Jolene

     I was at a party last night, and somebody asked, "Whatever happened to Jolene Fuentes?"
     You remember her. Tom's widow. She showed up at the SOCCCD after Tom's death (2012) to claim his vacant trustee seat. When she didn't get it, the usual crew of right-wingers across the state claimed that she was robbed. I was identified as one of the robbers. Hilarious.
     After that, as I  recall, she and like-minded (i.e., corrupt) Republican pals descended on local (Lake Forest) government. She had her sites on the Planning Commission. (See Whatever happened to Jolene Fuentes? (By hook or by crook: the real Fuentean legacy), July 11, 2014.)

     Here's what I dug up about Jolene Fuentes, 2017. Essentially, she did manage to get on the planning commission, where she is currently serving her second term as chair. She's now running to renew her seat on the Lake Forest Home Owners Association (II), Board of Directors:

     I came across this goofy video, featuring Jolene:

     She’s on the steering committee of a Lake Forest anti-recall campaign.
     She’s endorsed the usual crew of California Republican candidates.

     * * *

     Jolene's interest in city planning is interesting.

     Tom was involved in planning too, years ago. More about that in my next post.

* * *

     And whatever happened to Tom’s son, TJ?
     A year ago, he ran successfully for a seat on the OC GOP central committee. He's 2nd Vice Chair. He's also on the “endorsement committee.”

     I found him on the roster for the South Coast Air Quality Management District Governing Board and board assistant/consultant (there’s a roster).
     Like his mom, TJ is on the board of directors of a Home Owners’ Association, namely, the “Four Fours Association”: “Nestled across from the Upper Newport Bay Regional Park and with units having views of the Upper Newport Bay, the Four Fours Association established in 1962 is one of the oldest community association's in Orange County.”

OC: A Literary Field Guide in Coast magazine

More good news for Rebel Girl's published sabbatical project, this time in the glossy pages of Coast magazine:

The OC literary scene comes of age (finally) by Cynthia Romanowski

excerpt:

In February, Berkeley-based Heyday Books released “Orange County: A Literary Field Guide,” an anthology of writing about OC compiled by husband-and-wife team Andrew Tonkovich and Lisa Alvarez.Tonkovich and Alvarez met at Long Beach State in the ’80s and have been together for more than 30 years, 20 of which they’ve spent in Orange County. They both grew up in Southern California, hold MFAs in creative writing from UCI, and are writers, professors and political activists.

The collection offers a rich glimpse into history, with more than 400 pages of journalism, poetry and fiction, including previously published work by Joan Didion, Philip K. Dick, Steve Martin, Michael Chabon, E.L. Doctorow, Susan Straight and several UCI alums.

“Our fondest wish,” write Alvarez and Tonkovich in the anthology’s introduction, “is that our literary field guide helps you find where you are, where we are, where others have been and also perhaps where we might go from here.”

The editors spent five years researching and assembling the collection. Brief introductions to each piece offer context and a deeper understanding of each author’s place in the larger constellation of literary SoCal.

*