Genes and Hormones

As I suspected, I do not have a BRCA gene mutation, more common in Ashkenazi Jews than the general population. That mutation predisposes the bearer to breast and ovarian cancer. The very very cheery and and rushed genetic counselor gave me the news Thursday. She's still waiting to see if I have a certain other mutation responsible for breast and uterine cancer. I need to get her one more piece of information before she can tell me that I'm a suspect. And if I am? I guess a hysterectomy will follow. Does this never end?

Recently I talked with a woman I know about professional/academic matters and then she said, You're my age, aren't you? and I am, and she turned the talk to menopause and hot flashes. Hers sound worse, only because she doesn't have a partner, so that she's been on dates when she's broken out in a sweat. At least I don't have to be embarrassed about them when I'm with L. How many times have I asked him, Is it hot in here? And we know the answer: No, it's just me. That, more or less, is the title of no fewer than four books about menopause. I think I'm still fascinated by the oddness of the flash. I'm like a kid who keeps saying: You know what? That's what! How many times have I implored L to touch my clammy scalp just to feel its sponginess? And he doesn't like to do it because of the clamminess. The attribute that gives amphibians a bad rap.

What could be the evolutionary advantage of the hot flash? I can't figure it out. I found an article that explains that motherless children are more apt to survive if they are cared for by an older woman without her own children. That makes sense. But surely there must have been some women through time who lost estrogen, yet remained free of hot flashes. Unfortunately, those women wouldn't still reproduce, so that's a dead end. I try to cheer myself: Could it be that menopause symptoms were more extreme back in antiquity? What if there were once scads of menopausal women who were so irritable and ferocious that they killed their offspring? The genes for the worst symptoms would have died with them. So we should be grateful now, huh?

The macrobiotics folks point to soy, which is good for easing hot flashes. Except if you had a breast cancer tumor that was estrogen-positive. In that case, you have to avoid soy because it's too close in form to estrogen. So I am soy-less and flashing. It helps to fold a scarf into a band and to wear it at my (low) hairline and tie it at the back of my neck. That way the fabric absorbs the sweat. Or at least keeps it from dripping into my eyes. Tonight I wore a tie-dyed bandana and S called me Tom Sawyer.

(I typed "Tom Sawyer" and "sweat" into Google and found quotes from Huck, such as: "Looky here, Tom, being rich ain't what it's cracked up to be. It's just worry and worry, and sweat and sweat, and a-wishing you was dead all the time," and just thinking about how I could be foxy and twist the quote some to make it relevant to menopause made me embarrassed...and sweaty.)

READ MORE - Genes and Hormones

Hairline

I look like Sluggo, Nancy's pal in the comic strip. My hairline is lower than my tattoo-line was, and I look like a Neandertal.* My tattoos are mostly faded. I want to get someone to rewrite the US out of Iraq on the back of my head. My scalp still shows through the hair. My eyebrows are growing in but I still use pencil to darken. My eyes are close together (an oculist told me, and it's true) and I think it's more pronounced now that the tattoos are gone. I am vain and obsessed. I think about 50 percent of the time about my hair/non-hair and the rest of the time about food, students, writing, the world brutality du jour, cancer coming back. Not in that order. The order keeps changing. I suppose I should be thinking about the Cubs' major win. They are Midwest division champs of the National division. Or something like that. Only 11 more wins and they are world (US and Canada) champs. I applied today for a fellowship from the Christopher Isherwood Foundation. I regret never writing to him. He has been dead about 20 years. A friend of mine wrote to Meridel LeSueur and kept up a correspondence. I regret not sending my books to Grace Paley, who would have read them or not, but at least she would have been aware of them. A critic wrote that Paley wrote English as if it were Yiddish and someone once said that about my work. She was much much closer to Yiddish speakers and inflection than I've been. I interviewed her over the phone and then met her here, but before I had any books. I didn't mention my breast cancer on the personal statement to the Isherwood Foundation. I would have if it were for nonfiction writers, but it was for fiction, so I put my best fiction foot forward. I almost wrote: I was diagnosed with breast cancer in January and finished chemo this summer. I am writing a nonfiction book about it and that takes time away from my fiction so I need money to buy time for my fiction. That was all I could think to say so I didn't say it. Other than: I had breast cancer, feel sorry for me and send money. My time may be short. But think of all the writers with AIDS who may be applying. Breast cancer seems like chump change. At least my kind of. It is garden-variety-ish, and that is why my oncologist (soon to be my former) seemed bored with it. Or maybe he is without affect. I will see the new young female oncologist on Friday. The old oncologist seemed indifferent to my case. He didn't call my shrink back to talk about drug interactions and when they did talk (after she called again) she asked him about monitoring of something or other in my liver and he brushed her off. I want an oncologist who at least feigns interest and goes through the right motions. Is that too much to ask?
I have tried to find pictures of Sluggo on line to link to, but it's hard to find good ones. In most, he's wearing a hat. I remember him as being nearly bald, with stubs all over, and a low hairline. But in this comic, it's not so low.
*"Neanderthal" sounds more natural, but I want to sound smart, so I'm spelling it without the H. Mr. Neandert(h)al was not available for comment.

READ MORE - Hairline

Is $61 Million A Lot of Money?

In today's OC Register is an editorial, most appropriately called "Strangled in the Cradle."

It essentially recounts the Newport Beach City Council's fear of the city's Unions and pulls heavily from the Daily Pilot's article.

The following paragraph encapsulates the entire situation of the "republican"-led City Council:

"That a council with six Republicans in an overwhelmingly Republican city was too fearful to deal with the outsized benefit packages that have led Newport to have an estimated $61 million in unfunded pension liability costs is a testament to the power of government unions, which invest heavily in city council races. The excuse-making was incredible. Mayor Steve Rosansky said, in essence, that the public is too dim-witted to vote on such complex matters: "I don't think you could possibly educate residents enough about contract terms," Rosansky told the Daily Pilot. "Basically what you'll wind up getting is just people making a gut-level decision.""

Notes to remember:

• Yes - there are more Republicans registered in Newport Beach than Democrats.
• Yes - the Political Party registration of the Newport Beach City Council is 6 Republicans to 1 Decline to State
• Yes - The Newport Beach City Council wants to BORROW millions and millions of dollars to build a new City Hall
• Yes - Newport Beach has more City Employees to residents than any other neighboring city and are hiring more (go here to try to get a job, we pay really well and have great benefits!)
• NO - The Newport Beach City Council does NOT act like Republicans.
  

I had a good look at the General Plan drafts, and the finished General Plan. Many, many pages of charts, pictures, and words. Many pages of complex information.

I don't think there is anything more complex than Newport's General Plan, yet the residents voted on it. I don't think more than 1% of the people who voted in favor of it read through the entire thing. I probably would be safe to guess that not everyone on the City Council read through it cover to cover. Perhaps the Union's pocket lint might have gotten into the eyes of the Councilmembers?

Funny thing is that we were encouraged to vote on it by the same people who say that increasing City Employee pensions would be too complex for residents to vote on.

Was voting for the General Plan a "Gut-Level Decision?"

Will Mayor Rosansky's 2008 re-election campaign be too complex for voters?

What is soo complex about increasing the Pension liability? You don't have to go further than San Diego or even our own County of Orange to see what can happen.

If that $61 million dollar unfunded pension liability number for 2005 is accurate, how high does it have to get before the City Council understands the complexity of the matter?

READ MORE - Is $61 Million A Lot of Money?

Translation

It's always dangerous to make absolute statements (such as those that include "always"), but I will venture: Everyone loves secret code. That's what's so magical about speaking a foreign language.

I went to a French-language gathering last week. It was at La Creperie, and when I arrived there were about 20 people sitting outside at a long table. I went to sit down in an empty chair and a man gestured toward me and said he liked "l'ecran." My screen? What was he talking about? O, "le crane," my cranium, my scalp, meaning the message on my head: US out of Iraq. I'd thought it was too light to read. I told him I had the tattoo because I'd lost my hair. He didn't ask where it had gone. He was a very good and quick speaker of French, thanks to a French ex-wife. I realized I hadn't spoken French since December. I spoke rather rustily to him and to another guy who arrived, looking like a lawyer in a yellow tie and suit. And he was--a lawyer. I say I'm a writer and people say what do you write and I tell them I'm writing about cancer. What kind? asks the lawyer. Breast, sein, I say, and to make sure he's understanding me, he touches his chest. I am telling this stranger about my breast cancer and my recordings on WBEZ, and I'm feeling I wouldn't be telling him all this in English, so easily. Of course it's not easily tripping off my tongue. The gears are creaky. I read a William Maxwell story in which he talks about a man and his wife who want a child, and the wife is unhappy as a 1950s housewife without career or children, and they take a French class and say to one another what they can't say in English. Then their life goes on, after that brief opening up. I'm amazed at what one reveals in French, but at the same time on this very blog I've said many an intimate thing to--anyone--n'importe ou (anywhere)--who can find this square of zero-dimensional cyberspace. But it's different in person, isn't it? But in French in person it's not real; it's not English, doesn't matter what you say, and everything is interesting if it's said in French, because it's French, you have to struggle a little, to comprend. Pay that extra attention. French not real the way that travelers unfold the bills from their wallets and say, How much is this in real money?

The waitress came to collect money and the lawyer was asking her for change (in French) and she couldn't understand him. We were in a haze of French, speaking French, speaking in a familiar but foreign language to strangers. And we thought the world could understand us, because these people we'd never ever seen before could.

Makes you believe in the believers in Esperanto, who would craft a universal language and we would all be able to speak to one another, to speak the same language, as it were, and there would be no more strife.

But there were civil wars. Still are.

But the Jew who started Esperanto already had a universal language at hand: Yiddish.
Don't be afraid of Yiddish, Kafka told an audience once. You will understand it more than you thought you would, because it is like German. (Don't be afraid that you'll turn into your grandparents because of it.)

Old joke: What do you call someone who speaks two languages?
Bilingual.
What do you call someone who speaks three languages?
Trilingual.
What do you call someone who speaks one language?
American.

READ MORE - Translation

Be A Senator Tom Harman Intern!

Volunteering as an intern for an Assemblyman or State Senator is a GREAT way to get a look at the inner workings of our State Government. Many leaders in the Political movement today started out as interns for our Public Servants.

While most of the "work" is menial and tedious, it would be a great way to learn (even if it is from Sen. Harman...:-)), and if your kids are in a situation where they don't have to work to pay for gas, food, car insurance, etc., sign them up for this.

From the Harman Report:September 27, 2007:

Now Accepting Intern Resumes

During my years in the Legislature, I have come to recognize how essential interns are and the work that they do in order to keep both my Capitol and District offices operating smoothly. With the start of a new school year, I have openings in both my Capitol and District offices to high school and college students interested in government who are seeking a way to volunteer for semester internships.

Qualified candidates must be hard-working individuals who possess sound written and verbal communication skills and the ability to handle multiple tasks. District intern responsibilities will include constituent correspondence and working with staff members on special projects.

Interested parties may apply for a position by faxing a cover letter and resume to my district office located in Costa Mesa to Lisa Akiyama at (714) 957-4560 or my Capitol office to Braeden Huusfeldt at (916) 445-9263.

READ MORE - Be A Senator Tom Harman Intern!

Triple Crown Line - Newport Beach Edition

On Sunday, I guessed that the Newport Beach City Council would vote down Councilman Keith Curry's proposal to put City Employee Pension increases on the ballot 6-1. Boy, was I wrong. It never even got to a vote, with Councilman Curry pulling the item because he sensed that he was the only one.

And so goes the battle between Politicians who are in the pockets of the Employee Unions, and those who are not. We got a good look at where our Newport Beach politicians are on this one. I sure hope the pocket lint doesn't blur their vision too much...

The Police and Fire Unions (they like to be called Associations) knocked this one out of the park huh?

When running for City Council in Newport Beach, any serious candidate knows that Endorsements are key, but the three Grade A important ones to get in this City are:

1. Police Union
2. Fire Union
3. The Daily Pilot

Two Unions and the local (Los Angeles Times-owned) newspaper.

During the last 2006 City Election, this Triple Crown Line did pretty well, with the exception of the Barbara Venezia/Leslie Daigle race. In 2002, they only lost one, with soon-to-be former Councilman Dick Nichols (who suggested that the Newport Beach Fire Department all be volunteers) upsetting former Fountain Valley Mayor Bernie Svalstad. Not a bad track record.

So when I flipped on the Newport Beach City Council meeting, without my wife knowing of course, and I saw Fire Union head Jeff Boyles presenting his case against this pension vote issue, I knew it was done. Over. Kaput. You could almost taste the fear in the Councilmembers eyes from my couch.

These 7 council members were looking in the eye of the key holder to approximately an additional $37,000 (how much they spent on the 2006 elections, Police spent quite a bit less) in campaign contributions/independent expenditures and precinct walking. Plus the prestige of having your name associated with one of the County's top notch Fire Departments, who are considered God-like in our City. Face it, we all love our Fire Fighters, they do a great job.

So that is a quick reason why Newport Beach, in it's 100+ years, has never have one of their Council members elected to a higher Political Office (Former Mayor Judge Steve Bromberg won't count, he was appointed to the Bench and will be up for Re-Election), and probably won't in the near future. In this Republican strong area, being a Union sympathizer doesn't win any points. In fact, in most Orange County political seats, it's the death knell.

In 2010, Assemblyman Chuck DeVore might term out and there had been rumors running rampant of a Newport Beach City Council member possibly throwing their hat in. But in this Conservative stronghold known as the 70 Assembly District, can a Union-Loving, Government-Growing, Debt-Increasing Newport Beach Councilmember have a chance?

Maybe if the 70 AD is redistricted to include Santa Ana...

READ MORE - Triple Crown Line - Newport Beach Edition

What is Mine

Marcel Marceau is mine. And that's not a typo. He is mine because his father, Karl Mangel, was born in a small town in Poland and was a kosher butcher in Strasbourg. I understand kosher butchers. I understand Yiddish-speaking Polish fathers, though mine wasn't either. After his father was arrested, Marcel and his brother worked in the Resistance. Marcel took a new last name from a Victor Hugo poem. He used his artistic skill to forge documents. He led a group of Jewish children, dressed as Boy Scouts, across the Swiss frontier. He took drama lessons in Paris from a school that had been named, before and after the War, for a famous Jewish actress. Sarah Bernhardt. She is mine, too. So is Simone Weil; and Edith Piaf, but only because I saw the Piaf movie. Simone de Beauvoir isn't mine, though I know she had an orgasm for the first time when she had sex with Nelson Algren on the beach in Indiana. He isn't mine, either, though he was Jewish, despite the Scandinavianizing of his name. Or maybe it was in his apartment in Chicago. She wrote him love letters.
Marceau's father was murdered in Auschwitz, and so was Karl's younger brother.
Herschel Grynzspan is mine. Anne Frank is mine, though she's everyone's and they've all trooped through her cramped re-created attic in Amsterdam. Philip Roth is mine, though Cynthia Ozick is not. I.B. Singer is not, Bernard Malamud is not, though he was my teacher's teacher, and my teacher named his son after him. Delmore Schwartz is mine. St. Augustine is mine, for his agony, though I haven't read his diary since freshman year of college. So is Thomas Merton. Both had wild early years. Charlotte Salomon is mine, and Lincoln Park (the neighborhood) is mine. Louis Sullivan is mine--the ornamentation, not the shape of the buildings--and Sacagawea and Edna St. Vincent Millay, whose former summer place I stayed in for a month on a fellowship. Squirrels are mine, and raccoons, and dachshunds and beagles. Cicada skins and doodle bugs and grasshoppers, though they struggle against my closed hand (quick as lightning) and spit tobacco juice on my fingers. Lightning bugs aren't mine. Mark Twain isn't mine though he looks so familiar in his white mustache and suit. Milk chocolate is mine, but only when it's sold in bulk, and covers almonds or malt balls. Milk shakes aren't mine though chocolate chip ice cream is. Tiropita is mine. And kosher gumbo. And espresso. Organic milk is mine, and organic rice milk. Dark wood molding is mine, and green walls against dark wood is mine, and also polished light pine floors. Dark chocolate is never mine. French is mine and Hebrew is mine, and spoken but not written Yiddish. Kafka is mine. The Nora Ephron from the 70s is mine. Mrs. Pigglewiggle is and so is Jeanne-Marie who counts her sheep. Little Brown Bear is mine and Judy Bolton but not Nancy Drew.
Emma Goldman is mine and Eugene Debs and the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. Frida Kahlo and Walter Benjamin are mine but I have to share them with everybody else. New York isn't mine but Berkeley is. And Venice, though I don't know it well, and twisty little rue Mouffetard, with its little Vietnamese and Moroccan restaurants in the late 1970s, is mine. Adon Olam is mine and Avenu Malkenu. The year 1968 isn't mine, or 1967, but 1945 is and 1976 and 1978. Crosswords aren't mine, nor Scrabble nor Monopoly, but Clue is. Barcelona isn't mine though I walked its streets and into its Art Deco lobbies for almost a week. Harbors aren't mine. Nor boats. Cambridge, Mass., is mine. And Newport, R.I. Lapis lazuli is mine but not jade or silver. Nail polish isn't mine but bow lips are. Silent films aren't mine but Tina Modotti is. Der Blau Engel is mine though I don't understand German. Potato latkes are mine though I don't fry things well. Mary McCarthy is mine. The Bayeux Tapestry is almost mine. Glow worms are almost mine. The main square in Brussels is mine, though I've been there just once. South Street in Philadelphia is mine. Whole Foods and Trader Joe's aren't mine, though I seem to be in one or the other every other day. The sun is not mine but the 2/3s-full moon is. Pansies are, especially dark ones.
Why must I claim so much? Why must I own, even in words?
I saw Marcel Marceau perform, wide-eyed and whitefaced in Chicago. I couldn't see what he was seeing. Maybe, he said to an interviewer, I am silent because of the silence of those who returned from the camps. But this was not his own idea; he was saying Perhaps in answer to the journalist's question.
The amoeba makes itself an arm so it can reach what it wants. The amoeba surrounds the thing and takes it into its one-celled self.
Everything is already named. I have been alive for half a century. I do not know what to do with myself.

READ MORE - What is Mine

Legislating by Lawsuit?

Wow, internet was down all day...

Anyway, in today's Daily Pilot is this little tidbit about the Newport Beach Brewing Company and the potential threat of lawsuit.

I know that it probably wasn't Alicia Robinson's intention to imply this, but she wrote,

"Newport Beach officials may again have to rethink the best way to address complaints about the Newport Beach Brewing Co...now that the brewing company is threatening a lawsuit over changes the city made to its operating conditions."

Are you telling me that the Newport Beach Planning Commission went through hours and hours of meetings and discussion, and then the Newport Beach City Council went through their hours and hours of meetings and discussion. Only to come to a decision, which the Brewing Company doesn't particularly care for, for which they threaten to sue, and then have the Newport Beach City Council potentially change their decision because of a potential lawsuit?

Let me get this straight again.

Newport Beach City Council makes a decision about a business.

Business doesn't like the decision and threatens to sue.

Newport Beach City Council changes mind?

Is that how it works? The Newport Beach City Council legislates out of fear of lawsuits?

I sure hope not.

But lets look at some recent history.

Back in June, when the Newport Coast trash contract was being discussed, a big to-do was made over a contract given and then taken away from Ware Disposal. Ware Disposal hinted at a lawsuit, and the Council got nervous. But Ware backed off on the threat because they were still in the running for the contract and wanted to play nice.

A couple of years ago, Steve Sutherland was given the keys to build Marina Park in a single bid, but was voted down, so he sued and the City settled out of court. Those Marina Park residents sued and got more money to leave. Free money. Win-win for everyone but the City.

And now...the Sober Living/Rehab Home issue. Against the best interest of the community, the residents, and the future of the City, for some reason (some obvious to people, some not...), the City Council began dragging their feet. But have their actions been dictated out of fear of being sued (like Long Beach did, so they say) because of the protected Disabled status these recovering addicts enjoy? Take a look at this OC Weekly article from last year to so how far one could go suing using his Disabled Status as the hammer.

But now the threat of lawsuit may come from the residents on this issue as the Balboa Peninsula residents have lawyered up. Go to any town hall meeting on this issue in the community and you'll hear about it. Class Action lawsuit this, Class Action lawsuit that. Even Planning Commissioner Chairman Bob Hawkins, Esq., heard about it, asking the speakers if a lawsuit was brewing within the residents.

So how should the City Council legislate? For the best interests of the City? Or in a way as to avoid the most amount of lawsuits?

With Sober Living/Rehab Home issue, there will be no avoiding a lawsuit from someone.

With the Brewing Company...with all those bars within 5 miles of the place, who knows...

Just so long as the Million Dollar Newport City Attorney's office can justify their OUTSIDE ATTORNEY budget I guess, since they aren't set up to handle the lawsuits themselves...for a million dollars.

READ MORE - Legislating by Lawsuit?

Welcome to David Bahnsen

We have a new Newport Beach voice.

Please welcome the very brave David Bahnsen, who has chosen to not be anonymous and write using his own name. Because of that, I hope he's ok with me sharing some background on him.

Like me, he has the privilege of living and raising his young children in this wonderful town and because of that, has a real vested interest in the future of it. Decisions made today by our "republican" City Council actually will affect our children.

He's a Board Member of the Lincoln Club of Orange County and the Newport Sunrise Rotary Club; obsessed with national, state, and local politics. He is deeply involved in the Heritage Foundation, the Rudy for President Campaign, the Family Research Council, and the Acton Institute. He's also on the Board of the Center for Cultural Leadership where he is the Senior Fellow for Economics and Finance. He also serves on the Dean's Advisory Board at Concordia University School of Business . He was also a co-writer of the OC Register op-ed piece that I previously mentioned.

So he's definitely involved.

From his first post, he's also a smart and good writer, and from the look of a new Letter to the Editor he has sent to the OC Register, I'll have to keep a dictionary handy and will definitely have my reading comprehension put to the limit.

Welcome to the team David.

READ MORE - Welcome to David Bahnsen

Assemblyman DeVore E-Newsletter - September 22

This came to my work email on Saturday. I try not to check my work email on Saturdays, so I didn't get this until today. I know...old news...but it's still very interesting.

On September 17, the Los Angeles Times ran an editorial entitled, “The renewable energy future,” praising wind and solar power as the answer to California’s energy needs. The editorial dismissed nuclear power in one sentence: “…neither coal nor nuclear power is a practical solution to global warming…”

The editorial oversold the potential of wind and solar, for example, the writers predicted, “…costs for solar systems could be cut in half within the next three years.” We’ve been hearing that for decades now, yet photovoltaic (PV) solar continues to generate power that costs 35 to 45 cents to produce per kilowatt-hour, about ten times that of coal or nuclear.

An article in the Wall Street Journal on Friday, September 21 entitled, “The Silicon Shake-Up” stated that the cost of solar installations actually rose 20 percent from mid-2004 to mid-2006 and have declined 10 percent since then. This cost pressure is due to the fact that silicon for PV has to compete with silicon for computer chips.

The Times piece also contained this highly misleading statement about the proposed 4,500 megawatts of wind farms in Tehachapi generating, “…the equivalent of two nuclear power plants the size of San Onofre, or enough to power 2.9 million homes.” This statement is glaringly false as it confuses the capacity of the wind farms to produce power with the reliability of the wind farms to produce “dispatchable” power; that is, power when it is needed. When the wind does not blow, the power has to be made up somewhere, and that somewhere in California is with expensive natural gas peaker plants that have to be maintained and ready to go at a moment’s notice when the wind dies out. In reality, the Tehachapi wind farms will likely produce at most about one-third of their rated capacity over time.

Rather than dismiss nuclear power, the Times should have taken another look. Nuclear power produces the most amount of energy for the least amount of lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of any source of energy – even wind and solar. Furthermore, reprocessing spent fuel, as the French have been doing for decades, eliminates long term storage challenges by using up plutonium to make electricity.

The West now has now compiled a 2,000-reactor year record of safety while the French have solved the spent nuclear fuel storage issue. Widespread concern over global warming has made it time to reconsider nuclear power.

Chuck DeVore
California State Assemblyman, 70th District
www.ChuckDeVore.com

READ MORE - Assemblyman DeVore E-Newsletter - September 22

Republicans on the Council

The intent behind Rich Wagner's quote in today's Pilot was not to say, "we believe the Newport Beach council is all good Republicans, and we expect them to do what good Republicans do, so we will be shocked if this measure does not go through". The underlying point (and it is a good one), is this: The Council is being watched by the real Republicans in this county, and they are being given a chance to show their support for a measure that puts the power with the people, where it belongs. Putting this on the ballot is necessary to create the union fight the Santa Monica socialists posing as OC union bigwigs say they want. By calling attention to the stated party affiliation of the current council, Rich is rightly pointing out that some very influential and responsible members of the community are watching what they do. Does the LC expect Curry's initiative to end up on a ballot? That is not the issue. Regardless, those obsessed with fiscal responsibility have a fight on our hands. If it ends up on the ballot, we have to be prepared to deal with the unions ad nauseum. If it fails to be on the ballot, we have to be prepared to hold the councilmen responsible who neglected to put it to the vote of the people. We have a win-win Tuesday night - not because any victory will be secured [it will not be], but because at least we get to know where to focus our efforts next.

READ MORE - Republicans on the Council

Tribune/Great Henna-head/Four Women, Four Breasts

Yesterday's Trib came in a plastic wrapper with a pocket that held three free food items geared toward women: two little boxes of Curves cereal and one Curves food bar. Thanks, Trib. Just what I wanted on Judaism's most solemn fast day. Fast, as in not eat until sundown. I'm sure the Muslim subscribers who were observing Ramadam loved the free gifts, too. That's a 30-day period when observant Muslims don't eat from dawn to sundown. Not even free cereal. Get it?

I came across this lovely henna-head. She says she uses black henna, which is dangerous. I use jagua, which is a black fruit-based ink--not black henna. I can see why she switched to black, though. Henna can look faded, even when it's fresh. Geez, this same woman reports that when a woman saw her on the street with her henna baldness, she crossed herself.

I went to A and P's 30th anniversary picnic today. When they were cutting the cake (quite beautiful, from Angel Food Bakery), I was standing nearby, and noticed N (mastectomy) standing on A's other side. Later I said to A (mastectomy): I don' t think I've been anywhere where there were three one-breasted women. And then she pointed out a fourth. A, N and I don't wear prostheses. A, N and the fourth woman are all lesbians. Are lesbians less likely to opt for reconstruction? Are they less attached to the symmetry that epitomizes the mainstream female ideal? Earlier, I was waiting on the corner for G to give me a ride to the picnic. The Cubs game was just letting out. A guy noticed my adorned baldness and exclaimed: Look at you! What would he have said if he'd noticed my one-breastedness? Depends on how drunk he was.

READ MORE - Tribune/Great Henna-head/Four Women, Four Breasts

Funniest Quote of the Year!

I don't think Lincoln Club President Richard Wagner meant to say what he said as a joke. But after cleaning off the coffee I spilled after my laptop after reading it, I realized that he was serious when he said:

"...but I know that we in the club will be very, very disappointed in that there’s six Republicans on that council."

Six Republicans on that council? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Are they Republican like Hillary Clinton was, as a College Republican, or how Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez was, when she ran for Anaheim City Council? Maybe, maybe not.

And don't forget, one of our Republicans re-registered as a Republican a week before announcing his candidacy, while the only non-Republican re-registered as a Decline To State, after years in the Green Party, right before announcing hers.

I know in Newport Beach, we consider ourselves...well...different, but we also live in one of the most Conservative counties. But I don't get that same Conservative feeling from our Councilmembers (Keith Curry and former Councilmember Dick Nichols were the exceptions), and in conversations with them, nor should I expect to.

I know the Lincoln Club very well. I know many of its members. I know what they strive for and I know that many are not what has been called Arnold Republicans. Conservative fiscally, liberal socially. There's another major Republican club who fits that description perfectly. They are the epitome of the "Do as I say, not as I Do" mentality when it comes to politics, but with very large checkbooks. But not the Lincoln Club. I have always found them to practice what they preach.

But they should be very prepared for disappointment when it comes to Republican expectations from the City Council. Because what you have is a City Council who have done everything they can to increase the size of government in an already bloated City structure.

Councilman Keith Curry is the only who has tried to put a speed bump to it. In this instance, he's the only one who is trying to practice what he preaches.

The Unions are ready to declare war, calling Newport Beach "...ground Zero of a Statewide War," and if you read the quotes from Mayor Rosansky and Councilman Webb (not surprised considering he was a life-long City Employee), you can actually sense a bit of fear of the Union position. It's interesting.

As far as the Lincoln Club's assistance in circulating petitions, I would think to see Santa Claus in person before seeing that. They have already jumped into an early endorsement of County Supervisor Janet Nguyen (the Newport Beach Fire Fighters contributed $1000 to her previous opponent Tom Umberg earlier this year) and with all the animosity that went with getting her elected by 3 (yes count them on one hand) votes, most, if not all, of their efforts will be used on getting her re-elected. If you thought Supervisor John Moorlach represents Newport Beach, he does. Janet represents a different district.

My guess? 6 to 1 against Keith's proposal.

READ MORE - Funniest Quote of the Year!

The Right Side

The weather was cool today, so it was Yom Kippur without that Bikram feeling. I had scheduled my arrival to services just about right: I got to the little-synagogue-that-isn't-there at about 1:30, with just two prayers to go before the break. Then there was yoga. Most of us were wearing white, which is the traditional color worn for the High Holidays. It was nice to see so much white. Made the mind calm. Unlike black, it shows up. You notice it. I was thinking of making white my signature color. Though unlike black, it is not slimming. I liked our yoga instructor. At the end, in savasana, corpse pose, he listed all the parts of each side of our bodies, as we checked on them or touched them with our minds. As he was going through the right leg, for some reason I started thinking of my cousin B, who died two autumns ago, at age 97. I cried a little. I remembered sitting in her kitchen with her with the bird clock on the wall, and me watching a lizard through the window. Why did going over the right side of my body make me think of B? Is there a message there? It makes me almost believe it is possible to commune with the dead. That was maybe the penultimate time I saw her. She was still walking around then. Her last year she was in the hospital and back.

At the break I talked to B, who told me his wife had died of breast cancer. It bothers me to look at you, he said, because of it. She was 50 when she was diagnosed, and had 10 years before it came back. How old are you, he said, in your 20s? I'm 51, I said. When I told him the cancer was not in my lymph nodes, he gestured dismissively, as if I had nothing to worry about. I also talked with an 18-year-old diabetic who was fasting, but who had insulin and food with him, just in case. I said I was fasting but I was drinking water. Did your oncologist tell you to do that? he asked. No, I said, my husband did. The young man told me when he was diagnosed, the first thing he wanted to know was if he could fast on Yom Kippur.

***

I have just finished reading through a blog written by the cat of a friend of mine. I think her style is influencing mine here. She is a surrealist and a dreamer with typical evil cat aloofness. She has angry leftist politics and a hatred of squirrels. In other words, she is no Mehitabel.

READ MORE - The Right Side

Bikram Kol Nidre

O man, was it hot in services tonight. We had an erev (eve) Yom Kippur dinner here and then R, P2 and I went to the little congregation that meets in a church. There were two ceiling fans and one rotating fan. I wanted to go stand by the rotating fan but didn't want to hog the air. I have been a very sweaty Cancer Bitch it seems like forever. Partly it's because I stopped taking black cohosh because it interferes with one of my Pills to Combat Melancholy. Partly it's from being zapped from peri-menopause into full-blown menopause by the chemo. Partly, according to X, my acupuncturist, it's because I'm still getting rid of the toxins. When I get warm, I stay very very warm. And get sweaty. When I have a slightly unpleasant thought or think of a time when I was embarrassed or irritated, I get sweaty. I get a clammy peach-fuzz head and then sweat streams and streams around my face. And then too when I'm just sitting around or standing or walking, calm and minding my own business, a flash starts. Sometimes I feel my ears get red first. I don't mind the heat, it's the *sweat.* I can't take soy for the flashes because I had the kind of breast cancer that feeds on soy, because it's estrogen-like. In other words, the cancer (the cancer that is no longer with us, the cancer that was cut out with wide margins, the cancer that was sliced and diced and put in parrafin) feeds on estrogen and estrogen-like substances, such as soy and pesticides and bovine growth hormones. Which means I'm supposed to eat organic as much as possible, and soy as little as possible. Which brings us to this musical question: If the oncology nutritionist said to have more protein, and to take it in the form of whey powder, should I still eat it even though I can't find organic? How do I know that this concentrated powder isn't full of contrated hormones? Next time I'm in Whole Foods, I'll ask at the courtesy desk about ordering the organic. Or I could even ask the nutritionist directly, God forbid.

But services. Erev Yom Kippur services are called Kol Nidre after the first prayer*, which is chanted three times. My father always said, Kol Nidre can make or break a cantor. I thought that was funny. Our family tradition was to wise-crack during services. Tonight we got to services late, after the Kol Nidre. I think the real reason it is repeated is so that latecomers will get to hear it. Forgive me, I missed the Kol Nidre at the Kol Nidre service.

The confessions on behalf of the community: We have done this, we have done that. But our prayers, repentance and charity will help us be forgiven. Every year we say we are sorry. And then we go out and sin some more. We are supposed to ask forgiveness of people we have sinned against. But I am stubborn. I am unchanging. I had a best friend. I don't have her any more. It has been more than 10 years. I tell people: We brought out the worst in each other. I should ask forgiveness for hurting her. Did I hurt her? I still feel competitive with her. Is that a sin? Yes. A sin against her, against me, against the universe. If I am competitive, it means there is not enough. It means that I am paying too much attention to what she has. I am looking to the side when I should look ahead. Or inside. I do rejoice when other friends rejoice. I am not always ungenerous. I should ask forgiveness for the times I provoked her. For being late. For staying annoyed. For holding a grudge. We have held grudges, we have bribed, we have betrayed, we have cheated, we have stolen. Forgive us, all of us. We are sorry. By tradition, we beat our chests while we confess, but the modern thing is to massage our hearts--after all, we are of the generation that believes in "not beating yourself up. " Just as we no longer give one another 39 (light, according to tradition) lashes. Massage your heart until it produces regret. Massage your heart until it is soft, and warmth radiates from it, settling on all the bits and pieces and the big large things in the universe. Massage your heart until it opens. It is a hard heart. It is a frightened heart. It is afraid that if it opens like a locket and takes in the universe, it will disappear. It is afraid that it will then become the universe's heart. It will no longer be the heart of the one, the only Cancer Bitch. It will be just like anybody else's. But it already looks like anybody else's. It pumps blood. It does all the things a heart does. Its blood is type O+, which is the most common type, the type that billions of other humans have and had and will have. Its blood can be given and taken. Its blood can be shared. Its blood can be sorted and separated and centrifuged and spread between clear glass plates. It can be spilled. ("If you prick us, do we not bleed?")

One story about Eden, said the rabbi, is that Adam and Eve were pure light. And then when they were exiled from the garden they were given skins. To contain them, to separate them from every other thing in the world that they had not been separate from. Another story is that everything in the world was made of light. Then the light became fragmented and we are trying in this life to collect and connect all the light, to restore and repair the world. The way to heal, I think, and I mean heal the soul, is to train yourself to see the light everywhere. Until you know without looking. Until you feel it without pointing it out to yourself, mouthing the words. It's just there. Like it's been all along.

##
A few hours after I wrote this I realized: I wanted too much from her. I wanted too much and didn't tell her and then the resentment started. And when I told her, the resentment had already taken root. For all that I am sorry.
##
*(The Internet tells me that Kol Nidre is really a declaration, not a prayer.)

READ MORE - Bikram Kol Nidre

Another Voice?

I'm looking for one or two more Newport Beach-related contributors to this little blog. While my posts are extremely fascinating and probably very riveting, I do get tired of reading my own stuff sometimes. My friends Ron and Anna Winship do a great job, but sometimes, they can get a bit crazy :-)...and I'm sure even they would like to hear for others once in a while.

Requirements?

1. Please, if you accuse or attack, please be able to back it up with real proof, preferably links to the proof.
2. Please, stay away from personal attacks.
3. Please use the spell check.
4. Please respect other's opinions. Remember - Free Speech.

So send me a note at newportbeachvoices@gmail.com, tell me about yourself, and if you are "acceptable" then we can start hearing what you have to say. If you are shy (like me) you can choose a pseudonym and people can guess who you are. If you are brave (like the Winships) then use your real name. Who am I to judge on that one.

I don't care if you are Republican, Democrat, or even Green Party.

So if you are willing to have every word criticized and attacked, have something really important (and interesting) to say, or just like hearing yourself talk (me, me)then send me a note.

Thanks.

READ MORE - Another Voice?

Upcoming Newport Beach-Centric GOP Events

Received the Republican Party of Orange County Calendar Events this morning and here are some interesting things coming up:

Thursday, 9/27/07
11:30 AM
Special Event Newport Harbor Republican Women Luncheon
With Guest John Klein, Newport Beach Chief of Police

Where: Five Crowns Restaurant, Corona del Mar

Newport Harbor Republican Women present John Klein, Newport Beach Chief of Police Thursday, September 27th at Five Crowns Restaurant. Chief Klein has worked for our Police Department for 28 years, and last July 1st became the seventh Chief of Police in Newport Beach . The Chief served in the U.S. Army Security Agency from 1974-79. Social Hour 11:30 a.m., Lunch 11:45. Cost: $25.00. For questions or reservations, please call Sheila Thomsen by September 24th at (949) 720-1726.


I've been to these meetings and let me tell you a couple of things:

1. If you are a guy. You and Chief Klein will be the ONLY men there.

2. Be prepared to spend 3 hours there.

Tuesday, 10/2/07
11:30 AM
Special Event Celebrate Lawsuit Abuse Awareness Week
With Guest Tony Rackauckas, Orange County District Attorney

Where: The Pacific Club, Newport Beach

You are invited to celebrate Lawsuit Abuse Awareness Week with Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas who will speak on "Combating Fraud" Tuesday, October 2, 2007 at The Pacific Club in Newport Beach beginning at 11:30am. $49 with reservations - $59 at the door. No credit cards. For reservations and information, please call 714-259-8400 or email maryann@maryannmaloney.com. This educational activity provides one hour of Minimum Continuing Legal Education credit.


Gee...sounds fun...but appropriate considering that Newport Beach is the Fraud capital of the State. Ask the Chief Klein at the Republican Women meeting. He'll confirm that.

Friday, 10/12/07
through
Saturday, 10/13/07
Special Event The Western Conservative Political Action Conference 2007
Preserving the Reagan Legacy

Where: Fairmont Hotel, Newport Beach, California

You are cordially invited to the Western Conservative Political Action Conference 2007. Don’t miss the opportunity to hear from Presidential Candidates and Conservative Leaders on topics ranging from Immigration to The Future of Talk Radio.Registration. All meals and events: $245 per person. All events (no meals): $100 per person. Student registration for all events (no meals): $49 with valid ID. Hotel Accommodations: Fairmont Newport Beach www.fairmont.com/NewportBeach or (949) 476-2001. Mention Western CPAC for special room rate of $149. Featured speakers include: Senator Sam Brownback, Congressman Darrell Issa, Senator Tom McClintock, Dinesh D’Souza, Lt. Col. Buzz Patterson, Lt. General Thomas McInerney, Melanie Morgan and Major General Paul Vallely.

Go there if only to hear Senator Tom McClintock speak.

Thursday, 10/18/07
5:30 PM
Special Event Neil Blais for Assembly Reception

Where: The Pacific Club, Newport Beach

You are invited to a Fundraiser for Neil Blais for Assembly at The Pacific Club,Newport Beach from 5:30-7:30pm on October 18th, 2007. Please call Desiree for more details at 949-794-7204.

Go there if you are interested in an Assembly District which does not include Newport Beach.

READ MORE - Upcoming Newport Beach-Centric GOP Events

Greed is Good.

Not too long ago, former Newport Beach Mayor Tod Ridgeway told my friend, who was running for City Council, not to bother walking the Balboa Peninsula. Why? Tod said because no one there cares and the City Council thus ignores them. By evidenced on this map of rehab facilities/sober living homes from publicvoice.us, you can see what I'm talking about. Residents there have been literally exploded upon by the very lucrative Rehab home business. A manager from Sober Living By the Sea himself said that they charge $10,000 per bed, per month, times 5 or 6 beds per home. Not a bad business model huh?

So due to this, and the many Conflicts of Interest burrowed into the City Government, the Peninsula is a Rehab Home/Sober living home mecca, with various other homes sprinkled along the City.

But, as Gordon Gekko said, "Greed is Good," and the greedy nature of these home operators are trying to force their spread into different areas of the City. And in today's Daily Pilot, they made have finally made their biggest mistake.

They are trying to fill up Corona Del Mar.

As I mentioned before, Corona Del Mar is a political hotbed, with their Residents Association, their Business Improvement District and their own Chamber of Commerce each able to attract City Council members, State Legislator's Representatives and Congressional Aides at EVERY GOD-FORSAKEN 7:30AM MEETING! I challenge any other Business Improvement District in the City to do that.

While the City ignores the Peninsula, they simply cannot ignore Corona Del Mar, and now with Lido Isle residents getting upset and involved (at last night's Lido Isle Town Hall Meeting, there were probably easily over 100 angry residents who sat through long, drawn out legal explanations and definitions), some real movement and real results might finally happen.

And once the other areas of the City (Eastbluff, Newport Heights, Balboa Island, Big Canyon for example) take notice that the problem is REAL, they will also get involved.

All these Rehab Homes had to do was collect their up to $4 million a year times 100+ homes on the Peninsula and buy their fancy cars and their fancy homes (on Lido).

But greed has taken over and they want to expand...into Corona Del Mar. And that will be the end of them.

READ MORE - Greed is Good.

To Cover or Not to Cover

The back of my head, as you can see here, says U.S. out of Iraq. Sometimes it is faint. Sometimes it looks like USOUT of IRAB but you get the message. Most people do when they look carefully, usually from above. My dentist noticed when it had faded completely, and thought I'd had a change of heart, and was reassured when I returned with the protest back in place. I would not wear a political button in class but by default, I cannot remove my scalp wherever I go. I can, though, cover it up. I wore a scarf during two official events where I represented WRU (Well-Regarded University) and I was going to wear one tonight at a student orientation. I didn't cover it last night at Intellectual University, because I was teaching students I'd taught before, and felt comfortable enough with them to be informal. I also felt that they were comfortable enough with me to voice any opposition. During class there's the illusion we're by ourselves, not being watched by anyone, because it's evening and we're surrounded by business-school students who don't pay attention to us. We're in our own Literary universe.

I used to wear a Code Pink button on my winter hat and was stopped in an elevator at WRU by a woman who said she liked Code Pink very much. I gave her the button. She said she couldn't wear it at work but took it to wear away from work. She did something in catering, I think, at WRU. I wonder, What if I had a permanent tattoo that said PEACE? Or PAX PACIS, as would be more appropriate at IU, where Latin adorns the walls and my boss used Latin twice in a meeting? It's that kind of place, even though the ivy covers buildings on its main campus, miles away from my modern classroom. But that's a different issue: Peace in itself is non-controversial. Everyone wants peace. Some believe that invasion is a necessary prerequisite.

I think I will be uncovered next week when I start teaching again at WRU. But I truly don't want students who disagree with me to feel uncomfortable. I will talk to them about my scalp. It is a class on how to teach, and we will talk about personal politics in the classroom.

I just found out that I won't be needed, after all, tonight at the official WRU event. So I will go to yoga and afterwards may ask my friend G to touch up my head, front and back.

READ MORE - To Cover or Not to Cover

Bummer! Aspiring Nanny Senator Tom Harman Loses!

We were all holding our breath.

But alas, after some major attempts to win the California Republican Assembly's Top Nanny contest, Newport's (actually Huntington Beach's) State Senator Tom Harman fell short in his endeavor losing out to San Diego's own State Senator Shirley Horton.

Do not fret Tom, there's always next year...

READ MORE - Bummer! Aspiring Nanny Senator Tom Harman Loses!

MOORLACH UPDATE - OC Register - September 19, 2007

Below is Supervisor John Moorlach's explanation of their own pension increase, in response to the OC Register's article. While Supervisor Moorlach goes into detail what they do not receive, perhaps, and I'm sure someone will, someone should go into the perks that they DO receive and make a comparison...

The topic of pensions and pension reform continues to get press attention.

Today’s OC Register has an article on a recent pension increase for electeds and an editorial submission on one pension reform remedy that I have advocated for quite some time.

The headline for the article begs for a response, as the article does not provide the full story.

Transportation costs have increased. Oil is trading today at $82 a barrel.

Let me share what elected Supervisors and department heads in Orange County do not get.

They do not get paid sick time off. They do not get paid vacation time. They do not get annual leave. There is nothing to accrue. Accordingly, the annual payoff from 90 hours to 170 hours does not apply to me.

Appointed department heads (Executive Management) do receive sick and vacation time, now known as annual leave, putting elected department heads at a financial disadvantage. Consequently, a 401(a) defined contribution program was established many years ago to provide some sense of parity between appointeds and electeds with an opportunity for electeds to accrue a similar benefit. This has been at 6 percent for some time. An increase to 8 percent was a reasonable adjustment to keep up with inflation. But it doesn’t provide a sufficient remedy to resolve the different compensation packages, as Executive Management also received a 401(a) contribution of 3 percent. This has gone up to 5 percent for department heads and 4 percent for senior management. On a personal level this translates into an annual additional contribution for me of $2,746.43. For contrast, an additional 80 hours of annual payoff would amount to more than twice this amount. This was approved when we voted on the Orange County Employees Association bargaining unit agreement.

Every bargaining unit is attempting to obtain increases in salaries and benefits. I find it amusing that the president of the Orange County Attorneys Association would begrudge such a small one for the Supervisors. “Hypocrisy?” I don’t think so. Hypocrisy would have been making the increase retroactive to the date of my hire more than 12 years ago. But, oops, how would one do that with a defined contribution plan?

But, let’s discuss a few other interesting observations. We’re giving an increase to a defined contribution plan, not a defined benefit plan. If the good employee union president would like to discuss defined contribution plans, then I’m up for that discussion.

Maybe we should also discuss defined benefit plans here at the County, considering the dialog that was provided at yesterday’s Board of Supervisors meeting. The County’s contribution to the defined benefit plan for members of the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs (AOCDS) is approximately half of their salary. And the County pays all of it; their members do not contribute one dime. However, the members of other County employee unions pay an employee contribution and, for those that recently adopted the 2.7 percent at 55 formula, are also paying in for the increased cost of the benefit. But, don’t get me started on defined benefit pension plans…

READ MORE - MOORLACH UPDATE - OC Register - September 19, 2007

Its A Start

First off, what Newport Beach City Councilman Keith Curry is trying to do with having the voters vote on City Employee Pensions is a very good idea and will help the City save some money, even if 3.5% of the 11% RAISE the City Employees will get over the next three years will go to their own pensions (so technically, they get a 7.5% over the next three years). Its a great start in reining in the overspending City Council's typically do on the Gravy Train mentality City Employees, and City Councils, typically have.

But...before the Lincoln Club of Orange County president Richard Wagner kisses Councilman Keith Curry's butt too much (in this OCRegister opinion piece), lets have him look at a few things the Newport Beach City Council is wrapped up in.

1. They are looking to BORROW millions and millions of dollars ($35-$60 million depending on who you speak with, paid off over 30 years at 4-6% interest) to build a new City Hall (which was originally designed for FUTURE EMPLOYEE GROWTH). This would increase the size of government and add debt for future generations to pay off.

2. Any way you look at it, any way you try to explain it, any way you try to justify it, and any way you compare it to our neighboring cities, WE HAVE MORE CITY EMPLOYEES PER RESIDENTS THAN ANY OTHER CITY. More than Democrat controlled Irvine, more than Democrat controlled Huntington Beach. And the numbers keep increasing.

3. In the past election, the two main City Employee UNIONS (they like to be called Associations) spent almost $50,000 (OUR Newport Beach Firefighters also contributed $1000 to Tom Umberg in 2007 for his failed Supervisorial, not even our Supervisor District, race) on getting their Slate of City Council candidates elected. Do you think keeping the size of Government down is in their best interest?

If you look on the Lincoln Club's website, the motto at the top is "California's leading advocate for smaller Government."

What Councilman Curry is trying to do is a step in the right direction, but in looking at Newport Beach, we can hardly be considered a model for smaller Government.

But it is a start.

READ MORE - Its A Start

Do As I Say, Not As I Do.

This is the perfect example of that old saying (which every parent is very guilty of saying on a constant basis), "Do as I say and not as I do."

From the OCRegister.com's Total Buzz is this little tidbit about the County Supervisors voting to...get ready for it...RAISE THEIR OWN RETIREMENT PLANS!!!!

The ironic part? As Peggy Lowe writes,

"Yep, it was No. 26 on that day’s agenda, just before No. 27, the item outlining Supe John Moorlach’s plan to cut the public pensions by a third. The increase was hidden among a larger deal which sealed the contract between the county and the public workers’ union."

What's next? The Newport Beach City Council each getting a full time Administrative Assistant and then complaining that there is no room in City Hall for their offices, thus justifying the need for a larger City Hall?

READ MORE - Do As I Say, Not As I Do.

Volunteer Government?

The whole case for a new City Hall in Newport Beach and
those against it on dedicated Park Land and those for any
alternative location other than its present location came
under fire yesterday! Phil Arst....the famous "Founder
of Green Light" has come up with an alternative solution
to all the Initiatives, Arguments and Distilled thinking.
Phil thinks it might be best to just "Downsize Big time".

Phil points out that Newport Beach has the 2nd highest
Public Employee ratio in Orange County, second only to
the elitist Laguna Beach...or Labeana Guch as we here
in Newport Beach call it. Phil believes we can cut
personnel and guess what? Yes, keep our old Newport
Beach City Hall with a simple new coat of paint. Phil
thinks we can control Government Spending, Reduce Pension
and Health Costs and make Government Efficient! Sounds
like pretty naive thinking to us. This thinking is quite
akin to spreading grass seed on manure and believing we
will never have to mow the grass!

OK, but let us not disregard Phil's idea without giving
it a good once or twice over. How about Volunteerism?
Right now, we need a good Volunteer City Attorney. You
know, someone who could work from home and use their
computer at home and make silly suggestions about adding
new consultants and City Prosecutors that could also work
from home. How about Lifeguards? Who needs full time
Lifeguards? Just call one when someone is drowning! It
could be like 911. Hey, everyone has cell phones right?
We are watching some overweight inlander bouncing up and
down in the waves.....we could call a Volunteer Lifeguard
to come running to the rescue.

We could go on and on about watching Bank Robberies or
seeing a house go up in flames....but you get the idea...
that we do need more Volunteerism in Newport Beach! Hey,
we were in the Citizens Police Academy #7...we know our
way around a squad car or cold sidewalk. We are ready
anytime to Volunteer to stop wrongdoing anytime we see it.

But Phil's sense is quite correct. Is there a lot of fat
on burner when it comes to Government? Any Government?
Of course there is! Do we need more efficient ways of
making Government work? All we can! Should we simply
laugh when someone wants to make our town a better place?
Never!

So, what can we do? We can start by keeping those well
paid Public Officials, Bureaucrats and Staff - aware that
we want a well run operation. We expect intelligent,
caring and well thought out respect for not just the City
but all the citizens within it. So, to Homer, Dave, Sharon,
Chief's Lewis and Klein....stay alert people! We expect
great things of you...and if we are going to spend $65 mil
for a new City Hall.......it better be efficient, elegant,
utilitarian and worth visiting! Phil..."keep thinking" it
is a very attractive thing to do for a responsible citizen!

READ MORE - Volunteer Government?

If You Build It, City Employees Will Fill It.

From today's Daily Pilot is the most basic, most simple statement of common sense as to why Newport Beach doesn't need a new White Elephant:

"Greenlight Residents’ Group leader Phil Arst is now suggesting — as he did several years ago — that a new city hall might not be needed if officials would increase efficiency and contract out more city services."

Duh.

Here's my previous discussion, and debate with Councilman Curry from July. Here's an earlier post from June. My data came directly from the City's websites.

My question is why don't they compare the City Employee load to Huntington Beach's? More people visit HB, more people live in HB, more people work in HB, they have a Harbor and a Beach, yet their City Employee to resident ratio is much lower than ours. Does their Democrat controlled City Council know something that our Republican City Council doesn't?

Imagine that.

READ MORE - If You Build It, City Employees Will Fill It.

Homage to Our Podiatrist

Our podiatrist is avuncular. He is nice-looking with short white hair that sticks up. He has a Hungarian vizsla who is ageing (who does not come to the office). His staff unties your shoes and takes off your socks, and when the appointment is over, puts your socks on and ties up your shoes for you. The staff is like Mom and he is the avunc. His brother is in practice with him as well as another doctor who wears a yarmulke. Today there was a nun in the waiting room. Usually there is a rabbi. Our podiatrist will clip our nails. He seems happy to see me. He uses ultrasound and prolotherapy and has a fancy way of making orthotics involving gait, he doesn't just put your feet into a sticky substance to make the mold. He gives me samples of Biofreeze to massage into my achilles tendon. He believes in Vitamin B for circulation. In the waiting room is a plaque acknowledging his father's efforts in getting podiatry accepted as a bonafide part of the medical profession, complete with insurance reimbursement. The father and the two sons practiced together. Now it is just the two sons. Our podiatrist has two sons and one is in screenwriting and the other is in Israel. That son is fluent in Hebrew. Our podiatrist has that Jewish-Skokie accent that sounds almost like New York-Yiddish-inflected. He is comforting in his goodlooking-ness and uncle/fatherliness and his confidence. Most of all his confidence. He tries this then he tries that. He is calm about trying this then that, scientific method, tick this off, then that. Our podiatrist's synagogue is 50 years old and has had the same rabbi that whole time. On Rosh Hashanah our podiatrist threw his sins into the canal. Our podiatrist stands for stability and family and father-sonliness and Skokie, though he practices in Chicago. He seems to come out of an earlier time, when sons followed into their fathers' businesses, when it wasn't so hard to find people. By that I mean, people didn't stray so far from their origins. I do mean it was easier to locate people. They stayed where they belonged. I didn't stay where I belonged. But the podiatrist makes me feel that I have come into a place where everyone has remained for a generation a two, where they are settled but will move over for a newcomer or two. Where there is a place. Where there will always be a place.

READ MORE - Homage to Our Podiatrist

Newport Beach City Manager Home Bludau - the Reactionary

So the battle to increase the size of John Wayne Airport has been very subtle. A couple of words here and there by the Newport City Council, County Supervisor Moorlach got involved a bit, and the record passenger loads getting broken, every month.

Now, the Los Angeles Times has decided to join the fight with this article.

They even got Airport Director Alan Murphy to say that expansion is inevitable;

"We only have 14 gates, and we just can't handle that many passengers," airport director Alan Murphy said, adding that maintenance and baggage handling were suffering. "Our passenger levels are the highest ever."

and

"The airport's infrastructure can't take it anymore," Murphy said, explaining the pressing need for the expansion, which will be mostly funded by airport revenue and bonds."

Then Newport Beach City Manager Homer Bludau sank the City, and discredited AirFair and the Airport Working Group's efforts by saying;

"My nervousness will start Jan. 1, 2016, when the agreement goes away..."

AirFair and AWG are working extremely hard RIGHT NOW to make sure John Wayne Airport doesn't expand and Homer won't start getting nervous until the agreement expires???

Is that like saying not to worry about working on making a marriage work until after she files for divorce?

Nice proactive thinking Homer. I guess this isn't important enough for our City Manager to start thinking about for another 9 years?

The City Council may want to wake up their City Manager on this ticking time bomb before it's too late.

Please get involved now, and hopefully our City Council will follow with NEW negotiations, specifically regarding Passenger Limits and the Curfew.

AirFair - http://www.jwairfair.com/
Airport Working Group - http://www.eltoronow.org/

I sure hope Homer was misquoted...or is that LA Times provided picture the first flight Homer will take out of town when we get the John Wayne International Airport.

READ MORE - Newport Beach City Manager Home Bludau - the Reactionary

Sadness, the Empty Room

We (I) spend time talking to B and S, telling them what they should do, in light of B's MS getting worse, in light of his falls from his chair, and my nattering and nagging fill the air, fill the space, takes the place of emotion. But when S talked about it last night, about B needing full-time help, or when I think about him in assisted living, I get overwhelmed by sadness. Yesterday he had a bad day, he could barely get out of bed. They realize how bad the situation is, and it changes the conversation. They finally see it as tragic and impossible as I do.

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Here Comes the Fuzz

The thing is, we confuse recovery from chemo with recovery from cancer. Cancer doesn't always make you feel bad. As my friend R says, You're feeling great, then you find out you have cancer, and the treatment makes you feel lousy. So as my hair slowly grows back, I start to feel that I'm cured, that spring is in the air (though it's an autumnlike day, time to bring the basil crop inside). My scalp now feels like a tennis ball, according to my friend G., or peach fuzz, according to L. I have some dark stubs, too, on my scalp, along with a few wayward one-inch white hairs, and dark little dots on my otherwise pale eyebrow area, and my eyelashes are moving from sparse to less so.

My black head-decoration is wearing off in back. I will need a touch-up soon, though L says soon the fuzz on my head will keep the ink or henna from sticking. As if he knows. Even though I'm optimistic about the near-future return of my hair, I just sent off for more jagua AKA genipap ink, this time from a place in the UK instead of California, because of the lower price and the different shape of the container--a tube instead of a difficult-to-squeeze needle-nosed bottle.

The book "The Summer of Her Baldness" contains a sequence of photos of the author's hair re-growth. You can find something similar on this site, and here's the blogger's hennaed head. The blogger has since become a Christian-based life coach. (NOTE: The last two links aren't working at the moment.)

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Follow Pasadena's Path?

In this Daily Pilot article, Newport Beach resident Bob Rush mentions, "that because Clauson (City Attorney) didn’t point out a group home rule from Pasadena that might help Newport, her legal opinion “should be critically questioned as to accuracy and whose agenda it’s really serving.”

Well here's Pasadena's ordinance addressing Unlicensed Sober Living Facilities, in an early incarnation, and then in it's final form adopted at the September 10 Pasadena City Council meeting.

If I read this correctly, and I'm not an attorney, it essentially classifies unlicensed Sober Living Homes as Boarding houses, which are typically prohibited in Residential areas. But because the sober living folks are considered in the Federal eyes as disabled, they are required to be provided with "reasonable accommodation." This ordinance provides for that as long as they apply and receive a permit which meet certain standards of operation which help preserve the residential character of the residential areas, they can operate in residential areas. But they have some serious restrictions/hoops to go through to make sure they keep their permit.

While Newport Beach residents are asking for a 1000 foot barrier between Sober Living Homes, and the City is proposing a preposterous 75 foot barrier, Pasadena settled on a 500 foot restriction.

This could be a good start and something interesting to follow...

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Sins

I threw my sins into the lake yesterday. It's a Rosh Hashanah custom. Usually we throw bread crumbs as a stand-in, but there's talk that the crumbs could upset the ecosystem. So I threw a very few crumbs and some sand and some rocks. Seagulls found us and hovered and dove and one of them went after a rock I threw, thinking it was bread. I was glad the bird came up empty. It would be terrible to be responsible for killing a seagull while you were throwing off your last year's sins. The synagogue I went to is unaffiliated, meaning it's not Reform or Conservative or Orthodox or Traditional or Conservadox or Reconstructionist or Renewal. Though it seems like Renewal. Stuff about breathing and light in the photocopied prayer book, and God isn't called "he" unless there's a reference to "she" coming up soon. I've never understood what's so revolutionary about making God genderless or hermaphroditic. To me the issue is God in general. I don't believe in God, though I've mellowed over the last year or so (not related to cancer) and can accept God as a label for the ineffable liveliness of the atoms inside each of us and everything around us. I was telling L about this last night and he said then who are you praying to? I said it's general gratitude. He said why do you need that? I said it makes you more grateful for what you have. He accepted that. This veers into the teachings of the Harvard Happier guru (mentioned a few posts below) Tal Ben-Shahar who writes down every night what he's grateful for. There's nothing wrong with being grateful, though it's very 12-steppy--"attitude of gratitude." Like anything, it can become meaningless and rote and banal. I think it's the banality that bothers me more than anything else. I read "Pollyanna" for the first time when I went to summer camp and got the mumps. I read it in the infirmary while I petted a denatured skunk and waited for my parents to come get me. That was my best ever camp experience. Being inside, reading. What could be better? Pollyanna is, well, Pollyanna-ish, but not in a bland way. She learned the bright way of looking at things from her (poor, dead) father, and it was a way of having fun, not of avoiding reality. And as we learned in shul yesterday, Isaac's name means "laughter," because his mother, Sara, laughed when told she would give birth in old age. All this is in the Torah portion read on Rosh Hashanah. Isaac married Rebecca, the rabbi told us, and we are told they played together. Later he said that Rebecca was only 3 when they met, and they didn't consummate their union (thank goodness) for 20 years. This is the only instance where we are told a couple played together, the rabbi said.

And I write this as if I believe these were real people. As real as Pollyanna.

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Big Spenders of Citizen's Money - Newport Beach Edition

Where do I start?

In today's Pilot is this little article about how "After spending “hundreds and hundreds” of hours on new regulations for group homes, the Newport Beach city attorney’s office is off the case, and a new outside legal firm will be hired." This is, of course, of course, $150,000 has already been spent on another outside legal firm, Goldfarb & Lipman LLP.

I have a problem with this, and it's not because of all the conflict of interest allegations about our own City Attorney, her ties to our other City Attorney (who started the conflict of interest train), or Goldfarb & Lipman LLP, who had previously supposedly represented the rehab homes against cities. Those are all suspect areas.

My problem (today, at least) with this is because the City is throwing lots and lots of the resident's money down a never ending drain.

In private industry, if you hire a team of people who can't get the job done, what do you do? Do you hire more people to do what your people are supposed to do, or do you hire people who can get the job done.

Ok, that's a bit general. Let's use a more specific example.

You hire a CFO to run the financial side of the company.

The IRS sends a letter requesting an audit.

After spending hours and hours on preparing the audit, it turns out that the CFO, who you spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on annually, cannot get the job done correctly and you are forced to hire an outside CPA to handle the audit, then it turns out that CPA also cannot handle the audit, and then you hire another CPA to finish the audit.

After the audit, do you:

1. Happily pay everyone for a job they couldn't originally do?

2. Angrily pay everyone for the job they couldn't originally do, but keep your CFO?

3. Quickly fire all the non-capable parties, and hire the CPA would could do the job?

In private industry, normally #3 would be the answer, but in Newport Beach, it appears to be #1.

I'm not saying that our City Attorney is incompetent, she is just in a position to:

"While the City Attorney's Office endeavors to do as much of the City's legal work as possible, certain legal issues are specialized or require such large commitments of time over a short period, that the City contracts with outside law firms to represent the City's interest. Historically, the City has utilized outside law firms to handle matters such as defense of law suits, eminent domain, police civil rights issues and various bond offerings."

I have a question then. Why can't we just have a City Attorney's office who can do all that?

The City spends almost $1 million bucks a year on salary and benefits for the City Attorney's office. Yes, $1 MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR. You think for a million bucks a year, you can find people who can handle everything listed above, nevermind how much the City spends on outside attorneys.

So I did some research to see what our neighbors do.

Irvine - Contracts their City Attorney out with Rutan and Tucker. Take a look at Philip Kohn's resume and see if he could do the job. Take a look at the other Partners in the firm and see if all Philip would have to do is knock on his neighbors door and get the answer he needs.

Laguna Beach - Guess who they contract their City Attorney service out to? Yup, Rutan and Tucker.

Costa Mesa - Contracts out with Jones & Mayer, take a look at their attorney's resumes and somehow you get a warm fuzzy feeling if Kimberly Barlow runs across something she can't figure out. It took a while to confirm this one, but if you click here and go towards the bottom of the page, you can find their announcement of "Jones & Mayer was recently selected by the City of Costa Mesa to perform contract city attorney services. Kimberly Hall Barlow will be its City Attorney when the contract takes effect."

Huntington Beach - They have their own City Attorney, but guess what, she's elected.

So where does that leave Newport Beach and their million dollar legal department? Nowhere. She still gets her salary and benefits as usual, while approving the massive legal bills for the other outside attorneys.

That's Newport Beach's way. If you can't spend all the money you can, then borrow more (sorry, Certificates of Participations, I meant...) to build a White Elephant.

All the while the battle continues.

More to follow, I'm sure.

READ MORE - Big Spenders of Citizen's Money - Newport Beach Edition

Rehab Home Battle Brewing?

I know many people who have been fighting the proliferation of Rehab Homes into their streets for a few years now. But they have been largely spinning their wheels, for a variety of reasons.

I'm lucky. There are only four in my neighborhood, almost a mile away from my house. My friend has four on his street.

But there has been some serious rumbling going on with the Rehab Homes issue...I sat in a HOA Board Meeting last night where people (really RICH people) are willing to join the Balboa Peninsula folks and open up their checkbooks to keep the Rehab Homes from spreading.

With these folks wanting to get involved, this battle might just get interesting because of the wealth and the political influence of this growing group of angry residents.

Perhaps the City Council might actually have to listen. Even those with Conflicts of Interests.

Once the other parts of the City realize that this is a problem which could affect their neighborhoods soon, their voices might finally get some real teeth.

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John Wayne Airport Just Keeps Breaking Those Records!

Just like the Mortgage Loan fallout breaking records every month in the amount of foreclosures/defaults, John Wayne Airport does not want to fall behind breaking records. Taken from the OCBlog.net, and Len Kraser, our neighborhood airport just keeps breaking passenger traffic records. Sounds like a broken record right? But John Wayne Airport just keeps breaking monthly records...EVERY MONTH.

The City Council may want to wake up on this ticking time bomb.

Please get involved now, and hopefully our City Council will follow with NEW negotiations, specifically regarding Passenger Limits and the Curfew.

AirFair - http://www.jwairfair.com/
Airport Working Group - http://www.eltoronow.org/

I don't think that this is a record we want to keep breaking.

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Becoming a Better Person

Tis the season. Perhaps Rosh Hashanah is based on a Babylonian holiday, writes Arthur Waskow in Seasons of Our Joy. Every year after harvest, he writes, "was an occasion for pledging renewed obedience to the Babylonian throne." So the Jews got the idea to have a holiday to celebrate God's power, to hear the Torah being read and explained, to pledge to make their lives holier.

I have been thinking more about my judgment of people, my approval and non-approval. Yesterday I got on the L and there was a window seat next to a young man, who was sitting in the aisle. He got up so I could take the window. After he left, I had the window seat for a while and then a small tailored woman with a big tailored backpack got on the train and sat down. She was turned away from me and her backpack was in my side. She moved herself around and adjusted herself and she was hunched over, still turned away from me, reading her education textbook. Her hair was straight and highlighted in about three colors and her elbow was touching mine. I did not approve of her, even though she was reading an educational book. It was amazing that a small person was taking up so much space. I didn't say anything, just pushed back a tiny bit when her elbow touched mine. She was intent on not turning toward me or acknowledging me. I did not approve of her, and almost said to her, You don't ride the L much, do you? because she didn't know the etiquette.

On the way home, I sat next to a fat woman who was asleep in the window seat. Every so often her elbow would slide into mine, but I didn't blame her because she was asleep. And I was on the aisle seat so I had infinite space to expand.

I started out trying to examine my judgmental self and I ended up being judgmental. Maybe I am saying here that behavior is how I judge a person. Ha. I would like to think that about myself, but I am not so unbiased. Most of my women friends look like me--they don't wear makeup and they dress more for comfort than style. (I hope they don't take offense here.) And the ones that are stylish are already my friends so I don't judge them for it. (But that's illogical--how did they become my friends? I will skip over that.) My friends from high school are different. Some of them dress like they're in the Junior League (and what's more, they are!!). Why does everyone have to be like you, Cancer Bitch? Is it too much of a threat if someone is different? The truth is, I was raised to dress like them, and part of my identity is based on not being the way I was raised to be. Still. After all this time.

On the L yesterday before the Small Intrusive Woman came on board, I heard a young man on the phone behind me telling the person on the other end that to be with someone, "they got all of my body, mind and heart. That's why you know you can be with somebody. ...You can be physically attracted to someone without having sex." It seemed that he was trying to explain to this person that s/he didn't rate in all three areas. Then he told the caller to hold on while he took another call. It was about work. He was running late, thanks to the CTA. I don't know if he got back to first call. The I looked back and saw that he was sitting next to a young woman who put her head on his lap: "Do I have all three?" she asked him. "We'll talk about that later," he said and she closed her eyes.

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