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Here’s something for you to read about and discuss: it’s called “California’s Charter School Fiasco.”
Here’s a taste:
There was no effort here to improve education in California. It was simply greed driven corruption that used a poorly written charter law to purloin tax dollars.
College Preparatory Middle School was one of those out of district schools granted a charter by Steve Van Zant’s Mountain Empire School District. It opened with 83 uniformed students in a church in La Mesa. They now appear to be trying to execute the infamous charter school real estate scam.
The San Diego Union reported on January 31, 2016 that College Preparatory Middle School wants to build a major new facility in Spring Valley. The Union describes the financial proposal:
“Under the financial arrangement, a Utah charter school developer and a Delaware subsidiary of a real estate trust headquartered in Missouri would finance the project with millions of California education dollars. College Prep would lease the new campus from the financiers for more than $620,000 a year, or 9.5 percent of the project cost. The charter could buy the campus after five years for 125 percent of the projected $6.8 million cost of the project.”
This is not about improving education or providing choice. This is solely about profits.
Click the link and search on the word “Gulen” to see what problem OC is having right now.
This is your belated Weekend Open Thread. Talk about that or talk about the March Madness. Those are the only two acceptable topics, except for others that are decent and decorous.
This is a much more important issue than people realize. On one hand you have predatory invividuals (the charters) on the other hand you have an even more predatory group (the CTA)! Meanwhile parents are stuck with TERRIBLE schools for these kids. And as usual it’s the poor kids who pay the steepest price.
Huffpo from last Wednesday — http://www.huffingtonpost.com/abraham-r-wagner/turkeys-three-pronged-war_b_9460700.html — adds a bit more detail:
Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Clinton Foundation have taken in hundreds of thousands of dollars from Gülen’s followers, including from Recep Ozkan, former president of the Gülen-connected Turkish Cultural Center.
Mr. Ozkan has been identified as a key Gülen operative in New York. According to the Clinton Foundation website, he contributed between $500,000 and $1 million. Unsurprisingly, former President Bill Clinton has appeared at Gülen movement events and praised the founder’s contributions to world peace and inter-religious understanding.
The ties also go directly to the Democratic presidential candidate. The same Mr. Ozkan hosted then-Sen. Hillary Clinton at Ramadan dinners in 2006 and 2007. He contributed $25,000 to her 2008 presidential campaign. As an executive of JIG Corp, Everglobel Partners and Baharu Inc., he gave $25,000 to the pro-Clinton Ready PAC in 2014 and topped it with extra $5,400 last year.
http://gulenpoliticians.blogspot.com/
Followers Of A Mysterious Turkish Islamic Cleric Have Donated Heavily To Hillary’s Campaign And Family Charity
http://dailycaller.com/2015/11/22/followers-of-a-mysterious-turkish-islamic-cleric-have-donated-heavily-to-hillarys-campaign-and-family-charity/#ixzz43Y36Ev6Q
A Congressional investigation is underway looking into Gülen’s purported illegal campaign contributions. Investigators are looking into millions of dollars to congressional and presidential candidates, including huge donations to the Clinton Foundation. It appears that Gülen’s manipulation and corruption rule book has crossed the Atlantic and is now undermining the US political system.
WaPo –
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/abraham-r-wagner/turkeys-three-pronged-war_b_9460700.html
Vern and Greg- Just wondering why no blog post about Joe Dunn’s ballot statement (or lack thereof) It seems like a big story. I usually look to find out what is going on Orange Juice first, but haven’t seen anything.
Thank you
Really? OK I will look into it.
Perhaps haven’t looked very hard. It’s covered in a comment and a discussion in to my wrap-up on filings.
Given how behind I am with stories I’ve planned to write, between work and the Presidential election process (where I’m spending lots of time calling voters) I’m not inclined to devote a story to it — despite how much his opponents might want to see it covered. It was either an error or a deliberate omission that I can’t understand; either way, he will still not have a ballot statement in the weeks and months ahead, so coverage is not that urgent.
Tomorrow night, (3/22) the Anaheim Council will consider-
20. Waive the sealed bid requirement of Council Policy 4.0 and authorize the Purchasing Agent to issue a purchase order to Vigilant Solutions, in the amount of $69,994.80, for ten stationary automated license plate recognition camera systems to be distributed and deployed as needed for law enforcement use within Orange County.
What, IF ANY, are the limits and guidelines on the USE of these devices, AND THE DATA GATHERED and how/IF it is secured / retained ? The City has shown little restraint to becoming the Toy Box for “Santa Claus”, Homeland Security Administration. It already has been revealed the City has (and presumably uses) “Stingers” and “DiRT Boxes” for cell snooping. ANY rules on these, either ? NOT ONE WORD in the Staff Report !
Just happened across a YouTube vid on cell snooping in the UK, FWIW-
https://youtu.be/rzBWoVh4qhk
Speaking of things MISSING, Item 6 seeks to REPLACE the biannual/quarterly review / direction of the City’s $10K/month LOBBYIST, with an ANNUAL, ……AFTER – THE – FACT… Staff Report “summarizing all activity on measures the City HAS taken a position on”. So if you are mad at deprivation of voting input of things like crony tax rebates to well-connected hotelliers, IMAGINE your joy that YOU WON’T EVEN FIND OUT how YOUR TAX DOLLARS were used to push or stop STATE AND FEDERAL LEGISLATION, until LONG AFTER IT’S TOO LATE ! ISN’T living in the People’s Republic.. er, I mean City of Anaheim, just GREAT ?? You’d better think so if you know what’s good for you ! Economic Engines ON ! Vroommm! Vroommmm!
Update : MANY THANKS to Council Member James Vanderbilt, for getting a CONTINUANCE on this proposal, giving Anaheim Residents time (til next meeting) to look at the “Legislative Platform” and learn WHAT type of LAWS the City is going to push FOR or AGAINST – ON YOUR DIME, and let the Council KNOW what YOU want, before next Meeting’s vote !
http://www.anaheim.net/2527/Agendas (pdf under March 22 meeting, Item 6, will try and post direct pdf link, this browser I’m using is not showing it)
The BIG RUB is, while ALL these Goals SOUND JUST WONDERFUL, the LOBBYIST (and / or City Staff) gets to JUDGE (or BEND ) the link between the vague ‘GOALS” and any particular bill up for support, and YOU ONLY find out WAY AFTER the Legislative Session CLOSES, what “You Supported” (actually YOUR TAX $$ PAID THEM to support/oppose )!! (AND you find out TOO LATE about the DETAILS AND COST! )Check it out, – TIME FLIES !!!
Good job BBRW! On a different subject, any news on who is replacing Houston?
Bernie’s Political Revolution is not being covered…in Anaheim…after all, as the late Gil Scott-Heron said, the revolution will not be televised…..
http://ban.jo/Election/Bernie-Sanders/20160319/Rally-For-Bernie-Sanders-In-Anaheim-CA-Anaheim/
If that’s directed at me and Vern, sometimes we are just too busy. Anyone who went is welcome to report on it — especially if they have photos.
Call it the “Million Student March.”
That’s the theme and call to action heralded by over 4,000 charter public school leaders, parents, teachers, supporters and advocates who gathered at the Long Beach Convention Center last week to celebrate the growth of parental school choice in public education.
Hosted by the California Charter Schools Association, its president, Jed Wallace, declared, “Over the last 20 years, charter schools have acted as a proven disruptive force for good in the public education system. California charter leaders are entrepreneurial thinkers who are scaling groundbreaking and innovative approaches to the way teachers teach and students learn.”
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/charter-709109-schools-school.html
Attacks on Gulen donations below; advocacy of charter schools here. The two halves of your brain should start communicating with each other. (On second thought, why bother?)
And the Federal Watchdogs are overseeing the Charter Schools in what
manor ? If not the Federal HHS agency then who in the states educational programs are overseeing these programs ?
( http://truthinmedia.com/exclusive-fbi-whistleblower-and-teacher-expose-islamic-gulen-movement-infiltrating-u-s-through-charter-schools/ )
This Charter school franchise is not just in California, it’s all over the states. How many teachers have HI-B visas too?
From Yahoo-
http://hellogiggles.com/photos-abandoned-disney-water-park-will-haunt-dreams/
We’ll be talking about an initiative to end charter schools in CA at our next GPOC meeting:
https://greenpartyoc.wordpress.com/coming-events/
Still waiting on the ballot statement story. Add Lou Correa saving lives and putting out fires in the district to your to do list ticker.
Liberal OC has the story.
http://www.theliberaloc.com/2016/03/23/correa-puts-out-apartment-fire-in-santa-ana-saves-three-people/comment-page-1/#comment-255745
Wait — when did you change your name?
Greg as an independent thinker who values honesty and forthrightness more than most people, I think you most of all would want to report on all aspects of the 46th CD race, not just what Carina tells you to print. Just sayin’
Haven’t talked to Carina (or any intermediary) recently about the race. Sorry to disappoint.
Do we know each other? Most people so knowledgeable are ones I’ve heard of before.
Nice of him to do that, but do you KNOW anything about the duties and requirements of the OFFICE HE IS RUNNING FOR ? I don’t believe it is “fireman”, is it ?
Speaking of ripoffs, this just popped up on YouTube-
https://youtu.be/eHgbRYgpGGs
Get enough popcorn for 45 minutes….. and a barf bag.
*Lou Correa needed a news bump. So he joined the Santa Ana Volunteer Firefighters Association. He didn’t know that Joe Dunn was already a founding member.