Trout Fishing at Christmas

.....A neighborhood holiday party inspired Rebel Girl to dig up the article below to share with ya'll. She was, at the time, busily digging into a paper plate of Christmas tamales when she heard the story of how the homeowner, sitting in his livingroom, spied the recent Harding Canyon mudslide as it slid. His perch, on our side of Modjeska, opposite Harding, gave him a perfect view.
....."It was like the hand of a dark ghost," he said. The man is a sheriff, not usually as given to metaphor as, say, an English major like Rebel Girl. She was impressed.
.....It is believed that the mudslide, the dark ghostly hand, took out what was left of the Harding Canyon rainbow trout.

From the Associated Press:

.....SANTA ANA – A mudslide in fire damaged Orange County wiped out one of the last remaining populations of native rainbow trout in Southern California.
.....“What we feared, happened,” said Adam Backlin, an ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. “The hillsides just slumped into the canyon, and buried the entire creek.”
.....Backlin said he became concerned about the Harding Canyon trout after the Santiago fire, which burned more than 28,000 acres during the October wildfires, creating mudslide conditions. The fish lived in rocky pools along a stretch of creek.
.....The loss is just one example of how many of Southern California's dwindling species teeter on the edge of disappearing completely. The once thriving populations of fish and amphibians have shrunken into small pockets easily threatened by storms and mudslides.
.....Backlin had tried to arrange with the Department of Fish and Game to temporarily remove the fish, fearing that one good rain could fill the trouts' refuges with mud. When it did rain, the trout disappeared under as much as six feet of mud.
.....This isn't the first time a post-wildfire mudslide appeared to wipe out a population of animals. In 2003, the last mountain yellow-legged frogs in the San Bernardino Mountains appeared to be lost forever. Later, a few surviving frogs were found, and now scientists are working to re-establish them.
.....The Harding Canyon trout, however, seem unlikely to make such a lucky comeback. Backlin and another scientist searched below the mudslide, hoping to find a few trout that had washed downstream, but came up empty.
.....Rainbow trout can become protected steelhead if they can get to the open ocean. While moving from freshwater to the ocean, the fish take on a streamlined shape that gives them their name. The process known as anadromy allows the fish to exploit both habitats, and to return to protected upland pools for breeding.
.....But during the rainbow trout phase, the fish are not protected. The Modjeska reservoir and other barriers prevented the Harding Canyon trout from ever reaching the ocean and gaining that protection.

.....Pictured right is Harding Canyon, along the Seven Pools hike, before the fire and the mud.
.....Years ago, when Rebel Girl was growing up in Torrance, California, a flatland So Cal suburb that lacked trout entirely, she fell for post-beat poet Richard Brautigan in a big way. He is an writer she finds almost entirely unintelligible now, absurd, embarrassing—but she keeps him on the shelf like one might keep the letters of old lovers. At one time they meant everything, the world, to our young selves.
.....Here is what Brautigan has to say about trout. It's not that bad.

The opening page of Trout Fishing in America:

.....As a child when did I first hear about trout fishing in America? From whom? I guess it was a stepfather of mine.
.....Summer of 1942.
.....The old drunk told me about trout fishing. When he could talk, he had a way of describing trout as if they were a precious and intelligent metal.
.....Silver is not a good adjective to describe what I felt when he told me about trout fishing.
.....I'd like to get it right.
.....Maybe trout steel. Steel made from trout. The clear snow-filled river acting as foundry and heat.
.....Imagine Pittsburgh.
.....A steel that comes from trout, used to make buildings, trains and tunnels.
.....The Andrew Carnegie of Trout!

Texas is special

From this morning’s Inside Higher Ed: Creationist College Advances in Texas:

…On Friday, an advisory committee to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board recommended that the state allow the Institute for Creation Research to start offering online master’s degrees in science education. The institute, which has been based in California, where it operates a museum and many programs for people who don’t believe in evolution, is relocating to Dallas, where it hopes to expand its online education offerings. ¶ …Raymund A. Paredes, commissioner of higher education for Texas, stressed in an interview Sunday that the advisory panel’s vote was just that: advisory. ¶ ….Officials of the Institute for Creation Research could not be reached for comment, but there is extensive information about the institute’s programs on its Web site. The list of courses required for the master of science education includes a number that are fairly standard ("Advanced Educational Psychology” and “Instructional Design,” for example), but also some that are not.

“Advanced Studies in Creationism” features this description: “Scientific study of the creationist and evolutionist cosmologies; origin and history of the universe, of the solar systems, of life, of the various forms of life, and of man and his cultures. Critical analysis of both creation and evolutionary theory using data from paleontology, astronomy, biochemistry, genetics, thermodynamics, statistics, and other sciences. Study of geologic principles and earth history in the light of Creation and the Flood; scientific comparative studies of recent creation; application of principles of Biblical creationism in various fields.” [My emphasis.]

…Asked for his views on evolution, Paredes said “I accept the conventions of science’ and “I believe evolution has a legitimate place in the teaching of science.” But he declined to say that evolution should be taught as the science….

Among the biggest funders of Creationist "research" in this country is Orange County's own Howard Ahmanson, Jr., a good pal of Trustee Tom Fuentes (who himself helps direct Eagle Publishing, which publishes [through Regnery Publishing] Creationist and anti-evolution tomes). To read about Ahmanson, go to The greatest bad for the greatest number

More Jesus glasses

THE STORY about the Capo Valley High School teacher slamming religion—the Times broke it on Thursday—seems to be getting hotter, what with the likes of Bill "red meat" O’Reilly climbing all over it. Even UCI's Erwin "no meat" Chemerinsky has weighed in, saying the lawsuit against the teacher is not likely to prevail.

The OC Reg provides a link to the complaint (a pdf file). Presumably, this is the suit against the teacher/district filed recently in federal court.

Hey, those darned kids down at CAPO VAL are already protesting. And on a SUNDAY! Check out this pic:

(Actually, this is fake. On the other hand, this scene is genuinely in my head.)

From Thursday’s LA Times: Lawsuit targets history teacher's comments:

.....A San Juan Capistrano high school student and his parents filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday alleging that his history teacher violated his constitutional rights by making "highly inappropriate" and offensive statements in class regarding Christianity.
.....James Corbett, who teaches Advanced Placement European history at Capistrano Valley High School, consistently "demonstrates a sense of hostility toward religion," causing Christian students to "feel ostracized and treated as second-class citizens," according to the lawsuit filed in federal district court in Santa Ana by Chad Farnan, 16, and his parents, Bill and Teresa.
.....The lawsuit contends, among other things, that Corbett told students during class that "when you put on your Jesus glasses, you can't see the truth"; said that religion is not "connected with morality"; compared Christians to "Muslim fundamentalists" who want women to "stay pregnant, barefoot, and in the kitchen and have babies until your body collapses"; and suggested that churchgoers are more likely to commit rape and murder.
.....…Teresa Farnan said her suspicions were aroused on the first day of school when her son—a sophomore honors student required to take Corbett's class for college admission—asked her whether America was founded on Christian values, which he said his teacher had denied.
....."He had learned in the eighth grade that our country was founded by persecuted Christians," said the mother, who describes her family as nondenominational Christian, "so I sent him to school with a tape recorder."
.....During the next two months, Chad Farnan said, he taped Corbett's lectures with the recorder in plain sight on his backpack.
.....…Eventually the Farnans contacted Advocates for Faith and Freedom, a nonprofit organization based in Murrieta dedicated to "protecting religious liberty," a spokeswoman said.
.....…"The teacher is a representative of the state and the Constitution requires government neutrality toward religion," [attorney Jennifer Monk] said. "This teacher's conduct and words clearly show he is hostile toward religion and is indoctrinating these kids, who are a captive audience."

From Friday’s OC Register: Teacher's religion remarks spark lively community debate:

.....…Many of Corbett's current and former students have rushed to his defense, saying he not only had the right to criticize traditional Christian viewpoints on topics such as birth control, teenage sex and homosexuality, but that his talks forced students to think critically about their own views….
....."I don't agree with everything he says, but that's not the point," said Capistrano Valley High graduate Erica Bashaw, 18, now a freshman at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. "Can you tolerate someone saying something that you don't agree with? Can you have a fiery debate about ideas? It scares me that that's not acceptable."
.....…Some student supporters wore handmade T-shirts to school Friday with messages such as "Keep Corbett." And dozens of Corbett's current and former students are planning a rally at 7 a.m. Wednesday at the high school to show their support for him.

....."Corbett has been a powerful reminder to me that we 'Christians' do not have the monopoly on truth," Capistrano Valley High geography and history teacher Tom Airey wrote in the Orange County Register's opinion section. "… In an age where there is probably too much emphasis on teaching to the standards and getting 'the facts' right, Corbett is training young students to think critically."
.....At issue in the lawsuit is whether Corbett violated the separation of church and state as outlined in the First Amendment's establishment clause. Court papers cite statements tape-recorded by Farnan such as "From conservative Christians in this country to Muslim fundamentalists in Afghanistan … it's stunning how vitally interested they are in controlling women" and "When you put on your Jesus glasses, you can't see the truth."
.....…"He's only giving one side – that's not thinking critically at all," said Farnan, 16, who does not plan to attend his AP European History class again until Corbett is removed. "This might be a college-level class, but it's in high school, so he doesn't have the same rights."
.....…"All of his opinions would have been fine with us if he had invited opposing points of view and the class was actually debating," said parent Birgit O'Hearn, 46, of Mission Viejo, who pulled her daughter out of Corbett's class this year. "But the opinions he was putting forth are not opinions that are worthy of an instructor."
.....…The case also has sparked disagreement among legal scholars about its merits and chance of success.
.....UC Irvine's new law dean, Erwin Chemerinsky, who has litigated several high-profile church vs. state lawsuits on the secular side, thinks the lawsuit is "very unlikely to succeed," he said.
....."Court will be very reluctant to open the door to students suing when they find the teachers' speech objectionable," Chemerinsky said….

Cold, stark, vulnerable canyons

At or near Modjeska Grade/Live Oak Canyon
(Orange County, California)

Today, I asked Dora, the realtor, just how vulnerable Modjeska Canyon is, and she said, "Well, the little canyon above my house—the fire burned so hot there that even the roots are gone, so if we get three or four inches of rain, well, the mud can all come down at once."

I stared at her. Finally, I said, "Let's hope that doesn't happen. Maybe we'll get lucky."

"Yeah," she said.

But she was worried. She didn't even try to hide it.

The board’s new president: Donald P. Wagner

.....As you know, on Monday, Don Wagner became the President of our board, not for the first time. (Don’s been a trustee since the old corrupt Mathur/Miller-White union got him elected back in 1998. As I recall, he last served as board president from 2002-2003.)
.....Just who is this good-looking fellow, Don Wagner?
.....Below I present excerpts from old posts and Dissent articles.

NOVEMBER, 1998 (Dissent 9):
THE OC REGISTER BLOWS THE WHISTLE ON OUR ROTTEN LITTLE UNION [From Dissent 9, 11/2/98]

.....Have you seen it? On Saturday (the 31st), the Register ran an article on the front page of its Metro section entitled “Board’s Unlikely Secret Allies,” which describes the faculty union leadership’s habit of helping to elect undesirable candidates…and refusing to discuss these actions with the rank and file.
.....The case of Wagner, a member of the explicitly anti-teachers union Education Alliance, is especially interesting. As he says,

“The teachers union?…The California Teachers Association is overwhelmingly liberal. I would seriously doubt they would support a conservative Republican like me. I was generally pleased to get the support…but I think it’s strange that it’s the union.”

The solution to the mystery is, of course, simple:

“Why is the faculty union giving money to endorse candidates who are appealing to a segment of the voter population who is opposed to unions?” said [an] Irvine Valley College professor … “It’s simple. It’s the buying and selling of board members. They will do anything to keep control of the board majority.”

.....Anything indeed. According to the article, “In 1996, the union paid $40,000 to mail out” the notorious homophobic “Same Sex” flier, which got Frogue, Williams, and Fortune elected and put our chapter on the CTA shit list. (“[T]he flier was bad…It was really bad,” says CTA’s David Lebow.) It also reports that, this year, the union formed the PAC “Community Taxpayers for Dr. Andy Kish for Trustee.” After Kish dropped out of the race, a new committee was formed, the “South Orange County Taxpayers for Quality Education.” According to the article, “More than $69,000 from [the] Andy Kish PAC and another union PAC [was] transferred” to the new PAC.
.....Could it be that our odious union leadership has sunk that kind of money into electing the likes of Don Wagner …?


.....I’ve done a little research on Mr. Wagner, whom the union’s Curt McLendon [of the Old Guard], in his recent letter “to colleagues,” describes as “moderate.”
.....Mr. McLendon must be joking. Those who are interested in understanding Mr. Wagner’s “moderation” are encouraged to examine the following:

1. The website of “The Federalist Society” (www.fed-soc.org/who) (Wagner is the founder and president of the Orange County chapter.) The Federalist Society is committed to “reordering priorities within the legal system to place a premium on individual liberty, traditional values, and the rule of law.” The Society’s board of trustees includes those celebrated “moderates” Robert Bork and Edwin Meese!

2. An article entitled “Defining Control” (Register; 6/16/98), which describes Wagner’s views on “local control” of schools and the dangers of “the federal government…overreaching its powers.”

3. A letter, appearing in the 2/19/98 Register, in which Wagner argues for school “choice.” (“Only by returning choice…to parents and taking it from the education bureaucrats can we reverse [the decline in public education]…I trust parents much more than I do the government to make the right education decisions for children.”)

4. An article Wagner published in the Register (July 13, 1998) concerning some judges and whether minors need “parental consent” before getting an abortion. (It’s the tone of the letter rather than its thesis that is perhaps revealing.)

2006:Trustee SPANKY on your right to “pack a gun.”

.....People who seek political office often leave quite a paper trail.
.....Take Don Wagner, the perpetually peevish and prickly SOCCCD trustee. Two years ago, he ran for a seat in the State Assembly, 70th District. (See map.) Wagner poured forth an impressive amount of verbiage during that campaign. (He lost, receiving 15% of the vote among several candidates.) It is archived by “Smart Voter”—Wagner for Assembly.

.....Much has happened in the past two years. Back in 2004, Bush and all things Bushy—you know: our Iraq adventure, sending people abroad to be tortured, assaulting civil liberties—were riding high, but now, well, not so much. Back then, the “illegal immigration” issue was on the back burner. Now, its hot, hot, hot.
.....It's fun to look back at what people said before things started changing.
.....If you go to the above site, you'll find much Wagnerian verbiage. In a lengthy essay entitled “Five Things I Will Do in Sacramento,” trustee Don displays his Libertarian tendencies, as when he argues that

The legislature must recognize that parents know best how to raise their children, and that parents care more for their kids than do bureaucrats. I will ceaselessly work to … free parents to educate, discipline, and instill values in, California's children. I will not support any piece of legislation that undermines parental authority and control over their children.

Unsurprisingly, Don embraces “local control”:

As a local government official, I know that local governments are closer to the people they serve, know better the problems of their local jurisdictions, and can best respond flexibly and appropriately to solve those problems. They should be empowered by Sacramento, not stripped of power, money, and authority….

.....Don rails against “Phony ‘Civil Rights’ Laws” that protect “cross-dressers” and laws that “harass the Boy Scouts.” “I will not sit quietly,” he says. “I will oppose further enactment of the liberal agenda….”
.....Wagner’s answers to a campaign questionnaire are sometimes interesting. “What,” he is asked, will he “do to stop illegal immigration and its economic effects in California”?
.....“We should deport illegal aliens when and where found,” says Don. As you know, President Bush offers a very different answer.
.....Don’s a great believer in guns. In fact, in Don World, the good guys oughta have more of ‘em: "I would try to greatly expand the right of law abiding citizens to carry weapons.”
.....Greatly expand? I do believe Don wants us to wear holsters, boots, and Stetsons!
.....Like many conservatives, Wagner is especially concerned about the specter of homosexuality. He is definitely against sex education and the promotion of the “pro-homosexual agenda” in public schools.
.....At one point, Wagner is asked, Do you support same sex marriage? He offers a snappy answer, sure to annoy:

"Then it isn't ‘marriage,’ now is it?"

.....I like Don, but he just doesn't get how annoyed at his audience—and thus annoying—he often seems.
.....In the questionnaire, Don again emphasizes the value of local control. And so he supports the “right of communities to require curricula with greater studies of”—are you ready?—here goes:

The U.S. Constitution, the role of religion in American life, traditional values, honest U.S. history, the founding fathers in greater dimension tha[n] mere "slave owners," appreciation for the cultural and political traditions of our country, patriotism, gun safety[.] [He says “yes” to the preceding.]

.....Don’s a great one for discipline. "Corporal punishment in the lower grades works,” he asserts.
.....Ouch!
.....Spanky—er, Don—sees himself as a Warrior. Is there a culture war in the U.S. today? “Yes,” says Corporal (and corporeal!) Don. If so, then “What side are you on?”
.....His answer is a tour de force:

"I am on the side that thinks ‘under God’ belongs in the pledge of allegiance and that it's all right to wish people ‘Merry Christmas,’ but that free speech does not include burning the flag or dancing in the nude.

"I am on the side that did not scoff when Ronald Reagan spoke of a ‘shining city on a hill’….

"On my side of the culture war, mom and dad and kids…are esteemed such that public policy is made first and foremost to protect them.

…"I believe public schools should be permitted to give out aspirin, but not condoms, and that bananas belong in the cafeteria, not in ‘health class.’

…”I am on the side of the culture war that believes Teddy Kennedy should do time for Chappaquidick and that Bill Clinton should do time for Juanita Broderick, perjury, illegal campaign fund raising from China...

"My side of the culture war thought that the first term of the Clinton Administration was … a disaster. There was nothing to like about his positions on gays in the military, nationalization of the health care industry, opposition to welfare reform that took a Republican Congress to finally achieve, …the incineration of children in Waco, …stonewalling on Vince Foster, missing Rose Law Firm billing records, … sale of the Lincoln Bedroom, ad nauseam.

…"Those on my side of the culture war believe that with rights come responsibilities, and that you have a right to build on your own property even if a snail darter or some such endangered vermin happens to live on it, a right to pack a gun, and the right to live free of an oppressive nanny state. You also have a responsibility to care for yourself and your family, and to exhaust every effort to do so before asking the government for a handout. Personal responsibility and self reliance [sic] are more highly regarded on my side of the culture war than are feelings and groupthink.

"My side of the culture war laughs at the hypocracy [sic!] of the left when it says we care about children only until they are born, when in fact it is our side that also opposes euthanasia, the left's creeping culture of death, the killing of Terry Schiavo….”

.....Don’s not finished! In a “separate statement,” he explains that

…I have volunteered for the GOP for years, ...served on a legal committee to stop liberal election day shenanigans…I was also the founder of the Orange County Chapter of the Federalist Society, a nationwide organization of lawyers, law professors, and judges. The Federalist Society has now replaced the leftist American Bar Association as chief outside advisor to the Bush Administration in its nomination of federal judges.

.....Near the end of this statement, Wagner touches on his role as Savior of our district. Ready?

When I was elected to guide a troubled college district, its finances were under State scrutiny, enrollment was flat, accreditation was in jeopardy, and campus dissension was widespread. Today, all that is past. The district's finances are robust. We are building new facilities without tax increases or incurring bond debt. Accreditation has been reaffirmed. Enrollment is up. Hard work, a commitment to educational excellence, and fiscally conservative leadership have led to a district renaissance.

.....—A renaissance? A freakin' renaissance!! I DON'T THINK SO, DON. (All emphases added.)

SEE ALSO:

• From DISSENT 23, March 23, 1999:
The Trouble with Harry: Mr. Wagner’s Opinion Piece, aka Wagner on Blackmun: RIP, FU
.....Don Wagner commemorated the passing of Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun by calling him “muddle-headed.”
.....
• Don successfully micromanages institutional memberships
.....Don takes aim at those "liberal busybodies," the American Library Association

• Don Wagner and Jane Fonda:
From Dissent 45 (2/29/00)
(Board meeting report)

…After a few minutes, Wagner started in on Jane Fonda. Months ago, he objected to the district’s membership in the American Association of University Women (AAUW) on the grounds that the group had recently honored “Hanoi Jane” Fonda. On the 22nd, Wagner went after Fonda again, no doubt for the benefit of all those lovely right-wing lunatics out there in South County TV Land. My God, he said, there she was with the VC, manning an anti-aircraft gun! The trollop! ¶ I guess the Wag Man hasn’t heard about Jane’s recent conversion. She won’t be manning any more anti-aircraft guns, ceptin’ for the Lord....

“Screw immortality!”—said the man in the funny hat

ON FRIDAYS, physicist Robert L. Park of the U of Maryland puts out a terrific little science news bulletin called What’s New. Today’s issue is especially good:

1. [PRESIDENTIAL] SCIENCE DEBATE 2008: CAN WE TALK ABOUT ISSUES NOW?

The U.S. blocks climate agreement in Bali; American children trail the industrialized world in math; stem cell researchers are preoccupied with getting around the embryonic stem cell ban; the green revolution is diverted to feed SUVs instead of people; creationists are conspiring to get God back in the classroom; and our space program is reduced to pointless media spectaculars.

Instead of candidates debating who loves Jesus most, Lawrence Krauss and Chris Mooney propose that science be the subject of a debate. An impressive group of science leaders has already signed on [to A call for a presidential debate on science technology]. It deserves the support of every scientist and every science organization.

2. ENERGY BILL: SENATE DEMOCRATS CAPITULATE

As oil lobbyists mounted a full-scale assault on Capitol Hill, the Senate yesterday passed a diluted energy bill that significantly raised fuel-economy standards, but omitted a tax on oil companies. The bill also dropped requirements that utilities generate 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources….

3. POPE BENEDICT XVI: A HINT OF ENLIGHTENMENT?

Under Pope John Paul II, from whom so much was expected, there was little progress. However, in his second encyclical letter to the faithful last week, [entitled] "On Christian Hope," Pope Benedict XVI, reveals an unexpected side. … About "eternal life" he now asks: "Do we really want this—to live eternally? It appears more like a curse than a gift." Elsewhere he finds: "The atheism of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is—in its origins and aims—a type of moralism: a protest against the injustices of the world and of world history."

4. BIRTH CONTROL: FINDING THE COMMON DENOMINATOR

…The Church remains a powerful force in opposing birth control, although we note with some glee that the population growth rate in Vatican City is zero, as it is over most of Europe. The rate is highest in poor countries, leading many to argue that the solution to the population problem is prosperity—but in some very rich oil countries, such as Saudi Arabia, the growth rate is quite high.

It’s not prosperity that keeps population growth down; it’s the freedom of women to achieve their potential—and prosperity follows.

Google's version of Wikipedia

.....
* In this morning’s New York Times: Google Develops Wikipedia Rival:

.....Google is developing an online publishing platform where people can write entries on subjects they know, an idea that's close to Wikipedia's user-contributed encyclopedia but with key differences.
.....The project, which is in an invitation-only beta stage, lets users create clean-looking Web pages with their photo and write entries on, for example, insomnia. Those entries are called "knols" for "unit of knowledge," Google said.
.....Google wants the knols to develop into a deep repository of knowledge, covering topics such as geography, history and entertainment.
.....Google's project will have to catch up with Wikipedia, which includes more than 7 million articles in 200 languages. Anonymous users constantly update Wikipedia entries in an ever-growing online encyclopedia that's edited by a network of vetted editors.
.....But Google asserts that the Web's development so far has neglected the importance of the bylined author.
....."We believe that knowing who wrote what will significantly help users make better use of web content," wrote Udi Manber, vice president of engineering, on the official Google blog….. (UPDATE: see also Wikipedia Competitor Being Tested by Google)

* From this morning’s Inside Higher Ed: Alleged Conflicts of Interest at Cambridge College:

.....The board of Cambridge College has placed Mahesh Sharma, the institution’s president, on leave after finding that he tried to use college funds to pay for his nephew’s tuition and that he appointed as a vice president a man whose company had a six-figure contract with Cambridge, The Boston Globe reported. Sharma did not respond to calls from the Globe seeking comment….

* In this morning’s LA Times: Orange County is again an uneasy investor:

.....Merrill Lynch & Co., the brokerage giant blamed for triggering Orange County's $1.6-billion bankruptcy in 1994, was the single largest dealer of complex debt securities to the county within the last two years that are now at risk of a credit rating downgrade, a Times review of county investment holdings has found.
.....Merrill's role in selling the debt instruments to Orange County is emerging just one year after the Board of Supervisors voted to reestablish full business ties with the firm, over the objections of politicians who served during the bankruptcy.
.....…The Nov. 30 warning by Moody's Investors Service that it might downgrade $460 million in securities held by Orange County forced the treasurer's office to write down their value by nearly $13.8 million. The write-down led to a $12.4-million paper loss for the month of November.
.....…Concerns over the investments have also added to Treasurer Chriss Street's political woes.
.....Street faces a previously scheduled vote by the Board of Supervisors next week on whether to strip him of his authority over the county investment pool. Supervisors have cited Street's business dealings before entering public office a year ago, a $750,000 office remodel and his handling of contracts to redesign the exterior of his building....

(Street is one of Trustee Tom Fuentes' many corrupt pals. See Orange County: home of the rat bastard.)