WHERE IN THE WORLD…
An update from the campaign trail, where every other candidate (except for Gerard Harvey and Scott Marcellin) is seemingly putting signs in public right-of-ways.
This is against the rules.
County code reads, “No person shall paint, post, attach or affix any handbill, notice, sign or advertisement upon or to any bridge, fence, building or other property belonging to the county.”
State law says “temporary political signs shall not be placed within the right-of-way of any highway.”
Marcellin’s got signs on private fences – legit. I’m assuming he obtained permission.
Harvey’s got a sign on Barlow at the end of a driveway – legit.
All my signs are on private property.
Not a big deal, but interesting that three of four judicial candidates do not seem to have an issue with bending a few rules.
Then let’s examine the political slogans. Two candidates have ‘em. On her signs, Taylor Fitzmaurice proclaims a vote for her is “A Vote for the People.”
Hmm. Which people? Law-abiding citizens? Criminals? Christians? Atheists? Derelicts? Dingbats? Who exactly?
I’m assuming her slogan is merely a sentence fragment – a sentence that she didn’t have enough room on her sign to finish.
“A Vote for the People [who vote for me!]”
Then there’s Steven Oriheula. He managed to fit THREE different slogans on his signs.
1.People Over Politics
2.Local Leadership
3.Real Results
Okay, let’s break this down. People Over Politics. I don’t know what that means. Or maybe it’s another sentence fragment. “People [who vote for me] Over [Political decisions that go against me and people I like].”
Local Leadership. It’s a local election. We’re all locals. Maybe he just wanted the word “leadership” on his signs to imply he is a leader.
But the best leaders lead by example and show up and do their jobs. See below.
Real Results. As opposed to fake results? Note: real results can very much be bad results as well as good results.
Glenda the Good Witch of the North made this very real point when she met Dorothy. “Are you a good witch? Or a bad witch?
The Where in the World headline is a reference to the old game show for kids’ titled, “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?”
Where in the “World is Steven Orihuela?” also glides easily off the tongue.
Orihuela did attend the April 23 Paiute Tribal Council meeting (via Zoom) so that 23 pending Tribal enrollment applications could be processed.
He did not attend this past Wednesday’s joint meeting of the Bishop City Council and Paiute Tribal Council.
On Tuesday, Inyo County Supervisors heard a presentation from CSAC (California State Association of Counties) regarding the “Big Beautiful Bill” (BBB) passed by Congress on July 4, 2025.
The Bill slashes federal spending on social services.
Health and Human Services Director Anna Scott said HHS might be able to absorb the hit if only 1/3 of her clients were disenrolled from Medi-Cal (see chart below left).
Supervisors wrung their hands with appropriate vigor and expressed dismay.
“I thought I was sufficiently alarmed,” said Supervisor Jeff Griffiths. “But now I’m more alarmed.”
He anticipated no help or good things coming from D.C. Further, he said almost glumly, “Since this is Inyo County, I’m assuming this won’t involve an increase in revenue but a cutting of services.”
Supervisor Scott Marcellin added, “It’s sad to see the Feds backing off when people need it most.”
Trina Orrill: “I really want the public to understand how this will affect their lives.”
Well, perhaps the public should also understand the Supervisors’ role in failing to anticipate how a culture change in D.C. might affect Inyo County.
While the BBB was under discussion, and DOGE (Dept. of Government Efficiency) was all the rage, Supervisors doled out $160,000 in raises to seven elected officials at their April 29, 2025 meeting.
This capped off a four-year bender in which the County’s General Fund budget increased by approximately 40%.
And then it took about ten months after the BBB’s passage for anyone to bother holding a workshop to figure out what the impacts might represent.
If you want to know where in the world Steven Orihuela will be next week, he’ll be onstage with Scott Marcellin and myself, Ted Carleton, at a candidate forum for Inyo District 3 Supervisor at the Methodist Church in Bishop. Time: 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. It’s being hosted by INYO 350.
And I hope folks bring their cowbells. After all, “more cowbell” tends to make everything better. *See Christopher Walken’s infamous SNL skit for reference.
