The SOUTH ORANGE COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT —
"[The] blog he developed was something that made the district better." - Tim Jemal, SOCCCD BoT President, 7/24/23
The California Secretary of State and Department of Justice have sent a cease and desist order to the California Republican Party to remove unofficial ballot drop boxes placed in at least three counties, officials announced in a news conference on Monday.
"These unauthorized drop boxes are a disservice to state and local election administrators who have spent months working on the placement and deployment of official ballot drop boxes," California Secretary of State Alex Padilla said.
I see we got a brief mention in the Orange Juice Blog a couple of days ago—in an article that offers endorsements in local races—made by the likes of OJB's Vern Nelson and Greg Diamond (Vern's an old pal):
Natch, Locke is endorsed by various Republicans, including Don Wagner, the Republican Club of Laguna Woods (aka the "nearly dead" Republicans), and the Tea Party Sentinels of Laguna Woods.*
Meanwhile, Inmon is endorsed by the likes of Larry Agran and Mary Ann Gaido.
I should mention, however, that Inmon once ran (2008) for membership on the Republican Party County Central Committee (she appears to have changed parties since then)—and she was once a proud and "active" member of that grand but benighted old organization.
Indeed, as of 12 years ago, she was the Secretary of a local Rush Limbaugh Club! (Good Lord.)
I recall that Inmon was a Republican the last time she ran for SOCCCD trustee in 2008 [See]. She was endorsed by the SOCCCD faculty union then, too. She had by then been the Prez of the CTA's community college division (CCA). But CTA & GOP really don't mix.
When running for State Assembly five months earlier, Inmon’s priorities included: "Elect Republican candidates to public office," "Return to fiscal responsibility in government," and "Encourage patriotism and support for our military."
Staunch, man.
But now she's a Democrat. How do you go from loving Limbaugh to promoting progressives?
There are Republican ideas to pursue, but most say they don't know what to expect -- except for more attacks on elite institutions.
—Inside Higher Ed
When the Justice Department sued Yale University last week for considering race and ethnicity as one factor in its admissions policies, it was the latest example of the Trump administration pushing a conservative agenda by targeting colleges over issues like race and protests against conservative speakers on campuses. And higher ed leaders worry that one of the impacts on colleges and universities should Trump be elected to a second term would be more of the same. “I suspect what we’ll see is what we’ve seen over the past year — an increased focus on populism with attacks on ‘elites,’” said Terry Hartle, the American Council on Education’s senior vice president for government relations and a top lobbyist for colleges and universities. “More micromanagement through heavy-handed executive orders.”
✅2 Stanford Professors Share Nobel in Economics —Inside Higher Ed The 2020 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics will be shared by two Stanford University professors "for improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats." Paul R. Milgrom, the Shirley and Leonard Ely Jr. Professor of Humanities and Sciences, and Robert Wilson, the Adams Distinguished Professor of Management Emeritus, share the award.
✅Unofficial ballot drop boxes popping up throughout the state worry elections officials -- In a photo posted to social media last week, a young man wearing a mask with Orange County congressional candidate Michelle Steel’s name on it is holding a mail ballot and giving a thumbs up next to a box about the size of a file cabinet labeled “Official ballot drop off box.” Alicia Robinson, Brooke Staggs in the Orange County Register -- 10/12/20
✅As Trump stumbles, voters finalize their choices, and Biden’s lead grows -- The former vice president has seen a bump in the polls after President Trump was beset by embarrassing leaks, a ridiculed debate performance and a Rose Garden ceremony that became a superspreader for a deadly virus. Griff Witte, Pam Kelley and Christine Spolar in the Washington Post$ -- 10/12/20
✅Fauci criticizes inclusion in Trump campaign ad -- Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Sunday he wasn’t happy about being part of a campaign ad for President Donald Trump. “In my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed nor do I now endorse any political candidates,” he said in a statement, according to CNN and NBC News. David Cohen Politico Glenn Kessler in the Washington Post$ -- 10/12/20
✅Kamala Harris faces sexism and racism as online commenters label her ‘Black Hillary’
-- Despite all the fury on social media about the fly on Mike Pence’s head and Kamala Harris’ demeanor, analysts say the vice presidential debate is unlikely to alter the state of the presidential race. David Lightman and Lara Korte in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/11/20
✅UCLA investigates ‘Zoom-bombing’ attacks during online classes -- Disruptions took place at least twice Monday, according to the Daily Bruin, with someone shouting homophobic slurs during a chemistry class and then attacking participants’ appearances, and another person interrupting a calculus class with racist and homophobic slurs directed at the professor. Alex Wigglesworth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/11/20
✅Trump border wall funding plan illegal and construction must stop, court rules -- President Trump’s pledge to build a southern border wall suffered another defeat when a federal appellate court in San Francisco ruled Friday night that the president could not use his emergency powers to divert $3.6 billion in military construction funding to build the wall. Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/11/20
✅What if armed, far-right groups go to the polls? Some plan to -- They go by names like Oath Keepers, Wolverine Watchmen and the Three Percenters. They chat on Gab, Discord, 4chan and other social media. Heavily armed and loyal to President Trump, many vow to descend on polling places Nov. 3 in a far-right show of unity. Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Jaweed Kaleem in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/11/20
✅California thought it could delay climate disaster. Now millions of acres are burning -- California tried harder than any state to fight climate change. Two governors imposed a groundbreaking emissions cap-and-trade system while state regulators forced American automakers to build more efficient cars. None of those policies kept California from becoming the poster child for what climate change really looks like. Debra Kahn Politico -- 10/11/20
Josephine Baker (1906-1975)
✅Average deaths in California drop to lowest point in months -- California’s daily average death count has dropped to its lowest point in more than three months, signaling that the mid-summer’s wave of infections is finally over — even as coronavirus infections spread unevenly yet again across the state. Fiona Kelliher in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/10/20
✅OC Officials Rail Against New State Metric Requiring Lower Coronavirus Rates in Poor Neighborhoods —Voice of OC Orange County officials are pushing back against the state’s new coronavirus business reopening metric, saying it’s too stringent and will prevent more business reopenings. The new state metric requires counties to smooth out transmission rates in working class, minority neighborhoods before more businesses can reopen. “This addition to the state’s tier criteria is troubling in that it places another unfair burden on counties like ours that have already been working hard on assisting communities that have been hardest hit,” Supervisor Chairwoman Michelle Steel said at a Thursday news conference. “Sacramento’s one-size-fits-all approach to this crisis does not work for the 58 counties across this large state. Not all regions are the same,” she said. County CEO Frank Kim joined Steel’s opposition to the new metric. “I think what we’re asking the state for is for additional flexibility,” Kim said. He said colleges can also lead to case bumps because people from all over are coming back to campuses. “So each county has different capacity to manage that. To understand it. We also have different demographics. I don’t think that we should all be treated exactly the same. We should be given a certain amount of flexibility,” Kim said. Yet the last time that Orange County officials had that kind flexibility, they backed off key virus containment efforts – such as restaurant enforcement and a mandatory mask order – that left certain communities vulnerable until statewide orders were issued. Latinos, while making up roughly 35 percent of OC’s population, have 47 percent of the total Covid confirmed cases, according to county Health Care Agency data. Latinos also make up nearly half – 44 percent – of Covid deaths. Public health experts said the virus’ sharp disproportionate impact on Latinos in Orange County is due to lack of healthcare access, overcrowded housing and not having the option to work from home….
✅The Swamp That Trump Built President Trump vowed to “drain the swamp.” Instead, Mr. Trump built a system of direct presidential influence-peddling unrivaled in modern American politics —NYT
✅Justice Department cancels diversity training, including for immigration judges -- The U.S. Justice Department has suspended all diversity and inclusion training and events for its employees, according to a memo obtained by The Chronicle, which would include judges in San Francisco and elsewhere hearing cases of immigrants seeking to avoid deportation. Tal Kopan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/10/20
✅Southern California suburban counties failing COVID-19 benchmarks for communities of color-- A swath of California is failing to meet a new state health equity metric for coronavirus cases that’s intended to ensure counties are helping poor communities of color, which are disproportionately affected by the virus. That failure is creating new barriers to further reopening of the economy. Colleen Shalby in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/10/20
✅Coronavirus could worsen in winter, remain major threat through 2021, Fauci says -- Fauci warned that a sense of normality post-coronavirus may not come to the U.S. until late 2021, adding that the arrival of a vaccine will not suddenly bring the U.S. lurching back. Rather, it’ll be a gradual transition over a long period of time. Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/10/20
✅Republicans are finally ready to diss Don -- The president's grip on the party is loosening amid a coronavirus backlash and fears of an electoral bloodbath. John F. Harris and Melanie Zanona Politico -- 10/10/20
✅#Manterrupting Female academics saw their own experiences in the vice presidential debate's gendered and racialized dynamics. —Inside Higher Ed
✅Justice Department Sues Yale —Inside Higher Ed The Justice Department sued Yale University, claiming the university discriminates against Asian American and white applicants, The Wall Street Journal reported. The department said it would sue Yale in August if it did not change its admissions practices. Yale maintains that its admissions practices are legal and protected by Supreme Court precedent.
✅The Moral Failure of Father John Jenkins [Pres of the University of Notre Dame] Academics at the Rose Garden event gave tacit approval to Trump’s offenses against human dignity. —CHE
✅California braces for potential disruption, threats at polls -- With a divided nation on edge as Election Day approaches, California is warning local officials to prepare for disruption at polling places and potential cases of voters being intimidated or blocked from casting ballots. Michael R. Blood Associated Press -- 10/9/20
✅U.S. economy ‘in a pretty concerning state’ as California jobless numbers remain unclear -- In a weekly ritual that’s become numbingly familiar during the pandemic, the government said 840,000 additional Americans filed for unemployment last week — a number that would have been unimaginably high in February and now is the new normal. Carolyn Said in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/9/20 ✅Grocery warehouse workers, truck drivers give notice of potential strike -- More than 4,000 warehouse workers and truck drivers who deliver food and supplies to Southern California grocery stores are gearing up for a potential strike amid failed labor negotiations in a move that could leave some shelves empty this holiday season. Kevin Smith in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 10/9/20
✅California’s COVID-19 rates plateauing, but a few counties regress -- Data continue to reflect positive progress in California’s fight to limit spread of the coronavirus, but as some parts of the state fare better than others, health officials continue to warn people not to let their guard down. Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/9/20
✅Trump Lashes Out at His Cabinet With Calls to Indict Political Rivals-- President Trump berated his own cabinet officers on Thursday for not prosecuting or implicating his political enemies, lashing out even as he announced that he hoped to return to the campaign trail on Saturday just nine days after he tested positive for the coronavirus. Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman in the New York Times$ Aaron Blake in the Washington Post$ -- 10/9/20
