Palm Springs Meaney Lawsuit A Joke

News came today that Palm Springs can now proceed with a lawsuit against Rich Meaney, the embattled Palm Springs developer over a $160,000 debt the city is claimed it is owed. The city claims  it is owed the funds because it had granted a $250,000 grant to Meaney and his Hacienda Cantina project for a 3 year period of operations. The placed closed closed after 1 year.

Meaney is a central figure in the ongoing corruption investigation into the former shall we say, questionable business practises at Palm Springs City Hall. I have been told by sources close to the investigation that he has been cooperating with the feds as they do their work.

It is fairly obvious that Meaney has no money. You can't get blood from a stone. This will only pad an already expensive city legal bill.

 An argument can be made that by filing the lawsuit, the city is merely protecting it's rights. Also that the city is preventing a moral hazard. I get that. But the real way you prevent this from happening again is to make sure the city never repeats such a corporate welfare type program. So why is the city still persisting with this Don Quixote-like litigation?

 Knowing the current political climate in Palm Springs, I fear the answer  as to why the city is pursuing this course is a matter of tacit obfuscation.  City Hall big shots like City Manager David Ready and Council persons Chris Mills and Ginny Foat can claim that they too were "victims" of the dastardly Rich Meaney. Of course that is all nonsense but such a course of action  will go over in certain sectors of Palm Springs.

The main question involving this grant question remains as to whether or not the program was used specifically to reward friends and supporters of former mayor Steve Pougnet. Anything else is just an entertaining sideshow.

Steve Kelly can be reached at svericker12@gmail.com or followed on Twitter @skellynj

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Potential Huge Political Shakeup In The Coachella Valley

With so many other political stories flying around, a potentially huge story has gone underneath the radar. That being the illness of 4th District Supervisor John Benoit. It could dramatically affect the local political scene.

To begin with, like all Valley residents, I wish Mr. Benoit well as he undergoes chemotherapy. Although a Republican, he is more of a moderate. He was elected to the Assembly in 2002, despite being opposed by the far right fringe of the local GOP led by then State Senator Jim Battin. In 2010, as Supervisor, he survived a far right challenge from former PSPD Police Chief Gary Jeandron who his run bankrolled by the Riverside Sheriffs Association. The election was nasty. In 2014, he easily beat Manny Perez.

What many in the Valley do not understand is that the position of Supervisor is a hugely powerful one. The county has a budget of over 5 billion dollars. The job controls a ton of patronage as well. And the Board only has 5 members. For the 25 years, I have lived here, it has been run by the Riverside County GOP with a figleaf of non-partisanship.

If due to illness, Mr. Benoit is forced to step down, Governor Brown will have the option of filling the seat till elections take place in 2018. Mr. Benoit himself was originally appointed in such a manner by then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2009, succeeding the late Roy Wilson.

Brown will no doubt appoint a Democrat. If that were to occur, that would be sea change locally. There would be a change in staff. Despite the office allegedly being non-partisan, in reality it is not.

Talking with some local Democrats today, the name I hear over and over again is that of former Assemblyman Manny Perez. As previously mentioned, he ran and lost against Benoit. Perez was term limited after 6 years in the Assembly and currently sits on the Coachella City Council. Coachella is the East Valley hub of Democratic power; home to US Rep Dr. Raul Ruiz, and Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia.

A Perez appointment could rankle some LGBTQ Democrats in the West Valley. They may put forth a candidate like Palm Springs Councilman Geoff Kors or even Cathedral City Councilman Greg Pettis. However the Valley has a huge Hispanic population which has historically been under served  by the county. This fact could and should be a major factor in any appointment. It may be a very interesting few months.

Steve Kelly is a Blogger/Broadcaster based in the Coachella Valley. He can be e mailed at svericker12@gmail.com or followed on Twitter at 2skellynj

Palm Springs Hits The Streets

Last night as they were wrapping up mass at Our Lady Of Solitude church in Palm Springs, the priest said we had to listen to a pastoral letter from Bishop Gerald Barnes, the bishop of San Bernardino. The letter talked about the election and how we needed to pray for Donald Trump and come together.  They recessional song was God Bless America.

As I shook the priest's hand outside the church, I said, "The end was all well and good but I have to run and go protest against Trump." He gave me a surprised wave and off I went down the block to Frances Stevens Park.

The protest rally and ensuing march last night in Palm Springs has to be considered an unqualified success. Despite what you may see or hear on other media, there were over 1000 people there. Kids, gay, straight, white, black young and old presenting a real cross section of America. Diverse as you can get.

The Palm Springs PD was excellent. The crowd was well behaved and the police kept their distance. Now the older officers were a little more friendly than the younger ones but I chalk that up to experience and a little more maturity. And after last month's horrible events, one can easily understand.

The organizers, Eleanor Gonzalez, Kymberli Foster and Richard Noble did a marvelous job in putting together a peaceful exercising of First Amendment rights. There was no craziness and albeit everyone wanted to use it, very little profanity.

I think it was also a good thing that none of the local progressive officials or wannabe Palm Springs council candidates showed up. That would have struck me as a social media play adding nothing. I spotted a few incognito local Democratic officials along the way but they were very low key. They were there to march.

For me, I was encouraged that the staffers and patrons of many of the dining establishments offered support and encouragement  as protesters marched by. Also I have never seen so many cell phones being used to record, and take pictures. Everyone under 30 was doing so.

The organizers intend to keep up the pressure and we shall see if they do. Last night was a great start.

Steve Kelly can be followed on Twitter @skellynj or e mailed at svericker12@gmail.com

Election 2016

Well here we go again. The 2016 election is upon us. As always I go on record as to who and what local ballot measures will win. I am leaving out the school board elections because I really don't know the candidates.

Congress 36th District

Democrat Raul Ruiz in a walk over State Senator Jeff Stone. Stone, who didn't even live in the district while running is shall we say an eccentric politician. He seems to be running against Iran judging by his TV ads. Ruiz is a solid choice here.

California Assembly 42nd

Despite having challenges with money, Greg Rodriguez has run a terrific campaign against Republican minority leader Chad Mayes. The question is turnout. Mayes has to be favored but this is one to watch.

Cathedral City Council

John Aguilar and Greg Pettis are both incumbents and should win. Greg Pettis has done a remarkable tight rope act in the last year from working as Republican Jeff Stone's aide to becoming a Democratic super delegate. He is the undisputed boss of Cathedral City politics right now. An unimaginable comeback from just a few years ago.

Cathedral City Measure P

This measure would tax pot if it legalized by state proposition. It passes.

Cathedral City Measure HH

This is he charter city amendment. The one sticking point seems to be the change to a rotational form of mayoralty in 2018. On social media both the pro and anti HH forces are duking it out with a zeal that is both inspired and ludicrous at times. A lot of the fight appears to be about former mayor Kathy DeRosa. Reading the rhetoric one would think a revolution is in the offing either way. I think it passes and Mr. Pettis fulfills a 20 year elusive dream by being called "Mr. Mayor" in 2019.

Palm Desert

Palm Desert has a reputation of stability. That is why I feel that incumbents Van Tanner and Susan Marie Weber are back. I also think Kathleen Kelly, daughter of long time council person the late Dick Kelly wins. She edges out Gina Nestande, who is from a Valley political dynasty herself.

Measure T

This a raise in TOT or hotel tax. Despite the council pushing it, I think it fails.

Indian Wells

Incumbents Ty Peabody, Doug Hanson and Ted Mertens win. Hanson remains one the most "colorful" candidates I have interviewed.

Measures

CV Link

I think Indian Wells joins Rancho Mirage in opposing the CV Link

TOT Tax Increase

They vote to raise it.

La Quinta

Linda Evans wins as Mayor.  Kristy Franklin and Victoria Llort win as well. Perennial candidate Steve Sanchez who is running for council is so enthusiastic, he has posted signs on Fred Waring in Indian Wells!! By the way, I was in La Quinta today and the amount of political signage has to be seen to be believed.

Sales Tax Measure Increase

Passes

Indio

I think Glenn Miller and Lupe Watson win re-election. But as with all local elections, there are subplots and ironies. Developer Nachhattar Chandi appears to striving to be the Harold Matzner of the East Valley as he has given over 41 grand to Miller and newcomer Joan Dzuro. Plus council member Mike Wilson, a ahem free spirit, has funded a mailer against Lupe Watson. This is traced back to Watson stopping the opening invocation at a few council meetings. Who says all politics isn't local and sometimes ridiculously petty?

Sales Tax Measure Increase

Passes.

We can check back Wednesday.  Or it being Riverside County, February 11th, 2017.

Steve Kelly is a blogger in the Coachella Valley and can be reached at svericker12@gmail.com or on twitter @skellynj

KESQ Goes Down Tabloid Road

The local TV news business can be tough in a small market like Palm Springs. As a news director your roster consists of a mixture of veterans and rookies. Your news department is also a profit center, one of the most important ones for your station. You want to get as many eyeballs as possible to look at your product. You need to be out in the community to build brand awareness.

Taking all this into consideration, it is still disappointing that KESQ is going down an easy rpath by having an "exclusive" interview with the brother of slain Palm Springs Police Officer Gil Vega tomorrow night. It also promoting this with the nonsensical title of "Beyond the Badge." All this takes place in the TV sweeps month of November. (Sweeps occur 3 months of the year and are critical is setting local ad rates.)

I willingly point out that I have many friends at KESQ and its sister station KPSP or Channel 2. I consider them fine journalists and they were even kind enough to have me on during the Steve Pougnet mess.

As a rule commenting on local media when I have been a part of it for 20 years is something I try to avoid. I know the ins and outs of the media business. It is only when something egregious takes place in my view that commentary is necessary. And this "exclusive" sets off all the alarm bells.

"Beyond The Badge" smacks of something that came out of the promotions department. There is no new content or story advancement here. In my opinion, it is the pure exploitation of a tragedy for ratings purposes. In essence therefore,it is the very definition of tabloid journalism.

Ironically last week the Palm Springs Police Officers Association, (PSPOA) denounced the Desert Sun's interview with the brother of the suspect in the killing of officer Vega and his partner Lesley Zerebny as "tabloid journalism" when it clearly was not. That is not the case here as the promo runs endlessly with Mr. Vega wishing he could have "changed places" with his brother. This is the kind of stuff papers like the New York Daily News or Los Angeles Herald lived on in a bygone era.

Whoever thought putting something like this on TV was a good idea and then promoting really needs to rethink this. Ratings arent everything.

Steve Kelly can be reached at svericker12@gmail.com or followed on Twitter at @skellynj