Costa Mesa City Council

Appeals Court Finds Costa Mesa City Council Law Barring Disruptions Unconstitutional

Benito Acosta, who as a Latino rights activist goes by Coyotl Tezcatlipoca, won a partial victory from the state's Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Friday.The court upheld previous rulings finding Acosta was legally removed from a 2006 Costa Mesa City Council meeting, but the city's law against "disor ... More >>

Will Assemblyman Allan Mansoor Challenge Michelle Steel For OC Supervisor's Seat?

Will ex-Costa Mesa mayor and current California State Assemblyman Allan Mansoor challenge Michelle Steel--a fellow but less experienced Republican office holder--for a soon-to-be open seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors? That's the energetic buzz this week in Republican circles, where St ... More >>

Coyotl Tezcatlipoca Loses But So Does City in Ruling Over Costa Mesa Law Targeting Dissent

The Costa Mesa City Council was legally in the right to twice remove immigrant-rights activist and punk rocker Coyotl Tezcatlipoca (a.k.a. Benito Acosta) from council meetings in 2006 under a municipal ordinance that makes it a misdemeanor for members of the public to engage in "disorderly . . . or ... More >>

[UPDATED with Judge Issues Written Order, City Gets It Now:] Judge Blocks Costa Mesa Layoffs Until Civil Trial

​UPDATE, JULY 18, 4:49 P.M.: Though she made her ruling two weeks ago, Orange County Superior Court Judge Tam Nomoto Schumann issued the written order blocking the city of Costa Mesa from laying off employees and privatizing their jobs late Friday night.The written order just added fuel to the nev ... More >>

This Elephant Never Remembers

[Hey, You!] Trunk off, GOP push-pollster!

Despite "Financial Crisis," Costa Mesa Council Spending Continues--Record Legal Counsel Fees and Lobdell's Contract Renewed

The spending continues.​​For all of its talk of a city-wide "financial crisis," the Costa Mesa City Council doesn't seem to believe its own spending needs to be curtailed. In two recent developments, the council went 54-percent over its legal fees budget in 2010-11 and the city signed another 90 ... More >>

[UPDATED: Audit Report Criticized; Budget Passed] Costa Mesa Financial Situation "Better Than Average," According to OCEA-Funded Audit

​UPDATE, JUNE 22, 4:55 P.M.: "I think this whole list is a road to bankruptcy," said Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer early Wednesday morning, responding to the report of the OCEA-funded budget audit. Just minutes after hearing a laundry list of potential alternatives to restructure the budget in ... More >>

[UPDATED: Police Chief Uncertain of Cocaine Involvement] City Employee Commits Suicide, Jumping Off Costa Mesa City Hall

Christopher Victorio/OC WeeklyHuy Pham, in a photo brought to a candlelight vigil for him​UPDATE, MAY 31, 8:16 A.M.: Costa Mesa's police chief, Steve Staveley isn't entirely convinced by the conclusions being made from the coroner reports that Huy Pham had cocaine in his system at the time of his ... More >>

Costa Mesa Chronicles: Councilman Accused of Chest-Bumping and the OCEA Funds an Audit

​The Costa Mesa City Council and its residents can't seem to figure out how to get along. Mayor Gary Monahan was once the focalpoint of scorn, but now that unwanted attention has shifted to Councilman Steve Mensinger, after reports of a physical confrontation (of sorts) th ... More >>

Union Commercial Takes Aim at "Pay and Perks" of Costa Mesa's Top Officials; City Disputes Facts

​While the city of Costa Mesa continues its rapid pace of releasing Tweets and Facebook updates, the union-supported, citizen group, Repair Costa Mesa, has put out its second TV commercial. This one targets the city's top seven bureaucrats, which the commercial claims make $1.5 million in "pay and ... More >>

[UPDATED: Union GM/Photographer Talks] City Employee Commits Suicide, Jumping Off Costa Mesa City Hall

Mayor Gary Monahan on St. Patty's Day. Was this photo a set-up?​UPDATE, MARCH 21, 5:45 P.M.: The Weekly was able to speak with Nick Berardino while he was in a taxi on his way to catch a flight home from Sacramento. He had a good laugh about Mayor Gary Monahan's accusations of a union setup, ... More >>

Costa Mesa City Council Votes In Favor of Outsourcing One-Third of City Services

Click here to see the slideshow.​By the time the Costa Mesa City Council was finished with its farewells to its outgoing City Manager and City Attorney Tuesday evening, every seat in the council chambers was filled. More than 250 people had turned out for various items on the agenda, but the maj ... More >>

Costa Mesa Becomes Wisconsin Tonight

​Costa Mesa becomes Wisconsin this evening.No, "Goat Hill" is not getting a giant brewery, a Super Bowl-caliber football team or mountains of free Oshkosh jumpers in the Bloomies parking lot at South Coast Plaza.What the near-coastal town is getting is the same type of spat that pits Wisconsin sta ... More >>

Costa Mesa Kills "Luxury" Police Helicopter Program

"Eagle" clips a political wire​Led by freshman Republican city councilman Jim Righeimer, the Costa Mesa City Council late tonight voted to kill an expensive police helicopter program to help resolve a massive budget shortfall."We need to do this," Righeimer said before the 4-1 vote. "This program ... More >>

Katrina Foley Resigns City Council Seat, Will Remain With NMUSD Board of Education

Katrina Foley​After serving six years on the Costa Mesa City Council, Katrina Foley sent an email, officially resigning her position yesterday, choosing, instead, to focus her time and efforts on her new position with the Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Trustees.Foley, who has played ... More >>

The Year in Pot: Looking Back at Our Top Five Marijuana-Related Stories of 2010

​From the failure of Prop 19 to the various battles between cities and medical marijuana dispensaries fighting to stay open, 2010 was, well, the year of pot. Take a look through Staff Writer Nick Schou's picks for marijuana-related stories of the year after the jump.

[UPDATED:] Election 2010: Coker is Spun, Polled, Teabagged

​1:28 p.m.: Orange County agreed with state voters on most ballot initiatives, although more of us did want to keep choking on polluted air until the unemployment rate drops and most like the state budget approval process to remain fucked-up, thank you very much (probably because many are philosop ... More >>

[UPDATED:] OC Fairgrounds Preservation Society Raises Fears About an Electric Daisy Carnival There

​UPDATE: Costa Mesa approved the fairgrounds deal (see end of post) . . . The Orange County Fairgrounds Preservation Society (OCFPS) warns warned Tuesday evening may be the last chance for the public to be heard on the future of the exposition facility in Costa Mesa--at least for the next 55 years ... More >>

Pot Clinics Turn to Sacramento Lobbyist to Smooth Relations With Costa Mesa Officials

​Medical marijuana clinic operators, who have not exactly received a welcome reception in Costa Mesa, have retained a Sacramento lobbyist in hopes of smoothing over their tense relationship.Medical Marijuana Providers Fight Back After Costa Mesa BustsBased on an introductory letter to Mayor Alan M ... More >>

As Register Questions His Conservative Cred, Moorlach Defends Doubts About OC Fair Deal

​Following an Orange County Register opinion piece that took direct aim at the conservative cred of local Republican politicians who opposed selling the Orange County Fairgrounds to the highest private bidder, one of those called-out has fired back.Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach, writing i ... More >>

Medical Marijuana Advocate Chadd McKeen Seeks to Shake Up Costa Mesa City Council

Photo by Keith MayChadd McKeen, the man with the plan.​Chadd McKeen, the Weekly's current cover boy ("Growing Pains at Otherside Farms"), is not only working to change people's perception of medical marijuana providers through his Costa Mesa business that helps patients grow their own. He's also w ... More >>

Costa Mesa Makes State a $96 Million Offer to Buy OC Fairgrounds

​The Costa Mesa City Council has made a formal proposal to have the city purchase the Orange County Fairgrounds from the state for $96 million.

Savoring the Orange Coast College Swap Meet's Food Vendors

[Hole In the Wall] Discover anew la naranja at its best

OC's Five Least Reprehensible Elected Officials!

Photo by John GilhooleyDevore: OC's second-least reprehensible GOPer?​I was having lunch over the weekend with a pal, a Republican who will never vote for an OC Reep due to their rank hypocrisy. I, as a lefty nut, shared with him my frustrations with the Democratic Party of Orange County, the grou ... More >>

Costa Mesa Stands Up for the Purity of a Six Pack

MotivatedPhotos.com​There will be no more bastardization of six packs in Costa Mesa.

Can the Colectivo Tonantzin and the ACLU Beat Orange's Anti-Day-Laborer Ordinance?

In-N-Out Wants 65-foot Billboard; Costa Mesa, Not So Much

According to the Daily Pilot, In-N-Out wants to put up a 65-foot freeway sign at the site of where Kaplan's Deli used to be; right off the Harbor exit from the 405.The Costa Mesa Planning Commission doesn't like that idea so much.  They denied In-N-Out's request.  Next, the burge ... More >>

Is Martin Millard Running for Costa Mesa City Council?

To the lower right of this post, you'll see a couple of Orange County blogs. It's just a smattering--indeed, we host more than our share of idiots. And few are worse than infamous Costa Mesa racialist Martin Millard. We can never tell exactly what Millard rambles about, mostly because he fancies hi ... More >>

Smiley Coyotl

When is a prosecutor not a prosecutor? The answer spared a Santa Ana activist/punk rocker from criminal charges

Grub Guide

Wednesday's Headlines

No more presents for Irvine Unified: Last year, an Irvine family alleged that they were forced to shower teachers with pricey gifts to ensure their autistic son would be cared for at school. Now, Irvine school officials are asking parents to send teachers letters of appreciation instead of present ... More >>

Fountain Valley Flash

Despite a few tacky sins, Aysya proves great

Meat You in Heaven

OCs top five new restaurants and other random observations

Raise Those Glasses, Boyos!

Election night with the biggest losers

The Party's Over

Our R. Scott Moxley reports that, by the end of the night at the Hyatt Regency Irvine, the older Republicans in the room showed on their faces exactly what they felt: worry, frustration, indignation. But the Young Republican types in their 20s and 30s were not missing a beat--or a drop of hooch--as ... More >>

It's Mansore and Wendy Looney Tunes early in Mesa

The racist-goosestepping-Stepford duo--Alan Mansoor and Wendy Leece--are outpacing the pack in the Costa Mesa City Council race with 11 of 70 precincts counted, according to the Orange County Registrar of Voters website. Elect two: Mansoor, 28%; Leece, 25.3%; Garlich, 21.1%; Scheafer, 17.4%; Burciag ... More >>

Less than an hour until the polls close...

... and I'm soooooo confused. I was out of town last Thursday through Sunday, and when I returned there were 17 messages on my phone from the likes of Pete Wilson, Dick Ackerman, Hillary Clinton, someone yammering about Jessica's Law, the Nguyen running for an OC school board seat and his partner in ... More >>

OC GOP Rubber Stamps Racism

OC Blog has an interesting post on Orange County Republican Central Committee endorsements for various local offices. Even more entertaining are the back-and-forth comments between Weekly pal Jubal and Tim Whitacre--with some chiming in by Art Pedroza and Karen A Finn--about internal bylaws, and mot ... More >>

Grub Guide

This week in supporting Costa Mesa restaurants

Razin' La Raza

Whether posing as protesters or cutting off speeches, OC police clamp down on immigrant-rights activists

This Week in Squash

This Week in Eggs

A Triangle Square Peg in a Round Hole

Niketowns demise is just latest failure at ill-conceived mall

Trailer Trash

Paul Freemans campaign to preserve a private trailer park on a public beach

Diary of a Mad County

Diary of a Mad County

Fender-bender Fund-raiser

How Costa Mesa uses traffic accidents that dont exist to hand out tickets that do

Tim the Soldier and Nixons Coming

Guilty Pleasures

1-100

An Incomplete History of Gay & Lesbian OC