Category: Gold Zone

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The newly elected Irvine City Council wasted no time trying to tackle what many residents consider the most pressing issue the community is facing – traffic congestion.

Editorial –

Irvine Residents Need to Hire a Class Action Law Firm – Sue City Hall – the Developers and Individual Council-members – Seek Damages over Approved Runaway Development and Greed – Resulting in Traffic Gridlock – You’ve Got to Play Hardball with these Crooks and Dig Into the Personal Finances of Council Members – and You’ll find that they’re All in Debt Up to Their Asses and Will Expect Secret Money Payoffs for Voting to Approve Development and Construction –

Irvine, California –

Irvine wants to reinstate Transportation Commission, hire traffic czar to fight congestion

IRVINE – The newly elected City Council wasted no time trying to tackle what many residents consider the most pressing issue the community is facing – traffic congestion.

The council on Tuesday directed staff to prepare reinstating the Transportation Commission and start recruiting a transportation manager. The council approved these proposals by Mayor Don Wagner 4-0, with Councilman Jeff Lalloway absent.

“I’m certain it’s no surprise to anyone on this council or any citizen of this great city that traffic is an issue that we are grappling with as a community,” said Wagner, who was elected in November. “I wanted to make sure that I have the opportunity to say to all of you in this city, ‘We hear you and are very interested in doing everything we can to alleviate traffic and to grapple with that issue.’”

The Transportation Commission will be tasked with evaluating the traffic impact of development proposals, monitoring the progress of traffic improvement projects, reviewing traffic signal coordination and advising the Planning Commission and City Council, according to Wagner’s proposal. Staff must return in February with necessary resolutions or ordinances to form the commission.

The transportation manager will oversee all aspects of transportation matters such as traffic management and transit planning, while serving as the staff liaison to the proposed Transportation Commission. The city plans to pay for the new person with a vacant position that’s already budgeted.

The council also directed City Manager Sean Joyce to calculate costs for the following projects:

• A pilot project to install real-time signal timing adjustments along a selected corridor, such as Von Karman Avenue. The technology detects traffic volumes to give just the right amount of green signal time.

• Providing circulating shuttles throughout the center of the city.

• Promoting staggered business hours, non-peak delivery periods and ride-sharing in the business community.

In addition, Councilwoman Melissa Fox proposed that Irvine apply for transportation grants and funds.

The city has already committed to spending $116 million toward solving traffic congestion.

According to a survey conducted by the city, about 60 percent of the respondents said traffic congestion is a “daily annoyance” or a “big problem.” More than half of the survey respondents blamed increasing population as the No. 1 cause of Irvine’s traffic congestion. Irvine also draws commuters and those who drive here for shopping and dining.

Mayor Pro Tem Lynn Schott said Irvine’s traffic and population are near capacity.

“We are going to do our best to improve the situation to keep things flowing as smoothly as we can,” she said. “But I don’t think it’d be realistic for us to say we are going to be able to spend X amount of dollars and everyone is going to be able to just sail through every intersection at any time of the day that they like.”

Contact the writer: [email protected]

https://www.ocregister.com/articles/traffic-740808-city-transportation.html

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Jan Crouch, co-founder of one of the world’s largest Christian broadcasting networks, died early Tuesday of a massive stroke at 78 – before a truce could be called in her family’s painfully public civil war – Nothing Says ‪‎Jesus Loves You‬ Better – than ‪‎Uber‬ ‪‎Fabulous‬ ‎Gay Sex‬ at ‪‎Church‬

‎Editorial –

The God Business‬ was Very, Very Good to Them – Because Nothing Says ‪‎Jesus Loves You‬ Better – than ‪Money – ‎Expensive Cars -‬ Rape – Incest – and “‪‎Uber‬ ‪‎Fabulous”‬ ‎Gay Sex‬ at ‪‎Church‬

Tustin, California –

Jan Crouch, co-founder of one of the world’s largest Christian broadcasting networks, died early Tuesday of a massive stroke at 78 – before a truce could be called in her family’s painfully public civil war.

Alongside her late husband, Paul, Crouch built Orange County-based Trinity Broadcasting Network from a vision Paul had while tooling down MacArthur Boulevard into a religious empire spanning the globe with nearly $1 billion in net assets.

Trinity’s religious programming – designed to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world, and built on the “Have a need? Plant a seed” philosophy – can be seen throughout Europe, Central and South America, the Middle East, Africa, Russia, Southeast Asia and the South Pacific islands, among many other locations.

Crouch’s death leaves the prosperity-gospel empire in the hands of her younger son, Matthew Crouch. Cut out of the picture almost entirely was her eldest son, Paul Crouch Jr., and his family. Members of the Crouch Jr. clan hadn’t seen Jan Crouch for years, and learned of her passing through news reports, family members said.

In a statement on Trinity Broadcasting’s web site, son Matthew and his wife Laurie said they “just watched the transition of our precious Mother from this world to the next; watched her step into the presence of Jesus and into her heavenly reward.

“Those who battled for the Kingdom of God knew her as a fighter — someone who didn’t give up, someone who fought relentlessly to get the Gospel around the world,” it continued. “ She has taken a piece of our hearts with her, but it’s so wonderful to know that Paul and Jan Crouch are together again, in the arms of Jesus.”

For those on Paul Crouch Jr.’s side of the family, the news was devastating.

“Today was a day I never thought would happen,” said Brandon Crouch, Paul Jr.’s son, on Instagram. “I can still hear her voice as she tells the heart-wrenching story. Grandma: ‘Brannie, what would you like for Christmas this year?’ Me: ‘For my grandma to live forever.’

“Your legacy will be in me forever… I love you grammie,” Brandon Crouch wrote. “Wish my son would have had a chance to meet you, and wish I could have seen you at least once in the last six years.”

Brandon Crouch and his sisters, Brittany Crouch Koper and Carra Crouch, hadn’t seen Jan Crouch because of the family’s brutal infighting. Both sisters are suing Trinity.

Brittany Crouch Koper has accused the mighty Christian broadcaster of playing fast and loose with the ministry’s millions, and provided internal documents to back up her claims.

Carra Crouch alleges that she was plied with alcohol and raped by a TBN employee in Atlanta when she was just 13 – and that her family covered up the incident rather than report it to authorities, to protect TBN’s reputation.

Trinity says it’s all untrue. It accused the Kopers of engaging in an inflammatory smear campaign to divert attention from their own financial sins against Trinity.

Trinity has filed a half-dozen suits against Brittany Crouch Koper and her husband Michael Koper, charging them with stealing some $1.3 million during their years of employ with Trinity, as well as a trove of privileged documents that they’ve inserted into the court record in “dribs and drabs” in an attempt to blackmail and destroy the network. The Kopers said they just want the ship of Trinity’s mission righted and set back on course.

On the rape allegation, Trinity has argued that many adults with a more direct line of authority over Carra Crouch apparently failed to take her to a doctor or to call police after the alleged incident. Those adults would be far more culpable than anyone at Trinity if, indeed, the facts she claims are true, an attorney for Trinity said at Carra Crouch’s deposition in 2014.

The ongoing legal battles with Trinity have bankrupted Brittany Koper Crouch, who went from beloved granddaughter to exiled accuser.

Brittany Koper Crouch and her grandmother grew very close when Brittany was in high school in Irvine. “She was every girl’s dream come true,” Koper told the Register in 2012. “She has a funny sense of humor – really different from what you see on TV. We’d talk about boys, gossip, get magazines and look through at the celebrities. It was a teenage-girl type of relationship. She’s the one who encouraged me to dye my hair blonde, wear blue contacts and go on a diet. When she lived in the mansion in Newport Beach, I’d go over and she’d do my make up and put her wigs on me. We’d go to movies together; she’d take me on shopping sprees for clothes, and when I went away to college, I was very homesick. She’s the first person I would call to talk to.”

After Brittany Koper Crouch made her accusations against Trinity, “it’s like I’m dead to them,” Koper Crouch said. Jan Crouch didn’t answer calls. On a recent Christmas day, Crouch Koper sent Jan Crouch a text that said, ‘Grandmom, I love you so much no matter what. Thank you so much for teaching me about Jesus.’”

She didn’t hear back.

Reference:

Trinity Broadcasting Network
Television Station
Address: 2442 Michelle Dr, Tustin, CA 92780
https://www.tbn.org/

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/septemberweb-only/9-13-11.0.html

https://www.ocregister.com/articles/crouch-717690-trinity-koper.html

Related:

Former TBN Employee Alleges Gay Tryst With Paul Crouch
TBN boss paid $425,000 to silence claims, but accuser now wants $10 million.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/septemberweb-only/9-13-11.0.html

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The pledge by Team Newport to audit the $140 million Taj Mahal – $228 million with debt service – Newport Beach allocates $300,000 for Civic Center audit

Newport Beach, California –

An audit of the Newport Beach Civic Center construction process is moving ahead with a new – and higher – price tag.

The City Council voted 4-3 Tuesday in favor of the audit and to allocate $300,000 for its completion, including periodic reporting to the council.

Mayor Ed Selich and council members Keith Curry and Tony Petros voted against the measure.

Councilwoman Diane Dixon said the council owed constituents an audit of the $140 million project. She said it would also give the city a better idea of how to manage future projects the same size or scope of the Civic Center.

“My wish is this gets a clean bill of health and we can move on,” Dixon said. “I’d like to take the acrimony out of this and see this as a positive.”

Curry called the audit a political manipulation to use in the upcoming election cycle. The city manager already provided “two feet” of documents and a review of the building process, he said. Taxpayer money could be better used for projects in the community, he said.

“We’re asking consultants to tell us who won WWII,” Curry said. “It’s a complete waste of money.”

Planning for the facility started more than 15 years ago and its scope morphed significantly over the years, according to Register archives. The complex near Fashion Island opened in 2013 and included the government building, council chambers, a 450-space parking structure sunk to protect views, a 17,000-square-foot library expansion and a 14-acre park connected by an over-road bridge.

The council in June asked the city attorney’s office to hire an independent audit project manager, who could then hire a firm to do a financial and management performance audit of the Civic Center project. When the audit was originally brought up in January by council members, a price tag of $100,000 was highlighted.

Allyson Gipson, the independent audit manager hired by the city, said the industry standard for the cost of audits this size are usually one percent of the total cost of the project, though she thought the city could get an audit at about half that price.

A staff report suggested a two-phase audit, which could cost as much as $560,000 – about $110,000 for the first phase and $450,000 for the second. The council voted to limit the audit to one phase and set the limit at $300,000.

https://www.ocregister.com/articles/audit-693820-council-city.html?utm_source=MailingList&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Keeping+a+Campaign+Promise+%E2%80%93+Auditing+the+Taj
Contact the writer: 714-796-7990 or [email protected]
Keeping a Campaign Promise – Auditing the Taj

Dear Friend,

Our steering committee met a couple of weeks ago to review the past year since Team Newport was elected, and plan for the 2016 city elections.

One of the key issues in last year’s election was the pledge by Team Newport to audit the $140 million Taj Mahal. ($228 million with debt service)

On a 4-3 vote, Team Newport (Diane Dixon, Kevin Muldoon, Duffy, and Scott Peotter) approved a $300,000 contract to conduct an audit with the goal of finding out if taxpayers were fleeced, or if the costs were supportable and reasonable.

Of course, leading the opposition to the audit was Keith Curry – the councilman that spent over $1 million trying to ban wood burning fire rings.

You can read the Register’s recap of the city council’s action here, including Keith Curry’s claim that the audit is a politically motivated “complete waste of money.”

I am proud that Team Newport kept their word – a novelty in these times.

Sincerely,
Bob McCaffrey

Volunteer Chairman, Residents for Reform

Newport Beach

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