SOAPBOX GUEST OPINION: By Pall Gudgeirsson, Assistant City Manager/City Treasurer
The Metrolink Connection…Snapping of the #803 “I hear the train a comin’ It’s rollin’ ’round the bend…” —Johnny Cash
R
ecently, I was shooting pictures for the City’s annual budget from the bluffs of Calafia State Park when I suddenly heard a train a comin’…rollin’ round the bend! I quickly turned around with my trusty Nikon and fired off a few shots. After selecting a few pictures for the budget cover, I noticed the train photo that I had quickly snapped and thought that it Pall Gudgeirsson was a pretty good depiction of everything San Clemente…including the beach, trail, pier, ocean, sky, and, of course …the #803 train. Unbeknownst to me, my staff submitted the photo to use as the cover for the City Hall & Recreation Magazine which is currently on the newsstands and on the City’s website. I’m sharing this story with you because of the unexpected and coincidental events that happened once the photo was published… In order to make sense of the events I need to go back a few months to a day I was running on the beach trail when, up ahead, I noticed two friends and avid fellow runners, Trey Hunt and Jennifer Boring, frantically flailing their arms in what looked like an extreme form of a sports “wave” at the same time a Metrolink train whizzed by with several melodic toots of the horn. After catching up to my running comrades, I discovered that there is an interesting tale behind the “trainwave.” Each morning at 6:50 a.m. Metrolink Engineer George Thomas driving the #803 train heads southbound through San Clemente from San Bernardino and LA on his way to Oceanside, and when he catches sight of Trey and Jennifer on their daily “training run” ritual, he responds to their rousing train-wave by playing a little tune on his horn—quietly of course—with lots of “hang loose” signs back and forth and always with a big smile on his face. Although they have never met face-to-face, Trey and George have talked on the phone
and, in fact, Engineer Thomas even called Trey one time as he was concerned that he hadn’t seen Trey on the trail for a few days. In turn, Trey has nominated his friend the engineer for a Metrolink safety award—The Eagle Eye. What a trip.
The storyline continued when the magazine hit the newsstands…a Metrolink train passenger happened to give Conductor Kim Purcio a copy of it and she immediately called me and said that this was her train and was there any way that she could get a copy of the picture so that she could have it framed and give it to…you guessed it…her Engineer George Thomas from the #803. What a strange trip. If you want a hoot, go out and see the train-wave as perfected by Trey and Jennifer with the sound of symphonic tunes coming from Engineer Thomas’ 6:50 a.m. southbound or 7:55 a.m. northbound train for those of you who prefer to sleep in before you hit the trail. Even if you don’t see them, be sure to give a hang loose sign to Engineer George Thomas and Conductor Kim Purcio as they roll through our Village by the Sea! Who would have thought that a quick snapshot of a rumbling train on the tracks would create this interesting sequence of events? As an aside, I also got a kick from a call that I received from a local self-taught artist by the name of Facrice Spies who asked for permission to use the train cover photograph as a model for painting an acrylic canvas. Fabrice, who also goes by his nickname Bibi, was born in Grasse and raised in St. Cezaire, located in the south of France, and now lives and works in San Clemente. Are there more connections? What does it tell us when we can all establish connections and friendships on the trail and trains without even meeting? I don’t know…but I think it is really, really good. What a ride. The City Hall & Recreation Magazine published by Community Services Network can be accessed on the City’s website www.san-clemente.org. Go to www.bibifineart.com for examples of Fabrice Spies’ work. Next month I’ll be back with my usual financial column. PLEASE NOTE: The opinions offered here are solely those of the guest columnist and may or may not be shared by the San Clemente Times staff. We appreciate, however, their willingness to share their views, and we invite responses to be sent to letters@sanclementetimes.com.
Letters to the Editor (cont.) FACTS TRUMP OPINIONS Tom Barnes, San Clemente
In last week’s SC Times letter perhaps Mr. Ford should have paid heed to Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s dictum, “people are entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts.” He wrongly implied that I was behind the referendum movement when in fact I did not participate in it. There are different groups that oppose the LAB Project and I belong to one of them, the North Beach Green Alternative. While he was at it he might as well have attacked the Sierra Club Sage Group, which unanimously passed a resolution that supports the North Beach Green Alternative and opposes the LAB Project at North Beach. These are the facts that Mr. Ford conveniently ignored: Instead of the referendum, the North Beach Green Alternative wanted the LAB Project to immediately move forward to the Coastal Commission, where we were confident the project would have been defeated. The city would have then been free to revitalize North Beach with a new ocean view park and café. Because of the referendum, the city’s permit application to the Coastal Commission has been put “on hold” until after the vote. Gee, Mr. Ford is this inconvenient truth so hard? Next time, before inventing your own facts, do some research to understand the difference between Vision San Clemente, the sponsors of the referendum, and the North Beach Green Alternative, advocates of a public park instead of the LAB project on the parking triangle and El Camino Real lots.
VOTE NO TO CUSD RECALL Mary Ann Whittier, San Clemente
Please vote NO on the recall of CUSD trustees Mike Winsten and Ken Maddox. The recall four years ago brought some fresh air to our overly large school district www.sanclementetimes.com
which had been guilty of misconduct and poor financial management—now that we have a board that doesn’t vote unanimously to rubber stamp administration policies. When my husband Bob and I moved to San Clemente in 1974 with our young family, I was very active with school volunteering and addressing the school board. The trustees agreed with me and my committee on offering more AP classes and rescheduling bus service. The only reason that I and other parents had to go to the Trustees was the “parents don’t know anything” response of the CUSD administrators. This attitude persists, especially among those calling for a recall. When I declined to sign the recall petitions, I happily read the information sheet and found nothing to justify that action. The verbal concerns sounded like the sameold attacks on honest disagreement, and a promotion of the teachers union positions against charter schools and other innovations. In this difficult economy, Maddox and Winsten hired a fine superintendent and got rid of one in a manner which the courts affirmed. Vote no on the recall, and also re-elect Addonizio and Bryson.
TWIST OF IRONY Robert Howard, San Clemente
Two new 640-ton steam generators at the San Onofre Nuclear Station. We were told no company was equipped to build them in the United States. So the company who built the Mitsubishi bombers who struck Pearl Harbor was able to build the generators, and send them here. What a laugh that must have given the heirs of the original Mitsubishi factory.
LOCAL POLITICS MIRROR CITY OF BELL POLITICS Rick Moen, San Clemente
In 2005, the City of Bell with 36,000 residents changed their charter with only 400 votes cast. Look at the mess! Here in San Clemente, it seems that three of our city council members, Anderson, Donchak and Dahl have decided that we must essentially give away our public land (North Beach) for millions less than the appraised value and provide $4.5 million in parking subsidies to the developer—LAB—on a “build it and they will come” basis. They appear to be utilizing the tactic of having an election in March 2011—the highest election cost option with the lowest predicted turnout of voters—in the belief that this will be the best tactic to manipulate the election with results they favor. By this action, they are wasting over $150,000 of San Clemente residents’ money over the lowest cost election (November 2012) which has the highest predicted turnout of voters. Has this timing been selected because it has been reported that turnout is smallest at this type of election? With LAB funding for artwork and full page ads (allegedly near $100,000 for Measure W), along with misleading pictures and cheerleading from the city staff, and maybe some banners hanging from the Miramar and the Casino, enough people might be confused enough to not know the facts of what they are voting on and sway the election. When it is clear that so many of San Clemente citizens don’t want North Beach sold (volunteers collected 8,000 signatures in only one month) why do the three city council members feel the need to resort to these tricks? (This for a development the size of 10,000 to 5,000 square-foot homes at our beach!) This is a very important and divisive issue that doesn’t deserve shifty politics! The sale of public land at our beach to the LAB developer (land originally taken by eminent domain from private owners for a park and parking lot) should only move forward with overwhelming approval from residents of San Clemente! (Cont. on page 12) September 30–October 6, 2010 • San Clemente Times • Page 11