pass on the information as I get it.

Don't Shoot The Messenger

Well I have bad news and worse news. What shall I start with?

First, you may notice a smaller paycheck starting this Sunday, as the state will withhold 10% more taxes from us. Yep, it's an interest free loan we all get to give to the state, whether we want to or not.

Are you having a hard time making ends meet? Are you living paycheck to paycheck, budgeting your expenses to the dime? Cutting back on driving? Cutting back on food expenses to cover medical expenses?

Well, sorry, but Sacramento needs your money! Rather than decrease the size of the government and the expense that comes with it, they've increased the number of employees. And well, it's just darn hard to balance a budget when you can't control your spending habits.

So that's where we come in, the average hard working Californian gets to "share the burden".

The only way you can get out of giving away your money interest free, against your will I might add, is to be just as creative as our legislators.

According to a spokeswoman for the state's Franchise Tax Board, "People can get out of this," she said, noting that most people would have to change their allowances through their employers. California's budget leaders are banking on the hope that most won't."

When I file my tax return this year, I think I'm going to list two additional dependents. The federal government, and the state government.


Second, America’s largest public-pension fund, Calpers, which is what our employees have and those of every other city as far as I know, shockingly revealed that one of their board members reaped more than $50 million in fees for arranging investments that could saddle state taxpayers with hundreds of millions of dollars in losses.

Calpers has lost MORE THAN 50 BILLION in bad investments. Guess who gets to pay for this? Yes, yes, right again, WE DO!

Local governments are contractually bound to increase their payments to Calpers to help make up for investment losses of more than $50 billion in the fiscal year ended June 30.

Moral of the story? Pay attention, close attention, to who you choose to represent you when it comes time to vote. Your quality of life literally depends on it.