"The most consistent and smartest thinking and writing about progressive politics isn't happening in Sacramento, but being churned out day after day on sites and by organizations like Calitics, Orange County Progressive, and the California Budget Project." - CalBuzz
In the first chapter of this series on Bill Hedrick, the exciting Democratic candidate for the 44th Congressional District (San Clemente to Riverside & Corona), we learned about his district and his near victory over 18-year incumbent Ken Calvert in 2008; we learned a little bit about the "manifold failings" of Calvert, by all measures one of the most corrupt and ineffective House members; we briefly met his Republican primary opponent Chris Riggs; and we began our interview with Bill, chatting about his two sons who have served so bravely in Iraq, one of whom nearly died from heat stroke a couple of years ago and is now back stateside serving in the National Guard.
That chapter became so long that I decided to continue it in two more chapters; in this one, Bill and I discuss the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the ongoing struggle to provide healthcare for all Americans.
Bill Hedrick, the OC Progressive Interview, part two
The Bush/Obama Wars
OJ: So, I saw in a press release recently that you're breaking with the Obama administration and a lot of your own party in calling for a withdrawal from Afghanistan?
Hedrick: Right.
OCP: So, would you explain how that would make America safer?
Hedrick: Well, I think that this expenditure that the President is proposing is not going to make us safer, I think that there are other ways to do this.
Expense is one problem. This is one million dollars, per soldier, per year. So we're talking now, with a combined total of nearly 100,000 US troops, of 100 billion dollar a year commitment to Afghanistan, just for the deployment.
100 billion dollars would buy an enormous amount of infrastructure improvements in the United States, and/or health care, and security improvements here. I think that the best way to secure the United States is securing our ports, better intelligence - that's the way plots have been interrupted.
And, you know, the other thing is just from a practical standpoint, with a guerrilla war in Afghanistan, the military itself has said that essentially you need, for a country that size with that population, 550 to 600 thousand troops to pacify the country.
OCP: We'd need a draft to get that.
Hedrick: You would need a draft to get that, and there's no way the American people would tolerate a draft for this kind of intervention. And so what we've got is a system where the same families are impacted over and over again with repeat deployments, we've got... You know, an interesting thing on that million dollar price tag - Soldiers aren't paid a million dollars, soldiers are paid 15 or 20 thousand a year. There is a tremendous war profit being made off of this operation by a host of corporations, in addition to incredible corruption on the part of the Afghan government.
OCP: Yeah I understand Blackwater (or Xe, now) is more active out there than ever.
Hedrick: I don't think their business has slowed since they became Xe.
OCP: Hasn't slowed since Obama took over.
Hedrick: And frankly, I disagree with the Administration, I'd rather see the money invested here, and I'd rather see help delivered through selected non-governmental organizations in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
We've found ourselves in bed with a corrupt regime that is compromised with drug traffickers, and I'm not surprised that our enemies there are able to use our presence as a recruiting tool, given who we are currently aligned with in Afghanistan.
OCP: So Calvert, your opponent. Where does he stand on all this?
Hedrick: Oh, he says there should be 40,000 troops added instead of 30,000, and that there should be no timeline for their withdrawal. I think not only do we need to have a plan for exiting, but clearly I think that sending another 40,000 would be even more irresponsible than the current... uh...
OCP: Irresponsibility.
Hedrick: Yeah. The current plan. So, in that regard, I think Mr. Calvert and I will have a really strong contrast between each other.
OCP: Do you know if he has ever voted against a military adventure?
Hedrick: No, he never has.
OCP: And conversely, do you know how he managed to stay out of Vietnam, having graduated high school in 1971 at the height of the war? (His office "has no idea.")
Hedrick: No, but I know he's not a veteran.
OCP: Does he have any family in the military?
Hedrick: I'm unaware of any family members. I don't know.
OCP: Well, those of us who don't need to mind our manners - bloggers, for example - call that being a chickenhawk - to always be eager to send other folks and their kids off to fight unnecessary wars, having avoided serving when it was your turn.
Hedrick: Well, he certainly has no compunction about sending other people's children, and all I know is we've had nine deployments in our family, and I think it's way past time for control to be turned over to the Iraqis when it comes to that war. And in Afghanistan... I think it's a really misguided course, damaging to the long-term political, financial, military... there's hardly an interest for the United States that is not damaged by this. We should have listened to Mr. Gorbachev's comment when he was asked what the Russians got out of Afghanistan, and he said something like, "Ten thousand casualties and the highest heroin addiction rate in Europe."
It's a misguided policy and we need to get our guys and women home.
Health Care Reform
OCP: I know you prefer a single-payer system for health care, like I do. So it's been pretty frustrating this past year watching the "reform" effort just getting weaker and weaker, not even starting out from single-payer, and then giving up in compromise after compromise till we don't even have the "public option" any more. And now, after the Massachusetts upset, it looks like they might even give up on reform altogether.
I guess some in Congress right now want to just go ahead and pass the flawed, compromised Senate bill while they still can, and try to improve it later; and some want to start again from scratch and make a better bill; some want to pass a bunch of small reforms individually... Anyway, if you were in Congress right now, what do you think your position would be on proceeding with health care reform?
Hedrick: I think the options are all poor at this point, and it's unforseeable what the final compromise will be. My preference, as you say, is a single-payer option, which I believe we need to see. The public option - a strong public option - was the compromise position, so now that that has been removed from the bill, aside from the...
OCP: Or the Medicare Buy-in at 55, that was sounding good for a while...
Hedrick: Well, a good public option could be done, I believe, through reconciliation in the Senate, and I think you could find the votes to do it. What they ought to be looking at is a slow implementation by lowering the Medicare age every year or two or three - if we could lower the Medicare age to 55, to be implemented in a couple of years, that would give the Federal Government time to ramp up and include those folks in the plan. And then a few years later, to drop it to 50 or 45.
OCP: A lot of it could be paid for by eliminating all that waste and fraud they've discovered in Medicare...
Hedrick: I certainly believe that, and by rescinding President Bush' tax cuts on the wealthy, I believe that it's an issue of priorities. You know, I'm not suggesting that we need to return to President Eisenhower's tax structure...
OCP: He was such a liberal...
Hedrick: The very wealthiest in the country, those who made over 3 million dollars a year, paid a much higher tax rate back then. But over the decades we've shifted the burden from the very wealthy and most able to pay, and put it onto the backs of middle-class and working-class families. And that's where the money can be found to pay for healthcare, and a whole host of other services that we need.
But, I would lower the Medicare age. That's something that people are familiar with, it's accessible, physicians are used to dealing with it, it's a single payer system that we already have a model for.
OCP: Rightwingers are arguing now that Medicare is going bankrupt...
Hedrick: Well, you need to have cost controls, and that's a problem with the bill that's come out of the Senate - it doesn't address costs. And it turns it into a tremendous boondoggle for insurers. I mean, no wonder the insurance and pharmaceutical companies seem to be on board with this plan, because they're locking in millions of new customers.
OCP: They have enough money to support it and pretend to fight it at the same time; either way they win.
Hedrick: It's locked in with the mandate that you have to have coverage, you have to buy it, and the Federal Government may subsidize it for some people and that's all right, but it's like the Medicare D plan for prescription drug coverage, where we pay full price for those pharmaceuticals, it doesn't allow bulk discounting, it was a huge boondoggle for the drug companies.
Certain institutions and individuals have profited off third-world poverty and misery for so long that...
No, wait. Let me start with the good news. The United States (God bless us) has already forgiven its own Haiti debts, and in July of last year, some international organizations, such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, as well as some Paris Club creditors, agreed to cancel over $1 billion of the country's debt.
But that still leaves a crippling burden of another 1 billion which this most impoverished nation in the hemisphere will never be able to repay as it starts again rebuilding "from below zero" after January's apocalyptic earthquakes. So there's a movement afoot to get the remaining creditors (the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, and countries like Taiwan and Venezuela) to cancel the rest.
And here are two petitions you can sign to help in this movement:
Remember, most of Haiti's debt was racked up during the cruel and corrupt dictatorial regimes of theDuvaliers (unelected torturers propped up by moneyed foreign interests we won't name just now.)
And as is so often the case (see Chile post-Pinochet, Argentina post-Dirty War generals) the victimized populations, just when they find themselves free of the tyrannies that have enslaved, tortured and murdered them for decades, are forced to pay back hundreds of millions, sometimes billions of debt racked up by their tormentors, money that often disappeared with them and their dirtbag families to safe foreign havens.
One of the great, long-term crimes of the late 20th century, documented most thoroughly and memorably in Naomi Klein's masterpiece The Shock Doctrine, was the way international lenders like the IMF and World Bank would constantly - especially just after some natural or man-made disaster - offer a huge loan to a desperate third-world government - a loan they could never hope to repay but also could not turn down - on the strict conditions that they undergo what the lenders themselves called economic "shock therapy." This always included cutting all popular social services, privatizing and selling off all public assets (Hello Arnold & OC Fair) and opening up the nation to unregulated foreign investment and exploitation.
Since these policies are universally unpopular with the populations in question, they generally require a despotic government to carry them out, or at the very least, sneaky-ass undemocratic processes. (Hello, Arnold & OC Fair!)
The IMF's first reaction to this Haiti earthquake was, indeed, to offer another huge loan with strings attached... but then they had second thoughts and made it a grant. This, in combination with their partial forgiveness last July of Haiti's debt, make us think the unthinkable: are we seeing new, praiseworthy behavior? Naomi hopes so.
The Jubilee movement - so named in honor of the Judeo-Christian tradition (in both Old and New Testaments) of erasing debt each seventh year - the "Year of Jubilee" - has been pressing for years now for the erasure of Third World debt, and they give many compelling reasons for this call. Much, in some cases all of the principal on these debts has been repaid, but crippling interest rates keeps these nations in debt forever and prevents them from investing in their own people and economies. And the bankers and investors who make these loans, well, they will continue to get along swimmingly as they always have, Jubilee or no.
The full Jubilee idea may be too radical for you. But Haiti had been making great progress in recent years in the fight against poverty and injustice, and has now suffered biblical misfortune. So if debt cancellation is called for anywhere it's there, and now. Rather than having decades more of misery and refugees on our doorstep, let's call a HAITIAN JUBILEE! Sign those petitions.
What were the Senate Democrats (except our Lou) thinking? Sure, when the culture of the single-passenger, gas-guzzling automobile dies away from its own unsustainability, that will be a good thing for the Earth and all living things. But now is not the time to be forcing struggling Californians to pay more for parking as they desperately search for work!
This is exactly the tone-deaf social engineering, divorced from the realities of everyman, that folks hate about liberals, and makes it that much harder for folks to trust us when we attempt something that will really help them, like health care reform.
Now I hear there's no danger this will take effect anyway as Arnold has promised a veto - this makes it even dumber! Why shoot yourselves in the foot over a totally symbolic gesture? "Democrats voted to take away our free parking!" is exactly what I don't want to be hearing this Fall, as we try to flip the 68th and 70th AD's.
All I can figure is this, something I've never thought or said before, but it feels oddly liberating to say: Democrats are owned by the environmental lobby as surely as Republicans are owned by banks and oil companies. ONE MORE REASON TO VOTE FOR FAIR ELECTIONS THIS JUNE 8!
Everybody call our lone OC Dem Jose Solorio at (714) 939-8469, ask him to vote against this lame-ass bill, and maybe he can talk some of his Assembly buddies out of it as well. After all, what can the Sierra Club do to punish them - give money to some Republican who's always bad on the environment?
Worried about your local schools? Especially since the governor has proposed another slash and burn budget and school districts face even more cuts. Anaheim Union High School District Trustee Jordan Brandman will speak and answer your questions about the challenges facing our public schools. He will also share innovative ideas for increasing revenue.
Orange County has an exciting new candidate for the 68th Assembly District - Phu Nguyen. Phu's background in community action and leadership is too extensive to list here - so we've invited him to share his story and campaign plans in person. The 68th AD includes all or part of Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley,Garden Grove, Westminster,Stanton, Anaheim and Newport Beach. Let's help him win in November! His campaign website is http://www.votephu.com
Plus - lots of important announcements, a report on DFA-OC committees, news on upcoming community projects, petitions to sign.
Our monthly collection! Each month we collect items to support groups serving the community. This month you have a choice - bring your donation for one or all of the following:
For Catholic Worker in Santa Ana and its guests: A new or used jacket,coat, sweater or rain gear for the homeless.
For the Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach - towels andDawn liquid. A recent oil spill is killing and endangering birds. The center needs towels and Dawn dishwashing liquid to take care of the sickened birds.(Only Dawn works!)
Meeting Details: Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Social segment starts at 6:30; meeting starts at 7:15. We meet on the enclosed, heated patio and recommend a coat or jacket. There is no charge and no requirement to order food or beverage, The menu is diverse and the food is tasty. Billing is by table but you may use cash or credit card.
Democracy for America-Orange County works to elect progressive candidates to local, state and federal offices. We work within the community to find progressive solutions to problems and we take direct action to support local non-profits serving the community. If you have any questions, please contact Susan Kopicki, sckopicki@gmail.com or 949/872-0966.
Democracy For America-Orange County
Wednesday Feb. 3 Meeting!
7:15 (Social at 6:30)
Karl Strauss Brewery
901 South Coast Drive, Costa Mesa
And You Are Invited!
Assemblyman Jim Silva (AD67) has been one of the heroes of the OC Fairgrounds debacle. He was the only OC legislator to vote no on the sale in the first place.
Silva has always been an outspoken friend of Orange County Parks. Witness his testimony in a hearing on the bill to stop the sale:
"I went through a similar situation in 1995 when Orange County was going through a bankruptcy and a lot of our county buildings and county property were requested to be put on the block to be sold. I was against it at the time because I believe future generations will be using our beaches, our parks and our fairgrounds. Once the public loses a beach, a park, a fairground, the public will never get them back because of the cost involved. I also believe that the Fairgrounds would be considered by the state of California as a regional asset.
The example I like to use is the Huntington Beach Pier. The pier is owned by the city. Surveys show that 85% of the people who walk out on the Huntington Beach Pier are from outside of Orange County. I feel that pier is a regional asset just like I feel that the Fair is a regional asset for the state of California. The sale will result in one time money. We have an obligation to future generations. It would be a travesty to sell it."
He also wrote an op-ed in the Daily Pilot blasting the sale.
Please thank Jim Silva for doing the right thing from the beginning:
DISTRICT OFFICE
17011 Beach Blvd, Suite 570
Huntington Beach, CA 92647
714-843-4966, 714-843-6375 fax
CAPITOL OFFICE
State Capitol, Room 2170
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-319-2067, 916-319-2167 fax
So, I spent a big chunk of last Saturday at the grand opening of Bill Hedrick's new Riverside campaign office. The event was standing room only and spilling into the corridors with Riverside Democrats eager to help Bill outdo his amazing 2008 showing, when with no institutional support he came within under 5000 votes (2%) of defeating 15-year incumbent Ken Calvert.
The crowd was a multiracial rainbow reflective of Riverside’s diverse demographics: one comely black woman even tried to convince me she was a “blue person from Avatar,” but I was having none of it. Riverside’s popular Democratic mayor Ron Loveridge strode about shaking hands, and we heard stirring speeches from Assembly candidates Jose Medina and Dennis White, but none to match fireball Dr. Rita Ramirez-Dean (running for San Bernardino Superintendent of Schools.)
The 44th Congressional District is a grotesque gerrymandered mooncalf, 80% of whose population is in Riverside County – that’s including the cities of Corona, Norco, and Riverside itself (now a majority-Democrat town.) In this part of the district, Bill prevailed by 5% in ’08.
But from there the district stretches a shriveled appendage deep into Southernmost Orange County, grasping Richard Nixon’s San Clemente, the wealthy half of San Juan Capistrano (that’s the inland side of the freeway) and the Real Housewives of Coto de Caza. These folks vote at rates approaching 90%, and overwhelmingly and unquestioningly check off any name with an “R” next to it, which cost Bill the few thousand votes he needed to prevail.
So we Democrats need to make two things happen this year – greater registration and turnout in the vast Riverside portion of the district, and a little education in the South OC on the topic of what a hapless and compromised clown their “nine-term backbencher” really is. For as much as I prefer, and intend, to write about the strengths of Hedrick, the story is just incomplete without a quick look at:
The Manifold Failings of Ken Calvert
(short version)
Now that the auction is over it is important to understand that flawed Assembly Bill (ABX4 22) authorized the Department of General Services (DGS) to sell the OC Fairgrounds, it did not mandate that it be sold. This process has been the poster child for how NOT to sell state properties.
ABX4 22 originally had the support of the vast majority of the legislature, including the Orange County delegation. However, once it became evident that those lobbying for the sale used, as Assemblyman Jose Solorio wrote to the Governor, "...misinformation, misrepresentation, conflicts of interest (and) questionable legal and ethical activities..." the Orange County legislators quickly changed their positions and now stands squarely behind Assembly Bill 1590, which would cancel the sale.
AB1590 is an urgency bill to be heard Jan 21 - Appropriations Committee
Here's what we need from organizations and businesses on your letterhead:
Stormy, in that legislators were trying to reach a deal to pass a budget on a crazy July night. Amidst the mayhem and the deals, shadowy forces were planning a powerful land grab. They wanted the OC Fairgrounds and they were going to get it.
Sometime during that dark night, a deal was made, and language was inserted to budget bill AB4X22 that would allow the state to sell the Orange County Fairgounds, a public resource in the middle of Costa Mesa that actually makes money. It was said that the money from the sale would help the state balance the budget.
Most legislators had little knowledge of the deal and the public had no chance to cry foul. The bill passed on July 23rd and was signed by the Governor on July 28th. Only former OC Supervisor Jim Silva (AD-67) voted against the sale.
Turns out that the shadowy group was led by Fair Board members and their consultants, who wanted to form a private foundation to buy the Fair so they could operate it without public oversight and for their own profit.
This past week, OC Legislators have learned more about the deal, and discovered that all was not right. At the same time they were receiving hundreds of letters, calls, and faxes opposing the sale and met with a group of OC community leaders.
Now, one by one, they've come around and most of them are opposing the sale.
Governor Schwarzenegger appears to be the only one whose still in favor of the sale, and sources say it could be because he's not getting the information and hasn't seen the hundreds of letters and faxes his office has received opposing the sale.
Well, not quite Christmas at Yosemite but close enough for me. My family spent one day in Yosemite National Park this week to celebrate the Holiday with our daughter and it was our vacation for the year. It was a tough year, with a lot of heartbreak for progressives.
But we wanted to show our daughter what was worth saving because we knew it was going to save her some day. That what we fight for was going to be there for her if we continued to fight for the planet. I felt like I was in Church most of the day as I walked about the beautiful snow filled valley. It was magical in such a way that my heart wanted to burst.
Our six year old had never been in snow before, so it was our Christmas gift to our family. So much felt wrong this year, from the months of unemployment to the unfix-able furnace. Chronic illness and chronic pain. I have been struggling for a while but just a couple of days in the mountains was enough to refill my spirits.
Merry Christmas from the OC Progressive. I hope the coming year brings us better news, more victories than defeats and that we can see more gifts in the world around us and attempt to fight for small battles as well as the big ones. Image heavy by the way :-)
This is a follow up diary to the a diary I wrote last week about a fire that consumed most of the Annie Mae Trip Soup Kitchen right before their big annual Holiday Party for the needy of North Orange County.
Many people came to help with the party and it was a huge success, there were smiles for miles and toys were handed out and meals were served to many who were in dire need but the Kitchen does more than that, it serves meals daily to the many who are in need and it still needs a lot more help.
So this is the urgent email I got this morning. Unfortunately there isn't much to be done about the call for help today but I wanted to alert people that there is till more to be done.
All the School Districts are facing huge budget shortfalls again this fiscal year. The CUSD is hoping to balance their budget by cutting teacher's pay, which on the surface doesn't sound like a big deal, especially when you see that there have been lay offs and administrators have already taken 10% pay cuts already to balance last years budget short fall.
But it's much more complicated than that and the CUSD Board is over simplifying the issue to make the Teacher's look like they aren't willing to sacrifice for their students. Anyone who knows a teacher already understands how much teacher's are giving up, from the growth of class sizes to seeing their friends laid off. They've seen combination classes and had to spend more of their own money to buy essential classroom supplies that are no longer in the budget. They've already taken pay cuts by doing more work for less money.
Don't know what to do for a last minute gift? I know a perfect gift for a teacher or a friend, what about your postman or the babysister who helps at the last minute? Do you have an Aunt who lives far away who always thinks about you?
This is the gift for anyone who you aren't quite sure what to get for them. Here is the perfect gift with a great beneficiary, The Childs-Pace Cookbook with more than 140 recipes.
Photos Courtesy Joe Shaw
Email Susan Kopicki at sckopicki@gmail.com with your order - $10 for the cookbook and $3 for shipping and handling.
About Childs-pace
Childs-pace Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit corporation, operates three school-age, after-school programs in Costa Mesa, Buena Park and Anaheim. Our programs are funded primarily by a contract with the State Department of Education and many families qualify for free or subsidized care.
Childs-pace began in 1978 as a center-based child-care program to benefit school-age children from moderate or low-income families. It continues to serve this same group today.
Children attend the center throughout their elementary and junior high school years. They enjoy consistent, reliable care by educators who focus on each child's developmental needs and offer them a positive community of peers through these important years.
Supervisors Bill Campbell and John Moorlach are "big idea" guys. Campbell has promoted a county-wide wifi plan that nobody wants. "Big Dig" Bill pushed a ridiculously expensive elevated toll road above the Santa Ana River for years, and when that was ruled out, he promoted an even more expensive tunnel underneath the Santa Ana River. Moorlach came up with a cockamamie plan to merge Seal Beach, Rossmoor, Sunset Beach, and Los Alamitos without actually getting support from any of the areas, floated an idea to dismantle the county park system, and is vainly spending millions of county tax dollars testing a legal theory that would reverse decisions on pensions by previous supervisors.
Neither supervisor has a humility problem, and both of them seem to be able to ignore common sense, expert advice, or feedback from their constituents if they really like an idea.
So now it's crunch time for the Orange County Fairgrounds and we've got the two "big idea" guys out there talking about buying the Fairgrounds. Like many of their ideas, there's an element of magical thinking.
First of all, they don't have the money, nor do any of their potential partners. The County and the City of Costa Mesa are making deep and painful cuts to their budgets, but they can't cut expenses as fast as revenues are dropping, so they're burning through their reserve funds.
If you're a big idea guy, not having the money to do something isn't a problem. You can just borrow the money and pay it back out of future "profits" from the fair. Simple, direct, and according to the County Treasurer, Chriss Street, guys with lots of money are ready to issue debt.
There are just a few catches.
First, the County really doesn't want to own or manage the Fairgrounds directly. They'd rather share the risk with the City of Costa Mesa, and with anybody else who they can get, including the Coast Community College District.So they'll create a new agency to run it.
Unfortunately,since a new Joint Powers Agency would be starting up with no assets, no working capital and no credit history, the interest rate would have a significant risk premium. No problem, just pledge the full faith and credit of the County, promising to make the payments if the new agency that runs the Fair doesn't generate revenue.
Then there's a working capital problem. Right now the Fairgrounds has both operating funds and capital reserves, millions of dollars that cover current expenses and have funded major long-term improvements to facilities. So this new agency would need to borrow not just to buy the Fairgrounds but also borrow enough money to pay deposits, pay the bills, and pay the employees, and develop a capital program to pay for maintaining the asphalt and the roofs, painting the buildings, et cetera.
And let's not forget that lenders will look for a structured reserve for new bonds that will always keep at least a year's worth of payments in a trust account.
Then of course, there are fees to the bond guys and maybe some form of insurance that comes with a premium.
And this new agency will need staff, attorneys, insurance, accountants, software. Some of this will transition from the 32nd Agricultural District, but that's another element of negotiation where the state Department of General Services wouldn't be doing their job if they didn't try to squeeze every dollar they could from a new entity.
Generally a deal like this would have a pro forma budget that would break down all these costs, but with the speed of this process and the exception granted to governments under the Brown Act for real property negotiation, this is something that nobody outside the government has seen, if it exists at all.
So we don't really have any idea how much debt will need to be serviced by the Fairgrounds or what it's going to cost.
But let's take a guess. Let's say that this new agency bids 30 million, and that the other needs - the financing costs, the bond reserves, the operating capital and the transition costs add another 15 million to that cost. Chriss Street has used a number of 750 thousand for every ten million in borrowing, which means that the Fair would need to come up with around $3.4 million per year for debt service.
What happens to the finances of the Fairground with that level of debt?
The ill-fated scheme to buy this with a non-profit imagined that that there would be some entrepreneurial magic - that eliminating bureaucratic nonsense would generate savings and increase revenue. Maybe this new Joint Powers Agency has the same magic wand they can wave over things to generate more money, but there's certainly nothing in the county's history of managing contracts or procurement that would indicate a higher level of competence than the current set-up. In fact, you could make the case that the County would do a worse job.
In reality, servicing the debt will require more debt, which would take a combination of higher price for events, more events, more customers for existing events, and really a lot more, because higher prices won't necessarily increase net revenue (See any introductory Economics textbook for a simple price/demand curve or look up the concept of price elasticity.)
Big ideas are great until they meet reality.The reality is that the Fairgrounds works just fine the way it is, in large part because it is debt free and the public owns the Fairgrounds. Granted, it would work better with a better governance structure and a new CEO.
Any sale saddles the Fairgrounds with debt that will permanently change the nature of the property over time, and not in a good way.
Somehow, somewhere, we'll pay for it, as a special tax on Orange County, brought to us by those folks who keep claiming they are against taxes.
Yes, that's right, According to Good and USA Today the quality of meat from Jack in the Box is of a better quality than that served in lunches everyday in our public schools.
As standards at fast food chains have had to improve to allay the public fears of contaminated meat because of past scares, school lunch standards have lagged behind. I guess kids don't complain as much as fast food customers and public school cafeterias don't have to worry as much about their bottom line.
As a result, the audit says, some of the 226 students who got diarrhea and other salmonella-related symptoms "may have consumed the (tainted) products in school." About 46 were hospitalized.
Poor quality food and a system that can't keep track of food safety issues fast enough to keep kids safe.
The California Coastal Commission, established by a vote of Californians in 1972 has been instrumental in assuring that all Californians have access to the coast. The Coastal Commission also deals with issues of lower cost visitor accommodations, terrestrial and marine habitat protection, visual resources, landform alteration, agricultural lands, commercial fisheries, industrial uses, water quality, offshore oil and gas development, transportation, development design, power plants, ports, and public works.
I was able to sit in and participate on an interview process with representatives of environmental groups to develop recommendations for the Senate Rules Committee, which was responsible for selecting an elected official from Orange or Los Angeles County, based on a process detailed in state law.
It was a fascinating experience, which I can't describe in detail because of ground rules that encouraged people to speak very freely.
But the review of the nominated candidates produced a short list of recommended candidates, a list that was subsequently endorsed by 39 local, state, and national conservation groups from around California.
The Senate Rules Committee chose one of those three candidates, Council Member Richard Bloom of Santa Monica, and he was sworn in this week.
When it comes to agencies as complex as the Coastal Commission, a good Commissioner needs a daunting skill set.
First is dedication, a commitment of time, and a work ethic that allows you to plow through boxes of documents to prepare for a multi-day meeting of the Coastal Commission.
Second, is a mix of intelligence and experience of a modern-day Renaissance man, comfortable with science, law, politics and development.
Third, is the skill of a gifted politician - common sense coupled with a nose for bullshit and a real respect for all of the individuals and groups who will come before the Commission, sometimes in sharp disagreement.
Fourth is an understanding of the law including the responsibilities and limits of the Coastal Act.
Fifth is a dedication to carrying out the letter of the law ethically, openly and with great respect for the quasi-judicial role of a commissioner, particularly with regard to ex parte communications.
In the interview, I found Mr. Bloom to be a gifted public servant and a great communicator - thoughtful, articulate and more than willing to admit ignorance on particular subjects. But most of all, I was impressed by his willingness to learn, to question and to challenge.
One conservationist noted recently,
In a year's time there have been four great appointments to the Coastal Commission, two by the Senate Rules Committee (Bloom and Mirkarimi), and two by the Speaker of the Assembly (Stone and Sanchez).
One sad note was that all four of the elected officials recommended from Orange County were rated "unacceptable".
In the 
total of nearly 100,000 US troops, of 100 billion dollar a year commitment to Afghanistan, just for the deployment.
ent.
be no timeline for their withdrawal. I think not only do we need to have a plan for exiting, but clearly I think that sending another 40,000 would be even more irresponsible than the current... uh...
Massachusetts upset, it looks like they might even give up on reform altogether.
doesn't address costs. And it turns it into a tremendous boondoggle for insurers. I mean, no wonder the insurance and pharmaceutical companies seem to be on board with this plan, because they're locking in millions of new customers.
Certain institutions and individuals have profited off third-world poverty and misery for so long that...
Remember, most of Haiti's debt was racked up during the cruel and corrupt dictatorial regimes of 
The IMF's first reaction to this Haiti earthquake was, indeed, to offer another huge loan with strings attached... but then they had second thoughts and made it a grant. This, in combination with their partial forgiveness last July of Haiti's debt, make us think the unthinkable: are we seeing new, praiseworthy behavior? 
So, I spent a big chunk of last Saturday at the grand opening of 
This is a follow up diary to the a 
