The north part of Orange County has a notorious lack of parks and open space. And while the County of Orange spends millions on its park system annually, including vast tracts of parkland in south county, and even on the Harbor Patrol in the wealthy enclave of Newport Beach, us taxpayers up north get almost nothing. We have Craig Park and Clark Park which total about 130 acres; meanwhile the County controls around 60,000 acres of park and open space counting the new Irvine Company “gift.” Now that’s just wrong.
Former 4th District Supervisor Chris Norby kept talking about this unfairness, but he never actually accomplished anything to fix the inequity. Norby’s successor Shawn Nelson also made this topic a campaign issue. Will he be able to succeed where his predecessor tapped out? Let’s hope so. The opportunity for additional parkland, and even bike trails in utility rights-of-way are there. It may not be easy, but some of us voters expect elected folks to do the hard stuff.
The following commentary was sent to us by a friend who is concerned about a questionable Metrolink service expansion from Fullerton to Laguna Niguel.
A fourth track is currently being built at the Fullerton Station, exclusively for Metrolink’s new Orange County service — dubbed Metrolink Service Expansion Program (MSEP) by the folks at OCTA. I believe the concept is flawed from the start, and last I heard it is costing taxpayers at least $417 million.
Anyone up for a ride to Laguna Niguel?
I’ve asked numerous people at Metrolink how OCTA justifies the demand for this service. Nobody has an answer. Since it will run between Fullerton and Laguna Niguel only, it’s totally useless for commuters needing to get to Los Angeles. In my experience riding Metrolink, there are very few passengers riding such short distances in Orange County. If a person can afford $14 for a round-trip ticket Fullerton to Irvine and back, there’s a very good chance they already have a car and won’t bother to ride the train.
Furthermore, this service won’t appeal to bus riders unless OCTA drastically reduces the fares. That won’t happen… they just raised the fares again on July 1st. OCTA’s pipe dream to operate this service “every 30 minutes” makes a stupid idea all the more ludicrous.
There’s an angle to this which will affect the Fullerton Station (and the surrounding area) in a big way. Since the northbound trains terminate at Fullerton, the station area will become a layover terminal (akin to an airport) for people needing to get to Los Angeles. Suppose somebody takes the wrong northbound, thinking it goes to Los Angeles, and finds themselves in Fullerton having to wait HOURS for the next train to Los Angeles. There will be people sleeping on benches, sleeping on the ground, leaving their trash all over the place, etc, etc. The local restaurants will have to deal with freeloaders using their bathrooms. It just won’t be a good situation.
A quick perusal of the OC Children and Families Commission meeting for July 7, 2010 might be a bit misleading. Item six talks about a Strategic Communications Work Program and lists the “consultants” – really lobbyists and promoters whom we’ve seen before – Pringle and Associates, and O’ Haren, and the comically named White House Writers Group, that are lining up to line their pockets at the expense of hungry kids.
However, it’s not until you actually look at the agenda item staff report that you see our old friend Matthew Cunningham from Suite C described. Hiding something? The budget item is for “on call” services for a total of $30,000. I’m not sure what on call services amount to, but clearly Cunningham is still to be employed doing whatever it is he does for the Rob Reiner Tax and Redistribute Commission at the princely rate of $200 an hour.
The somewhat ambiguous phrase “a no-cost extension will be executed, and as necessary, modifications within the contract and budget authority” is appended. Apparently “Final” FY 2010-2011 budget actions take place in October.
The much-maligned and much-praised Human Relations Commission is still alive, although life signs may be diminishing.
On Tuesday, as part of its annual budget process, the County Board of Supervisors voted to eliminate an unfilled position in the department, thereby reducing its budget by about $100,ooo.
Without anymore editorial comment I have to note that many of the organizations that sent in their kudos for the good offices of this Commission, consistently refuse to contribute a dime from their own budgets to support it.
Don’t feel so bad. The consultants, lobbyists, con men, and other assorted rip-off artists are pushing the multi-billion high speed rail in other places, too. Here’s an article from the Fresno Bee that tells all about how the local gentry are trying to grab their share of the HSR gravy that they think will be a big deal for the raisin capital of the state.
You are becoming very sleepy...
The common denominator, of course, is Anaheim’s termed-out Mayor-For-Hire, the irrepressible Curt Pringle who figures to make big bucks as a “consultant” for this boondoggle when his days as a conflicted politician are over. The Fresno crowd wined and dined hizzoner and he was clearly impressed with the show of unanimity – much more than he’s getting down south these days. He even promised them a 2012 start for the project.
Come December Pringle will be out of office, and will no longer be able to pull the strings at OCTA either, although it sure looks like he’s getting his ducks in a row, puppet-wise there and at Anaheim’s City Hall.
Our $300,000 tax dollars a year working hard for us?
I found this article in the PR Newswire, United Business Media dated 17th June 2010.
“This was an invaluable opportunity for our mediators to experience the common physical and emotional challenges that are a part of the aging process,” said Mike Finkle, Human Relations Specialist for OC Human Relations. “For awhile, our mediators were able to, nearly literally, ‘take a walk in the shoes’ of seniors and others who live with such challenges every day.
To simulate experiencing the difficulties of living with arthritis, for example, program participants were asked to don heavy, clumsy gloves and then button their shirts or open medication bottles and handle small pills. Participants also put popcorn in their shoes and walked around to simulate the feeling of painful joints.”
The Orange County Human Relations Commission, a dinosaur agency foisted upon tax payers for thirty years, again shows how negligible its services are to our community.
Orange County Human Relations Specialist Mike Finkle, an employee of this commission, earns his tax dollar subsidized paycheck by walking around a room with popcorn in his shoes and attempting to button his shirt and open pill bottles while wearing, thick, clumsy gloves.
When will our county government leaders wise up to this sham agency and pull the plug on funding this silly tax dollar subsidized commission and its executive director who pulls down a six figure salary.
Our economic crisis that experts predict will be a double-dip recession, forces our county government to cut needed police and fire protection to Orange County’s residents. Yet, our county’s board of supervisors is afraid to stop funding this piece of fluff called the Orange County Human Relations Commission.
I believe most will agree with me when I say I would rather have more police or fire protection in Orange County than a person walking around with popcorn in his shoes who puts on thick, clumsy gloves to button his shirt.
For our county board of supervisors to have credibility with the voters, they must sensibly act and trim the real fat from government by cutting funding to the Orange County Human Relations Commission.
Okay Friends, fight the gag reflex as you peruse this column written in something called The Washington Examiner under the by line of Hugh Hewitt, sanctimonious repuglican blabbermouth. I say “under the by line” because we recently disclosed how this allegedly literate yakmouth had stuff written for him by Children and Families Commission Scribe/Flack and $200 an hour Toothbrush Distributor, Matthew J. Cunningham, and it would now be risky to assume Hewitt writes anything for himself.
Hugh is a very busy man. He can't write all that stuff himself!
“Enough!” Hewitt loudly admonishes his ignorant readers at the end of his drivel. Ignorant? How so?
If they are reading anything attributed to this hypocrite they are almost certainly unaware that he serves on the biggest Tax and Redistributionist Commission in the history of California – the OC Children and Families Commission; and no doubt unaware that his words may very well be written by someone else – Cunningham, perhaps – his protege, and the fellow whose $200,000-a-year PR contract with the Commission Hewitt annually votes to approve.
That was Hide and Seek Sidhu’s campaign mantra. And it seems as if his pals at the OCEA are serious about creating jobs, too. Here is an entry from craigslist a helpful Friend forwarded:
Communications Coordinator
Date: 2010-06-23, 9:07AM
The Orange County Employees Association was established in 1937 and represents many employees of the County of Orange and numerous cities and districts in Orange County. We are looking for a person with creative and organized thinking, excellent multi-tasking skills, outgoing personality and a desire for a career in a people-oriented field. This position requires an enthusiastic individual, self-motivated, who strives to get the job done right, exercises good judgment, pays attention to detail, and is always willing to learn something new. We are located in Santa Ana and would prefer that the successful candidate live within 20 miles of our office.
Job Expectations:
Under limited supervision, provide a wide variety of moderately complex communication services, including but not limited to developing a quarterly magazine, updating website content, writing articles, and administering election campaigns. Required to have an in-depth knowledge of journalism principles and practices and English composition.
• Must have some journalistic experience and be able to demonstrate the ability to write in a clear, concise, creative and expeditious manner.
• In a very fast paced environment, have the ability to be well organized, creative, remember complex tasks and follow through daily, weekly, monthly, and annually.
• Supervise and work closely with Communications Coordinator (Graphic Designer).
• Serve as Senior Editor of the quarterly magazine; plan and produce each issue from beginning to end, including identifying articles, writing articles, and developing and working with others regarding ideas for magazine layout. Work closely with printing company and post office.
• Manage website content. Create content to be posted daily or weekly, ensure that the website is up-to-date. Recommend major changes to website design, direction and content to ensure it accurately represents and communicates information.
• Must be able to work on multiple assignments simultaneously, use common sense and experience to prioritize work and budget time according to the importance of the project and the time available. Assignments must often be completed under tight deadlines.
• Develop and produce presentations, determine focus and format of presentations, research and develop editorial and graphic content, compile necessary materials.
• Be highly skilled in the use of computers and the internet, with quick working knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook. Website experience highly desired.
• Establish schedules, strategies and communications methods for providing effective communications and marketing programs that promote OCEA’s goals.
• Consistently follow through assignments to completion, honor deadlines, be detail-oriented and punctual at all times. When needed, work afterhours to get the job done without being asked.
• Be willing to assist others, and commit to placing team and organizational goals ahead of personal ambition.
• Must be dependable and at work each day.
• Must have a positive attitude.
• Work directly with staff, when needed, to proof or write necessary written materials.
• Responsible for the gathering, preparation and control of records for the Communications Division.
• Take photographs of a wide variety of onsite and offsite meetings, activities and events.
• May serve as member of a team on communications-related projects.
If you are interested in this exciting opportunity, please email your resume with a cover letter that includes salary history, and samples of your writing to employment@oceamember.org. We offer competitive salary with excellent benefits. No phone calls please.
Compensation: Competitive salary, paid medical, 12 holidays, sick time, comp time, 401k matching, pension
Principals only. Recruiters, please don’t contact this job poster.
Please, no phone calls about this job!
Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.
Hmm. I got to thinking about this, and a natural candidate came to mind. Aw, come on. You were thinking the same thing, right? Go ahead, admit it:
I can do that...
Of course they will not be paying anybody 200 simoleons an hour, but hey, in this downturn a job’s a job, right?
Us rock-ribbed Republicans believe in lots of transparency and accountability.
It’s true. Ask anybody. Everybody says they want accountability and transparency in government, especially political candidates; but those in authority have a lot of incentive to keep their doings free from risk – the risk of being exposed as responsible for some screw-up or other; and the risk of fighting the inertia produced by institutional dead weight in a gravity-free environment. And of course the ability to pass along lucrative contracts to their pals.
And all this bring me to the point of this essay: it’s time for the Orange County Board of Supervisors to take charge of semi-autonomous agencies that have been operating under the public radar. Two of these “hidden governments” spring most immediately to mind: the Children and Families Commission – that seems to have been operating as a cash cow for the local repuglican machine, and the OC Cemetary District, ditto.
The Children and Families Commission is a poster child for liberal, under-scrutinized government. You may agree with its goals and method of revenue collection. But even if whole-village child rearing and confiscatory income redistribution are your cup of tea, you have to admit that paying a connected political operative like Matthew J. Cunningham $200 an hour to update Facebook and read blogs and hand out toothbrushes must diminish from the resources available to actually help kids. And what’s with all the lobbying? Hundreds of thousands worth in any given year at the State level, with Anaheim’s mayor-for-hire Curt Pringle being the chief beneficiary.
And then there’s the Cemetery District that paid Pringle to find a new graveyard and paid him another $25,000 as bonus for finding a site in Brea. I’m not even sure if Brea is going to go along with this, but let’s hope Pringle’s fee included guaranteed entitlements from the city. But I digress. The real issue here is why the District hired Pringle at all to do the work of a real estate professional whose compensation would have been a partial commission from the seller, not the taxpayers.
Well, we’ve got some new blood on the 5th Floor of the Hall of Administration, and hopefully these guys will start to attend to these and other agencies that need to be examined, made accountable, taken over, and if appropriate, disbanded. Sure, the ‘pugs will squeal and squawk.
And that’s when you know you’re doing the right thing.
A while back we posted a story about the OC Grand Jury callying for a lobbyist registry. They also attacked the practice of government agencies paying lobbyists to lobby other government agencies. Teri Sforza at the OC Watchdog did a post, here.
Yes, it certainly seems even more disturbing when practiced by opaque agencies like Water Districts and of course, by our old pals at the Children and Families Commission.
God bless America, land of opportunity!
As we have amply documented, this commission has paid Curt Pringle to lobby on its behalf and it has also employed the services of former State legistalor Phil Isenberg. Just yesterday we did a post about wordsmith Matthew J. Cunningham raking in some big bucks getting ready and attending a lunch for legislative staffers. Presumably the whole thing was a lobbying sales job.
The worst part of this of course, is that the OC commission is not lobbying for itself. No point in that – unless there’s a call to change the money distribution formula to benefit OC. No, all these hundreds of thousands of lobbying dollars are going to defend Prop 10 revenue in general. In other words, the OC Children and Families Commissions is spending all this dough lobbying for the other 57 counties’ First Five Commissions.
Yeah, but those other counties don't have a wordsmith of my caliber!
Are these other counties lobbying themselves? Who knows. Not unlikely. But this just emphasizes the point that the whole thing is out of control – no matter how many times Cunningham ghost writes blather about how well run they are.
And while we’re at it, let’s remember The White House Writers Group and their six-figure contract to promote the commission outside around the country!
If you think about it the whole thing really stinks. Time to pick off the scab on the commission and see what’s supperating underneath.
