Event at CSUF Costs Students and Taxpayers OC Supervisors' Action Aims to Break up 26-Year Public/Private Anti-Hate Group Part
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COMMUNITY Fullerton bsCeALErNDAvR Peage 1r 3-15 O EAR FULLERTON’S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS • Est.1978 (printed on 20% recycled paper) • Y 39 #19 • MID NOVEMBER 2017 Submissions: [email protected] • Contact: (714) 525-6402 • Read Online at : www.fullertonobserver.com Event at CSUF Costs Students and Taxpayers by Jesse La Tour On Halloween, the 50-member College Republicans club at CSUF hosted former Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulous, whose inflammatory rhetoric against various social groups has prompted violent protests on campuses across the country. According to the campus newspaper The Daily Titan , Yiannopoulous was paid around $17,000 for his one-hour speech. But the real price tag of the evening event would have to include costs to the univer - sity and taxpayers for extra law enforce - ment deemed necessary due to riots which have broken out at his previous speeches on other college campuses. These incidents have ranged in cost from over $75,000 for 124 officers at his appearance at University of Washington in January to over $800,000 for his 15- minute walk through UC Berkeley in September. Many colleges have canceled his appearances citing the overwhelming security costs involved. Above: A peaceful Unity Block Party at CSUF took place with music, speeches, voter registration, and educational booths - just as continued on page 10 275 police officers were gathering on the opposite end of campus to provide security for the Yiannopoulous event . PHOTO JESSE LA TOUR OC Supervisors’ Action Aims to Break Up 7 . A 7 S D . 5 C 26-Year Public/Private Anti-Hate Group Partnership I D 1 U A E . N P T D The Orange County Human Relations ate safe, inclusive environments. For a O Administration where parking is $4 an O E R R N T G A Commission was created by the County look at the annual report and work the O hour; and shift responsibilities for meet - R T A S D I E T E Board of Supervisors in 1971 to build OC Human Relations does visit ing agenda and minutes from the non- L N S M R L A O P R mutual understanding among residents, www.ochumanrelations.org . profit executive committee and staff to the T U P E S F P and eliminate prejudice, intolerance and OC Supervisors Michelle Steel, Andrew county Clerk of the Board. discrimination in the county. Do and Shawn Nelson voted at the Supervisors Lisa Bartlett and Todd In 1991, to provide additional funds to October 31st board meeting to end the Spitzer opposed the changes. supplement the work of the Commission public/private partnership they said in an Supervisors Steel and Do’s earlier at no added expense to taxpayers the non - effort to “disentangle” the two entities. attempt to defund OC Human Relations profit OC Human Relations Council was Supervisor Do said he felt the nonprofit was blocked when Supervisors Bartlett, formed. The public/private partnership takes advantage of a quasi-official status Spitzer and Nelson voted to support the has worked well ever since. due to the partnership, and he wanted a Commission’s budget. The board room at For instance, the nonprofit leveraged more distinct public commission. that meeting, and other meetings dis - T the $252,000 paid by the county last fis - The supervisors (on a 3-2 vote) adopted cussing the public/private partnership, N cal year to raise over $800,000 in private the power to hire and fire the executive E was reduced to standing-room-only with L L D donations from community partners director; move the commission’s meetings community leaders in support of OC A I C S which went to pay for pro-active pro - from a Santa Ana county building with Human Relations and the work they do. 2 E S E 0 R I grams in schools and communities to cre - free parking to the county Hall of Previously, commissioners appointed by E 4 R T V 6 R Steel & Do voted to not release the com - - R T E E 5 mission’s annual hate crime report, which V S N 2 Council Votes to Prohibit Marijuana D B E found that hate incidents had spiked by 5 A - R O 67% in 2016, primarily in November and 4 O R E Dispensaries Despite Prop 64 1 December. In a subsequent meeting, the T 7 U H T annual hate crime report was approved for C Last November California voters passed 4-3 to consider allowing - but regulating N Prop 64, which legalized the sale, use, and marijuana businesses. publication after Commissioner/Police I R cultivation of recreational marijuana. This The council decision does not prohibit Chief Mike Hamel spoke of the impor - O proposition was also passed by a majority marijuana use for purposes allowed under tance of this annual review of bias-related of voters in Fullerton. However, at the state law, but it does make dispensaries crime that is the collaborative product of November 7th Fullerton City Council illegal citywide. all of Orange County’s police departments meeting the council voted 4-1 (Whitaker Councilmember Sebourn said he voted and community groups. “no”) to adopt an ordinance prohibiting for the prohibition because he is con - Current OC Human Relations both medical and recreational dispensaries cerned about second-hand smoke, and Executive Director Norma Lopez, who citywide. added that we have a hard enough time replaced retiring director Rusty Kennedy Under Prop 64, the state of California regulating alcohol use downtown. in February, said, considering the changes, will start issuing licenses to operate recre - Mayor Pro-Tem Chaffee said he also they will be building a new path in sup - 4 ational marijuana dispensaries and other supports the ban on dispensaries because port of the commission and that she looks 3 8 forward to working with the supervisors. N marijuana businesses beginning in marijuana is still illegal at the federal level. 2 R 9 1 O 5 E January 2018. Cities across California Councilmember Silva, who also voted Meanwhile OC Human Relations has A 0 T V 7 C moved from the county building to pri - have until that time to create local ordi - for the prohibition, said he was interested R R X N E vate offices at 1801 E. Edinger Street, E nances either regulating or prohibiting in looking at licensing certain types of O O L S B T recreational marijuana sales. marijuana that might not create public Suite 115, in Santa Ana. The website R L B O E P In their decision the council went health problems like second hand smoke, www.ochumanrelations.org and phone U L O L F against recommendations by the Planning and that he favors keeping local control. number (714) 480-6570 remain the same. U F Commission which had previously voted continued on page 4 See related story on page 18 Page 2OBSERVER COMMUNITY OPINIONS CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 MID NOVEMBER 2017 to understand and (this is true) the same OUT OF MY MIND information was given to 10 professional Fullerton accountants and tax preparers, and despite by Jon Dobrer © 2017 computer programs and good intentions, Observer no two came up with the same result. The code is filled with loopholes and social The Fullerton Observer Community incentives. Each and every policy has pas - Newspaper, founded by Ralph and Natalie A Taxing Problem sionate proponents and dedicated lobby - Kennedy and a group of friends in 1978, is ists. We have more than 5 lobbyists in staffed by local citizen volunteers who create, Let me be the first to admit that my title people too”—your tax rate falls from publish, and distribute the paper throughout is misleading and I have no idea what I’m slightly over 35% to 21% (this figure is Washington DC for every elected repre - our community. talking about. The truth is that there is no still moving). Since virtually no corpora - sentatives. Often they draft the tax provi - This venture is a not-for-profit one with all Republican Tax Plan. There are broad tions actually pay the full rate of 35%, it sions themselves. ad and subscription revenues plowed back into outlines of their ambitions and goals but is 100% half true that we have the highest So, why don’t we fix this mess? Well, I maintaining and improving our independent, just answered the question: Lobbyists, non-partisan, non-sectarian community news - not either a plan or a real philosophy. corporate taxes of any developed nation. paper. The first iteration was, in Trump’s The number is great but we don’t actually special interests and social incentives. Our purpose is to inform Fullerton residents terms, only a first offer. It did create a pay it. Even more of a deterrent, really more of a about the institutions and other societal forces great sense of unity, being universally con - Politically, this is a ham-fisted mistake. brick wall, is our lack of bi-partisanship. which most impact their lives, so that they may demned by Republicans and Democrats, It looks very bad without making much of The last true tax reform was under Ronald be empowered to participate in constructive Reagan, and it was bi-partisan. There is ways to keep and make these private and public by liberals and “Freedom Caucus” conser - a difference—even to the wealthy. entities serve all residents in lawful, open, just, vatives. Not really being a Tax Plan or pro - To be fair (which I hate being), some of no possibility of meaningful reform done and socially-responsible ways.