A photographic query

[Upshot? The above photo memorializes completion, in 1926, of a stretch of PCH connecting Newport Beach and Laguna Beach. On hand were Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford. --RB, 4/3]

Earlier today, I posted a few spiffy old photos that I found in the Orange County Public Library archive, and I included the one above. I knew about it only that, supposedly, it was taken in Laguna Beach.

But when I looked at this photo again today, it occurred to me that the man at the anvil is none other than Douglas Fairbanks. I blew up his image at right:

Compare the image with this pic of "The King of Hollywood" with his wife, Mary Pickford, in 1920:


Bingo. Well, naturally, it occurred to me that the gal at the right would likely be Mary Pickford, aka "America's Sweetheart." Here's a blowup of the gal.

And here's Pickford in 1918 (at right):

Ditto Bingo.

Pickford and Fairbanks are known to have frequented Laguna Beach during their time together (c. 1920-1933), so I figure it's likely that I've correctly identified these two. And I'm guessing that the picture was taken in the early 20s.

But what is the occasion memorialized in this photo? It appears to be some kind of opening. But of what?

Note that several persons in the photo are wearing costumes. Laguna Beach was known for its "Indian" (i.e., Native American) pageants, but not all costumes in the photo fit that theme.

What do you think? And can you help me to identify others in the photo?

UPDATE: BeachCalifornia.com offers a brief history of Corona del Mar, including Pickford and Fairbanks' involvement in the opening of PCH—connecting Laguna to Newport Beach:

Plans for Corona del Mar at the turn of the 20th century were as a vacation resort destination. On June 29, 1904 George Hart signed an agreement with the Irvine Ranch for the purchase of a 706.08-acre corner of land on the Irvine Ranch for summer cottages. His concept quickly changed in 1904 when visitors came to play and wouldn’t leave so perfect a spot. Until the late 1920’s, Corona del Mar was a tiny village reached from the peninsula by small boat at high tide, or by a muddy dirt road that crossed the Irvine Ranch and continued along the bluffs around Newport Upper Bay. With the opening of Pacific Coast Highway in 1926 (Mary Pickford & Douglas Fairbanks were there for the ribbon cutting), a period of slow growth began, not accelerating until after World War II.

Could our pic be of that “ribbon cutting”? It does include a little girl wearing a sash that says “Miss Newport Beach.” But they're definitely not cutting a ribbon, and they don't seem to be opening a road. And why wear costumes for such an occasion?

UPDATE (April 1): whole hawk

Our good friend Bohrstein (Bohr+Einstein) has located this factoid in the Orange County Almanac:

1926: …Pacific Coast Highway opens between Huntington Beach and Newport Beach. Screen stars Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, costumed as the god Vulcan and "Spirit of Progress," attend the opening ceremony….

BS’s theory is/was that the pic includes actors involved in the 1922 movie “Robin Hood” and thus depicts an event during its filming, probably at some "Hollywood" location. In fact, it really does seem to me that several of the people in the crowd are among the actors for that movie. But BS’s new data suggest that the pic is of the “ribbon cutting” for the new stretch of PCH after all—cuz Fairbanks is surely doing a “Vulcan” kinda thing here. And Pickford might well be some kinda "Spirit" (what do spirits wear?).

As I told BS, I am now officially on the fence about this. PCH or RH? I be discombobulated!

And I will not remain on the fence. I am now on a quest! As my German mother would say right about now, “I am in dis ting whole hawk!”

UPDATE:

Craig Chalquist, in his book Deep California, briefly discusses Laguna Beach, describing its growth:

Another boom arrived with the Pacific Coast Highway. For its 1926 opening, Douglas Fairbanks dressed up as the god Vulcan welding links in a chain of friendship running north to Long Beach while his wife Mary Pickford stood by as the Spirit of Progress admiring the crippled blacksmith. In photographs taken at the event the two seem a trifle embarrassed.

Yeah, in the photo, Dougie Boy does seem to be making links in a chain. Is he embarrassed? Don't thinks so, but we've not seen all the pics. --RB

Some seriously cool old OC pics

Here’s a shot of Main Street in Tustin. Nowadays, the building with the neoclassic colonnade is occupied by my favorite restaurant, Rutabegorz (which caters to vegetarians). According to the Ruta people, the structure was

built in 1914 by the son of Columbus Tustin. It is one of the oldest buildings in town. The building first served the community as a general store owned by Charles Artz, and has since been home to many various businesses. During the Depression, the building for a short time even became a classroom for local school kids.

Here’s a curious shot of what is supposed to be Laguna Beach (in the 20s?). The little sailor’s sash (at left) says “Miss Newport Beach.”

Here’s a picture of Laguna Beach in 1910.


This is “Bird’s Café” in Laguna Beach, 1935. Is this the same building as “The White House,” on PCH, near Main Beach?


Maybe, but then how explain this? That's the White House, at left, in 1920. I've been trying to identify buildings in old pics lately, and it's makin' my head spin.

I found all of these photographs in the Orange County Public Library archives (OC photos). I've only gone through about a fourth of what they have there.

Mathur a dead ringer for Gallaxhar?

One of our readers tells us that he (she?) has seen "Monsters vs. Aliens" and that, in his/her estimation, there is a "freaky resemblance between the evil alien leader and the leader of our district [Chancellor Raghu P. Mathur]."

He/she asks, "Am I crazy?"

Well, judge for yourself. The alien leader—Gallaxhar—makes his entrance at about 40 seconds into this trailer.

Personally, I think this claim, whether true or not, is an insult to aliens everywhere.

Laguna Beach, years ago

Today, I perused the OC Public Library archives, and I came across this old photograph of "Fairy Wood" dated c. 1927. I had never heard of Fairy Wood, but it looked familiar. So I Googled the name and found that it was the site used by Laguna Beach's Isaac Jenkinson Frazee* (1858-1942) to present his Indian Pageant. This property later became the location of the Laguna Beach Festival of the Arts.

Obviously, this is a photograph of Laguna Beach, at or near Main Beach, in the late 60s. Presumably, the signs ("Refuse to serve in the Armed Forces") concern the Vietnam War. Check out the price of Super Shell: 34 cents a gallon.
You can see the White House Café in the background at right. Here's a picture of the White House in the 40s:

This, too, is Laguna Beach: May of 1967, I believe. "Eiler" likely refers to Eiler Larsen, the city's "greeter" in those days (and until his death in 1975). I'm not sure what kind of help the fellow needed in 1967, though it was about then that he became ill. (Larsen, a WWI vet, was born in 1890.)

*Born in Winchester, Indiana, Isaac Frazee (1858-1942) was a painter who specialized in Indian subjects and also wrote books, short stories, and poems. At his private amphitheater on his San Diego ranch, he produced "Indian Love Pageant,” predecessor of Laguna’s first Indian Festival in 1921 that evolved (with the help of Lolita Perrine) into the Pageant of the Masters. Frazee’s sketches of Laguna Beach in 1875 are the earliest known depictions of the area. He made his home in Laguna in 1926, just before it incorporated and lived here until his death. (From Orange Coast Living.)

Helena Modjeska documentary

Below: a trailer for an upcoming documentary about actress and OC icon Helena Modjeska. From director Basia Myszynski.

What if they gave a democracy and nobody came? Board meeting notes, part 2

Re Tuesday’s board meeting:

[Continued...] Eventually, the board arrived at items 6.1-3, which concerned our district’s benighted ATEP campus out there in Tustin where the Marines (et al.) used to dump carcinogens onto the ground every five minutes for forty years. As things stand, ATEP is an acre of cool looking Art Tin-canno buildings right along Redhill, where kids/adults learn how to work various kinds of technical whizbangery.

Yeah, but what about the other 67 acres?

ATEP 2.0 was once supposed to be a center for “Homeland Security” training. Then, I think, it was supposed to be a center for the study of gizmology (well no) and Young Republican Hoofers 'n' Crooners (yes, sorta). Anyway, in recent years, efforts have been made to work with Money Men (and Money Women I guess, though I never seem to spot any of those) to create a film and TV pre- and post-production complex and underwater basket-weaving appreciation module.

For a while, the “Camelot” people seemed likely to put this thing together, but they turned out to be Money Men sans Money. Nowadays, there are two bigtime developers in the running (they seem to be avec money), and they’re still talking about that Film and TV studio, which, I'm told, is desperately needed in OC. One wonders why these Money People need us, cuz leasing property has got to be cheap in OC by now—I mean, what with the country hitting the skids and all.

In the meantime, the City of Tustin is essentially a crew of hayseeds who keep falling off of a turnip wagon (see Albert Camus' “Myth of Turnipus”)—and those people are pissed because, way back in the 60s or 70s, they were slated to get their very own community college right there where the Tustin Marketplace now stands, but then that wily old Irvine Company arranged one of its slick deals to avoid paying taxes by giving away that orange grove upon which IVC now sits.

So there you are: Irvine got the community college, and Tustin got IKEA. Ever since, Tustinistas have resented IVC and Irvine and their high-handed ways. The hayseeds who run that town (they’ve got names like “Lou Bone”) have been pounding their little fists and stamping their little feet to turn ATEP into “Tustin Community College.” But that just ain’t gonna happen.

I’m told, though, that the Tustin people have decided at long last to make nice. Don’t know what that’s about.

So, on Tuesday, the legal eagles of the bigtime legal firm that is advising us re ATEP (think of the money they're making!) showed up to explain a series of “resolutions” having to do with environmental impact reports and "conveying" the property and defanging the toxins. Something like that.

PUBLIC HEARING:

The way this went down was interesting. Board Prez Don Wagner recessed the regular board meeting to go into a “public hearing” regarding this complicated ATEP stuff. (A meeting within a meeting! How cool is that?) Then he asked if any members of the public wanted to speak to these “resolution”/ATEP issues.

Anyone?

At that moment, the spiffy and spacious Ronald McDonald Room was as quiet as the Gipper's tomb. Not only did no one want to speak, nofreakinbody showed up!

I enjoyed it immensely.

So Don looked out at the sea of nothingness and went forward with the damned resolutions.

He made a big deal of asking for public comments twice. I could tell that he was awfully proud of himself for this supererogatory CYA.

If any Tustinistas were there, I sure don't know about it.

Later, the board got to item 7.1, “ATEP Developer Selection.” The “principles” of Hudson Capital, LLC and Cyburt Hall Partners were there to “discuss their credentials” to complete ATEP 2.0.

That’s when Tom Fuentes manifested his fear of ATEP turning into a production facility for porno most foul (PMF). It was kinda like that scene in Dr. Strangelove when Herr Doktor Peter von Sellers explained the need for a rigorous repopulation program, post apocalypse.

Creepy, man.

What about “violence and vulgarity?” asked the violent and vulgar Mr. Fuentes. We don’t want a “fox in the chicken coop,” he said.

But the foxes explained that their vision of ATEP involves pre- and post-production, not big fancy soundstages and partings of the Red Sea. As things stand, businesses in the OC have no place to go for commercials and reality shows and Tony Robbins' chin and whatnot, and this facility would be just the thing.

Fuentes yammered for a while about our securing the 68 acres of the old helicopter station as a fine “peace dividend garnered for us by this man over here.” Fuentes turned around and gestured at the name “Ronald McDonald” on the wall. (Well, no. “Ronald Reagan.”)

I’m not making this shit up.

“Every six months,” continued Tom, there’s s strike in Hollywood, and, hey, in the SOCCCD we’ve got union teachers (he grimaced and snarled à la Tasmanian Devil). He wondered if the latter dastardly crew would “cross the union line.”

Well, the Money Men essentially explained that Fuentes doesn’t know what the f*ck he’s talking about. Market-related work doesn’t stop just because of strikes, they said. “The entertainment/marketing business goes on,” they said, no matter freakin’ what.

OK, whatever. No decision was made.

That was about it, I guess.

He hoied my polloi: notes on Tuesday's board meeting, part 1

hoi polloi: the masses; the common people. Hoi polloi is sometimes used incorrectly to mean ‘upper class’—that is, the exact opposite of its normal meaning.

I showed up to the March 24 board meeting about ten minutes late. Before I even sat down someone whispered to me that something was up with the board and its devotion to religious invocations, for, just then, Board President Don Wagner had shared a “Hopi prayer” instead of the usual “Dear Heavenly Father” stuff. I’m told that the room grew particularly solemn and quiet during Don’s brief detour through the multicultural spiritual universe.

Were they waiting for a bolt of lightning?

During her report, trustee Marcia Milchiker expressed her enthusiasm for some campus event that included a “Flamingo dance.” This no doubt pissed off the Andalusians in the audience. (It's flamenco, not flamingo!)

For his part, Chancellor Raghu Mathur blathered about a letter from former bigwig Dianne Woodruff. Evidently, she had gone out of her way to praise the work of IVC’s Bill Hewitt as a “valuable member of the consultation council,” whatever that is. (Something in Sacramento, I think.) He also noted the new signs at Saddleback College, which are “easy to read.”

Just then, someone grumbled to me that some of this new signage is misspelt. (For years, the A300 building at IVC sported the label “Humanites.”)

During Don Taylor, David Gatewood, and Randy Peebles’ presentation concerning “Career Technical Education Programs” at the three campuses, Taylor and Wagner exchanged delightful banter regarding St. Ronald Reagan (aka "he who must be invoked every 15 minutes"). I didn’t quite catch it, but I assure you that it was amusing beyond words, judging by the uproar.


Taylor provided a brief account of the history of community colleges, starting with the Smith-Hughes Act, I think. Yeah, schools were recognized as necessary to produce good workers for the factories, yadda yadda yadda. A turning point for cc's occurred just after WWII—because of the GI Bill—he said, and we seem to be at another crossroads today.

"You probably don't want to go into print journalism," he said.

Some students showed up with a PowerPoint presentation describing a proposed IVC Recycling Complex. It was one of those student things that is supposed to bowl over the adults in the room, but, in truth, the trustees were only mildly impressed, and Tom Fuentes seemed unpleasantly scoffular about this proposed intrusion by government into the private sphere (as they love to say in Right-Wing World).

Student trustee Hannah Lee once again enlivened the discussion with a daffy remark seemingly provided by writers for Fox television: “Thank you for an AWESOME presentation!” she said.

Apparently, the packet of info re the Recycling Complex made mention of international students, and, natch, this was detected by the ever-alert Mr. Fuentes and his sophisticated xenophobic radar. It turns out that international students are very restricted in the kinds of work they can do on campus, and this center would provide jobs that fit the bill perfectly.

That seemed to assuage the Fuentster.


Tom pulled an item from the consent calendar: renewal of a contract to print and email class schedules.

This, said Fuentes, is unnecessary. After all, didn’t his neighbors tell him that they get this schedule and immediately toss it in the trash? Well, QED!

Tom seemed to suggest that members of the community can simply go online, register, and find the classes they want without all of this mailing of schedules. Plus, he said, we just got through agreeing to a generous faculty contract (aka "an obscene waste of taxpayer money"), and so we ought to find ways to save money somewhere.

Harrumph!

As I reported on Tuesday, trustee John Williams judged this proposal to be a “great idea.” Maybe, he said, we could mail little postcards instead! But Nancy Padberg rolled her eyes as per usual and then demurred. I think she mentioned her neighbors, too. Anyway, sending these schedules increases enrollments and is great marketing, she said. Tom's idea sucks.

Dave Lang seemed to side with Fuentes and Williams, though he seemed unprepared to support an immediate decision. He favored further study. I mean, maybe we can determine the potential effects of this approach, he said.

Don Wagner naturally “echoed” what his pals had been saying. But Bill Jay suddenly (well, no) looked both discomfited and elderly. He mentioned his neighbors and family members and their love of mailed schedules. Plus “Emeritus” students are “forgetful,” said he, "as I am."

He declared Mr. Fuentes’ proposal to be “penny wise and pound foolish.”

Hannah Lee expressed a “student’s perspective”: “I just go online,” she announced perkily. Everyone stared at her absurdly young and perfect face.

Fuentes noted that some other districts had made the change. But he seemed to see the wisdom of “further study.”

Now, during much of this, Saddleback College’s Academic Senate President, Bob C, had his hand in the air—to no avail. At one point, sensing that the discussion was winding down, I raised my own hand and pointed at Bob, at which point Mr. Wagner spun around and roared that, yes, “I see you, Professor Bauer” and goddamit I don’t need the likes of you telling me what to do!

Well, that was the gist of it. Evidently, even before I dared to raise my hand, he had been whipped into a state of abject peevitude because several persons had signaled to him that, um, what about Bob?

He now bellowed that he would get to Bob later—maybe—after the board was finished discussing the matter!

Tsk, tsk. How very undemocratic. He had hoied my polloi.

Eventually, Chancellor Mathur, his nose a stinky deep brown, effused about Fuentes’ proposal and commenced talking about ways to “implement it.” But Bill Jay then reminded everybody that older folks “are not computer literate at all.”

A truer thing had never been said.

Eventually, Bob C was permitted to speak. He noted that there is a survey done every other year and it has indicated that 63% of our students are brought to us via the mailed class schedule.

In the end, the matter was tabled.

To be continued....

Some news

On Marla Jo Fisher’s College Life blog: [Coast CCD] Chancellor leaving: No fraud or crimes found, agreement says. Hmmm. Very mysterious.

UPDATE: Beleagered chancellor retires under fire

Rebel Girl rebels elsewhere: Silverado group continues fight to keep school open (OC Register)

Tonight's board meeting in pics

Tonight's meeting of the SOCCCD board of trustees was largely uneventful, although Board Prez Don Wagner did shock the socks off of everyone when he offered a "Hopi prayer" during his invocation!

Well, that's gotta be a step in the right direction. Too bad he didn't demonstrate the mystical benefits of peyote too.

I'll provide a proper report some time late tomorrow. For now, I'll mostly just show some pics.

Some kids from IVC showed up with their proposal for some kind of recycling complex on campus. Their PowerPoint presentation was surprisingly polished.

Tom Fuentes seemed skeptical. Why not just have private firms do this stuff? He then genuflected to the name "Ronald Reagan" on the wall behind him. Shockingly, the "g" suddenly fell off the wall and shattered into a million tiny pieces. Some audience members gasped and shrieked, losing control of their bodies, with arms and legs akimbo, flag pins askew.

But these kids maintained their enthusiasm and doe-eyed innocence. Someone in the audience whispered to me: "Aren't they cute?"

"Yup," I said.

Trustee Tom gave me the stink-eye, natch.

When prospective Money Men for ATEP 2.0 made their presentation (see below), Tom offered a classic Fuentesesque query: what about the specter of a studio at ATEP producing "R- or X-rated films"!? OMG!

Later, Tom, looking out for the taxpayer again, urged the board to cease the printing and mailing of class schedules (which costs more than $400K a pop).

Trustee John Williams liked the idea. His eyes twinkled and his homunculus stirred. John suggested that we send cheap "post cards" instead! The post cards could say, "check us out online. FU." Something like that.

Aside from Trustees Bill Jay and Nancy Padberg, the board seemed to think that Tom's idea was the cat's meow. But Bill worried that the folks in Leisure World wouldn't be able to find us, cuz they're not "computer literate."

Dave Lang suggested that the Chancellor return next time with a report regarding the likely consequences of this kind of measure. By the time the proposal got to Mr. Goo, the little fellow seemed to think his task was not to determine the viability of Fuentes' idea, but to make it work. Good grief. I think that Tom and Co. are determined to have their way on this thing.

No action yet though. That matter was tabled.

A very sharp lawyer showed up to explain the latest resolutions concerning ATEP.

Gatewood, Taylor, and Peebles made a fine presentation concerning technical and vocational instruction at the three district campuses.

As you can see, the board had someone blast a big hole in the west wall so that TV viewers can watch speakers with Saddleback Mountain in the background. Nice touch.

The Money Men. Big shots. Nice suits. Evasive answers. Tom looked skeptical.

The faculty contract

Some of you have contacted us, asking us to report on the status of the faculty contract. We know only what faculty have been told in a series of emails:

Last Friday (March 20), faculty union Prez Lee H emailed the faculty, offering a cryptic remark: “The contract went to the Board of Trustees on March 19, 2009 and was approved by them....”

That communication produced considerable confusion.

Three days later (i.e., yesterday), faculty received an email from union negotiator Lewis L, who clarified the situation:

On Thursday, … the Board held a special meeting … to discuss the contact. As a result of that meeting, [the District] has contacted the Faculty Association Negotiating Team to inform us that the District will accept the Association's most recent salary proposal.

Lewis then explained the recent history of negotiations:

[I]in December, the two teams reached tentative agreement on a proposed contract…. However, because of the deteriorating economic condition of the state, the contract as proposed and ratified lost District and Board support….

Said Lewis, union officers were faced with a choice between three options, each of them unattractive. But a decision was made:

Reluctantly, the faculty team agreed to return to the table to make a new contract proposal, believing this to be in the best interests of the faculty.

This does seem to be the best option for faculty. (Well, that's my opinion.)

Lewis then explained the terms of the union’s new salary proposal (agreed to by the district). I won’t go into the details except to say that it includes COLA for full- and part-time faculty (2007-08) and a 1% increase for 2008-09 and then 2009-10.

Lewis noted that the faculty must vote to ratify this new contract prior to ultimate approval by the district/board.

A few hours later, Lewis provided an update in which he reported that, since the last communication, the union signed a new tentative agreement with the district (as per above). He then explained that the revised proposed contract would be available online for review by faculty for the next two weeks. Then, on Friday, April 3rd, the contract will be presented to faculty at a meeting at Saddleback College.

Finally, that evening, on-line ratification voting will start and continue for a week. If faculty approve this new proposed contract, the board will vote on it at the April board meeting (that's on the 27th).

Good!

NEWS:

• Marla Jo Fisher of the OC Register reports (on her College Life blog) that Colin Powell [is] coming to Chapman [University] Saturday. Check it out!

• Check out Gustavo Arellano's interesting historical piece on OC Weekly’s “Navel Gazing”: John Schmitz, the Institute for Historical Review, and Old World Village.

The IHR was that loony Holocaust denial outfit that Trustee Frogue liked so much. Remember?

Schmitz was the zany right-winger (and community college instructor) who ran for President in the early 70s. He was expelled from the John Birch society for "extremism."

Wow.

Annie's weird-assed Asian lacquer screens

Annie came home yesterday all excited. "What's up?" I asked.

"I went to that consignment shop and bought something really cool for the living room." She showed me the pile of I-know-not-what stuffed into the back of her Toyota.

"Um, yeah, looks good," I said. I didn't know what the hell I was looking at. "Yeah, wow, that's great."

So, tonight, we put the thing together—it's old and heavy and unwieldy—and it turns out to be crazy cool, just like Annie said.

"Paid just $100 for it!" says Annie, beaming.

The damned thing is hand-painted. If it falls on TigerAnn, she's done for. And I still don't know really what kind of thing it is.

But I like it.

TigerAnn says "hey."

Tuesday's board meeting: a big night for ATEP

The March meeting of the South Orange County Community College District board of trustees will be held this Tuesday, the 24th. If you go to the district website, you’ll find a link to the agenda and to a Notice of Public Hearing for ATEP Phase 3A—Concept Plan Project And Notice of Intent to Adopt an Addendum to FEIS/EIR Elsewhere, the district explains that “the concept plan provides details on the location, size and use of the first major building phase, including up to 305,000 square feet of classrooms, labs and educational support.” As you know, discussions between the district and the City of Tustin regarding the fate of ATEP have been tense and troubled. But I’m told that things have definitely taken a turn for the better in recent months, and, as things now stand, the city isn’t likely to veto SOCCCD’s plan. We’ll see, I guess. According to the agenda, Tuesday’s closed session begins at 5:00 p.m. (There’ll be the usual opportunity for public comments. Nobody'll take that opportunity, cuz this is America.) The agenda for the closed session includes discussion of union issues: contract negotiations. No mention here of the reported recent agreement that dare not speak its name. The open session is scheduled to commence at 6:30. A “certificate” will be presented concerning “display of President Reagan Memorabilia.”

I do hope it’s a poster of Reagan’s Bedtime for Bonzo or a videotape of the Gipper saying, "I don't recall." Or maybe a picture of Reagan signing the Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982. You know. Deregulation of the S&Ls?

I'd totally get behind that. The memorabilia, I mean. Dean Taylor, Interim Dean Gatewood, and Park Ranger Peebles will “present info on career technical education programs offered throughout the district. A gaggle of students will present a proposal concerning an IVC “Recycling Complex.” Among “consent calendar” items: 5.4: Looks like parking tickets at IVC will go up to $35 a pop. 5.22: Evidently, we’re gonna pay some printing place $405K for the printing and mailing of class schedules. That’s one juicy contract, boy. General action items: 6.1 – 6.3: There’ll be a recess to a public hearing re the ATEP study, concept plan, etc. 6.2 is a “resolution” to adopt the addendum to the final environmental impact report re ATEP, etc. It’s 46 pages long and includes 44 Whereas’s. I counted 'em. 6.3 (adopting the concept plan) has 33 Whereas’s. You really should peruse this stuff. I do hope the public (and the district community) is paying attention. I hope for world peace too. Reports: 7.1: Hudson Capital and Cyburt Hall Partners [aka "money men"] will make their pitch to be chosen for the next phase of ATEP. That sort of thing is always interesting—in the way that Mad Men is interesting. 7.2: Professors of the year. That’s about it. But you never really know what will flare up. I should point out that there exists at least one possible world in which, during Tuesday's board meeting, someone commandeers the Ronald Reagan Room projector and plays a video of Chancellor Mathur rockin' and rollin' with farm animals.

Neil Young - Keep On Rockin' In The Free World by Killer_Tomato

Much better sound/video: The famous SNL performance

An Orwellian decision about free speech

Here’s a “Steve Rocco” story that will blow the black knit-cap and dark glasses clean off your head.

Back in 2006, Rocco made some typically unpleasant remarks during a meeting of the Orange Unified School District’s board. He was censured by his colleagues.

How very unseemly.

The school superintendent decided to edit out Rocco’s remarks in the DVD that served as a record of the meeting (sent to the press, I believe). But hey, the public has a right to know what goes on during meetings of its legislative bodies (the term for such elected entities as school boards and city councils). So an “open-government” group called Californians Aware sued to get the tape of the whole meeting. They asked the Orange County Superior Court to overturn the board's censure and declare the editing illegal.

Seems reasonable enough.

I do believe that OUSD’s attorney is/was Spencer Covert. (See Covert defends the covert). Yes Covert. You remember him. He’s the guy who defended the SOCCCD board against two open meetings lawsuits back in the late 90s. He lost. (UPDATE: apparently, the OUSD attorney was Michael Travis, who works for Parker & Covert LLP. See Professor to bear burden of failed suit against Orange County school district, in the Times, 3/21/09.)

Well, OUSD turned around and counter-sued Californians Aware using the state’s anti-SLAPP statute. That’s the law that protects critics from the expensive and burdensome litigation used by powerful interests to shut them down. (See A brief history of our district, "Mathur sues Dissent.")

Stunningly, the judge ruled in favor of the OUSD board, evidently agreeing that Cal Aware was attempting to stifle free speech when it sought to hear what went on during an OUSD board meeting!

An appeal to the state Supremes went nowhere.

The upshot: Cal Aware and its former president, Richard McKee, owe OUSD $86,000. It’s a ruinous amount.

Orwellian. That’s the word they’re using to describe this case. (See Bauer's 1st Amendment battles: Federal court preliminaries for another "Orwellian" episode.)

Read about it here and
here.

The latter is by Kevin Roderick, who quotes journalist Gary Scott:

I don't know of a newspaper in Southern California that hasn't benefited from McKee's work, either through his court victories or his free advice. Indeed, McKee often gave reporters just the boost they needed to get over the wall of obfuscation put up by government agencies trying to shield their corruption, or embarrassment, or plain bad decision-making.

First Amendment advocate Terry Francke says that McKee's wages have garnished and a lien has been placed on his home by the Orange County school district. He’s also paid $59,000 through a second trust deed on his home.

UPDATE: a lawyer friend sent me some information that suggests that, though CalAware's situation is indeed Orwellian, part of the blame should be fixed on that organization's lawyers, who failed to use powerful arguments that were available to them. Further, it may well be that the full tape of the board meeting in question was indeed available to CalAware, though some parts were edited out on the DVD prepared by OUSD's Superintendent. —RB

UPDATE: the above is, I think, confirmed by the Times story cited above.

See also Fuentes & the OUSD.

MORE NEWS:

• Daffo. Altan of OC Weekly (Spa Getaway Bites Ex-Superintendent in the Butt) reports that the Capo Unified School District board might have had good grounds for firing Superintendent Woodrow Carter. Check out Altan's post.

• OC Reg: Report: Ex-Capistrano schools chief 'insubordinate'

• On Marla Jo Fisher’s College Life blog: UC senior management won’t get their bonuses this year

• I'm a Raghu

Special board meeting today: the faculty contract

Sheesh.

You’ve gotta be on your toes in this district, boy. A few minutes ago, I happened to check the district website, and whadoo you know? The SOCCCD board of trustees is holding a “special meeting” this afternoon.

The meeting concerns the faculty contract.

They’ll call the meeting to order at 5:00. The public will then have an opportunity to address the board.

After that, the board will recess for a closed session discussion of:

A. Conference with Labor Negotiators (GC Section 54957.6)
1. SOCCCD Faculty Association
a. Agency Designated Negotiator: Dr. Raghu Mathur

They’re set to reconvene to an open session at 5:30 (wow, that’s fast). At that point, they’ll report any actions that will have been taken during the closed session.

The agenda outline is available here. (It's a small pdf file.)

Hey, this could be good. I've got my fingers crossed.




UPDATE:

3/20/09: I (and everyone else no doubt) just received a communication from faculty union Prez Lee Haggerty. It notes an error in a previous communication. Then, at the end, it states: "The contract went to the Board of Trustees on March 19, 2009 and was approved by them...." --That's it. No elaboration.

OK. I can take a hint. I won't elaborate either.

Boiled fish

Something in the March 10 Saddleback College Lariat that I came across, belatedly:

ASG to discontinue invocation at annual [Saddleback College] Scholarship Ceremony

The ASG decision was a reaction to last Spring's Wagnerian fiasco, it seems:

[Student Nick] Nikbakht attended the scholarship ceremony last year, and said that at the table where he was sitting, "a lot of the donors were offended when all of a sudden [they] just started praying without any warning."

The Partnership will at long last be exposed

This afternoon, OC Weekly’s Nick Schou posted about the big trial of former Orange Unified School District trustee Steve Rocco (The Great Ketchup Caper Trial).

As you know, Rocco was elected to the OUSD board in 2004 because the people of Orange are as dumb as dirt. Now that he’s gone, well, they’re still as dumb as dirt. Dumber maybe.

Rocco is accused of stealing a bottle of ketchup (or “catsup”) from the Chapman U cafeteria. The condiment has a street value of about $1.20. Rocco tried to make his (alleged) getaway on his bike.

As you know, Steve Rocco is alone in this world in his view that the country is actually run by something called the “Partnership,” a powerful and secretive group that evidently comprises, among others, Kodak Corp., Albertson’s, and Smokecraft Sausage.

Evidently, he stole one of Smokecraft’s wieners back in 1981. Whatever.

Schou reports that Rocco’s defense concerns his belief “that unrefrigerated ketchup is actually ‘garbage.’" Former OC Sheriff (now felon) Mike Carona has been subpoenaed by Rocco for reasons unknown. My guess, he’ll be testifying about wieners.

Rocco is serving as his own attorney. Natch, he has a fool for a client.

Related:

Air Force says it didn’t cause mystery shaking in O.C. (OC Register)

"No," "no," and "no."

• OCC PREZ SAYS "NO" TO REMAINING.

Today, OCC’s Coast Report informs us that OCC’s President, Bob Dees, has announced his plan to retire.

Dees, who started at OCC as an instructor, told the Coast Report that he plans to do lots of writing. (A scholar? How refreshing!)

Leadership is definitely in transition at the Coast Community College District. As you know, in January, the district board “ousted” Chancellor Ken Yglesias. As far as I know, the community there is still in the dark concerning the board’s reasons. See Mystery surrounds Yglesias’ leave

(Some speculate that the ousting had something to do with Armando Ruiz, the trustee who lost his reelection bid in November when a Register columnist trained a spotlight on Ruiz’ record of unscrupulousness. But, in fact, we’ve heard nothing about the board’s reasons.)

OCC is another among many colleges that is in dutch with the accreditors. The college will hear from the ACCJC in June—just as Dees exits, stage left.

• JUST SAYING "NO" TO IRVINE?

According to Cal State University Fullerton’s Daily Titan, the university's Academic Senate voted 16 to 12 not to support the new location chosen for its recently evicted Irvine campus. (It’s an advisory vote.)

According to the Titan,

The resolution's success is an indication of the growing dissent among vocal faculty members who are in opposition to the Irvine campus' existence, and who believe university administrators have not presented convincing evidence that Irvine has proven to be a success over the years.

The article goes into some detail concerning the fiscal issues that divide faculty regarding this satellite campus.

Naturally, some of our own plans (in the SOCCCD) depend on what CSUF ultimately decides.

See also Chapman University gets a new Irvine campus

• TOP EL CAMINO ADMINISTRATOR SAYS "NO" TO RAISE

A couple of days ago, Dailybreeze.com reported (El Camino president says no to raise) that El Camino College President Thomas Fallo removed from the agenda (of the last meeting of the board of trustees) a proposal to “give Fallo a $36,000 pay raise, which with salary and perks would have given the college president an annual income of about $337,000”:

The package specifically called for a 12 percent annual pay hike, a $2,450 monthly stipend and a $550 monthly transportation allowance, which was to be paid retroactive from January.

After the meeting, Fallo explained that the “attention this has gotten has far outweighed the benefits."

Had the raise gone through, Fallo would have been among the highest paid college administrators in the state.

He’d be in Raghu P. Mathur’s league.

Fallo was at the helm when Compton Community College (in a contiguous district) lost its accreditation. The El Camino district came to the rescue, turning Compton into the “Compton Community Education Center.”

Evidently, the Compton center—which continues to be problematic—has taken up much of Fallo’s time and energy. That was cited by at least one trustee as a reason for the raise.

It appears that trustees had promised Fallo a raise to keep him from jumping ship to other college districts (he has been a finalist in two recent chancellor searches; he was persuaded to drop out of at least one of these processes).

Like many community colleges, recently, El Camino has run afoul of accreditors (the ACCJC). In January, that body slapped a “warning” on El Camino.

Community college trends

In this morning’s Inside Higher Ed:

Community College Surge

In economic downturns, community college enrollments go up, as those who lose jobs … seek to add skills or training, and as some students who might otherwise have gone away for college look to save money by living at home while attending classes. As the economic downturn hit hard last year, this trend was immediately evident, with many community colleges reporting a flood of students.

A survey released Tuesday here at a meeting of the League for Innovation in the Community College suggests that the early anecdotal reports of increased enrollment are in fact correct. Further, community colleges are reporting increases in just about every major type of program they offer – with notable increases online….

The director of LICC suggests that, owing to budget issues, community colleges are at risk of weakening their “infrastructure” (counselors, et al.) and putting themselves in a weak position to compete with for-profit schools:

For-profit higher education tends to be quite efficient at responding to students' information requests, processing forms, guiding people through programs and responding to inquiries, [LICC Director Kenneth C.] Green noted. And when for-profit colleges offer good service, he suggested, they set a standard that community colleges may have difficulty meeting – at least if they continue to cut positions outside the classroom.

These days, Green said, students have the view of "if I have one lousy experience with your college, to hell with you, I'll go to [the University of] Phoenix."

Figuring Out Freshmen

A new report suggests that many incoming community college students do not take advantage of valuable student resources simply because they are not aware of them. It argues that two-year institutions need to do a better job of personally assisting new students, especially within the "make or break" time period of their first few weeks.

The latest findings from the Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE) were released today….
…
Kay McClenney, CCSSE's director and head of the department of educational administration at the University of Texas at Austin, said the survey’s data show the importance of the first weeks of a student’s college career. By analyzing student engagement at this point, she said community college administrators and instructors can make valuable changes to their approaches, applying proven techniques that make a difference in their students' academic outcome.

Most of the surveyed students reported that they “felt welcome” the first time they arrived on campus and that they were able to get the information they needed to register for class. Still, 76 percent of them noted that there was not a “specific person” designated for them to see if they “needed information or assistance.” The report suggests that more colleges should adopt personalized advising programs, matching students with mentors earlier.

Within this same short time frame, the report notes that most students adopt a number of bad habits that continue to plague them throughout their college career. For example, 32 percent of incoming students reported that they “turned in at least one assignment late.” Twenty-five percent said they “failed to turn in one or more assignment,” 47 percent said they “came to class unprepared” and 29 percent said they skipped class.

“Students do these things, and there are often no consequences,” said McClenney, noting that she believes students will respond to stricter guidelines. “Most of the time, nobody notices that they stop coming to class. If there are no consequences for bad behavior, it’ll continue.”….

A defeat for local Neanderthals

The OC Weekly's R. Scott Moxley reports that

At 10:05 this morning in the lawsuit brought by Newport Beach Police Sgt. Neil Harvey against his department and the city, the clerk entered and said, "We have a verdict." All of the parties were present, including Police Chief John Klein ... and Harvey. The 27-year veteran claimed he was repeatedly blocked for promotion because of false rumors spread among fellow cops that he is gay.
...
The jury voted unanimously for $1.2 million in damages for Harvey.

SEE ALSO:
• Cretin culture in tony Newport Beach
• Jury gives $1.2 million to sergeant who sued over gay rumors (OC Reg)
• Jury awards Newport officer $1.2 million in discrimination case (LA Times)

KTLA video of people waiting for "Obama" tickets:


• Alleged ketchup caper sends eccentric Rocco to court:

Steve Rocco, the cap-wearing, conspiracy-thinking mystery man once elected to the Orange school board, goes to trial Wednesday in a case that involves political intrigue, a shadowy group called the Partnership – or just a bottle of ketchup.

• Controversial campus speakers and huge “security fees”
• Fossil hunters find sea monster ... and a dinosaur the size of a skinny chicken

Seeming ducks

"I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible you may be mistaken!"

—Oliver Cromwell

I teach philosophy. When I tell this to people—even to my learned colleagues at the college—they seem fuzzy about what I do. (Sometimes, when they tell me what they teach, I have the same problem. Kinesiology? What's that?)

So here’s a glimpse into what kind of thing we philosophers do—or at least what this philosopher does.

For one thing, we talk about logic and reasoning a lot. “Logic,” of course, is a field within philosophy and it is, one might say, the language of (Western) philosophy. In my intro courses, especially for the first few weeks, I talk logic, logic, logic. Just ask my students.

And what I teach them about logic applies to everyday events and news stories. Consider:

From yesterday’s New York Times:

An Outbreak of Autism, or a Statistical Fluke?

Autism is terrifying the community of Somali immigrants in Minneapolis, and some pediatricians and educators have joined parents in raising the alarm. But public health experts say it is hard to tell whether the apparent surge of cases is an actual outbreak, with a cause that can be addressed, or just a statistical fluke.

…

[Comparison with cancer clusters:] It is “extraordinarily difficult” to separate chance clusters from those in which everyone was exposed to the same carcinogen, said Dr. Michael J. Thun, the American Cancer Society’s vice president for epidemiology.

Somali immigrants seem convinced that their community is experiencing a high rate of autism—even a “surge” in autism.

But (asks the logic-minded philosopher), is that even true? Unlike seeming ducks, seeming surges are often actual non-surges. Epidemiologists are now attempting to resolve the cluster/surge question re immigrant Somali kids. (Results will be available soon.) Anecdotal evidence seems mixed: possibly, there are high rates of autism among the Somali population in at least one other country, but not all cities in the U.S. with significant Somali immigrant populations report “surges” as does Minneapolis.

And what if there really are clusters (unusually high numbers) of autism in some immigrant Somali communities? That doesn’t necessarily mean that there is some environmental cause. As statisticians and epidemiologists like to say: correlation does not imply causation. (Here, “imply” is used in the strict logical sense, meaning, “is a sufficient condition for.”)

On the other hand, if (a big “if”) there really is a correlation, one explanation is that there is some cause afoot.

This puzzle will be particularly difficult since we don’t really know what causes autism in the first place. Some of the popular theories one encounters (vaccinations, etc.) are at best controversial or are simply disproved.

Hey, in my philosophy courses, I talk about this stuff (i.e., cum hoc ergo propter hoc, post hoc ergo propter hoc, etc.) all the time. It’s not all that I do, but it is something that I always do, each semester.

So, no, I don’t just talk about Plato's cave, Descartes' dreams, Berkeley's noisy forest, or Bertrand Russell's noisy love life.

—You know, the stereotypically philosophical things.

Tell us what YOU do (or don’t do) in YOUR courses.

(Do tell.)