Allan Mansoor

At the Orange County Transportation Authority’s meeting last week, residents appeared to like the underground tunnel extending the 55 Freeway as the best solution to ease congestion where the highway ends. What do you think would be the best solution, and why?   Right now there are a lot of concerns from Eastside residents about traffic in their neighborhoods from the 55 Freeway. I want to try to resolve these concerns before I begin to think about supporting any of the proposed options.

Costa Mesa City Councilman Allan Mansoor is looking for ways to further regulate where sex offenders may live in the city, citing a proposed policy in Long Beach he said might work similarly. City staff is studying the proposal and how it could be applied in Costa Mesa, he said. “It’s my understanding that the city of Long Beach is looking into an ordinance to further regulate where sex offenders may or may not live,” he said. “I simply wanted to find out if it was doable, and if it is, can we do it?

Ever since Allan Mansoor dropped his year-end bombshell by stating he was stepping down as mayor, the Internet has been white-hot with speculation, accusation and pontification. The intensity of comments on the Daily Pilot blog and others has increased since Mansoor nominated pal Eric Bever as mayor and the majority — including Mansoor’s running mate last year, Wendy Leece — elected him. Linda Dixon went along for the ride in a show of harmony. When Bever, in his first official act, nominated Mansoor as mayor pro tem you could almost hear the eyebrows raising all around town.

To the victor go the spoils. We’ve said it before, but this 19th century phrase bears repeating amid the gnashing of teeth and slinging of mud that followed the appointment of Eric Bever to mayor of Costa Mesa. When it comes to Costa Mesa politics, Bever, at least for now, is one of the victors. So it should be of no surprise that his fellow victor, Allan Mansoor, would present his fellow majority member with a political gift — the position of mayor. And all this just in time for the coming 2008 election season.

It’s always interesting watching a Costa Mesa City Council meeting and seeing what the “big three” are deciding. This past week was no different. In fact, some would argue that the meeting was perfectly scripted. But c’mon, we all know that couldn’t happen. There’s no way this council would call each other and say, “This is the plan ... ” So in the latest chapter of musical chairs, Eric Bever is the new mayor and Allan Mansoor is now the mayor pro tem, following his resignation from the top spot.

There came a time some years ago — this column flew by another name, then — when I had gotten used to and even a bit bored with the usual Westside improvement mouthpieces who were season-ticket holders to Costa Mesa City Council huddles. The cast was a colorful bunch of characters. There were Janice Davidson and Martin Millard. Judy and Mike Berry. Kathleen and Chris Eric. Paul Bunney and the pony-tailed Eric Bever. Jim Fisler and the cantankerous but always entertaining John Feeney.

In an opinion column published Aug. 13, Newport Beach Rep. John Campbell suggested local police must and should be involved in future immigration enforcement efforts, if they are to be successful. He argues hiring federal agents to find the approximately 6 million people who came here legally and overstayed their visas “would cost too much and be too intrusive. Instead, let’s just let local law enforcement officers check immigration status as part of routine police work.