August 14-20, 2009 - As the "Voices of Monarch Beach"

Eye on DPNews Next DoorWhat’s going on in our neighboring towns, San Clemente and San Juan CapistranoSAN JUAN CAPISTRANORancho Mission Viejo RodeoSet August 22-23The nation’s top rodeo cowboys will be riding into SanJuan Capistrano this month for the Ninth Annual RanchoMission Viejo Rodeo, the richest two-day Rodeo in America.Scheduled for the weekend of August 22-23, 2009 at theRancho Mission Viejo Rodeo Grounds in San Juan Capistrano,the Rancho Mission Viejo Rodeo will produce some of thebest rodeo action in the nation as more than 200 contestants(including seven of the eight current World Champions)compete for a purse totaling over $200,000. Events scheduledfor the two-day rodeo include bareback riding, saddle broncriding, bull riding, tie-down roping, steer wrestling and teamroping. Tickets are on sale now.“All eyes will be on San Juan Capistrano as the superstarsof professional rodeo compete for one of the largest pursesoffered on the circuit,” said Gilbert Aguirre, Rodeo CommitteePresident and Executive Vice President – RanchOperations for Rancho Mission Viejo, manager of the historicRancho Mission Viejo cattle ranch in Orange County. “Plus,cowboys competing at the Rancho Mission Viejo Rodeo willenjoy some of the best conditions rodeo can offer includinggreat weather, the best stock, a dust-free arena floor, apacked house, white linen fine dining and the opportunity tomix and mingle with Pro Rodeo Hall of Famers, key sponsorsand many of Orange County’s top business leaders as well. Itjust doesn’t get much better than this.”Sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association(PRCA), The Rancho Mission Viejo is held each yearin San Juan Capistrano and has earned a reputation as “theplace to be” every August as the greatest cowboys gatherto compete for their share of the $200,000 purse as they tryto secure a spot at the National Finals Rodeo, held annuallyevery December in Las Vegas, NV.“The Rancho Mission Viejo is now viewed as the lastimportant spot before the Finals which makes this competitioneven more important,” said Aguirre. “Watch as the topcowboys compete for top prize money.”Aguirre noted that, while the annual Rodeo is key to thePRCA, it’s also an important part of the legacy of the RanchoMission Viejo landholdings, which has been under the stewardshipof the O’Neill/Avery/Moiso family since 1882.Celebrating the golden age of early California historyand the American West, the Rancho Mission Viejo familyis committed to the preservation of the cowboy way of life.As one of the last remaining California “ranchos,” RanchoMission Viejo is proud of its ranching heritage and strivesto hold dear to the authentic and honest values held by thetraditional American cowboy.“Hosting the Rodeo is our way of showing folks that wehave a tremendous Western heritage, one that we feel privilegedto share. The Rancho Mission Viejo Rodeo allows usto keep our region’s cowboy culture alive while honoring theold cowboy tradition of ‘passing the hat’ in support of a sickchild or needy friend,” added Aguirre. “The proceeds for thisyear’s Rancho Mission Viejo Rodeo will, once again, benefitlocal charities. Over the course of the last eight years, morethan $825,000 in Rodeo profits have been donated by theO’Neill/Avery/Moiso family to fund local charities. We hopeto attract the largest turnout yet this year as we promise todeliver a fun-filled, family-oriented event.”A portion of the proceeds from this year’s Rodeo willbenefit Camino Health Center in San Juan Capistrano andThe Shea Center for Therapeutic Riding, also in San JuanCapistrano.Mission Hospital’s Camino Health Center is a fully-licensed,community-based clinic providing a wide assortmentof medical and dental services for thousands of South OrangeCounty families in need. Rodeo donations made in yearspast have helped to fund the Center’s special programs suchas the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program whichoffers nutritional education and support for pregnant andpostpartum women, infants and young children.In addition, donations from this year’s Rodeo also willPage 8 • Dana Point Times • August 14–20, 2009Photo by Scott Woodruffgo to The Shea Center for Therapeutic Riding to helpunderwrite hippotherapy and therapeutic riding programs,operations, and rider scholarships. Dedicated to improvingthe lives of people with disabilities through its privatelyfunded therapeutic horse-related programs, the SheaCenter is one of the largest therapeutic riding centers inthe country.The Rancho Mission Viejo Rodeo Grounds is located atthe intersection of Ortega Highway and Antonio Parkway/La Pata on the western border of Rancho Mission Viejo inSouth Orange County.Among the many highlights of this year’s Rodeo will beCotton Rosser and his Flying U Rodeo Company. Rosser,proclaimed as “The King of Rodeo,” will be on hand withwhat organizers say will be another “spectacular rodeoproduction.” Serving as Rodeo Announcer will be BobFeist, one of the favorite rodeo announcers of fans and contestants.Feist has been named PRCA “Announcer of theYear” several times and is the publisher of Roper SportsNews. Plus, the Rodeo promises lots of old-fashioned familyfun with a Saturday evening concert performance byCountry Hill Road Show as well as a broad array of excitingchildren’s activities and entertainment.The schedule of events is as follows:Saturday, August 222 p.m. Gates Open3:45 p.m. Opening Ceremonies4 p.m. Rodeo Begins6 p.m. Concert/Dance BeginsSunday, August 2311:30 a.m. Gates Open1:15 p.m. Open Ceremonies1:30 p.m. Rodeo BeginsTicket prices are $20 for adults on Saturday (whichincludes admission to the evening concert) and Sundayand $10 for children ages 4 to 12. Children ages 3 andunder will be admitted to the Rodeo for free. Tickets maybe purchased at the gate on the day of the event, or at thefollowing pre-sale locations: Swallows Inn, American HorseProducts, and Ortega Tack & Feed in San Juan Capistrano,Hennessey’s Tavern in Dana Point, and Boot Barn in LakeForest.The O’Neill/Avery/Moiso family has managed RanchoMission Viejo since 1882. Today, Rancho Mission Viejo isthe largest family-owned landholding and the oldest existinglarge-scale cattle ranch in Orange County. In November2004, the family created and then secured all Countyapprovals for The Ranch Plan to ensure the perpetuationof cattle ranching and farming as well as open space andhabitat protection and phased community developmenton the Ranch over the next 20 to 25 years. To learn moreabout The Ranch Plan, visit www.RanchoMissionViejo.com.For more information about this year’s Rodeo, see www.rmvrodeo.com or email rmvrodeo@ranchomv.com.SAN CLEMENTEN.Y. Firm Bids onMarblehead PropertyThe New York-based investment firm D.E. Shaw has madea $195-million bid to purchase a number of SunCal Californiaprojects, including the lucrative 247-acre oceanfront MarbleheadCoastal property, the Orange County Business Journalreports. According to the OCBJ story in its Aug. 10-16,2009 issue, D.E. Shaw has connections to Lehman BrothersHoldings Inc., SunCal’s lender who filed for bankruptcy inOctober 2008.The report says that the Marblehead property has closeto $258 million in loans tied to it. Lehman’s latest appraisalsays the property is worth $188 million now; SunCal—whichsupports the D.E. Shaw bid—values the property at only $74million. Lehman apparently opposes the D.E. Shaw bid andvalues the nine properties D.E. Shaw has bid on at closer to$500 million.A hearing on the D.E. Shaw bid was postponed in late Julyuntil October. As of last week there were no other known bidderson the projects.Fiesta Street Festival Attractsup to 30,000The Annual Fiesta Festival held on Sunday was once againa smash hit, thanks to perfect weather, sunny skies and amostly well-behaved crowd that totaled between 25,000-30,000. “Nonprofits said it was one of their best years, andthat is really what the event is all about,” said Lynn Wood,CEO of San Clemente Chamber of Commerce, the event organizer.Wood also said the ongoing recession might actuallyhave helped the event. “We were thinking that possibly therewere less people traveling that were staying around, it was afree event with free concerts and that was another reason,”she said.The large crowd did result in some additional activityfor police, according to Sgt. Nancy Gafner of San ClementePolice Services. “[There were] more incidents of alcohol-relatedevents compared to last year,” but she noted there wereonly two arrests, a remarkably low number given the size ofthe crowd.With more than 30 participants in the much-contestedSalsa Challenge, winners were many. El Mariachi Restaurantwon Judges Favorite Best Restaurant, Floral Occasions wonfor the Judges Favorite Best Individual, Knuckle Heads Bar &Grill won for the Best Decorated Restaurant, Josefina’s Salsawon for Best Decorated Individual, Pacific Seafood Grill wonfor the People’s Choice Restaurant, and Salsa Mama won thePeople’s Choice Individual award.www.danapointtimes.com