Councilman Reeve wants to repair the city's reputation!

     According to yesterday’s OC Register, the odious Derek Reeve has at long last poked his head above the horizon: Councilman with dog Muhammad urges religious inclusion (OC Register).
     According to the Reg,

...[Reeve,] who was scolded by some of his colleagues after making remarks … about naming his dog Muhammad ... is trying to repair the city's image with a new tradition in which he plans to select different members of the community to periodically lead invocations at council meetings.

     Repair the city’s image? Way to take responsibility, Derek. It's not you; it's the city!
     What an a**hole.

In a statement, Councilman Derek Reeve said, "San Juan received an unfortunate reputation the last few months as being unfriendly to religion. This, of course, is a false reputation…."

     Right, now he’s decided to alienate SJC atheists and agnostics. Evidently, to Reeve, they’re not even worth mentioning.
     What an a**hole.
     It appears that Reeve plans to do this “selecting” of invokers by himself:

…Reeve plans to select a different local resident to lead an invocation before every fifth council meeting. He says it will promote public participation in "all segments of our community, including religions."

     The Reg notes that it wasn’t just Reeve’s “dog Muhammad” remark that ruffled feathers re religion in recent months: “the city was involved in a controversy over a San Juan Capistrano couple who were fined by the city for hosting large Bible studies in their home.”
     That latter controversy is now resolved.
     Reeve's gambit is transparent: he is bundling these two unrelated controversies—one in which he ridiculed Muslims, another in which the city clumsily fined people for hosting large neighborhood meetings (that the meetings were religious was not the issue)—in order to obscure the obnoxiousness of his action.

This accompanied the Register article. Did I mention that Reeve is an a**hole?

     What an a**hole.
     So, has Reeve run this rotating invocation idea past other Council members?
     Apparently not:

"There is no rule prohibiting this, and I hope the others will follow my lead," Reeve said when asked whether he had discussed his idea with the other council members.

     One more time: WAA.
     Meanwhile, as far as I know, Reeve, who was let go a month or two ago by Concordia University—evidently owing to his serial plagiarism (or his refusal to acknowledge the impropriety of his plagiarism)—still teaches for Saddleback College and is scheduled to teach there again in the spring.

P.S.: before I hear from the Incorrigible One, I want to briefly explain my use of the term “asshole.” According to the OED, an “asshole” is “someone or something foolish or contemptible.” Quite so. Do I believe that DR is foolish or contemptible? I do. (He's both.) Is it necessarily unfair or illogical to take such a view of a person? Obviously not, for some people, obviously, are foolish or contemptible or both.
     I do believe that it is important that one have (and give) reasons for taking such a view of a person. That’s what I do in this post. I note that DR lumps together his own recent action (of ridiculing Muslims) with the city’s clumsy (and far less disturbing) act of fining neighborhood religious meetings—something, I suggest, he does plainly in order to obscure the contemptible nature of his own action. That DR engages in such cowardly and self-serving sophistry (I suggest) entitles one to conclude that he is contemptible, i.e., an “asshole.” Thus, in this instance, though I apply a "name" to DR, I nevertheless rise above “mere” name-calling. (See also In defense of name-calling.)

UCI’s new New University doesn’t suck! (Red Emma)

By Red Emma

     Striding bravely to and from classes, staff meetings, union grievances, bookstore events or demonstrations, UC Irvine’s Red Emma searches the corporate campus searching for news, for corroboration, not to mention looking for voter registration tables or any other behaviors of resistance to the operation of the machine. Rebuffing efforts to recruit him into a sorority or pledge his love for Jesus, he does his best to frighten the woman-hating anti-abortion rights pamphleteers and tries very hard indeed to make the Obectivist boys cry by teasing them about their cultish lunatic leader, the undead Ms. Rand. Some fun!
     Along the way, Red picks up a copy of New University, historically a pretty weak student-run paper. The problem (like you needed another one) with New U is that its MO for reporting news and features is to mimic, slavishly, the presumed tradition of much bigger—and dying—papers, presumably to teach students to be like the now laid-off reporters who used to work at, say, the Los Angeles Times and OC Register.

objective

     New University, as with the long-ago murderized Irvine Valley College Voice and, yes, Saddleback’s Lariat, suffers from a weird devotion to being all things to some imaginary all people. The kids who write for these papers, god bless ‘em, don’t actually read the above corporate mainstream newspapers but, despite that sorry irony, have been instructed it seems to write short, generic, simulacra of what somebody, perhaps that same person, told them would get them into J-school or make advertisers happy–kind of the same thing, now that I mention it. (You’re welcome!)
     This totally inappropriate model flies in the face of the opportunity, unique to an institutionally supported news outlet, to claim a necessary role. These papers could find stories that nobody else is covering. They could investigate and muckrake and even teach students about actual policy instead of covering–I kid you not!–world news, reviewing yogurt stands, or rewriting corporate media press releases, all of which nobody reads anyway except Red, who apparently needs something to get pissed off about.
     It doesn’t have to be like that. And, happily, Red Emma is here to report that, in recent weeks, it hasn’t been. Under the editorial direction of one Gregory Yee, the paper actually reflects what is happening in the system. Yee and his stalwarts at New U have, despite the no doubt overwhelming pressure of the status quo, in three consecutive recent weeks transformed at least the front page of the newspaper into an aggressive presentation of what is unarguably THE story–student protests, budget cuts, Regent foolishness, Occupy resistance–along with writing some brave editorials and featuring a couple of thoughtful commentaries. Yippee!

     Not since the Radical Student Union published the UC Irvine Disorientation Guide (sic)–now out of print but rumored to be revised and republished–has this reader so eagerly sought student media on campus. Check it out: the most recent front page featured a long piece on “Students Protest Regents Meeting,” and, even better, a sidebar with the either provocative or totally wonderfully obvious (depending on your level of political engagement) title “Corporations or Education?” and listing, helpfully, the positions and affiliations of the odious Regents. It concludes with: “Only 1 of the 19 appointed UC Regents holds prior experience serving as an educator.” Naturally, Red brought the paper to class, sharing it with students who either did not know there was a school newspaper in the first place or never, ever read it. Together, we went through the impressive list of financial services, real estate and corporate tycoons, using their computers to corroborate the (un)startling news delivered right there in black and white—and read all over.
     The old university of estrangement, tunnel vision, obliviousness lately seems dead. Long live the new New University!  – RE

Editor’s note:

Davis

     I just wanted to mention that I visited UCI yesterday to attend an event featuring DtB friend and former IVC student, Jason Davis, who graduated last spring with a degree from UCI’s Program in Literary Journalism.
     The program has a “magazine of literary journalism”—Kiosk—and one of Jason’s pieces was selected for inclusion in the latest issue. He was also among the few contributors asked to read from his work at last night's event (Brian and Me).
     Pretty wonderful stuff. Check it out.
     Upon graduation, Jason landed a very cool job writing for an online publication. He has literary projects in the works that promise big things. We couldn't be happier for him! –BvT

A perfect storm of treacherous atmospheric effluviulescence

     

❄...Special festive holiday post...❄

    ONE OF THE MORE controversial buildings at Irvine Valley College is "BSTIC," the "Business Sciences Technology and Innovation Center," which was completed about two years ago. Think of "business," and then think of a tick. That's BSTIC.

Mr. tick

     Curiously, some of the programs BSTIC was built for went into serious decline just before or during BSTIC's opening. (I won't even get into the lab tracking issue and its impact!) Consequently, BSTIC is a bit like the "DoDo Bird Center." Meanwhile, Schools that are larger and more productive than the DoDo Schools remain housed in shitty digs—or nowhere in particular, scattered among the various buildings and centers and grassy knolls at IVC. 

    BSTIC is a weird looking or attractive building, depending on where you're standing. It's got a pointy "bow" end (see above). It's got lots of fake brick on another end (it seems to have several ends). Don't know what it looks like on top. Flat, probably.

    Some of the interior spaces are pretty cool, I guess. Fancy schmancy, high tech, whizz-bangery. People have mostly grown accustomed to the endless echoes in those vast, empty rooms and halls. (See above.)

     OK, we'll get back to that. Now, some physics:

     You wouldn't believe the physical processes that can mess up or enhance a building: you've got convection effects and moisture effects and wind effects, etc.

    Illustrated above is the "Venturi effect," which involves wind (or just air) suddenly being funneled through a narrow space, causing the air to speed up and the pressure to go down. When that happens on a side of a building, it can cause unwanted wind or suction, etc. 

     It's a big issue for tall apartment buildings that are close together by the beach. Sometimes, a guy will poke his head out of his window and the wind can be so fierce that the guy's head gets torn off his body and sent bouncing down the goddam street!

     The Venturi effect can be nasty.

     Ain't physics wonderful? You can get severe blowage and you can get severe suckage. You gotta know about these phenomena before you spend millions of dollars on a building to house your dying programs.

     Let's take suckage. If you get too much suckage, you'll find things stuck to the wall that aren't supposed to be there.

     OK, LET'S GET SEMI-SERIOUS. Now, suppose you've got a nice, big building—like BSTIC—with some kind of heating unit up in the attic or on the roof. The unit burns natural gas, but it also gives off substantial afterfume spewage (that's the technical term, in my mind), which normally escapes to the outside through roof vents and such. 

     That's OK, cuz almost never do students hang out on the roof sucking on these vents. They do other things up there.

     Now, what if you build your fancy new building (like BSTIC) and then something unexpected happens? For instance, on the top floor of BSTIC, you've got lots of Fine Arts types, plus a special room for forensic speechifiers. That, or maybe something else, can create extraordinary volumes of vituperative hot gas that naturally floats up through the vents into the HVAC. Now, that's not good. The system wasn't designed for massive volumes of gratuitous hot air, no sir.

     And suppose that, somehow, there arises some kind of vent restriction up where all that afterfume spewage is supposed to belch forth, harmlessly. Could happen. Or maybe it's something else, dunno. [OK, I'm speculating.] Well, now, you've got a perfect storm of treacherous atmospheric effluviulescence! That hot air, mixed with afterfume spewage, has gotta go somewhere! 

     And so it does.

     Could be you'll get all that miasmic funk going straight back into the building, causing unpleasant stinkage and worse. (See above.)

     It can get so dicey in the building that you've got to shut off the HVAC! If it's summer, that means it gets hot and stinky and toxic inside. If it's winter, it gets dank and frigid and noxious, like the southern realms of an Eskimo's shithouse.

     Well, it's winter. In fact, it's the "holiday season." And shit happens.

     What to do?

     Since it's IVC, there's only one thing to do: move the boiler, and when that doesn't fix the problem, simply advise all building denizens to bring sweaters.

     Perfect!  
     But that's when things get really ugly:

Forgive them for they know not what they do.

Yikes! Es past nit!

Santa at the veritable wooly Hellmouth

Crickey, threads from a marmite motorway!

OK, this is kinda pleasant. Hey Antler Girl!

Renaming Saddleback College's "Butt" Library

     I noticed that, on Monday, the Lariat posted an editorial: What should the new Library be named?
     Gosh, I’m surprised that college officials are even contemplating changing the library’s name, what with Tom Fuentes still among the living! (Fuentes knew and loved cold war right-winger James B. Utt, after whom the library was originally named.)
     The Lariat clearly seems to think that a name-change opportunity exists.
     It notes a serious problem with the existing name: “Currently the name is the James B. Utt library which has been given the nickname the ‘Butt Library.’”
     Ouch.
     The Lariat seems to embrace criteria for naming the library after a person: “A person should be memorialized with his or her name on a building only if they have contributed a lot to the campus, both in his or her terms of time and monetary patronage.”
     Both? Whatever.
     The Lariat has a sense of humor:

     One of the more popular ideas is to give the name a sense of learning and dedication.
     The Saddleback College Library of the Pursuit of Higher Dedication to the Continual Journey of Knowledge [SCLPHDCJK for short], is certainly not a practical name but the essence is to give it a cerebral quality that should be found at a college.

     Yes, a cerebral quality should indeed be found at a college.
     That’s funny, especially at Saddleback.
     Naturally, I wrote them my suggestions:

     …How about the “Bedtime for Bonzo” Library—in honor of Saint Ronald, who was on hand for the campus’s opening?
     “Bonzo” Library is more pithy. Also “Bedtime” Library (which gets a plus for fidelity to fact).
     Or just “Library.” That would be cool, pithy-wise.
     You can’t call it the “Gaucho” Library because, as you should know, the “Gaucho” moniker/mascot is controversial and, indeed, there’s some sort of committee working on its replacement.
     How about “Gabacho” Library? From “Gaucho” to “Gebacho” is cool, I think, in a meta kind of way.
     The original library’s design was changed when right-wing trustees got weirded out by the student anti-war protests occurring in Santa Barbara at the time. That’s why it had no windows: they wanted it to be a fortress against students!
     So how about “Bastion” Library? Or “Paranoid” Library? Or maybe the “Fear of Students” Library?
     For the sake of timeliness, I’d go with the “Soon-to-be-phased-out” Library or the “Increasingly Anachronistic” Library.
     Or you could go in the other direction. Call it “Books” Library. That would be fun, I think. There’s a nice right to that.
     One more: the “Non-ALA affiliated” Library. Or just the “Benighted” Library.

     Be sure to send the Lariat—and college decision-makers—your own thoughtful suggestions. It couldn’t possibly hurt.

Missing again?

     As DtB readers know, Saddleback College instructor Amy Ahearn was recently found after having "disappeared" for many weeks. (She likely has Huntington's.) One of her sisters created a Facebook page to help communicate with those helping in the search: here.
     I visited that page this morning and found the following (from Dec. 1):

It's Convenient!

     Recently, gleaming "Convenience Centers" have appeared in the restrooms, affixed to walls, throughout [IVC] campus.
     Here is the one in the men's facility in A-200.
     It's worth noting that the female version of the "Convenience Center" lacks birth control (condoms) and cologne.
     Why?
     Quipped one IVC wag, it's because men are stinky and sexually active.
     Women are offered instead lip gloss and breath fresheners along with the usual array of feminine hygiene products.
     Interested in starting your own Protocol Personal Product Convenience Center franchise? Visit their website by clicking here.
     from their website:

     Since 1987, more than 30,000 Protocol Personal Products Convenience Centers have been installed in a wide variety of public places. Let a turnkey Protocol program turn a profit for you!
     Help your employees stay productive!
     Protocol machines offer employees immediate access to personal products. This allows them to return quickly to their duties. If your company employs healthcare professionals, now they can spend time more productively on other projects. Having employees purchase over-the-counter medications may relieve you of various legal implications.

     (Don't ask how Rebel Girl got this photo.)

*

• CSU sees big jump in student interest (San Jose Mercury)
• Employers Say College Graduates Lack Job Skills (Chronicle of Higher Education)

The December board meeting: ATEP of the mind

 

     6:06 p.m. – The meeting starts!
     Nancy Padberg's invocation begins, "Dear heavenly father, we honor this blessed season tonight in recognition of the birth of Jesus Christ." She throws something in there, too, about Hanukkah.
     Marcia Milchiker reads out actions taken in closed session: (1) a full-time student was expelled.

Yearly organizational meeting (upshot: they roll over the existing leadership team):

• TJ Prendergast nominates incumbent Nancy Padberg for board Prez. Unanimous (with Tom Fuentes and Bill Jay absent; Jay was absent for the last two meetings, I believe. Fuentes has appeared only once since last March).
• Marcia nominates incumbent TJ Prendergast for VP. Unanimous.
• Frank Meldau nominates incumbent Marcia M for clerk. Unanimous.
• Etc. Things proceed agreeably. No "no" votes on anything. [Dave Lang did not mess with the ducks, so carefully placed in a row.]

Special meeting of the Board of Directors, etc.
. . .

[ATEP LAND EXCHANGE]
     6.1, 6.2, 6.3 advanced: public hearing, change of properties with County of Orange, at ATEP.
     Andy Bernstein, our counsel, speaks, presents "land exchange agreement." It concerns two ten-acre parcels. The County land is actually owned by the Navy. According to this plan, the Navy would give the ten acre parcel to the City of Tustin; and Tustin would give it to the district. Then the district would bury it with a bone.
     Various steps must be completed. One has occurred. We have a period of time to complete other conditions.This exchange would benefit both the district and the County, says Andy. (It appears that the current district 10 acres is adjacent to the Rancho Santiago CCD parcel of 15 acres. Maybe we just don't wanna be near those guys. Could be.)
     Dave Lang mentions that members of the public, too, can ask questions. Jeremy Something-or-other now discusses details of the exchange. Blah, blah, blah about environmental this and that. "Impacts" for the two parcels are the same!
     TRUSTEE QUESTIONS?: None. They're obviously really on top of it.
     Nancy opens the "public hearing." No one wants to speak. (Well, the public didn't show.) She closes the public hearing.
     They move on to 6.2, a "resolution" concerning this land exchange. Trustees vote. Unanimous.
     6.3, another resolution re land exchange. Unanimous.

     They advance 6.4 (district annual audit report)
     A suit walks up, presents. Says: counted those beans, and it's all good. The audit followed the usual standards. No restrictions placed on us; we could get anything we asked for. We're giving an unqualified opinion. We're external auditors: examining analysis provided by management.
     With regard to medical: no unfunded liability. Good.
     We found some items that should be corrected and management agreed. Not material to financial statement. Hunky dory.
     LAB ISSUE. State compliance finding (special areas examined based on state requirements): [Note: a "finding" appears to be a finding of fault or noncompliance.]
     Only one. TBA hours. Where a student has taken a lab, attached to a course. The existing tracking system didn't meet state requirements, in our opinion. Management has reviewed that, agreed to that finding.
     Yammers about earlier findings and corrections.
     Any questions? No.
     Motion to accept (for review?) Unanimous.

     Foundation audit: Sounds good. No identified weaknesses in two foundation audits.
     Lang motions to accept: unanimous.

RESOLUTION: Saddleback College Student Winners, College Broadcasters, Inc., National Student Production Awards. (October) — One member of the team has a blazing pink Mohawk. The others are relatively subdued. (Some leather.)
     Marcia offers a long preface to the resolution (Nancy is quietly peeved). Then she reads it. In Orlando, F'L, blah, blah, blah.... "From Bullets to Bubbles." Disabled veterans, scuba diving. Jazz radio program.
     Trustees do a roll call vote. —It's the usual: these kids are getting a prize for getting a prize. Later, they'll get a prize for getting that last prize for getting a prize. Repeat.
     Mohawk Girl comes up to speak. She's a good speaker. Excellent earrings. Has to run to her radio show, she says. She's actually landed a real job owing to all this! "You can tell that I'm the DJ," she says.

Public comments: none

Board Reports:

     Frank Meldau: no report, but wishes everybody happy holidays. (I hear a single cricket chirp.)
     Marcia Milchiker: draws attention to holiday programs at the colleges. She Marcia-izes awhile about all of the "wonderfulness" she has experienced at the colleges. What would that woman do without the word "wonderful"? She's like Lawrence Welk.
     TJ Prendergast: he says he went to a dance event at IVC. Especially liked the "dancing turtles." Thanks for rating my "mo," he says.
     Nancy Padberg: wishes everyone a wonderful holiday season.
     Dave Lang: wanted to "announce" those public schools that did so well on test scores (see the papers). Wished everyone happy holidays.
     Student trustee Jordan Larson: got accepted to CSU Fullerton. Took a bow. Happy holidays.
Chancellor's report [Gary Poertner]: mentions upcoming presentation of proposed programs, etc., for ATEP. Etc.
     Says he has a plaque for Nancy Padberg—honoring her service as President. He reads the plaque. "I suspect you'll be getting another one of these," he says. Laughter.
     Nancy: "hey, the last one I got had a gavel!"
     "These are difficult financial times...," says Gary. Laughter.

     Board requests for reports: Prendergast asks, can we plant a tree to replace all the paper we use for these dang meetings? Nancy notes that he'll have to ask for a report about the cost, which will entail grindin' up that very tree. Laughter.

PROPOSALS FOR ATEP:

[Upshot: IVC will focus on emerging technologies; Saddleback will focus on health care.]

     1. Craig Justice (IVC VPI) comes up to present proposals for ATEP [for IRVINE VALLEY COLLEGE]. Nancy stares at him for a moment and then says something like, "Who are you?"
     Craig introduces himself. He discusses "emerging technologies and a "world class workforce." That's IVC's focus for ATEP.
     He throws out the usual buzz words re ATEP. Pretty old stuff, old promises and plans. It's like he ate one of those ten-year-old pamphlets.
     Mentions ATEP's proximity to other areas in the County. A significant advantage to be so central. "We don't make any decisions without data at Irvine Valley College," he announces, without irony. (Some tittering. Just in my head, I guess.) He's joined by Lisa Davis Allen (IVC Ac. Sen. Prez) and Dr. Werle.
     LDA: happy to be part of this. Mentions "multimedia green technology" and something-or-other.
Talks about using "anchors." Yammers about digital media and 3D animation. "A good anchor as we spread to ATEP," she says. These people like their buzzwords, man. What's the matter with 'em?
     Good numbers in OC for projected openings in multimedia arts jobs/needs.
     Recording technology and entertainment businesses. Simulation and gaming design. These areas are hot.

Justice

     Partnerships: mentioned Boeing, Raytheon, Blizzard. Pipe dreams?
     Werle: 2nd anchor area: Alternative energy systems." Will "burgeon" in the future.
     As the economy gets stronger, green technology will explode in terms of jobs. Solar. Zero waste management. Green is profitable. Toyota, Edison, US DoL looking for energy efficiency, partnership opportunities. Synergies. (That word should be banned.)
     Applied technology is another "hub area." Biomedical, etc. Product development.
     Justice: re facilities: 30K square feet facility (to be built).
We were invited to stare at these words: Flexibility. Innovation. Exhibition. Not sure why. [Kill me now.]
     Gives a "virtual tour" of the "space." Welcoming area. Administration, reception, conference room. Discusses future state-of-the-art media labs with computers. Multimedia labs: students working with instructors on computers. (They shoulda put a cam on some kid's head—or maybe on an ATEP rat—for a day and then showed it at X10 speed. Show some imagination, man!)
     A 30K square foot building will have 16-17K square foot classroom space, says Craig. We'll be able to schedule efficiently. Projected yield: 650-700 FTES. A large auditorium, 75 seats. We've got a room like that at BSTIC, very flexible, etc.
     We anticipate 4-6 state of art computer labs. Discusses outdoor solar lab.
     Mentions government agencies that have an interest in partnering with us. (Dept. of Synergy, etc.)
     And so IVC is poised and ready to "deliver the goods," says Craig, proudly. We want to be that workforce training hub. Our Academic Senate has endorsed it with a "position paper." Happy about that. That closes our presentation.
     QUESTIONS: None.

     2. SADDLEBACK'S presentation: she [the woman didn't identify herself] refers to a handout that trustees will get later, when they can go through it slowly. IVC has focused on emerging technologies. We've chosen to focus on an old area:health care. We'd like to share vision for a center for innovation blah, blah, blah.
     Uses example of Capt. Sullenberger landing that plane in the drink—he had only done that before on a simulator. [Ooooh.]
     Vision: to establish a regional simulated healthcare center. She shows a picture with all of the elements pointing to the middle. So Cal is in need of this facility. Mentions: medical records, wellness center, training center, emergency dept. Patient care. Labs. Patient services.
     Blah, blah, blah.... This gal is really into the dynamics of pausing and getting hushed, and then building up to something dramatic. You know, it's a kind of rhetoric, a style. I think she would have done as well discussing peanuts and gravel. I guess that's good. I hated it. She was really selling this thing, relying greatly on Saddleback nursing's established shiny reputation and morgue of old pics. (It's the old, "We're Saddleback nursing. Nuff said. So genuflect and step out of the way, fool!")
     Turns it over to Tammy Rice: she says they'll focus on three areas of training: allied health students, health care professionals, community participants. (Huh?) Blah, blah, blah. I guess she's discussing "revenue and funding opportunities."
     QUESTIONS?: Prendergast: any plan re epidemics, that sort of thing? Yes, through EMS.
     Diane Pestolesi now jumps up to discuss the "simulation idea." DP cheerleads the heck out of this thing. Now, she gravely discusses medical errors and resulting tens of thousands of deaths per year. "This center addresses that," she says. Blah, blah, blah. "We can contribute to positive outcomes in our community," she says, passing the baton to yet another gal, but shorter.
     That gal briefly discusses the simulated environment. Lots of industry partners excited about this. She's done.
     Larry [Grihalva?] now comes up: he seems very excited. Reminds me of Chris Farley. I was afraid he'd launch himself at me, destroying the chairs and tables, and me. I guess he really cares. I have no idea what he's talking about, but I'm damned sure he's excited about it. (He's discussing EMS, paramedics, etc.)
     He's got a joke: What do you call it when you're caught in a hurricane and tornado at the same time? It's a wind-wind situation.
     He's very excited. He's led away to his chair.
     This stuff will be up for approval next time. Gosh, it's so good that faculty were consulted.
     There's a five minute break.

Watch IVC and Saddleback reports: proposed use of ATEP

     7:59: now to consent calendar
     Lang pulls 5.1, 5.5, 5.6. Nancy pulls 5.12. (5.14-5.18 must be included.) That's it. The rest is approved. Unanimous.

     5.1 Lang corrects some points on meeting minutes. He's pickin' nits again.
     5.5 Lang: says he's in support of those IT projects we're pulling. Blah, blah, blah.... Lang says something, Padberg repeats it, but she's somehow annoyed. I don't care. Nancy is plainly annoyed to have to stop and think about motions and seconds and blah, blah, blah. I know how she feels. Get out the rubber stamp!
     What would this district be like without peevitude? Unrecognizable, is what.
     Burnett now launches into something, chattering like he does. It's like he gets paid by the word (per second). He's into style, too. It all sounds very reassuring, whatever it is, even if he's actually talking about beans and lint and, who knows. Nancy nods. All is well.
     Fitzsimmons says something with her usual pithy competence. TJ says something too, but it wasn't funny. I stopped listening, started just sensingstyle. I think the trustees are happy now.

Congrats Brandye!

     Glenn speaks. "Blah, blah, blah," he says. "I have only a superficial understanding of this, or anything else, but all is well," he seems to say (I mean the sound of his voice, like a babbling brook, said that; not his actual words).
     I'm growing weary. Prendergast points at somebody. LDA now speaks. She says soccer fields are dangerous. Huh? I have no idea what they're talking about. This discussion is a metaphor for lives of quiet desperation in fucking OC.
     Lang now murmurs. "Policy and regulations" he says. I do wish he'd shut up. I bet this item is about linoleum or nits. He's peevish about something. Wow! He actually says "pet peeve!" Nancy peeves back.
     OK, this is about basic aid and the board's old rule that BA money should go to one-time expenses for "unforeseen maintenance issues." I guess there's been some fudging about that. Too bad Fuentes isn't here to grumble and guffaw and make disturbingly ugly faces to lend to this topic the correct staunchular gravity. He's the master.
     Suddenly, everybody seems lost. Meldau says something, then Gary does. Gary looks like he's gonna clear everything up, i.e., shut everybody up. Says the state forces terminology on us but that's just BS. Something like that. The semantics of "deferred maintenance." Fitzsimmons jumps in.
     They vote: Lang votes no, but it is approved.
     Strike out the automatic trigger: that's how they change it. --I don't care what that means. (Something about the trustees retaining their right to approve something or other. They're makin' a power play.)
     5.12 — Trustee requests for conference moola. Nancy says she's interested, and so is Marcia. They vote on the item: unanimous yessireebob.
     5.14 — New software. Lang says let's approve all of these IT things. Unanimous.

     Next: general action items:

Administrator/manager

     6.6 Something about "reorganization" and administrative salary schedules. Blah, blah, blah. David Bugay yammers for a while. I'm sure it's terribly important. Something about salary schedules (for administrators and classified managers).
     Nancy: how come our consultant isn't here? It comes out that there hasn't been a change in the salary structure since 2007. ( I guess these people aren't getting raises.) Lang asks for the ultimate fiscal impact. They turn to Fitzsimmons. Doesn't feel comfortable providing draft info. Nancy asks for the "ballpark." Fitz: $20K per month.
     Lang: what's the urgency?
     Poertner: this has been planned for a long time. Blah, blah, blah. He's trying to get the trustees off this thing.
     Prendergast: just because other districts are doing this, that's why we should? I guess I don't know the context. Nancy asks for College Prezes to weigh in.
     Roquemore refers to a confidential matter that has delayed "it." Mentions two positions.
     —Looks like I just can't pay attention to this stuff any more. I oughta go home and watch House.
     Burnett weighs in. He too seems to say, come on, we've waited long enough. Let's move forward. I stopped listening to words. I'm going by the babble of each brook. He must've babbled effectively.
     —Well, no. Lang says we're putting the cart before the horse. Don't know what these changes are going to be. We've already waited a year and half, so let's get these answers.
     Poertner: we do know what these positions will cost. 8K per months per position, says Fitz. Fitz's babble is euphonious. Lang is actually nodding to her music. "Blah, blah, blah." Very pleasant. Hell, I'd vote for it, whatever it is.
     Prendergast mentions the consternation that recent faculty salary increases produced among trustees. Gosh, he says, we'll want to move slowly with these $25 k raises! Nancy yammers. Bugay looks pained. I guess they're waiting for a study to get done. Turns out if they approve this thing it will only affect these four people.
     Any motion to approve? Prendergast makes the motion. Any second? After long seconds, Marcia seconds. They vote: Meldau and Lang vote no. They needed four votes. Thus isn't approved.
     8:38 – OK, I'm goin' home, goddamit.

(Agenda here. Tere's board highlights here.)