It was due to happen. Years ago Mission Viejo tried to control the local OC Register by threatening to stop paid announcements.
My oversight. Although I know the background of why the city considered dropping all paid ads I failed to explain their motivation in the original post. It was due to the vast number of negative Letters about the city which we wrote that were published in the local edition of the OC Register.
Most recently they have expressed concern over local blog reports such as “easelgate,” “firegate” and our coverage of city council meetings that you have read about in multiple blogs as well as the OC Register. We have recently questioned their judgment on participation in the Rose Parade where our city manager is an official. In fact, the city has already blocked a few areas along the parade route and have tickets for sale at $85 each.
Thanks to the First Amendment they cannot control our content.
So the way to combat this challenge is to create a city blog that surely will control what “watchdogs” are permitted to post. We would need to register, which is SOP for all blogs. The city will retain the data base. It is possible that one or more members of the Mission Viejo city council, and perhaps other cities, has signed on anonymously. If so, this may lead to violations of the Ralph M. Brown open meeting law if they are discussing city policy actions.
Folks. As an active member of this blog I know how many hours I devote to researching data and posting stories. Can you guess as to how much time Art Pedroza dedicates to the Juice? As such we will probably need to hire two full time staff members to post city controlled content and administer the city of Mission Viejo blog.
So welcome to the “Liberal Republican majority” of the Mission Viejo city council who claim to promote “limited” government. After last weeks council meeting I discovered that we have as many (FTE’s) employees working in our city library than the entire city of RSM. Bear in mind we are a Contract City and do not have our own police or fire departments, road crews or landscape contractors. I believe the new library total will be 24 employees.
We often drive along the roads and see vehicles which stickers on their rear windows with a single word. “Truth.” Sadly our city manager and his upper staff cannot handle the truth that we share with the readers. As such this is their attempt at “damage control” to offset being hammered for their acts. The independent blogs in Mission Viejo and Orange County will continue to do an effective job at exposing abuses wherever they raise their ugly heads.
Therefore, Mission Viejo blog, welcome to the blogosphere.
PS: Council Members Ledesma and Ury each created their own blogs a few years ago. See how active they are if in fact they still exist. How much staff time does the city intend to devote in creating the blog? Time is money!
*What the big media doesn’t get is: Nobody wants to be Comment 14356 about why Britney shouldn’t were a tanga!
What happens to big media blogs is one of three things: (1) First thing; they think they are Red County and restrict who can comment. (2) They make people sign up for very invasive questionaires that want the name of your first born. or (3) They marginalize all the comments to the point that you are chasing after some stupid
“F Bomb person”….when the issue itself is lost in cyber space.
“Boutique Blogging” has been and always will be the cool tool. Who cares whether you get a million hits a day……that are talking about Britney’s driving habits?
The biggies need to do what was done early in cyber history……”your time to comment..has expired….better luck next time!” There should
be a maximum number of comments allowed on LA Times or OC Register blog comments. Basically,
it is just lazyness. Every blog comment issue should be anaylized and charted: 20% think Britney should wear pink tangas. 30% think Britney needs two more kids to keep her busy. 50%
think Britney needs a new PR Agent!
here is a portion of an e-mail i just forwarded to the mission viejo city manager:
welcome to the world of bloggers !! how fun, another blog to contribute to.
i have been unable to log on to the site.
according to the enewsletter, readers can add comments for all to see.
since the city is a public entity and may not censure speech, experience shows that anonymous commenters often lack self-control.
i hope the city will not allow anonymous posters.
which raises another question – can the city regulate who can be a commenter that does not violate the first amendment? do anonymous commenters have first amendment protections????
my post at http://orangejuiceblog.com/2008/06/mission-viejo-city-council-fired-back-over-local-bloggers-news-coverage/#comments, further expresses my concerns about nameless posters.
mission viejo city life blog is not a private blog and cannot censor speech. you have to allow all speech or no speech. private blogs can eliminate offensive and libelous speech. the city cannot.
so what rules are in place to stop the city from offending the first amendment? cathy
here is a portion of an e-mail i just forwarded to the mission viejo city manager:
welcome to the world of bloggers !! how fun, another blog to contribute to.
i have been unable to log on to the site.
according to the enewsletter, readers can add comments for all to see.
since the city is a public entity and may not censure speech, experience shows that anonymous commenters often lack self-control.
i hope the city will not allow anonymous posters.
which raises another question – can the city regulate who can be a commenter that does not violate the first amendment? do anonymous commenters have first amendment protections????
my post at http://orangejuiceblog.com/2008/06/mission-viejo-city-council-fired-back-over-local-bloggers-news-coverage/#comments, further expresses my concerns about nameless posters.
mission viejo city life blog is not a private blog and cannot censor speech. you have to allow all speech or no speech. private blogs can eliminate offensive and libelous speech. the city cannot.
so what rules are in place to stop the city from offending the first amendment? cathy
I’ll be happy to post my opinions on the Mission Viejo city blog.
Feedback from residents isn’t welcome unless it’s complimentary, so I don’t know how this is going to work. I predict it will backfire because activists will be the primary contributors, and they don’t mince words.
here is a portion of an e-mail i just forwarded to the mission viejo city manager:
welcome to the world of bloggers !! how fun, another blog to contribute to.
i have been unable to log onto the site.
according to the enewsletter, readers can add comments for all to see.
since the city is a public entity and may not censure speech, experience shows that anonymous commenters often lack self-control.
i hope the city will not allow anonymous posters.
which raises another question – can the city regulate who can be a commenter that does not violate the first amendment? do anonymous commenters have first amendment protections????
my post at http://orangejuiceblog.com/2008/06/mission-viejo-city-council-fired-back-over-local-bloggers-news-coverage/#comments, further expresses my concerns about nameless posters.
mission viejo city life blog is not a private blog and cannot censor speech. you have to allow all speech or no speech. private blogs can eliminate offensive and libelous speech. the city cannot.
so what rules are in place to stop the city from offending the first amendment? cathy
here is a portion of an e-mail i just forwarded to the mission viejo city manager:
welcome to the world of bloggers !! how fun, another blog to contribute to.
i have been unable to log on to the site.
according to the enewsletter, readers can add comments for all to see.
since the city is a public entity and may not censor speech, experience shows that anonymous commenters often lack self-control.
i hope the city will not allow anonymous posters.
which raises another question – can the city regulate who can be a commenter that does not violate the first amendment? do anonymous commenters have first amendment protections????
my post at http://orangejuiceblog.com/2008/06/mission-viejo-city-council-fired-back-over-local-bloggers-news-coverage/#comments, further expresses my concerns about nameless posters.
mission viejo city life blog is not a private blog and cannot censor speech. you have to allow all speech or no speech. private blogs can eliminate offensive and libelous speech. the city cannot.
so what rules are in place to stop the city from offending the first amendment? cathy
I also went to the site and could not log in. Perhaps login will be limited to the 30 hand-picked residents the city manager would like the newspaper to interview.
I went to the site but didn’t try to log in. I didn’t see the point.
For those who are interested, they don’t accept anons and you must have a WordPress account to comment there.
The city was so cheap that they put the site up on WordPress.com (as opposed to running the software on a private server), and then paid a little extra for CSS and a custom URL. Grand total for development? About $30/year + the salary of the person who spent no more than an hour putting it together.
Also, the stories there are not political. They seem to be community announcements. Even their tagline references their interest of quality of life issues (‘Make Living Your Mission’), not political debate. The fact that you put the word ‘blog’ in quotes, further proves my point Larry.
Sorry hon, but this story is setting off my BS meter, even if the site rules do seem drastically slanted in favor of the city.
SMS
Larry,
Your leadership in MV sucks.
these first posts are just press releases. puff pieces do not sell newspapers and won’t make this “blog” successful.
the “city editor” apparently does not know enough that a splashy news event will bring readers back for more. instead, we read milk toast stories.
i have no doubt that council member lance maclean was all gun-ho about this city sponsored blog, and yet his voice was silenced.
the post on the social host ordinance not only fails to state that it narrowly passed by a 3-2 vote, it only quotes one council member, trish kelley, and ignores lance’s very strong arguments in defense of our civil liberties, which the ordinance has the potential to violate.
here is a portion of the ocregister story that probably helped to prompt the city to create its own blog:
LANCE MACLEAN
Q: What are your thoughts about the blogs that follow city issues?
A:There is a frustration that, not everything that is written in a blog, isn’t necessarily true or accurate, and when people read the blogs they assume the accuracy. There is a small element of fact and a whole bunch of opinion and hyperbole.
Q: Have you ever been contacted for a blog?
A:No.
for the balance of the article go to: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/city-blogs-blog-2078462-contacted-call
i wonder if the city author contacted lance ?
so this is just another attempt to control public opinion and content.
also, did you notice that the posts do not carry the name of the author? i have posted before that adding your name adds credibility to your statements.
it is obvious that the editors of the city blog have a lot to learn.
Sarah.
Let me read the opening of a July 10th letter.
The City of Mission Viejo has established its own “blog” as an additional way to provide information that is of value to the residents of the city of Mission Viejo and to identify important issues that arise from time to time.
As such I view this as an internal “spin” machine that will be used to justify CIP change orders that exceed the original budget, unauthorized CIP’s such as “firegate” and misleading cost data such as “easelgate” where the Register reporter was told the 500 or so easels ordered for one event cost the City $15 each when, through persistent public record requests, we discover the actual cost closer to $40.
Residents of the city might inquire as to that cost and the city would deflect a direct response by saying we are now donating them, at least those that were not trashed, to local non-profits or schools (after the exposure).
I have yet to look at the site. Given time I expect it to be very self serving.
Larry
Let me see if I have this right. Why are there no names with the blogs ? So the ciy manager and the council or even the RATTGATE himself can write a blog without a name ? Is this not a violation of their own blog rules? But if you want to post you must be identified ? I guess this is a way to out or silence any of the city staff (PUBLIC SERVANTS) that contribute to the blogs.
Get it ??? SERVE THE PUBLIC ???
Larry you don’t suck !
#9
Let me be more clear. Larry does NOT suck.
The leadership in his city of MV definitely Suck.
I think Larry should run for one of those council positions.
They have leadership in Mission Viejo?
And all this time I thought they had egotistical, self-serving, brain dead mouth pieces.
Wait a minute, anon – explain leadership.
One of my hero’s was president Ronald Reagan whom you will often see me quote such as “trust, but verify.”
He aso coined the 11th Commandment. “Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican.”
However the Mission Viejo city council majority are nothing more than “RINO’s.” They may be former or current members of the Saddleback Republican Assembly, a charted unit of the CRA, but they no longer follow the “Belief Statement” of the CRA.
Having served as president of that unit for four years I do know what is expected of its members and they surely have fallen off the wagon.
Email from Mr. Inside
If it is hard to find it doesn’t appear to be much of a factor. If they do a blog and put a spin on everything, it will just be more fodder for our blogs to pin them down to phony and misleading statements (which I think sound better than “lies.”) To hold them accountable we need documents and public statements.
Mr. Inside:
While I surely agree that “To hold them accountable we need documents and public statements” some of the facts only appear at or during council meetings after the dastardly deed has been done.
We have been fortunate to get our hands on city documents over the past two decades due to having “deep throat” friends in the city.