Comments on: Derailment Report

By: Derailment Countdown – 45 days to Save the Fair! | Orange Juice

Derailment Countdown – 45 days to Save the Fair! | Orange Juice — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:00:31 +0000

[...] It’ll be simple stuff; and I’ll also fill you in on the latest Derailment news. (a little primer here) Remember this sale is a Juggernaut, being rushed through quicker than any comparable transaction [...]

By: Vern Nelson

Vern Nelson — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:58:56 +0000

Zenger, I did intend “pastel.” “Pastoral” would in fact make perfect sense, but… we would lose the sardonicism and snark, and then where would we be?

By: The Pot Stirrer

The Pot Stirrer — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:46:31 +0000

Vern, seems to me you’ve got Riggy pegged.

By: Vern Nelson

Vern Nelson — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:07:40 +0000

#9, I never said Riggy had “financial involvement” in this mess. Let’s see, I did call him “slick,” an “ally” of the Board/Foundation, and I called his “Save the Fair” movement “Orwellian-named,” implying that it will do the opposite of saving the fair.

That’s how it looks to me, anyway. We’ve just suffered through a decade of “Clear Skies Initiatives,” “No Child Left Behind,” and “Healthy Forests,” and “Save The Fair” seems to take as a given that the sale will go through and all we can do is mitigate the damage.

And like I said, we all want to lock in the zoning with this initiative; we Derailers and lovers of the Fair want it for the obvious reasons, but the Board/Foundation has the extra motivation that locking in the zoning will make the property less tempting so they won’t be competing with big developers when they make their own bid.

Unlike the Fair Board members, and contrary to rumors, Righeimer comes across as a nice guy. He used his speech time this morning to ask “Why can’t we all get along” and let’s not question each other’s motivations; and then he hung out after the meeting with the Derail crowd. (Well, that was the only crowd there.)

But if he’s sincere about wanting to preserve the fair we all know and love, and if he’s not in bed with the Board/Foundation conspirators, and if he doesn’t want to GIVE THE IMPRESSION (which many of us have) that he IS acting as their ally and facilitator, then he needs to re-order his priorities:

FIRST, use his considerable energies to help stop the sale altogether;
ALSO but secondarily, push the zoning initiative.

Can you hear me, Jim?

By: Larry Morrissey

Larry Morrissey — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:21:56 +0000

The state needs to sell some big-ticket assets that will bring in predictable revenues like bridges, the 405 Freeway & others. A toll road company can get billions from CALPERS to pay for them by issuing bonds at interest rates that’ll cover those escalating pensions. Then the users will pay for the roads in the best of free enterprise traditions instead of all the taxpayers.

By: David Zenger

David Zenger — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:39:35 +0000

BTW, I forgot to ask about this:

“by pastel visions of horsies and livestock”

Was that”pastoral visions.”

By: Cm realist

Cm realist — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:39:25 +0000

Jim Righeimer has no financial involvement in this whatsoever. To drag his name through the mud is just wrong. ‘save the Fair’ is simply the effort to pass the ballot initiative in costa Mesa to lock in the zoning as a fairgrounds.

By: LS

LS — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:31:29 +0000

This is an impressive collation of information. Art is spot on: masterful indeed! Looking forward to reading about the aftermath of today’s meeting. Let’s hope Mr. Solario does the right thing. I believe you have masterfully encouraged him to do so…

By: David Zenger

David Zenger — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:26:13 +0000

Vern, fun post. Can you clarify Righeimer’s postion? What does “Save the Fair” really mean?

By: deadwhitemale

deadwhitemale — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:25:38 +0000

i do not trust the fair board members (aka “pigs at the trough”)who ate lobster and had front row seats for themselves and all their friends for the concerts. Righeimer is an unelected sixth councilmember in his eyes. He has a lot of good ideas at times but he is so connected to Republican bigshots that he is hard to trust also. I do enjoy his oratory, just don’t really trust him. Therefore, I say derail the sale is the way to go.

By: George McNaughtingham

George McNaughtingham — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:31:00 +0000

Nice job Vern…

By: Art Pedroza

Art Pedroza — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:21:29 +0000

Vern,

Masterful! I hope we can stop this boondoggle. Jerbal and his pals can hardly wait to start getting into the OC Fair concerts for free again…

As for Solorio, don’t hold your breath. He is allied with the Trannies. My guess is he will huff and puff and do nothing.