OC UNFAIR » Selling out our Children’s Future http://ocunfair.com All that is necessary for the triumph for evil, is that good men do nothing - Edmund Burke Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:14:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 State May Not Get ANYTHING For The Sale http://ocunfair.com/selling-out-our-children%e2%80%99s-future/state-may-not-get-anything-for-the-sale/ http://ocunfair.com/selling-out-our-children%e2%80%99s-future/state-may-not-get-anything-for-the-sale/#comments Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:14:47 +0000 OCunfair http://ocunfair.com/?p=308 A recent blog post on OC Progressive noted that due to a provision in federal law, the state might not get anything for the sale of the fairgrounds.  Thanks to the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, if the fairgrounds are sold to a developer, the property reverts to the U.S. Government.

Assmeblymembers Solorio and Tran [...]]]> A recent blog post on OC Progressive noted that due to a provision in federal law, the state might not get anything for the sale of the fairgrounds.  Thanks to the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, if the fairgrounds are sold to a developer, the property reverts to the U.S. Government.

Assmeblymembers Solorio and Tran should be made aware of this information in tomorrow’s public hearing.

]]> http://ocunfair.com/selling-out-our-children%e2%80%99s-future/state-may-not-get-anything-for-the-sale/feed/ 0 State sends letter saying it wants to maximize profits for fairgrounds http://ocunfair.com/selling-out-our-children%e2%80%99s-future/state-sends-letter-saying-it-wants-to-maximize-profits-for-fairgrounds/ http://ocunfair.com/selling-out-our-children%e2%80%99s-future/state-sends-letter-saying-it-wants-to-maximize-profits-for-fairgrounds/#comments Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:46:44 +0000 OCunfair http://ocunfair.com/?p=274 The state sent the City of Costa Mesa a letter stating that they are not pleased the City is considering a Specific Plan to limit the ability for a bidder of the fairgrounds to build homes, high-rises, or anything else they see fit. Sorry guys! Our quality of life in Costa Mesa is more important [...]]]> The state sent the City of Costa Mesa a letter stating that they are not pleased the City is considering a Specific Plan to limit the ability for a bidder of the fairgrounds to build homes, high-rises, or anything else they see fit. Sorry guys! Our quality of life in Costa Mesa is more important than covering a few brief hours of the interest on the insane debt you’ve run up in Sacramento.

View the letter.

]]> http://ocunfair.com/selling-out-our-children%e2%80%99s-future/state-sends-letter-saying-it-wants-to-maximize-profits-for-fairgrounds/feed/ 0 Dodge lives up to her name http://ocunfair.com/selling-out-our-children%e2%80%99s-future/dodge-lives-up-to-her-name/ http://ocunfair.com/selling-out-our-children%e2%80%99s-future/dodge-lives-up-to-her-name/#comments Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:00:08 +0000 OCunfair http://ocunfair.com/?p=260 Kristina Dodge, the chairwoman of the Fair Board… er, the Foundation Board… er, both actually, recently penned an op-ed article claiming that this new non-profit board is looking to buy the fairgrounds so they can keep it as is.

But wait a minute.  If you want to keep the fairgrounds as is, then why should the [...]]]> Kristina Dodge, the chairwoman of the Fair Board… er, the Foundation Board… er, both actually, recently penned an op-ed article claiming that this new non-profit board is looking to buy the fairgrounds so they can keep it as is.

But wait a minute.  If you want to keep the fairgrounds as is, then why should the state sell them at all?  We’re told its because the state is in a financial crisis and is selling off its assets.  Okay, let’s take a look at the fairgrounds and state parks throughout California.  Are they selling  Doheney?  San Onofre?  Huntington? Bolsa Chica?  What?  They’re not selling ANY state parks or state beaches?  What about fairgrounds?  Del Mar? Alameda County?  Sonoma County?  the State Fairground in Sacramento?  You mean the Orange County Fairgrounds are the ONLY Fairgrounds up for sale?  Doesn’t that seem a little suspicious to you?

It seems to me that if the state was really looking to close its budget deficit by selling off its property, it would do more than sell off JUST the Orange County Fairgrounds.  No, make no mistake, this property was put on sale because THIS FAIR BOARD WANTED IT PUT UP FOR SALE.  Dave Ellis and his henchmen are putting the pieces in place to buy it on the cheap, then sell it off (piece by piece of course) to developers.  Sorry guys!  We figured it out and we won’t let it happen!

Don’t be duped by Dodge’s sepia-toned nostalgia for the fair.  Those are just crocodile tears.  These political insiders don’t even live in Costa Mesa and are just looking to control the last swath of prime real estate in our town.

Contact the Governor’s office today and tell him to rescind the RFP.  Our Fair Is Not For Sale!  Not now!  Not ever!

]]> http://ocunfair.com/selling-out-our-children%e2%80%99s-future/dodge-lives-up-to-her-name/feed/ 0 Foundation Board will hold meetings in secret http://ocunfair.com/selling-out-our-children%e2%80%99s-future/foundation-board-will-hold-meetings-in-secret/ http://ocunfair.com/selling-out-our-children%e2%80%99s-future/foundation-board-will-hold-meetings-in-secret/#comments Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:19:37 +0000 OCunfair http://ocunfair.com/?p=258 As reported by the Daily Voice, the new OC Fair Foundation has stonewalled the public and stated that all of their meetings will be held in secret.  No public input is needed or wanted, thank you very much.

In the short term, however, they do have to hold public board meetings as State Fair Board Members.  Maybe [...]]]> As reported by the Daily Voice, the new OC Fair Foundation has stonewalled the public and stated that all of their meetings will be held in secret.  No public input is needed or wanted, thank you very much.

In the short term, however, they do have to hold public board meetings as State Fair Board Members.  Maybe someone should ask where they came up with the money to form this new “Foundation” board.  SURELY this new non-profit board didn’t use taxpayer dollars to form this board, then lock out the public. 

Yet, despite these secret meetings and plotting by the Beasley-Ellis faction, Kristina Dodge who is the chairwoman of both the Board AND the Foundation (no conflict of interest there! LOL!) tells us to ignore the man behind the curtain, everything is fine.  They’ll keep the fair and marketplace and everything else as is.  And what guarantee do we have?  Well, we just need to trust them, I guess.

]]> http://ocunfair.com/selling-out-our-children%e2%80%99s-future/foundation-board-will-hold-meetings-in-secret/feed/ 0 Opposition to Sale of Fairgrounds Grows http://ocunfair.com/selling-out-our-children%e2%80%99s-future/opposition-to-sale-of-fairgrounds-grows/ http://ocunfair.com/selling-out-our-children%e2%80%99s-future/opposition-to-sale-of-fairgrounds-grows/#comments Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:52:12 +0000 OCunfair http://ocunfair.com/?p=233 Jim Righeimer reported on Friday that he’s never had as many e-mails to any of his columns as he did regarding his column questioning the sale of the fairgrounds.  In his column on Friday he reported that “hundreds of comments and responses” were overwhelmingly supportive of keeping the fairgrounds as they are.

He has launched a Facebook [...]]]> Jim Righeimer reported on Friday that he’s never had as many e-mails to any of his columns as he did regarding his column questioning the sale of the fairgrounds.  In his column on Friday he reported that “hundreds of comments and responses” were overwhelmingly supportive of keeping the fairgrounds as they are.

He has launched a Facebook page at www.savethefair.com. 

Additionally, the city is looking at adopting a specific plan to prevent the development of the fairgrounds.

While this action and activism is positive, the focus must remain on preventing the sale of the fairgrounds to ANYONE… especially this “nonprofit board” that seems so good in theory… but will give those politically connected board members (e.g. Dave Ellis) the chance to buy three seats on the Costa Mesa City Council, then change the zoning to cash in on hundreds of millions of dollars.  That’s why the state wants a percentage of the future sale of the property. 

Why is no other state fairgrounds or state park up for sale?  Just the one in Orange County?  Seems a little suspect, no?

Keep up the pressure!  Let’s get the Governor to pull the RFP for the sale and keep our fair as is!

]]> http://ocunfair.com/selling-out-our-children%e2%80%99s-future/opposition-to-sale-of-fairgrounds-grows/feed/ 0 Costa Mesa Council Ready to Fight http://ocunfair.com/selling-out-our-children%e2%80%99s-future/costa-mesa-council-ready-to-fight/ http://ocunfair.com/selling-out-our-children%e2%80%99s-future/costa-mesa-council-ready-to-fight/#comments Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:29:28 +0000 OCunfair http://ocunfair.com/?p=221 The Costa Mesa City Council seems ready to fight to protect the residents from a potential buyer who would be looking to build new homes, a strip mall, or an “L.A. Live-south” on the fairgrounds.  However, unless they can somehow find a way to lock in the zoning as it is now forever or require a vote [...]]]> The Costa Mesa City Council seems ready to fight to protect the residents from a potential buyer who would be looking to build new homes, a strip mall, or an “L.A. Live-south” on the fairgrounds.  However, unless they can somehow find a way to lock in the zoning as it is now forever or require a vote of the people to change the zoning, a future council will be able to still change the zoning to commercial or residential and build, build, build!

Ironically, this could actually BENEFIT the new Beazley/Ellis non-profit board by driving the purchase price down, down, down (The state’s estimate of “$96 million to $180 million” is a joke… if it were zoned residential or commercial it would be $300 million easily).  They snap it up for pennies on the dollar, claiming to want to “save the fair,” then play the waiting game.  They then run and finance stealth campaigns of three council candidates who are willing to change the zoning… then it’s PAYDAY!!  That’s why the state wants a piece of the action for future development as part of the sale agreement.  The state knows how this game is played and they want a pay off in the future.  So the Beazley/Ellis board cashes in, the state makes a little on the back end… and the residents take it in the back end.

It’s like a ticking time bomb.

]]> http://ocunfair.com/selling-out-our-children%e2%80%99s-future/costa-mesa-council-ready-to-fight/feed/ 2 Katrina Foley Opposes Fair Sale http://ocunfair.com/selling-out-our-children%e2%80%99s-future/katrina-foley-opposes-fair-sale/ http://ocunfair.com/selling-out-our-children%e2%80%99s-future/katrina-foley-opposes-fair-sale/#comments Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:36:45 +0000 OCunfair http://ocunfair.com/?p=218 In this week’s Orange Coast College “Coast Report,” Costa Mesa City Councilmember Katrina Foley came out against the sale of the fairgrounds saying, “…it’s not a good thing (the fairgrounds) have been put up for sale.”  She also pleaded to the public to stand up against the sale saying, “It’s time for the community to [...]]]> In this week’s Orange Coast College “Coast Report,” Costa Mesa City Councilmember Katrina Foley came out against the sale of the fairgrounds saying, “…it’s not a good thing (the fairgrounds) have been put up for sale.”  She also pleaded to the public to stand up against the sale saying, “It’s time for the community to speak out loud and clear on what they want for the fairgrounds.”

The most important sentence in the entire article is the last one:   “The property will be sold as is and will include profit participation as a deed restriction in the event any portion of it is ever developed or used for anything other than its current use as a fair and event center.”

This is the key component and will explain why the state will likely accept the “new” non-profit’s offer that will be about 10% of the land’s true value.  Both the buyer and seller know that turning this property into a housing track or strip mall is politically untenable at this time, but once they control three seats on the Costa Mesa council, they can change the zoning and… JACKPOT!  They cash in.

Things are unfolding exactly the way we said they would.  It is incumbent upon the citizens of Costa Mesa to stop the sale now.

]]> http://ocunfair.com/selling-out-our-children%e2%80%99s-future/katrina-foley-opposes-fair-sale/feed/ 0 Righeimer Gets It http://ocunfair.com/uncategorized/righeimer-gets-it/ http://ocunfair.com/uncategorized/righeimer-gets-it/#comments Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:43:30 +0000 OCunfair http://ocunfair.com/?p=199 The sale of the fairgrounds is a joke.  With the current zoning, the sale of the fairgrounds won’t provide the state with enough money to even cover the interest on its debt for a day.  This has nothing to do the state’s financial crisis (as most of us know the state has a spending problem, not a [...]]]> The sale of the fairgrounds is a joke.  With the current zoning, the sale of the fairgrounds won’t provide the state with enough money to even cover the interest on its debt for a day.  This has nothing to do the state’s financial crisis (as most of us know the state has a spending problem, not a revenue problem), and everything to do with enriching this new non-profit board. 

Costa Mesa Planning Commissioner Jim Righeimer sees the writing on the wall.  It’s clear the new board (which is the same as the old board), will buy the fairgrounds for pennies on the dollar, sit on it for a couple of years until they can get three council members that will change the zoning on the council, then flip the property (or at least part of it) to a developer.  Don’t be surprised if you see Dave Ellis and other board members working as “consultants” to the future developers of this property in order to line their pockets with millions of dollars.

Follow the money.

]]> http://ocunfair.com/uncategorized/righeimer-gets-it/feed/ 1 The True Value of Public Land http://ocunfair.com/selling-out-our-children%e2%80%99s-future/the-true-value-of-public-land/ http://ocunfair.com/selling-out-our-children%e2%80%99s-future/the-true-value-of-public-land/#comments Wed, 16 Sep 2009 23:34:29 +0000 OCunfair http://ocunfair.com/?p=38 There is a natural assumption by many that selling our fairgrounds will help our state out of its fiscal mess. The reality is that the proposed $30 million sale price wouldn’t cover the interest on the state debt for even 24 hours.

The fairgrounds have been public land for more than fifty years.  Is it worth [...]]]> There is a natural assumption by many that selling our fairgrounds will help our state out of its fiscal mess. The reality is that the proposed $30 million sale price wouldn’t cover the interest on the state debt for even 24 hours.

The fairgrounds have been public land for more than fifty years.  Is it worth it to sell this prime real estate to cover one day’s worth of interest on the debt?

What public land is next on the chopping block? Yosemite?  Balboa Park? Golden Gate Park? Huntington Beach State Beach?

Tough economic times don’t last, but once this land is gone… it’s gone forever!

]]> http://ocunfair.com/selling-out-our-children%e2%80%99s-future/the-true-value-of-public-land/feed/ 7 Don’t ignore the man behind the curtain! http://ocunfair.com/selling-out-our-children%e2%80%99s-future/don%e2%80%99t-ignore-the-man-behind-the-curtain/ http://ocunfair.com/selling-out-our-children%e2%80%99s-future/don%e2%80%99t-ignore-the-man-behind-the-curtain/#comments Mon, 14 Sep 2009 23:37:05 +0000 OCunfair http://ocunfair.com/?p=41 Dave Ellis is a seasoned veteran at influence peddling in politics.  He made contributions to and ran the campaign of a San Bernardino Supervisor who then directed staff to reconsider Ellis’ client, the infamous electronic voting company Diebold, in an effort to provide them with the $13 million contract with the County.

Ellis also used his [...]]]> Dave Ellis is a seasoned veteran at influence peddling in politics.  He made contributions to and ran the campaign of a San Bernardino Supervisor who then directed staff to reconsider Ellis’ client, the infamous electronic voting company Diebold, in an effort to provide them with the $13 million contract with the County.

Ellis also used his influence with local elected officials to bilk Newport Beach taxpayers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.  After running the campaigns of Newport Beach candidates and councilmen, he was able to get them to approve a $458,000 contract to his firm for “public education” regarding the proposed El Toro Airport.  This was so egregious that new city laws were put in place that prohibit campaign managers from raiding the city treasury for tax dollars.

Ellis has moved up now to the state level and in partnership with Steve Beazley, is quietly perpetrating the biggest land heist in Orange County history.

What is stunning is that former State Senator Dick Ackerman seems to be helping Ellis and Beazley pull this off. Ackerman and his law firm are assisting with the legal maneuvering and his firm stands to make hundreds of thousands of dollars in the process.

How far back do Ackerman and Ellis go?  Did Ackerman lobby the Governor to get Ellis on this board so they both could benefit financially?  It’s unfortunate that the Governor’s office has been used as a pawn so that Ackerman and Ellis can benefit personally from their public appointment.

The remaining board members who might be able to revert to the old ticket policy of “as many front-row tickets as you want, any time you want” seem to be seduced by the prospect of never having to hold another open board meeting again.  There is even discussion of the board being a PAID, rather than a volunteer position.

Yet, if board members really knew the depths to which Dave Ellis and Steve Beazley are sinking, they would not want to be associated with them.

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