Today's adventures in and around Pacifica

Tiger Ann was her usual lovely self today. Here's TA through glass.

Here we find her in the bay window, sunning herself.

Sister Fannie collects neat old objects, like this terrific old wooden ruler that unfolds. I collect 'em too.

So, naturally, we went up the coast--to Rockaway Beach (see the pic)--to an antique shop. See my Chrysler 300?

Bought some goofy items. I'm puttin' that plastic finger up on our office door. Don't know about the rest. I like the bat lady a lot.


Drove down to San Gregorio, Neil Young's neck o' the woods. They've got a way cool General Store there.

"He tried to do his best, but he could not." (From "Tired Eyes.")

I do believe that my sis knows Peggy Young. Nice lady, apparently.

Fannie and I happened to watch The Aristocrats the other night. Bob Saget (of all people) was one of the standouts of that notorious film. Turns out that Saget often employs Fannie's Piano Player boy friend, who can often be found ticklin' the ivories at a dump down in Rockaway Beach.

It's a small world, boy.

SOCCCD board meeting tonight

.....—At the usual place (Health Sciences Building down at Saddleback College)
.....To view the agenda outline for tonight’s meeting of the SOCCCD board of trustees, go to Board Agenda (outline).
.....Below, I’ve indicated possible points of interest that I found on the agenda outline:

CLOSED SESSION (5:00 p.m.)

Nothing remarkable.

OPEN SESSION (6:30 p.m.)

Discussion item:

Both colleges: Basic Skills/Student Success Initiative (reports)

On the consent calendar:

5.7 Destruction of Class 3 Disposable Records [?]

General action items:

6.1 Consolidated elections for members of governing boards—resolution [?]
6.4 ATEP concept plan and long range plan—accept for review and study
6.5 Board policy revision: …Domestic Partners

Weather Report: Let Freedom Ring (Rebel Girl)

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The jacarandas are in bloom. Like most of us, the jacarandas are immigrants; the ones in bloom in southern California this time of year, the Jacaranda mimosifolia are from South America, Argentina and Bolivia to be exact. Rebel Girl doesn't remember seeing them when she was growing up in Los Angeles but then that spring in 1977 when she left home, age sixteen, suddenly they were everywhere. One grew in the slim strip of grass separating the sidewalk and the street in front of the house where she lived with four roommates. Rebel Girl thought the blooms were beautiful. She clipped the branches and put in them in a jar on the kitchen table. Now she looks for them each spring and remembers how, in 1992, they seemed especially brilliant, especially extravagant against the black backdrop of burnt-out neighborhoods of post-riot Los Angeles.

These are some shots around campus that Rebel Girl took last Tuesday, a week ago, before the apocalyptic mudslides that made her look down instead of up. The summer's Fourth of July banners were being put up along Jeffrey Road. On one side is the Statue of Liberty, on the other: Let Freedom Ring.

Later that evening, Rebel Girl joined Red Emma at a political fundraiser out by Irvine Lake. Ron Shepson is a Democratic challenger for the congressional seat held by Republican Gary Miller. That's draw enough in her book; the last time Miller ran, he was unopposed. For shame. Last night, former Ambassador Joe Wilson was there to stump for Shepson. You remember Wilson, aka Valerie Plame's husband, the author of the New York Times editorial, "What I Didn't Find in Africa" which documented his 2002 CIA investigation into whether Iraq had purchased or attempted to purchase uranium yellowcake from Niger. Wilson concluded that the George W. Bush administration twisted intelligence to "exaggerate the Iraqi threat. You remember. It was some evening out there by the lake. Let freedom ring indeed.

To donate to Ron Shepson's campaign, see Rebel Girl. Shepson can use all the help he can get. (Look at that district! It stretches across three counties from Whittier to OC's canyons. Can someone spell jerrymander?)

Meanwhile, U. Utah Phillips, the Golden Voice of the Great Southwest, songwriter, storyteller and card-carrying mamber of the International Workers of the World (aka the Wobblies) passed away last Friday evening at his home in Nevada City, California at age 73.

Rebel Girl and Red have seen Utah in concert countless times and in January 2003, marched in the streets of San Francisco alongside him in the big anti-war protest, pushing the little guy in his stroller. The little guy is partial to Utah's train songs and hobo stories, but his parents, of course, like the labor sinaglongs and the love songs, the stories about Ammon Hennancy, Big Bill Haywood and Lucy Parsons. Utah's memorial is scheduled for this Sunday in Nevada City and the music is sure to be fine and heartfelt. Rebel Girl wishes she could be there.

“The governing board tended to interfere too much”

From yesterday’s San Diego Union-Tribune: Grand jury expected to urge community college ethics panel:

..... The [San Diego] county grand jury is expected to release a report tomorrow that will recommend an ethics committee establish and enforce an ethics code for local community colleges.
.....The report, obtained by The San Diego Union-Tribune, recaps a series of recent controversies at community colleges and recommends that the schools collectively provide $500,000 to hire three people to run a countywide ethics office. The office would develop a uniform code of ethics for all five local community college districts, investigate whistle-blower complaints and monitor compliance with open government laws.
.....The grand jury believes that the cost could be partially offset through reduced legal fees resulting from the office's guidance.
.....The 17-page report is largely anecdotal and rarely mentions a specific person or even a specific college, except in three instances:

• MiraCosta College accepted the resignation of its president last year in exchange for a severance package of nearly $1.6 million, exceeding the 18 months' salary permitted by state law.
• The employment contract of the chancellor of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District was changed without board approval in 2006. The chancellor deleted a clause that limited his severance pay to 12 months in the event of his dismissal. The clause was later re-inserted. [See Serafin Zasueta.]
• The organization that accredited Southwestern College four years ago noted that the governing board tended to interfere too much in day-to-day operations. Since then, the college has had two interim and two permanent presidents and three of its four vice president positions need to be filled.

.....In addition to an ethics committee modeled on the city of San Diego's ethics commission, the grand jury recommends several community college reforms:

• Term limits. The report recommends limits of three four-year terms for college trustees.
• Campaign finance reform. The grand jury recommends that a trustee disclose the amount of any campaign contribution from a firm whose contract is on an agenda and recuse himself or herself from the vote. It also suggests a contribution limit of $300 per source.
• Limit severance packages to no more than 18 months' salary and benefits.