Living Well In….

…PLEASANTVILLE

An unsolicited update for the readers of Wildomar Magazine.

Sheryl and I have been enjoying our new residence in a Senior (55 years +) Community in Hemet since December 2013. After completing the always exhausting rigors of moving, we eventually processed the stack of boxes in our new home and have settled into a pleasant, daily routine for our still-busy lives.

We live in community that has a plethora of nearby eating establishments, when my limited cooking and grilling skills are uninteresting to the joint palate, not to mention a variety of shopping choices for our personal and residential needs.

After taking a permanent,  salaried position with my employer,  whose corporate offices are located in Houston Texas,  I found that the demands of  handling a full-time  claims desk, even  if it’s a desk in my home office with no commute anywhere, exceeded the abilities and capabilities of my age and physical status  (almost  5 years post–stroke),  so I  formally semi-retired, returning to  a much more flexible and less demanding  status as an independent adjuster, completing  limited task field assignments for the same company, as well as another related  company.

As a result, I am in complete control of my work schedule  and my stress level is happily appropriate for an active 67-year-old senior citizen.

In addition, despite the physical distance from Wildomar (approximately 25 miles), my interest in things Wildomar  has properly waned to the extent that, although I continue to monitor  the limited news outlets for information about Wildomar, as well as maintaining daily, personal contacts persons whom I count  important, I am still able to maintain a reduced presence on Wildomar  Magazine, publishing articles and providing information and commentary when I moved to do so.

Filling the void which was previously occupied  by publishing a WM article 2-3 times per week , I have begun work on my personal Vietnam memoir  for my son and grandson. Perhaps, depending on my happiness with my expanding work product, I may upload  portions of  my memories onto Page 2 , ” Vietnam, 1968 ; A Year  For A Lifetime.”  However, since the format of a larger  creative work, such as a personal memoir, is not the same as a  “stand alone” article written for a WM format, I’m not certain that  it would be as effective as I would like it to be.

In any event,  I’m certainly not going to  stress about it. Eventually, the entire memoir will be completed, published and made available, in its entirety,  to any interested readers.

At the end of the day, after one-third of a year in our new home, we are pleased and quite satisfied with our decision to move to “our” portion of Pleasantville.

Comments can be made to zakturango@excite.com.

Leaving Wildomar Better Than….

…I FOUND IT

It has always been a matter of common courtesy to leave any place that you visit  in better shape than when you first arrived.

Now that I’ve completed the sale of  my residence in Wildomar, and my “visit” is over, I can attest to  my voluntary compliance with the aforementioned ethic.

As did every other house recently sold on the Pavla Court cul-de-sac in the Windsong Valley tract,  my house was purchased by a “flipper.” While some may consider that to be a term of denigration, the buyer was a nice young man with sufficient resources to pay cash for the purchase and to  immediately initiate a restoration protocol  that has transformed the property.

Ever since my stroke in May 2009, I have not had the  physical ability nor the financial  resources to address the issue of “deferred maintenance” on the property.   For the record, I went to  express my gratitude to fellow Windsongian, Ray Addington, who graciously offered to care for my lawn, upon my return from the hospital.

Needless to say, my former neighbors, should be pleased with the end result.

 Comments can be made to zakturango@excite.com.

Unfortunately, only the  City of Wildomar can do anything about the large crack appearing in the road surface. Another example of deferred maintenance?

Often Imitated; Never…

200,010 views

…DUPLICATED

After six years of covering and commenting on Wildomar politics, writing over 1000  satirical opinion commentaries which have been read by over 200,000  individual visitors,  most of whom, I presume, are local Wildomar readers  (although I have followers from around the globe), this is a good time to shift from my “Epilogue” mode it into the “semi-retired”  phase  of Wildomar Magazine under a new category, “Curious Wildomar.”

Since  I have happily  relocated  into a peaceful and well-appointed  senior ( 55+) community beyond the borders of Wildomar, the distance in terms of time, miles, and  intense interest  will naturally  diminish  Wildomar Magazine’s ability to cover  the silly political  minutia  of local politics which  provided the fodder for 1000 satirical opinion commentaries.

Nevertheless, information which provokes  my “curiosity”  will continue to inhabit the pages of WM,  although with less frequency, in all likelihood.

In its place, I am finally able to move forward with writing my personal memoir on my brief (but more exciting than I intended)  journey through the military experience,  as my one nine-year-old grandson has a self-generated interest  in his grandfather’s war time experiences.

When I have completed it, I will take advantage of the 21st century electronic media opportunities for self-publishing  things like personal memoirs, which makes it available to anyone who has a Kindle, Notebook, or other such  electronic reading devices.

As always, I am profoundly gratified for the ongoing interest  in Wildomar Magazine  by my Dear Readers.

 I can only hope that I’ve given you a reason to smile, sometimes a grimace, but always, a provocation to think for yourselves when it comes to Wildomar politics.

‘Nuff’ said.

 Comments can be made to  zakturango@excite.com.

Developer’s Learning Curve On How To Avoid…..

….LITIGATION….

…Because Wildomar City Hall is still stuck in Stage One.

Developers, large and small, are coming to the reasonable conclusion that “approvals” of their projects by the City of Wildomar, in all of its incompetent (unconscious or otherwise) manifestations, including City Staff, primarily the Planning Department, and Wildomar’s appointed Planning Commission officials, and ultimately, its elected officials, the Wildomar City Council, has only resulted in costly and time-consuming, yet properly effective,  litigation.

 Recently , several developers have wisely initiated contacts with their potential litigation opponents, seeking to address and resolve legitimate project objections, through amicable negotiations, prior to seeking approval for their projects at City Hall.

 So far, it has apparently resolved one problematic development.

According to my sources, these developers are making concessions to mitigate the impact of their developments, which they would have agreed to concede to the City of Wildomar, if only the City officials had asked for such concessions.

Unfortunately, the municipal incompetence appears to be a permanent condition.

The paid “professionals”  appear to be unable or willing to change their planning protocols.

The appointed officials, won’t be considered  formally trained unless, and until, they fly off to San Francisco to attend the League of Cities.

The elected officials seem to prefer their political status as victims of litigation.

For the most part, except for the developers whose dollars are on the line, the entire process appears to be “stuck on stupid.”

Comments can be made to zakturango@excite.com.

At the end  of the day , it appears that the City of Wildomar will experience its much-desired  development and growth, while the Citizens of Wildomar  will now know that it’s economic and environmental interests are being jointly protected by the mutually beneficial cooperation between the developers and the activist  community.

Stall Tactics; Wildomar’s Mis-Understanding Of Latest Round Of….

…LITIGATION

The latest former occupant of the annually recycled Mayor’s seat, Wildomar Council member Tim Walker has once again provided evidence of a short-sighted and juvenile understanding of a recent lawsuit, naming the City of Wildomar and a developer over an expired tract map intended to construct an outdated, expired and obsolete residential tract at the corner of McVicker and Palomar Road.

Walker was quoted by the Press Enterprise reporter, Michael J. Williams, in yesterday’s article (see yesterdays article immediately below for the link) , as follows: “They’re just trying to stall it. It’s a stall tactic.”

Councilmember Walker’s analysis overlooks the primary reason for the litigation in that the city has failed to recognize, and correct, the expired status of the original tract map.

In their haste to move this developer’s project forward, the city has facilitated the developers proposition that the local environment has not changed since the original, and currently expired, tract map was approved by the County of Riverside.

Instead of taking the opportunity to address all of the current environmental issues for the project, including having the current developer account for the massive amounts of imported soils resting atop his property, the City of Wildomar has chosen to ignore the concerns of informed citizens and their legal counsel.

The current litigation will confirm or refute the issue of the expired tract.

If refuted, the project will then be able to  move forward.

If confirmed, however, the developer will be required to initiate a new application for the project, subject to all of the usual reviews by the Planning Commission and, eventually, and approval by the City Council.

Rather than addressing the actual underlying issues, Walker, as spokesman for the rest of his colleagues, has once again displayed the adolescent incompetence of Wildomar’s elected officials.

Comments can be made to zakturango@excite.com.

When Wildomar’s City Hall Goes Rogue…

..ONLY THE COURTS CAN REIN IT IN

Let the handwringing begin.

Today’s Press Enterprise reports the filing of two additional lawsuits over recent actions taken by the City of Wildomar, as follows:

http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/wildomar/wildomar-headlines/20140110-wildomar-more-suits-filed-against-city-over-land-use-issues.ece

Apparently the political posture of being the helpless “victim” of unending litigation prevails in the City of Wildomar.

So far, it seems to work for them but eventually citizens will begin to question their decisions as well.

Most of the litigation currently underway would never have occurred had Wildomar’s Planning Commission, and ultimately Wildomar’s City Council, simply honored their oath of office  freely taken to uphold the law, which includes the General Plan, the California Environmental Quality Act, not to mention the Visioning Strategy, created by a wide spectrum of its citizens after incorporation in 2008.

Nevertheless, concerned citizens are always entitled to resort to the Court to address those concerns.

Elected and appointed officials, who have repeatedly and blithely ignored  rational and reasonable objections  presented during public hearings , will eventually have their  decisions scrutinized under the auspices of the legal system.

Sadly, until the voters of Wildomar elect honorable adults to lead them, nothing will change.

Comments can be made to zakturango@excite.com.

Keep your eye on the traffic and flood control disaster at Bundy Canyon  and the freeway.

Illegal modifications to the Conditional Use Permit wrongly allowed  the developer of the gas station at that location to omit  the installation of a four-way traffic light  at Sellers Road  and storm water to improperly drain into an  under the freeway “water pipe” which will allow storm water to drain onto the campus of Elsinore High School, when it  was originally conditioned to re-direct its waterflow to the proper under the freeway waterpipe nearly 500 yards to the south.

This improper conduct  will not be ignored nor tolerated with impunity.

The Friends Of Wildomar’s Parks Didn’t Disappear With The Passage Of Measure Z…

…IT JUST MORPHED ITSELF INTO THE CITY MENTALITY

While the non-accredited, non-profit wannabe organization known as “Friends for Wildomar’s Parks” apparently ceased to exist with the passage of Measure Z, that unsuccessful mentality has apparently morphed directly into the Byzantine caverns of Wildomar’s City Hall.

On Saturday, January 11, 2013, in an attempt to recapture the “spirit” of the Great  Day of Service, Wildomar’s citizens are once again requested to “tool up” and to “show up” for another work day, allegedly to push bark around the interior confines of Marna O’Brien Park and the tot lot known as WindsongPark.

Rather than to sharply focus on the City of Wildomar for its obvious  inability to function as a functioning city, Wildomar Magazine applauds  its adolescent  leadership for recognizing what it does best; “inducing volunteers to provide labor and  small donations for its parks on an ongoing basis.”

Comments can be made to zakturango@excite.com.