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Rancho Ortega Blog discusses matters of public interest in South Orange County, including the communities of San Juan Capistrano, Ladera Ranch and Rancho Mission Viejo.

The writings of Don Juan Ortega on the Rancho Ortega Blog are the personal views of the author. This blog is not authored by nor does it have any affiliation whatsoever with any other person, place or entity using the name "Rancho Ortega" (or any similar name).

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http://www.ranchoortega.com/blog/archives/4858

LAFCO Presents Local Governance Options to Rancho Mission Viejo Stakeholder Working Group

Below is a presentation on local governance options published for the RMV Stakeholder Working Group by Orange County LAFCO:

The presentation lays out the different governance options available to the Rancho Mission Viejo Study Area (which includes Ladera Ranch and the Ranch Plan area). Among those potential governance options are:

County Service Area

A [...]

http://www.ranchoortega.com/blog/archives/4580

Happy 4th of July!

First and foremost, we hope that everyone out there enjoys a safe and happy 4th of July holiday. God bless America!

We’ve already given you the details on fireworks shows in Ladera Ranch and San Juan Capistrano. There are plenty of other fireworks shows scheduled in South Orange County tonight. Courtesy of the Orange County [...]

http://www.ranchoortega.com/blog/archives/4566

July 16th is South County Day at the OC Fair

The Orange County Fair opens on July 11th, and will celebrate South County, including San Juan Capistrano, Dana Point, and San Clemente, on July 16th. Guests are encouraged to wear clothes specific to your city. In addition, on July 16th, you can receive one free admission per person between noon and 3 PM with a [...]

http://www.ranchoortega.com/blog/archives/4538

LAFCO Convenes Stakeholders for Rancho Mission Viejo and Rancho Santa Margarita Local Governance Study Areas

We have frequently mentioned LAFCO, Orange County’s Local Agency Formation Commission, in articles relating to South County governance and cityhood. After all, “LAFCO is the most important government agency you have never heard of.” There have been a couple recent developments at LAFCO that illustrate how much the agency is thinking about Rancho Mission Viejo [...]

http://www.ranchoortega.com/blog/archives/4438

OC Weekly Article on Talega Mello Roos Refund Dispute

The OC Weekly published an article — one admittedly written with a distinct viewpoint — about whether Capistrano Unified School District ought to refund a portion of Talega’s Mello Roos tax assessments. We wrote extensively about Mello Roos in this article, wherein we cited the Franchise Tax Board on Mello Roos as follows:

In 1982, [...]

http://www.ranchoortega.com/blog/archives/4331

Congratulations to Five Distinguished CUSD Elementary Schools

Congratulations to the five Capistrano Unified School District Elementary Schools that were named California Distinguished Schools for 2014:

Bathgate Elementary, Mission Viejo Chaparral Elementary, Ladera Ranch Don Juan Avila Elementary, Aliso Viejo Oxford Preparatory Academy, Mission Viejo Vista del Mar Elementary, San Clemente

Congratulations to the faculty, students, staff and parents at each of these [...]

http://www.ranchoortega.com/blog/archives/4295

Carmageddon 2: Announcing I-5/Avenida Pico Closures

Everyone loves a good sequel. Just as South County almost … almost adjusts to the I-5/Ortega Highway interchange project, we receive word that the I-5/Avenida Pico project has arrived, just in time for summer blockbuster season. Prepare for Carmageddon 2!

OCTA is advising of some upcoming closures necessitated by nighttime bridge demolition work:

http://www.ranchoortega.com/blog/archives/4245

What Real Estate Recession? Article Summarizes Extensive South County New Home Development

What real estate recession? Based on the number of construction trucks rolling around town, that ancient history is out of sight and out of mind! If you are like us and are interested in all of the development going on in South Orange County currently (and there is a lot!) you may be interested to [...]

http://www.ranchoortega.com/blog/archives/4241

Taylor Morrison Looking to Close Marblehead Property Purchase

Last month, we reported on efforts to sell the Marblehead coastal property in San Clemente to one of four potential homebuilders. That sale hit a snag. As we reported then:

Efforts by the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy estate to sell off the residential portion of the Marblehead development in San Clemente have hit a snag. The [...]

http://www.ranchoortega.com/blog/archives/4207

Toll Roads Scrap I-5 Connector; Refocus on Tesoro Extension

The under-resourced and under-staffed Patch is still able to break some local news, such as this story:

Officials overseeing the 241 Toll Road in Orange County said today they have moved to scrap federal environmental reviews of an extension of the major arterial to San Diego County because they have languished for about a decade. [...]