RagFest, the annual Southern California ragtime festival based in Fullerton, enters its 11th year in a slightly scaled-back format and newly-lowered ticket prices. RagFest 2010 is October 16-17. www.ragfest.com As in previous years, Steamers Jazz Club & Cafe, 138 W. Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton, is the festival’s headquarters and check-in point for all patrons. The bulk of the festival will unfold at Steamers and at Mo’s Fullerton Music Center, 121 N. Harbor Blvd., the two venues that are mainstays of the Orange County Ragtime Society. A third nearby venue, Max Bloom’s Cafe Noir, is back after its successful inauguration
during RagFest 2009. Most of the action will unfold at Steamers, while the traditional, formal Saturday night Ragtime Revue stage show will be held in “The Cave” at Mo’s.

Recently we sent out a questionnaire to candidates who we considered heavy hitters in the upcoming election. Here’s what Pat McKinley had to say:

1. What are your thoughts on Coyote Hills?
I believe in private property rights within reasonable limitations of Government.

2. What should be the future of the Fullerton Airport?
The airport is integral to the city and a resource for homeland security and must be preserved.

3. How do you feel about Redevelopment Zones
Redevelopment is responsible for many city improvements and should be maintained.

4. What should be done to fix the city's Employee Pension problems?
Two tier the system and reform the time frames and contributions to better reflect the economic challenges balancing the needs of the employees and the City.

5. Are you for against Term limits? Why?
I support term limits on the local level. 12 years is enough.

The latest project from All the Art for All the Kids (www.alltheartsforallthekids.org) will  be unwrapped tomorrow but the Fullertonian has the inside scoop.

Last Thursday Fullerton hosted a gathering of high-end mobile dining trucks.

The gathering was held outside the Fox Fullerton Theater during the "Dr. No" showing and after the local Farmer's Market and Beer Garden.

The media has recently publicized CSUF professor Adrian R. Fleissig’s report showing a small uptick in the local economy. The report shows growth in five out of seven economic indicators. Unfortunately, regional unemployment was one of the two items that brought the indicator down.

While this report is being released, and economists are scratching their heads about why employment is still on a downward trend, a local employer is being viciously hounded for guess what: employing people.

There is a new web service that’s free (gratis) and as easy as reading twitters. For those who still don’t see the advantages of text messaging this may finally enlighten that dark corner of your mind and bring you into the present millennium.

The OC Crime Map lists short descriptions of recent police activity. In many ways it is like the old Police Radio Scanners that cycle through all frequencies and stop when there is a sound. This new service can be read at a glance and shows the locations on a map.

You can find it in the new Metro Section of the Fullertonian.com on the left side under the list of candidates.

The 10squared Film Festival will hold a public screening of the top 10 films* on October 3, 2010, at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center, located at 1201 Malvern Ave, Fullerton, CA. Awards for First, Second, and Third Place* will be announced at this public screening. Winning entries MUST have a representative present at the event in order to win a prize. So plan to attend, and bring your fans! The deadline to vote online is coming up!