Asking questions (John Edwards)

.....As regular DtB readers know, there’s been considerable discussion regarding my recent post about the classified forum (or whatever it was) at Irvine Valley College last Friday. During that meeting, a maintenance worker criticized Director of Maintenance, John Edwards. He noted Edwards’ temper, claimed people were afraid of him. He (I called him “Em”) also suggested that Edwards retaliated against him (for Em's criticisms, etc.) by reassigning him to the night shift.
.....I’ve always found John to be friendly and reasonable, but that, of course, is compatible with Em’s complaints.
.....I did want to mention, in case you didn’t know, that John is widely credited with having vastly improved the state of maintenance on campus. I spoke with knowledgeable people today who were very clear on that point. Some also insisted that, prior to Edwards’ arrival (in maintenance), the maintenance staff were in desperate need of strong leadership, and, whatever his faults, John has provided that.
.....As near as I can tell, Edwards has a reputation among his colleagues as being thoughtful and even wise. He’s ex-military; he has that management “style.” Possibly, that alone creates some friction.
.....On the other hand, it is easy to hide problems where the workdays of employees are largely invisible and workers are unaccustomed to getting a spotlight shined on their woes. That’s why we feel obliged to take the complaints of a guy like Em seriously.
.....We’ll keep asking questions.

Nice try, Don

.....Got a call early this morning from an OC Reg reporter. “Want to comment on the judge’s recent action in the SOCCCD prayer case?”, he asked. “Nope,” I answered.
.....I told him that it’s a non-story.
.....“Don Wagner is running for office and he wants his name in the paper. That’s what this is about, dude,” I said.
.....“Who’ll talk to me?” asked the reporter.
.....Maybe Karla down in Saddleback College. Try her.
.....Well, the story finally appeared (online) about an hour and a half ago. Evidently, the reporter didn't get ahold of Karla. He didn't get ahold of anybody. He built his dinky story around old quotations (plus my peevishness).
.....He didn't even get ahold of the district's lawyer, John "Mad Dog" Vogt.
.....Don's gonna be pissed.

Judge: Prayer at college events can continue (OC Reg)

.... A request that would have barred religious invocations at Saddleback and Irvine Valley colleges until a lawsuit on the matter could be heard has been denied by a federal judge.. . .
.....Judge R. Gary Klausner, a federal judge in the Central District of California, denied the request last week because the plaintiffs did not show that "irreparable injury" would be caused if the invocations are included as part of the program at college events, according to a news release from the district.. . .
.....[Plaintiff Karla] Westphal told the Register in November that including prayer can be offensive to both religious and non-religious people. ¶ "The prayer does not belong, period. The content doesn't matter," Westphal said….
.....District officials "consistently have maintained that the practice of including a non-sectarian ceremonial invocation ... is an important one" and that doing so "brings about dignity and solemnity"…......
.....No final ruling has been made on the lawsuit. John A. Vogt, an attorney representing the district, did not return a call for comment regarding when the case might be heard.