I Aint a Swallerin That – Page 35 – Friends For Fullerton's Future

December 13, 2016December 13, 2016Behind Closed Doors

Inside Source: Felz is Out

One of our well-placed sources in the City administration has informed us that on-leave City Manager, Joe Felz will be quitting permanently soon, even as conversations now spin around who will replace Felz. Is this true? It has the ring of truth to it.

Speaking of spinning, Felz spun off the Glenwood Avenue in the early morning hours of November 9th, ran over a tree and tried to drive away. The cops on hand smelled alcohol but for reasons that have not yet been revealed, administered no breathalyzer test and instead drove Felz home.

The voice wasn’t soothing, but the words weren’t clear.

The City Attorney has been trying to protect Felz with illegal bogus claims of “personnel matters,” so that excuse would soon be gone if Felz flees the scene. Then there’s the matter of the rather bizarre “ongoing criminal investigation,” that some folks reasonably think is nothing but another dodge to avoid releasing incriminating video and audio records that were made when the cops arrived at the crash scene. No one has even bothered to explain to the public what possible crimes were committed, or who may have committed them. And of course our City Council members have not expressed any curiosity about that, either. Sooner or later our mush-mouth City Attorney is going to have to admit a big problem with his “criminal investigation” yarn, to wit: nobody was arrested that night. No evidence of drunk driving was collected. We don’t even know if a citation was issued.

When Felz goes, he will save the the taxpayers the cost of that so-called “independent person investigation” that the City Attorney thoughtfully cooked up to stall and obfuscate the matter. If so, it will be the one and only time Felz ever saved the taxpayers anything, and that going out the door.

Of course the open question is this: what sort of windfall will be offered by our ever-helpful council to grease the skids of Felz’s departure? If he quits he won’t get his guaranteed payola, but the circumstances of his Wild Ride may make that a moot point.

Whatever happens, rest assured, we will told as little as possible, as late as possible.

December 5, 2016December 5, 2016Behind Closed Doors

HE’S TRYING TO TAKE OFF! GET HIM!

by Joe Sipowicz28 Comments

Intrepid Friend, David Curlee, has got hold of mobile data computer log from the FPD patrol cars on the night City Manager, Joe Felz, was driving home after a night of campaign partying, jumped the curb on Glenwood Ave, ran over a tree, and tried to motor off. After that the Cone of Silence has descended on the incident thanks to the Fullerton Culture of Cover-up.

HCON3 is a dispatcher. U321 is a patrol unit. Note the time: 1:30-ish in the morning. Precisely the time the Felz incident occurred.

Hmm. Twenty minutes of radio silence. Then another cop who must have been there decides that whatever happened, he ain’t a-talkin’. I wonder why not. No I don’t. And notice U321 isn’t saying anything, either.

Now, remember Barb Pollinger, the neighbor who called the cops in the first place? She said very clearly that driver of the vehicle”should have stopped.”

Is it possible that the MDC is describing an incident other than the madcap motoring of our City Manager? I suppose it’s possible. But it seems pretty implausible.

The witness talks about a suspect departing the scene of an accident. The log conveys the notion of someone in need of immediate apprehension.

I think what is being described here is a crime. If that’s true, then I would also think the actions of former Chief of Police Dan Hughes in ordering his troops to let Felz go without a breathalyzer analysis, to drive him home, to tuck him into bed and to forget the whole thing would also be a crime, obstruction of justice-wise. Our lawyer, Dick Jones, said that a criminal investigation was underway/remotely possible, but since the cops arrested no one that night, and since nobody has been charged with anything that I am aware of, what gives?

The City Council once again takes up the topic of Mr. Felz’s performance tomorrow night. It might be an interesting performance.

December 3, 2016February 24, 2017I Aint a Swallerin That

Behind the Bullshit – Late Turkey Edition

by Disillusioned Ex-Hippy14 Comments

You know you want it...just put down the gun, junior — You know you want it…just put down the gun, junior

The other day one of our fine writers in the FFFF stable of bloggers brought to our attention a rather noxious operation called Behind the Badge, that profits from taxpayer’s by acting as a PR conduit for the local police force. In other words we pay them to tell us how great our cops are.

So I took the trip to BtB to see what sort of pabulum they were dishing up. The usual insipid fare. But one thing they were touting in a “story” was a program by OC GRIP – some sort of gang intervention program run by our good-for-nothing District Attorney – that was giving Thanksgiving dinners to kids who had “earned” it through attitude improvement. The post was full of happy pictures that featured smiling Fullerton cops, who got the job of handing over the turkeys.

Sounds nice huh? But really, what kind of program uses food for the Thanksgiving holiday as an incentive to act good? The whole thing started to smell like an old turkey carcass left out in the dumpster- sort of a government charity masquerading as “tough love” where kids “earn” (we don’t give anything away, here!) food for a holiday. The whole thing strikes me as manipulative and patronizing.

And of course the writer of this piece was none other than our old acquaintance Lou Ponsi, whose slavish loyalty to City Hall and the FPD, even as he pretended to be a real reporter, have been documented, here. At least he doesn’t have to pretend anymore.

December 2, 2016December 1, 2016Behind Closed Doors

The Bitterness of Negative Banter

by Mr. Peabody21 Comments

What is “negative banter?”

I got a letter from Fullerton’s Lobbyist-Mayor, Jennifer Fitzgerald congratulating “us” for rising above it by re-electing her. I love it when personal-agenda laden politicians complain about “negativity.” Generally they are just reacting to embarrassing scrutiny they’d rather not have to endure.

Here’s the missive:

Cut through the baloney to find the bullshit... — Cut through the baloney to find the bullshit…

Ms. Fitzgerald is happy to share the issues she “campaigned on.” Road repair, more, and higher paid cops, and get this… a balanced budget! Now we all know that Fullerton’s budget has not been balanced since she got on the City Council four years ago. We’ve been leaking red ink worse than Laguna Lake has been leaking Grade A MWD water. The amount during Fitzgerald’s tenure runs in the millions. So not only is she still lying about having a balanced budget, but any other pipe dreams like cops and parks are going to have to come at the cost of draining our reserve funds even more.

Of course this means nothing to Ms. Fitzgerald. After all she is all about politics, not governance. She is a Vice President of Curt Pringle & Associates, an operation that has tried its level best to rip off Anaheim taxpayers to benefit Pringle’s clients. She will be long gone by the time Fullerton goes into receivership.

I really like the part about ensuring “that every Fullerton neighborhood is served well by its city government.” I guess that excludes the people who live in and around downtown Fullerton: it was only recently carved up into five separate council districts by Ms. Fitzgerald and her downtown bar pals like a Christmas ham, precisely for the purpose of disenfranchising the residents while the drunken party rolls merrily along.

And then there’s the part about having a “community-wide discussion” about providing library services for Southwest Fullerton. Quite delicious irony coming from the head of a city government that can’t afford to keep the Hunt Branch Library open; or does she really believe nobody is paying attention?

Finally, I note that “working positively together” is code: what it really means is not criticizing the massive budget deficits; not complaining because there is no adult supervision over the cops; looking the other way as the Lobbyist-Mayor herself helps cover up the madcap motoring adventures of her City Manager returning home from her own election night party.

Well, you know, I just don’t feel like it.

And now, Friends, please share any negative banter in the comments section we thoughtfully provide, below.

November 29, 2016February 24, 2017I Aint a Swallerin That

Behind the Bullshit – Standards? Really?

by Joe Sipowicz37 Comments

“Behind the Badge OC” is a propaganda outlet for “public safety” departments across Orange County. It is run by former OC Register staff who came to realize that writing cop puff pieces on their own was even more lucrative than doing it while pretending to be reporters for the pathetic, knee-jerk pro-cop Register.

This enterprise works for police unions in the main, but things get really profitable when they can sucker a public agency, like the City of Fullerton, to use public money to write this drivel, all under the auspices of “educating” us about our wonderful police department. You’d think that honest work, a good attitude, and abiding by the same laws the rest of us have to, would be sufficient to generate respect for our boys and girls in blue. Wink.

But enough preamble.

Back on June 13th, BtB published this completely unremarkable tale about the squad responsible for documenting the training given to FPD personnel and the standards that apply thereunto. Standards, eh?

Fullerton Police from left, Cpl. Eric Song, Patricia Arevalo, Sgt. Dan Castillo, Lt. Andrew Goodrich and Cpl. Donny Blume. Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC & Paid for by Fullerton Taxpayers — Fullerton Police from left, Cpl. Eric Song, Patricia Arevalo, Sgt. Dan Castillo, Lt. Andrew Goodrich and Cpl. Donny Blume.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC & Paid for by Fullerton Taxpayers

Check out the adipose and otiose individual in the middle who is in charge of this unit: none other that our old friend Andrew Goodrich, who was last heard of serving in the exalted office of watch commander the night of November 8th, when our City Manager, Joe Felz, ran off the road, was given a pass on a breathalyzer test, was driven home and tucked into bed by one or more of those cops who got all that expensive training.

You may also remember Goodrich from his stint as FPD Public Information Officer – a job in which he really shined – passing out phony information to make Kelly Thomas look bad, and the cops who killed him, well, at least better. He was also part of Chief Danny Hughes’ obnoxious scheme to hand out tickets to protest supporters for “excessive horning.”

November 27, 2016November 27, 2016A Step in the Right Direction

Revisiting The Seven Walls of Local Government

by Joe Sipowicz2 Comments

What? We can't hear you. Please speak louder... — What? We can’t hear you. Please speak louder…

Over five years years ago this blog published an essay (broken into bite-sized pieces) on the subject of local government and how it exercises its ability to effectively marginalize and ultimately disenfranchise the very citizens it is supposed to be working for. It is called The Seven Walls of Local Government and it has both scholarly and entertainment value.

For the reawakening of the blog from its almost four-year snooze, I propose to re-schedule this masterpiece for the edification of the Friends. Stay tuned.

November 23, 2016July 29, 2017Behind Closed Doors

The Sound of Silence

by Mr. Peabody31 Comments

I would have done it even cheaper... — I would have done it even cheaper…

Not much has come out of Fullerton Junior College lately on the case of cop-turned-security guard Dino Skokos who handed out an unwarranted beat down on an undernourished FJC student in October.

A writer for The Hornet named Madalyn Amato, reports that although an “independent investigator” has been engaged, nothing else has been forthcoming. The fact that the investigator, a law firm called Currier & Hudson, solely specializes in acting as defense counsel for government agencies, should send out appropriate warning bells. See where this is going?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9KyMyo-fcA

In the aftermath of outrage, the bureaucratic playbook is being executed as expected.

First, ignore any criminality on the part of the district employee and announce an independent investigation, with the goal of diverting responsibility, or even better, procrastinating ’til everybody’s forgotten about the incident.

Naturally, the independent investigator is really just a carefully selected government defense pettifogger, hired to relieve the agency of as much liability as possible and absorb any leftover PR issues. Of course, hiring a law firm comes with desirable effects, such as the benefit of attorney client privilege. See, it’s easier to control an investigation if the investigator can’t actually reveal any findings detrimental to the institution.

And now we wait. The employee takes a paid vacation, the real police fail to deliver a criminal investigation, and NOCCCD eventually pays out a quiet settlement to the victim who will make a deal in a civil courtroom. Nothing to see here.

And now let’s let Fullerton Junior College President Greg Schulz take us home via The Hornet article:

President Greg Schulz promised the college’s full dedication in reaching a conclusion regarding the incident.

November 23, 2016November 23, 2016I Aint a Swallerin That

Photo Fun

by Joe Sipowicz17 Comments

A Friend forwarded this image to us a couple days ago. I’ll be golderned if I can figure out what to scribble about, so it’s up to Friends. Yes, that’s right! It’s the old FFFF “we’re to lazy to write” game called PROVIDE US WITH A CAPTION!

November 18, 2016November 19, 2016Brick Veneer, Fake Old, And Other Horrors

Do Not Trust the Trustees

by Sean Paden25 Comments

On Thursday, November 17, the North Orange County Community College District held an the Environmental Impact Report scoping session for the Measure J funded improvements to Fullerton College.

As you know from our previous report on this matter, the proposed improvements include a football field (estimated during the presentation to cost $4 million to build, so consider that a low floor to the likely final cost) but does not include improvements to the Veteran’s Center. When this discrepancy was addressed, Fullerton College President Greg Schultz gave the following explanation:

We have to understand that the NOCCCD cannot do everything it would like to do with Measure J funds, so they have not been able to make the improvements to the Veteran’s Center at this time;
The stadium will be funded through other funds, not Measure J money and he promises to not use Measure J money to build the stadium.

Let’s take these two responses one at a time, shall we?

First, the characterizing of the veteran’s center as just one of many improvements that the NOCCCD would like to perform is extremely dishonest. Let’s re-wind the clock again to back when NOCCCD sought voter approval for their $574 million construction bond:

(more…)

November 17, 2016November 17, 2016Behind Closed Doors

The Odd Case of the Client Newsletter

by Mr. Peabody13 Comments

richard_jones

Okay, you may have painfully listened to the five-minute drone of Fullerton City Attorney Richard Jones on a previous post, explaining why no information was forthcoming in the Case of the City Manager and the Dead Parkway Tree. Sorry to inflict that on you, but no pain, no gain, as they say.

If your cerebral synapses are sufficiently recovered, reflect back on what Mr. Jones, Esq. said, and what he was asked to repeat twice by our Mayor, about electronic records generated at the scene and how they could not be released via PRA request because they were part of an “ongoing investigation;” but moreover, because they were somehow part of some sort of double-top secret “personnel” proceedings.

But wait! A quick trip to Jones and Meyer’s website newsletter to clients (we are clients, aren’t we?) reveals some interesting case law that seems to show exactly the opposite of the malarkey Jones was pitching to a remarkably incurious Council the other night. Here’s the synopsis:

mav-evidence

See? The video was created before any administrative investigation, or internal affairs investigation even started.

So let’s get this straight. A “client alert” sent out less than four months ago seems to contradict what Jones said, and reiterated twice on Tuesday night. Hmm. Hopefully someone can drop by to explain why the case of City Manager Joe Felz isn’t covered by the Greenson case finding by the Court of Appeal.