A Law We Don't Need

Where on earth did the city find this ancient purveyor of doom, gloom and dire risk? This codger came up with all the words the staff provided in the recommendation. The marathon city council meeting last night wrapped up before midnight with this useless agenda item: Recommendation from City Council Subcommittee on revisions to banners over Public Right-of-Way Program. 

The only thing worth waiting for was hearing truth from public speakers in this nine month delusional obsession of the mayor and majority to justify being - mean and uncaring towards Maggie Houlihan at her death and at every step along the way in rationalizing their behavior. It is sick-making but will have to come back one more time according to Glenn Sabine.  These are the clips to be proud of though. And congratulations to Teresa Barth and the speakers for getting much of the needless verbiage tossed out.

Note: You'll need to turn up volume on most of these.

 The nine months of wasting the taxpayers time, energy, money and good will is spelled out in this week's Myths Encinitas at Our Mayor.  Even if you disagree with the narrative, the actual council clips - accusations, outbursts, denials, truthiness and all - are within the actual footage.  We also link to the news articles and blog post comments. Judge for yourself.

Arts Alive Banners Beloved; Stocks? Not So Much

Yet again, Jerome Stocks and James Bond tell their fabricated versions of the "Maggie Houlihan Image on the Arts Alive Banners" again.  In doing so Bond called Ian Thompson, Maggie's husband a jerk.  Stocks found this hilarious.

Dodi Crawford of DEMA and Danny Salzhandler of the 101 Artist Colony should never have to make pleas for something that is so beloved of a community just because of the arrogance and hubris of Jerome Stocks. At the August 22 meeting they both make clear they have never gotten anything from the council, they only create good things and follow all the rules.

And Jerome Stocks response? Stocks stared malevolently at someone, Danny Salzhandler?, or  someone else in the audience of half a dozen people while he made up a lot of excuses for disallowing banners of any kind for four months and stalling a few months more with a subcommittee.

Mayor Stocks: You are not the victim.  You are the perpetrator.

Don't Make It Hard, Don't Make it Mean

Something different is called for in this blog at this time.  An election is coming along with the nastiness that we all dread.  This is on top of the loss to cancer of Maggie Houlihan and a string of mean that followed.  Community members who are activists and advocates require care and support.  Something palliative is called for to balance what hurts. 

adj. 1. Tending or serving to palliate. 2. Relieving or soothing the symptoms of a disease or disorder without effecting a cure.

Here's a teaser.

Anna Deavere Smith gives a gallery of portraits of real people across the US coping with health care and death. As an artist she tells our stories, a broad array of stories. All of us have to deal with the care system at some time or with someone we know in some way. She says that her characters all seem to say, "Don't make it hard, don't make it mean." "Let Me Down Easy" is an experience of caring. It addresses what kind of a country we want. EYNU has pointed out the most vulnerable being closer to harm and hurt.  

This production was broadcast in January of this year.  Watch the whole performance on PBS Masterpiece Theater here online for the first time or as a repeat.

We've had seven months of painful experiences with the death of Maggie Houlihan, the majority tantrums and hijacking of the GPU, the rejection of Lisa Shaffer or Tony Kranz to her council seat, the third time our Mayor in Exile Teresa Barth was passed over and insulted, the heartlessness of refusing permits for Maggie's memorial gathering, Art Banner honors or flag at half mass, Kristin Gaspar's verbal assaults on Teresa Barth at three different meetings, continued attempts to re-write mayoral selection ordinance, plus the constant negative treatment of the public by the majority council members Stocks, Gaspar, Muir and Bond.  Hurt, fear, rage and a host of other strong feelings wash over us and soothing with honesty is a good thing.

And, yes, it hasn't escaped observation, Jerome Stocks is a health insurance salesman.

Refusal to be Silenced

Maggie Houlihan died and her husband, her friends and artists wanted to commemorate her.  A simple loving thing that Mayor Stocks and his cronies found reasons to disallow.  It took husband Ian Thompson, the Coastal Law Group and the ACLU to threaten a law suit for the majority to respond.  Teresa Barth pushed for an immediate special council meeting and Stocks did not comply by the deadline Thompson demanded, April 6.  Stocks was quoted as saying there wasn't a quorum so the meeting was postponed until last night.

Last night, at a 4:30 closed meeting with public speakers allowed before hand, Thompson and Livia Borak of Coastal Law Group spoke along with friends and community members.  Here are several clips from this meeting, where the council majority (except for Kristin Gaspar) ultimately backed down and voted to let the stickers covering Maggie's face come off - under the threat of litigation (and cancelled the closed meeting portion).

These are a few of the choicest contributions by Maggie's friends and fans. 

Standing Up for the Right to Honor Maggie

Having just written about getting up, standing up; Ian Thompson was a stirring example of this in his speech to the city council last night.  It was an ultimatum as the council was being put on notice by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Coastal Law Group that the arbitrary ruling to mask Maggie's face was in violation of first amendment rights.



Coastal Law Group attorney, Livia Borak, had to wait four hours until the end of the meeting to speak because "that's how Mayor Stocks rolls".  He is vindictive and will make any personal annoyance quite public, like well, banning Maggie Houlihan's image on the banners in the first place.  How else does he roll?  He also rolls with a scripted dance partner. Last night Gaspar unsurprisingly was the first to name Vina as scapegoat, because blaming others is how they roll.  Didn't really work, as Liv Borak pointed out, they area all managers and Gus Vina answers to them all.


Coast News article
North County Times article