Boxed In
COMMENTARY by Rick Reiff
THE CITY OF CYPRESS IS BEING SUED BY THE COTTONWOOD CHRISTIAN CENTER because it’s trying to force the church into a land swap,the city wants to put a Costco on a site on which Cottonwood wants to put a church.
Down in San Juan Capistrano, meanwhile, residents are protesting a plan to sell city-owned land to Home Depot.
And the industrial potential of Savi Ranch in Yorba Linda has been limited by the city’s decision to turn much of the area into a haven for “big box” retailers.
While each of these stories has its unique drama, there is a unifying theme. In each case, the city’s prime motivation is tax revenue. The way things work in California, the state government collects and keeps most income taxes, the schools get property taxes and user fees go to special districts, parks and the like. Cities get to keep almost no specific tax revenue other than a portion of sales taxes.
So we repeatedly see cities doing things like favoring superstores over churches and car dealerships over office parks, often incurring the wrath of property owners, neighbors and visionaries in the process.
And so it goes.
Scary
HAVING DISCOVERED THE ALIEN-LOOKING, BULB-HEADED JERUSALEM CRICKET around my Dana Point home, it was with considerable interest that I read in the Register about scientists discovering a new species of the insect (also known as a sand cricket or potato bug) in these parts.
This Southern California variety is distinguished by the fact that after mating, the female finds a soft spot on the male and devours him. I wouldn’t be surprised if she beats him with a stiletto heel, too.
, Rick Reiff
