The further adventures of a world-class f*ck-up: board meeting on Monday

......The December meeting of the South Orange County Community College District Board of Trustees is coming up (Monday night, 6:30).
......The meeting’s “agenda outline” is available at Board Outlines.
......Monday's meeting is liable to be wild and wacky, what with ATEP development deadlines looming and the continued FUBAR concerning the Chancellor’s

WORLD-CLASS F*CK-UP

re the 50% law (which requires that at least half of expenditures be on instruction). PLUS…

THE ANNUAL ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING:

......As you know, it is in December that the board holds it’s annual “organizational meeting”—a meeting-within-a-meeting. The word is that Dave "the Quisling" Lang is sick and tired of presiding over Chancellor MATHUR and this dysfunctional board.
......But who’s willing to take on the board presidency?
…...Wagner? Could be.

MORE EVALS:

......Prior to the open session, of course, is the super-secret closed session (starting at 3:00). It looks like the board might continue its evaluation and reappointment of administrators. Saddleback College President Rich McCullough isn’t listed, of course, since he recently announced his “retirement,” to take effect in June. In truth, he insisted on really being the president of his college, and Mathur just couldn't abide that, so he drew a target on McCullough's forehead.
…...That's the persistent story, anyway, and nobody who knows Raghu Mathur would doubt it.
…...Among “consent calendar” items is Saddleback College’s popular “study abroad” trip to Santander, Spain. When that one comes up, there’s always a chance that Trustee Fuentes will say something incredibly stupid. Let’s hope so, cuz these board meetings can be way snoozular.
......The discussion of the 50% Law fiasco is scheduled for the end of the meeting. That could be interesting. It is no secret that Mathur’s failure to understand that law whilst spending BIG on ATEP has put us between a rock and a hard place. Meanwhile, there are indications that negotiations between SOCCCD, Camelot, and the City of Tustin or going badly. It is conceivable that the plug will be pulled on the Deluxe Edition of ATEP. (If that happens, it will be because Mathur is incompetent, not because ATEP was a bad idea.) But who knows.
....One “discussion item” is listed, and it’s pretty funny:

6.1 Saddleback College and Irvine Valley College: Languages in a Flat World

Luckily, on the agenda, Mathur explains item 6.1:

Information presented by Dr. Craig Justice, Vice President of Instruction, Irvine Valley College and Dr. Rajen Vurdien, Vice President for Instruction, Saddleback College, on the importance of languages in a flat world.

Oh.

A perfect storm of foolishness?

'FRAID SO. From this morning’s LA Times: Staying put in Orange County:

…Worried county officials had called the mandatory evacuation when forecasts called for 1 to 3 inches of rain. ¶ The concern was heightened by fears from federal hydrologists that there was a serious risk of mudslides in severely burned watersheds above Modjeska Canyon and two neighboring canyons. ¶ Maps released by the U.S. Geological Survey on Friday backed up earlier findings: Because the Santiago wildfire burned so hot above the canyons at the end of October, there are not even charred roots left on many slopes. There is just a sheer, waxlike surface that could propel rainwater, boulders and debris downhill into creek beds that can roar through the inhabited canyons. ¶ "Imagine a wall of mud coming down that creek in just seconds . . . a moving body of mud, water, whole trees, pieces of houses, cars, all mixed up like a chocolate milk shake," said Bob Scheibel, a structural engineer who lives in Modjeska Canyon. ¶ …[R]epeated evacuation orders coupled with milder conditions than predicted are already reducing the effectiveness of the orders [to evacuate]…Officials have warned residents to expect more evacuation orders in the future and are concerned that evacuation fatigue could set in, resulting in residents' opting to ride out a storm only to put themselves in harm's way if disaster strikes….

Friday images

.....Evidently, it's "Christmas" in Irvine Valley College's shiny and empty new Performing Arts Center. The Center's lobby sports exactly one object: a lovely Christmas tree.
..... Some college denizens have noted, grumpily, that not all Irvinites celebrate Christmas.
..... Did you know that nearly 30% of Irvinites are Asians and Pacific Islanders (so says the City of Irvine)? (I know, I know. Some of 'em are Christians.)
..... Did you know that the "city vegetable" of Irvine is asparagus? They oughta at least mount a big asparagus stalk next to that tree. That's if you ask me.




.....It's mighty wet and dreary out here in the Santa Ana Mountains.
..... Today, canyon residents (Modjeska, Silverado, Trabuco, etc.) received a special phone message from the Orange County Fire Authority: mandatory evacuations are lifted—for now. The message mentions the storm expected Saturday night. What then? Who knows.


.....OK, it's dreary. But it's beautiful, too.


........ I couldn't resist:

Gloomy, doomy Santa Ana Mountain communities

The OC Reg’s Science Dude reports that, according to the National Weather Service, “The cold North Pacific storm that’s streaking toward Southern California will drop 1 inch to 1.5 inches of rain by 8 a.m. Friday, with the heaviest precipitation falling in and around the burn areas of eastern Orange County….”


8:14 p.m.: Canyon residents under mandatory evacuation:

MODJESKA CANYON – Weary canyon residents, scarred by the recent wildfire and forced to leave their homes for 24 hours during a rainstorm last week, are now under a mandatory evacuation order again. ¶ The decision to make the evacuation mandatory was based on a National Weather Service forecast that the canyon areas will receive a minimum of 2 inches of rain tonight in a six-hour period….

On an even drearier note, I spotted Raghu P. Mathur at Irvine Valley College's Holiday party today, which, owing to his presence, was a shitty affair, judging by the faces of those who surrounded him. It was bleak, way bleak, I tell you.



Well, so it seemed to me, but I was only there for maybe one minute. No doubt the party was great in every other respect—even IF Tony was not allowed to roar up to the party on his Harley, wearin' his Santa suit.

I bet Mathur told Glenn: "You WILL have your holiday party in the Performing Arts Center. You will NOT have bikers. Or Bauers. Got it?"

I'm told that Mathur took that little poinsettia with him when he left. Could be somebody just made that up.


THE "POINSETTIA" EPISODE, 1998
FROM DISSENT 14, December, 1998:

...Late Thursday, the 10th, everyone seemed to be buzzing about President Mathur’s latest outrage. He had imposed himself on a lunch for classified employees at around noon. Each table held a lovely potted poinsettia. The idea was to give the thing to the classified employee who had been with the district the longest.

Since she had been with the district for nineteen (?) years, classified employee Linda X was identified as the recipient of the plant for her table. But the President—Mr. Raghu P. Mathur—put a stop to that. He announced that he had been with the district for nineteen and one half years, and so, as he left, to the astonishment of everyone, and despite his never having been a classified employee, he took the plant.

“Can you believe it!” people said. “Who does he think he is?” “What next!” Some among the classified staff who had witnessed the infamy offered suggestions as to where Raghu might plant his poinsettia. (Oh, how they hate him.) My inveterate commitment to peace and loveliness precludes saying more.

At about 2:30, I briefly visited a Burrito picnic out by the temporaries that had been arranged by students. Naturally, people were still buzzing about the purloined poinsettia. Then someone appeared holding two plants that he and others had purchased at Ralph’s—poinsettias, of course. A group of about ten faculty and staff—I was told to stay behind by my self-appointed handlers—took the plants and entered the Administration Building. As they walked past the President’s open door, they loudly hailed Linda X and presented her with the replacement plants. Everyone clapped and cheered. Then one of the group halted the applause. “No,” he said. “One clap.” [In those days, Mathur used to insist on what he called the "Orange County 'Clap'."]

Then, in unison, loudly: CLAP!

Again, smoke could be seen exiting Raghu’s riffraffian ears. —BB

"Scared to death" of the manipulative Nielsen

"The passion to be reckoned upon, is fear." —Hobbes

• From this morning's Frank Mickadeit column: Jeff Nielsen should have dealt long ago

…The new evidence would have refuted any defense claim that Nielsen had downloaded child porn inadvertently when searching legal gay-sex sites. "When you have newsgroups like, ' Sven's House of Teenage Lust,' that's unambiguous," coprosecutor Matt Lockhart noted. ¶ Lockhart says Nielsen's two former boyfriends "changed the whole case" by agreeing to testify and should be commended because they were "scared to death" of the manipulative Nielsen….

• This morning’s editorial in the OC Reg: [T]oxic atmosphere of local Republican politics:

…But in politics – and especially the nasty, scandal-plagued world of Orange County Republican politics these days – opponents reach for the long knives at any opportunity. And so, after Supervisor Janet Nguyen agreed to pay $5,000 in fines for illegal donations to her legal-defense fund after her three-vote election victory in February, her opponents came out swinging. ¶ Attorney Mike Schroeder, who represents losing candidate Trung Nguyen, told the news media that "This was an organized attempt to circumvent the law that they repeatedly lied about until they got caught." He was surprised by the low fine amount. Yet the Fair Political Practices Commission, which must still approve the settlement deal when it meets later this month, argued in its report, "In this case, the investigation did not produce sufficient evidence to support a finding that the violations were deliberate. In addition, all of the fundraising occurred after the election and no campaign statements were filed incorrectly as a result of this activity. The money was returned promptly when the mistake became apparent." ¶ … Ms. Nguyen's consultant, Dave Gilliard, told us that Mr. Schroeder "continues to appeal and appeal and appeal [the election verdict]," and is trying to harass Ms. Nguyen so that she cannot possibly win re-election. That is an increasingly common view. In a column in the latest Red County magazine, conservative political activist Mark Bucher writes about "a poison in our party," which he describes as the "practice by some Republicans to attack people personally, and destroy their lives if necessary, as a means to obtaining more power." His example: "Trung Nguyen and his lawyer, Mike Schroeder, are attempting to weaken Supervisor Janet Nguyen through personal attacks, accusations of criminal behavior and serial complaints and lawsuits. Their goal is to damage her politically and financially and thereby increase Trung's chances of winning the seat next year."….

Some Republicans? Tom Fuentes was among Trung Nguyen’s advisors. [Oops. I think I got my Nguyens mixed up. Fuentes advised Tan, not Trung. –CW]

• From this morning’s Inside Higher Ed: Presidential Politics and the Student Vote:

...On the presidential nomination question, Barack Obama and Rudolph Giuliani come out ahead, according to the “Fall 2007 Youth Survey on Politics and Public Service.” … ¶ Among likely young Democratic voters, Obama (38 percent) leads U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York (33 percent) by five percentage points, and both candidates are well ahead of former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina (7 percent). On college campuses, Obama’s margin is even wider. He’s at 44 percent to Clinton’s 23 percent. (Polling stopped a month ago.) Clinton edges Obama among those surveyed who are not currently at a four-year college and those who have never enrolled at any college…. ¶ [James Leach, a former Republican Congressman from Iowa] referred to data showing that more than one-third of the young people surveyed say the two parties are “doing such a poor job that a third major party is need.” Only 30 percent said that Democrats and Republicans are “adequately representing the American people.” Liberals were more likely to say a third party is needed than were conservatives. And while more than 70 percent of the entire cohort said elected officials don’t have the same priorities that they do, more than 6 in 10 said getting involved in politics is “honorable.”….

Sandbags and hay bales and Witch Projects

It was good getting away from the college today, what with its appalling atmosphere of end-of-semester student anxieties. I don't wanna talk about it. ¶ But people are getting pretty anxious out here in the canyons, too—especially, in Modjeska Canyon. You know: fire and rain. ¶ As I neared Lambrose Canyon, I took some grim pics out the window of my Chrysler. Strictly point 'n' shoot. (Or just shoot.) One pic reminded me of the moon; the other of the Blair Witch Project. Seemed perfect.


The rains are coming, and they could be bad, and everybody out here knows it. Grim. ¶ The Reg is on the case: Flash-flood watch issued as rains approach: Modjeska Canyon residents place sandbags and hay bales around homes and other structures:

Updated 4:11 p.m. Wednesday
The National Weather Service issued a flash-flood watch for Orange County coastal and mountain areas this afternoon. The flash-flood watch is in effect from Thursday evening through Friday evening. ¶ A flash-flood watch means that conditions may develop that lead to flash flooding.

Updated 3:45 p.m. Wednesday
Residents, county and other officials and volunteers were placing sandbags and hay bales around homes and other structures in the canyon areas in preparation for the rain predicted to hit the county Friday. ¶ "What will happen will happen, I'm just doing what I can do,'' said resident Nancy Woodward, who has lived in Modjeska Canyon less than one year and already has had to contend with a wildfire and the threat of flooding and mudslides. She was placing sandbags in front of three driveways outside her home Wednesday.

Click here to view the U.S. Geological Survey Webcam of Modjeska Canyon Rain Gauge.

"Sometimes, you're just shoveling shit against the tide." —My Dad

OC GOP’s Nielsen headed for pokey

The OC Weekly just posted: Nielsen's Plea Deal:

Jeffrey Ray Nielsen—the well-connected Orange County conservative activist who claimed the so-called liberal media, specifically the Weekly, was out to get him by publishing a series of exposés on his pedophile activities—is expected to finally admit tomorrow that he used two boys for sex since 1994, according to law-enforcement sources.

A legal representative for Nielsen, who has extensive personal ties to Congressman Dana Rohrabacher and Orange County Republican Party boss Scott Baugh, told prosecutors early last week that Nielsen would plead guilty to two felony counts: committing lewd acts on a child under 15 years old and committing lewd acts on a child under 14 years old.

In exchange, Nielsen, 37, is expected to receive a three-year prison sentence, which is mild considering he faced more than 30 years if convicted of all the sex-crime counts in two scheduled upcoming trials. He will also have to register as a sex offender for life….

See also Jeff Nielsen is a conservative guy
OC Reg, 12/05: Legislator's ex-aide pleads guilty to sex with boys


NIELSEN TAKEN UNDER THEIR WINGS:

On Friday, Tom Fuentes (the chairman of the OC Republican Party) called me and wanted me to meet him at Macy’s at South Coast Plaza. I got there and he bought me a suit. Then he took me to dinner and the sauna at the ritzy Balboa Bay Club. [Name deleted] told me he likes to reward hard-working young Republicans that he likes and he knows are going to go far. It was really rewarding. As you know, I’ve been working really hard on the Scott Baugh campaign. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 28. The only time I’m not working is when I’m watching a USC game, at church, asleep or writing you . . . or trying to get my law school applications together. I’ve got both my USC and Chapman applications typed. I’m working on getting all of my Letters of Recommendation together now. I’ve got Rohrabacher, Flanagan and Fuentes done. Today I found out that this guy who is the state chair of the Republican Party, Mike Schroeder (a friend of Rohrabacher), would also write me a letter of rec. It’s really good that he does because he’s on the board of trustees at USC Law School.

–One of Nielsen’s letters to young “Billy,” in 1996 (Boy Crazy)

This just in—

Five minutes ago, the OC Register posted: Street announces rating change:

Treaurer-Tax Collector Chriss Street announced today that more than $419 million of the county’s “certain structured investment vehicles” have been put on credit watch by Moody’s, the investors’ service. ¶ Street said the change, which he learned of Friday afternoon, is because of a change in Moody’s rating methodology. ¶ “This review does not reflect the performance of the investments but it does reflect how the investments are analyzed,” Street told the board. ¶ The county currently has 14 percent of the portfolio — or $837 million – invested in these ”structured investment vehicles,” Street said. Of that figure, about half has been put on credit watch, he said. The county’s total portfolio is worth more than $6 billion. ¶ Street, who faces a vote next week on whether he should be stripped of his investment powers because of recent controversies, said he wanted supervisors to know about the change as quickly as possible. ¶ “I want any information of this to be upfront and I don’t want people to have any surprises,” he said….

The corrupt Street, of course, achieved office with the help of--you guessed it--our own Tom Fuentes.