SC EYE ON SC San Clemente
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Five things San Clemente should know this week Candidates Turn in First Round of Campaign Finance Reports THE LATEST: Campaign finance reports were turned in Sept. 30 to the city of San Clemente Clerk’s Office. The documents are public record. Steve Swartz has raised $18,048 and spent $14,628. A loan of $10,000 from his company, South Coast Surety Insurance Services, Inc., foots most of the contributions in addition to a $4,000 loan to himself. Chris Hamm has raised and spent the least of any candidate, gathering $7,556 and spending $4,350. Hamm is also one of two candidates that has not taken out any loans for campaign financing. Some of the doctors who worked for Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in San Clemente, which closed earlier this year, have contributed to his campaign. Bob Baker has raised $9,821 as of Sept. 24. He loaned himself $8,550 of that, and another $1,106 was listed but not itemized. He had spent $5,775 of that as of Sept. 24. Dan Bane has collected the most in this campaign season so far, about $20,000 in contributions, which includes $11,159 in loan from Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton, LLP, the law firm he works for, and he has spent $17,382 so far. Bane has the support of former Council members Jim Dahl and Joe Anderson, who contributed small amounts. Also, current City Councilwoman Lori Donchak contributed $250 to Bane’s campaign. Bane’s largest individual contribution comes from Christy MacBride-Hart for $1,000. Bane has also paid $6,000 to Evan Chaffee, who is a candidate for the Municipal Water District of Orange County and does political consulting. Bane and Swartz both received the endorsement from the Orange County GOP as well as contributions from the California Real Estate PAC. Pamela Joy Glass filed a form 470, meaning she does not intend to raise or spend more than the $2,000 for her campaign. WHAT’S NEXT: The next round of campaign finance reports from candidates is due Oct. 27. San Clemente Times October 6–12, 2016
FIND OUT MORE: San Clemente City Hall will be open on election night starting at 8 p.m. on Nov. 8 to receive election returns. The public is welcome to come. —Eric Heinz
City’s Legal Costs Exceed Last Year’s by $1 Million with More Costs Scheduled THE LATEST: According to documents from the city of San Clemente, the legal fees incurred by the city were $1 million more in fiscal year 2016 than the year prior, mostly paid to the law firm the city contracts, Best, Best & Krieger. The total amount was $1.86 million, whereas in FY2015 it was just less than $880,000. The fees were due to general counsel oversight, litigation that includes the MemorialCare (hospital lawsuit); Capistrano Shores, Inc.; the Beach Parking Impact Fees (BPIF); Senate Bill 2 (homeless shelter); the SC Vacation Rental Alliance; and a collection of other lawsuits. BB&K was paid $1.79 million, and Harper & Burns, LLP; and Rutan & Tucker, Inc were paid the remainder. The City Council approved on Tuesday a structure of future costs including more than $820,000 to continue litigating the MemorialCare Lawsuit, $1.1 million for the Sovereign Health lawsuit and $118,000 for the Vacation Rental Alliance case. Councilman Tim Brown said he wants the public to understand that the city is trying to win lawsuits that were filed against it, not that the city is “taking risks” by litigating against these entities. However, the city changed the zoning uses for the hospital area and passed ordinances zoning sober living or recovery homes and short-term rental units, which caused the entities to sue the city. WHAT’S NEXT: On Tuesday, the city discussed earmarking almost $1 million for lawsuits in which it is already engaged. —EH
SCHS Opens Lab for Students to Learn Cyber Security, IT THE LATEST: On Tuesday, Sept. 27, San Clemente High School hosted a ribboncutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of a Cisco Systems Learning Lab, which gives students the chance to learn about cyber security and informational technology support systems. “Students will learn to use computer networking techniques to build systems, install software imaging, and provide
Students at San Clemente High School test out the new Cisco Learning Lab on Tuesday, Sept. 27, at the school. Photo: Capistrano Unified School District
homeland and cyber computer security,” according to a press release from Capistrano Unified School District. “In the classroom, they will be able to monitor and track cyber-attacks happening in realtime throughout the United States.” WHAT’S NEXT: The lab was paid for through a $3.25 million Career Technical Education (CTE) grant, according to the release. The CTE grant funds both the Cisco Learning Lab and the newly dedicated Capistrano Valley High School ‘TechKnowledgy’ Lab in three phases over the next three years. Each phase is designated for the maintenance and enhancement of CTE courses and the labs. —Staff
City Council Decides to Rethink Permitting Marijuana Cultivation THE LATEST: Mayor Bob Baker said during Tuesday night’s City Council meeting that he had changed his mind regarding the permitting of marijuana plants, should Prop. 64 pass. Baker said the value the plants have could make citizens targets of theft because the permits would be public record and anyone could search for people who have them. “I did not understand how expensive marijuana is,” Baker said. “I thought it was a good tool for us to have, but I think the public safety of that overrules (the amendment).” Last meeting, City Council approved a zoning amendment to require people who want to cultivate up to six plants to get a permit if they want to do so in San Clemente, but only if Prop. 64 passes. If it doesn’t, then the laws don’t go into effect and everything stays the same.
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Marijuana sales, distribution and any other use is prohibited within San Clemente. Baker said he still thinks marijuana will be a danger to the city and that traffic accidents and related incidents will increase. “One of the things that I’d be concerned about is a regulatory scheme where someone says they’re growing for personal use and then you have a commercial increase, and what do we have except a warrant,” Councilman Tim Brown said. WHAT’S NEXT: In order to pass the zoning amendment before the election, the City Council will have to pass something different at its Oct. 18 or Nov. 1 meeting before the election. —EH
CUSD Discuss WIGs for Current School Year THE LATEST: The majority of last Wednesday night’s Capistrano Unified School District meeting was dedicated to discussing the district’s Wildly Important Goals (WIGs) for the 2016-2017 school year. WIGs concentrate on three main topics in the district, and are broken down to concentrate on certain elements including teaching and learning, communications and facilities. Some of the facilities goals discussed include completing new classroom building at San Clemente High School and San Juan Hills High School. Construction is set to be completed by Aug. 18, 2017. The district also wants to see the implementation of an energy reduction plan. The PowerPoint for the presentation can be found at www.capousd.ca.schoolloop.com. WHAT’S NEXT: The Board of Trustees will meet next on Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. —Kristina Pritchett www.sanclementetimes.com