Lyon replaces Williams, who'll continue to be paid by, well, you 'n' me

     Adam Elmahrek of the Voice of OC reports today about John Williams’ replacement (yesterday) as OC Public Guardian:

Supervisors Name New Public Guardian

     The Orange County Board of Supervisors Tuesday appointed Lucille Lyon, who most recently served as a higher-up in Los Angeles County government, to the vacant public guardian position.
     Lyon replaces John Williams, who held both public guardian and public administrator positions. Earlier this year, Williams was stripped of his public guardian position and resigned as public administrator after long-running allegations that he mismanaged the offices.
. . .
     Most recently, Lyon was a division chief for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health and also served as interim deputy director for the department.
     However, in a strange twist, Lyon was passed over as the permanent hire for that position for someone who had worked under Williams, [Supervisor John] Moorlach said. This caused Moorlach to vote no on her appointment.
     "I don't want to have one John Williams problem and replace it with another John Williams problem," Moorlach said.
     Williams was ensnared in controversy beginning in 2009 when two scathing grand jury reports criticized his management of the county agency, which oversees complex estates of those without heirs as well as those of the indigent.
     Later on an appellate court found that Williams mismanaged the estate of deceased Charles "Mask" Lewis. Williams had inappropriately usurped control of the estate, the court found.

CACITYGUY, with whom I am familiar, leaves this comment:

     I really found Moorlach's comments interesting and disturbing. Just because this person did not get the top job for LA County when it was open disqualifies her for the PG job in Orange County? Also, Supervisor Bates makes her come to the podium and state for the "record" that she is not interested in running for the PA job when and if Williams retires in January. What was that all about? Hopefully, Ms. Lyons will clean up the rest of the mess that the BOS and CEO has not done and fire the Chief Deputy, the Personnel Director and the highest paid employee in the department - head of accounting, who is not even an accountant.

     Yesterday, just prior to the BOS vote, OC Weekly’s Matt Coker opined that

     ...John Williams is poised to officially lose for good his Public Guardian role today….
     So, how do OC taxpayers still end up losing? Because Lucille Lyon will get paid to be the Public Guardian while numbnuts Williams continues to draw his full $153,206.40 yearly salary.
     The Orange County Register's Kimberly Edds recently presented the troubling scenario. The Board is to be applauded for its due diligence in getting rid of GOP hackload Williams as the person in charge of estates that go unclaimed….
     But walking turd Williams had been ceremoniously appointed to the post after being elected Public Administrator, where he's no doubt screwed up handling the affairs of living people who cannot care for themselves and have no heirs to do it for them.
     The Board was able to strip brain-dead Williams of most of his Public Administrator duties and appoint an executive to watch him like he's a drunk toddler. But the elected Board can't fire the elected Administrator. So, in comes Lyon, whose first day on the job is Friday….
     Steaming-pile Williams claims he won't seek reelection to his elected seat once it runs out in a couple years, but that does not appease county waste watchdog Shirley Grindle, who is fighting to stop taxpayer funding of what appears to be sanctioned and continuing government incompetence.

Reagan bust artist busted for dumping statue acid on public land

antiqued with acid

     As Tere’s Board Meeting Highlights make clear, at last night’s board meeting,

     Chancellor Poertner highlighted a special donation from Trustee Tom Fuentes, a bust of Ronald Reagan on a marble pedestal, gifted to the South Orange County Community District for the Ronald Reagan Board of Trustees Room. Chancellor Poertner shared the story behind the artwork created by the late Orange County artist Woodrow Butterfield and the special significance to Trustee Fuentes who was instrumental in the naming of the board room in 2008 after the former President. The board looks forward to sharing the artwork with the community as soon as it can be properly secured in a display case.

     A friend of this blog emailed a link to an old (1991) Times story about the late Woodrow Butterfield. The upshot? Butterfield, who owned a statue place, dumped lots of acid on adjacent public land. He repeatedly blew off demands that he clean it up. Ultimately, he paid a $17,000 fine and was placed on probation:

Statue Maker Fined for Leaking Acid

     In West Orange County Municipal Court this week, [Woodrow] Butterfield and his two sons … pleaded no contest to charges that they dumped muriatic acid from Statueland, at 13960 Harbor Blvd., onto adjacent public land. The trio was charged in August with two misdemeanor counts of improperly disposing of hazardous waste, crimes that carry penalties of up to $100,000 and a year in jail, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Gerald G. Johnston.
. . .
     Municipal Judge Daniel J. Didier fined shop owner Woodrow Butterfield $7,000 and assessed additional penalties of $10,000. The judge suspended $5,000 fines for both sons, but placed all three men on three years' probation.
. . .
     The Butterfields used the acid to clean the statues and make them appear to be antiques, Johnston said. They then hosed the residual acid and cement onto public property where it created a standing pool 35 feet long by 10 feet across, he said. A sample of the liquid was so acidic it could burn flesh, Johnston said.

     It’s a little thing, I suppose. What’s a little acid on public property? I mean, why shouldn't the public deal with a private company's messy acid?
     Butterfield had been on the Garden Grove City Council. He died in 2003.
     If I were Gary, I'd check that Reagan bust for, um, acid.

c. 1974

"You know, a tree is a tree, how many more do you need to look at?" —Ronald Reagan

July's meeting of the SOCCCD board: live and direct!

Operation GlennDrop

     (Be sure to read Tere's Board Meeting Highlights. Board agenda pdf here.)
     Well, here we are again for the meeting of the South Orange County Community College District's board of trustees. It's nearly 6:15, and the meeting hasn't started yet.
     All trustees are present and accounted for except for Tom Fuentes. Well, he's accounted for, I guess. (He's very ill.)
     For some reason, as I entered the room three minutes ago, there was much buzzing among the high number of district and college "usual suspects". WT....
     Ah, the board is starting the meeting! (6:16 p.m.)

● Nothing to be reported out. (No action taken in closed session.)

● Invocation and pledge. (Moment of silence; the Lord is not invoked)

● No resolutions. But a recognition for IVC Prez Glenn Roquemore.

   A recruiter officer (he manages 300 or so recruiters in SoCal) addresses the board. Says: it's a special period for us. We depend on the local community. We depend on people like Glenn Roquemore. Therefore, we've invited him to jump out of a plane--with the Army's skydiving team.
   We see a video. The Golden Knights. Lake Elsinore. We see his family. Big smiles. There's Glenn walking up into the plane. He's still smiling. There he is wearing his helmet. They're playing "Show me what I'm looking for." Odd choice. Then some similarly lame music. There's Glenn, falling like a rock, proving once again the gritty reality of gravitation. He seems to have four arms and two and a half legs. Whatever.
   Glenn's still falling. He gives the thumbs up. Now He's landing. Much sliding on grass. "We gave you a little bit of a taste of Army strong today," says someone. A freeze frame of Glenn falling. Very inspiring.
   On behalf of the U.S. Army, we present to you [it's a pin].. he is Army Airborne Qualified. They pin the thing on him. It's silver.
   Poertner comes up and sings Glenn's praises. He has helped create a positive image for the Army, says Poertner. So he gets a certificate of recognition. In a few months, no doubt, he'll get a certificate of recognition for his having received a certificate of recognition. And ad infinitum.
   Glenn speaks. He had lunch with soldiers. "I'm gonna wear these wings very proudly."

     I guess somebody decided that Glenn needed to raise his profile. "Why not drop like a rock from the sky?" Yes, why not.
     Glenn doesn't run his college. His VPI, Craig Justice, does. And Craig is ruthless and controlling and doesn't give a damn what any other group wants. He plays the faculty leadership. Others are scared to death of him.
     And where's Glenn?
     He's falling out of airplanes, smiling.
     Behold our next Chancellor, dropping and smiling.
     And Craig: the next Prez of IVC?
     Good Lord.

Fuentean donation
(artist's rendering)

● PUBLIC COMMENTS: nope.

● Board reports: (got one?)

Bill Jay: nope
Frank Meldau: nope
Marcia Milchiker: go see "Oklahoma" at Saddleback College. Incredible. Otherwise: nope
TJ Prendergast: nope
Nancy Padberg: nope
Lang: You give the term "taking a flying leap" new meaning (says to Roquemore). Har har. Nope.
Student trustee: nope

Chancellor's report: a quick comment. He points out a bust of Ronald Reagan up there behind the trustees. It looks like a brown turd from here. It's here only temporarily for safe keeping. You'll recall that Fuentes urged the board to name the room after RR. And Fuentes arranged for this bust, too, years ago. It was given to Fuentes, and Fuentes showed it to RR, who said he preferred it to other busts, I guess. It has been donated by Tom Fuentes (to the district, I guess).

● Discussion item: none

● Consent calendar: 5.5, 5.1, and 5.6 pulled.
The rest passes/is approved

5.1 Minutes. Passed.
5.5. Bugay asks amendment to attachment, 2nd page. Etc. Matter carries unanimously.
5.6 Lang puls it. Lang's being paid for a meeting he missed. The trustees always do this for each other. Wants the language clarified. His request to move the meeting was "denied." (Oh my. A little tension here?) He had a conflict, yada yada. Approved by all, Lang abstaining because, you know, he's very principled. That's why I always call him Dave "Quisling" Lang, betrayer of friends for private gain.

● Action items:

6.1: special services: Liebert Cassidy Whitmore legal services. A rate increase change. Item carries unanimously.
6.2: Board Policy revisions. Second time before the board. Carries unanimously.
6.3: for review and study: board policy revisions. Some questions about the basic aid policy. No other comments. Unanimously voted to accept for review and study.
6.4: this item is pulled.
6.5: Academic personnel actions. Approved unanimously.
6.6: Classified personnel actions. Approved unanimously.
6.7: Intra-budget transfer. Prendergast asks: transfer what from where to where? Laughter.
New Admin explains. Prendergast satisfied. Roll call vote. Unanimous.

● Reports:

7.1: Student trustee explains. I was asked to run. More publicity for our district. (?) He'll be the state wide student trustee, evidently!
7.2: basic aid. Lang: notes the first report that "breaks it down." Have we always gotten that? Poertner says: nothing new, Davy-Do.
7.3: no questions.
7.4 Retiree trust fund. All are comatose.

● Reports:

Academic Senate (SC): Carmen has moved to an admin position in College of the Canyons. "She will be missed." Stuff like "Oklahoma," I guess.
Union: Lewis Long: no report
Academic Senate (IVC): nobody here tonight. That's worse than no report.
Peebles: no report
Roquemore (IVC): I'll let my written report stand. Appreciate opportunity to work on accred issues this summer. "Very rewarding." (Sure it is. Is he running for office?)
Burnett (SC): you're first to see flex week brochure. They're dazzled. (Not. Mass Droolage.)
Padberg explains that she's taking a class at the college. (Spinning?) "Orange Appeal" is SC magazine. A copy was provided. Very glossy. Photography is beautiful, says Nancy.
Bramucci: got an award somewhere. The IT people, I guess.
Bugay: Roquemore is my hero. Jumping out of a plane, supporting the military. Also: Our chancellor is on track on all six of our accred issues.
Etc.
It's 6:54, and it appears that the meeting is about to end! Good Lord! Such speed, such efficiency!
6:56--over and out.

Board meeting tonight: “preventive education”

     The board of the South Orange County Community College District will conduct its July meeting tonight, starting at 6:00 p.m. Here’s the agenda: Board Agenda
     I glanced at the agenda outline. It seems unremarkable.
     I did notice item 6.1:

“Agreement for Special Services: Liebert Cassidy Whitmore”:
Approve Amendment No. 1 to the Agreement for Special Services with Liebert Cassidy Whitmore establishing a new range of rates for professional services effective July 1, 2011

     The firm’s website is here.
     Among other things, the firm claims to be a leader in “preventive education.”
     That’s quite a phrase. They explain it as follows:

One of the firm's greatest sources of accomplishment comes from its record of success in counseling and advising its clients on the best ways to avoid becoming a party to adversary proceedings.

     Item 5.5 is a “Faculty Hiring Addendum” for IVC. This seems to concern the replacement of Lise Telson and Bob Kopecky.
     Also, I see that we’ll be paying an extra $3762 for continued membership in the Community College League of California (CCLC) (dues have gone up from $ 36,238.00 to $40,000). (Item 5.12)

Another agenda:

     Meanwhile, the Voice of OC reports that

     Topping this week's public agendas is the appointment of a new Orange County Public Guardian. ¶ Former Public Guardian John Williams (who also had the job of public administrator) was fired from the post last month after a slew of controversies that eventually resulted in the splitting up of the two jobs. ¶ The Orange County Supervisors are scheduled to appoint Lucille Lyon, who previously worked as Riverside County's chief deputy public guardian, according to a staff report.

     Williams, of course, served on the SOCCCD board from 1992 until about 8 months ago, when he resigned. He's a rat bastard.

Random news:

Group targets Yorba Linda council prayer (OC Reg)

     A group that believes in a strong separation of church and state wants the Yorba Linda City Council to abandon its practice of praying at the council's biweekly meetings.
     "Local governments should not be in the business of performing religious rituals," the letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation states. "Calling upon Yorba Linda City Council members and citizens to rise and pray is coercive, embarrassing and beyond the scope of secular city government."
. . .
     Prayer during City Council meetings in Orange County is widely practiced; occasionally, council members or department heads will offer the invocation.
     Saddleback and Irvine Valley colleges have agreed to discontinue the use of invocations at some events, like scholarship ceremonies and faculty training sessions. The decision, which came earlier this year, was the result of a 2009 lawsuit by the group Americans United for Separation of Church and State….

Ted Rall opines cartoonishly

Past, Present, and Future

     Just noticed this: OC Weekly Captures 10 or 11 OC Press Club Awards (Naval Gazing)
     Matt Coker explains that

     OC Weekly won 10 or 11 awards at Wednesday night's Orange County Press Club Journalism Awards Dinner at the Hyatt Regency Irvine. Among these were eight first-place awards. ¶ It's 10 or 11 total because the same Weekling tied for first place in the same category, something Kedric Francis, Firebrand Media group editor and the press club vice president emceeing the awards portion of the evening, believes may be unprecedented in club history.

     Be sure to read all about it. And Congrats to the OC Weekly crew!
     You might recall that Kedric Francis, the MC, has a connection with DtB and was in fact a cub reporter for the Irvine Valley College Voice in the mid-90s.
     It appears that Ked first broke the Trustee-Frogue-Holocaust-denier story: See.

See also: Voice of OC Wins Press Club Investigative Awards

The grunt of the Neanderthal

     GUN DOLT. You’ll recall that, recently, a San Juan Capistrano City Councilman—and Saddleback College adjunct!—proposed changing a rule that bans guns in city parks. You see, this fella, Derek Reeve, thinks Americans have a right to carry guns just about everywhere and anywhere. Why not in city parks?
     Well, according to today’s OC Reg, Reeve’s Neanderthalic proposal has been rejected. Last night, relatively safe and sane members of the City Council decided that allowing guns in the park would make people feel unsafe, and, besides, it would brand the city as some kind of Wild West. That’s bad for business, man.
     But Reeve claims that the decision to preserve the old rule puts the city in legal jeopardy!

     …Reeve said the city rule could prompt a lawsuit. City Attorney Omar Sandoval said the rule likely was created about 10 years ago and that there hasn't been a lawsuit since.
     San Juan Capistrano resident Steve Behmerwohld said, "If you hadn't brought the whole thing up, I think the chances of us being sued (would be) a lot less."

     Um, dude. What about that?
     Reeve offered a lame retort:

"There's already been talk about going after cities. I saw that, and that's why I'm trying to head it off at the pass."

     Going after “cities,” eh? But not SJC in particular?
     You’re an asshole.
     Evidently, the Council also shot down Reeve’s idea to allow fishing in city creeks.

     IRVINE IS CLEAN, ISN'T IT? Meanwhile, today in court a former Irvine Planning Commissioner pleaded guilty to felony interstate wire fraud. Read about it in the OC Reg.
     His name is David R. Sparks. He’s described as a “family man.” No doubt he’s very pious, too. He could spend some serious time in prison polishing his piety.
     I noticed that Sparks was a contributor to Don Wagner’s 2010 run for the State Assembly.
     Just sayin’.