A question re the Chief of Police search

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● We at DISSENT the BLOG get all sorts of information, some of it offered anonymously. Most of the anonymous stuff we simply ignore, since, often, we are in no position to verify it.

And some of it is not anonymous. We ignore lots of that, too.

Someone recently visited me and told me something disturbing that I cannot easily verify, but the person has been reliable in the past, and their claim, if correct, is important. So let me just report it to you as such. They are making a claim. Is it true? Dunno.

This person, person X, asserted that the search committee for the new IVC Chief of Police is packed with cronies of the old Chief of Police, Owen Kreza, who left us not long ago amid an investigation and a cloud of controversy. There had long been stories and charges circulating regarding Kreza’s alleged unprofessionalism, cronyism, and abuse of power. Most of us at IVC were happy to see Kreza go.

The worry here is that, if the hiring process yields a Kreza crony, at least some of the same old problems with our security/police department will persist.

Now, again, I have no reason to believe that X’s charge is accurate, other than the fact that X makes it. So those of you who have something relevant to offer, please weigh in on this. Is the committee overly friendly to Kreza? Is it liable to focus on a pool of candidates that will give us more of the same?

UPDATE: a member of the committee told an associate, who told me this afternoon, that the search committee is strictly on the up and up. In fact, said the member, the committee is proud to have among its members Irvine Police Chief David L. Maggard, Jr., a respected law enforcement figure. I do believe that the idea here is this: Maggard represents a high standard of police professionalism, no funny business.

FLY CATCHER? OK, I admit it, this isn't really fair. In truth, there have been one or two good administrative hires in the district in recent memory. But I found these old fly catchers in a drawer—my dad handed 'em to me a few years ago as though they were the greatest thing since sliced bread—and I couldn't resist whipping something up. Let's hope the big new searches/hires—the IVC VPI, comes to mind—will yield some good & competent people.

● Lots of people on campus (here at IVC) seem very happy about Wayne Ward's exit—that'll happen next week Friday. I'm surprised they haven't broken out the blue and white balloons.

● An article in this morning’s OC Register (Irvine expects growth spurt) discusses the debate concerning managing the growth of the city of Irvine:

The county's fourth-largest city will add at least 70,000 people by 2025, according to the latest city population estimates.

The city's growth is spurred by 6,781 acres that have yet to be developed into villages such as Portola Springs, Orchard Hills and Stonegate. Additionally, the city has two redevelopment areas–the old El Toro base and the industrial area near John Wayne Airport–where thousands of residences are being built.

And the population estimate–made by city planners using birth, death, development and other figures–could rise….

…The city's last and largest development decisions are now being made by the City Council. And council members have two different visions for Irvine in the year 2025.

Councilman Larry Agran once was touted as a "slow-growth" advocate–or as he now says, a promoter of "controlled or carefully managed growth." … Today Agran sees the city's future differently. He said two things have changed his vision: more market demand for housing and the closure of El Toro and defeat of efforts to build an airport there.

…The city can manage to add at least 70,000 people – in part by focusing on mass transit, he said. Creating a system of pedestrian and bicycle trails, bus routes, light rail and heavy rail, Agran said, will help residents depend less on vehicles.

Councilwoman Christina Shea disagrees. Shea supports mass transit, but said it should add to, not substitute for, regular traffic planning. The city is adding too many residences without properly planning for quality of life areas such as traffic and city services, she said. "I believe our development is leading the city on a downhill spiral," she said….