Oops. “Community Colleges.” Oops. I mean “Colleges.”
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…
A while back we spent some time looking at the architectural monstrosities being foisted on students and bond underwriters (us) at Fullerton Junior College. We noted the crappy fake historical detailing, the blocky bulk of the overbearing McSpanish dinosaurs, and of course we regretted the intellectual confusion that equates fake old with real old and believes building crappy architecture enhances historical buildings.
Here’s a reminder of what we were talking about.
We were right. They did put a cupola on it.
Ye gods! A series of out-of-scale, fake-arched, hollow-walled, Styrofoam-corniced, bulk-squatting godzillas dumped across the campus.
We also lamented the fact that in lower-middlebrow land nobody seemed capable of conceiving the deployment of inventive and engaging contemporary architecture.
In response to a follow up post this fall, a Friend forwarded images of some recent buildings that have gone up at Santa Monica (Junior) College. We share them below.
Theater Arts BuildingThe Broad TheaterScience BuildingScience BuildingIllustration of Student Services Building
Hmm. Food for thought. Okay, the west side of LA, SM, and Culver City are chock-full of talented architects and designers of the SCI-Arc variety, and north Orange County is chock full of…well, let’s let that one go for now.
What’s baffling is that there doesn’t seem to be anybody on the NOCCCD staff or board with a clue. Instead of doing new buildings that actually stimulate aesthetic interest, they prefer to cough up the dreary, banal, and embarrassing visual tripe of McSpanish. And then threy dredge up support for their travesties from equally clueless citizenry.
Over the week-end we read some interesting things about the surreptitious “Fair Foundation” and their publicly paid lobb….er, consultant, Dick Ackerman. It transpires that the State AG, Jerry Brown has pulled the plug on legal support for the Fair Board, arguing quite reasonably that the Board majority are members of the clandestine Foundation, and that the taxpayers ain’t gonna pick up the tab to defend their misfeasance. Now they’ll have to pay for their own lawyers, thankfully, and we won’t.
We also learn that Ackerman’s law firm was paid over $19,000 in public funds to do something (not lobbying of course – that would be illegal). We would dearly love to see the billing statement with dates and activities.
Honorary Fringer Vern Nelson has an excellent post this AM over at the OJ blog.
free commercial for Vern
The helpful folks over at the OC Progressive have posted a fun run down here, passing along info gleaned by the Daily Pilot via a public records request.
Despite all the obfuscation and dust kicking up by Foundation apologists, it seems like the truth will emerge.
Perhaps the felonious Mike Carona promised them that these letters would not be released to the public. Or maybe Greg Block and Bill Prentice owed Carona a huge favor. Whatever the reason, these two leaders of the OCCCWS PAC wrote fluffy letters in support of disgraced ex-sheriff Mike Carona when he was about to be sentenced for his crime earlier this year.
Already mentioned was the fact that these two are backing Anaheim cop Craig Hunter for OC Sheriff. We even supposed that they were instrumental in getting the candidate to run, given that they threw out rumors of his candidacy and announced his run before even Craig Hunter himself could put the word out.
This letter is off to a bad start
The Capistrano Dispatch published a long list of letters sent to the court in support of Carona before his sentencing. In Greg Block’s letter to Judge Guilford (Exhibit 11), he wrote gems like “Mike Corona (sp) is a good man with a big heart” and “Mike gave his time and heart to the County of Orange making it a better place”.
Sure he did. And then he earned himself 66 months in federal prison.
Greg Block's Letter (Click to read)
The founder of OCCCWS, Bill Prentice, also wrote his own sappy letter (Exhibit 46). It was slightly less embarrassing, but went down the same slimy path of asking Judge Guilford to let Carona off the hook.
So why did Block write this shameful letter? If you remember our last post on this subject, you know that Carona allowed Greg Block to have special access inside the OCSD and Greg used that access to promote his firearms training business and taunt CCW applicants. Block’s access to the department has been hindered since Carona’s departure, and he looks to be attempting to restore his insider access to the department through candidate Craig Hunter.
Bottom line: There is no question that Craig Hunter is backed by Carona insiders and apologists.
Well, we called it all right. Matthew J. Cunningham had just invited one Cynthia Ward, AKA “Colony Rabble” to blog on the quickly purpling Red County Blog. He caught a lot of flack from us and one of his own bloggers, Allan Bartlett, for bringing in an obvious RINO into his herd.
the rare white rhino
It was clear to everybody that Ms. Ward’s sole function was to promote the Supervisorial campaign of Democrat Tom Daly. To his own bloggers he claimed that Ward was there to provide Anaheim coverage. Mr. Cunningham actually had the nerve to show up on our blog to claim that we couldn’t prove anything, and that he was a model of toleration and open mindedness, and, that in any case he could only think of one thing he disagreed with Ward about – the Suncal project.
wait, I'm still thinking...
He obviously wasn’t thinking about it very hard, and fortunately Colony herself immediately provided the example of Proposition 8 that she opposed, as a point of disagreement – a real watershed issue if ever there was one. Now there’s a shot to the shorts in the credibility department.
But we digress. Sorry about that. The following sparkling comment made by Ms. Ward on her new blog was just forwarded to us by a observant Friend:
Sidhu and Galloway will both be shocked that they cannot buy their way into this seat. But I am as appalled as you that they both just begged to be put back into Council seats they clearly do not respect or value. A recall could be interesting, but there are bigger fish to fry in the coming months. Not the hill I want to die on. At least not right this minute. I might be pursuaded later. For now, go find a good candidate (like Daly) to back and give that your energy. Defeating them with a good Supe would be the ultimate revenge. Go get ’em.
A good candidate like Daly?Hmm. Well we did call it: dish dirt on Sidhu and Galloway to help clear the Anaheim field for John Lewises Democratic candidate Tom Daly. Yup. Pretty transparent.
Brains and ambition. The current events quiz approaches.
As the interim FFFF Life and Times Editor, I have been remiss. I guess I missed the event yesterday, but apparently a KROQ radio show turned up at the Slidebar in DTF to put on their regular Miss Double D-cember program, an uplifting show that gives its participants an opportunity to display their manifest talent(s), and the spectators (seemingly of both sexes) a chance to inspect those talents. The program also featured a Gene Simmons look-alike, a dwarf, and a bunch of Marines in dress uniform. I’m pretty sure this event was not subsidized by the Fullerton Redevelopment Agency.
Here’s a link to the thought provoking (OC Weekly, naturally) photo montage.
For me, one question remains. Why are Marines so short?
We got a hold of an invite to a Harry Sidhu for 4th District Supervisor campaign event. It’s hosted by Curt Pringle and it will cost its well-heeled attendees $500 bucks a pop. Here’s the text:
Dear Supporter: I have had the great pleasure to work with Harry Sidhu on the Anaheim City Council over the past five years. As you may know, Harry is planning a run for the 4thDistrict Supervisorial seat. I am supporting Harry for that election. Even though these are difficult times, I would very much appreciate if you could support Harry at his upcoming fundraiser at the Anaheim White House, on December 16 at 11:30 AM. Your participation would mean a lot. The event charge is $500 per person. Please consider attending and let me know at your earliest convenience.
Regards,
Curt
Mayor Curt Pringle
and
Luncheon Host Committee
George Adams – Adrian Foley –Dr.Howard & Linda Knohl Pat Mahoney – Jerry Zomorodian – Sandy Day –Ajit MithwaliaJohn Thomas –Ajesh Patel – Bill Taormina – Larry LakeTodd Ament –Virg Narbutas – Bill O’Connell –Hamilton BrewartDerral McGinnis –Ken Ryan –CB Nanda
Cordially invite you to a special fundraising event honoringCOUNCILMAN HARRY SIDHU
Republican Candidate ~ Orange County Supervisor, 4th District
We have already addressed Pringle’s arachnid qualities, so we’ll let that go for now. Of keen interest to Fullertonians will be the name of one of Harry’s benefactors: “Ajit Mithwalia.” Could that really be Ajit Mithaiwala? The Ajit Mithaiwala?
Fort Mithaiwala
Last spring we detailed the long, sad, and disastrous story of the Fullerton “City Lights” SRO project (two installments of which are here, and here); a project in which LA developer Ajit Mithaiwala figured prominently, both as the Plan B developer dredged up by Redevelopment director to save the fiasco; as the man who threatened to sue the City for make believe breach of contract; and who then took several years to finish his project.
What Mithaiwala has been doing for the past 10 years is anybody’s guess, but the fact that he might be popping up now is pretty interesting. The fact that he originally received a million bucks from the County for his project and might now be dabbling in County politics is interesting, to say the least.
Of course we could be wrong. Maybe this is just some guy named “Mithwalia.”
Here is a very good column we came across today by Barbara Venezia. in light of some of the non-conversations we’ve been having here lately with a Fair Board supporter, we thought we’d share it.
Why isn’t anyone calling for the removal of the current Orange County Fair Board? Doesn’t personal responsibility matter anymore? When you take into consideration the collateral damage they’ve caused with this ridiculous self-serving shell game of buying the fairgrounds, every single one of them should be held accountable, including the two who were not part of the nonprofit shenanigans.
When I asked board member Julie Vandermost why she wasn’t a part of it, she emailed, “It’s a matter of not having enough bandwidth in my schedule.” David Padilla didn’t return my call; rumor has it he wasn’t even asked to participate in the nonprofit. If true, you have to wonder why.
I’m not buying Julie’s clever excuse and David’s non-response speaks volumes. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out they were probably the first ones who saw something hinky in this plan. Why didn’t they speak up? Was it because they didn’t want to rock the boat and lose the lucrative perks of being on the Fair Board? Or were they afraid of the blow-back speaking against powerful fellow board members could bring?
Does personal responsibility go out the window if you just keep your mouth shut?
This Fair Board’s questionable behavior should be enough ammunition to explore removal. Let’s not forget they were smack dab in the middle of the Mike Carona trial with board member Debbie Carona. Then there was the whole messy ticket/private dinner scandal that some argued amounted to “gifts of public funds,” perks estimated at approximately $40,000 plus. When this was taken away, tongues wagged that 50 percent of the board considered quitting.
Now Costa Mesa’s setting aside beaucoup bucks to create a plan B, (making a bid to buy the fairgrounds), should plan A, (getting the governor to rescind the sale), not work. This exercise in futility could’ve been avoided had the OC Fair Board done their job and not lobbied for the sale or formed their own nonprofit to buy it.
When is someone going to talk about the elephant in the middle of the room? It appears this board is not looking out for the best interest of the public. Politicians generally hate going after those who fund-raise and have political juice, but what if they’re out of control?
Maybe it’s a task for Supervisor John Moorlach; after all, accountability’s something his office has preached repeatedly. Sure his administration’s taken its lumps as they’ve gone after some sacred political cows like pension reform, but whether you agree with them or not, this group seems fearless. It would make sense for Moorlach and company to lead this charge.
But will he? He’s gearing up for a tough re-election bid. Going after political heavyweights on the Fair Board could cause a rift within his party; then again, being pro-active on this issue could give him a leg up with voters. Wonder if he’s a gambling man?
Costa Mesa, coupled with the OC Board of Supervisors, could accomplish rescinding the sale and requesting new board members. So who’ll have the chutzpah to stand up for personal responsibility? We all should.
Freelance writer Barbara Venezia’s opinion column appears online and in The Current every Friday. Email BV at bvontv@earthlink.net
Amen, Barbara, and thank you for saying what no one in the Republican hierarchy has the courage to say. Clean the Augean Stable at the OC Fair. Even if we have to divert the Santa Ana River to do it!
On a post we did the other day about the Red County blog signing up a RINO, we received this choice nugget from our ethically challenged nemesis, Matthew J. Cunningham:
We’ll remember that when you faux conservatives on FFFF come out for Lou Correa next year.
Hmm. That was a pretty uninformed comment, even from our rodentine pal.
Yes, it's true. We eat our own babies.
As readers of this blog know, our primary aim is to promote political representatives that are accountable to their constituents, and not to themselves, the bureaucracy, or to lobbyists. Many of us happen to believe that conservatism is more likely to produce that result than liberalism. But we recognize all too well that plenty of so-called conservatives are the biggest government supported parasites we can think of. Consider the money machine that is Ackerman, Inc.
Faux? Poor Mr. Cunningham. Dragged down by the pecuniary interests of his boss John Lewis, he is forced to step and fetchit for the Democrat Tom Daly, making him not only just about as faux as you can get, but a sorry flunky, to boot. And here we have hit the river bottom of the Repuglican food chain.
Come on in. The water's great!
Lou Correa has his faults, to be sure. If a better candidate comes along we’ll be all for him or her. But if the alternative is some carpetbagging wacko Bible beater, seemingly backed by the same Repuglican machine that spit out Linda Ackerwoman, then Hell, it looks like a pretty easy call.
Shortly after Anaheim cop Craig Hunter announced his candidacy for OC Sheriff, a PAC called OCCCWS jumped to endorse him. Of course we found that interesting, since “Ordinary California Citizens Concerned With Safety” is primarily focused on issuance of concealed weapons permits to civilians, an issue on which candidate Bill Hunt has taken the most pro-2nd amendment stance possible.
So why wouldn’t this gun PAC get behind Bill Hunt instead of launching their own candidate?
According to our sources, OCCCWS is a front for a company called “Greg Block Firearms Training” in Huntington Beach. Those who have been following the improvements to the concealed weapons permit (CCW) process over the years know that Greg Block was a civilian who Mike Carona allowed to hold unusual influence within the OC Sheriff’s department.
Greg Block, OCCCWS
Back in Carona’s corrupt heyday, most Orange County CCW applicants gathered on an internet forum called californiaccw.org to seek advice on applying for a permit. Greg Block ran the forum, offering advice to gun permit applicants, selling his training classes and sharing details on Sheriff’s department internals with curious gun nuts.
It wasn’t long before the power of Block’s OCSD connections went to his head. Archived forum posts from the now-defunct website show that Greg Block held his insider influence in a threatening manner over the heads of potential gun permit applicants, going as far as reaching inside the department to sabotage the application of an individual who dared to question interim Sheriff Jack Anderson’s policy. Evidence of this appalling abuse will be revealed soon enough.
Greg Block with Carona's pal Jack Anderson
So back to Craig Hunter’s run for OC Sheriff: Is Greg Block seeking to restore his influence on the department via OCCCWS? A firearms instructor who used insider connections to shove applicants through Carona’s department procedures sure would have a strong interest in putting a friend back in office.
And why the animosity towards Bill Hunt, who ran against Carona and accused him of running an incompetent department? Are Block and OCCCWS harboring a grudge against the man who spoke out against his Caronian meal ticket?
We’re used to insults flung at us from the non-fringers who talk a real good game, but who are basically all about feeling out and burrowing into whatever handy crevice will accommodate their abdominal bulk, six legs, and antennae.
hey baby, you don't get to be 100 million years old without some survival instincts!
So we take it in stride when the latest addition to the Red Bottomed blog, “Colony Rabble” took a little baby swing at us in the comment thread of her maiden post:
“I love Tom Daly to bits, and the fact that the nimrods at FFFF (how many F’s?) bag on him just makes me fight harder for him.”
Nimrods? Ouch. I think.
We really have no bone to pick with Colony Rabble. She “loves Daly to bits” which is just fine. She is clearly not a Repuglican, just a big time RINO. You fight on, girl! Work your tail off for Tom. You’ll probably end up working a lot harder than he will.
don't let it get a running start...
But why shouldn’t we “bag” on Tom Daly – a career politician with no evident ability other than political careerism? Is it really so bad to think we can do better? A lot better?
And it does seem pretty unusual that someone whom Matthew J. Cunningham agrees with on almost no issue he says he believes in, is suddenly blogging – just in time for the 4th District election. Well, color us suspicious. And so color, too, their own blogger Allan Bartlett, who is under the impression that his blog should stand for something. Silly Allan!
Oh Allan. remember when things used to be so simple?
