ojai news at The Ojai Post :: blog, newspaper, events in Ojai, California

Could you post a photo of the vandalism?

I'll try to update the entry later this afternoon. Thanks.

Dear Tyler:

It is you, Kenley Neufeld, and some others who have turned this episode into a frenzy of doom, akin to the Salem Witch Hunts. This Subway sandwich shop is a legal and ethical business agreement between ourselves and David DiTomaso, a small businessman, who also happens to be a very fine guy.

Your continued harsh tirade has made you and others on your Ojai Post enablers of the mentally ill among you who have now resorted to violence against our property; a property that we have spent years of hard work and hundreds of thousands of dollars on to make it one of the premier properties in Ojai.

I hereby am offering a $5,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who defaced our building.

Dear Ernest,
This is from Suza Francina, former mayor of Ojai and member of the Ojai City Council. When I was on the City Council it was not unusual for me to be blamed for the actions of others. I see the same thing happening here. The people you named in your letter are law-abiding citizens who are respectfully participating in the democratic process. They are in no way to blame for the vandalism that occured. Please reconsider your response to this unfortunate incident.

Wow Ernie.

"Mentally ill followers"?

I'm sorry to hear your building was "defaced." Not to excuse the vandal (if it even was vandalism - what did they do, put a pen to the Subway sign?), but you defaced your own building and our whole town by bringing Subway in. Who do you think you are anyway?

Acts have consequences. While we all might wish that vandalism will not result from your gratuitous act of defacing all of Ojai with a Subway, the reality is that is among a number of consequences you unfortunately have to expect. You should also expect your existing tenants to want out of your building - who wants to be next to a Subway in Ojai? You should also expect the neighbors of your building to be very unhappy with you. You should also expect that people will protest, picket and boycott the Subway, making your other tenants I am sure very unhappy. Ultimately, the market will speak, and you may find you will suffer the consequences of more vacancies, more costs in dealing with the fallout from your hubristic decision, and yes, as much as we all hope otherwise, even "vandalism" to your building.

Don't get me wrong. I do not mean to excuse vandalism in any way, and frankly, count me as someone pissed at you for provoking it in Ojai, if that is indeed what happened. All I am saying is, don't be like George W. Bush in Iraq, shocked at the "criminals" resisting his occupation and unable to connect the dots between his own actions and the entirely predictable consequences, as unfortunate as those consequences are.

Now, what is really crazy is that you would blame this on Tyler or readers of the Post. Sir, you need help.

Ernie: You are an imbecile. You've made a slanderous statement on top of a pile of lies on top of a grievous error. By completely and utterly betraying Ojai, you've opened yourself to the pent up wrath that exists even in this small town. To blame it on the Ojai Post is comical and slanderous. You have zero evidence towards justifying your unsubstantiated accusations. You have greatly underestimated the cost of your selfish, narrow minded and self destructive business decision. I suspect this may only be the beginning. I am sure that you have bitten off more than you can chew - oh yeah, puppets don't chew. You don't stand a chance.

I'm sorry Ernest that this has happened to your property, and would feel the pain and anger that you must be going through now, had it been my home that was vandalized. I don't know of anyone who would take it upon themselves to to do this. But I do know that those in the forefront to stop, legally, ventures such as Subway from coming to Ojai, are upstanding and are going about it in a most proper way. I personally condemn what happened to you, for it furthers not our cause and makes the inevitable reconciliation that follows debate and decision, unnecessarily more difficult.

I can understand Mr. Solomon's anger at having his building vandalized, and I, in no way condone this behavior. However, to call people concerned about the integrity of Ojai with regard to formula retail and restaurant businesses mentally ill is beyond the pale. Further, to refer to them as Tyler's followers is equally insulting. The fact of the matter is that Tyler has provided a forum where people can come and discuss issues of importance to them and their community. Nothing more. The implication that because Tyler does not censor the the readers of the Ojai Post, therefore he is somehow ultimately responsible for, and the de facto "leader" of the VERY LARGE segment of the population who do not want more chain establishments invading Ojai, indicates a deep sense of superiority and a high level of ambivalence toward Democracy and civil rights on part of Mr. Solomon. In response to your reward, I’m not really sure that an over-the-top punitive response is in order. That said, I’d like to help start a fund to help pay for the repair of this vandalism to your building. I’m not too sure how to do that, but maybe somebody out there knows how to go about setting up such a fund where people can donate to help offset the expense to you of this unfortunate episode.

I do not condone this act of vandalism, but I think I understand the frustration from which it was borne. The City of Ojai has repeatedly refused to do anything about this important issue. Instead they have violated the rights of one citizen who tried to induce them, by way of an initiative, to address the issue and draft an ordinance; unbelievably, they are currently wasting the city's money fighting the largest civil rights organization in the country as a result of that lawsuit. All the while they claim that they want to stop an imminent invasion of chains. The latest political kabuki where Subway Joe stymied a TEMPORARY moratorium has raised frustration levels such that somebody apparently couldn't take it anymore and lashed out. Joe DeVito seems to have the same attitude as Mr. Solomon when it comes to this issue. His “fear” that the "property owners" were not sufficiently notified despite the fact that the OVN had published an article about the intended temporary moratorium the week before and that the Council Chamber was full to overflowing, was rife with the same elitist, almost neo-feudalistic, anti-Democratic sense that the "land holders" are the only ones with a valid claim an opinion on the issue. I may be mistaken, but I had thought that notion was defunct when Aaron Burr shot Alexander Hamilton; if not then, certainly by the time that the 14th, 15th and finally 19th Amendments were passed.

As someone on another topic posted, it's day 10 on the timeline for the latest initiative against chains to be given a Title and Summary by the city attorney, his ONLY duty at this stage. He can take up to 15 days, but if the city is truly interested in an ordinance of this nature, why is Mr. Widders dragging his feet? This is the same time period in which he filed suit against the other initiatives back in August, unconstitutionally according to the ACLU. I doubt he will do the same to Kenley, but it's anyone's guess. When we go to special election, probably sometime in early September, I'd like to invite Mr. Solomon to move here to Ojai, re-register to vote here and vote against the initiative. Otherwise, he really should stop abusing the truth and calling people names.

I think the point that you are missing, Ernie, is that the legality of a chain in Ojai was the initial cornerstone of this whole debate. Most of us thought we had an ordinance against such chains from moving into the downtown area (as I think we have them prohibiting neon signs, plastic outdoor furniture, anything but wooden street signs, etc. etc.) And as per one council member's remarks at a prior meeting, even she may have thought this was the case.

Perhaps if you or the Subway owner lived in Ojai, you would be more in tune with what is actually going on here.

I as well ask you to retract YOUR tirade against one of our fine citizens who is trying to LEGALLY do his best to futher the wishes and address the concerns of those who live in Ojai. Too damn bad if our concerns infringe on your bottom line. (That doesn't, of course, justify the actions of the vandals. You have every right to have them brought to justice - but please direct your anger appropriately.)

Dear Ernest:

Thank you so much for your communication and your continued participation in our discussion. I am pleased that the Ojai community can witness the utter lack of respect you have shown for our citizens.

To play the poor property owner that has invested his own labor and hundreds of thousands of dollars is disingenuous. The fact is, having owned the building for at least ten years, you have seen an increase in valuation in the millions of dollars. Perhaps its time for you to cash in your chips.

And might I offer a little perspective: one man's "frenzy of doom" and "Salem Witch Hunt" is another man's first amendment rights, defense of Ojai's primary industry of cultural tourism and insurance of quality of life.

You, Ernest, are not a resident of Ojai. Nor is the franchise owner with whom you have contracted. Nor is the massive multinational corporate conglomerate that you both now at least figuratively represent. Subway, by a vast majority of citizens, is NOT welcome in Ojai.

You invited Subway in - you said it yourself. Therefore, whether you choose to accept it or not, your actions are your personal responsibility. You lied about the "ecstatic" support you had from all of your tenants, and you underestimated the reaction from the Ojai community. Don't blame me or our readers for your miscalculation.

Respectfully,
Tyler Suchman
The Ojai Post

Is that $5,000 dead or alive?

Ernie, you make it sound like domestic terrorists have hit Ojai. I was thinking Tyler better get ready for a long vacation in Guantanamo.

But then I see the \"vandalism.\" Maybe you haven\'t noticed, but like other towns that have deteriorated in the wake of Subway and their ilk coming in, graffiti comes with the territory. You could choose to invest \"hundreds of thousands\" into your building and maybe even your tenants so the likes of some of the others on the Ojai Post could put in a real kitchen and run, say, the Austrian bakery I heard was being considered for that space. Or you can choose not to, and instead rent to the likes of Subway, contributing to the deterioration of Ojai and the likelihood that far uglier graffiti than what you are whining about will become commonplace on your building.

Its your choice under our system. Unfortunately, its not only your money at stake, its the quality of life for all of us who live here. You ought to be supporting the \"opposition\" who ultimately, if successful, will make your property more valuable.

Ernest,
I am an Ojai Post author, but certainly not a "follower" - of anyone or anything (except maybe Dave Barry...oh and NBC on Thursday nights). Does the OP have followers? Jeeze, you make it sound so Jim Jones. Anyway, I have in fact disagreed - even with Tyler - on a few things here and there, so I guess you could say I'm fairly neutral (some accuse me of trying too hard to be the voice of reason).

Whoever "tagged" your building should be held responsible. It sickens me that someone has taken their contempt to this level.

And you should absolutely be held accountable for your statements about the mentally ill. That's offensive on so many levels. I don't believe any of us are, but that's beside the point. Coincidentally, I happen to be participating with my employer in the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill 5K Walk on 5/12:
http://www.nami.org/namiwalks07/VEN/lsnider
Perhaps you would like to join me or make a donation?

For the record, I am opposed to Subway coming to town. Why you made this decision knowing 1) sandwich shops have never worked in that location, and 2) this town is on record as fervently opposing food chains (and loves a good fight), I'll never understand.

Is it just me, or was anyone else expecting to see broken windows, bashed in walls, or other evidence of real "vandalism"?!?! Yes, as an owner I would be pissed about grafitti as well, but I surely would have thought twice about over-reacting ON A PUBLIC FORUM, accusing and blaming people (especially people as peaceful and mild-mannered as Kenley and Tyler seem to be). Good Grief!! Really, REALLY bad P.R. and a huge faux pas, in my opinion.

I agree. If anything, that \"vandalism\" is an improvement over the sign in the window.

Now, I don\'t condone tagging, but jeez Mr. Salomon: What a whiner! Reading his posts, one would think his building had been hit by a bomb.

I can\'t imagine what Ernie Salomon would do if something real actually happened to him.

Ernie must have forgotten to take his meds this morning.

Anyway, I don\'t condone tagging, but were Salomon to catch some perps and I got called to the jury, I doubt I\'d convict.

If he walks like a fascist, talks like a fascist, makes sweeping generalizations like a fascist...

He might just be a fascist.

The Salem Witch Hunts.....umm....didn't people DIE in those??

To all of you anonymous brave souls:

I have never hidden behind anything I have written by signing "Anonymous".

The person that defaced our propery is a criminal and as I said, is mentally ill.

I have no problem with anyone that plays by the rule of law and acts with civility.

Oh Great Leaders Tyler and Kenley, I am very afraid. We have angered the Salomon God. I fear he will rain misfortune on all of us. Will he impale us with the Subway? Oh Great Leaders, how can we appease him?

Ernest, So I guess you won't be making a donation to NAMI (see above)? BTW, Tyler, thank you for your donation!

I'm pretty sure you don't have to be mentally ill to deface property.

Anyway, what you said Ernest, was that one of TYLER's mentally ill followers (implying that many people who oppose chain stores in Ojai and participate on the Post are mentally ill) defaced your building.

We have already witnessed your tendancy toward exaggeration, followed by re-framing what you actually said(re: how your tenants feel about Subway moving in), so I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise that you are backing off your initial statement now.

I find it amusing that you choose to attack Anonymous posters rather than respond to any of the points those of us using names have made. I guess that's a hell of a lot easier to do.

Lisa, if our Great Leader Tyler has donated of course we will too!

King Salomon-
Be wise like your namesake.
Cut that Subway sandwich in 2.
You eat 1/2 and bronze the other 1/2 and put it on your mantle.
Let your storefront become a haven of peace for all.
You will be rewarded with wisdom, wealth and power beyond comprehension.

I am probably dropping a bombshell here, but why not allow the citizens of Ojai dictate the success or failure of the enterprise with their pocket books?? If the Post truly speaks for a majority the endeavor will fail in short order…

Joe, a true owner-operated independent business would fail in short order due to lack of patronage. A chain is different. First, if it can simply generate positive cash flow - $1 a year - it may stay there indefinitely, couponing away our independents and standing as an open invitation to chain copycats who like lemmings all follow each other. Second, even if it loses money, the operator has other chains to support it through an indefinite period of losses. That could be years. Hardly short order. And meanwhile, the other chains like lemmings would keep coming in, the result being a chain-filled Ojai that would be a different place that might then support the Subway. The operator may well take a long view that simple staying power will vindicate whatever discomforts are endured during the first few years.

One question is, how long is Subway obliged under the lease? You can figure we will have the Subway at least that long regardless of whether many people eat there.

Well Joe, it's like this: As you touched upon, by your reference in our simply voting for or against Subway and like venues, with our pocketbooks, letting the market dictate the efficacy of same, is the essence of a free market. Though freer than most, we never truly had a completely unregulated free market system here. Sometimes negative things can happen, such as a deep pocket company moving in and paying up the rent, salaries, advertising and discounting until they drive out the mom and pops in any given economic opportunity zone defined by predatory officers of that company.

After securing their foothold by duping their customers, those same customers are now at the mercy of the companies prices, sloppy service, availability of supply and the list of negatives continue.

Also, it's a quality of life issue. ?Would feel good walking down the Arcade and every other window was the same #### you find anywhere else? ?Why do you (I'm assuming you live here) chose to live here? ?Is for the BigMac that is better here than any other place that sells one?

Memories of a beloved Mom and Pop restaurant are unique to a given community, any and everyone has a not so unique memory of eating at a McDonald's, Subway etc..

Where Giorgio's is now used to be a deli that all from that time in Ojai have fond memories of, the great sandwiches and cuts of meat(Real meat, that you won't get from Subway), nickel pickles that we got to pull out of the big jar, for little kid, thats cool. It's the intangibles of life that you get from such operations that you will never experience, nor will your children, from a Chain Store

My mama always said...

"Don't draw on the walls, child, it never washes off!"

"Don't call anyone a name you wouldn't call yourself... what we are, is what we will call others."

"If you don't feel welcome somewhere, there is probably a good reason and you might should pay your attention to that, or take your lumps as they come to you."

"If you don't like the menu, don't sit down at the counter."

"Ernie's Subs" sounds much tastier than "Subway", but then again, I don't eat anything that I don't grow, and neither should you."

I am against vandalism of any kind. There are different types of vandalism, however. As noted above, the kind we are talking about here is relatively benign and is usually done by young kids on a lark. Boys will be boys. It used to be tipping over outhouses.

Then there are the malignant vandalisms, which are usually papered over with money and smart brainwashing advertising. The Subways and Wallmarts of big money vandalize whole communities with their ugly tactics, ruining people's lives, sucking money from local economies and piping it the stockholders who do nothing productive, buy off local government in one way or another, cause addiction to cheap food, and seduce young people into low paying dead end jobs except for those few who totally sell their souls out to the money scam and scramble over people to the top of the money mountain.

Chains like Subway are not like the older more benign ones. Subways from what I hear are aggressive cancers which attack the opposition. Their bottom line is money, the bottom of the moral barrel . What is most sad for me is that our city government shares this value system, if their actions are any kind of indicator. I agree with Spk's analysis vis a vis Jeff's initiatives.

If our city government truly believed there was an ordinance in place all these years to hinder chains, then they were ignorant in an area where they should have been informed. This is dereliction of duty. You mean to tell me that all these years no council member, attorney or manager knew the truth about whether or not there was an ordinance about chains? That supposition is simply not believable. Someone had to know there was no anti-chain ordinance. Yet, nothing was done. In fact, when Jeff's inititatives were submitted, they were opposed and he himself was sued, and is still being sued.

Obviously, someone in government or very close to it does not like anti-chain legislation. It spends thousands of citizen dollars to fight a citizen who wants to stop chains. Why is the council now saying it will come up with its own ordinance when all these years it has opposed anti-chain laws? Is it because if it does not at least pretend a change of heart, the public will see what its true intention has been? The evidence shows clearly that the city government favors the money interests which means Subway, Jersey Mikes, the developer of Mallory Way and the other big ticket money interests.

A property owner reacts with outrage to a spray can. When citizens use lawful means to protect their city against money speculators who use citizens money to deface the town the citizens love, the citizens are called fringe elements, and if that marginalization does not work, they are sued.

Wake up, Ojai, the ones guarding the city are like foxes guarding the chicken coop. The ones you elected had the duty to protect Ojai from Jersey Mikes and Subway. They won't do it because they believe so strongly in property rights. That's a red herring to throw you off the scent. The question is whose property rights. Ojai is property that is owned by all of us. We the people hold the stock in Ojai. Nobody can do with their property whatever they want to. Try putting an addition on your home without a permit. Try driving your car through red lights. Property rights are held within public good rights.

The people you elected have the duty to carry out the general plan to keep Ojai's small town character. Words are cheap. Actions speak louder than words. The fact is that Jersey Mikes and Subway are huge national chains and they came in under the watch of your government. If you believe your government when it tells you it thought all along that there were ordinances that prevented them from coming in, I have a bridge to sell you. Our elected officials have sworn to uphold our laws. Our laws are in the municipal code, and they don't know what is in the code, when they and their attorney and manager deal with it all the time? Come on, let's get real.

Nice comment Dennis.

Rather than change of heart, what we may be witnessing with a majority of the council's new-found opposition to chains is a simple reality check. They vehemently opposed ordinances to control chains when they thought Ojai was going to "evolve" into Montecito light. Now that Subway is showing them we're heading toward the lowest common denominator (tagging and all), they are scrambling to do something.

Well said Dennis, long, but well said. I particularly liked the small paragraph referring to 'marginalization, and being sued.

It is those very tactics that put and kept the ilk that runs our country in power.

Regardless of why, if at all, the council has a change of thought, if not a change of heart, on Chain Stores, if it leads to a transition to the parameters that are in the present initiative, I'll take it. Otherwise we will get it anyway by the vote of the people, and the council will be left sitting in their council sits stunned, without one accolade to brandish for all their effort.

By nature I'm a forgiving person, I believe in second chances. Some would argue the council spent more than that. Still, today, if they would as a whole reach out, I would put my hand forward. They have nothing to gain in continuing their present course, and we everything to gain if they should finally reach out.

Having said all that, we should never let our guard down, our efforts wane and push on toward what is right for Ojai.

Major Tom to ground control

I feel conflicted about turning in one of our own, but: Ernie Salomon, I have investigated and deduced the culprit, and I hereby claim the $5,000 reward.

The man responsible for defacing your property is Joe DeVito, aka "Subway Joe." He is an Ojai city councilperson. In the dark of night, at a city council meeting on April 10, he torpedoed a moratorium on chain stores that would have prevented your building from being defaced by a Subway, thereby directly causing the defacement of your property.

How do I collect the reward?

Thanks for the comments. I'm a forgiving person, too, and I welcome a change of heart on the part of the council. I shy away from right-wrong frames of reference, but in this case, Subway is way wrong for Ojai. If the council does not get onboard with Major Tom, it will be left behind on the pad. By the way, that NASA woman was a real rocket launcher. Ojai is a woman who doesn't eat at Subway. Snitch, you get my vote for the all time funniest comment on the Ojai Post. I hope you throw a party with the 5 grand at the new Frostie when it opens in Politoville.

Well snitch, I have some good news and some bad news for you. 1st the good news,Your reward is waiting for you at the M.O. Subway. Now the bad news, it's in the form of Subway coupons redeemable only at Joe's Subway in Ojai.

I should have known there was a catch! No wonder nobody is competing for the reward.

I wonder, what happens when someone eats something like $5,000 worth of Subway food? Could the human body take that? If my recall is correct, they had a series of commercials about a guy like that - he began losing weight rapidly, I assume because his body developed an aversion to food of all kinds. What happened? Does the food induce a simple "eat and purge" reaction? Anyone know?

I haven't been in a Subway in a long time. Do they have separate vomitorium rooms, like the ancient Romans, to accommodate the "purge" reaction? Or do they have a machine for it, perhaps next to the drinks dispenser?

By the way, if I have the right guy, eating all that Subway did something to his mind as well. I think he became a Subway spokesman.