Subscriber Comments for
City Council Chaos

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 327013	2012-10-02 03:11 PM
I'll have to see if this airs tonight.
COMMENT 327016	2012-10-02 03:16 PM
Another adventure of Kate Smith apparently. She laid down on the floor and refused to leave.
COMMENT 327021	2012-10-02 03:32 PM
Who is Kate Smith? And what channel will this "Real Housewives of SB" show be on?
COMMENT 327026P	2012-10-02 03:38 PM
For some weird reason, the term "5150" keeps coming up a lot lately, at least around me. (Not being said of me, don't get me wrong.) First, my boyfriend put it in his email. When I asked the significance, he said it's a Van Halen tune? Album? Then, I got curious, months later, when I saw Roger use it in reporting one of his "calls." I looked it up online. A friend and I then had a small discussion about why we had never heard this term before. The next night, on a popular t.v. show, I heard some actor say "I'm about ready to be 5150ed." Now here it is again. How are these numbers determined? And do Van Halen fans know what it means? Am I the last to know? Poor Kate. She is so intelligent and so . . .poor woman.
COMMENT 327028	2012-10-02 03:46 PM
5150 - mental health
COMMENT 327026P	2012-10-02 03:47 PM
Kate Smith can be seen and heard at a lot of City Council meetings and other similar venues. I first saw her speak before the School Board. She has some valid points to make, more often than not, but she is extremely intense and obviously someone who is walking a fine edge. I admire her intelligence and grasp of local politics, but she seems incapable of presenting her "case,' whatever the setting, without becoming upset. Thus, she generally tends to damage her credibility. She has run for local office, but someone else may know more, remember more, about that campaign.
COMMENT 327030	2012-10-02 03:49 PM
5150 is the radio code that police use to describe a mentally unstable person. also, "the real housewives of sb" thing was just an internet rumor. bravo tv said so yesterday on their website.
EMUWREN1	2012-10-02 03:49 PM
5150 in California Criminal Code stands for "Criminally Insane." It was the title of a Van Halen album.
COMMENT 327032	2012-10-02 03:53 PM
Witch council men was it?
COMMENT 327036	2012-10-02 03:57 PM
CALIFORNIA WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE, SECTION 5150, second paragraph, "... an application in writing stating the circumstances under which the person's condition was called to the attention of the officer, member of the attending staff, or professional person, and stating that the officer, member of the attending staff, or professional person has probable cause to believe that the person is, as a result of mental disorder, a danger to others, or to himself or herself, or gravely disabled."
COMMENT 327037	2012-10-02 03:58 PM
Too funny. When I read this, Kate Smith immediately jumped to mind.
ROGER DODGER	2012-10-02 04:19 PM
I don't think it was a City Council member I think it was this fella that has been going off outside of the meetings..But I don't know I heard what I heard it was quick they said code 2 No Big Deal..
COMMENT 327054	2012-10-02 04:34 PM
Check the Independent - it WAS Kate Smith. Wow, she really needs to adopt more persuasive argument techniques if she wants to be taken seriously. This is sad.
ROGER DODGER	2012-10-02 04:53 PM
I guess I didn't drop the balls on that one.
COMMENT 327072	2012-10-02 05:04 PM
Section 5150 of the CA Welfare and Institutions Code [there is no "Criminal" code, EMUWREN1] defines the circumstances by which a person can be placed under a 72-hour hold for their own safety or the safety of the public so that an assessment of the person's mental health can be made. Police do use "5150" [pronounced "fifty-one fifty"] as verbal shorthand to denote a mentally-ill person. And yes, 5150 was also the name of a Van Halen album years ago.
REXOFSB	2012-10-02 05:05 PM
A few years ago I bought a motorcycle in Wyoming. When I went to the courthouse in Cheyenne to register it, I was randomly assigned the Wyoming license plate number 5150. The lady at the registrar's office had no idea why I was so amazed. It killed me to have to give up that number when I later registered the bike in SB.
COMMENT 327026P	2012-10-02 05:28 PM
REX. Great story!
ROGER DODGER	2012-10-02 05:38 PM
I would have never given up that number..Ever see the movie Tombstone with Kurt Russell my favorite movie next to Falling Down one of the trains has the number 5150 on it..
COMMENT 327109	2012-10-02 06:12 PM
I can forgive an outburst, but Crocs?
ROGER DODGER	2012-10-02 06:44 PM
Shes not happy at all if they stuck her in the grey rubber room..
REXOFSB	2012-10-02 07:08 PM
Hi, Roger: I never would have given up my 5150 Wyoming plate if it weren't a law that you have to reregister out-of-state motor vehicles in California. I did keep it as a souvenir, though. My bike is now CA personalized plate 45RPM.
COMMENT 327137	2012-10-02 07:38 PM
Love all the 5150 trivia....I think Eddie Van Halen's home studio was named 5150
COMMENT 327163	2012-10-02 08:44 PM
I assumed Helene finally succumbed to the cognitive dissonance...
REXOFSB	2012-10-02 08:47 PM
FYI: Informal cop jargon for someone who's just kinda cuckoo and not a bona fide crazy person: 5149 1/2.
ROGER DODGER	2012-10-02 09:00 PM
I saw part of it on channel18 I had no idea she had those things going on..I really feel for her poor thing...I'm more like a 5165..Maybe taking the city to seriously had a hand in that I could see that happening..I hope she gets well..
KDEF	2012-10-02 09:07 PM
Having been at the City Council meeting this afternoon, I can report that Ms Smith became very upset when the Mayor would not let her continue speaking about her medications during the comment period. Mayor Schnider then asked the police officer duty to remove her from the chambers. She then dropped to the floor and refused to get up. Two more officers were called. The three officers were unable to move her. The paramedics were called and finally with the aid of a wheel chair the now five men managed to remove her. The whole incident took 40 minutes of the Council's and spectators time. It was hard to tell if her behavior was an act or a truel 5150.
COMMENT 327176P	2012-10-02 09:41 PM
Kate Smith is, as my grandma would say, "crazy like a fox". She uses public meetings and elected bodies as her personal, captive stage. Her antics at the county became so threatening towards front line employees that a restraining order had to be sought to keep her out of the building. No one should mistake her for being harmless.....mayor schneider did the right thing.
COMMENT 327193	2012-10-03 07:32 AM
Good to see KDEF speak at the City Council meeting yesterday regarding historic resources protection. And his report here is entirely correct. Kate Smith here has consumed her 15 minutes of fame.
COMMENT 327214	2012-10-03 08:34 AM
The endless off-topic tirades off-topic and off-agenda rants the city council must endure during the public comment period before the start of each meeting is reason enough many choose not to serve in our democratic institutions. A quiet moment of appreciation for those who do serve and are required without reservation to honor this form of community "free speech". There needs to be a running report, like Roger's scanner reports, of the topics presented during this public version of the Gong Show. You want to hug your city council person no matter what their political stripe as they, but not you, are asked to honor this democratic tradition.
COMMENT 327217	2012-10-03 08:35 AM
It's a tragedy about Kate Smith. She has some valid points to make, some interesting ideas to share, but her manner of presenting them is so off the wall as to antagonize even those who would be sympathetic. People react viscerally to her and sometimes stupidly and ridiculously (a county employee in Carbajal's office got a restraining order because 6' he said he was afraid of her!) and because of that do not hear what she has to say. I was not there yesterday; sounds as though she needs serious help but we can not force people to be helped, except by jail which is not designed for that.
COMMENT 327016	2012-10-03 12:16 PM
Excuse me... Flylight. A restraining order was placed on Kate Smith by the County because she clearly said she would bring a "handgun" to a Board Hearing. Not because "he was afraid of her". Get your facts straight please. And given the current climate with shootings in movie theaters, busy streets, schools... shouldn't we take these threats seriously?
BONNER	2012-10-03 02:21 PM
Having had to sit through some hearings where people who are, shall we say "too intense", use the public speaking opportunity to hijack the room on behalf of their own special interest, whether it be legitimate or not, almost always going over the time limit. Reduces legitimate speakers' time and opportunity to speak. This democratic process wears thin after a few times and I don't know how public officials tolerate, it interferes with the duties at hand, very difficult to balance the needs of open process with the needs of business. I wonder how many good people steer away from public office due to this issue.
COMMENT 327176P	2012-10-03 02:21 PM
Flylight could not be more wrong in her characterization of the events leading to Kate Smiths restraining order from the County Admin building. He should read the judge's transcripts, about the extent of threat, disruption and intimidation Smith directed at front line staff THROUGHOUT the County building. Valid points?? Interesting?? Either flylight is related to Kate or similarly deluded
AUNTIE S.	2012-10-03 04:54 PM
a mentally unstable person at the City Council? Imagine that!
COMMENT 327565	2012-10-03 08:24 PM
Neither related to Smith nor deluded, but one who's observed Smith over the years at the school committee as well as public comment (but not yesterday's.) She has repeatedly emphasized her "hand gun" - using her hand with fingers; she's theatrical, an actress, I think, often absurd but not dangerous. Or at least that's not how she has seemed. I continue to think this is a very sad situation with no apparent solution: we can not forcibly medicate someone. I don't know anything about her family but hope she has someone who can help her. Public comment lasts about 15 minutes; some of that is usually wasted by a woman who repetitively prays for the council; on the whole, it's a good outlet for people and issues that might not otherwise get aired. Too bad that some are like the tennis fellow used to be or some of the others making little sense to the greater world. Can't see how it would keep others from speaking unless they fear being lumped in with the crazies.
COMMENT 327581P	2012-10-03 09:26 PM
I have sympathy for Kate; I think, without knowing her, that she needs help and that she's gotten much worse, from media reports. I'd like to point out that this is the kind of stuff that front line gov't employees deal with -- have to deal with. We have much less leeway than private workers. In my workplace, customer service is the highest value. It's really difficult.
SHAKEY	2012-10-04 01:34 AM
So witch council member did they take away ?

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