Friday, February 01, 2008

Orange Soldier killed in Iraq

The following is from the oc register and is a very sad story. Thoughts and prayers are with the family.

Orange soldier killed in ambush believed in the fight
His wife recalls the special spark between them.

By ELLYN PAK
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

ORANGE Caitlin Meyer knew a handful of things about the guy she would meet on the blind date: He loved horses, surfing and the color baby blue.
So before she met him, Caitlin bought a stuffed toy horse and dressed it with a blue mini T-shirt. She gave it to the guy – who had just moved to California – as a gift on their first date.
The young man's name was Brandon Meyer. He was a sweet, Christian boy who had finished high school in Texas and moved to Orange County to be closer to the beach. He was book-smart and loved music, baseball and football.
“He's everything I'm not, and I'm everything he's not,” said Caitlin, who grew up in Orange. “It was a spark.”
That spark turned into a romance and marriage. Brandon, who had studied biology at Concordia University in Irvine, joined the Army in January 2007. Caitlin – who had previously enlisted in the Army – was medically discharged due to asthma.
The newlyweds moved to Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, Colo., in July. About five months later, Brandon was sent to Iraq for his first deployment.
“He liked fighting for what he believed in,” Caitlin said. “He wanted to re-enlist later.”
But before he left for Iraq in December, he told his wife what he'd like at his funeral. He wanted to be buried by the ocean. He wanted guests to wear baby blue and sing “Amazing Grace.” He envisioned a memorial with full military honors and a 21-gun salute.
Pfc. Brandon Meyer, 20, who always stuck by his convictions, wanted to be buried in uniform.
“What's going on over there is real,” Caitlin said. “He told me that if he died, he wanted to die doing what he believed in.”
Brandon, a saw gunner, called his wife two or three times a week between patrols in Mosul. He wouldn't tell her much, though Caitlin knew in his voice when something was wrong. Brandon had dodged bullets, including one that flew by his head when he looked out a window in a house soldiers had raided.
About a week later, last Monday, Brandon's vehicle was blasted by a roadside bomb. Insurgents then ambushed the vehicle with gunfire from a mosque in Mosul. Brandon, along with four others, were killed. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment Team, 4th Infantry Division from Fort Carson.
Caitlin had a feeling something happened the night Brandon died. She was with two friends when she had an urge to listen to depressing, mellow music. She had no idea of the attack in Mosul.
Soon after, two soldiers came to her house. Her grandmother, Jeanette Calvin, called her to come home.
Caitlin is now planning Brandon's funeral at the church where they got married and a burial by the ocean.
“You go into it knowing it could happen, but at the same time you think, ‘Did this just happen to me?' ” she said. “I'm a 20-year-old widow. That's not normal. That's not the way it should be. At all.”
Meyer, who was promoted to specialist after his death, would have turned 21 today. He is also survived by his father, Terry; mother, Genia; and younger sister, Desiree.
On Feb. 11, Caitlin will bury her husband with that stuffed toy horse.
Contact the writer: 714-704-3788 or epak@ocregister.com

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Good Day to the City of Orange!!!!

I am sorry it has taken so long to get this up and running......BUT it is now going.

1. I will be blogging about items from the newspaper on our elected officails from Orange, and Villa PArk

2. I will blog about the City of Orange Council meetings (at least what I can get on tv).

3. I will blog about run ins or dealings with elected offficials from any level of government!

So folks here we go.

Hope you like the blog and lets have some fun!

As for the Orange City Council.....

Well Mayor Cavecche, and Councilmembers Denis Bilodeau, Teresa Smith, Jon Dumitru, and Mark Murphy....expect that the public is interested!

Friday, August 03, 2007

UPDATE TO BLOG COMING

We are currently changing this blog to either an entire new style and host or just updating this to look new and different. Check back soon for the updates

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

OCTA Strike update and info!!!

As you may know the OCTA has had its bus drivers on strike for the last 4 days.

I received an e-mail today stating that, is Carolyn Cavecche does not show leadership that they will attend the Orange City Council meeting and speak up! They will also picket at the meeting.

So, if your interested in the strike and want to see bus drivers tell her off, come on down to the Orange City Council meeting tonight at 4:30pm

I will be there!

Cavecche OCTA Follies, hurts the poor!


Bus strike enters 4th day

By DENISSE SALAZAR
The Orange County Register

Negotiations are continuing this morning after the Orange County Transportation Authority and union negotiators talked all night to reach a deal to end the four-day strike by county bus drivers.

While both sides remain at the bargaining table, about to 225,000 daily riders remain stranded or have to find other transportation to get to work or elsewhere.

Late Monday, OCTA officials and bus drivers called for a media blackout at a press conference out of concern that interaction with news reporters was hindering their abilities to negotiate a labor contract that will end the strike.

Both parties agreed to cut off communication with reporters until the strike could be settled.

OCTA spokesman Joel Zlotnik said if a settlement can be reached buses can return to normal service in "as little as a day or two."

Today, 31 of the 81 routes, including the heavily used No. 43 line between Fullerton and Costa Mesa via Harbor Boulevard, are operating at no cost to the rider. While 30 routes are being staffed by contracted drivers, supervisors are staffing the No. 43 line.


The Mayor of Orange, Carolyn Cavecche is also the Chairperson of the OCTA. She has led the OCTA into a fight with the drivers, and hurting those that rely on the bus services. I hope that she will actually lead, and end this strike and get the buses rolling again.

One thing that is strange is that Cavecche has been very quiet about this whole subject, I haven't seen her in the newspaper or on tv as of yet, which is surprising. Afterall, she loves the media attention!



Orange Car Dealership RAIDED BY THE DA!

Nissan dealership in Orange raided

District Attorney investigators are looking into accusations of identity theft. Thousands may be at risk, prosecutors say.

ORANGE - A Nissan dealership here was raided Monday by dozens of investigators from Orange County District Attorney's Office and the Orange police department as part of a months-long investigation in complaints of identity theft by the dealership.

The investigation into Douglas Nissan at 1140 W. Katella Avenue is still in its infancy, officials said at a press conference in front of the dealership, but there may have been thousands of fraudulent loans processed with the stolen identities of thousands of unsuspecting people in the scam. The vast majority of victims were Hispanic, prosecutors said.

Douglas Nissan remained open while uniformed police officers carted out more than 350 cardboard boxes packed with lease documents, dealer jackets, and loan applications. Potential customers wandered the lots of shiny new Altimas, Pathfinders and Titans. Salesmen patiently answered questions – about the cars – not the investigation.

“The only thing going on here is a big sale. Everyone knows that,” said a man who identified himself as a manager at the dealership, but refused to give his name. Other employees were pulled inside the dealership office when questioned by a small cluster of reporters and television cameras.

Prosecutors believe pilfered pay stubs, driver licenses and social security numbers were used to apply for – and get – fraudulent car loans at Douglas Nissan, said Susan Schroeder, a spokeswoman of the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

“This is something that frightens everyone – that their identity might be stolen and they're left holding the bad credit,” Schroeder said.

Investigators were looking into whether employees of the dealership were part of the scam.

The multi-agency investigation – which included representatives of the Department of Motor Vehicles - began about three months ago after complaints of fraudulent loans being processed by the dealership flooded the District Attorney's office.

Prosecutors would not say how many complaints were fielded by the District Attorney's Office, saying it was “numerous” and “big enough to have all this effort.”

The Better Business Bureau, which keeps track of complaints customers make against businesses, recorded 42 complaints against Douglas Nissan over the last three years. Eleven of those complaints resulted in a full refund to the customer. Douglas Nissan earned a B rating from the bureau – the middle of the bureau's 12 ratings. According to the bureau's Web site, a B is a good rating that still implies reputability.

Anyone who believes they may have been a victim is asked to call the District Attorney's Office at 714-648-3626.

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Bilodeau, Crime Fighter ?

Councilman helps arrest burglary suspect

Denis Bilodeau chases suspect who allegedly stole from a neighbor's open garage.


Councilman Denis Bilodeau took fighting crime into his own hands.

The first-term councilman from Orange spotted a man suspected of trying to break into a car and kept watching.

The incident occurred as the councilman was driving home just after 3 a.m. Saturday and noticed a man walking in his neighborhood.

“I know all my neighbors in my tract,” Bilodeau said. “But I didn’t recognize him.”

He watched as the suspect entered a neighbor’s open garage. He allegedly took an iPod from a vehicle parked inside.

As the suspect walked out of the garage, he noticed Bilodeau. The councilman called the police as the man took off. Another suspect joined him on foot and continued running away moments later. The second man, Sean Casey Sheets, 26, turned back toward Bilodeau’s car.

“Sheets tried to chase after me in an attempt to scare me off,” Bilodeau said. “He even ran up to my car and hit it. You can see the dent he made.” Sheets is 6 feet 8. Bilodeau is 5-9.

The two men jumped into the passenger seats of a waiting silver Acura, a woman at the wheel. Bilodeau drove after the car onto the northbound 55 Freeway.

The Acura driver slammed on the brakes and stopped in an attempt to lose Bilodeau. He went in reverse to stay behind the car. Sheets jumped out of the Acura and started running toward the councilman’s car. That’s when the Orange police arrived and arrested him.

The two other suspects took off in the Acura, but Bilodeau wrote down their license plate number.

Sheets faces vandalism charges for hitting the councilman’s car.

Auto burglars have been hitting his East Orange neighborhood a lot, Bilodeau said. His laptop was stolen last year from his car that was parked in front of his home.

“I think it’s because we are so close to the freeway,” he said. “My neighbors and I are stepping up our Neighborhood Watch program since we’re fed up with this activity.”

Sheets was arrested by Orange police officers on suspicion of vandalism. Sheets had an arrest warrant for driving on a suspended license and other vehicle code violations, Orange police Sgt. Dan Adams said.

Sheets, who was being held at Orange County Jail, posted bail Monday and a court date will be set within 30 days, Orange County sheriff’s officials said.

The other two suspects are still at large.


I think this a very interesting story, Now remember Bilodeau is currently on trial for theft and vandalism himself, related back to his 2006 City Council race against Carol Rudat. Bilodeau was caught on video stealing a sign of another candidate.

I think also that Bilodeau should exercise better judgement, he was racing around the streets chasing this suspect and was driving in reverse on the freeway. Bilodeau could have been injured or worst, and lets also think of all the people he endangered to make sure he gets a news story.

Bilodeau, my only word of advice, let the Orange Police do their job!

Friday, June 15, 2007

Bilodeau Case Postponed AGAIN!

Denis Bilodeau, who has been accused of stealing political signs in the last campaign (Nov-06), was supposed to start trial the other day, however, the trial has been postponed again.

I am sure that Denis Bilodeau would like to finally address the issues on why he stole them and I am sure the Carol Rudat (the victim) would like to know why aswell.

I will post on any new developments.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Orange Councilman Bilodeau case to go to a jury!

BREAKING NEWS......

This just in from the Orange Net News and Greater Orange EBlog.....

Orange Councilman Denis Bilodeau jury trial on charges of removing a political campaign sign of opponent Carol Rudat in the 2006 City Council Campaign is scheduled to begin June 12th in Santa Ana at 8:30 a.m.

The Orange County District Attorney Case Management file lists the case as follows:

“Early in the morning of October 29th 2006, Bilodeau is accused of removing a political sign of his opponent, Carol Rudat, from the intersection of Chapman Avenue and Hewes Street in Orange. He was observed by Rudat’s daughter who called the police.”

The maximum penalty for the offense is six months in jail.

An anti-Bilodeau website set up during the 2006 City Council Campaign has photographs of the alleged incident.

However. I will not post this website....I received an e-mail from Councilman Bilodeau about the site and he states....
"It certainly is "malicious and a reckless disregard of the truth".
I hope that you will respect the privacy of me, my wife and children
and not republish untrue defamatory material".

Now I could care less about the privacy of Councilman Bilodeau, however, the privacy of others is a big deal
to me, and to that end I will not republish the website addess
I feel that overall I have been very fair to Councilman Bilodeau, however, is it time to consider weather we should allow this person to hold elective office if convicted. I will be the 1st to say it....Councilman Bilodeau, if your convicted you should consider resigning your seat, how can you be a roll model for others!

The other question I have is why isn't the Orange City Council and Mayor, not asking him to step down while the trial is in progress, his presence in the Council Meeting is casting shame on all of them.