I call 'im "Spanky"

DEPUTY DOGS.
Yesterday, I opined that the OC Sheriff’s department seems destined to abandon its reserve deputy program. As the Reb will tell you, it isn’t often that my predictions come true (she’s still pissed about my 2004 Presidential prognostication). But, in this morning’s LA Times (Badges issued by former O.C. sheriff will be collected), we learn that “Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens [says] that she plans to recall all the badges that her indicted predecessor handed out to a group of more than 400 civilian volunteers….”

I’m on a roll.

During Mike Carona’s reign—no doubt owing to Tom Fuentes’ string-pulling, Carona was named Irvine Valley College’s “Hometown Hero”—these badges seemed to be given out as political payback. In fact, Carona’s former assistant “told investigators that the reserve program was a fundraising arm for Carona and that badges could be bought for a $1,000 donation.”

Squeaky-clean Sheriff Hutchens wants nothing to do with that, of course.

Evidently, Hutchens is determined to draw a clear line between herself and Carona, which was reflected in her choice of executive staff, which includes mostly outsiders to the OC dept.

One of her new hires, John Scott, is a retired LAPD cop, where he oversaw jails, lots of 'em. That’s good, because the OC has had more than its share of jail scandals.

STORY TIME.
One time, I got a call from my late little brother Ray in the middle of the night. He was at that jail across from what was then “The City” in Orange. He wanted me to pick him up. “OK,” I said. When I got there—it was maybe 2:00 a.m.—he was hiding in the bushes, nearly naked, shivering. That’s right, they released him in that condition (it was cold) in the middle of the night, right there in front of the jail. He told me he was hiding because the neighborhood wasn’t safe. He had lots of bruises and some broken teeth. He got those mementos in the jail.

I do believe that that was the last time I ever saw him.

IRVINE’S FERAL WILL FERRELL.
I’m not a big Will Ferrell fan. I kept hearing about the guy, and so, when his movie Elves came out, I went to see it. I just didn’t get it.

But he may well be Irvine’s real Hometown Hero, for he’s enormously popular, and he still shows up in Irvine now and again. He’s promoting his new movie, and so the OC Reg managed to interview him recently (Will Ferrell says growing up in Irvine made him funny).

I read the interview.

I still don’t get it.

CAL STATE FULLERTON RESEARCH FUNDING PLUMMETS.
The OC Reg’s “Science Dude” (CSUF research plummets while other O.C. schools prosper) reports that “one of the largest universities on the West Coast [namely, CSUF] suffered a $3.3 million drop in research funding over the past year while UC Irvine set a new record and Chapman University had one of its best years ever.”

The Reg asked Fullerton why, researchwise, it has been spiraling downward for the last three years, but they received no explanation.

I’m trying to picture that scene with the Reg reporter and the University flack:

“So, why do you suppose this is happening”?

No answer. Stony silence. Eventually, the Reg reporter walks away to buy a donut.

HIGH SCHOOL CHEATING IN THE OC.
Have you noticed that I’ve been ignoring that ETS “cheating” story here in the OC? Yeah. But it just won’t go away. According to IHE, it seems to be shaping up as a scandal.

The facts: ETS (the folks who create and administer such tests as the SAT) voided the scores of about 400 high school students, and now some of the parents are suing. ETS acknowledges that the tests were not monitored adequately, which is an understatement. Kids were text messaging, coming and going in groups, etc. It’s a perfect “OC” scene. They acknowledge also that they don’t know exactly who cheated and who did not (some students admitted cheating), but they voided all of the scores anyway.

TRUSTEE SPANKY.
According to IHE, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings appeared on “The Colbert Report” recently, where she jokingly suggested that it's time for a national spanking policy.

Yeah, that’s a joke. Except in the OC.

Check out Education Alliance’s website. They defend spanking. So does board President Don Wagner, who, of course, is a member of EA.

I call ‘im “Spanky.” (See Trustee "Spanky".)