Simply click on the underlined text for the rest of the story!

Halloween is Here:  The Silencing of the Lamb: Michael Moore is acclaimed for his anti-administration fabrications in the 9/11 documentary.  And Harold Pintner is awarded the literature Nobel Prize, as the academy calls the prolific political playwright, “the towering figure

USC Versus Notre Dame - 10/15/2005 - The Play - Freeze frame picture of the play that kept USC as the number one ranked team in the nation.

Silencing District Delegates  - The CZ Master Association for some reason refuses to respond to any of our questions, despite what the GM stated in previous letters to residents:

STOP THE SPEEDING IN COTO NOW! - A Letter to CotoBuzz - I am sad to say that there was another MAJOR traffic accident this morning at the intersection of Coto de Caza Drive and Summit Accent. One car was completely demolished as it was hit by a large SUV. How long are these type of accidents going to continue until the current Board of Directors realizes that they are responsible for the traffic safety in Coto de Caza? 

HOLD POLITICIANS ACCOUNTABLE - VOTE!:  CALIFORNIA PROPOSITION RECOMMENDATIONS

• VOTE YES ON PROPOSITION 74: 

• VOTE YES ON PROPOSITION 75:

• VOTE YES ON PROPOSITION 76:

• VOTE YES ON PROPOSITION 77:    

CotoBuzz Is On a Roll!:   SB 194 - Cotobuzz has More Success with California Legislature than with CZ Association! - As long time CotoBuzz readers know, Security tops the list in terms of our concerns – and we believe the majority of Coto residents.  In the past, we lobbied the CZ BOD to look into the proper certification of security guards 

Eminent Despotism - by Senator Tom McClintock  In the days of the old Republic, Americans lived secure in their homes safe in the knowledge that the fundamental responsibility of government was to protect their lives and property from anyone who threatened them - no matter how rich, powerful or well-connected. Read More... |

About:  CotoBuzz Background - As you all may know, I am a district delegate and publisher of CotoBuzz, a digital newspaper distributed regionally and syndicated nationwide.  In this newspaper, we use at least three different tools:  

Differences Between News and Satire - Selected headlines of stories that CotoBuzz has broken, and which have not received any meaningful coverage from the local media either due to lack of interest, lack of resources or lack of skills, but certainly relevant to Coto de Caza homeowners: 

Satire - a Brief  on use of Satire  - There is a large body of work establishing the use of effective political satire.  Experts posit that the best satire is one where the reader is unable to distinguish fact from fiction.  For example: 

10 Things a Home Owners Association Wont' Tell You - a Yahoo Article -  "We Can't Wait to Get Our Hands on Your Money -- Or Even Your Home." A gardening violation. That's what landed Jeffrey DeMarco in hot water with his Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., homeowners association a few years ago: 

10 CZ Non Compliance Issues - as described by Montecito Resident - The Association is unaware of its own responsibilities as stated in the governing documents. Research the association governing documents to see what is typically authorized in the documents. 

COTO DISCUSSION FORUM - For exclusive use of Coto residents.  Residency is verified.

COTO MAILING LIST - Sign up to receive your monthly issue of CotoBuzz - available free to qualified subscribers, including residents of the Canyons and service providers.

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HOLD POLITICIANS ACCOUNTABLE - VOTE!:  CALIFORNIA PROPOSITION RECOMMENDATIONS

VOTE YES ON PROPOSITION 74:  We attended California public schools in the 1960’s.  To this date, we have fond memories of our teachers from Art, Journalism, Languages, and History to Biology and Mathematics.  Factually and anecdotally, California public schools were some of the best in the nation.  Currently, we teach undergraduate and graduate students who can barely write their names.  Something really bad happened since then:  Lack of Accountability

VOTE YES ON PROPOSITION 75:  Unions have lost a lot of ground over the last decade.  There is a reason for it:  Union bosses lack of accountability:

VOTE YES ON PROPOSITION 76:  Consider the California budget as a family budget – Do not spend what you do not have:  Legislature accountability

STOP THE SPEEDING IN COTO NOW! - A Letter to CotoBuzz

RWABellamy wrote:

I am sad to say that there was another MAJOR traffic accident this morning at the intersection of Coto de Caza Drive and Summit Accent. One car was completely demolished as it was hit by a large SUV. How long are these type of accidents going to continue until the current Board of Directors realizes that they are responsible for the traffic safety in Coto de Caza?

STOP THE SPEEDING IN COTO NOW!

Your experience with the CHP is consistent with what we have been reporting for the last three years.

Makes you wonder what the president of the board is really thinking when he cites the inability of the CZ Master Association BOD to contract directly with the Sheriff’s department, when he fired the CHP - the only tried and true solution. 

Silencing a District Delegate - The CZ Master Association for some reason refuses to respond to any of our questions, despite what the GM stated in previous letters to residents:

As district delegate, I was asked to join my districts walkthrough, June 4, 2005,  with the landscaping consultant, the service provider and certain members of the landscaping committee.  Keystone employees were not present.

Walkthrough reveal that most of the district was in desperate need of renovation.  I suggested to the consultants that due to district conditions, Acacias may be the wrong plant for the area.

Mosaic consultant followed up with an observation report on June 16.  Mostly a pictorial report with comments – very much consistent with our observations.

July 17 2005, we followed up with Keystone with following questions:

·  It is good to see that work has started, obviating the poor status of dis-repairs in the irrigation system.

·  Given that the work is coming along slowly, can you please provide me with a schedule so I can monitor the progress, or lack thereof?

·  Also, given that it took so long to identify the maintenance problem with the irrigation system, once it is fully in operation, is it possible to develop a simple test procedure so that a property representative, a landscaping committee member, a delegate or even a concerned resident can periodically inspect it and test it?

Since we did not get a response to this question, we followed up on 9/6/2005 with the following message:

I never received a response to this message:

Is the landscaping work supposed to be complete now?  If not, when?

There are still a number of dead or near dead Acacias.  I am also not sure if all the leaks in the irrigation system have been taken care of.

For you reference, I still do not have a response to my questions on the Maxicom system either.

Eminent Despotism - by Senator Tom McClintock

CotoBuzz Is On a Roll!:   SB 194 - Cotobuzz has More Success with California Legislature than with CZ Association!  As long time CotoBuzz readers know, Security tops the list in terms of our concerns – and we believe the majority of Coto residents.  In the past, we lobbied the CZ BOD to look into the proper certification of security guards – the request was largely dismissed.  We have also submitted two proposals in an attempt to reform what at least one Coto resident has referred to a "corrupt and sleazy" CZ electoral system.  Again, not even an acknowledgement.

However, we also have lobbied the California Legislature, the governor and elected officials: Results:   SB194 was signed by the governor last week!

The purpose of the bill is to ensure that convicted felons are not hired as security guards – thus they have to go undergo a background check by the Department of Justice and pay a filing fee – which is what we had recommended!

AB108 defines the records owners can inspect. It would make available for inspection, among other things, an association's general ledger, check register, canceled checks, invoices, purchase orders, billing statements, and credit card statements for the current year and the two previous fiscal years. Minutes for all years must also be made available. With some exceptions, associations must make their current year's records available within 10 days of request and prior years' records must be made available within 30 days of request.

 And SB61 is described By former board member, Joseph Morabito as a bill  "which will finally bring democracy to the CZ Master Association and end our corrupt Delegate Electoral System is not effective until July 1, 2006."

AB1098 was supported by Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, according to a spokesperson.  However, these bills have been opposed for the most part, by attorneys  representing home owner's association

So CotoBuzz is 4/4 with the California Legislature and 0/2 with the CZ Master Association!

Halloween is Here:  The Silencing of the Lamb:

Michael Moore is acclaimed for his anti-administration fabrications in the 9/11 documentary.  And Harold Pintner is awarded the literature Nobel Prize, as the academy calls the prolific political playwright, “the towering figure”.

So what does the CotoBuzz Newsletter get for its political stance?  Right on time for Halloween,  attempts at silencing us for its free speech rights, similar to those who failed to shut down the IloveLaderaRanch and SaveMarinHills websites.  The difference in CotoBuzz’s case, is that Cotobuzz is a bona fide news outlet distributed regionally and with national distribution through syndication technology.

Proponents of shutting down CotoBuzz may use the argument that First Amendment rights are constructed and framed within our Constitution are limits of governmental power, not private power, such as that vested in homeowners associations (HOA).  Since the HOA is a private entity, and under normal  circumstances, they cannot be in violation of the Constitution.  However, when a HOA wields power traditionally held by local government, then  their cute and tidy practices turn into something much bigger.  In Florida, the courts ruled that the local HOA had indeed metamorphosed into local  government

If that is not enough, there is the SLAPP issue where lawsuits, commonly known as SLAPP suits are not filed to solve problems:  They are filed to intimidate opponents and chill citizen rights to participate in public issues by the threat of extensive, expensive litigation.  Twenty three states have Anti-SLAPP laws on their books and Congress has encouraged other states to pass them as well.  Lucky for us, California enacted one of the most substantive and procedurally comprehensive and liberal anti-SLAPP statues in the nation (California Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16), as evidenced in the statue’s first paragraph:

 And what about the business judgment rule?   In general, association decisions will be upheld if they are reasonable and in good faith.   Question of reasonableness depends upon whether adequate decision making practices were used, and court will review decision where association cannot show basis for its conclusion in the record.   Riss v. Angel, 934 P.2d. 669 (Wash. 1997).  Levandusky V One Fifth Avenue Apartment Corp., 553 NE 2^nd 1317 (NY 1990), Francis V Village Green Owners Assn, 723 P 2^nd 573, 229 Cla, Rptr. 456 (CA 1986) ……..etc…..

“The court criticized the Board for not consulting an architect prior to reaching its conclusions, which apparently were based largely upon some rather amateurish fact finding by the Board President. The court also emphasized inaccurate statements made by Board members in attempts to "lobby" association members when the homeowner sought review by the association as a whole. In fact, there is some indication that the real defect in the association's conduct here was not its decision, but its process”  Riss v. Angel, 934 P.2d. 669 (Wash. 1997). 

CotoBuzz Background:

As you all may know, I am a district delegate and publisher of CotoBuzz, a digital newspaper distributed regionally and syndicated nationwide.  In this newspaper, we use at least three different tools:  1) Community journalism patterned after the one promoted by The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, Nieman Watchdog.  2) Satire anchored by the political strip CotoLady – CotoLady is a Puppy Cocker Spaniel and scheduled to be published in book form shortly and 3) Publication of the CotoBuzz website (http://www.cotobuzz.com), TheApprentiCZ website (http://www.theapprenticz.com) and facilitation of this Coto Discussion Forum, exclusively for Coto de Caza residents.

CotoBuzz readers are savvy enough to recognize the difference between the news we report, versus our use of satire, based on fact.  "We don't make jokes.  We just watch the CZ BOD &  report the facts."--Paraphrasing  Will Rogers  ( 1879 - 1935 )  

Since it is possible that Content of the Coto Discussion Forum can be forwarded to friends, foes or other interested parties, it is possible that it may be misunderstood by the English Language I-literati, or at least twisted in an effort to deny us free speech rights, like they have tried in Ladera Ranch and the SaveMarinaHills.org websites.  If you have not visited the Coto Discussion Forum Welcome page, please note that we have a warning, with regards to the use of satire and why we use it.

Please see difference between CotoBuzz news versus CotoBuzz satire below:

NEWS:

Selected example of stories that CotoBuzz has broken, and which have not received any coverage from the local media either due to lack of interest, lack of resources or lack of skills, but certainly relevant to Coto de Caza homeowners:

·         COTO TRAFFIC ACCIDENT 2H2005 UPDATE- As predicted, despite the cosmetic actions taken so far (refer to Reducing Crime according to the GM)

·         COTOBUZZ EXCLUSIVE:  UNDER COVER OF DARKNESS CZ CHANGES SECURITY COMPANY - As

·         LYLE SCHLIEDER APPOINTED TO CZ BOARD FOR 1-YEAR TERM-  O

·         PROPOSALS TO BAN CZ BOD AND DISTRICT DELEGATE SEATS & CUMULATIVE VOTING - UPDATE -

SATIRE – a brief

Satire  - There is a large body of work establishing the use of effective political satire.  Experts posit that the best satire is one where the reader is unable to distinguish fact from fiction.  For example:

God's Wrath

Claim:   Pat Robertson said that Hurricane Katrina was caused by God's anger over the selection of lesbian comedienne Ellen Degeneres to host the upcoming Emmy Awards.

Status:   False.

Example:   [Dateline Hollywood, 2005]

Origins:   Good satire neatly straddles the divide between the believable and the incredible, and the Dateline Hollywood article quoted above achieved that balance so well that many readers mistook it for a straight news article. This acceptance was due in large part to U.S. evangelist Pat Robertson's history of making rather outrageous public statements on his 700 Club television program, including his recent call for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo

Chavez.

The satirical premise expressed in the original piece, that Mr. Robertson might make a connection between homosexuality and hurricanes, doesn't even require stretching the truth. During a 6 August 1998 broadcast of The 700 Club, Mr. Robertson addressed comments at participants of the Orlando, Florida, Gay Pride Festival, stating: "I would warn Orlando that you're right in the way of some serious hurricanes, and I don't think I'd be waving those flags in God's face if I were you."

Those not quite convinced that the Dateline Hollywood article really was intended as satire are invited to read that web publication's explanation of their history, starting with their founding in 360 BC as Gladiators Weekly. Source:  Snopes.Com

Although experts argue that more effective use of political satire is when the reader is not able to tell truth from fiction, the CotoBuzz satire is more user friendly – we make sure that anyone with a sixth grade education is able to tell the difference.  If you have note visited the Coto Discussion Forum home page:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CotoBuzz/ - following is copy of the welcome message:

Why do you suppose that even though we are district delegates and have legitimate questions as to whether the BOD follows the  Business Judgment Rule and other issues, yet Keystone and the BOD refuse to provide us with ANY information or respond to ANY of our questions?

10 Things a Homeowners Association Won't Tell You

{for complete Yahoo article:  http://loan.yahoo.com/m/primer13.html} 

1.                 "We Can't Wait to Get Our Hands on Your Money -- Or Even Your Home." A gardening violation. That's what landed Jeffrey DeMarco in hot water with his Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., homeowners association a few years ago:

2. "We're More Secretive Than the CIA."
Like corporate boards, which have a fiduciary responsibility to make disclosures to shareholders, a homeowners association board is supposed to be upfront with its members.

3. "When in Doubt, We Sue."
Board members will tell you that the last thing they want is to go to court. But it happens all the time. Experts estimate that in California, 75% of the homeowners associations are embroiled in a legal tangle of some kind.

4. "You Won't Be Able to Sell When You Want."
Besides being expensive, lawsuits often mean that you won't be able to sell your home when the time comes to move. "Would you want to go out and buy a property that was in the middle of a lawsuit?"

5. "We're Poorer Than We Look."
Every association has a reserve fund. It's like a savings account, and it's meant to be tapped when things go wrong or the property falls into disrepair. But often these funds are in terrible shape themselves.

6. "We Can Make Up the Rules as We Go Along."
 "Even if you were to be given the rules today, they're probably already out of date because [boards are] constantly making changes to the rules at whim,"

7. "We Don't Want You at Our Meetings." Even when you can attend, the board may not acknowledge you. "Board members won't come out and say that they don't want you at their meetings,"

8. "We're in Over Our Heads."
Most board members are volunteers, and they generally get their training on the job. Sometimes their inexperience means they bungle the bookkeeping, resulting in higher fees or assessments.

9. "We Work for Nothing but Get Compensated in Other Ways."
Being on the board is a thankless job, board members will tell you. That's probably true much of the time. But strictly speaking, it's not always so. The thanks they often get may surprise you.

10. "We're Incredibly Petty."
In many associations being hard-nosed about the rules is practically the board's raison d'etre. "Some of these board members have nothing better to do. So instead of taking care of the property, they censor people's lifestyles," says Vicki Satern of Common Ownership Alliance. 

To10 CZ Non Compliance Issues - as described by concerned Montecito resident

1.   The Association is unaware of its own responsibilities as stated in the governing documents. Research the association governing documents to see what is typically authorized in the documents.

a.   What specific maintenance responsibilities does the Association have for common elements, easements, or the lots owned by the members?

b.   What rules and regulations does the Association have the authority to publish concerning the governance of the common areas (for instance, pool rules)?

2.   The Association is not in compliance with its own rules or responsibilities as stated in the governing documents.

 .     For instance, is the common area of the Association being maintained at the same standards imposed on the members?

a.      Has the board established and communicated those standards to the management company, members, and vendors who may be responsible for maintaining those standards?

3.   There is selected enforcement of the governing documents. Most documents provide that the board shall have the right to interpret the provisions of the governing documents and to establish clarification on terms such as:

 .     "reasonable"

a.      "use a reasonably high standard of care"

b.      "substantially detract"

c.      "public or private nuisance"

4.   Inconsistency exists as to when noncompliance notices are sent out and what follow through action is implemented to remedy the noncompliance. Take the time to create a covenants compliance process that can be implemented to address:

 .     Sequence of the notifications

a.                        Tone and content of the noncompliance notices

b.                        Fine system procedures

c.                        Appeal and hearing process

d.                        Legal action

5.   Design Guidelines are not established to create consistency in the architectural review process and decisions. Design guidelines set the standard for the community and establish critical criteria for common homeowner projects (paint colors, landscape material, exterior ornamentation). By creating these standards before the first homeowner moves in, it is easier to pursue architectural prohibitions up front.

6.   Inspections are not conducted as scheduled or so infrequently that the violations are not being handled on a timely basis. When establishing the covenants compliance process, take a tour around the community and get a sense of what needs to be inspected, how long the site inspections will take, and based on that review establish the frequency of the inspections. In addition, put the inspections of the common elements on a regular schedule.

7.   Inspections are usually conducted at the same time, same day each time. Try staggering the days or conducting the site tours at hours outside the normal operating times to observe different situations. For instance, if street parking is an issue, it may be a good idea to approach that task on weekends or at nights to catch those violations when they most frequently occur.

8.   Recurring noncompliance problems are not remedied, causing the issue to continue over time from one board to another board. Address these issues head on with the board members and gain closure on the issues. Allowing the problems to spread out over time only makes it harder to enforce new violations that are discovered.

9.   The Board establishes rules and regulations but fails to communicate the policies to the member. Always send out the final approved document to the members and have any new documents available for member meetings.

2006 CZ Objectives   Given that CotoBuzz has called exactly three consecutive CZ elections weeks before they actually take place, and since we have not received any feedback on our recommendations for the CZ 2006 Objectives, we figure we try our hand at forecasting the top 10 official CZ Objectives as follow:

1.      CZensorship

2.      Fashion and Demeanor

3.      CZensorship

4.      Saturday Walks

5.      CZensorship

6.      Service Provider Not for Excellence Award

7.      CZensorship

8.      Consultant of the Year Award

9.      CZensorship

10. CitiHood

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COTOBUZZ VISION - Fighting Coto Resident Apathy One Resident At a Time!

COTOBUZZ is a change agent to transform the historically confrontational, antagonistic Coto culture by maximizing resident involvement and facilitating communication between the board, residents and service providers, and eventually develop a sense of community and civic pride while maintaining the Coto Life Style we all have come to love.

Forward this newsletter to your Coto friends and neighbors. Ask them to sign up for their own copy (free) at www.cotobuzz.com  You are receiving this newsletter because you have confirmed your subscription at www.cotobuzz.com, you are a CZ Master Association delegate, service provider or interested party.  To cancel your subscription, contact:

• Buzz cotobuzz@yahoo.com   

• P.O. Box 154                    

• Trabuco Canyon, CA 92678 

• fax/messages: 8153611721

The views of collaborators, service providers or invited guests do not necessarily reflect those of CotoBuzz

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Terms of Use

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Coto Discussion Forum Alive and Thriving

Currently, the forum can be accessed by the CZ Board, residents from the Estates, Villages and CZ Masters.  Subjects covered include CZ Board of Directors Performance, or lack thereof, CZensorship, PerCZeption is Knowledge, the Dead Oak Trees, Cumulative Voting, the Brewing Revolt, Security, etc.....  Get your Swiss Knife (the right tool for the right job) - join the Coto Discussion Forum   When participants violate the Cotobuzz guidelines, they will be BUZZED three times.  The third BUZZ will come along with an automatic ban from the discussion forum for a period of one month. We suggest you obtain a free email account such as Yahoo or Hotmail.  Since you can post and download pictures and files, we also recommend you have you antivirus software updated.  If you need help setting up, send us email at cotobuzz@yahoo.com  CotoBuzz is open to all Coto de Caza residents, regardless of political affiliation, personal or professional agenda. Mutual respect – we may not agree, but we recognize we all have a right to express ourselves without fear of retribution. We express ourselves without resorting to personal abuse or name-calling. Subscribe to the COTO Discussion/Chat Forum - customize how you want to receive information: Daily, Weekly, etc. District Pictures, COTOLAND Pictures, Coto Events, Coto Issues, and other goodies!

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