October 16, 2026

Ridgecrest California

Remember when Councilman Kyle Blades told you it was just an “inquiry” not an investigation? Remember when attorney Martin K, the stand-in for city attorney Keith Lemieux, told you that “if someone told you that there’s an investigation, then that person is misinformed“. Do you remember?

Publisher’s Note: Councilman Kyle Blades, attorney Martin K, city attorney Keith Lemieux, Councilman Scott Hayman, former City Manager Ron Strand, and former mayor Eric Bruen have been blowing smoke up your asses for a very long time, and I can prove it.

BREAKING News: The Daily Independent is breaking news on the eruption that occurred after the Ridgecrest Candidate’s Forum on Wednesday night.

Aftermath of the DA investigation into the city — disagreements, accusation of lying By Aaron Crutchfield acrutchfield@ridgecrestca.com (Subscription required)

Reaction has been swift and heated after the Kern County District Attorney’s office released its report finding that Councilman Kyle Blades and former City Manager Ron Strand possibly* violated the law with their statements on the city’s position on pending legislation,but declining any consequences besides a sternly worded letter and letting the citizens vote how they may. The aftermath even included Strand all but accusing city council members of lying to the public about what happened during closed session.

Did I read that correctly? Strand accused everyone that didn’t violate the Brown Act of lying to the public? Seriously?

Councilman Solomon Rajaratnam said he has no comment at this time.

Hayman said he would like to consult with counsel before making his comment.

Strand and Councilman Skip Gorman did not respond to the Daily Independent’s comment requests by press time Thursday night, but both were participants at the Ridgecrest Chamber of Commerce’s Candidate Forum on Wednesday as both are running for City Council seats, and the question came up there. – The Daily Independent

During Strand’s response to the question, he appeared to accuse three council members of lying when asked to square statements that Endicott, Gorman and Rajaratnam did not give their support of the AB 1466 letter after stating that they had given their support. – The Daily Independent

“We were in closed session,” Strand said. “We had a full support of this legal strategy.” Wait a minute Strand, discussing the legislation in closed session may be part of your legal strategy, but that doesn’t matter. What doesn’t he get about the Brown Act? The full support of whom?

“I do think that the council needs to, you know, come forward and come clean with what happened in closed session.” said Strand.

Come clean? Who needs to come clean?

“Because I think at the end of the day, if I’m councilman, I’m definitely not going to hang out to dry my city manager or other city council member who is out there doing the will of the city. I don’t think it’s right.”

I’m speechless. Let me catch my breath before continuing…

Former city manager and council candidate Ron Strand showed his true colors on Wednesday night, but the buried lede of the night is that Ron Strand has decided to cancel the AVEK pipeline imported water project. It is written, let it be done. He’s the boss in the city didn’t you know? It’s his rules or hit the highway, as many former residents have done, including your gracious host and Publisher of Roadrunner395.com.

* Publisher’s Note: It’s crystal clear that they, meaning Stand and Blades, broke the law, and so did Hayman. District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer handed them all to “we the people” on a silver platter, so that we may prosecute them to the fullest extent of public opinion. Thank you, District Attorney Zimmer!

Lawbreaking Ron is the primary reason for the suckiness of living in Ridgecrest.

Yep. It’s True. We don’t lie to you. Ridgecrest’s biggest lying loser, lyin’ Ron Strand has capitulated on the AVEK pipeline, a 60-mile extension of an old, rusty, leaky pipeline that starts from the Antelope Valley and ends in California City. Not only is this the end of the line for AVEK, it could also be the end of a northbound pipeline itself, but not if Ron Strand has anything to say about it.

Fire destroys former Silver Saddle Ranch in Cal City; site of massive real estate fraud scheme, by Claudia Elliott for The Daily Independent, Oct 9, 2026

In 1958, developer Nat Mendelsohn purchased 82,000 acres of desert land with the vision of creating a city larger than Los Angeles or San Francisco. The plan included a vast suburban layout with hundreds of miles of streets, cul-de-sacs, and even an artificial lake, designed to attract families seeking their dream homes.

California City was supposed to be a sprawling planned unit development in the remote northern region of the Mojave Desert 80 miles from Los Angeles. Not only did the development become an ecological nightmare for the desert, but it also became a massive land fraud that’s only recently been settled with a piddling $7 million disbursement to 3,000 fraud victims, fully 60 years after the project first broke ground. And California City was the reason the AVEK pipeline was built, with the financial assistance of the Department of Water Resources and the State Water Project, in the first place.

“In this environment, it was virtually impossible to lose money investing in real estate. All anyone had to do was to buy a few thousand acres of worthless scrubland, secure access to the state’s all-important water vouchers, and sell the property in quarter-acre units to new arrivals.” allthatsinteresting.com

Ron Strand and former mayors Eric Bruen and Peggy Breeden think they can do better than Nat Mendelsohn, and their plan includes AVEK, annexation on 395, and a large master planned “community” even more remote than the Silver Saddle Ranch in California City.

If history repeats, and lessons aren’t learned, then the City of Ridgecrest will suffer the same fate and nobody will be able to afford or want to live there. Ridgecrustaceans will be paying the highest water costs in the history of mankind.

Ridgecrustacean rĭj /krŭ-stā′shən noun

1. Any mainly aquatic arthropod usually having a segmented body and chitinous exoskeleton.
2. Any desert dweller and follower of a dark, beady-eyed humanoid with mustache, no teeth and little pot belly.

Do you get it now? Ron and his followers, Peggy and Eric, have a growth fetish. And it appears that they’re greedy Ridgecrustaceans and will stop at nothing to get their way, including building a $400 million pipeline to nowhere. Skip Gorman doesn’t support the pipeline, and Ron Strand just threw him under the bus.

Do you see what’s going on here RIDGECRUSTACEANS? Wake up and get off your Barcaloungers and Facebook pages. You deserve what’s coming at you, including Strand’s and Bruen’s imported water pipeline project that you don’t need and can’t afford. They’re going to have to call it the Freemont Valley Pipeline from now on, and that’s Ron’s backup plan.

“Without water, we don’t have a community.” – Ron Strand’s brilliant insights on water.

Let’s get back to Lyin Ron Strand, shall we?

Now we know about Strand and his new and improved version of the AVEK pipeline. It’s called the “Freemont Valley Pipeline” from now on.

And he’s telling you that his fellow councilmembers, Gorman, Rajaratnam and Mayor Endicott are liars? Really? Folks, this is a flat-out red flag indicator that Strand has a severe, incurable case of narcissistic personality disorder. And some of you will vote for Strand because you’re in his mob of Strand-worshipping government dependents acting like little children, always whining to be safe with Flock “safety” and entertained on Balsam Street, and he’s an authority figure to you. It’s that simple.

Strand is a stereotypical, overpaid bureaucrat and control-freak telling you, the residents of Ridgecrest which we refer to properly as Ridgcrustaceans, what his master plan actually is. And you will obey and vote for him in the upcoming election. Why, because you’re really dumbshits who can’t think for yourselves and you’ve lived there in Ridgecrest under Ron Strand’s thumbs for too long, not to mention you haven’t gone out into the real world or lived in a city that’s not all government all the time.

How do you know if Ron really cares about your quality of life? What does it mean when he says he wants Ridgecrest to “grow and prosper”. What Ron the narcissist is telling you is that you must support feeding him for the rest of his life with his grotesque and very fat annual CalPERS retirement pension. Strand’s top priority is his quality of life and his power, and he depends on his power of bullshit to persuade you that he really cares, he loves you and he wants to protect you.

Ron really wants to “cut the pipeline in half” and pump the water uphill for 30 or 40 miles. How about Ridgecrustaceans cut Ron’s pension in half. It will still be in six figures.

Let’s go to the video:

You’re idiots if you vote for that piece of crap (and by definition, city attorney Keith Lemieux, who’s also a very lousy attorney in my opinion) or anyone who’s in his sphere of influence, including Debilyn Kinzler and Theresa Dampier. And don’t forget that other lying co-piece-of-shit, Councilman Scott Hayman (who appears to be incontinent). Have we used enough adjectives and cuss words yet? Not in my opinion.

When Did the City of Ridgecrest Hire the Bullshit Artist, Michael McKinney of Capitol Core Group??

• Was the fact that the City of Ridgecrest has been paying Capitol Core Group for lobbying hidden from Ridgecrustaceans too?
• Was this another example of sneaking through an objectionable expense under the city manager’s spending limit or as a budget item?
• Was CEO Michael McKinney lying to you when he told you on video that Assemblymember Diane Papan wrote the legislation called AB 1413?

Bonus Video Clips of the October 14, 2026, IWV Groundwater Authority meeting! The Roadrunner is on the loose!!