Commander and Supervisor

Orange County Supervisor Shawn Nelson has reportedly requested a concealed weapon permit from OC Sheriff Sandra Hutchens.  R. Scott Moxley spoke with Nelson and posted the story at OC Weekly.

According to the Fullerton resident, he's already taken all the necessary gun training courses and, once Sheriff Sandra Hutchens formally issues him a permit, will carry a semi-automatic Colt Commander .45 caliber handgun.

Any future lunatic should be warned.







--R. Scott Moxley / OC Weekly

Said Nelson, "I'm a pretty good shot."



"Hey there Supervisor!"

Seriously, I hope Supervisor Nelson gets the CCW permit and that he will continue to be an advocate for the 2nd Amendment.

2 out of 3 OC community college students don't finish

The OC Register is reporting on a study released this week that shows what faculty at community colleges have known for years: 2/3 of all community college students dropped out or otherwise failed to graduate from 2-year colleges within the 6-year period covered by the study. 

Only a quarter of the students will transfer to a university. 

One possible reason for the shortfall that the researchers and those quoted in the article did not mention is the irrelevance of having a degree.  Here I told you about another study that shows how students are learning less and "earning" degrees.

On average, students only learned about 7% more from the beginning of their freshman year to the end of their sophomore year, according to the other study.  By the students' fourth year, 35% demonstrated no significant improvement. 

As young students we are told how important it is to have a degree, usually by someone with several degrees.  Government institutions perpetuate this by requiring a 4-year degree for nearly any management position despite a person's ability or experience.  Don't forget, about 1/3 of the graduates didn't demonstrate any significant improvement from their college experience.

A similar problem exists in the land surveying community wherein those with certifications or professional licenses are promoted even though they lack any leadership skills or the desire to learn new leadership skills. 

In both instances, the newly promoted managers lack certain skills that are not learned in the classroom but through meaningful experience. 

Students, despite their lack of educational degrees, are not stupid.  They all want the degree but then life gets in the way.  Families are created, children to feed, mortgages to pay, etc. 

I always encourage my students (and my own children) to get a degree and I remind them that degrees, even a doctoral, is just the foundation for a life of learning.  Those who stop learning after graduation are the same students who fall into that 35% that didn't improve. 

In my not-so-humble opinion, it's time to revert back to a focus on teaching the basics -reading, writing, and arithmetic- and quit holding the hands of students in their hypersensitive special-interest subjects.

Pedophile Loose In Fullerton

Police seek man in attempted assault of girl, 10
(From the Orange County Register by Alejandra Molina)

FULLERTON – Police are asking for the public's help in locating a 17- to 19-year-old man who attempted to sexually assault a 10-year-old girl.

The incident was reported to Fullerton police on Wednesday at about 12:30 p.m. in the 2200 block of Heterbrink Street, said Fullerton police Cpl. Tim Kandler.

Kandler said a man in a black SUV with beige leather interior pulled up to the curb next to the victim and convinced her to get into the vehicle with him.

Once the girl got in, the man attempted to sexually assault the victim, Kandler said. She broke free and got out of the vehicle by pushing the man's arm.

The man drove off eastbound on Heterbrink Street, Kandler added.

Kandler said that the man was described as a clean shaven Asian man, who the victim believed is of Korean decent.

He is about 5-feet-6 to 5-feet-8-inches tall, 150 pounds with black hair.

The man was wearing a white v-neck t-shirt, denim shorts and thongs. The victim added that the man had a key chain that was long and silver.

Anyone with information is urged to call Detective L. Markoski at 714-738-6358 or the department's front desk at 714-738-6715.

Contact the writer: amolina@ocregister.com or 714-704-3795

Cal State Fullerton Out of Touch with Reality?

Once again CSUF is in the news because of budget cuts. And once again students are stuck holding the bill.

For those who might be new to my blog or have a short memory, here are a few posts about CSUF and the strange way the Administration operates:
Cal State Fullerton President - Lifestyles of Our Rich Public Employees at the El Dorado Ranch

Cal State Fullerton’s Pension Tsunami Shell Game and Our Kid’s Future

The El Dorado Ranch - Is it Public or Private

Cal State Fullerton Reporter Slammed for Speaking Truth


In the most recent OC Register story, several students and professors, none in economics though, spoke out against the cuts and are urging for HIGHER taxes! The students need not worry about higher taxes since it is assumed they would fall into the lowest tax bracket. The professors need not worry either since paying 5%-10% more in taxes is better than taking a 20%-30% cut in pay!

Unfortunately, unless meaningful cuts are made and Sacramento reallocates funding, students and taxpayers are both hurt by the poor financial management of the CSU system.Even the Fullerton Observer Can See the Problems at Cal State Fullerton

Water News from the OC Register

It's been a while since a news-worthy story about Fullerton has graced the pages of the Register.  Today, Brittany Levine has written an article on water rates that mentions Fullerton. 

The gem in the story is this:

POSSIBLE FEES

Even if the claims are denied, it's not clear whether cities can impose new fees to cover the extra work.

Proposition 218, approved by voters in 1996, requires a vote of the people if cities want to implement a new fee.

"If the majority of residents oppose the fees, it's not allowed," said Omar Sandoval, San Juan Capistrano's city attorney. "Then it'll have to come out of the general fund."

Please click HERE to read the article!

Fullerton Water Rates and $70 Luncheons

I'm having a tough time swallowing the notion of an increase in Fullerton's water rates (nearly doubling over the next 10 years) when various agencies and committees connected to Fullerton's source for purchased water spend money putting together a $70 per person luncheon.  I have no idea (and no time to find out) if any tax dollars (or water rate revenue) is being spent for this meeting but it remains a shining example of the disconnect between government administrators (water agency directors) and taxpayers (water rate payers).  



TWO IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Two important announcements:

First, the Water Rate Study will be held at the City Yard (1580 W. Commonwealth Ave.) at 6:30PM tonight and at City Hall tomorrow morning (4/13/2011) at 7:30AM at City Hall.
Please attend the meeting, hear what City Hall has to say and be ready to offer up solutions that do not include doubling our water bill.

You can find the City’s budget at: http://www.cityoffullerton.com/depts/admin_serv/budget/budget.asp

You can find the DRAFT Water Rate Study Report at: http://www.cityoffullerton.com/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=7063

Second, the Planning Department needs your help. I will share my personal feelings about this at a later date but until then, please help. If you don’t pitch in and speak up, imagine who will…

Here is the text of the message from City Hall to YOU:

Community Partners:
The City of Fullerton is inviting residents, property owners, business owners and community groups to help select a consultant for the Downtown Core and Corridors Specific Plan and Program Environmental Impact Report. The goal of the Downtown Core and Corridors project is to develop a vision and plan to guide the future development of the City’s downtown and its major entry corridors, or streets. By creating detailed standards that are aligned with the community-based vision, the design and review process for future projects will be improved as there will be more clarity and direction for the parties involved.

Selecting the right consultant for this project is extremely important, and the City has intentionally created a process where members of the community will be involved in the decision.

In January 2011, the City of Fullerton released a Request for Qualifications for the Downtown Core and Corridors Specific Plan and Program Environmental Impact Report. Twenty consultant teams responded and submitted Statements of Qualifications. On March 30, 2011, an Evaluation Committee (consisting of 10 members of the public appointed by the City Council and 7 City staff members) identified the top three consultant teams. These three consultant teams have been invited for interviews before the Evaluation Committee and the Fullerton community.

At the community interviews, members of the Fullerton community will have the opportunity to hear presentations from the three teams. They can also interact with the consultant teams and ask them questions. Community members will also have the opportunity to fill out evaluation score cards for each team. The score cards will be used by the Evaluation Committee to select the best consultant team for the project.

Details related to the Community Interviews are provided below:

Monday, April 25, 2011

4:00pm – 8:00pm

City of Fullerton Maintenance Services Building

1580 W. Commonwealth Avenue

Please participate in this important process and invite your friends, family, neighbors and co-workers do the same by forwarding this email to them. Together we can insure that the downtown and its entry corridors get the best consultant team for this important project.

For more information, please contact:

Heather Allen, Planning Manager: heathera@ci.fullerton.ca.us or 714.738.6884

Jason Jones, Project Manager: Jason@JonesPlanningandDesign.com or 408-310-7881

Al Zelinka, Community Development Director: alz@ci.fullerton.ca.us or 714.738.3347.

Peter Wesley Lewis

Peter Wesley Lewis | Visit Guest Book

Peter Wesley Lewis, passed away on 4/4/11 at Saddleback Hospital, Laguna Hills. He was born in San Diego on 12/19/1960. Graduated from Troy H.S. and Cal State University Fullerton, in 1979 & 1984 respectively. He leaves the loves of his life, wife, Marianne, son, Wesley, daughter, Alison, and his parents; Emory "Pete" and Diane Lewis. He is predeceased by his grandparents; Lt Commander Emory and Bertha Lewis (USN, ret), maternal grandparents, Captain Robert A. and Louise Dusch (USN ret), and his sister, Lori Louise Lewis Nichols. A celebration of life will be held at 1pm, Palm Sunday, April 17 at the Christ Lutheran Church in Brea.

Relatives and friend may post condolences or favorite memories at newopt.com New Options Funeral Service.