Setting The Bar Low – Page 86 – Friends For Fullerton's Future

December 9, 2010December 9, 2010Boohooism

Pam Keller’s Sad Clown Party

Friends, we just received this e-mail from one of our readers who calls him/herself “Disillusioned Ex-hippy.” We publish it verbatim, although the images are our contribution.

I have it on excellent authority that Pam Keller and her posse threw a going away party for themselves the other evening in which pity pots on which to sit were handed out at the door. I was invited but chose not to attend.

Well, I’m not sad. Good riddance. Keller accomplished next to nothing in her four year term. That’s why a lot of us are celebrating her departure – even many of us who supported her in 2006. In fact she turned her back on her promises to Fullerton about developers and their undue influence. That’s was just a big lie.

Keller in the Hat2 — The sun did not shine, it was too wet to play...

And BTW, Pam the meanie blogs aren’t the the cause of divisiveness in Fullerton. What is the cause of divisiveness is a city council that just ratifies the decisions put in front of it by the staff; a city council too lazy, too stupid, or too supine to think and act for itself – unless a weird, erratic outburst is called for.

December 8, 2010December 8, 2010Fullerton School Board

Who’s Got the Huevos?

by Travis11 Comments

Maybe our La Habran neighbors to the north do. Their school board is now facing a strike by the La Habra Teachers’ Association, a body of both the CTA and the NEA unions. The issue? Their school board has given them a minuscule 2% pay cut and then refuses to call it “temporary.”

Negotiations had failed after several months and so the board was forced to impose increases in health care contributions as well as a reduction of 2 instructional days in order to deal with a 22% budget shortfall.

Amazing. A 22% budget hole and the teachers only had to take a 2% pay cut, and yet the union still plays the strike card.

Back in Fullerton, Superintendent Mitch Hovey has already articulated grave concern about pending negotiations, and Fullerton is in essentially the same financial straights as La Habra. It will be very interesting to see how our illustrious teachers’ union and our new school board deal with these issues.

December 8, 2010December 8, 2010Repuglicanism

Back in The Saddle; Colonel Cornpone Rides Again

by Joe Sipowicz17 Comments

Well, they went and did it.

At last night’s meeting the Fullerton City Council elected Ol’ Doc HeeHaw to be the political figurehead who leads Fullerton into the Teens. We have already gloated over the endless comedic possibilities this situation will afford council watchers and mean bloggers.

Mayor Jones. Let’s contemplate the advent of mirth.

And let’s consider a one-two punch of Jones and the increasingly distracted Don Bankhead as Mayor pro Tem. Is this really the best a city of 150,000 people that calls itself the education community can do?

Guess so.

December 7, 2010December 7, 2010Behind Closed Doors

Quirk Screws Silva; La Plus Ca Change…

by The Fullerton Shadow16 Comments

It happened. As predicted. At the behest of the repuglican puppetmasters that helped put him on the Fullerton City Council, ex-police Chief and $215,000 a year pension puller-downer Pat McKinley bypassed Democrat Sharon Quirk-Silva for Mayor Pro Tem. Instead Fullerton’s former top cop and election winner by 90 votes went with the feeble octogenarian, Don Bankhead. Gotta keep that winning team intact, right?

Well, goddamit, the ‘pugs weren’t the only people who helped put McKinley on the council. They had help. As noted previously, many of the the Yellowing Fullerton Observers went for McKinley, too, including folks like Molly McClanahan, Jan Flory and….wait for it…Sharon Quirk-Silva! It cost Doug Chaffee the election.

Two years ago these same people helped put the cracker back in the cracker barrel.

Say, guys, hows that strategy working out for ya?

December 7, 2010December 7, 2010Fullerton City Council

Will McPension Double-Cross Quirk-Silva

by admin7 Comments

mckinley-she-bear — Dick-n-Lois made me do it

Will councilman elect, retired chief pension plugger Pat McKinley support Sharon Quirk-Silva for Mayor Pro Tem at tonight’s council meeting? After all, she actually endorsed this guy. It’s up to Fullerton’s new three-man Repuglican crew, and things don’t seem too promising for Quirk-Silva.

Regrets are like ........ — Regrets are a part of life, my bad.

As we previously discussed, Policy #37 dictates who the next Fullerton mayor and Mayor Pro Tem will be. But the whole thing really boils down to pure politics.

As noted above, Quirk-Silva endorsed McKinley, which helped him beat Doug Chaffee by 90 votes. Will McKinley honor policy #37? Will he even be grateful to Q-S for his new source of income?

Stay tuned to channel 3 tonight at 6:30.

December 7, 2010Dick Jones

Hallelujah For Policy #37, The Holiday Gift That Will Keep Giving All Year Long!

by admin3 Comments

Just in case you missed Crazy Dick (our Mayor to be, per Policy #37) Jones’s battle of wits, here with a local resident the first time around, watch again as the poor guy gets the loop-a-doop brush-off by Dick, courtesy of our inebriated Video Alteration and Welding Department.

What kind of nitwit gets into a shouting match with one of his eccentric constituents who started to unravel a bit? Pea-brained Doc HeeHaw, that’s who. As our next mayor there can be little doubt: a youtube sensation is in the making.

December 4, 2010December 4, 2010Boohooism

The Pam Keller Legacy of Political Whatevers

by The Fullerton Shadow16 Comments

One of our Friends observed this banner near the intersection of Harbor and Brea today giving thanks to mercifully soon-to-be former council member, Pam Keller.

How touching. A “job well done.”

But, really? Since we can’t count on the Yellowing Observers and Pam’s Dingbat Posse to give an accurate look back on Keller’s four years in office, I will oblige by helping out a little.

First we’ll give credit where credit is due, and acknowledge her support of Prop 215 and the law of the State while the other four cowards on the council showed their true colors.

And now I’m done reciting Keller’s accomplishments – the wrong end of one 4-1 vote.

And lest you forget, I’ll remind you about some of her dubious activities on the council. How about the lobbyist boat ride and dinner care of slimeball Steve Sheldon and her subsequent support of the completely indefensible “Jeferson Commons” monstrosity? And let’s not forget her support of the equally god-awful Amerige Court, brought to us by contributors to her Colloborative. Both these votes were a total sellout to her supporters and her 2006 campaign promises as she came to realize the challenges of “governing.”

Speaking of the Collaborative, is there really any need to rehash the manifest conflicts of interest, the mobilizing of Collaborative grantees for political purposes, of gad-abouting taking credit for other people’s efforts? There, I just did it.

My favorite Keller self-besoiling was the twelve hundred bucks of public money she wasted going to the 2008 League of Cities meeting in far-off Long Beach, as cavalier a waste of taxpayer dollars as you will ever see.

And only this year Keller crowned her career by supporting the fraudulent, carpetbagging campaign of Harry Sidhu for 4th District Supervisor.

Not much to show for four years work, but of course commenters are welcome to augment the list of any real accomplishment on Keller’s part. Now don’t get me wrong. Keller’s lack of any really achievement is in no way different than any other councilpersons anybody can remember, so at least she’s got that going for her, legacy-wise.

Well, now she can assume her idiotic grin and bat her eyes for the benefit of the Fullerton School District trustees – as they consider renewing her contract and her, ahem, peculiar role as Philanthropist on Our Dime.

December 3, 2010December 3, 2010Orange County Government

OCFA Lights A Match

by Travis19 Comments

As Fullerton is forced to face our own massive pension debt this year, it’s helpful to look around to see what others are doing. And then aim higher. Much higher.

Smokey-the-Bear — It all started in one careless moment.

The county firefighters’ union just conceded that new members will have to work 5 more years until they reach retirement age, allowing them to retire at 55 instead of 50. OK, so they still get a ridiculous 90% of pay and will retire at least 12 years earlier than the rest of us. But it’s a baby step in the right direction.

To begin addressing the deficit caused by current employees, union members will also pay their own portion of the retirement contributions, building up to the full 9% of pay as required by state law.

Both of these concepts could be applied to Fullerton police and fire contracts. Of course, they wouldn’t come close to solving our pension problems. But if the prima donnas at OCFA will volunteer these concessions, Fullerton should be able to do better. Much better.

Certainly this sets a new minimum for pension reform in Orange County. With soaring pension costs set to take escalating millions out of our budget next year, we must do something NOW.

Of course, we won’t let anyone forget that several of our council members have promised to tackle the issue.

December 2, 2010December 3, 2010Behind Closed Doors

Pringle Outed; AG Yanks Open Closet Door, Shines Light on Embarrassing Scene

by Mr. Peabody11 Comments

Yesterday the State Attorney General handed out an opinion that, yes, outgoing Anaheim Mayor-for-Hire, Kurt Pringle did indeed hold incompatible offices as the Chairman of the California High Speed Rail Authority. For three long years. And that raises all sorts of questions about the ethics of Der Pringle’s votes on both HSR prioritization issues that benefited him and his clients, and City of Anaheim land use issues that benefited – him and his clients. You can read all about it in an LA Times article, here.

Well, we told you so. What will his mom say?

Interestingly the other day the Voice of OCEA did a story on an e-mail exchange between Herr Burgermeister Pringle and his former Director of the HSR, in which he attacks the “core competence”of the Authority’s engineers. The author misses the point, somewhat, in noting Pringle’s critique of the “experts” like so many others in California have done; but the real point is that his anger was based on their unwillingness to defy engineering realities to deliver the HSR line to his already designated ARTIC boondoggle. It certainly wasn’t lost on the recipient of his e-mail who noted dryly that he wasn’t sure if he was communicating with the HSR Chair or the Mayor of Anaheim.

Well, our boy Pringle is days away from being off the OCTA and out of City Hall (except as a lobbyist to his hand selected replacements, of course). But what about his Chairmanship of the CHSRA? Can the new guv keep him? Hard to imagine why Jerry Brown would keep on the HSR a repuglican who has soiled himself and the Authority so badly, if he had a choice.

November 29, 2010November 29, 2010Setting The Bar Low

Fullerton Observer Hacked

by Travis17 Comments

The last remaining Observers awoke this morning only to discover that the website of Fullerton’s favorite liberal rag had been digitally violated by rogue Internet vandals.

Several years’ worth of error-ridden editorials and retyped city press releases have been replaced with a single web page containing an indecipherable message and some horrible trance music.

The number of readers who will be affected by this outage is unknown, but private documents released by the Observer in a court last summer revealed that the Observer’s online readership is insignificant in comparison to that of its digital neighbors.

It is also unknown how much of the Fullerton Observer’s priceless archives were lost in the attack. Let’s hope SK keeps a backup.