Strange story out of Mission Viejo — someone set a home-mounted flag on fire. From Lindsey Baguio’s story today:

When Harry T. Johnson walked outside to pick up the newspaper in his driveway this morning, he noticed something that made his heart race.

About one-third of a 3-by-5-foot American flag displayed outside his home on Recodo Lane had been burned overnight.

Of course, I’m all for the right to burn the flag, but this is arson, not a protest. People really shouldn’t go around burning other people’s things. That said, a few other quotes from the homeowner drew my attention:

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Perhaps I spoke too soon when I said there was a lull in new proposals regarding “In God We Trust” - this week we’ve got Fountain Valley and now Los Alamitos, which plans to let residents (and you, non-Los Al readers!) weigh in:

Residents have until June 4 to express to the City Council their opinions on the council’s consideration of displaying the phrase “In God We Trust” in its chambers.

An online survey is now available on the city’s homepage. Council member Gerri Mejia will distribute flyers around town. The council made the decision to conduct a 30-day survey at its meeting Monday night.

To save you the work of finding the unsecure, third-party, easily hackable web survey, it’s available here. Nothing on the site says that only Los Al residents can take part, though votes with a valid address may be the only ones counted. Of course, if Bakersfield’s Jacquie Sullivan can have a say, why can’t you?

At yesterday’s Orange County Atheists meeting, the group was remarking that it’d been at least three weeks since a city council had introduced a motion to display “In God We Trust” (five cities proposed the measure in an eight-week period earlier this year). Luckily for all of us, Fountain Valley came through to relieve the drought. From Julie Anne Ines’s story today:

The city of Fountain Valley could soon join other local cities such as Cypress and Westminster in displaying the national motto “In God We Trust.”

During the City Council meeting Tuesday, Mayor Pro Tem Guy Carrozzo requested that an item regarding the display of the motto be put on a future agenda. City staff will determine the date of the discussion.

In a letter that he read to the council, Carrozzo said that he thought about the issue and decided that “it is appropriate for the council to vote on this issue.”

Mayor Pro Tem Carrozzo also wants to go a step further and add the phrase “one nation under God” because it would be unique to Fountain Valley, and added “I don’t see anything wrong with this going on the wall. It’s just the right thing to do.”

I have a feeling some letter writers and attendees at the next city council meeting might disagree, Mr. Mayor Pro Tem. We’ll keep you updated.

First, the news:

In a surprising speaker-inspired move, the Villa Park city council decided tonight to let city residents decide on the November ballot whether to display “In God We Trust” in the council chambers.

From Ellen Pak’s story:

The City Council voted to place the matter on the November ballot instead of deciding on its own whether to place the motto in its chambers. Villa Park is the first city in the county to let voters decide this issue.

More than a dozen people spoke on the issue that other cities have considered in the past few months. The majority of speakers urged city officials to reject the proposal; a handful of others spoke in favor of adopting the motto.

City Council members said private funds, not public money, should be used to place the matter on the ballot. It may cost the city $1,300 to $1,500. A resolution must also be sent to the Registrar of Voters 88 days before the November elections, said City Manager Ken Domer.

Mayor Brad Reese requested the original item be placed on the agenda after receiving materials from Bakerfield’s Jacquie Sullivan and seeing other councils in the county pass similar resolutions. After a recommendation from a member of the public, however, the resolution was changed to call for city residents to vote on the issue in November.

The LAV’s take: While this was the first city council meeting I’d ever been to in person, I’ve logged dozens of hours watching city council recordings, and they’re just about as exciting as you’d expect. For the first two hours, tonight’s meeting in Villa Park was no different. Some feel-good resolutions, lots of city business, and passionate discussions about conditional use permits and sign ordinances. However, as soon as the mayor announced Item 16, a resolution to display “In God We Trust” in the council chambers, things got interesting.

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Trustees of the Ocean View School District decided last night to postpone a vote on displaying the national, state and city mottoes (including “In God We Trust”) until they have more information. From Annie Burris’ story today:

Trustees discussed during a Tuesday night meeting the placement of these seals at the district offices instead of the proposed board room, potential costs of the display, and which city symbols should be included.

“The core concept I am OK with … with an awareness that we are in a serious budget crisis,” trustee Tracy Pellman said. “Any monetary cost would need to be considered.”

Superintendent Alan Rasmussen, who proposed the display, said he is bringing the issue before the trustees as a pre-emptive strike on the fad. Ocean View Trustee John Briscoe unsuccessfully presented the idea of displaying only “In God We Trust” at the Westminster School District twice in recent months, but was uninvolved in Rasmussen’s proposal this week.

The LAV’s take: School districts seem much less gung ho about the adoption of “In God We Trust” than city councils - so far Westminster seems totally uninterested and Ocean View wanted more information, even though their display would contain a variety of mottoes and be seemingly less offensive to those opposed (I know I think it’s a better idea). There has been more dissent with recent council adaptations too, so it’ll be interesting to see how Villa Park votes on the subject next Tuesday.

Back in March, the LAV talked to John Briscoe, a trustee from the Ocean View School District, who is leading the cause to get the neighboring Westminster School District to display “In God We Trust” in the board’s chambers. WSD passed on the idea in March, and Briscoe promised he’d be back.

He came back Friday.

Not surprisingly, Briscoe reintroduced the idea to the board at last Friday’s meeting, and the school board once again decided to take no action (the district’s site is severely lacking in archive materials, so I can’t include a link to any decisions or minutes).

Briscoe vowed to “resubmit for consideration again next month, and every month thereafter until they approve it,” this time with a larger flyering campaign to local churches and school sites in English, Vietnamese and Spanish. Check out March’s flyer here - I’m hoping May’s also has Briscoe’s smilin’ face, it makes it much more friendly and personal.

And in a surprising twist on things, Dr. Alan Rasmussen, Superintendent of Briscoe’s home district of Ocean View, is requesting the trustees of that district discuss the placement of the national (”In God We Trust” and “E Pluribus Unum”), state (Eureka!) and city (The City of Expanding Horizons” and “Surf City, USA”) mottoes at their April 15th meeting. The board’s agenda is available here, (page 62 has what you’re looking for), and Annie Burris has the Register’s story here. Briscoe assures me he had nothing to do with this. I hope they’ve got a big wall picked out - that’s a lot of mottoes.

If it seems like these posts about city councils and “In God we Trust” are coming weekly, you’re close: five OC cities has proposed displaying the motto since mid-February, and today we’ve got a sixth - Villa Park. From Ellen Pak’s story:

Orange County’s smallest city will consider displaying the official national motto – “In God We Trust” – at City Hall, following a string of cities that have recently adopted the words.

The City Council is slated to review the proposal at its April 22 meeting at 17855 Santiago Blvd. The council meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. Mayor Brad Reese requested the item to be placed on the agenda.

The LAV doesn’t think this will be the last city, either - so far, every city to consider the motto (except for Villa Park) also does a religious invocation before their meeting. 20 or so other Orange County cities also do these invocations, so expect to hear more on the topic.

Despite quite a few impassioned speakers against the resolution, the Huntington Beach city council voted Monday to display “In God We Trust” in their chambers. Surf City will join Westminster, Cypress, Mission Viejo and San Clemente, all of which have approved displays in the last year.

The council’s meetings, including comments from the public and council discussion, are available online.

Update: Cindy Carcamo’s story is up here, with quite a few more details:

Unlike other cities in the county where the motto passed without much dissent, the issue divided Huntington Beach Council members — some in support, and some who said the measure was politically motivated.

Councilmembers voted 4-2 in favor of the display, and approved formation of an ad hoc committee to recommend sign and display methods.

Council members Debbie Cook and Jill Hardy voted against the display, stating that the motto would alienate rather than unite people. Keith Bohr, who also said he opposed the display, abstained from voting.

Considering she’s running for congress, it’s refreshing that Debbie Cook didn’t just take the easy route and either vote yes or abstain, since her “no” vote could be used against her in her campaign. Someone should also tell Bohr (and the councilmembers elsewhere) that abstentions should be used for conflicts of interest - if you think something isn’t the council’s business, vote no.

Bakerfield’s Jacquie Sullivan and her “In God We Trust” campaign have made their way to Huntington Beach - the city will consider a motion to post the motto in their city council chambers at its April 7th meeting.

If the motion passes, Surf City will join Westminster, Cypress, Mission Viejo and San Clemente, all of which have approved displays in the last year.

Last week, Tustin’s city council voted to postpone a vote on displaying “In God We Trust” to better research the issue and its implementation.

Councilmembers Cathy Green and Joe Carchio introduced the motion in Huntington Beach on March 21 - you can read their motion, as well as some documents from Jacquie Sullivan, at the city council’s website.

Update: The Register’s story is now up, here.

In a departure from the quick decisions reached by Westminster and Mission Viejo on the topic, Tustin city leaders tonight voted to postpone a vote on displaying “In God We Trust” in the city’s council chambers. From Cameron Bird’s Register story:

Mayor Pro Tem Doug Davert said a staff report prepared for the meeting amounted to a single paragraph and a photograph. He urged staff to spill more ink to ensure the display would be “educational and accessible to the public.”

“Some (cities) just slap the words on the wall of a building open two days a month, which I think is an incredible disservice,” said Davert.

The motion to display the motto was brought by Councilman Jim Palmer on behalf of impassioned residents. No word if he (or the rest of the council) was approached by Bakerfield’s Jacquie Sullivan and her campaign to introduce the motto to councils nationwide. The LAV is seeking comment from both Palmer and Mayor Pro Tem Davert.