Radar Guns, Water and Salute to Veterans

By Neil Rubenstein

Observer Columnist

Whatever happened to acid rain? Would you believe the Los Angeles Aqueduct bringing water from the Owens Valley is 100 years old? And then there is the anniversary of the four-level interchange which was completed in 1953, some 60 years ago.

After trying for many years to reduce the coyote population in inland Orange County communities with an education campaign aimed at removing food sources that attract them, the Garden Grove council recently voted to spend $5,000 to hire a professional trapper that would euthanize coyotes. City figures show 25 pets were killed or injured by coyotes between March 1st and October 19th of this year.

In ten years the French government has increased the number of speeding-catching radar guns to 4,200 locations. Over 250,000 people in 2011 and 2012 paid an average fine of $122. If one does the math one would wonder when our city council will be adding this new source of revenue.

Ten months ago a hedge fund bought 1,500 rental properties near Dayton, Ohio. One of the first moves it made was to request the property tax be cut by 49% to $50 million from $98.6 million.

My hat goes off to Councilman Jim Clarke, a former member of the United States Coast Guard, who suggested the city honor all veterans at its meeting on November 12th. I hope the city will consider, in the future, having a city picnic in the park because our WWII vets are in their 90s and the Viet Nam vets are about to be in their 70s -- and many don't drive at night. Just another two cent suggestion -- why couldn't some organization or the high school do an oral history of these veterans before it's too late?

Of course one could mention the large money managers such as Blackstone Group which spent $7.5 billion and owns approximately 40,000 properties. The harm caused by the housing bubble created a lot of misery and a lot of wealth.

How many of us remember the great Yankee baseball teams of the 1950s and 1960s? Who recalls the fantastic manager Casey Stengel? Mr. Stengel lived in Glendale and for 50 years Stengel Field Stadium was somewhat ignored to the point the Glendale council recently voted to demolish it.

From the "Hard to Believe" file: On October 25th it will be the 30th anniversary of the Grenada invasion. Many of us remember President Reagan put a Marine force on ships "to reinforce our military in Beirut." The ploy worked, the Communist leaders were completely fooled and within a week the bad guys were history.

Lastly, 52 years ago on October 31, 1961 President Kennedy, for the Berlin Wall crisis, sent me and the historic 3rd Armored Cavalry to West Germany. My regiment was formed in 1843 to help the settlers along the Oregon Trail and has been on continuous active duty for the last 170 years.