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Sweetwater Athletics Hall of Fame scrutinized
Now with McLaughlin, Grossman and Brand, we have a trio of former jocks calling the plays...or so they think! One wonders if they hold their strategy sessions in McLaughlin's '19th Hole' offices. (See sign in photo)— November 8, 2013 10:15 a.m.
Sweetwater Athletics Hall of Fame scrutinized
BBQ - the 'sponsor' of the telephone survey that contacted you is likely one or more potential candidate for office. It sounds like a typical 'name recognition' survey that is one tool potential candidates use to gauge their approaches and test the waters. It might also be conducted at the behest of a political party (this one sounds like it is Republican sponsored, given that the names of no Democratic types were included). If the pollster refused to tell you the name of the sponsor, that is a clue that it is not being conducted by any apolitical group...clearly it is someone or a group with money to invest in the upcoming processes. I tried to find 'Champion Research' on the internet to no avail, but my guess is that they are not conducting the telephone polling out of the goodness of their hearts. I agree that it will be up to the stakeholders (citizens, parents, and grass roots entities) to take back the District. Perhaps there should be a planning group of those who have been active in the protests who would develop some criteria to use to evaluate candidates, and to recommend a slate of candidates for endorsement and possible support when the time is right. It is apparent that no one in elected office is willing to risk the wrath of other elected officials by taking up the charge to clean out the SUHSD rats' nest. By the way, I did check out the process to fill a majority of seats/multiple vacancies on the school board (should the trials result in a majority of vacancies at once.) In a document published by the California School Boards Association, state Education Code section 5094 is cited: it would be up to the president of the County Board of Education who 'may appoint MEMBERS OF THE CBOE TO THE DISTRICT BOARD UNTIL NEW MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BOARD ARE ELECTED OR APPOINTED. However, there is no guarantee that the CBOE would act at all, given their inertia so far. There is also some interesting language regarding removal from office (section 3072).— November 6, 2013 11:59 a.m.
Sweetwater Athletics Hall of Fame scrutinized
Mc Laughlin's checkered past and present inability to even converse politely and professionally with the reporter (or a member of the public) do not seem to comprise a skill set necessary for any administrator to succeed. It appears that Ed has housed his buddy and fellow bully McLaughlin as a caretaker of an empty building and left him alone to make work up as he goes.....Viola...the Sweetwater Athletic Hall of Fame springs out of nowhere from an employee who was never officially hired by the District. Eastlaker is correct: Our not so trustworthy 'trustees' and their CEO Fast Eddy Brand have sold out, sold the students down the river, and left the parents, taxpayers, and community holding the bag.— November 5, 2013 9:36 a.m.
Sweetwater Athletics Hall of Fame scrutinized
Oh my....what a miracle! A 'work in progress' that has no champion (pun intended) and apparently sprang out of nowhere! What a 'seat of the pants' project, that is quite typical of the District's way of doing business. To whom does McLaughlin report? He seems to be annoyed with answering questions about such a wonderful project, one that that magically embodies the 'collective spirit of the SUHSD' and has no genesis It just "is". One wonders why the District's PR/Media person wasn't on hand to help him with the courtesies and decorum of dealing with the media! He has a lot to learn, and the first lesson is to be patient with reporter's questions, and not to get bent out of shape if you don't like the questions. If one penny of the District's (Taypayer) funds are involved (did he craft the signage and the letters that appear on the wall in his own woodshop on his own time?) there should be a report of the money that has been spent and wasted on a project in a building that is scheduled to be sold. Do not count those expenditures toward 'upgrades' to make the building more marketable...who wants to buy a building with Ed Brand's name on the wall? Memo to McLaughlin: Just because a legitimate reporter asks questions about your pet project, does not mean anyone is not for Sweetwater spirit or doing good things for kids -- and don't try to imply otherwise. Rather, it's all about authorization and process, and transparency..... 'seat of the pants' management does not put you, or anyone else, in a good light. You come off as a tad too defensive, and without any of your ducks in any sort of row.— November 4, 2013 4:53 p.m.
Cops kick out public from Sweetwater board meeting
Let's all hope for the best possible outcomes: trials that remove the perps from office at a minimum, and jail time for those so deserving. Let's look beyond the trials -- what happens if Arlie, Pearl and Jim, and Bertha are all removed from office. What then? There is not a majority left of the board wiith McCann left? He would not be able to appoint to fill the vacancies. Some fear inside tells me then the County Board appoints to fill the vacancies? That would be terrible, as they are reputed to be in Brand's pocket. So, perhaps we need to be working to align ourselves with the County Board of Education to put forth desirable candidates for appointment to fill the vacancies? Then, come November, are elections. Johnny boy must be taken out and down.— October 30, 2013 8:33 p.m.
Cops kick out public from Sweetwater board meeting
It does occur to me that Chopra and Hernandez are the 'little fish' in the bigger picture. Others indicted for malfeasance at SWC such as Salcido, Wilson, and 'fats' have yet to make their moves, and they do not have the 'bank of Ed' to help with legal bills. While I would never condone perjury or failing to file required form 700s -- statement of economic interests -- by any elected, or appointed official (such as Chopra), it does seem to me that the DA staff has their hands full with the multiple indictments of 15 originally charged. Perhaps they cut the deals with the little fish in hopes better conserving their energies and limited resources, saving their big guns, and resolve, for those 'bigger fish' who are charged with multiple counts (for example: Ricasa has 5 counts of accepting bribes; 5 of filing a false instrument; 5 receiving gifts from a single source in excess of legal limits; 5 of perjury by declaration; 4 of conflict of interest; 3 of wrongful influence; and 2 counts of conspiracy. In addition, I believe there was at least one, perhaps more, of extortion.) Quinones and Sandoval are similarly situated. There are trials scheduled for mid-February for those who do not plead out, and it occurs to me that the SUHSD perps may believe they have the 'Bank of Ed' for legal expenses. Chopra, Hernandez, Cabello, do not have the employment power over Ed that the sitting board members do. HMMMMM.....wonder what Sandoval and Gandara's bank accounts look like, or what Ed might have on them or vice-versa. Either or both might decide to turn on the others in return for immunity. Stay tuned: this could get very, very, interesting.— October 30, 2013 6:36 p.m.
Cops kick out public from Sweetwater board meeting
Neither Chopra nor Yolanda Hernandez had accrued the huge number of counts against them as our SUHSD 'stars' have....Riacasa and Quinones are each charged with extortion and other crimes, with a total of 29 counts each; Lopez has 20 and 'teflon' Jim Cartmill has 10. (Chopra is gone, far far away, which is a good thing. We can hope the judge prohibits Ms. Hernandez from holding office in the future...perjury is .....lying under oath and ought not to be tolerated from any public official.) While it would be wonderful to have a clean sweep of the SUHSD board being removed by the courts, Johnny boy has somehow evaded scrutiny up to now....however, he is up for election in November 2014, as are Ricasa and Cartmill. Keep their feet to the fire and their egregious acts in the spotlight. It may be up to us voters to vote the bums out in November....we do have recourse at the ballot box.— October 30, 2013 9:15 a.m.
Cops kick out public from Sweetwater board meeting
OOps....I forgot to include the 10 counts against Jim 'teflon' Cartmill...that makes a total of 88 counts against the indicted four SUHSD so-called current 'trustees'...— October 30, 2013 9:01 a.m.
Cops kick out public from Sweetwater board meeting
BBQ and Wabbitsd, Thanks for the reminder of the need to be vigilant, watching for any scams and evidence that Ed is siphoning off District $$ resources to pay legal bills of the four indicted board members. (Cabello must have figured that Ed was not going to help him out, and so decided to plead guilty.) The indicted trustees need Ed to help them through the next months of when their legal bills will surely escalate; and that is surely why they do not act to reign him in. Here's a recap of the indictments: Ricasa, 29 counts, including extortion; Quinones, 29 counts including extortion; Lopez, 20 counts; Gandara, 28 counts including extortion. Don't forget Sandoval who had his hand out for so many years....29 counts, including extortion. Tick tock...Mid-February is less than four months away!— October 29, 2013 3 p.m.
Cops kick out public from Sweetwater board meeting
SUHSD disintegrates further, conditions going from bad to worse. I must conclude that Fast Eddy is focused on grabbing all the loot he can before the trials in February. The employees are dissed, Brown Act ignored, public process denied, school funds looted, the 'trustees' aren't, safety is jeopardized, Mello Roos $$ missing, CBOE in denial, real estate schemes underwater while students are crowded into 'open enrollment' schools to avoid having to attend schools with 'needs improvement' rating, wheels and deals galore, This is not a public school district, it is several seasons of 'survival' --- and what a reality show it is turning out to be! For those like TT who have forgotten their civics: The tax money that supports the SUHSD comes from multiple sources --- our state income taxes (which all teachers pay, regardless of where they live) provide the general fund base; federal monies supplement in the form of grants; bond monies (which are ONLY SUPPOSED to fund construction projects and upgrades ) come from property taxes paid by those of us who own property in the SUHSD. The so-called trustees are charged with making POLICY decisions to give the District's management decisions, and with hiring the CEO to manage it all. Seems they have made poor choices. Nevertheless, we lowly citizens maintain our First Amendment rights of Free Speech, to peacefully assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. We also retain our right to vote the bums out at the next opportunity if the court does not do it for us in February. Grievances we have aplenty. We shall continue to petition the 'trustees' for redress at every opportunity.— October 27, 2013 10:12 a.m.