What's Next?

Apparently, we're not done checking up on our original homeland. And sadly, we have to discuss another heartbreaking Orange County story here.

In June, Zoraida Reyes was found dead in the parking lot of a Diary Queen in Anaheim. She was a fierce activist who advocated tirelessly for immigrant and trans* civil rights. When she passed away, the local DREAMer and transgender communities were shocked by this horrifying loss.



But now, they're a little closer to justice. On Tuesday, Anaheim Police arrested Randy Lee Parkerson for suspicion of murder. Anaheim Police are not investigating the Zoraida Reyes case as a hate crime, even though local trans* activists suspect Reyes' transgender identity was a "huge factor" in her death.

Southern California LGBTQ community advocates are also asking questions in the death of Aniya Parker in the East Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles. LA Police initially described Parker's death as the result of a "robbery gone bad", but video surveillance shows the assailants shooting Parker after she ran away from them, then leaving her purse behind.



The untimely deaths of Zoraida Reyes and Aniya Parker in Southern California serve as sorrowful reminders of the dangers so many LGBTQ Americans still face in this nation. And they serve as reminders to LGBTQ civil rights activists that we still haven't reached the end of the long road to equality just yet.

Now, we're finally a bit closer here in Nevada. Just moments ago, Jon Ralston posted the document showing the usual H8 filled suspects withdrawing their respective petitions to the US Supreme Court and the Ninth Circuit for an emergency stay in Sevcik v. Sandoval. They can still try requesting an en banc hearing in the Ninth or an appeal to the US Supreme Court. But as we've explained before, Perry v. Brown will ultimately be cited in their dismissal due to lack of standing.

So now, finally, after this very long wait, marriage equality is coming to Nevada. And already, we can hear folks asking, "What's next?" "What do those people want?" "Can't they leave all us 'normal people' alone now?"

As long as injustice persists, the beautiful struggle for equality continues. As the old saying goes, "No Justice, No Peace." Hate crimes are still happening, and perpetrators are still claiming "panic defense". People are still being fired, and perpetrators are still claiming "freedom". People still face wrongful discrimination on a number of matters daily, and perpetrators are still claiming "segreation laws".

While we've come a long way here in Nevada, there is still more progress needed here. And yes, there's still far more progress needed nationally. Today, we can't help but feel relieved that the Nevada case is finally coming to an end as marriage equality is fast on the move nationally. However, this doesn't mean the LGBTQ civil rights movement is now finished.

So what's next? Justice. And equality. For everyone. As long as people like Zoraida Reyes and Aniya Parker are losing their lives because of who they are, we should all know what's next for the LGBTQ civil rights movement.

All Too Real

Anyone who knows us well knows our origins. Yes, "Home Means Nevada" today. However, this is not where we originally came from.

We'll admit, we migrated here from Orange County. Yes, that Orange County... No, scratch that. We actually grew up in the part of the county where people tend not to throw wine at each other at "classy parties".

Sadly, most people in OC have far more "real" lives in that. And unfortunately in Santa Ana, sh-t got very real in a not-funny-at-all way.



Long story short, concerned citizens showed up at a Santa Ana City Council meeting. And one individual showed up with a portable camera and a hat that made a very bold fashion statement. The Mayor then summoned the police to clear out the building, even though there was no violence present.

Actually, those Santa Ana residents were irritated over a growing pattern of police brutality in Orange County's seat of government. In June, immigrant resident Edgar Vargas was brutally beaten by Santa Ana Police. The FBI is now investigating the case. And while the Orange County District Attorney's Office is still pursuing an attempted burglary charge against Edgar Vargas, it's dropped all other charges while ICE has dropped its deportation case against him.



This is not even the only police brutality case in our original homeland. We actually grew up in Tustin, a usually quiet middle-class suburb just to the east of Santa Ana. But when Robert Villa was shot dead by Tustin Police this past February, the city was anything but quiet.



And both these cases come less than three years after another Orange County city, Fullerton, was ripped apart over the police shooting Kelly Thomas dead. See, Ferguson isn't the only place in America where this is happening.

In fact, it's also happened here. But so far, both candidates for Clark County Sheriff seem to be ignoring this matter. Never mind that Metro Police is being sued over its trigger happy ways. And never mind that we may still not know the full scope of this not-so-little problem at Metro.

For us, "Home Means Nevada" today. Here is where we call home. It would just be nice to know we can actually trust those who swear to protect & serve our community. It would be nice to know we won't be at risk of arrest or serious injury just for wearing a hat that makes a very bold fashion statement. We probably won't ever actually do it, but we want to make sure the constitutional rights of those who do it are respected.

Problem Solved? (Hell, No!)

Earlier this week, we learned of even more Nevada patient dumping stories. One involved a woman named Monica. She had been receiving mental health treatment at Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital in Las Vegas. But of course, she was dumped onto a Greyhound bus bound for Orange County, California, despite (or because?!) needing more treatment. Monica was just dumped onto a Greyhound bus and into Orange County with no home and no treatment plan. And now, Orange County health officials are on a desperate search for Monica.



And she's not alone. Also this week, KVVU/Fox 5 uncovered the story of a former Rawson-Neal patient who was dumped into California. She described herself what happened when she was first admitted to Rawson-Neal in 2004... And when she was admitted again in 2008.

FOX5 Vegas - KVVU

"They don't realize we're people too," said [Tina] Schmidt. "We have a heart. It hurts because we feel like we are being thrown away like trash."

Schmidt got emotional recalling her treatment at Rawson-Neal. She was admitted in 2004 for attempted suicide and depression. Schmidt said the hospital bused and left her in San Diego because it didn't have enough resources. She didn't know anyone there.

"They act like they just don't care," said Schmidt. "It's like 'You're not my problem. I don't want to deal with you. Let's just send you someplace else.'"

Schmidt said it happened again when she returned in 2008. Last month, the Sacramento Bee revealed as many as 1,500 patients were improperly discharged from the state-run hospital.

So this has been happening for even longer than some thought. And it sheds even more doubt on Governor Brian Sandoval's (R-Denial) assertion that the improper discharge of James Flavy Coy Brown from Rawson-Neal this past February was a mostly isolated incident. Think about it. Sandoval and Nevada Department of Health & Human Services Director Mike Willden have claimed "only 5 or 6" of the 1,500 patient dumping cases from 2008-2013 were actually improper. Yet despite their assertions, more disturbing cases continue to surface.

Oh, and here's another one. But in the case of Rodrick Hicks, Rawson-Neal didn't even bother to get him a Greyhound ticket. This time, the hospital just threw him a RTC bus pass.

Rodrick Hicks was found by Nevada Highway patrol last week. The 18-year-old was walking barefoot on Interstate 15, near Flamingo Road. He was taken to a hospital, which transferred him to the Rawson-Neal Psychiatric facility. What happened next has his mother outraged.

"My child was out there somewhere," says Shannon Hicks. "Rawson-Neal gave him a city bus pass and said go on your merry way."

Hicks claims administrators at Rawson-Neal gave Rodrick two prescriptions and a bus ticket to get home.

Hospital paperwork shows he was admitted to Rawson-Neal on April 17 and stayed through the 24th.

"I didn't get a call, I didn't get nothing," Shannon says. "It's a miracle he made it home safely, because his schizophrenia affects his ability to understand directions. They'll just let a mental patient out the door, without letting a family member know?"

Shannon claims she didn't even know Rodrick was at Rawson-Neal in the first place, despite calling the hospital several times.

"We were looking for him everywhere, and they told me that they had nobody under that name there," she says. "Now it makes me wonder how often this happens. There's probably more people looking for a loved one. It's scary."

Wow. And this happened just this month! Oh, and it happened just as Rawson-Neal was supposedly "fixing" its patient dumping policy! So is this the new policy? Instead of "Greyhound Therapy", Rawson-Neal patients will be subjected to "RTC Therapy"?

Clearly, the problem is far from solved. In fact, evidence is surfacing that patient dumping may actually still be occurring at Rawson-Neal. And yes, just releasing patients with RTC bus passes and without a treatment plan going forward is just as repugnant as out-of-state "Greyhound Therapy".

This also looks to be the verdict of the federal investigation of Rawson-Neal. If Nevada does not take appropriate "corrective action", Rawson-Neal will lose a significant amount of federal funding.

The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Thursday sent a letter to Nevada health officials telling them that, due to "serious deficiencies," the state's primary psychiatric hospital "may be subject to termination of its Medicare provider agreement," according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Bee.

The federal agency, in concert with state officials, conducted a survey March 20 of Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital in Las Vegas after The Bee first reported that one of the facility's patients was discharged improperly to Sacramento with no arrangement for housing or care.

According to the letter, the survey results showed that the hospital was out of compliance with federal regulations for discharge procedures and governance.

CMS gave the hospital 10 days to submit "evidence of correction." After that, a new survey will likely occur. If corrective action is not adequate, according to the letter, "we will notify you that we are initiating action to terminate the facility's Medicare provider agreement," a vital source of federal funding.

And that's not all. On top of this latest news, a Member of Congress is stepping forward to demand a new investigation into Nevada patient dumping.

Despite the policy change, Rep. Doris Matsui, a Sacramento Democrat, on Thursday called for a congressional investigation into Nevada's long-standing practice of shipping patients out of state.

In a letter to ranking members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over health matters, Matsui asks for investigative and oversight hearings into Rawson-Neal's discharge policies. She said a congressional investigation is warranted to determine if the practices violated federal laws regarding discharge planning and patient rights.

She called for the committee to look into "the scope, severity and consequences of Southern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services' selective disregard for the health and safety of its patients. Someone must be held accountable."

Yesterday, US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Here) expressed his own outrage over the growing patient dumping scandal. However with that being said, he did say he did not want to "intertwine himself" with this. Yet whether or not he personally wants to, other Members of Congress (especially ones representing California) may ultimately demand some sort of Congressional action. And perhaps they should, considering the feds may have also had a hand in worsening this problem [by cutting mental health funding].

So this story is far from over. And actually, I'm starting to wonder if this is only just the beginning.

Farewell, Gus.

It may seem like a long time ago. But back in July 2009, I started this blog. And I didn't come out of nowhere. I was helped along the way by some great people back in "The Homeland", Orange County, California.

In particular, there was someone who inspired me greatly. In fact, he inspired me to start this blog when I moved here in 2009. And he taught me so much when I lived in OC and witnessed firsthand what he did.

Yesterday, Gus Ayer passed away. And I'm still in shock.

He sacrificed his own re-election campaign in Fountain Valley to try and elect Debbie Cook to Congress. He was the mayor and a city council member in Fountain Valley.

I could always count on Gus to make me laugh and to cut through the bullshit and tell it to me straight. He was my mentor and in my innermost circle of friends. [...]

This is a significant loss for progressives and environmentalists in Orange County.

Just to let you know what Gus worked on in the 2012 campaign cycle: Sandy Genis elected to the Costa Mesa City Council Jill Hardy elected to the Huntington Beach City Council Diana Carey elected to the Westminster City Council Helped to defeat Measure Z in Huntington Beach Worked on the anti-Charter initiative in Costa Mesa Worked on saving Coyote Hills in Fullerton and won at the ballot even though outspent 10-1. Worked on defeating an anti-open space initiative in Orange and won!

Gus's last project was defeating the Poseidon desalination project in Huntington Beach and we will be carrying on that fight now with a vengeance and in Gus' memory.

Gus often seemed like an unstoppable force for positive change. I won't ever forget how he masterminded a longshot campaign against a long-time "tea party before tea party was cool" Republican Member of Congress. His candidate, Debbie Cook, held that powerful OC Republican incumbent to just 53% of the vote, and she did so with no national Democratic assistance. Gus ran that campaign like a pro. And he showed me how a campaign could be run well and run without the kind of cynicism one often finds behind the scenes in big ticket campaigns.

Gus was also on the ground floor of the Netroots. I first met him on Daily Kos. He was also a pro at online rabblerousing. And when he saw a void that needed to be filled in Orange County, he started OC Progressive. And he invited me to join his new project. That was the launchpad from which I started this blog.

It's hard to think of a world and a blogosphere without Gus. He was a mentor to me in California, and he inspired me to start my own rabblerousing here in Nevada. He will be sorely missed.

Farewell, Gus.

You may have known him as Aeolus, I just knew him as Gus. He worked tirelessly for progressive efforts thru out Orange County and California. He was a force to be reckoned with, he liked fighting the man, he liked being the underdog and he loved being a thorn in the side of those who wanted to do harm to our environment. he liked a good fight.

And he loved big. He had an amazing family, he was so proud of his sons, his adopted and biological. And he just had a way of making you feel welcome. I always knew if I need someone to talk to I could call Gus.

We lost more than a friend today, we lost so much today and I would write more I think if I could just stop crying. But I wanted to mark this loss somehow, I needed to. [...]

You were one in a million Gus and I know so many others who will miss you just as much as I will. You were like a Father I didn't have, I'm sure you were to so many. I just can't wrap my mind around the fact I won't see you again.

Farewell, Gus. You may be gone, but not forgotten. And really, you're not completely gone. Your legacy lives on, even in places you never expected.

It Keeps Hitting Home.

He may be on his way out, but he refuses to go away quietly. Even as Assembly leaders take steps to force him out, Steven Brooks remains defiant. And he made this surprising comment when speaking to The Sun's Anjeanette Damon.

Asked for reaction to the Democrats’ decision [to remove him from their caucus], Brooks said: “It’s the dumbest thing they’ve ever done.”

Then he added: “No, don’t say that. I love them still.”

Brooks said he has no plans to join the Republican caucus.

“Why would I do that? I just like to fight for my 2nd Amendment rights,” he said, in apparent agreement with a Republican stance. “Other than that, I stand alone. Only God stands with me.”

No really, he said that. And frankly, considering the chain of events there, "fighting for 2nd Amendment rights" takes a chilling new meaning. It's a reminder of how close Carson City might have been to a very dangerous situation.

And that's not all. Back down south, Southern Nevada law enforcement are participating in a massive multi-state man-hunt. A former Los Angeles police officer is wanted on a murder charge in Orange County, California, he's a person of interest in other recent shootings in Southern California, and he now may be hiding here.

View more videos at: http://nbclosangeles.com.

Authorities issued a statewide "officer safety warning" and police were sent to protect people named in the posting that was believed to be written by the fired officer, Christopher Dorner, who has military training. Among those mentioned were members of the Los Angeles Police Department.

"I will bring unconventional and asymmetrical warfare to those in LAPD uniform whether on or off duty," said the manifesto.

Dorner has available multiple weapons including an assault rifle, said [Los Angeles P]olice Chief Charlie Beck. [...]

Dorner is wanted in the killings of Monica Quan and her fiance, Keith Lawrence. They were found shot in their car at a parking structure at their condominium on Sunday night in Irvine, authorities said.

Quan, 28, was an assistant women's basketball coach at Cal State Fullerton. Lawrence, 27, was a public safety officer at the University of Southern California. There was disbelief at three college campuses, Fullerton, USC, and Concordia University, where the two met when they were both students and basketball players.

Dorner was with the department from 2005 until 2008, when he was fired for making false statements.

Quan's father, a former LAPD captain who became a lawyer in retirement, represented Dorner in front of the Board of Rights, a tribunal that ruled against Dorner at the time of his dismissal, LAPD Capt. William Hayes told The Associated Press Wednesday night.

Christopher Dorner owns a home about 9 miles from The Strip, and Metro Police are now participating in the search for Dorner. He is also suspected of killing a Riverside police officer and wounding another early this morning.

Yet again, we're being reminded of what happens when the right guns fall into the wrong hands. Trouble ensues. And real people's lives are at risk. This is not a game.

Unfortunately, the people of Aurora, Colorado, know this all too well. Dave Hoover's nephew was killed in last July's movie theater massacre. And he's now speaking out on gun safety reform.



And he isn't alone. The latest national Quinnipiac Poll shows that 92% (!!!) of Americans support universal background checks. And on top of that, 56% of Americans support both a high-capacity magazine ban and a military grade assault weapons ban.

In recent days, we've been reminded of the real policy problems we have on gun safety. We've especially seen this here in Nevada. Something must change.

House Democrats are releasing their own gun safety plan, but apparently it's very similar to Vice President Biden's and President Obama's. We now know two of Nevada's Members of Congress (Steven Horsford & Dina Titus) support the entirety of President Obama's gun safety plan, including the assault weapons ban, universal background checks, and a ban on high-capacity magazines. It just remains to be seen how brave Harry Reid, Dean Heller, and Joe Heck will be. Perhaps they need to check in on what's happening here in Nevada.

Now, It Hits Home.

Unfortunately, the carnage didn't stop in Connecticut on Friday. Later that evening, it happened here. And it happened in the economic heart of Nevada.

Officers arriving in the main lobby area found a man dead in what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A woman was found shot and taken to University Medical Center in critical condition, where she was pronounced dead.

The woman, Jessica Kenny, 30, worked at the Excalibur concierge desk as a vendor for travel website VEGAS.com, which is owned by the Greenspun family, publishers of the Las Vegas Sun. Metro Police Homicide Lt. Ray Steiber said she appeared to be the intended target of the shooter, and no one else was injured. [...]

Witnesses on the casino floor said they noticed many distraught people suddenly running for the exits after apparent gunshots. Amid the panic, many poker players were seen abruptly leaving their tables and their personal effects. Police and casino security had taped off an area near the registration desk where the man’s body lay.

Las Vegas resident Zakeyaha Amacker was gambling at the casino near Dick’s Last Resort when she heard the shots, then chaos.

“People just began running,” Amacker said. “It all happened so quickly.”

Trisha Banks, 14, and her sister Danielle Banks, 17, were at the hotel for a holiday cheerleading party with 80 other cheerleaders when they heard four loud gunshots. They ducked under the tables for safety fearing for their lives until the situation was cleared 10 minutes later.

“It’s scary after what happened this morning (in Newtown, Conn.) and then this,” Trisha Banks said. “How can people do this?”

One would think a Strip resort would be among the safest places in the world. There are so many tourists visiting. And there is so much money changing hands on the casino floor.

It increasingly feels like nowhere is safe any more.

And that was not even the end of it. Yesterday, we saw yet another shooting. This time, it happened in the heart of my childhood home of Orange County. And this time, it occurred in the prominent, upscale Fashion Island mall in Newport Beach. Fortunately, no one died there last night because police caught the shooter in time.

View more videos at: http://nbclosangeles.com.

Marcos Gurrola, 42, of Garden Grove, was arrested in the parking lot near the Macy's department store shortly after allegedly firing the shots about 4:30 p.m., said Kathy Lowe, a spokeswoman for the Newport Beach Police Department. Officers on bike patrol apprehended the man. [...]

The mall was crowded with holiday shoppers at the time of the shooting.

Shopper Dena Nassef said she and another person were walking toward Macy's when people started yelling and running.

"With what happened in Connecticut, we were freaking out," she said. "It was like crazy, people leaving stores." [...]

Shopper Eric Widmer said he was at the Barnes & Noble bookstore when he saw a mother and daughter rush in crying. He said he heard someone scream, "Shooter!"

He said he managed to exit the bookstore and head to Macy's, which he could not leave.

"I thought, 'Great, I get to be scared twice,'" he said. "Lightning strikes twice."

Again, it's now starting to feel like nowhere is safe any more. But sadly, much of the country has felt like this for quite some time. This kind of violence has plagued poor urban neighborhoods for far too long. It seems like far too many of is only notice when this kind of epic violence reaches our "comfort zones".

But now, all our past "comfort zones" have been breached. Nowhere feels safe... Not the mall, not the casino, not the house of worship, not the local "Congress at the Corner" event, and not even the local elementary school. Something has to change.

What has to change is our culture's veneration of violence. And what has to change is the often limited access to vital mental health care. And yes, what has to change is the dangerously easy access to high-powered weapons meant to kill multitudes of people almost instantly. And it doesn't even end there.

There is so much to do to find solutions to this problem. We as a society must start by acknowledging this is a grave problem. Do we really want to live in a place where we can't feel safe anywhere?

How I Got My Start

Since arriving here in California, I've been reminded of my own personal history. Believe it or not, I wasn't always... Oh hell, yes I was. Still, I like to think I've matured in the last three years that I've lived in Nevada.

My first big blog gig was at Calitics in 2007. I pretty much covered the OC beat... And raised a whole lot of hell. I'm still proud of the hell-raising I did over a proposed toll road through a state park to the beach.

I then moved onto The Liberal OC, and I had a chance to grow some more and learn from the pro's on how to properly "muck-rake" and get to what's really happening in local politics. While I sometimes behaved as the local blogs' "wild child", I like to think I was at least of some use. I still won't forget my experience investigating the strange goings-on in Dana Point City Hall.

My final posts in OC were for an upstart blog. It was quite fun to be at the ground floor of something for a change, and my colleagues there encouraged me to dig deeper into the kind of policy wonkiness that you've all come to know and love me (hopefully!) for now.

Trust me, I didn't quite take a short & easy path to ProgressNow's, Desert Beacon's, & The Nevada View's respective blog rolls. Before Elizabeth Halseth, there was Diane Harkey. Before Yucca Mountain, there was Trestles. Before the beautiful train wreck that is the Nevada Republican Party, there was the grueling machine that was the Orange County Republican Party. Before I began experiencing the true "fabulosity" of Nevada politics, I had to learn my way through the hurly burly of Orange County politics.

And I appreciate all my old friends (and even some old foes) who helped me reach the point I'm at today.

10 Years Later: My Own 9/11

September 11, 2001, is a day I can't forget... Even though it was a day that seemed to start like so many others had. While I was getting ready for school, America's beating economic heart and central political nervous system were under attack. And as I was starting what I just thought would be my second day of high school, my entire outlook on life would forever change.

That morning, I woke up as just another Orange County kid attending just another conservative Christian fundamentalist private school. In the following weeks, I would be relegated as "extreme" as that crazy "anti-American" extremist, Barbara Lee. Why? Well, I agree(d) with her.



It was my first experience of expressing dissent, and of paying the price for holding an unpopular point of view. In the immediate days following 9/11, there was a sense of national unity. And while it was helpful in many ways, on the other hand it allowed for the Bush Administration to embark on policy prescriptions that we would later learn to be quite harmful to our country. It was easy to go with the masses and cheer on "retaliation" against the "evildoers". It most definitely wasn't easy to point out what would happen once Congress gave George Bush a blank check to engage in endless war.

I was just trying to make sense of everything that was happening all around me... And it just wasn't making sense. Even as everyone else around me kept beating the drums for war more loudly, I kept wondering why we were doing this. My teachers and my own mother were asking why I sympathized with "terrorists". Other students just saw me as "the liberal weirdo". Nothing seemed to make sense then...

But it all comes together now.

Fast forward ten years, and now Rep. Barbara Lee's words ring more prescient and true than ever before. We're mired in multiple wars abroad, yet we supposedly can't afford to create jobs for the unemployed here at home. Nearly ten years after the USA (Un)PATRIOT(ic) Act passed, Americans are now asking where their freedom went. And now that memories of a nation so proudly patriotic seem so distant, Congress has reached a new low in unpopularity as seemingly anything and everything is being questioned.

In many ways, it feels like the tables have turned. Back then, I felt so alone in opposing what seemed so American as apple pie. But now, I'm trying to explain how things work to the very same people who are now losing faith in the entire American experiment. It can be sad to watch, but I can't lose hope that our people will recognize what needs to be done to restore our democracy.

Red, White, Blue... & Green? Thinking of the Beach on July 4

Wow. I feel like I've been taking a trip down Memory Lane since arriving here in Orange County. In many ways, I really have. I visited an old favorite yesterday, and I was reminded of something.







If it weren't for the foresight and resolve of a few "radical activists", it wouldn't be like this today.

In 1964, Laguna Beach developed the first access standards in an early effort to prevent over development in the hillsides and canyons. While it may have been too late to stop soon-to-be calamitous developments like Bluebird Canyon, it did begin to slow development into other parts of town. In 1967, a group of local activists founded Laguna Greenbelt, an organization that wanted to build upon these access standards, and preserve all the remaining hillsides, canyons, lakes, and open space around Laguna. And though the rest of the county was then laughing at Laguna's "eccentric" ways back then, they would soon come to appreciate all this "eccentricity".

Through the 1980s, Laguna Greenbelt and other environmentalists pushed and pushed and pushed to establish the open space around Laguna as parkland for everyone to enjoy. Heck, they even tried to get Congress to declare Laguna Canyon as a national park! However, they could not seem to find success...

Until 1990, when the Irvine Company agreed to give up its plans for development and sell the land. And oh yes, in November of that year 80% of Laguna voters agreed to tax themselves in order for their city to chip into the purchase of this last chunk of Laguna Canyon in order for the entire canyon to be preserved as parkland for all to enjoy.

In 1991, local environmentalists then established the Laguna Canyon Foundation to ensure the good stewardship of the new Laguna Coast Wilderness Park. And since then, Laguna has continued to carry the gold standard of environmental protection and preservation in Orange County. Local activists truly have been able to work with local government, regional developers, and Laguna residents to ensure that Laguna remains as wild and wonderful as ever.

(Yes, I really wrote that in March 2007!)

Ironically enough, the stereotypical "conservative bastion" of Orange County is home to such amazing environmental treasures like Laguna Beach, the Bolsa Chica Wetlands, Crystal Cove, and Trestles because of "radical" conservationists who recognized the need to preserve these unique natural wonders for future generations. They saw these places for what they were, and they realized the consequences of letting them forever vanish.

I was thinking about this as the battle over Lake Tahoe continues to heat up. Apparently, the usual suspects in the gaming-mining-lobbyist industrial complex are now throwing insults and calling Brian Bahouth & me "the professional environmental industry". Oh, really? So does this now make me eligible for an official "professional left" membership card?

It seems like the the usual suspects in the gaming-mining-lobbyist industrial complex have not yet learned what developers and the greater community in Orange County had to learn the hard way. People do not go to natural beauties like Lake Tahoe and Laguna Beach simply to go to the mall, look at McMansions, and/or gaze at massive casino hotels. They go for the beaches!

Think about it. One can get malls, McMansions, and casinos anywhere around Reno or Las Vegas. Where else can one find a clear lake like Tahoe surrounded by lush forests and stunning mountains?

Funny enough, the very same forces pushing for more residential and commercial development in Crystal Cove and Laguna Beach now embrace the protected public lands and essentially use them for good PR! I still hope that one day, the developers at Lake Tahoe will also recognize this. Good environmental stewardship doesn't have to mean "bad for business".

So why am I writing this rant on July 4? Let me explain. First off, I am visiting my old stomping grounds, so all of this is fresh in my mind again. And secondly, I felt the need to correct the assumptions often made about "enviro-nazis" ruining America and preventing "free enterprise" from improving Lake Tahoe.

I love America, and I love Nevada. I want to see Lake Tahoe thrive. And I'm sure that for many who live in Northern Nevada and Northern California, they see it as their patriotic duty to protect and defend what makes America great. And let's face it, where would we be without our great beaches, deserts, mountains, forests, and lakes?

Frankly, I'm peeved that environmentalists are always derided as "commie loving extremists" when we just want to save the natural beauty of our country. That's why the environmental grassroots activists worked over the years to preserve natural treasures in Orange County and across California. And hopefully, we still have time to stop what would be the horrific undoing of what has made Lake Tahoe so great.

A "Photo Essay" of My Orange County Sojourn

It was good to visit friends & family in OC this month. I needed a little break from the usual Vegas, but just a temporary break. I'm happy to be home in Vegasland now.

But anyway, take a look above and enjoy... And check out my Photobucket and YouTube for more OC goodness. :-)

Weekend @ The Beach, OC Style

Ah, good times. Here is where I enjoyed the sunny Saturday yesterday. Take a look below and smile along with moi. ;-)

Crazy Fun Video Night Goes to... Surf City USA, Huntington Beach!

So I had another taste of paradise today... This time, in "Surf City USA"! Enjoy! :-D

Just to Make You a Little More Jealous...

Just in case you didn't get enough from earlier today, here's some more Laguna for you!







Enjoy! And happy summer vacation! :-D

My Local Mall...

At least while I'm at Dad's house.



Just another OC experience...



Happy Monday, y'all! ;-)

Ah, Time to Relax...

With a nice trip to the beach! I figured after all the primary insanity, we could all use a breather. So before I sign off for the weekend (unless some really crazy news breaks, which is always possible, I'll enjoy a little down time here in Cali), I just wanted to share some old personal pics with you from one of my favorite places on earth (since OC still has too much "June Gloom" marine layer to really enjoy the beach this week)...

Feeling better now? I know I am! And hopefully next week after I have a chance to visit Laguna again, I'll have some new, fresh pics to share with y'all. Happy Weekend! :-)

Goodbye, Vegas... And Hello, OC!

At least for the next couple weeks. I'll be off in a far away land, a place where the land ends and the seemingly endless Pacific begins...

And to think, I used to live in Orange County...

My goodness, my former famous neighbors are really that empty-headed...



But no, we're not really all like that! Especially not the Democrats and certainly not the folks smart enough to pay the rent before getting more plastic surgery. ;-)