Military honors bring community together

Put four City Council members, various local elected and appointed officials and about 200 other active Yorba Lindans together and you'd expect to hear some strong differences of opinion about downtown development, housing density, open government and additional significant city issues.

But one subject they all agree on is the importance of a city memorial honoring veterans and their military service, as they did at a fundraising luncheon at the Black Gold Golf Course Sept. 16.

Contentious elections, controversial petitions and personality clashes were put aside for an afternoon as attendees supported the Yorba Linda Veterans Association drive to raise funds for a memorial at Veterans Park on Valley View Street just north of Yorba Linda Boulevard.

The five-sided monument will honor Army, Navy, Marine, Air Force and Coast Guard service and was designed by student Bryan Davidson. The vet group, co-chaired by Clay Baxter and Irv Gold, expects to raise more than $150,000 to fund construction of the long-sought memorial.

The event's only fireworks involved spirited live-auction bidding for such pricey donated items as vacations, gift baskets, entertainment packages and a unique World War II-era silver, copper and steel coin collection from Ed Quigley of Main Street Coins and Collectibles.

And dozens of guests, including my wife Jill, won less-costly bidding wars for goods and services displayed on several silent auction tables.

The event highlight was the sale of $5,000 granite monument benches, purchased by the Brattain family, whose son Joel was killed in Iraq; attorney Bill and teacher Helen Davis; executive Jeff and school trustee Karin Freeman; and water board director Paul Armstrong and businessman Greg Brown.

A fifth bench will be placed by Mothers of Military, commonly known as MOMS, with funding from interested individuals and groups. These and other donations can be mailed to PO Box 144, Yorba Linda 92885, or call vet board secretary and event co-chair Sue Fenwick at 714-777-4551.

One of the vet group's continuing fundraising activities is the sale of bricks to be placed at the memorial site inscribed with the names of individual military service personnel.

For example, my brother and I will recognize our aunt, Mary Emeral Drummond, one of World War II's 1,074 Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs, who ferried planes, tested new and repaired aircraft and towed targets to free male pilots for war zone duty.

A FINAL NOTE

Next month's Fiesta Day at Veterans Park is an outgrowth of the first citywide celebration in 1968, when the Yorba Linda Service League organized a parade, activities and food booths.

The newly formed League hoped to heal hard feelings from a tough 1967 incorporation battle fought in court actions, election flyers and letters to the editor of the Yorba Linda Star.

Yorba Lindans open wallets for Republicans

(Note: This entry includes more information than was in the newspaper version.)

Surprise.

So far this year Yorba Linda residents have donated more money to candidates seeking the Republican nomination for president than those competing for the Democratic nod, according to the most recent reports filed with the Federal Elections Commission.

In fact, GOP contenders are way ahead in the local scramble for cash with $37,030 donated to six candidates versus $1,400 contributed to two Democratic contenders.

Okay, admittedly that’s not a big shock, since Yorba Linda has the nation’s highest median household income ($121,075) of cities with more than 65,000 population and a longheld status as the county’s second most Republican city.

Only tiny Villa Park registers a greater percentage of Republican voters than Yorba Linda—68.1 per cent out of 4,365 voters versus 59.4 percent out of 41,081 voters.

The lion’s share of GOP donations went to Mitt Romney—$26,500. Also collecting contributions were John McCain ($4,400), Sam Brownback ($2,100), Rudy Giuliani ($1,750), Tom Tancredo ($1,280) and Duncan Hunter ($1,000).

Democratic donations went to Barack Obama ($1,250) and Hillary Clinton ($150).

Making the maximum allowable $2,300 contributions to Romney were Sean Cummins, John Dalton of Regal Oaks Drive, Louise Dalton, Michael Rizzo and Richard Whittier.

Other Romney contributors were Donald Briscoe and D.D. Forman ($2,100 each); John Taylor of the Nixon Foundation ($1,150); and Mark Arnold, John Dalton of Primrose Lane, Joseph Han, Nola Hatch, Ismael Mayans and Kim Pugmire ($1,000 each).

Additional Romney donors were Linda Rizzo ($700); Dimitrios Karpouzis ($600); Dawn Conk, Teri Nguyen and Stacey Smith ($500 each); Timothy Carter and Steven McGlawn ($300 each); and Craig Willardson ($250).

McCain’s contributors were William Larkin ($2,300), Barry Bordbar ($1,000), Michael Rapport ($400), Tom Tckulve ($500) and Larry King ($200). Giuliani donors were Paul Blomgren ($1,000), Robert Hitzeman ($500) and Robert Preston ($250).

Tancredo contributors were Mark Powell ($780) and Nola Hatch ($500). Brownback received $2,100 from Jason Gee and Duncan Hunter $750 from Allan Davis and $250 from Dennis Conneen.

On the Democratic side, Obama received $1,000 from Barry Bordbar and $250 from Ronald Fugate and Clinton $150 from Mary Fyda-Mar.

A FINAL NOTE

This city’s Republicans outnumber Democrats 24,424 to 9,017, but Newport Beach and Villa Park have smaller percentages of Democrats: 20.4 and 16.6 to Yorba Linda’s 21.9.

In Yorba Linda, 6,300 individuals decline to state party preference, with smaller party totals including 749 American Independent, 207 Libertarian, 140 Green, 72 Peace and Freedom, 38 Natural Law and 134 miscellaneous registrants.

In need of readers' help

This week I’m asking for reader help in solving a couple Yorba Linda mysteries. Surely, someone can shed a bit of light on these puzzlers.

First, I want to confirm the identity of the anonymous “truth” blogger who savaged then-candidate Hank Wedaa in the weeks preceding the June 5 special election and the person who registered versions of Wedaa’s name to create phony campaign Web sites.

Normally, a little-noticed, unsigned blog wouldn’t be a cause for concern; but some past and current City Council members promoted the postings as “reliable” and “trustworthy.”

It was hard to separate the wheat from the chaff in the error-prone blog, and an over-the-top conspiracy theory involving two candidates who had never met—Wedaa and third-place finisher Victoria Gulickson—cast doubt on more factual material.

Second, I want to see a copy of the Yorba Linda Voice, whose publisher, Brad Pfanstiel, recently petitioned Superior Court to have his publication “ascertained and established” as “a newspaper of general circulation.”

Pfanstiel’s petition states the Voice “is a newspaper of general circulation published for the dissemination of local news and intelligence of a general character” in Yorba Linda and has “a bona fide subscription list of paying subscribers.”

The petition also notes, “For more than one year preceding the filing of this petition,” the Voice “has been printed and published regularly every Wednesday” in Yorba Linda.

I’ve never heard of the newspaper, I couldn’t find anyone who has ever seen a copy, including reference librarians at the Yorba Linda Public Library, and a Google search was unsuccessful, so I called an 800 number for Pfanstiel Printers in Long Beach.

At first, Pfanstiel said he’d mail me a copy or I could subscribe for $20 per year, but the line went dead before I could give him my address. A couple hours later I received an e-mail saying, “My battery died and I was late for an appointment.”

This time, he said he could “possibly” give me “a complimentary subscription,” if I’d be “interested in sending us articles for publication,” and asked to verify my address he had in “our database.”

But I’m not interested in writing for the Voice or subscribing to a paper I’ve never seen anywhere in town.

If you can unmask the so-called “truth” blogger, know where I can find a copy of the Voice or are a Voice subscriber, I’d like to hear from you at the e-mail address noted below.

A FINAL NOTE

Oleanders may be out—but the avocado and rose are still in. The avocado was named the city’s official tree and the rose the official flower during the late Burt Brooks’ term as mayor in 1969.

Brooks, popular owner of a Rexall Pharmacy on Main Street, touted the picks in a 1970 campaign brochure; but widespread support for plant life didn't earn him a second term.

It should pay to stay on the job

An interesting aspect of public employee pension plans is that some encourage workers to retire in their early 50s, while others offer incentives to keep members on the job into their 60s.

For example, many public safety personnel, including about 100 Brea police officers, work under a “three percent at 50” plan—allowing retirement at 75 percent of final pay after 25 years or 90 percent after 30 years.

By contrast, normal retirement for public school teachers, counselors and administrators, including 1,272 Placentia-Yorba Linda school district certificated employees, is two percent at age 60 with final pay determined by averaging the last three years’ salary.

But the teachers’ plan offers inducements to stay on the job longer, including basing benefits on final-year pay after 25 years.

And, under an “age factor” formula, teachers who work until they’re 63 can retire at 2.4 percent of final pay per year worked, with a “career factor” allowing teachers with 30 or more years to top out at 2.4 percent at age 61 ½.

Set to expire for new retirees in 2010 is a “longevity bonus” of $200 per month after 30 years, $300 after 31 years and $400 after 32 years. Age 50 retirees earn 1.3 per cent of final pay—if they worked 30 years.

Of course, other factors affect retirement pay for government workers, including annual cost-of-living allowances, health insurance payments, unused sick pay credit and the per cent of pay employees are required to contribute toward future benefits.

With fewer pensions and more 401Ks in the private sector, public employees can expect greater scrutiny of their retirement plans. Maybe developing incentives to keep workers on the job longer would help preserve the benefits they expect to receive.

(Disclosure: I retired from teaching in 2003, gratified I chose a rewarding 36-year career and content with my monthly check.)

Substitute teachers don’t earn retirement benefits, but PYLUSD will increase their $100 daily pay to $102 in January and to $105 in January 2009. Orange County’s highest rate is $125 in the Anaheim Union High School District.

(Another disclosure: I work three weeks each May and will enjoy spending an extra $30 next year.)

A FINAL NOTE

Most residents know Yorba Linda celebrates its 40th anniversary next month. Cityhood was approved 1,963 to 638 Oct. 24, 1967, incorporation became official by a filing with California’s Secretary of State Oct. 30 and the City Council first met Nov. 2.

Another anniversary of note is the Yorba Linda Star’s 90th year of publication. March Butz’s “Yorba Linda: Its History” cites “about 1915” as the birth, but other evidence, including volume numbers on early issues, indicates the paper first published in 1917.