Okay, Friends this one is a bit convoluted so stick with me.
The latest State budget deal takes about $50 million away from Orange County. How come? Best I can figure it out is this: after the bankruptcy of 1995 the County sold recovery bonds and the State sequestered about $50,000,000 annually to pay off the bond holders from part of the Vehicle License Fee that was distributed to the County. Later when the VLF was swapped out for property tax income the payoff to bondholders still came from the VLF. When OC refinanced it’s debt in 2006 it started taking the VLF money directly from the State even though no other county got any of it.
Confused? In 2006 County Supervisor Bill Campbell said he wasn’t, but he failed to do anything about the money hanging out there according to Voice of OC (EA)’s Norberto Santana, here. It seems he didn’t want to address the issue and hoped everybody would forget about it. That lame strategy worked for about 5 years. Now the State is laying claim to the dough.
1. Shampoo and rinse. 2. Lose $50,000,000.
The worst malefactor here is County CEO Tom Mauk who has yet another catastrophe to lay claim to. Following swiftly on the heels of the disastrous Human Resource Department audit in which Mauk was busted giving his cronies huge raises and promotions, this latest calamity may prove to be the final nail in Mauk’s coffin.
Will three supervisors finally perform self cranial-rectal extraction and get rid of this bozo? They aren’t very bright but sooner or later…
We heard that Tuesday’s beating of a homeless man to near-death by Fullerton police may have been within range of one of the city’s surveillance cameras at the Fullerton Transportation Center…and so we sent our camera man over to check it out:
It looks like the camera had a clear shot of the bloody event. I suppose that if there is a tape, we won’t get to see it unless it exonerates the cops who were involved.
On the other hand, damning evidence will be held tightly by the city so as not to embarrass anyone or facilitate the requisite citizen outrage.
All the public can do is ask and see what happens.
Even so, the last resort in the quest for transparency would lie with our elected councilmembers, who are ultimately responsible for ensuring the safety of the public and can demand to see the recording for themselves.
And by senseless I mean near-death coma and artificial life-support.
Reader DollarBill shares this link to ABC Eyewitness News detailing the story of a homeless man with a history of mental illness, who, when confronted by “probably” six FPD officers at the Fullerton Transportation Center the other day is alleged to have resisted arrest. 37 year-old Kelly Thomas never made it to jail. After being subdued into a state of unrecognizable unconsciousness he was transported to the hospital where he is on life support.
Witnesses refused to appear on camera but claim to shouted to the cops to stop.
Our old friend police spokesman Andrew Goodrich says there will be an investigation (internal, of course) and that any inappropriate behavior will come out. Uh, yeah sure, Andy, whatever you say.
In the meantime you can bet on two things: the DA will do nothing, and the man’s family, including his dad, an ex-Sheriff Deputy will bring suit against us Fullerton taxpayers.
The other day FFFF received this rather odd comment on the blog:
“Thanks for risking your lives so that my family and I can enjoy OURS!” – Joel Swintowski
There were links to a website here that sported an official-looking letter from Fullerton’s police officer’s union president, Barry Coffman asking for money. There was the quote from Mr. Swintowski, clearly implying that he supports the Fullerton police union.
I got to wondering who this Joel Swintowski person might be. I never heard of him. So last night I contacted our FFFF investigative team of people-finders and guess what they came up with? There’s no such registered voter in Fullerton or in all of Orange County with any such name.
But, as they say on TV infomercials: Wait! There’s more! I also found a host of identical websites for police unions across California with the same quote from this “Joel Swintowski” guy. Clearly this operation is a money gathering scheme organized by some entity and then sold to police unions throughout the state like this one in Menlo Park, probably with a hefty cut taken from proceeds collected from unsuspecting suckers.
Now back to Fullerton. Coffman says it’s a “donation” that he’s begging. The request for money states: “Your contribution to us today will help provide outreach and strengthen relations by and between the FPOA and several local worthy groups and charities.”
Now we know the FPOA spends tens of thousands of dollars trying to get right-thinking people elected to the Fullerton City Council. And by right-thinking, I mean “public safety” union stooges who will raise their pensions and lower their retirement age. Do any of these “contributions” find their way into political activity? Could be. They are not tax deductible – the kind of deduction you get making a contribution directly to a real charity, eliminating the pistol-packin’ middleman.
So who might some of these “worthy” recipients be? Any guesses?
Could they include the campaigns of the same two guys, Bankhead and McKinley, who are getting prepared to raise your water rates 91% so they can use a portion of that money to support their own plush $McMillion retirement plans?
Maybe it’s time for an IRS audit of this solicitation for alms. Maybe the State AG needs to be called in, again. You know, just to make sure it’s legit.
And in the meantime maybe it’s time for FPOA to find a real Fullerton resident for its self-promotional testimonials.
Image stolen from the Register who borrowed it from the OC Sheriff Department
Today The OC Register (see Jim, we know how to do it right) did a story on former Fullerton policeman Todd Majors who was busted for credit card fraud and is doing easy time taking out trash at Theo Lacy and going home every night.
Of course we already reported about Majors, here. Kimberly Edds of The Register actually did do some investigation to discover that Major allegedly has an addiction to pills and was hired by the Fullerton Police Department even though he had a drunk driving bust. Supposedly his drug addiction caused him to lurch into a life of crime.
Writes Edds: While internal affairs continued its investigation, Fullerton police asked themselves whether they missed any signs about Major or how they could have done to prevent a good cop from becoming a criminal.
Well, I sure hope they figure that out real soon.
Edds’ story concluded with the obligatory police cry for sympathy for one of their own – as some sort of pathetic victim.
The booming and crackling of widespread civil disobedience on the 4th of July is difficult to ignore. Today we received this observation from a law-abiding but frustrated citizen who says it’s only fair to either enforce the ban or eliminate it altogether.
Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it.
Hello Friends for Fullerton’s Future,
I am concerned about the amount of illegal 4th of July fireworks that lit up the sky in my neighborhood last night.
I understand the ban of safe and sane fireworks in our city for the benefit and protection of dangers posed to the Fullerton hillsides and open space, we explain this to our children as the reason we cannot light fireworks in front of our own home. My problem is that in response to this ban, we now have illegal fireworks launched above our home all night with seemingly no enforcement of the no fireworks law. This is more dangerous than the safe fireworks sold as fundraisers for local groups in a booth and depletes my credibility as a parent explaining to my children with tears in their eyes why we are following the rules when is seems no one around us is doing the same.
I think is it time for Fullerton to review this no fireworks policy, maybe there are regions of the city that can have legal fireworks, like mine a 1950’s single story home neighborhood near Brookhurst and Orangethorpe where there is not a hillside in site. If the illegal fireworks will be going off over head any way then let my family have the fun of at home fireworks too.
Our family purchased a home in Fullerton just over four years ago; we moved in right before the 4th of July, purchased our fireworks at a booth on Orangethorpe, which as it turns out was Buena Park. On the evening of the 4th, we were all set on the front lawn with our chairs, bucket of water for safety and fireworks, we lit the first one and a Fullerton police car immediately pulled up to tell us that we were breaking the law and could not light fireworks in Fullerton. Now, four years later it’s like I’m living at Disneyland with fireworks fling overhead and M-80’s rocking my windows, not a police car in site.
I am looking for a better enforced ban on fireworks in Fullerton or a change to this policy in the future. That way I can look my kids in the eye and tell them the truth, we are not allowed to light fireworks in Fullerton.
Thursday evening the Water Rate Ad Hoc Committee voted and made some recommendations.
First, the Committee rescinded our May 23rd recommendation to the City Council to use Alternative A which would have raised ALL rates 7.8% or more. All would feel the pain evenly.
Second, the committee voted to recommend “Alternative B”. The Committee briefing describes Alternative B as an “Alternative rate structure using 1983 Rate Study meter equivalents for all fixed charges, increasing fixed charge revenue from 12% to 18% and adjustments to commodity charges to better reflect cost of service.”
I voted NO and Mr. Jack Dean abstained from recommending Alternative B. Regardless, Alternative B was passed.
Third, I moved to recommend that the City Council exempt from the water franchise tax all new revenue generated from this new rate structure to ensure that ALL new revenue goes strictly back into the water system. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. There appeared to be too much opposition for recommending that the council abolish the hidden tax.
Speaking to the THREE members of the public who came to the meeting, I explained that 10%-11% (depends on who you talk to and which document they look at) of the money we pay for our water bill does not go into the water system and that the money, $2.5 million FY2010, goes into the General Fund. The General Fund does not contribute any money to the Capital Improvement Program (infrastructure) but does pay for things like parks, fire, police, special club memberships for the city, and other oddities. Similarly, the Paramedic Fee does not go exclusively to paramedics- it goes into the General Fund.
The end results of the Water Rate Ad Hoc Committee work are recommendations to the City Council. Whether or not they agree with our recommendations, we will see on July 19th at the Public Hearing.
The other day Register “reporter” Lou Ponsi put forth a story he read about on our blog first and presented it as his own to his handful of unsuspecting readers.
Apparently the idea that you can pilfer somebody else’s story and claim it as your own finds favor with Lou Ponsi’s “supervisor,” too. His name is Jim Radcliffe and below is his response to a complaint lodged by one of our readers.
See, according to Radcliffe if you “independently” verify someone else’s work then you’re in the clear to pretend that the story is yours. He notes that The Register stories get “picked up” all the time and that it is a compliment. No, Jim, even if true it’s swinish behavior, and just because you claim you don’t mind getting ripped off doesn’t men anybody else has to like having it happen to them.
Here is Radcliffe’s comical defense:
On Thu, Jun 30, 2011 at 9:56 AM, Jim Radcliffe (jradcliffe@ocregister.com) wrote:
I am Lou Ponsi’s editor. … He is a very good reporter and handled this story like a pro, under my supervision. … We did see it first on that blog. And I applaud that blog for learning about it first.
But, as is common among the better news organizations, he independently verified everything we used in our story, making numerous phone calls. We usually don’t credit the first news organization that has the story; the reader typically doesn’t care and just wants to know about the story itself.
We, at the Register, are constantly the first to break stories that other media then pick it up: TV and radio stations, the L.A. Times, The Associated Press, etc. We don’t mind at all, as it is actually a compliment. We do mind if the news organization does no original reporting to make the story “theirs” and doesn’t credit us. … If there is no original reporting, then the initial source should indeed be credited.
Lou didn’t steal anything. He confirmed the arrest was true and found out new things about the case.
I have worked for various news organizations, and this is the industry standard. If you have any additional concerns, please feel free to call me at 714-704-3761. … Again, I applaud that blog for keeping an eye on Fullerton, so long as the coverage is fair. … The more journalists keeping an eye on a community, the better for everyone. … Jim.
Jim Radcliffe Team Leader The Orange County Register 714-704-3761
Ponsi found out “new things” about the case? No, he didn’t. He just found out that the officer in question had made some DUI arrests – a fact utterly irrelevant to the story and included by the “pro” no doubt to be “fair.” And of course he claims he made an unreturned phone call to somebody.
Please note too Radcliffe’s applause for FFFF (not in print, of course) – so long as the coverage is fair. Could it be that Radcliffe really believes that if a blog doesn’t meet his subjective definition of fairness he is not obligated to recognize its work product?
Finally, I have no idea what gives Mr. Radcliffe the idea that he is employed by one of “the better news organizations” but it certainly can’t be any discernible level of ethics.
In what appears to be a rising tide of embarrassing news personnel-wise, the Fullerton Police Department has a new case of Bad Cop to explain to the public.
Fullerton police officer Todd Major plead guilty this month to fraudulent use of an access card and felony grand theft of money and property belonging to the City of Fullerton. Major is now serving out his 6 month sentence in the Theo Lacy County Jail with three years of probation to follow.
Todd Major
Major was a sworn police officer at the time of the theft, earning $90,000 a year in the Community Services Bureau. His case was prosecuted by the big boys at the State Attorney General’s office.
The plea deal included the dropping of additional charges indicating that Major also stole from the Fullerton Car Show, two Troy High School administrators, eleven Fullerton Police Explorers, and the Vons, Ralphs and Albertsons supermarkets.
At this time we don’t know what this convicted cop stole or how he stole it. Due to the union’s fierce protection of bad cops, we also aren’t entitled to know if he was fired or how much paid leave he received before he went to jail.
Anyone with more information on these crimes is invited to contact this blog.
As The Orange County Register sinks deeper in economic distress I have to wonder what is taking so long for this rotten scow to go under.
Today a Register hackling named Lou Ponsi – who used to report Pop Warner football game scores – wrote a story about the Fullerton cop iPad theft story that FFFF broke the other day. This creep actually availed himself of documents that we posted to make it look like he had done some real reporting.
The funniest part is how Ponsi reports:
“She had seen the iPad in the bin and placed her bag of check in over it and walked away with it,” the report stated.
A bag of “check in?” What the Hell is that?!
Of course FFFF got no attribution from the Ponster since “real” reporters apparently believe they can rip off a blog and peddle what they harvest therein as their own work. That’s pretty shameful, especially when most of The Register city hall press release regurgitators like Ponsi wouldn’t know a real news story if it bit them in the ass.
We had a lot of traffic yesterday from The Register and clearly Ponsi visited our website and then was off and running – pretending that our work was his. And that puts him right at the bottom of the barrel he swims around in.
