Old Man Turns 60

My dad had his 60th birthday party in our backyard this weekend. We ate lots of good stuff and he jammed with his friends on stage. It was fun. View all of the photos.

Labels: family, food, friends, fullerton, party

Another Wild Trip to West Virginia

Jessica and I spent some more time in West Virginia and Kentucky with her mom. While I was there, I watched a mud bog, a drag race, a demolition derby, went into a coal mine, watched a civil war reenactment,went into a cave, county fair, ate junk food and a bunch of other stuff. Go here to view a whole bunch of photos.

Labels: family, vacation, wildlife

Herb Garden

We made a little 4' x 4' herb garden in our yard and filled it with all kinds of good stuff. Basils, sage, onion, rosemary and an assortment of hot peppers.

Labels: house

Fullerton Red Light Cameras Trashed, Legal Blunders Swept Under the Rug

Fullerton has terminated a dubious partnership with failing red light camera vendor Nestor Traffic Systems after the contract for operation of the cameras was declared to be illegal by an appeals court last year. It's a long story, but stick with us as we tell this tale of inept vendor selection and blatant disregard for the law in Fullerton...

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Labels: fullerton

Home Depot Frequent Flyer

It's been a while... here is a pic of me trying to build a raised box for Jessica's herb garden. All appendages are accounted for.

Labels: house

Fullerton's $100,000 Pension Club

Another one for Fullerton:

Fullerton taxpayers are looking down the barrel of a major increase in pension payments next year. The CalPERS agency has lost as much as 37% of its assets in the stock market crash and taxpayers are contractually obligated to make up the difference.

Our Friends at the California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility just released a report called the CalPERS $100,000 Pension Club. In their handy database, we located the annual pensions of 26 City of Fullerton employees who are bringing home over $100,000 a year post-retirement at our expense. We believe in an open government where the residents of Fullerton know what they are paying for -- Click here to see the list

Labels: fullerton

Departing Police Chief Brings Home The Bacon

My latest post on FFFF:

Just in time for his retirement, our beloved police chief Pat McKinley brought home a $100,000 federal earmark for his new body armor which he designed in a partnership with seasoned police contractor Safariland, a subsidiary of Europe's largest military contractor. Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez congratulated herself for rooting up the money for the high-priced vests as part of the Omnibus Appropriations Act.

What could be wrong with this earmark? It's nothing but free money for the City of Fullerton - an unconditional gift from the federal government, right?

But the earmark qualifies as official government pork according to government watchdogs.

Read the rest of "Departing Police Chief Brings Home The Bacon"

Labels: fullerton

Dirt Road

I have been lobbying city hall for years to have our street reverted to its historical dirt form. I finally won! Power to the people!

Labels: fullerton

Visiting the Hills of West Virginia

We went to visit Jessica's mom in the hills of West Virginia for a week. We had a great time and the people there are so nice. We saw a lot of curious sights and met some people who were very different. Good times! Here are the photos.

Labels: family, vacation, wildlife

Blogging activities

Recently I've been writing editorials for a popular local blog. If you want to know what really aggravates me, just read them:

• Fast Talking Techno-Pitch Man Tries to Sell Council Sack of Magic Cyber-Beans
  Fullerton's Fiber Field of Dreams could be a nightmare.
• SWAT Raid On Fullerton Students and Taxpayers
  What in the world?
• The All-Seeing Eyes of Fullerton
  Cameras everywhere
  

Labels: fullerton