The many monikers of the SOCCCD

1. South Coast Junior College District 

(during planning; district founded February 14, 1967)

Problems, real or imagined: "Um, what about inland? Ever hear of El Toro, Tustin, places like that?"

2. Saddleback Junior College District 

(renamed during board meeting, March 13, 1967)

Problems, real or imagined: "They're not called 'junior' colleges anymore, cuz they do more than that."

3. Saddleback Community College District 

(1970)

Problems, real or imagined: in 1979, the "north campus" is built in Irvine. By 1985 it becomes an independent college: Irvine Valley, and it's denizens take themselves awfully seriously. SCCD is now a two-college district.
So: "How come the district's named 'Saddleback' when only one college has that name?"

4. South Orange County Community College District 

(1997)

Problems, real or imagined: "SOCCCD? Really? Maybe we should add some more Cs."
"Looks like this half-county ain't big enough for the both of us."

5. South Orange County Community College District
and 
South Orange County Community College District North
(2020)

Problems, real or imagined: "El Toro Rd. is, and always has been, the borderline. Nowadays, students who wander across it are either eaten alive or their heads explode."

Charter trustees: the curious Mr. Alyn Brannon

 

     The district’s charter board of 1967 included “Alyn M. Brannon and Hans W. Vogel of Tustin; Louis J. Zitnick of Laguna Beach; Patrick J. Backus of Dana Point; and Michael T. Collins of Laguna Niguel.”
     Gosh, what were these people like? Inquiring minds wanna know (but they shudder to think).
     As we reported previously, Hans Vogel, who often presided over the board during his tenure (68-72), was an early supporter of notorious arch-conservative loon (and Bircher, until even they wouldn't have him) John Schmitz.
     He was also an early appreciator of Ronald Reagan, having invited the fellow, in 1965, to sleepy Tustin to speak with local Neanderthals. (Who knows; maybe Jimmy Utt showed up with his tin foil hat.) Reagan, you'll recall, first ran for public office—Governor—in 1966. Owing to his relationship with Reagan, Vogel later managed to secure the participation of the Governor for Saddleback's dedication (1968). Surely that makes Vogel the cat's meow, among Republicans, for whom Reagan is second only to Jesus in their affections.
     OK, so what about the other four? Well, I’ve done some quick 'n' dirty research—mostly on two of them: Louis Zitnik and Alyn M. Brannon. Turns out Zitnik became a small-time Laguna Beach politician. Brannon, however, is more interesting.

Louis J. Zitnik

     It appears that Mr. Zitnik was (and still is?) a resident of Laguna Beach. Obviously, he was a member of the SOCCCD charter board in the late 60s. By 1981, he was an incumbent on the Laguna Beach County Water District. A 1993 OC Register article quotes Zitnik, still a member of the LBCWD, as a fierce proponent of a 3-million-gallon reservoir, approval of which had long been delayed, possibly contributing to the enormity of the Laguna Beach wildfire.
     Laguna Beach now boasts a 5-million-gallon reservoir that is named after Zitnik. (Louis J. Zitnik Reservoir and Pump Station, Laguna Beach, CA) It is touted as crucial to fighting wildfires in the area.
     It was designed and built by RBF Consulting, Tom Fuentes’ employer from 1975 through 1994.

Alyn M. Brannon

     1. I Googled "Alyn M. Brannon" and found a recent federal court case record the upshot of which is that someone by that very name pleaded guilty to failing to file his taxes (ten years ago), received probation, and requested a shortening of his probation. Evidently, that person has a prior criminal history ("the Defendant in this case has a prior criminal history and violated the conditions of his pretrial release while awaiting sentencing in this case"). For some reason, the feds took this case very seriously.
     But is this our “Alyn M. Brannon”?
     Incidentally, this tax-evading Brannon often finds/found it necessary to travel to Mexico, which, he argued, made his continuing probation burdensome. The court was unmoved.
     This Brannon (age 77 in 2008, hence about age 37 in 1968) had lived in Oklahoma—remember that—but had moved to Arizona by the time of sentencing/appeal.
     2. One Alyn M. Brannon, with apparent ties to a business in Tustin (recall that "our" Brannon lived in Tustin), was the operator of a Cessna that crashed in Louisiana, having departed from Oklahoma, in 2002 (See):

     On June 15, 2002, approximately 2150 central daylight time, a Cessna P210N airplane, N4720P, was substantially damaged after the right main landing gear collapsed during landing roll at the Shreveport Downtown Airport (DTN), Shreveport, Louisiana. The private pilot and his passenger were not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by Tower Systems Inc., of Tustin, California. [Tower Systems is a computer software firm that sells a very widely used “methadone clinic” software.] Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The flight departed the Shawnee Municipal Airport, Shawnee, Oklahoma, approximately 2030, and was destined for Shreveport.
     According to the pilot, while on approach to DTN, he lowered the landing gear, and the landing gear extended. However, the landing gear annunciator light (green), confirming the landing gear had extended and locked into position, failed to illuminate. By a visual check, the pilot confirmed the left main landing gear was extended, and the passenger confirmed the right main landing gear was extended. During a low approach over the runway, the tower controller performed a visual check of the nose landing gear, and the controller stated he was 90 percent positive the nose gear was extended. While landing on runway 32, the right main landing gear collapsed, the airplane veered to the right and came to rest upright off the right side of the runway.

     I found another record that indicates that there were no injuries in this incident and that the operator (Brannon) was not also the owner of the aircraft. The operator’s (i.e., Brannon’s) street address was 13422 Wheeler, Santa Ana.
     Again, the departure city was Shawnee, Oklahoma. —So this is likely the tax evader above (how many Alyn M. Brannon's could Oklahoma have?)
     Now get this: there’s a record of an Alyn M. Brannon, a resident of Stateline, NV, owning a 1967 Piper. According to a FindTheData record of a report, in February of 1994, while operating that plane in the Lake Tahoe area, Mr. Brannon crashed, totaling the plane.
     There was one fatality. [Note: more recent research indicates that the pilot of the plane, who was alone, was Alyn's son, Donald, who died on the scene.]
     I have found another FindTheData report according to which one Alyn M. Brannon owns/owned a 1974 Grumman aircraft. Evidently, that Brannon lives/lived in Phoenix, AZ. I have also found a record of an Alyn M. Brannon, owning a Grumman, living in Zephyr Cover, NV.
     3. Other records indicate that there is an 80-year-old Alyn M. Brannon (hence, 36 in 1968) who is possibly associated with addresses in Costa Mesa, Santa Ana, Tustin, and Arizona.
     You do the math. I think it is likely that these records concern one Alyn M. Brannon, and he's our Alyn M. Brannon.
     Gosh, such a guy.

     I have found little information on Patrick J. Backus. There appears to be an 80-year-old Patrick John Backus living in Dana Point. (He’d be about 36 years old in 1968.) I found a 1996 newpaper article that quotes a Patrick J. Backus, who was then principle of Orangethorpe Elementary School in Fullerton. He would have retired soon thereafter.
     I can find virtually nothing about Michael T. Collins of Laguna Niguel.

UPDATE 1/14: Collins seems to have done very well as an attorney. For at least twenty years, he's headed the Collins Firm in Virginia and environs.

A glimpse at Saddleback College, 1970: HAIR

     I came across an October 20, 1970, “New University” piece by one Mark Northcross of “Saddleback College” entitled, “I almost cut my hair…” – a paraphrase of a well-known song by the Byrds.
     The New University, of course, is UCI’s student newspaper. It's still around.
     Northcross’s article discusses the inception of Saddleback College and the decision by its board to institute a dress code that restricted hair length.
     Northcross’s piece is youthful, self-indulgent, odd, poorly edited. It seems to mix “poetry” with quotations, mostly. I'll skip the first paragraph, which is incoherent.
     Then we get this relatively lucid verbiage:

     The citizens of Tustin, Mission Viejo, Laguna Beach, San Clemente, and other settlements in that region agreed in some democratic fashion that a community college was needed. A Board of Trustees was elected and other accessories for a college were collected. It was felt a dress standard was required for a college, and one was made up by a committee composed of students and members of the Board of Trustees. The Board insisted among other things that hair be a respectable length. In Saddleback's first year of operation, violators of this code were prevented from registering. Other violators spotted by various administrators during the year were given a choice of suspension or shorter hair. Some intrepid students refused to cut their hair and were suspended. They first appealed to the Board and were turned down. Two students, Lyndall King, and Mark Karlson; then brought the affair to the attention of a Federal District Court where the students were told their rights had been infringed upon and they deserved to go to Saddleback. The Board of Trustees then appealed the matter into the Federal District Court of Appeals where it is undecided as of this date. While the dress code is in limbo, it is not being enforced.

     Then it's back to word salad.

     At one point, Northcross seems to quote one “John Swartzbaugh,” evidently Saddleback’s "Dean of Students."

Of Students:
     "Liberal students show a lack of responsibility; they aren't taking part in the bombings, this doesn't mean the radical form of liberalism represents the majority but by allowing it to go on they are turning off the people of this country."

[On February 4, 1970, there was a riot in Isla Vista, Calif., protesting developments in the Chicago 8 trial. Then, on the 25th, also in Isla Vista, a Bank of America branch was bombed.]

Of Saddleback as a Community College:
     "We closer to the taxpayers ...responsive to the community... people built them, we're mainly consumers."

     Then, someone, not sure who, is quoted concerning various topics:

Of Dress Standards:
     "If the school should win...the operation of the school would be disrupted. Men on the board cannot accept today's change in hair styles ... they feel they are losing control of the schools ... they are really frightened people."

Of Politics, Revolution, The Future, etc.:
     "I am a conservative ... the trouble is these people don't practice what they say ... their interpretation of the constitution is more like communism ... but supposed say this, read this.
     Thought control. I think what's happening is a return to individualism ...if we can survive this revolution we'll have a better country. We're getting away from industry, big government... bigness has destroyed individualism."

Alyn Brannon

Of the Purposes of Education:
     "This school or community is trying to create a new generation of the silent majority... they don't know it but this is probably the most politically run campus in the state—I couldn't verify it, that's my opinion... The whole experiment will fail."
     A new vision in a youngest hand to attack all clear afternoons of preceding hope. Clothes abandoned for another itch of hand, its energy is in the blood of all births. And masses. Not to be a lawn for each stretch to power, but a singleness to absorb all suns, even as fives bones of sense will always hold each face to a brutal diversity of earth.
     An untouchable electrocution of voice. Through a telephone, Alyn M. Brannon, member of the Board of Trustees.

Of Determining the Dress Code (with students):
     "We got our way.”

     The article continues on "page 8." But the file ends there, sans page 8.
     Why did this article appear in UCI's student paper? Probably, Saddleback's "hair" struggle was of interest to UCI students. It likely made the news wires.
     Why is this article so badly/weirdly written? Dunno. Maybe everybody was high.

See also
• 1969: Saddleback's war on hair (Dissent the Blog)
• A weird windowless library, alleged marauding flag-swiping Hippies, the protean name, and other district mysteries (Dissent the Blog)

"The College welcomed its first students on September 23, 1968 at an interim site at 
26522 Crown Valley Parkway in Mission Viejo." --From District website. See red dot
above.  The current Saddleback College dominates the lower half of this photo
(to the right of Marguerite, which is in yellow/green).

26522 Crown Valley Parkway today

Did right-wing loons establish the SOCCCD?

     We at DtB have on occasion delved into the district’s formative years, revealing, for instance, its various early designations ("South Coast Junior College District") and the nature of its early controversies (long hair, plans for library windows, rumors of hippie invasions, etc.).
     One name that comes up a lot in the record of our glorious past is "Hans Vogel," who, as far as I know, is still with us (he’d be about 90 years old now).
     Now, before I go on, I want to be clear that, for all that I know, Mr. Vogel is a really great guy. For instance, he may be a terrific father and husband and, oh, pet owner. We know that he's a war hero.
     We're only talking about his politics here. OK?

     The above "groundbreaking" photo can be found at the district website. The caption mentions Vogel among other members of the “charter board":

With the formation of the district, residents voted as their charter board: Alyn M. Brannon and Hans W. Vogel of Tustin; Louis J. Zitnick of Laguna Beach; Patrick J. Backus of Dana Point; and Michael T. Collins of Laguna Niguel. The first president-elect was Dr. Vogel who served four times as president during almost eight years on the board.

     Previously (see), I reported that Vogel had distinguished himself as an interpreter/interrogator during World War II while serving under Patton in Europe. (I recall that, on one occasion, trustee Don Wagner marveled at Vogel's wartime adventures.) After the war, Vogel became a noted college volleyball coach; he also wrote about and published some of his wartime experiences. (He's a German scholar.) In the 50s, he left collegiate life behind in favor of the construction industry. Much later, he returned to education at the K-12 level. (At one point, he was invited to join the CIA!)
     And he's been active in local politics.
     We’ve long suspected that some of the district’s early movers and shakers were, oh, seriously conservative—even Neanderthalic. Given some of Vogel's decisions and positions, we've wondered if he was anything like the stereotypical 60s South County right-wing loon.
     Some readers have come out of the woodwork, seeking to refute any such suggestion.
     Today, I happened upon a brief description of Vogel in Tom Rogers’ book about Orange County politics, Agents’ Orange (2000). Rogers, an early (1962) admirer of notorious right-winger John Schmitz, was the chairman of the OC GOP from about 1969 until 1972, and he remained active in local politics at least until 2000 (he died six years ago). By the 1980s, owing to his fidelity to conservative principles and his determination to conserve the look and feel of rural OC, Rogers had become alienated from the GOP establishment. He felt that the party had utterly sold out to big business interests, especially developers.
     Here’s what Rogers says about Vogel:

     Hans Vogel was one of the first county residents to become involved in conservative politics. As a local businessman and bookstore owner, Hans was able to gather a circle of friends and associates to informal discussion concerning many issues. He was an early supporter of [notorious John Bircher*] John Schmitz, but his most impressive accomplishments was to sponsor a book-signing event at his Tustin bookstore, featuring a rising star in GOP politics, Ronald Reagan who had written a book Where’s the Rest of Me? [1965] The event was a success by all standards, and really introduced the future governor to local conservatives who came away with a signed book and a determination to support Ronald Reagan in his political career.
     Hans was also active in the County Republican Central Committee as publisher and editor of the Observer. [Elsewhere, Rogers explains that Vogel did an excellent job in that role. The Observer faded from the scene many years ago.]

     I suppose that answers our questions about Mr. Vogel, who, as far as I know, did not experience Rogers’ gradual disaffection with the local GOP. He was (and perhaps is) seriously right-wing. Remember: John Schmitz was a member of the John Birch Society, which was very active in OC.
     According to the district website, Governor Reagan participated in the dedication of Saddleback College on October 15, 1968—and Vogel "was instrumental in securing the Governor's participation in the historical event."
     Ronald Reagan, of course, deserves a high position on any shitlist assembled by critics of development in Orange County. With regard to overdevelopment, surely one of the worst events in OC history was Governor Reagan’s appointment, in 1974, of Tom Riley to replace the deceased Ronald Caspers on the OC Board of Supervisors.
     "General" Riley was extremely pro-development.
     And the rest was history.
     By the way, originally, Reagan had announced his intention of naming Tom Fuentes as Caspers’ replacement, but a residency rule nixed that plan. The disappointed Fuentes gave himself a big fund-raiser and then went to seminary instead.
     But it didn’t take.

"Prior to the dedication [10/15/68], Governor Reagan met with Board of Trustees, from left to right:
Allyn Brannon, Hans W. Vogel, Michael Collins, Patrick Backus,
Louis Zitnik and Superintendent Fred Bremer." (From district website.)

*The John Birch Society was much bothered by its reputation as a haven for extremists and, at some point, it purged itself of some noisy members who seemed to be anti-Semitic. John Schmitz was among these. After losing his Congressional seat, Schmitz ran for President for the American Independent Party, receiving about one and a half percent of the votes. Unfortunately, his later years were marked by a sordid scandal.

Norton Simon in Orange County—Tom Rogers' terrific "chopper" yarn—and Arlene Hoffman

Jennifer Jones

     He was a rich industrialist (Hunt-Wesson, Avis) and art collector who ran for Republican candidate for the Senate (in 1970), married actress Jennifer Jones (1973), and is most remembered today for his impressive art museum.
     I'm talking about Norton Simon, Republican.
     He was born in 1907, in Oregon. He died in 1993.
     Susan Stamberg of NPR did a great little piece about Simon and his museum a year or so ago: The Best Museum You Haven't Visited.
     The piece was occasioned by the publication of a book by Sara Campbell, the museum’s senior curator, who has some interesting stories and comments about Simon:

     The successful industrialist approached his art museum with a businesslike efficiency. When he came to visit, he would inspect his collection, but never linger, Campbell recalls: "He would make a circuit of every single work of art and walk as fast as he could."
     Simon hired Campbell 41 years ago [1970] as a typist. She remembers him as a wonderful boss who solicited opinions about art from everyone.

Norton Simon

     "He asked everybody what they thought about the collection," Campbell says. "He would ask me, he would ask the most prestigious museum director, and he would ask his cook."
     But after gathering the information so democratically, Simon would do whatever he wanted, Campbell says.

     SIMON COMES TO OC. Simon quit college (UCB) in 1925 to start a sheet-metal business. In 1927 he paid $7000 for an orange juice bottling plant in Fullerton, named Val Vita Food Products Co. The company soon expanded into vegetable juices and then canning. By 1943, Simon was in charge of Hunt Foods after its merger with Val Vita.
     Evidently, Simon was a pioneer of aggressive marketing, placing ketchup ads in upscale magazines. By 1945, Hunt Foods was a household name and the company slogan, “Hunt for the best,” was familiar to everyone. I recall the slogan from my youth.
     So Simon was an Orange County guy, in some sense.
     I found this picture of workers at Val Vita in Fullerton (see at right)—probably in the 30s. Very cool. (I briefly worked at the Hunt-Wesson factory during one summer, circa 1974. As I recall, the whole place—even the interior—seemed covered in oil.)

At Val Vita, Fullerton

     TOM ROGERS' YARN. Do you recall Tom Rogers? I’ve written about him recently—in connection with Tom Fuentes and his mentor, the decidedly hinky Mr. Ronald Caspers, the OC Supe who died in 1974.
     Rogers, who died about six years ago, was an OC landowner and rancher who became involved in OC Republican politics starting in the early 60s. He served as OC GOP chair starting about 1968—just before things went all to hell. By the 80s, he became alienated from the GOP establishment and was a leader in OC’s “slow growth” movement, which, sadly, failed miserably in staunching the tide of ruinous development, which continues.
     Despite his having supported right-winger John Schmitz, all things considered, Rogers seems to have been an admirable guy. (See Straight-shooting conservative Tom Rogers on Caspers, Harber, and what they portended.)
     Well, I’ve been rereading Rogers' important book (Agents’ Orange—I seem to have the only copy that's left) and I came across the following terrific story about the Norton Simon campaign of 1970:

Actor George Murphy

     In 1970, [conservative Senator George] Murphy was up for reelection, and a surprise opponent appeared, vowing to contest the Republican Primary [—namely, industrialist Norton Simon of Fullerton]….
     It was clear to most observers that Simon was in the race as a stalking horse [i.e., not a serious candidate] to discredit Murphy. He had scads of money, and would be formidable in weakening Murphy in the primary campaign.
     Given the scenario, I [as OC GOP chair] was at the Registrar of Voters office in Santa Ana on the last day for filing papers, a practice that I had followed for several years. My purpose was to scout the opposition, and to dissuade any “ringer” from jumping in on the GOP side of the ticket. To solve any problem which might arise, I had three of my most trusted interns assist me at the Registrar that particular day.
     At about 3:30 P.M. a stranger came in looking somewhat harried. It was obvious that he did not know the procedures, so I approached him and asked if he needed help. Grateful, he told me he was from the Norton Simon campaign, and when they tried to file their papers with the LA Registrar, they were told that because Simon had listed an OC address as his place of residence (Hunt Foods in Fullerton), the papers would have to be filed in OC. They were also told that the papers would require the signatures of 30 local residents.
     I took the man in the gray suit over to the counter, and helped him obtain the forms. When I asked him how he was going to get signatures at such a late hour, he told me that they had a roomful of local Republican employees ready to sign, and he was on his way to gather the signatures and would return to Santa Ana before 5:00 P.M.
     It was after 4:00 by the time he had everything, and when he left the building I called one of the interns over, filled him in on the situation and directed him to follow the man’s car to the Grand Avenue on-ramp, and to rear-end him on the ramp. My orders were to insist that the Highway Patrol be called, and this [delay] would effectively end Simon’s bid since any delay would cause the papers to be filed too late. It would have been close even without the fender bender.
     The young staffer, always loyal and unquestioning, jumped into his wreck of a car, and took off in hot pursuit.
     I could not believe my great good fortune. I had pulled off the coup of the decade, and even called Murphy headquarters to let them in on how brilliant I actually was. In what seemed a rather short time, the intern came back, out of breath and red in the face. I was concerned that he had gone too far and had actually caused a real wreck.
     “What happened?” I asked.
     “I jumped into my car, and the man got into his, but he drove across the street to the orange grove. He got out and ran, and I followed him on foot.” His story stopped while he caught his breath.
     “Then what?”
     He responded, “The man ran to a clearing past the grove, and jumped into a helicopter which was waiting for him—he jumped in and they took off and I tried, but I couldn’t stop the chopper.”
     Simon’s man got back in time with the papers, and the business tycoon spent millions in a campaign, which did nothing except discredit George Murphy.
     Murphy lost to John Tunney…. (pp. B-18-B-20)

     Now that’s a great yarn. I believe every word of it.
     (You’ll recall that the Robert Redford movie, The Candidate (1972), was loosely based on the Tunney campaign.)

Val Vita Foods, Fullerton

P.S.: Arlene Hoffman—& Simon—& Harber—& Cella

     At the time of the "chopper" incident, Simon's secretary was one Arlene Hoffman.
     Remember her? From 1972 until 1974, she was the office manager or secretary for Fred Harber and Associates. Harber was the “genius” political consultant who, starting in the late 60s or early 70s, assisted the infamous Dr. Louis Cella (partner of Richard O'Neill), who essentially controlled Orange County politics (or at least the Board of Supervisors) during the mid to late 70s. 
     It was the worst scandal in OC's history.

     Among the OC Supervisors Cella owned was Ron Caspers, for whom Tom Fuentes was chief assistant (Fuentes had also been made a "consultant" to Caspers S&L).

     Both Caspers and Harber mysteriously disappeared off the coast of Baja California in June of 1974—in the famous “Shooting Star” incident.

     After that tragedy, Ms. Hoffman worked at Cella's hospital and was eventually (1976) compelled to testify before a grand jury about Cella's political and business activities. 
     Some (in the DA's office) believe that she lied on the stand to protect him.

     Then, from 1978 through 1991, she ran her husband’s office (he was a probate referee).

     Late in 1994, not long after her husband's death, at the recommendation of Lyle Overby [who, incidentally, disembarked the Shooting Star just before it left for its doomed voyage], she was employed by newly-elected OC Supervisor Jim Silva, a Republican. When, one day late in December, she didn’t show up for work, Silva had the police go to her Laguna Niguel home. They found her dead body near the entry. She had been killed with an arrow, possibly from a cross-bow, the night before. The arrow was not found on the scene. Nothing was.

     Evidently, nothing had been taken from her home; it had not been ransacked. Her dog was still with her when the police arrived.

     The murderer has never been identified.

Unsolved 1994 murder in Laguna Niguel

OC Register
May 10, 2006
Police, fire, courts LAGUNA NIGUEL

     Orange County sheriff's investigators continue to ask for the public's help in finding the person who killed Arlene Hoffman nearly eight years ago [sic?—eleven and a half years ago].
     Hoffman, 57, was found dead in her Laguna Niguel home Dec. 30, 1994. She may have been killed with an arrow or a similar instrument.
     Anyone with information about the case is asked to call (714) 647-7055.

Streamlining Management at California's Community Colleges (Inside Higher Ed)

     California's community colleges need a stronger central office, more authority for local governing boards and less decision-making power for academic senates, according to new report by a council of business and civic leaders from the state and California Competes, a nonprofit group headed by Bob Shireman, a former U.S. Department of Education official. The proposed governance changes were part of a broader range of recommendations on how to keep public higher education strong in California amid a deepening budget crisis. The report also called for a new Higher Education Investment Board, which would oversee coordination and promote efficiency across the three public systems in the state, while also absorbing the functions of the California Student Aid Commission.

Consensus on Accreditation Overhaul Is Hard to Find, Report Suggests (Chronicle of Higher Education)

     ...The largest area of disagreement concerned how institutions should show evidence of student achievement, Mr. [Edward L. Ayers, president of the University of Richmond and the panel's chairman] said....

'Dysfunctional' Higher-Education Policy Is Called Threat to California Economy (Chronicle of Higher Education)

     The "dysfunctional governance" structure of California's giant community-college system and the absence of an independent and accountable statewide body to steer higher-education policy toward the state's work-force needs are undermining the economy, says a report released on Thursday by California Competes, a council of civic and business leaders.
. . .
     "We've got to find better ways to deliver advising to our students" as well, said Eloy Ortiz Oakley, president of [Long Beach City College], a two-year institution, who also spoke at the news conference....

Some election results

Looks like our own Nancy Padberg didn't make the cut for OCGOP Central Committee member. She's tenth on the list

Don breezed to victory

Looks like TJ's in, but in the 74th