Forget that America was discovered by a guy exploring for Spain

The OC Weekly (Orange County, Calif,) reports that the city planner in a Spanish-named town, with city designs inspired by Spain, doesn't like Spanish-based street names because he can't pronounce them.

Historically, Mission Viejo has had street names drawn from Spanish. After all, the Dispatch points out, the city's original developer sent representatives to Spain in the 1960s to get design ideas for the new master-planned community.

The issue came up at a planning commission meeting, leading Lennar to submit a new batchof more Mission Viejo-ish names, like "Via Cielo" and "Via Panorama."

Planning commissioner Robert Bruchmann, though, wishes they'd kept the old names. Here's part of his letter to the Mission Viejo Dispatch:

"Frankly I liked the initial submission of names [by Lennar], mainly because I can pronounce them."

A law without power to solve a problem they don't have

The town of Forty Fort, near Wilkes-Barre, PA, intends to pass English-only law despite it having no power and there being no need, according to the Times Leader:

"... the ordinance is powerless in insulating the borough from action dictated by higher governments. While he did not know of any Pennsylvania state or federal laws requiring municipal documents be printed in languages other than English, should such a law be made, Dyller said, Forty Fort would be bound to follow it, ordinance or not.

“It doesn’t insulate them from anything,” he said. “What it does is tell Hispanic people: stay out.”"