Who said that I cannot write something positive about Mission Viejo, the city where I have resided for the past 30 years.
March 31st is the 20th anniversary of our cityhood. To celebrate that event the city is devoting a full week beginning March 22nd to a wide array of activities that you might wish to attend.
Saturday, March 22nd. Village Green at Oso Viejo Community Park with the opening ceremony at 10 am followed by our annual “Bunny Days” Celebration at 11 am.
There will be live entertainment from 12:30-2pm.
Monday, March 24th. Tour the expanded and remodeled Norman P Murray Community and Senior Center that offers a wide array of programs for all ages.
Tuesday, March 25th. Starting at the Civic Center (where our City Hall and Library are located) there will be a Mission Viejo Torch Walk with local Olympians to the Village Green at the Oso Viejo Community Park. This 1.2 mile torch walk will take you down La Paz Road to Oso Creek Trail around to the Village Green. Starting at 5:30 pm there will be a complimentary lite dinner reception in the “Sycamore Room” of the Murray Center to be followed by a concert by the Marines Battalion from 6:30-7:30.
Wednesday, March 26th. At 7 pm the program will feature an evening with syndicated cartoonist, Mission Viejo resident Kevin Fagan, creator of the comic strip “Drabble.”
Thursday, March 27th. At 6:30 pm “Play Dead” mystery writer Davis Rosenfeld will be featured in a fund raiser for our local animal rescue group DAWG. The admission of $50 per person includes wine and heavy Hors d’oeuvres. Tickets 949.470.3045 Please do not drink and drive.
Friday, March 28th. At 5:45pm a time capsule will be buried at the Center. This will be followed by a complimentary dinner, magic show and a screening of the movie “Back to the Future” at 7:30 pm.
The closing ceremony will be an all day event starting at 8 am Saturday, March 29th. We will begin activities with a community planting along the new Upper Oso Creek Trail. The “Village” will offer arts and crafts displays along with an environmental area displaying products for “green” living. This will be followed by an afternoon concert. The ribbon cutting for the Grand opening of the Center is scheduled at 6 pm which will be followed by a complimentary reception from 6 pm until 8 pm.
Note: For those who receive the local edition of the OC Register look in the Saddleback Valley News for the blue and white four page flyer entitled “Celebration on the Green” from which this post was written.
Larry:
Will Lance MacLean be there ???
Grover C.
Larry,
Whats your take on what Gail did last night at the meeting?
And didn’t know she was pushing the In God We Trust issue, and the resolution to force school’s to require documentation from anyone using the facilities.
I’d like to hear your MV insider take on these developments…
Grover.
You know this will be a huge photo op for every member of the council
grover: if lance is there, hold your pee and everything will be all right. richard n.
Just askin.
As this is a positive post about our 20th year celebration I prefer not diverting attention from the topic. I did attend and speak at last night’s council meeting and am aware of her departure (after she spoke to our city clerk who verifed that point with me earlier today). Sorry but that’s all I intend to add in this story.
This is a celebration of mass grading of rolling hillsides involving moving millions of cubic yards of earth to create terraces on which boxes have been constructed to house the next generation of NIMBY’s. That’s Mission Viejo.
if this was not an election year, would the city have created a week long celebration for a 20th anniversary?
i wonder what the silver anniversary celebration will be like? maybe a grand opening for the gym?
anon 9:54 am
Good afternoon Anon. “moving millions of cubic yards of earth to create terraces” Where did you dig up this statement? If you can back this up with facts I promise to tip my hat to you.
anon 10:50 am
Yes, we are celebrating our 20th year of cityhood. Last year I mentioned our council decision to spend $300,000 for a “Tournament of Roses” parade float that will never be used for any other purpose beyond self agrandizement.
Folks. Please come to Mission Viejo where we do not have a Disneyland or Knotts Berry Farm theme park, no major (or even minor league) baseball team to promote, nor oceanfront property with beaches to enjoy.
However, we are good at one thing in Mission Viejo. We can outspend anyone in the County as evidenced by our $1,040 per square foot, $450,000, “out house” in Melinda Park with accomodations limited to one man and one woman. Hopefully the lines will not be too long during sporting activities.
On January 18, 2008, I made the following public records request to BOS Bill Campbell:
“what was the contract price for the pending construction of the six stall restroom facility in irvine regional park?”
Bill Campbell’s response was:
“The Board awarded a construction contract to Hondo Company, Inc in the amount of $280,474 for a new six stall restroom facility at Irvine Regional Park.”
So, yes in deed, the mission viejo city council absolutely knows how to outspend everybody – and they can even do it with their eyes closed !! cathy schlicht
Larry – before MV was a city the tract maps and grading plans were submitted to the county for approval, and oft those plans called for moving over a million yards of dirt to create building pads and of course, landscaped slopes (which today are maintained by homeowners associations and/or local taxpayers). That rolling land was terraced, reshaped, etc. Even to make the relatively flat Alicia Park required considerable dirt to be moved. This is quite common in hilly south county, much to the consternation of people then and now who prefer rolling open space and hills. Today what MV really needs is a Wal-Mart, but that is another story for another time.
oK anon 6:33pm
In reading your first reference to moving millions of cubic yards of earth I thought you were responding to the 12,000 square foot expansion of the Murray center which this post is about.
Apparently you are referencing the entire city of Mission Viejo with 19 square miles that is somewhat larger than this project.
If that’s your point I will not disagree.
As to a WalMart in Mission Viejo I will not disagree. I would like to have a Fry’s Electronics store but I do not see that happening. Althought their merchandise and pricing differ from Wal_Mart we have added a second Target in town.