It's time for me to move on, for at least a while. I know I have not posted much recently, and I guess and hope you know why.
Terri and I moved away from Rancho Palos Verdes last March 26 and we moved into our new home in Murrieta, California, on April 5.
Existence here is so very, very different than it was when we lived in R.P.V. and it is not only an extremely interesting change, it is also more wonderful than either of us had expected.
Not a week goes by when we learn new things and visit sites and have activities we didn't think we would like so much, out here in Southwest Riverside County.
We could not have imagined that it could be pool o'clock just about anytime we wanted and that jacuzzi o'clock whenever, could be so enjoyable.
It took about 4-1/2 months to get used to 100 degree days and now we get 'hot' when it gets over 108 degrees. The bout of humidity we had several weeks ago was also noted as being a bit more uncomfortable that we like, but it sounds like R.P.V. got several doses of that, too.
I truly do not miss anything in R.P.V. because I had association with the area I grew up in for over 57-1/2 years. Of course I miss the people and I hope everyone is happy and healthy.
As for issues, I will consider how two issues related to R.P.V. compare to what we are finding out here.
Ponte Vista:
830-total units in Northwest San Pedro is too many for me to be comfortable with, even though I have opined that I could have lived with 831-total units.
The fact that while the developers have added more 'single-family' units from their original number, there are still too many multi-family building being asked for, with too many truly or most likely becoming rental units.
I don't care how much traffic mitigation the developers claim they will do, with only ONE access street (Western Avenue) to and from the property, that is at least one street too few.
Remember, The Gardens have Western, Westmont AND Gaffey.
I did write my options about the project when the DEIR was published. Whether any calls for fewer than 830 units or the makeup of the types of units is changed is something that MAY bring about more acceptance for the project. Tripling the number of 'single-family, detached' units might be a good start, though.
Here in Murrieta, well actually by our Kaiser Permente facility in nearby Wildomar, there is a giant multi-family buildings comlex being built. Renewed building of residences and business is back and ongoing, and it is good for just about everyone.
HOWEVER, we down here have the space and our on-ramps and off-ramps to the TWO Interstates that we live between are being enlarged.
We have alternative routes to pass more congested areas. Yes, there are some ramps you would not believe and both Winchester and Temecula Parkway can be true nightmares, too much of the time.
We live in norther Murrieta, but the Temecula mall is closer and easier to get to than the Del Amo mall was to us.
As far as schools, thankfully, is a push between most of the Temecula and Murrieta schools, compared to P.V.P.U.S.D. Wildomar school, not so much. Menifee schools, nowhere near. Lake Elsinor school, don't belong in any comparison.
The vast majority of helicopters that pass over our home are NOT 'ghetto birds' but come from Camp Pendleton.
There are ZERO standard gauge railroad tracks in Murrieta, so we don't here the trains that belong to the Harbor Belt Line.
If I want to hear a foghorn early in the morning, I can go to the Internet for that.
The closest fire station to us is closer than Station 83 but since the trucks don't run ALL THE TIME or along Western Avenue, that is a big change we appreciate.
We also appreciate that we no longer live so close to a cemetery located along a major thoroughfare, when L O N G funeral processions don't block our way.
While I don't drink alcohol and Terri barely manages one glass of wine, having GREAT selections of dining choices at regular restaurants AND wineries, provides with so many new tastes and experiences.
We got very spoiled, very quickly. There are Sunday music concerts all over the place.
You haven't really lived until you see a Shakespeare or Shakespeare-based comedy being performed at a winery where wine is served long before the performance begins. Watching some of the audience is at least as comical as watching many of the 'other' actors.
Music is all over the valley. Whether it is at a winery or in Old Temecula, the choices for types of music varies as much as the types of grapes grown around here.
The biggest drawback for me, living here, is that my work is still in the Los Angeles/San Fernando Valley areas. If you think driving to and from R.P.V. to locations in the areas mentioned, just getting me to and from Corona, Ca takes a little over half and hour. Then, the 91 freeway, through the canyon could be more better compared to driving 19 miles through the streets of Calcutta.
I try as hard as I can to have call times outside 'normal' commute times. Working overnight is more convenient and has much less stressful driving patterns.
I am (sort of) looking for 'regular' work. I may try harder for just part-time work. I'm trying to get my California Security Guard Card, but whether I'll look for a job in that line of work is still being determined.
I have not been to a Murrieta City Council meeting...yet. I have received information that their members are at least as conservative as four of the members of the R.P.V. C.C.. At this time there doesn't appear to be any issues I have and issues with, but it is good to become a better citizen/participant, than just asking others to do it.
As for the Murrieta Police, my best description is to imagine the Simi Valley Police Department, but perhaps just a bit tougher. All the neighbors tell us that they are great, just don't cross, think of crossing, dream of crossing, or plan on dreaming about thinking about trying to cross them.
According to an F.B.I. survey, done some time ago, Murrieta was judged the second safest city in the whole U.S.A. I can believe that.
I have and never will have anything against the L.A. County Sheriffs Department and the great men and women who served and continue to serve R.P.V. and every other community.
There are not enough thanks in this Galaxy that I could give to the many friends and acquaintances we made and have in R.P.V., San Pedro and other locales. My contacts have grown since we left and I'm not about to do away with any contacts.
As for the upcoming election, if I were to vote for two Council members, I would re-elect Brian Campbell and give former Mayor Ken Dyda another term. All three candidates are conservatives so I don't have a choice between a conservative and a liberal.
My consideration about former Mayor Anthony Misetich is that it seems he does so much better in his chosen field of expertise and if he is getting a new company off the ground, perhaps city business should go away for him so he can create the most successful business as possible.
Ken Dyda's dedication to the city and its residents long after he served on the R.P.V. City Council demonstrates his love for the city, his vast knowledge of city business and its people and his willingness to try to make things better for residents, is such a good thing.
The Junior College that became a 4-year institution, that now seems to be adding post-graduate degree studies...whatever the name of it now is:
Marymount College/Marymount California University should take over the Ponte Vista site, move its R.P.V. campus there and move its Palos Verdes North housing there, too.
But that won't happen, so let's move on.
I continue to feel strongly that whatever Marymount supporters want, should be studied one element at a time. Let's see if they can do anything other than changing asphalt at their R.P.V. campus.
There is no way I would ever support having anywhere near 1,200-students and associated staff attending classes and facilities on the Southeast side of The Hill.
Once the final stripe was placed on their new parking lot, any suggestion of have that many students attending that campus made the whole parking lot obsolete. Heck, it was obsolete before it was finished.
I continue to support Marymount's efforts in downtown San Pedro and would have supported The Marymount College Facilites Expansion Project had it ever been physically started. (The newly completed parking facilities fall outside the approved plans for the approved Project.)
Let Marymount build whatever they wish to build, one thing at a time, for up to 794-students attending the R.P.V. site.
Now in contrast, even though we haven't lived in Murrieta six months yet, Terri is still enrolled in a Microsoft Office class at San Jacinto College. That campus is in nearby Menifee, about ten minutes away from our home. It would take you longer to drive from Hesse Park to Marymount than it does getting to S.J. College.
But that's only a start. Less that 1/4 of a mile from our front door is a rented space for Murrieta University. About 1/4 mile from that site is another site for Azusa Pacific. So I technically have two colleges within one half a mile from my home.
I could get to U.C. Riverside faster than someone living on the Western-most edge of R.P.V. getting to U.S.C.
There is space out here that R.P.V. simply does not have. There are no colleges among the nearby hills, but they are on flat land, with wide open spaces.
Less than five miles away from our home is a Loma Linda University Hospital and teaching facility.
Murrieta has about 2-1/2 times the population that R.P.V. has. We do have lots of tract housing and many multi-tenant buildings. We can put the land that the Palos Verdes Land Conservancy has into a fairly decent open space land areas here in Murrieta. But then we would still have all the city parks, city maintained trails, watersheds and other open spaces to enjoy.
Sun City is nearby but it is NOT in Murrieta. We have The Colony.
It's hotter in the Summer and colder in the Winter here, compared to R.P.V. it rains a whole heck of a lot less, here. It's dryer here, too.
So, until I write again, thanks so very, very, very much for putting up with my overly long posts and I hope you learned a little bit and enjoyed a little bit more, this blog.
Terri and I moved away from Rancho Palos Verdes last March 26 and we moved into our new home in Murrieta, California, on April 5.
Existence here is so very, very different than it was when we lived in R.P.V. and it is not only an extremely interesting change, it is also more wonderful than either of us had expected.
Not a week goes by when we learn new things and visit sites and have activities we didn't think we would like so much, out here in Southwest Riverside County.
We could not have imagined that it could be pool o'clock just about anytime we wanted and that jacuzzi o'clock whenever, could be so enjoyable.
It took about 4-1/2 months to get used to 100 degree days and now we get 'hot' when it gets over 108 degrees. The bout of humidity we had several weeks ago was also noted as being a bit more uncomfortable that we like, but it sounds like R.P.V. got several doses of that, too.
I truly do not miss anything in R.P.V. because I had association with the area I grew up in for over 57-1/2 years. Of course I miss the people and I hope everyone is happy and healthy.
As for issues, I will consider how two issues related to R.P.V. compare to what we are finding out here.
Ponte Vista:
830-total units in Northwest San Pedro is too many for me to be comfortable with, even though I have opined that I could have lived with 831-total units.
The fact that while the developers have added more 'single-family' units from their original number, there are still too many multi-family building being asked for, with too many truly or most likely becoming rental units.
I don't care how much traffic mitigation the developers claim they will do, with only ONE access street (Western Avenue) to and from the property, that is at least one street too few.
Remember, The Gardens have Western, Westmont AND Gaffey.
I did write my options about the project when the DEIR was published. Whether any calls for fewer than 830 units or the makeup of the types of units is changed is something that MAY bring about more acceptance for the project. Tripling the number of 'single-family, detached' units might be a good start, though.
Here in Murrieta, well actually by our Kaiser Permente facility in nearby Wildomar, there is a giant multi-family buildings comlex being built. Renewed building of residences and business is back and ongoing, and it is good for just about everyone.
HOWEVER, we down here have the space and our on-ramps and off-ramps to the TWO Interstates that we live between are being enlarged.
We have alternative routes to pass more congested areas. Yes, there are some ramps you would not believe and both Winchester and Temecula Parkway can be true nightmares, too much of the time.
We live in norther Murrieta, but the Temecula mall is closer and easier to get to than the Del Amo mall was to us.
As far as schools, thankfully, is a push between most of the Temecula and Murrieta schools, compared to P.V.P.U.S.D. Wildomar school, not so much. Menifee schools, nowhere near. Lake Elsinor school, don't belong in any comparison.
The vast majority of helicopters that pass over our home are NOT 'ghetto birds' but come from Camp Pendleton.
There are ZERO standard gauge railroad tracks in Murrieta, so we don't here the trains that belong to the Harbor Belt Line.
If I want to hear a foghorn early in the morning, I can go to the Internet for that.
The closest fire station to us is closer than Station 83 but since the trucks don't run ALL THE TIME or along Western Avenue, that is a big change we appreciate.
We also appreciate that we no longer live so close to a cemetery located along a major thoroughfare, when L O N G funeral processions don't block our way.
While I don't drink alcohol and Terri barely manages one glass of wine, having GREAT selections of dining choices at regular restaurants AND wineries, provides with so many new tastes and experiences.
We got very spoiled, very quickly. There are Sunday music concerts all over the place.
You haven't really lived until you see a Shakespeare or Shakespeare-based comedy being performed at a winery where wine is served long before the performance begins. Watching some of the audience is at least as comical as watching many of the 'other' actors.
Music is all over the valley. Whether it is at a winery or in Old Temecula, the choices for types of music varies as much as the types of grapes grown around here.
The biggest drawback for me, living here, is that my work is still in the Los Angeles/San Fernando Valley areas. If you think driving to and from R.P.V. to locations in the areas mentioned, just getting me to and from Corona, Ca takes a little over half and hour. Then, the 91 freeway, through the canyon could be more better compared to driving 19 miles through the streets of Calcutta.
I try as hard as I can to have call times outside 'normal' commute times. Working overnight is more convenient and has much less stressful driving patterns.
I am (sort of) looking for 'regular' work. I may try harder for just part-time work. I'm trying to get my California Security Guard Card, but whether I'll look for a job in that line of work is still being determined.
I have not been to a Murrieta City Council meeting...yet. I have received information that their members are at least as conservative as four of the members of the R.P.V. C.C.. At this time there doesn't appear to be any issues I have and issues with, but it is good to become a better citizen/participant, than just asking others to do it.
As for the Murrieta Police, my best description is to imagine the Simi Valley Police Department, but perhaps just a bit tougher. All the neighbors tell us that they are great, just don't cross, think of crossing, dream of crossing, or plan on dreaming about thinking about trying to cross them.
According to an F.B.I. survey, done some time ago, Murrieta was judged the second safest city in the whole U.S.A. I can believe that.
I have and never will have anything against the L.A. County Sheriffs Department and the great men and women who served and continue to serve R.P.V. and every other community.
There are not enough thanks in this Galaxy that I could give to the many friends and acquaintances we made and have in R.P.V., San Pedro and other locales. My contacts have grown since we left and I'm not about to do away with any contacts.
As for the upcoming election, if I were to vote for two Council members, I would re-elect Brian Campbell and give former Mayor Ken Dyda another term. All three candidates are conservatives so I don't have a choice between a conservative and a liberal.
My consideration about former Mayor Anthony Misetich is that it seems he does so much better in his chosen field of expertise and if he is getting a new company off the ground, perhaps city business should go away for him so he can create the most successful business as possible.
Ken Dyda's dedication to the city and its residents long after he served on the R.P.V. City Council demonstrates his love for the city, his vast knowledge of city business and its people and his willingness to try to make things better for residents, is such a good thing.
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The Junior College that became a 4-year institution, that now seems to be adding post-graduate degree studies...whatever the name of it now is:
Marymount College/Marymount California University should take over the Ponte Vista site, move its R.P.V. campus there and move its Palos Verdes North housing there, too.
But that won't happen, so let's move on.
I continue to feel strongly that whatever Marymount supporters want, should be studied one element at a time. Let's see if they can do anything other than changing asphalt at their R.P.V. campus.
There is no way I would ever support having anywhere near 1,200-students and associated staff attending classes and facilities on the Southeast side of The Hill.
Once the final stripe was placed on their new parking lot, any suggestion of have that many students attending that campus made the whole parking lot obsolete. Heck, it was obsolete before it was finished.
I continue to support Marymount's efforts in downtown San Pedro and would have supported The Marymount College Facilites Expansion Project had it ever been physically started. (The newly completed parking facilities fall outside the approved plans for the approved Project.)
Let Marymount build whatever they wish to build, one thing at a time, for up to 794-students attending the R.P.V. site.
Now in contrast, even though we haven't lived in Murrieta six months yet, Terri is still enrolled in a Microsoft Office class at San Jacinto College. That campus is in nearby Menifee, about ten minutes away from our home. It would take you longer to drive from Hesse Park to Marymount than it does getting to S.J. College.
But that's only a start. Less that 1/4 of a mile from our front door is a rented space for Murrieta University. About 1/4 mile from that site is another site for Azusa Pacific. So I technically have two colleges within one half a mile from my home.
I could get to U.C. Riverside faster than someone living on the Western-most edge of R.P.V. getting to U.S.C.
There is space out here that R.P.V. simply does not have. There are no colleges among the nearby hills, but they are on flat land, with wide open spaces.
Less than five miles away from our home is a Loma Linda University Hospital and teaching facility.
Murrieta has about 2-1/2 times the population that R.P.V. has. We do have lots of tract housing and many multi-tenant buildings. We can put the land that the Palos Verdes Land Conservancy has into a fairly decent open space land areas here in Murrieta. But then we would still have all the city parks, city maintained trails, watersheds and other open spaces to enjoy.
Sun City is nearby but it is NOT in Murrieta. We have The Colony.
It's hotter in the Summer and colder in the Winter here, compared to R.P.V. it rains a whole heck of a lot less, here. It's dryer here, too.
So, until I write again, thanks so very, very, very much for putting up with my overly long posts and I hope you learned a little bit and enjoyed a little bit more, this blog.
