Great News!!! No Sex Offenders Currently Residing at Local Motel
The Daily Pilot is our local newspaper that runs articles about the Newport-Mesa area. Like all newspapers, not every article is newsworthy or even worth reading. In the April 28th edition there is an article titled, Our 14 Wonders, and it goes on to list the 14 Wonders of the area. I am not sure if I agree with these wonders but that is for another time.
One the area's wonders according to the author is the Ali Baba Motel. The name in itself conjures up images of snake charmers, turbans and exotic spices. The motel is actually an eyesore, with its gold domed roof and Moorish architecture. There is nothing exotic about it at all.
I have often wondered who stays at the Ali Baba motel, and sometimes have even counted the cars when I drive by late at night. I could never figure out how the motel survived financially. Thanks to the wisdom of a beauracratic at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, I now know who registers at the motel for a good night of sleep. The motel is one of five motels in the area designated to house convicted sex offenders. According to the Megan's Law website, there are no registered offenders living there as of April 26th. This facts assumes two other facts 1. that sex offenders are registering as required by law and 2. that the Megan Law website is up to date.
A less known fact about the motel is that it enjoyed a brief moment of fame when it was featured in the 1987 movie Dragnet staring Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks.
In recent weeks the motel made news again when police shot a man reportedly fleeing from the parking lot in a stolen car.
I suppose fifteen minutes of fame is better than no fame at all.
