EYE ON SC
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LOCAL NEWS & IN-DEPTH REPORTING
SC S a n C le m e n te
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO Lawyers for Community Common Sense, the local newspaper that sued the city of San Juan Capistrano over a closed-session decision to remove news racks at city properties, are challenging an attempt to remove three council members and the city attorney from the lawsuit. Attorney Wayne P. Tate filed papers Feb. 20 challenging a motion filed by attorneys for the city, who wish to strike the names of Mayor Sam Allevato, Councilmen Larry Kramer and John Taylor, and City Attorney Hans Van Ligten from the lawsuit. “This argument, if sustained, will set the precedent that elected and appointed government officials are authorized to violate the First Amendment of the citizens they represent with virtual impunity,” Tate wrote. The city’s motion argues that the lawsuit threatens the four men’s freedom of speech using the state’s anti-Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation law.
DANA POINT
NEWS
NEXT DOOR WH AT ’S GO I N G O N I N OU R NE IGH B O R I N G TOW N S
Formal murder charges from Panamanian officials came shortly after ex-U.S. Marine Brian Brimager pleaded not guilty to federal charges of falsifying documents and obstruction of justice in connection to the disappearance of former Dana Point resident Yvonne Baldelli. Brimager was indicted in June and charged with 10 counts of obstruction and one count of making false statements to a federal officer. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Baldelli’s dismembered remains were found on a Panamanian island in August. In September 2011, Baldelli and Brimager relocated to the Bocas Del Toro region of Panama. The couple moved into a five-unit hostel on Isla Carenero, where Baldelli’s remains were found. The indictment claims Brimager engaged in a cover up to explain Baldelli’s whereabouts after she disappeared in November 2011. Brimager is currently in federal custody.
SAN CLEMENTE’S TOP 5 HOTTEST TOPICS
What’s Up With... 1
…SC Police Services?
THE LATEST: San Clemente will be getting a new chief of police services later this month, officials confirmed. City Manager Pall Gudgeirsson announced Tuesday that Chief John Coppock was promoted to captain last week by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and will take over operations of the department’s south county offices in Aliso Viejo on March 21. That date is also the first day his successor is scheduled to take office. Coppock served in the San Clemente Police Department in the ’80s and ’90s before moving into the OCSD. Coppock took over as San Clemente’s chief in March 2012. He called the move “bittersweet” since he enjoyed working in San Clemente so much. Coppock noted that the San Clemente position was a prized one in the department. WHAT’S NEXT: The county’s job posting for the position closes March 10. Gudgeirsson will interview candidates Friday, March 14, but said he was not sure exactly how many applicants there currently are. The position is open to all lieutenants in the Sheriff’s Department—save one. Coppock’s wife, Cindi, herself a former SCPD officer, will be unable to apply due to the department’s anti-nepotism rules. Coppock said he knows some of the other potential applicants who have served in the city previously. FIND OUT MORE: For updates, visit www.sanclementetimes.com. – Jim Shilander
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…Marblehead Coastal?
THE LATEST: After hearing of progress being made on the Outlets of San Clemente last month, the San Clemente City CounSan Clemente Times March 6–12, 2014
cil received an update on the residential component of the Marblehead Coastal development Tuesday. Lisa Gordon, a representative of Lehman Brothers, said the company is completing the first phases of the development’s habitats, parks and trail systems. Additionally, work is being done on Avenida Vista Hermosa in order to open the road to traffic. Eventually, the city will add four new parks to its portfolio, as well as several miles of trails. The site, located west of Interstate 5 on Vista Hermosa, is slated to have 308 residential lots. WHAT’S NEXT: Lehman Brothers put the property on the market earlier this year but has yet to find any takers, Gordon said. She said one potential buyer had taken a serious look at the property. The company hoped to open Vista Hermosa in December, and to start work on the four parks in July, Gordon said. Construction should take one year, she said. FIND OUT MORE: For more on the story, visit www.sanclementetimes.com. – JS
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…Bikes on ECR?
THE LATEST: The San Clemente City Council approved preliminary designs Tuesday for improvements to the city’s bicycle infrastructure along El Camino Real, from Camino Capistrano to North Beach. The project will ultimately construct a bicycle lane on both sides of the road that will be separated by striping. Additionally, a bicycle and pedestrian path will be built on the west side of the road and be separated by barriers. The city’s recently approved general plan included measures to improve the city’s non-motorized transportation infrastructure. Planning Commission chair-
woman Julia Darden said when the body approved the preliminary design last month, city officials from Newport Beach and Laguna Beach spoke in admiration of San Clemente’s dedication to making the project happen. WHAT’S NEXT: Construction is slated to start in early 2015 and will coincide with road improvements required as part of the Marblehead Coastal project.
Culbertson said the office setting could also allow the group to work and do research, since it was often difficult finding particular items of interest in the storage facility. He added that the group would be open to acting as a visitor’s bureau, as the chamber had done in the past, on weekends. The chamber is still serving as the city’s tourism bureau from its new offices in the Talega Business Park.
FIND OUT MORE: For more on the story, visit www.sanclementetimes.com. – JS
FIND OUT MORE: For updates on the building, visit www.sanclementetimes.com. – JS
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…the Chamber Building?
THE LATEST: The city’s now vacant building at 1100 N. El Camino Real that housed the San Clemente Chamber of Commerce has at least one potential tenant ready to move in—the San Clemente Historical Society. Historical Society President Larry Culbertson sent a letter to the city and council members last week expressing interest in renting the building, which the chamber vacated following a dispute with the city over the amount of rent the organization would pay. Culbertson noted the structure is itself potentially historic, making it a good fit for the organization. City manager Pall Gudgeirsson said the city and chamber are still negotiating over potential uses for the property. WHAT’S NEXT: The society, which has been without a permanent home since closing its museum on Avenida Del Mar in 2006, is looking for a place to house its archives that currently sit in storage, Culbertson wrote. The society pays about $500 a month to store its archives. The chamber had been paying $100 a year in rent, which the City Council had hoped to increase. Page 3
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…Talega CFD Funds?
THE LATEST: The Capistrano Unified School District Board of Trustees will meet Friday, March 7, to discuss a 2006 refinancing of the Talega Community Facilities District, which could return millions to residents. The refinancing issue was raised in January by a group of Talega residents following research into the development’s finance agreements with the district. While the district’s board voted to rescind a previous vote to keep funds from a 2013 refinancing of the development’s bonds, residents said they discovered the district had not returned funds from the 2006 refinancing to residents. District staff have been investigating the issue since. At the time of the refinancing, the total amount of the bond, as well as its length, was reduced, which district staff said may have been the way the bond was returned to the residents. WHAT’S NEXT: Superintendent Joseph Farley said previously that he hopes to return funds to the residents. The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. at district headquarters, 33122 Valle Road, San Juan Capistrano. FIND OUT MORE: For news updates, follow @S_C_Times on Twitter. – JS www.sanclementetimes.com