Are you being served? For that matter, are you being served by the members of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District board? Because one of them got served tonight. In the midst of a cantankerous public hearing in East County, at which the College Board ultimately held off — for now — on imposing a union-only Project Labor Agreement (PLA) on …
Nepotism and favoritism run rampant in California “firehouse” fire departments (not “forest fighters”)
In California, exceptionally high firefighter pay and benefits makes “firehouse” firefighter positions coveted slots, with few openings and huge applicant interest. Couple that with a strong desire by existing firefighters to get their offspring and relatives hired (a.k.a. nepotism), and it’s a scenario ripe for corruption. Here’s one of the more amazing examples. In 2007 the Oakland Fire Department unwisely …
Santee Mayor Voepel calls on College Board members to keep their promise to taxpayers in labor battle
Santee Mayor Randy Voepel is calling on Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District trustees to live up to their prior commitment to fair and open competition on several million dollars of publicly-funded construction projects, in what is shaping up to be a Tuesday night Donnybrook for the usually quiet East County school board. Many area residents have only learned in the last …
CA unemployment rate plummets, but no increase in jobs. Huh??
Good news! California’s unemployment rate dropped significantly in September, from 6.1% to 5.9% — while the nation’s unemployment rate remained stable at 5.1%. The bad news? No increase in the number of CA jobs. Okay, okay — I exaggerated a bit to make a point. Actually the number of CA jobs DID increase in September — but by only 8,200 …
Union electrician tells District: Honor your commitment to taxpayers and oppose the PLA
Many East County residents have only learned in the last few days of the plan by the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District (GCCCD) to renege on its previous commitment to fair and open competition on millions of dollars in public funds being used for school facility improvements. See Thursday’s press release from the San Diego County Taxpayers Association and two mail …
More mail against Grossmont-Cuyamaca College District bond “bait and switch”
Another mail piece going out to East County residents regarding the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Board considering an “I take it back” on the promise for fair and open competition. See the prior mail from the San Diego County Taxpayers Association. This piece is from the Coalition for Fair Employment in Construction. Below that is a message from Eric Christen …
CA Fire Foundation counts deceased retirees as “fallen firefighters” — shame!
CAUTION: The following commentary will trigger intense feelings of hatred (of me) among some firefighters. My apologies in advance. Firefighting has always been an honorable profession. It’s a job that, from time to time, definitely can be more dangerous than most occupations. But the “problem” for the California Fire Foundation (CFF) and other boosters of firefighters is that — these …
Mail: College Board wants to break promise to East County Taxpayers
It’s not even an election year and we have some mail! Following up on the post regarding the San Diego County Taxpayers Association’s revocation of its support for a 2012 Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District bond measure (see earlier press release), Rostra was sent the following mailer, which apparently will be in East County mailboxes soon… click for larger images
Taxpayers Association to Revoke Support of Community College District Bond for Breach of Fair Competition Pledge
Press Release The San Diego County Taxpayers Association is calling on the board of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District to honor its pledge of fair and open competition for contracts to build taxpayer-funded projects. SDCTA says it will revoke its support for the GCCCD’s Proposition V bond measure if trustees vote on Oct. 20 to put in place a blanket …
Strike TWO on Poway Schools recall — notice invalidated again
The recall notice of Poway Unified School District Trustee Andy Patapow was invalidated today for the second time since Friday, again because some signers were not registered at the addresses listed. The recall proponents, should they continue their efforts, would once again have to restart the process and serve notice to Patapow — for a third time. If the difficulty …
FPPC tells Horn he can’t vote on Lilac Hills
Fair Political Practices Commission Recommendation Regarding Lilac Hills Ranch Vote by County Supervisor Bill Horn Today I received a response from my request to the Fair Political Practices Commission regarding my Supervisorial vote as it relates to the Lilac Hills Ranch Project. They have concluded that I have a conflict of interest because “…the decisions will have a reasonably foreseeable …
Poway earns RARE top firefighting rating while deploying only 3 man crews on trucks
Fire departments are rated for the insurance industry as to their fire suppression efficiency. The lower the rating, the better. These ratings ARE important, as they are considered by the companies that issue fire insurance. Higher ratings translate into more costly fire insurance. The certifying outfit is the Insurance Services Office, and so it’s called the ISO rating. VERY few …
Here perhaps is the final nail in the Golden State’s coffin
Just when you think things can’t get any worse in California, it gets worse. A bill was just signed into law by Governor Brown that will register maybe 6 million low information people to vote. People who go to the DMV (supposedly limited to citizens, but no one will check) for licensing or ID will be AUTOMATICALLY registered to vote …
Scuttlebutt that McCarthy and Ellmers will both resign from Congress by Monday
More on the fallout from WeaselZippers
Gaspar rolling in endorsements — Faulconer, Chavez, Zapf, Sherman, Kersey, Cate
Just the last few days… Wednesday, from Kristin Gaspar: “Assemblyman Rocky Chavez made it official with an endorsement of my campaign for Supervisor. “I am so honored to have Rocky’s support. His commitment to public service, distinguishing himself in the Marine Corps and then recommitting himself to public service as an elected official is truly commendable, and I look forward …
What’s Wrong With Rand Paul’s Foreign Policy?
I hear conservatives criticize Rand Paul’s foreign policy a lot. Some have even called it “scary”. For the life of me, I can’t understand what is wrong with THIS foreign policy “doctrine”: 1- There should be a stated objective at the outset. It should be directly tied to U.S. national security. 2- We should use overwhelming force to that objective. …
Assemblyman Jones Discredits California’s Environmental Agenda
SACRAMENTO, CA – Assemblyman Jones (R-Santee) today released an “Are You Kidding Me?” segment discrediting the Democrat’s environmental agenda. In light of recent news that Governor Brown will sign SB 350, which will require California to get 50 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2030, Assemblyman Jones is disappointed that small scale solar will not count towards the …
Meet Gov. Mike Huckabee and support Mike Harrison for Assembly — This Saturday
An opportunity to meet Mike Huckabee this weekend, while supporting Mike Harrison’s State Assembly bid. RSVP as noted on the flyer. click for a larger view
Neighborhood Market Association members sue organization and CEO Mark Arabo
Citing illegal compensation and a breach of fiduciary duty, members of the politically active Neighborhood Market Association (NMA), including one of its founders, are suing the organization and CEO/President Mark Arabo, alleging a lack of transparency and a “failure to provide financial documents.” The complaint seeks information regarding an alleged real estate transaction in which the NMA is said to …
Can Southern California Learn from Prison Inmate Firefighters?
CA state and local governments deem inmate brush firefighters a valuable asset that makes good sense. But the idea of forming CIVILIAN VOLUNTEER brush firefighting brigades to fight the fires and protect homes when these fires approach housing areas is somehow not safe — for union firefighters. Few people realize how big our California prisoner firefighting effort is. There are …
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