Sunday, December 2, 2007

A Rusty Wet Symphony of Mud: Modjeska Canyon

THE MUD is made of dirt and ash and water and rocks, some the size of a human head, most the size of fists. The texture is viscous. The shovels hit the rocks, scrape, almost sing as they slide, sounding like pickaxes, the sound of the old local mines of Modjeska, Silverado.

It's a rusty wet symphony.

When you're at your own home, warm, dry, unmuddied, you think that maybe they don't need you but then you go because you hear they need wheelbarrows and then you get there and you see they need so much more than that and there you are: needed.

Generally, three full shovels fill a sandbag. If Rebel Girl is doing the shoveling, it takes five or six.

The sandbags are made in China.

We fill the sandbags with the rocky mud that has filled the house, a dark even tide of two feet in every room. Then we haul the bags up the hillside to secure against another slide.

The flooded house lies below Flores Peak, the rugged upcropping that catches the light and glows in the afternoon.

In 1857, Juan Flores and a band of outlaws killed Sheriff James Barton and part of his posse nearby at what is now known as Barton Mound. Pursued by a posse led by General Andrés Pico, Flores and his men were finally caught on this distinctive rock outcropping in the canyon. Now the peak, named after Flores, is a California State Landmark. Flores' loot was never found. Rumor has it that he hid it up there somewhere.

It is the kind of story that is told to make cold weary diggers laugh and keep digging. We wonder aloud if we will be the lucky ones. We imagine how we'll spend the gold. We already feel lucky.

This house isn't, after all, our house.

Our house didn't burn, didn't flood.

We keep digging.

Get with the goddam program

THE BUSY YET GRIM BOARD OF TRUSTEES. As you know, the SOCCCD Board of Trustees (BOT) had two special meetings recently: one concerning ATEP—the SOCCCD’s new high-tech facility in Tustin—the other concerning Saddleback College's accreditation (the BOT met with the Accreds [ACCJC] during their site visit in the never-ending Saddleback College accreditation saga).

Everybody’s been pretty tight-lipped about the ATEP meeting, but there are numerous indications that it was way stormy and/or unhappy (if facial expressions & grumpitude are any indication). Could it be that things are not going well re Mathur’s grand plan to place his mug on Mt. Goomore via the "Camelot" deal? I keep hearing that there exist big tensions among the three concerned parties: (1) the City of Tustin, (2) the Camelot people, and (3) the District.

If the city is unhappy enough, they'll pull the plug on any BIG ATEP DEAL.

(NOTE: In my report for the September board meeting (see), I wrote
David Hunt (of gkkworks) presented the “short-range plan” for ATEP.... Our continued use of those 68 acres depends on the city’s confidence that we are making progress in its development. The “long-range plan” is the as-yet-undefined partnership now being negotiated with such entities as Camelot. The “short-range plan” is what we’ll be doing with the property in the interim, which, I gather, will be a period of years. ¶ The short plan’s chief element appears to be demolition of buildings, the projected cost of which is about $7 million. The projected cost of the entire plan, not including some as-yet-to-be-determined elements (e.g., maintenance), is $9,231,610. ¶ Hunt opined that this plan should be enough to satisfy the City of Tustin.
At the time, I wondered: where's all this money gonna come from?)

We’ll let you know as soon as we hear anything definite.

I haven’t heard word one about the Accred confab. Evidently, no faculty showed up to the meeting, which was public.

Way to go, faculty. I just love the way you're all over this stuff.

Let me be more direct. Faculty: get with the goddam program.

COMEDY OF ERRORS or SUBTERFUGE OF MATHUR’S? Meanwhile, trustee Marcia Milchiker seems to be mad as hell and disinclined to take it any more re Chancellor Mathur and his efforts on her behalf to serve on ACCJC visiting teams. You’ll recall that, a few months ago, Marcia expressed interest in such service, but, during a public BOT meeting, Mathur “informed” her that trustees are no longer eligible. His info, evidently, was based on his alleged correspondence with the Big Beno (aka Babs Beno of ACCJC) concerning this matter.

It turns out that Mathur’s information is false, and so Marcia’s hopping mad. But Mathur may be guilty of nothing more than his usual stupidity and poor communications skills.

On the other hand....

Recently, there was considerable interest in the mysterious disappearance and hilarious/disturbing morphing of the faculty hiring policy (4011.1) on the district website. (This at a time when numerous hiring committees are beginning their work!) These phenomena turned out to be nothing more than the cyber-residue of a mere comedy of errors.

Aincha proud?

NIELSEN CHILD MOLESTATION TRIAL, AGAIN. Speaking of PRIDE, things have not been going well in the FUENTESPHERE, what with increasingly disturbing revelations of Treasurer Chriss Street’s corruption (past and present), the indictment of Sheriff Mike "Hometown Hero" Carona, and so on.

You’ll recall that one of Fuentes’ protégés is (or was) attractive young up-and-GOPer Jeffrey Nielsen, the son of a local bigwig Republican. In the late 90s, Fuentes invited hot young Jeff to the Balboa Bay Club and took ‘im to South Coast Plaza to buy him suits. Gosh! (See Jeff Nielsen is a conservative guy.)

Well, years later, the OC Weekly commenced reporting allegations (and seemingly powerful evidence—check it out) that young Jeff engaged in child molestation with a kid in Virginia. Then, a year or so ago, the OC DA filed charges against Nielsen with regard to a Westminster teenager. The latter led to a trial and a hung jury.

On Thursday, the OC Register reported that:
The often-delayed second child molestation trial for Jeffrey Nielsen—lawyer, former congressional staffer, a former clerk in the Orange County District Attorney's Office and a former member of the Ladera Ranch Maintenance Corp. board of directors—was delayed again, to Dec. 5.

Nielsen, 33, is charged with molesting a 14-year-old male high school student whom he met in an Internet chat, and a Virginia teenager he met in the 1990s when he worked for Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) in Washington D.C. Both victims were allegedly molested in Orange County.

The trial—if it goes—could last as long as 25 days, says Deputy District Attorney Colleen Crommett.

Or it could end in less than the 11 days it took for the first trial, when Nielsen was charged only with molesting the 14-year-old student, says defense attorney Paul S. Meyer.

That first trial ended with a hung jury. The second trial was delayed again for two weeks because Meyer is involved in another trial. Nielsen is also represented by prominent defense attorney John Barnett.
It’s amazing what being rich and/or connected will do for a guy. Just amazing. I doubt that the Jeffster will ever be convicted of anything.

As Red likes to say, "It’s Orange County, Jake."

Post-ash & -muddian yet antediluvian weekendery

• From the OC Register: Canyon residents return home to dig out from mud, debris:
Residents of Orange County’s fire-ravaged canyons returned to their homes Saturday, a day after fleeing the rain and mud, as crews and volunteers arrived to clean up the mess left by recent storms.

Evacuation orders for Modjeska, Williams and Silverado canyons were all lifted by 10:30 a.m. Saturday morning after an estimated 0.2 inches of rain fell overnight. It was a stark contrast to the scene a day earlier, when between 1 to 1.5 inches of rain in some areas resulted in a torrent of mud, debris and ash. …The county will likely get a reprieve from the rainy weather, with the National Weather Service expecting a warm, drying trend over the next few days. A slight chance of showers returns on Thursday night, forecasters said.
• From OC Reg’s Science Dude:
USGS to put mudslide webcam in Modjeska Canyon

The U.S. Geological Survey says it will place a real-time webcam in the Santiago Creek area of Modjeska Canyon on Tuesday to let the public watch for flooding and debris-floows that could result from the October wildfires that burned more than 28,000 acres in eastern Orange County. The fire spread into Modjeska Canyon, destroying more than a dozen homes. Residents were forced out of the canyon Friday when heavy rain caused minor rock and mudslides.

The public will be able to access the camera at Camera when it goes online this week.
• From the OC Reg’s “Beach Blog”: Largest surf of the year may also bring flooding to coastal areas:
A massive swell expected to show up on the Orange County coast Tuesday could be the largest seen all year…[T]he big waves may not be such a welcomed sight for homeowners in low-lying areas-such as Seal Beach and Newport Peninsula—where large surf combined with extreme high tides can cause flooding.

The most dangerous time will be Wednesday morning, when a high tide of 5 feet, 6 inches is supposed to hit at 6:10 a.m., according to Surfline.com forecasters.

Southern California breaks could see anywhere from 6-to 10-foot faces, with some sets larger than 15 feet.

Forecasters expect this to be the strongest swell of the year - possibly larger than any swell last year.

Roy's obituary in LA Times and Register: "we were lucky to have you while we did"

  This ran in the Sunday December 24, 2023 edition of the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register : July 14, 1955 - November 20, 2...