Here is another roundup of some of the most thought-provoking reader comments of the week. Click on each topic’s headline to see the article in question. Comments are selected by our editors and subject to editing for grammar, spelling and length.
Bustamante Sex Scandle
[OC Public Works Director Jess] Carbajal and [county CEO Tom] Mauk are the tip of the iceberg in this sad saga. Everything rests on [Internal Audit Director] Peter Hughes’ report. If/when that is made public, we’ll see how far and deep this investigation went.
I know of two other agency heads that were fully aware of Bustamante’s behavior and have taken really good care of his girlfriends in their agencies.
As far as lawsuits, you should know what happens to whistle-blowers. They follow the county’s procedure to report wrongdoing, and then they become the target of institutional retaliation. Their careers are quickly over at the county. The county says they will keep the names of whistle-blowers confidential, but they don’t.
— OC Bureaucrat / March 13
Apparently Jess Carbajal and Tom Mauk will no longer be working for the county. Hopefully some more individuals will be leaving the county too. Like the ones that received the promotions or raises from Carlos [Bustamante] because he needed them to remain loyal. Or the ones that knew what he was up to as far back as four years or more.
Both Carlos’ and Jess’ favoritism caused others to suffer by being displaced, passed over for promotion and even feeling forced to quit. I’m surprised that there hasn’t been any lawsuits. Or are they too scared of retribution?
— Ex-OC employee / March 12
And for those ladies who are apparently being “promoted” in lieu of filing a claim for damages: beware. Once the time passes for you to file your claim, the county will probably fire or demote you. Retaliation is the county way.
— Cacityguy / March 9
Charter Misses Deadline
[Costa Mesa City Councilmen Steve] Mensinger, [Jim] Righeimer, and their two stooges can’t actually seem to accomplish anything they want to do.
If they were at all competent, they would have outsourced several departments by now and outsourced their fire service to the Orange County Fire Authority for long-term savings.
Bumbling scoundrels.
— Moonunit / March 14
Great Park Neighborhoods
Is it any surprise that there is a request to build additional houses on this property? The already wealthy developers will eventually get approval to overbuild the area to ensure they make as much money as possible.
— I Live in Fullerton / March 14
There needs to be a reality check soon in Irvine. As they continue the Great Abyss by adding more apartments and more million-dollar homes with nowhere in between, they are actually adding more cars to an already gridlocked city.
Everyone in Orange County needs to realize that Irvine stretches completely across the 5 Fwy and the 405 Fwy, and the domino effect they can potentially create by adding more and more homes and adding more and more cars will eventually put a stranglehold on traffic in Orange County.
— Reality Check / March 15
With the closing of the old Lion Country/Wild Rivers water park, I fail to understand why the city hasn’t aggressively pursued a relocation of the Water Park to the Great Park, which unfortunately, until the sports park is built, is a might short of recreational facilities.
The Irvine City Council has been good stewards, but how about doing something quickly to move the water park from the Irvine Center/Moulton area to the Great Park? I know Larry [Agran, city councilman] isn’t that old that he wouldn’t enjoy a good water slide.
— Dr. Dan / March 14
Neglected Minutes
Excellent article. Santa Ana LULAC [League of United Latin American Citizens] brought this issue up a number of times during the redistricting process for county supervisorial maps. The issue was ignored by the supervisors as well as by the general public. I commend you for bringing this to the forefront.
The approval of minutes as it is today needs to be changed to more accurately reflect a better recording of board meetings and actions taken.
— Santa Ana LULAC 147 / March 13
Graffiti in Anaheim
I never understood why the cost savings was considered a plus. Never once have I heard anyone say, “Gee, I wish we didn’t spend so much on graffiti removal.”
Are you kidding me, City Hall? We need to be spending more, not less. Why is it that with all that beloved room tax revenue, Anaheim’s streets look worse than surrounding cities? Where is the money going? Not into our neighborhoods.
Clean up our city! Now!
— Cynthia Ward / March 12
Selling the Santora
The artists need to call on their patrons to purchase this building for the artists. But the artists shouldn’t knock the restaurants either. Even the Getty has restaurants.
But $6.5 million for that building? Sounds like he is not serious about selling the building.
— Keepdapeace / Mar 13
Latina Leadership
Congratulations to a local organization [Latino Health Access] that gets recognized nationally for its outstanding leadership and programs. Locally, it gets punished, like when the OC supervisors took issue with Latino Health Access because they use words like “promotora.”
Why do we always have to rely on outsiders to see the great programs we have in Orange County? Is there a perpetual marine layer surrounding the Hall of Administration that clouds their vision?
— Redman / March 14