Food for thought...

I had a meeting in Ventura last night, so I was late to the Council meeting and missed the El Dorado agenda item. I'm hearing it was pretty exciting. I'll watch the reruns and find out what happened.

I was there for the Business Park EIR approval. However, it didn't happen yet. A minor technical difficulty caused the decision to be continued to March 11th.

There are a few issues with the Business Park and the Council appears to be trying to be thorough in crossing the t's and dotting the i's.

The important issue is the Smith property(or Property 4). The Smith family wants to continue their agricultural operation and there should be a buffer between them and the adjacent businesses.

Evidently one of the mitigations of the General Plan Update was that the City was required to impose a "Right to Farm Ordinance" spelling out the buffer. Somehow that never occurred. My question is that if we can't trust that the mitigations will occur how can we trust the documents or the process? The whole basis of public trust in our government is also an ethical issue isn't it?

Priceless...

Funny cartoon

I hope this doesn't offend some readers but I had to "giggle" at this amusing cartoon from Problogger.com




Now the giggler aka ALL CAPS can also be known as DW(for D#*W*d). But don't expect to see him on my blog. He doesn't deserve to have a voice here.

Amgen Bike Tour

The Amgen Bike Tour will be coming down South Mountain Road today so if you are in that area watch out for the bikes.

Neighborhood News

I've recently learned that my friend and neighbor, Raelene Chaney, is in the hospital in Santa Paula. Raelene works really hard and heads up the successful Grad Nite Live program. Please keep Raelene in your thoughts and prayers.

Economics 101 - Global Perspective

You've been buying gold right? Paying down debt? Investing in oil or other commodities? I hope so.

For some people here in Fillmore, this recession is going to be tough to get through. We've heard from folks at El Dorado, Parkview Senior Apartments and others that it's getting really tight. In our neighborhood, two families have walked from their mortgages leaving the bank holding a property that loses value daily. Our homeowners association dues are seeing record delinquencies.

You've heard about the $300 check you're going to get from the government. Some people may use it to pay their sewer bills, others might go enjoy an evening out. Whatever you spend it on, you may also wonder what the heck happened. Isn't our economy doing great? Haven't you read that in the papers?

Here is an interesting interview from a global perspective. You won't get this perspective from the local news. When I travel, I enjoy watching CNN International news rather than CNN US. Here our news is about Britney Spears and other celebrities. I guess our culture isn't ready for real news. Enjoy...

What about grandma?

I've been watching a tape of the joint City Council Planning Commission meeting on January 16th.

There have been a lot of words written and comments made on rent control. Most in favor of rent control for El Dorado.

It just makes sense when every other City and the County have Sr. park rent control.

Do you have family or friends in El Dorado? I have some friends that live out there and I have seen their rent bills. Some are in the $900 range.

They have kept me informed about the issue so I've read a lot of material. It seems like it would have been an easy decision. Particularly since Ventura County had recently revised their ordinance. Scott Lee asked that it be used as a model for a theoretical ordinance for Fillmore.

The statistics are daunting;

• 150 widows/single ladies
• 40 coaches for sale
• 20 abandoned
• ? veterans unable to pay their rent

Yes, there are some individuals who are financially secure and not interested in rent control. There are claims that rent control will not benefit everyone in the park. I guess that can only be known if all of the leases are examined. If the intent is to benefit all residents in a somewhat equal manner, that doesn't seem like such an insurmountable task. I bet it's been done before.

Since there are provisions entitling the property owner to decent profits plus expenses when calculating increases, how could they be hurt? Clearly, right now, many of the residents have been hurt. There has to be a way to make it equitable and a rent control ordinance based on Ventura County's seems like a win/win.