Bryan Kuhl is one of Menifee's newest residents, and beginning with the New Year, he'll be commuting to Newport Beach each morning to get to work.

So as part of his way to give back to his newly adopted community, he launched a blog to document his morning travels...

http://wagoncreekproject.blogspot.com/

Here's what Brian thinks about commuting 3+ hours each day in his car...

What makes everyone cringe at the fact of commuting such a distance? These are the days of comfortable cars with climate controls, CD players, MP3 player hook ups, etc. Why would it be so bad to sit and drive for lengthy periods of time? Truck drivers do it. Field technicians do it. Why can't I?

I used to do it, commuting from Menifee to Santa Ana, by the 405 & 55 freeways. If I took the 91 freeway into OC, I would have to get up at 4:00am, and be out the door by 4:30am, and then hit the 15/91 interchange by 4:55am. By that time, the interchange was already a parking lot. But I could get into work by 6:00am.

And of course, that allowed me to leave work at 3:00pm. And YOU HAVE to leave OC by that time, if you wanted to get back to Menifee before the big rush hit.

You can also take Ortega Highway, which I did many times. The Ortega route is further in miles, but a little shorter in time because the traffic moved more quickly. The problem is that if an accident occurred along the Ortega, you'd be stuck there for an hour or more. And I got stuck there a couple times.

But right now, and for another two more years, construction on Ortega is causing lines of cars, several miles long during peak commuting hours.

I moved out to Menifee from Orange County with the intention of quitting my job there, and starting my own business here, which I have done. But it still took me two years later to quit that job. I recommend Brian look seriously for jobs around here, or, start his own business. Otherwise, the commute will turn you into an angry man.

Just look at me.

Labels: Traffic, Websites

Menifee Freecycle is a great way to give away or get free stuff. It is a Yahoo group so all you have to do is sign up for a yahoo account if you don't already have one. The Menifee Freecycle group currently has 346 menifee members. Check it out today.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecyclemenifee/

Labels: Freeganism, Websites

CityOfMenifee.com has put together a "News Page" at MenifeeValleyNews.com. Here you can read the latest local news, including a local weather forecast from Temecula's very own KZSW TV. The page has direct links to the Menifee 24/7 Blog, Californian's Menifee News Stories and Press Enterprise Menifee stories.

Labels: Websites

Whether we like it or not, what happens on a national level will ultimately affect the residents of Menifee. CityOfMenifee.com has created a Menifee Politics Blog where local residents, whether Democrat, Republican, Green or Independent can have civil discourse on political issues. In addition to national, state or county politics, discuss Menifee Cityhood! To get involved, visit the blog today.


Politics word Origin- [Middle English politik, from Old French politique, from Latin pol?ticus, political, from Greek pol?tikos, from pol?t?s, citizen, from polis, city; see pel?-3 in Indo-European roots.]

Labels: Politics, Websites

Bill Gould, the media-mogul-extraordinaire of our fine valley, announced today the launch of his new website, "Your Town Rocks"...

http://www.yourtownrocks.com/

It's basically a place holder for all the videos he's uploaded to YouTube. Some of the videos are focused on Menifee, while others on Murrieta and Temecula. For whatever reason, all the Menifee videos center around freaky weather phenomenon and the recent brushfire. What's up with that Bill?

One of the videos that actually does a semi-good job of capturing your attention, is about the Temecula Rock Quarry debate, where Gould and his friend Rothschild travel to Granite Construction Co. in Indio to figure out what all the controversy is about. Oddly, this video is stuck at the bottom of the list.

I'd like to see some video productions of Bill going out to the "Movies in the Park" to talk to the vendors and families. It might be interesting to have him visit several sign-twirlers standing on street corners, and find out who's getting paid the most and least. Or what about standing in front of Paloma Valley High, and asking seniors if they know the difference between a credit card and a debit card. Might be a fun way to see our schools are preparing them for the real world.

The name "Your Town Rocks" was actually named for a project that Gould and his buddies are working on, a music and travel documentary featuring musicians in their home towns. That's good, because as it is right now the first featured video is a 7-minute sleep-enducing "thank you speech" by Temecula Mayor Chuck Washington at the last Mayor's Ball. That definitely doesn't rock.

But we do look forward to Your Town Rocks once it gets its music and travel documentaries going.

Labels: Websites

MenifeeOnline.com, a web portal that targeted residents of the Menifee Valley is apparently up for sale.

The website's current owner, Adrienne DeVita, listed the site for sale on her domain name blog, which you can read here...

http://buydomainszilla.com/..../current-web-sites-for-sale.aspx

The asking price for the website isn't mentioned, though she indicates that all reasonable offers will be considered. Here's a quote from her blog...

This is a local web portal located in Menifee, California. This portal targets one million local residents and the web site owner must contact all of the local businesses and sign them up for business directory advertising, which includes one full-page, 6 pictures, 1 thumbnail, and a coupon.

Web portals like MenifeeOnline.com have been springing up everywhere over the past couple of years, which happened to coincide with a nationwide trend towards "hyperlocal journalism". These websites offer similar information as Yahoo, except tailored to a very narrow audience, such as residents of Menifee Valley.

I don't have the specifics on why Adrienne decided to put MenifeeOnline up for sale, but I do know that online advertising at the local level is a difficult business to get into. Local advertising is still pretty much the domain of paper publications like newspapers, The Pennysaver, Menifee Mailer, etc.

Anyways, if you think you're up to the task of running a local web portal, maybe MenifeeOnline is the opportunity for you.

Labels: Websites

If you live in the Menifee Valley, and you like to ride motorcycles (cruiser-type bikes), check out Bikers Ballroom.

It's a website where local folks who happen to like riding motorcycles can go to participate in group rides, exchange thoughts, and share laughs. It's no-pressure, and all fun.

If you're looking for some local folks to ride with, most of them are right here.

I happened to meet four of the regulars from Bikers Ballroom for breakfast this morning at Yellow Basket. They're a great group of people.

Labels: Motorcycles, Websites

There is an interesting service at FreeCycle where Menifee residents can give away or ask for Free things. A great way to get rid of stuff or find stuff for free. I know a few people who have used it with success.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecyclemenifee/

Labels: Freeganism, Websites

I was surprised to see an article in today's edition of The California, regarding the Murrieta School District advising parents to see if their children are visiting "MySpace.com" when using the Internet.

The concern is that a lot of kids are using MySpace.com to publish pornagraphic material, hateful material, gang-related materials, drugs, etc.

What is "MySpace.com" anyways? Well, it's a blog. Ok, so what is a blog? Well, this very website you're reading is a blog. It's a daily journal. It can be about someone's personal life, or about news of what's going in your local community. It can be written by one person, or written by a team of persons.

The truth is that MySpace.com is being made into an example. There are just as many kids using LiveJournal.com as well. If fact, there are just as many kids using Blogger.com. And there are several other similar websites that offer the same services, all for free.

I guess if you're a parent, you should be monitoring your child's activities anyways, regardless of where they publish their online journal.

Here's where my two cents comes in.

It's not the fact they're publishing this kind of material, but the fact that they harbor such hatred or malevolence. If that kind of attitude is within them, then it doesn't matter that they have an online journal. They'll express it one way or another.

Instead of being worried about your child having an online journal, better focus on his or her heart instead.

Labels: MySpace, Websites

I have "erased" my old message board (sorry to those who posted) and created a new blog where Menifee residents and future residents can discuss the pro and cons of their specific home builders. I encourage everyone to get involved and post so we can maintain high quality homes in our communitiy. Feel free to discuss any problems you may have had and whether they were resolved.

http://cityofmenifee.blogspot.com/

Labels: Housing-Developments, Websites

Eric Madrid, a local resident, launched a new online message board where Menifee residents can discuss their opinions of home builders in the area.

Quotes Eric, "This area is for local residents to discuss their satisfaction or otherwise with home builders in our area. Our goal is to help maintain the high standard of housing developments in our community."

If you have something to say about the companies that build homes in Menifee, whether it's about the company that built your home, or a company currently building homes here, go visit Eric's new message board and sound off!

Eric also runs the unofficial "City of Menifee" website, and is also a writer for Menifee 24/7.

Labels: Housing-Developments, Websites

I discovered a website that allows people to rate casinos, and found out they have a number of ratings and reviews for Pechanga.

According to the reviews, a lot of people hate Pechanga. Personally, I kinda like the Pechanga Casino, though I don't care much for their slots. It seems they have the most greediest slots. Everytime my wife and I drop some twenties into the machines, we never hit any sizeable winnings.

On the other hand, we visited the new Morongo Casino last Friday, mainly to dine at their buffet. Being it was a Friday evening, they had their most expensive price going, $26.00 per person (approx). But, it was very good. The crab legs were huge and cold, not the like skinny warm things at Pala, or the salty chunks you get at Pechanga. The service was excellent there. I think we'll be going there more often, but maybe during the cheaper times of the week.

Labels: Websites