Comments by Kevin J. Lansing
March 24, 2009
Well, it's not unexpected that master politician Rich Gordon would now express outrage over the closure fiasco. From the beginning, most people in the community saw the CFMC board's action to abruptly close the clinic as a jawdropping screw-up. Moreover, due to their failed stewardship, a valuable community resource is now gone forever. It's really too bad that Review editor Clay Lambert failed to hold the CFMC board accountable for this mess when he had the chance in last week's editorial. Instead,…
March 21, 2009
Jim, That's a lot of questions. I don't think anybody has all the answers, but your last question is the most important---and this relates to the medical center issue of sustainability (discussed below). If HMB will be forced to declare bankruptcy within say 3 years (and I think that's optimistic) then it's better to do it before handing $18 million in cash to Keenan. But the Old Guard City Council won't hear of it, because their job, as they see it, is to hand over $18 million in cash to Keenan.…
March 21, 2009
Barry, Two points you seem to have missed: The disgraceful handling of the closure by the board is the news story--it demonstrates gross negligence and incompetence by people who were in a position of trust. The board did keep the center going for years in a booming economy despite a fatally flawed business model. Unfortunately, the public was never made aware that one of board's main goals was to have the insured patients subsidize free health care for the 40 percent of patients who had no medical…
March 20, 2009
It will be interesting to hear what good ol' Rich Gordon has to say. I'm not his biggest fan, as many here know. Still, the CFMC closure/bankruptcy is one of the biggest new stories in recent memory, aside from Beachwood. I'm a bit surprised that there hasn't been any editorial comment from Coastsider on this huge story, but perhaps one is forthcoming. Meanwhile, over at the Review, there has been a deliberate attempt to sweep the whole ugly mess under the rug. I posted a topic on TalkAbout titled…
March 18, 2009
The County states "We could not in good conscience risk $300,000 of taxpayer funds based on the business plan presented." Regarding the failed business model, it is becoming increasingly clear that the center's closure was inevitable. But that does not excuse the complete mismanagement of the closure by the CFMC Board of Directors who blind-sided the professional staff and put thousands of people through needless stress and turmoil (more on that below). The San Mateo County Times reported this week…
March 12, 2009
As Todd described, I heard some negative things about Cunha when my son was in elementary school. This year he is in sixth grade and he is having a great year. Like all schools, it is not perfect, but Cunha is lucky to have many extremely dedicated teachers who are doing great things there.
March 09, 2009
Joel, It's not too late to submit a comment letter. The Coastal Commission hearing scheduled for Thursday March 12 has been postponed (see Item 6.a) http://www.coastal.ca.gov/mtgcurr.html A letter sent in now would still establish your views for the record. The MCC has not agendized a discussion of the Coastal Commission staff report since it just came out recently, but they now have time to do so since action on the Midcoast LCP update is postponed to a future Coastal Commission meeting.
February 19, 2009
As I have said before, the Old Guard City Council is manning the helm of the Titanic. Getting rid of the HMB Police Department and contracting out for services with the County Sheriff's Department would save the City millions of dollars per year. But don't expect that to happen. It makes too much sense. In the meantime, while the ship is sinking, the Old Guard City Council members are working in back rooms to find ways to pay Chop Keenan the $18 million settlement they unwisely agreed to, while Keenan…
February 10, 2009
I have heard from some reliable sources that the occupancy rate during the middle of the week at the Ritz is often below 10 percent. The City of HMB is going to have a giant hole in it's budget for years to come. The Old Guard City Council members are seeking to give Keenan $18 million in cash by attaching a huge ball-and-chain of municipal debt to the citizens of HMB. That way, Keenan gets his money up front, even if the City later goes bankrupt when its biggest source of revenue (the Ritz) dries…
February 10, 2009
Most zoning regulations, the County's included, have a provision that the size and scope of any new structure must be compatible with the surrounding neighborhood. Big Wave fails miserably on this front.
The project's backers don't care about the surrounding neighborhood, however. They only care about the potential to make money off a giant ill-conceived office park, sort of like the original motivation behind the Harbor Village Mall monstrosity. And we know how that turned out.
February 08, 2009
Recall that the City's lead lobbyist was Lanny Davis (Bill Clinton's lawyer in the Monica Lewinsky case).
Unbelievable that the Old Guard City Council would spend $1 million on high-priced lobbying rather than appealing the Beachwood judgement.
I doubt these council members would have ever disclosed this spending on their own, despite their campaign promises of "transparency in government."
February 04, 2009
I don't agree with everything that Mr. Waller says in his letter, but it's clear that he has done his research, and he has definitely nailed three important points: (1) The City Council's lack of prudent planning on behalf of citizens. -- "No contingency plan for paying the Beachwood settlement; just a hopeful reliance on AB1991" Exactly. Rather than exercise due diligence before signing the $18 million settlement agreement with Kennan, our esteemed City Council majority (Muller, Fraser, Patridge,…
February 03, 2009
Barry Parr wrote: "Fair warning: This is the most squirm-inducing video of a public meeting I’ve seen in years." Exactly. Fraser and Muller act like a pair of preening high school bullies who think they can dictate to the entire student body. Maybe that's how they really did behave when they attended HMB High School (and apparently never left). No wonder the City of HMB is so screwed up. These so-called "public officials" are more concerned about the bs distinction between being called "Acting…
January 31, 2009
Another example of the disfunctional, behind-the-times, dinosaur management at MCTV.
They would still be in the dark ages of technology if not for the business competition represented by Montarafog.com and the recent political competition for seats on MCTV's board of directors.
It's long past time for the management at MCTV to be replaced.
January 30, 2009
Exactly right John.
Rich Gordon who represents the Coastside does not need any Coastside votes to get elected--he can collect votes throughout the County, and he does. And once elected, it is virtually impossible for any incumbent Supervisor to be defeated.
The only safety net for the public is term limits--- which will kick out Rich Gordon in 2010, so he can move on to some other political office with a new set of term limits, etc.
January 29, 2009
Ric Lohman wrote:
"Our District’s Supervisor [Rich Gordon} represents SAMCEDA, SAMCAR, and the various “property rights” groups only. The majority of the Coastsiders are on their own."
Ric, you're not being fair. In addition to those pro-development groups, Rich Gordon also does a good job of representing Neil Merrilees, Darin Boville, and CCWD director Chris Mickelsen, a.k.a. "Your Pal."
January 26, 2009
Vince Williams writes (Comment #14): "Most likely outcome: The Board of Supervisors pass their resolution...The vacant MCC seats are replaced by members sympathetic to the Supervisors position on the issue of growth. Neil and Darin are happy for a short while." I can agree with that analysis. Nevertheless, below is the email I sent to the Board of Supervisors. I actually received a reply from Supervisor Carole Groom (but not Rich Gordon, however, I wonder why) thanking me for my input. To:
[email protected],…
January 23, 2009
Now that all of Rich Gordon's cheerleaders have weighed in on the topic of restricting MCC membership, perhaps we could get some selected MCC members to share their thoughts on the Midcoast LCP update and the MCC's plan for providing input at the Coastal Commission hearing that will take place in the near future.
January 21, 2009
Rather than attempting to restrict who is eligible for the MCC and obsessing over some procedural missteps, people should be focusing on more important issues like the Midcoast LCP update, and Rich Gordon's effort to shove 3400 more houses down the throats of Coastside residents. The past MCC members (and most but not all of the current members) did a good job in shaping the recommendations of the County Planning Commission, but then the Supes led by Rich Gordon and Jerry Hlll threw the whole thing…
January 21, 2009
Perhaps Darin should apply for the MCC position. Rich Gordon would surely support somebody with Darin's views, and then Darin could help fix all the problems with the MCC that he's so good at pointing out.
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