Congratulations to Chappy Morris and Wm. L. Morris Chevrolet entering the 80th year of service to the Fillmore community. Parts and service for Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles are now available at the Ventura Street facility. Stop by the Mr. Goodlunch Cafe while you’re there.
***
The financial catastrophe America is going through will hurt most of us for years to come. What I find outrageous, besides the Wall Street thieves and their multi-billion dollar (continuing) perks, is the way Obama is blaming McCain and the Republicans for this fiscal debacle. While both parties are to blame, McCain and other responsible Republicans tried repeatedly to warn of the sub-prime threat and offered bills to correct the problem.
Ironically, those Democrats affecting absolute denial of responsibility for the calamity are the very ones most guilty. Senator Chris Dodd, and (Massachusetts’ most celebrated sodomite, SEE http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/frenzy/fra...) Barney Frank, have profited for years from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and stopped remedial action. Frank even had an affair with some Fannie Mae guy in years past. Talk about a conflict of interest!
However, the facts are finally being made available in the media for all to hear and understand. Even President Clinton has now come clean about who bears most responsibility for the sub-prime scandal, which triggered the Wall Street and credit collapse.
The nation is finally beginning to ask “Who is this guy Barack Obama, anyway?” We are learning he is a dangerous man with decidedly dangerous and subversive friends.

Several months ago I wrote in defense of two of our police officers who had to kill two pit bulls. They had gotten out of their fenced yard, ran wild in the streets, chasing at least three people, including a young girl and an elderly man (who narrowly escaped into his house before one of the dogs charged at his front door).
One deputy was charged and had to shoot the dogs. I was criticized for that opinion.
This week I read that a 5-year-old Simi Valley girl was killed in a pit bull attack.
I know there are many fine, gentle, trustworthy pit bulls around, but their propensity to attack is beyond dispute. The problem lies with criminal breeders, often breeding fighting dogs, and completely irresponsible owners who breed them to sell the pups to anyone. The breed has been ruined.
Grief at learning of such a beautiful little girl so savagely killed is beyond expression. Special, draconian laws need to be passed to control this dangerous animal. Owners and breeders of these dogs should be treated by the law as though they have charge of wolves, which can attack without warning.
***
I have to confess that I see Barack Obama as the greatest interior threat to American security ever in my lifetime.
His reputation for a close, life-long association with the most vicious racists like the “reverends” Louis Farrakhan and “Father Phlegm” Pfleger, with admitted (and unrepentant) terrorist Bill Ayers, and anarchists, communists and a long string of other dangerous people, precedes his status as the single most extreme liberal in the US Senate. He is to me like a packaged product straight from the smoky prophesies of the Book of Revelation. We are just beginning to learn about whom he really is, and he is, for all we know to date, a very scary person with many equally scary friends.
I am so thoroughly disgusted with American politicians and politics that I’m beginning to believe that, should he actually win the presidency, this country is well deserving of the political horror he will certainly unveil.
Psychotic Jihadists, Chinese Communists, Russian criminals, Muslim terrorists, and home-grown racists, traitors and anarchists, will coalesce into a perfect storm of military, civil, and financial chaos if President Obama becomes an historical fact.
Yeah, I know. Sounds pretty wild, doesn’t it? But that doesn’t make it less true.
God save our Supreme Court! But, He won’t without your vote for John McCain.

The two Fillmore residents who fled from police before being apprehended for suspicion of theft; the ones who left their 4-year-old daughter rolling through the parking lot in a shopping cart (which was nearly struck by a car), should get 10 years in prison. Where do such people come from?
***
On another negative topic, it’s about time somebody did something about reckless truck drivers coming and going from the water treatment construction site. The stretch of C Street from River to Hwy. 126 has become a dusty speedway. I watched a belly dump driver shoot through a red light at the intersection of C and 126 this a.m. (Wednesday) while a CHP vehicle was stopped on 126 at C. I don’t know whether the truck driver was cited or not, but the foreman I later spoke with on the site refused to give me his card, his name, or the company he worked for (W.M. Lyles Co.?) telling me that he wasn’t about to “throw his sub-contractors [cowboys from Bakersfield I’m told] under the bus” for doing what “everyone else does”. This is a serious public health and safety issue, i.e. speeding trucks and a filthy, dusty road. This is the first complaint I have ever had against anything going on at the construction site.

My thanks go out to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Fillmore Post 9637 for honoring me at a fine Tuesday evening dinner at the Memorial Building. I was presented with a plaque thanking me for support and dedication to the VFW.
I was both flattered and surprised with the recognition. Fillmore has a very distinguished group of heroes who count themselves members of Post 9637. From WWII, the Korean War, and Vietnam, these men have many tales of special heroism to tell.
Once again, thank you very much for the honor.
***
Two weeks ago I attended a 50-year class reunion for Santa Clara High School. It was superbly organized by Ellen Friedrich-Devericks, Paul Yenney, and several others.
Saturday, the Class of ’58 visited the Oxnard campus. What a fantastic transformation the school has undergone. Just a few years ago it was close to being closed. Today, it’s a star performer with the latest in everything. I was deeply impressed. Later we were treated to a great dinner at the Saticoy Country Club. Sunday we all gathered at the Devericks’ beautiful Saticoy Country Club mountain-top home for another get-together.
I have promised to write a little summary of the event, soon. I’ll probably put it on fillmoregazette.com.
In short, it was truly great to see so many of my classmates after 50 years. My best to all of you, and I hope we see each other in five years.
***
I regret there is so much to write about and so little time and space this week.
I hope our readers enjoy the new Downtown Fillmore section. Support our local businesses.

If I had space for 2000 words instead of the 250 allotted to me this week I might do justice to the many things worth commenting on. But 250 will have to do. And, I’ve just wasted 46 words telling you this.
Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews have been canned by MSNBC as political anchors. I leaped for joy when I heard the news. These are the only two propagandists I could never stand. I could never bear to watch the impudent Olbermann, with his infantile ego, for more than a few minutes. It was like watching a really naughty second-grader pulling the pigtails of the girl sitting at the desk in front of him. The spectacle made me recoil. I’m amazed that corporate didn’t see his program for the huge failure it was, instead of facilitating his tantrums for so long. With Matthews – he’s just a jerk, with (once again) a lugubriously and unjustifiably obese ego. They were both program-killers turned loose for too long.
MSNBC needs to put both of these pariahs on a new program – how about something like “Bedtime for Bozos”? It has a nice ring to it.
***
Hurray for Sarah Palin! It’s a new day for political, fiscal, ethical, and religious conservatives. She loves hunting, guns, and fishing, like all true Americans! She hates big government! She loves children (at every stage of life and condition)! She is smart! She is courageous! Most of all, her lifestyle and philosophy are pleasing to God, as He is revealed to Christians. And, Olbermann is no longer there to disparage her achievements.

Warm congratulations for Candi Tovar on her retirement. She organized a great reunion of old friends and VONS co-workers in City Park two weeks ago. What a great lady! Her work with foster kids and abused kids is truly commendable. I hope VONS recognizes what a great person they have lost. The best of luck to you, Candi, in your continuing work with children.
***
The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that the school district should permit members of the public to use the new all-weather track. Liability risk is no greater now than it has been over the years. Responsible persons should be permitted on the track (by admittance cards). Having the track in use during later hours will only enhance security.
Most of all, the people of Fillmore have contributed greatly to the field complex. They purchased the state-of-the-art scoreboard. They also (by great personal, volunteer effort) replaced the bleachers. For years the old dirt track was repaired with volunteer assistance.
In other words, although the school district does in fact own the sports complex, it is, and has always been, a public facility in fact. That should be recognized and respected.
No harm will come to the new track by responsible adults who wish to continue to use it. And, again, any threat from vandals will be reduced by the presence of those responsible adults who will guard the facility jealously.
I can understand the school district’s thinking. It’s similar to the mindset of someone who has just purchased an expensive new car and doesn’t want anyone parking too near its space in a public lot. But, that new owner doesn’t go so far as to keep that new car in the protective custody of a locked garage forever. He wants to take it out for a drive.
It’s new. It’s beautiful. It’s expensive. It needs to be used by the owners – the taxpayers.
***
Alaska’s Governor Sarah Palin’s name, when announced as Senator McCain’s Vice Presidential choice, came as unwelcome news to me, at first. However, the more I listen to her, and learn of her background, the more I like that choice. Like me, she’s an NRA life member, a true conservative, Pro-Life, and she’s energy knowledgeable.
That she chose to keep and love her new Down syndrome child is heartwarming and refreshing. What she doesn’t know about foreign policy she will learn. She’s a quick study. McCain was surely not my choice for President. But, with Sarah, I will support him. Besides, the thought of Obama appointing two or three Supreme Court Justices just scares Hell out of me.
Leave it to The Great Land to give us a great vice-president.

America has finally gotten around to providing a little emergency assistance for Georgia.
We have airlifted some medical and food supplies into the capital city of Tbilisi, and one guided missile destroyer has just entered the Black Sea port of Batumi.
Other US warships are reported to be entering the Black Sea as part of the relief operation. We need a much stronger presence.
The America response is both late and weak. NATO has proven itself to be helpless in the face of Russian control over 40 percent of Europe’s energy supply.

In the preliminary budget, city salary raises were approved by Mayor Conaway and Councilman Lee, with Patti Walker voting no, Councilwoman Hernandez absent – and Councilwoman Cuevas leaving the meeting before the vote. In a matter of such importance, I would think Cuevas should have had the agenda item moved-up before her departure to enable her vote. Was this an attempt to avoid going on record?
***

Goodbye Georgia - Hello cold war II
“NATO’s foreign ministers reiterate their support for Georgia” says one newspaper. Isn’t that special!
Others report that NATO discusses the “situation” in Georgia. How thoughtful.
“The North Atlantic Council (NAC) met in a special foreign ministerial session on 19 August 2008 to discuss the situation in Georgia and its implications for Euro-Atlantic stability and security.”
The UN, of course, flaunts its normal state of corrupted impotence by failing to do anything to help save Georgia. How different is today’s UN from the old League of Nations? Answer: It’s much worse, actually. Today’s UN entices predator nations like neo-Communist Russia to strike small, defenseless nations like Georgia because it knows very well nothing will be done to restrain its aggression. It all reminds me of Haile Selassie begging for help after Ethiopia was overrun by Fascist Italy in 1935.
So, “Russia was dismissive of the stepped-up Western pressure. Its envoys called the emergency Security Council “a waste of time” and NATO’s statement irrelevant. “The mountain gave birth to a mouse,” said Dmitry Rogozin, Russia’s envoy to NATO.”
America hears little about the Russian outrage in Georgia because we don’t take it seriously enough. Also, we have no will to send assistance to Georgia, not even to her capital city. We do nothing but send “Condi” over to scold Russia, and sign papers proposing a future anti-missile site in Poland, the missiles which are still on the drawing board. In the meantime, Russia continues to grind across all of Georgia, destroying key bridges, sinking its small navy, kidnapping Georgian soldiers, and facilitating Chechen criminals, imported by Russia, to destroy all villages in their path of occupation.
More than 150,000 innocent Georgians have been driven from their homes and businesses. American equipment is taken by the Russian military, airfields and ports are methodically destroyed by the invaders, while Russian generals laugh at NATO’s impotence, and NATO sits on its hands.
NATO refuses to come out and fight. America fumbles and makes embarrassing, idle threats of financial retribution, while Russia rumbles through the sovereign would-be NATO member nation of Georgia.
Russia has fired its first shot straight through the bow of NATO’s flag ship. Like the USS Cole in 2000, the survival of the Baltic States and Ukraine, Georgia, even Poland will be determined upon whether NATO, and especially America, will defend these newly free nations by moving military forces up against the Russian aggressors, daring it to cross the line. To date, old, free Europe as well as America seems to lack the will to act.
America should send a credible number of its missile ships into Ukraine, right into the Crimean peninsula. We should also send a serious military contingent into Tbilisi, with Predator units to back it up. That’s the only way to stop Russia, for the time being.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to WWIII, with a cast of millions of psychopathic Juhadists, North Koreans, Chinese, Iranians, Syrians, and the ever popular neo-Communist Russia. And we chose this time in history to abandon God?
***

Weakness has a savor no predator can resist - and America’s leadership reeks with that stench.
Russia has finally discarded the sheep’s clothing it has worn since the Soviet Union collapsed in the 1990s. The Soviet bitch is in heat again, aroused by ringmaster Vladmir Putin, who has set his dogs of war against the tiny new country of Georgia. Like a demonically resurrected corpse from some horror movie, Putin leads the pack while his lickspittle sidekick, President Medvedev, pretends to power. You can take the boy out of the KGB, but you can’t take the KGB out of the boy, as the saying goes.
Once again, as if on queue, American leadership has been surprised by a deadly evil attack. Our fool president, our clueless “intelligence” services, our naive military, have all been caught with their pants down, again. The president was in China, kowtowing to our most dangerous and determined enemy, the Chinese communists, telling the press how important it is to maintain cordial relations with those thugs.
Our almost wholly worthless news media was busy covering various and sundry sexual scandals, some political, some routinely Hollywoodesque, virtually ignoring this new war.
However, our dauntlessly dainty Secretary of State, “Condi” was able to make several scolding gestures toward the Russian beast (sad but true, active, warring dictators like Putin, Kim Jon Il, Hu Jintao, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and all of our freedom hating Juhadists, have only contempt for brilliant, talented, educated women like Condi Rice – largely because that’s the way their societies have always viewed women). But in America, political correctness must be served, and Georgia is being overrun.
Putin is in full command of the new Russian threat. The oil money tsunami has reinvigorated the toothless beast of the recent past. Now it seeks to recapture all of its old slave “republics”, and is showing the will, intent, and power to do so - because the west shows itself to be impotent, indecisive, and in the grips of political inertia.
Why didn’t (doesn’t) NATO move quickly to include Georgia within its ranks? America and the West certainly encouraged it to join-up and side with democracy. But, America, in particular, has developed an infamous history of falsely encouraging weaker states to rebel against their despotic masters, and then abandoning them to a terrible fate. We ignored Hitler’s move into Sudetenland, then all of Czechoslovakia, as did Chamberlain, appeasing the beast to preserve neutrality. We promised to help Hungary in 1956, and South Vietnam, which we abandoned ignominiously. We failed to follow through in helping Cuba. American leadership has made Americans appear to be untrustworthy friends.
Russia has just declared war on a small, neutral independent and democratic nation once again. This will have disastrous global consequences. Russia’s disastrous misadventure in Afghanistan failed to drive the stake deeply enough into the communist heart to kill the beast. It’s alive!
Regardless of our ongoing commitment in Afghanistan and Iraq, America must act now to throw back the Russian invasion of Georgia. At least provide the tools to do the job – like Stinger anti-aircraft missiles. Where is NATO? Where is that most vaunted darling of the Liberal Left, the United Nations? Our present weakness is due to decades of military cut-backs, and further proof of our need for a military twice the size – as it was under President Reagan.
This latest undeclared war lays bare America’s need for strong, resolute, experienced LEADERSHIP. The world is a more dangerous place than ever before in history. Is the Left’s most notorious lovechild, Barack Obama, the leader we need to defend our friends – and this nation? You bet your life he is not. We need a leader with a complete set of male equipment, and the proven ability to lead. This is not the time for on-the-job training for the position of Commander in Chief!
Let’s forget about the communist Olympic theater. Let’s forget about the fraudulent hysteria of global warming. It’s time to help the innocent men, women and children being murdered in Georgia by invading Russian forces. It’s time to give Russia a lesson in unified, determined democracy. It’s time for righteous anger and action.
It’s past time for America to regain its manhood. It’s time to fight – for our friends, for our nation, for our sovereign borders, and for our Judeo-Christian heritage. Those who are not with us are against us, and we should proceed accordingly.
Immediate action must be taken to counter the Russian attack, and to strengthen our ties with the other ex-Soviet countries at risk, such as Ukraine.
Ukraine is critical to the security of Western Europe. It is also the host port for Russia’s Crimean fleet, including atomic submarines. The Ukraine is immediately threatened. Here are some obligations NATO agreed to 11 years ago: Charter on a Distinctive Partnership between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Ukraine "Madrid, 9 July 1997. V. Cooperation for a More Secure Europe
14. NATO Allies will continue to support Ukrainian sovereignty and independence, territorial integrity, democratic development, economic prosperity and its status as a non-nuclear weapon state, and the principle of inviolability of frontiers, as key factors of stability and security in Central and Eastern Europe and in the continent as a whole.
15. NATO and Ukraine will develop a crisis consultative mechanism to consult together whenever Ukraine perceives a direct threat to its territorial integrity, political independence, or security."
Too bad nothing like this exists for Georgia. We will soon learn if these commitments will be kept for Ukraine, which is the most important target.
This declaration of war by Russia had obviously been planned for a long time. Everything was carefully staged. We can also be sure that similar planning includes the overthrow of other newly free nations. This calls for immediate counter action. We should all be concerned about President Bush’s, now notorious, lack of will. However, if he does not act resolutely to assist Georgia the consequences will be more serious than a failure in Iraq and will embolden all of our enemies.
Our enemies have taken the measure of American leaders; they have been weighed on the scale and been found wanting in terms of courage, intelligence, and integrity.
We need to counter Russian aggression which is killing innocent women and children and destroying their property. We need our President to at least appear to be stronger than France’s top man, who trembled like a frightened mouse while complaining to Russia’s president (what’s his name?) you know, that young guy who pimps for Putin.

While the school board has not yet decided whether or not to grant public access to our new, multi-million dollar sports complex, the public will probably be excluded.
The many challenges facing maintenance and administration of the track and football field were enumerated at Tuesday’s regular board meeting. They are numerous and serious. What we have today is a beautiful, very expensive, and very fragile sports complex. This evens the playing field with many other schools and districts which have also up-graded to artificial turf and all-weather track.
The track can be quickly and seriously damaged by anyone wearing conventional baseball or soccer shoes – which has already happened by two trespassers who ran across the track from the baseball field. While minor damage can be repaired by local staff, the manufacturers of the track and turf have a minimum charge of $3,000 to correct greater damage. Great care and vigilance will be needed to preserve this expensive new facility.
The field lighting is a huge improvement. For 20 years, shooting night football photos under the old lights has been a challenge, often requiring the photographer to creep onto the field. No more. The new lighting turns night into day, making video and photography easy.
The big question: will the residents of Fillmore respect and preserve this fragile new jewel of a sports complex? How fragile? Only water will be permitted on the field; no Gatorade, no gum, no food, no sand, no more huddle for an emergency whiz, etc. The players themselves will have to walk to the field on a special covering to avoid damaging the track.
I certainly hope all goes well. But, (sniff) I will always miss the grass, the mud, the dust, and the grass stains of a real football field – but I won’t miss those old lights.
Preserving the new field will be a test of community pride and character.
***
Parking remains a huge and growing problem. Considering the new swimming pool complex, the Boys & Girls Club, normal school and residential traffic and all the new anticipated contests (often simultaneous) adequate parking is a looming nightmare of chaotic proportions. First Street between “A” and Central will soon become Fillmore’s busiest foot and vehicle traffic area – and remain so for decades. It’s a little late now, but the pool complex should have been located elsewhere. It is now possible (and probable) to have a track and field event, softball and baseball games, a swim meet, and Boys & Girls Club event all at the same time. Carmel corn and cotton candy vendors should get rich. I would like to be buzzing the crowds in my ultralight machine, 100 feet above the fray, with camera in hand on those special days!

We’ve been getting some inquiries about the new high school football field and track facilities. Some concern has been expressed about the possibility the school district may not permit public access to the track.
A number of residents have been using the track to exercise for many years, especially in the evening. I spoke with Michael Bush briefly on Monday (Assistant Superintendent-financial services). Mr. Bush told me that the issue of public access to the track will be presented to the school board at its next, August 5, meeting. The board is expected to decide at that time.
The reason this has become an issue is the fact that the district is laying down a new, expensive, all-weather track. Other high schools with similar tracks have been contacted to see how they deal with the question. Some have open access, others jealously guard the track and permit no public access.
The new rubberized track surface can be damaged easily by persons wearing hard-soled shoes. Also, vandalism is always a threat.
Mr. Bush invites anyone having a concern about this issue to attend the August 5 board meeting in the school district building.
***
Just an observation: It might be a good idea to remove the stop sign at the intersection of Central Avenue and Main Street. Since construction is complete at that location, it’s no longer needed, and unnecessarily impedes traffic.
***
The fire department reported only two incidents of damage caused by Tuesday’s earthquake. A couple of tiles fell from VONS ceiling, and a crack appeared on the old packinghouse at ‘A’ Street. I’m sure someone else had a dish or two fall, but we haven’t heard of anything else.
***

I hope everyone assists the committee of volunteers that is working to get rid of brine discharging water softeners. The state has issued new restrictions on chloride content in our sewer system which discharges to the Santa Clara River. Our new water treatment plant does not deal with chlorides (salt).
The state will fine Fillmore up to $50,000 per day for each day we discharge water into the river that has a chloride content above 100 mg. Our chloride content is now about 140 mg. The state is worried about the detrimental effect of high chloride water on agriculture and fish.
We have a very short time to comply with the new standards. Each brine discharging unit places one pound of salt into our sewer water each day. With an estimated 450 units being used in Fillmore, that means 450 pounds of salt each day into the system.
If you have one of these units, the city will buy it from you. Otherwise, if the units remain on line every household will have to pay an additional $21 to $31 per month. The only other alternative is to build a chloride treatment plant for $9-10 million.
Please try to help the Fillmore Chloride Control Committee by urging your neighbors to get rid of the brine units.
***
Parts of the Gazette’s website (the blog-forum) are becoming a problem. We added this feature to the new site in order to facilitate discussion of issues deemed important to the residents of Fillmore. I hope it becomes a valuable and highly used method of communication.
However, civility has broken down on a couple of threads and we have had to make some corrections. We welcome everyone using the blog but will not let the conversation degenerate into what I have seen on other blogs. Of all that personal insult? Save it for some other place.
Ironically, I have just been informed that someone has referred to me as “Hitler” because the thread on the Tazer incident was removed entirely. Well – all I can say is: I know you are, but what am I?
With that, I’ve got to get back to my censorship desk – where I wallow in the opportunity to destroy free speech.

A great deal of controversy has been raised over an incident which occurred during the Fourth of July holiday. One of two criminal suspects had to be brought down with a Tazer device, following a burglary at Rite Aid.
While the facts are well known, the Gazette is waiting for an official report before commenting on the use of force by a city fireman-code enforcement officer who assisted a Sheriff’s deputy under attack by one of the suspects who was resisting arrest.
A great deal of hostile, inflammatory rhetoric was expressed on our website blog (www.fillmoregazette.com/forum) about this incident. The same sort of indignant flaming was heard during oral communication time at the last city council meeting.
These expressions of outrage have one thing in common: they grossly misstate the facts and mislead the audience. There also appears to be some sort of underlying agenda sparking these hot complaints.
It’s my hope that the official report will be available for next week’s edition.
***
Our new pool is coming along swimmingly. (Sorry). Concrete foundations are being poured this week - see fillmoregazette.com for some color photos. The pool complex is expected to be open for business before January, ’09. One of the unintended consequences of this otherwise happy news is the fact that First Street at Orchard will soon become a traffic nightmare. Just imagine those days when the final bell at Sespe School sends streams of kids to their parent’s waiting SUVs, the Boys and Girls Club’s 50 to 80 kids play in the front yard, the high school is having a major sports event, and parents are anxiously waiting in a line of idling cars to drop their kids off for a cool swim. Oh – then there’s the normal student pedestrian traffic from the middle school and high school, and normal foot and vehicle traffic from First Street residents. The intersection of Orchard and First is already chaotic. What can we expect next year?
***
Something close to $35,000-worth of illegal fireworks citations were issued this year by our police and fire departments. I wonder if this will cover the cost of the fireworks display.

How is the newspaper business different from the laws of nature?
Answer: It isn’t. Nature abhors a vacuum just as much in the sales rack as it does in outer space. For example, no sooner had the Gazette’s space in the VONS rack been emptied (due to 11 weeks of non-payment from the market) than the void was filled with a new rack, twice as large, pregnant with Ventura Star papers. Adding a little insult to injury, the sign adorning the newly expanded edifice reads “Fillmore. Your town. Your paper” – a weaselly way of kinda-sorta saying “hometown paper”. When I think of the 7-day weeks and frequent 18-hour days the Gazette has spent publishing local news for the past 20 years, that pretension seems just a little curious. Curious, not surprising or unexpected. Let them spend the hours to earn the spurs. The spectacle of a small town weekly like the Gazette competing head to head with two billion-dollar corporations seems almost lugubrious to me (I’ve always enjoyed that word). I’ve just been in this business too long and seen too much to be surprised.
While the Gazette has had to abandon its long-standing spot at the market it will continue to serve its loyal readers at the Balden Town Center as best it can.

After a prolonged series of problems and confrontations over the distribution of the Fillmore Gazette in the VONS market, the paper has decided to pull out.
Since the last strike, Safeway Markets, parent company of VONS, has made many policy and management changes which make it impractical for the Gazette to continue its 20-years association with the store.
A major reason for pulling out is the fact that the Gazette has not been paid for its distribution in more than 10 weeks. For 20 years the transaction was simple and fast. The paper was delivered and paid for at the same time. Under the new policy a host of boilerplate-type requirements must be complied with in order to have invoices paid through the corporate office. This included the procurement of insurance and filing numerous other forms. The relationship has become confused and confrontational. Management, all the way up the line to corporate, has exhibited a mixture of hostility at the local level, to complete indifference at the top. Numerous personal contacts, phone calls and emails have been a waste of time.
The Gazette is looking into placing news racks outside the store.
I very much regret the inconvenience to our readers.
Martin Farrell
Publisher

As I write these words we have just received notice of a plane crash in Piru. Story and photos are posted here: http://www.fillmoregazette.com/front-page/fatal-plane-crash-piru
***
Congratulations to Fillmore Police Tagging Investigator Gene Torres for directing a highly successful task force to 7 Fillmore locations to serve search warrants and check for parole violations. The action turned up numerous guns and other stolen property. This should be enough evidence to prove that so-called “taggers” do more than cause vandalism. Members are also thieves and felons.
***
I regret to inform our readers that the Gazette will no longer be available at VONS market. In my 25 years in this business I have never before encountered such a feckless and uncooperative, and arrogant management team. Big business has changed its stripes forever in my opinion. I will skip the details. We may possibly place news racks outside the market; but this is a great inconvenience for all concerned.
The Gazette will continue to be sold in many locations around town, including Super “A” Market.
***
We have just launched the latest version of our website. Viewers will enjoy the new video capabilities as well as large format photos and many other features. We now also host a blog. We will soon add a hunting-fishing-shooting sports page, as well as an emergency preparedness page. It will take a little more time to transport all information from the old site to the new, and make our archives accessible to readers. I hope you all enjoy the new version, it has taken many months of hard work by Scott Duckett to produce it. New ideas for other additions are always welcome.
***
The City of Fillmore is under attack from two government agencies: the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board - and the Ventura County Flood Control District.
Both act exactly like fascists, or perhaps more like an old Soviet Union bureau. If we cannot get a grip on these fanatical, irrational environmental activists, this city will be driven to bankruptcy. They are demanding what seems like an unending series of water quality restrictions, with absolutely no concern for our financial future. If the L.A. new ground water scheme is forced upon our town it will cost every homeowner another $3,000 in fees. If the new flood map is approved by FEMA, two-thirds of our town will be required to purchase flood insurance. Do we need many more reasons for hating government?

A Response to Councilwoman Cuevas’ letter:
Ms. Cuevas’ letter seems to come close to missing the whole point of my criticism.
Whether $1,000 or $2,000 is irrelevant. The issue is how money earmarked as travel money for city business is spent. No one should have a problem with council members receiving $2,000 for the work they do to maintain a functioning city government. However, to tell the citizens of Fillmore that you are traveling to Puerto Rico for a NALEO conference to gain information on the issue of obesity (Ms. Cuevas’ original expressed intent) was a sham. Most reasonable people looking at that trip will quickly understand its essentially political nature: networking with nationally recognized political players. That’s the primary reason for NALEO’s existence. Every such convention has dozens of workshops, any one of which could justify a trip. The point I wish to make is, that political trip was taken for personal political purposes. Why else should Ms. Cuevas need permission? Permission of her peers on the council is not required to take a vacation. If she did not use her stipend on the trip, why ask for permission? The fact is that Ms. Cuevas asked for permission to attend the first convention and was approved. She asked again this year and was denied. I assume it was too late to apply after the policy was changed.
It would be better to abandon entirely the policy of providing money for travel on city business, with or without the assent of other council members. This would eliminate the nonsense of sham excuses. Let’s just provide $2,000 to each member as just compensation for the work they do.
Ms. Cuevas’s political and ethnic bias has cost the city more than $35,000 during the past several years – most of it wasted, like her repeated insistence on forcing Spanish films on our Towne Theatre. After years of struggle, the Theatre finally crept into the black, only to be plunged into the red again by 18 months of this unwanted, unused, and expensive venture. For as many as five or six weeks at a time not a single person would attend these films – yet Ms. Cuevas had the original 6-months experiment extended, twice.
As to Ms. Cuevas’ political intentions, I merely stated my opinion. I’m (I guess) relieved that she will not succumb to the allure of high political office.
Ms. Cuevas’ work for the city is appreciated, although I find her penchant for supporting what a high majority of residents consider overly dense housing disturbing. I note that Councilman Lee questioned the fact that next to no discussion was entertained before final approval of the Shaw project at the railroad tracks was granted.
If such a “tremendous” amount of financial benefit can be created, as you say, by concentration on your successful business and educational endeavors, why not concentrate on them exclusively? That way, you can “walk away from the criticisms, judgments, and outright lies” that seem a plague to you. However, I challenge you to identify any “lies”.
The job of Mayor Pro Tem may have been a Hobson’s choice for the council. Recalling your tantrum at being passed-over for the Mayor position, which necessitated the Mayor to recess a council meeting until you gained your composure, indicates part of the problem.
Ms. Cuevas, my criticism would cease if you would act more like a council member for all the people and less of a lobbyist for “your people” and for related personal causes.

Geraldine “Jeri” Doud Morris passed away Sunday at Santa Paula Memorial Hospital. My condolences go out to Chappy Morris and family upon their tragic and unexpected loss. The Rosary will take place for Jeri at St. Francis Church, Wednesday, June 18, at 7:00 p.m.
Rest in peace, Jeri.
***
In the continuing controversy over the city government pay scale, the Gazette has published the pay rates for 24 city employee positions (see page 3), from City Manager to the Assistant to the Finance Director. The Gazette published only 8 positions last week. A complete list is included this week. Also, there are mid-management employees well deserving of a raise. We should consider as well the fact that a significant part of these salaries consist of “benefits”. But, I wonder why the benefits differ so much in a group insurance policy? These numbers can be compared to the salaries for 8 federal legislative, executive and judicial positions (as of 2006). Also included are the governors’ statutory salaries, taken from the Council of State Governments. The salaries of 41 governors are at, or below, $150.000 per year.
This sort of comparison seems more logical and fair than simply pointing to four other Ventura County cities (Hueneme, Ojai, Carpinteria, and Santa Paula) to see what they pay their government employees, as has been the practice. Otherwise, how can we know what criteria those four cities use to set their standards? Fillmore, the last time I looked, was the poorest city in Ventura County, and one of the smallest, at 14,000-plus population.
***
The Fillmore City Council ambushed the tax-paying residents of Fillmore during the late hours of the last regular council meeting. Councilwoman Cecilia Cuevas finally succeeded in subverting the Mayor’s position on the issue of travel and travel compensation.
It has been a long-established Council policy that council members must request permission to travel out of state when the city is footing the bill. Even travel within the state, outside the county, was restricted to League of California Cities, in Sacramento, without specific approval. It was also long-established policy that each council member was provided $1,000 travel money from which to draw, after approval. These rules simply corresponded to common sense protection against abuse of public funds. That is, ask for trip approval (does the city benefit?) and the amount of money needed to take the trip.
Mandated Council approval is prudent to prevent members from using public money for essentially private purposes, which can be made to appear somehow important to the running of Fillmore City business. In other words, it’s protection against sham excuses to cover trips for essentially personal purposes – like traveling to Puerto Rico to attend a NALEO convention, ostensibly to bring back information about the issue of obesity.
At this last meeting, with Councilwoman Hernandez absent, and only Councilman Scott Lee objecting, the Mayor grandly proclaimed his new preference for a new policy – that is, $2000 to each member to spend as he/she sees fit, with no restraints on where or why a member can travel. So, with a big smile, off to Washington D.C. goes our frequent flying Councilwoman Cuevas to another NALEO convention. It’s a hot election year don’t you know. Just imagine all the political connections Ms. Cuevas can make at city expense – especially with her new title of Mayor Pro-Tem. Maybe, just maybe, she will get to meet the great Obama!
I am disgusted with this decision and the three council members who voted for it. It reflects an irresponsible, almost juvenile, devil-may-care attitude towards city expenditures. I don’t fault the $2,000 – some Council members work hard for essentially no money. It’s how the money is spent, and where the travel takes them, for questionable purposes, that bothers me.
I, for one, am fed-up with the increasingly loose attitude, poor judgment, and policies evidenced in our Council these days. The Council has never, in the 20 years I’ve been observing it, been in such shaky condition. I strongly object to most of the dense development approved during the past several years – especially the Shaw monstrosity at the railroad tracks, which Ms. Cuevas shoehorned in with almost no discussion. City government, from the top on down, with several significant top and mid-management exceptions, needs a complete overhaul, and I worry about who might be waiting in the wings for the November election.
I predict that Councilwoman Cuevas will be working for some state or federal politician sometime during the next year or so. If she can just make those important NALEO contacts little Fillmore will quickly become a distant memory. After all, the City of Fillmore is paying for those political encounters, and she hears the call of “her people.” I haven’t heard her say this since being repeatedly reminded that all residents of Fillmore should be “her people.”
It’s not that I don’t admire political ambition. It’s just that Ms. Cuevas should pay her own way, on her own time. And our Mayor? He has to learn to say no!