At tonight’s Council meeting, at the request of impatient reformer Dr. Kathleen Treseder, the Irvine Council will decide whether or not to withdraw from Orange County’s Community Choice Aggregation (known at the OC Power Authority.) Coming on the heels of the County’s departure, this move by Irvine COULD spell the death-knell for the agency.
Well, after a first couple years of such incompetence and corruption, can the Agency still be salvaged? Or should we watch it burn, and dance? As people write on their social-media relationship stati, “It’s complicated.” Let’s look at this from some different angles…
New Board Trini, Dr T, Tammy, Chairman Jung, & Casey.
(Objectionably, Don Wagner is still voting too.)
Recently, when thinking about the situation of the OCPA, my thoughts have drifted back to the doomed California High Speed Rail. It sure would be nice for our county to have an environmentally responsible, cost-effective, transparent and accountable Power Authority. And it sure would’ve been nice to have, by this point, High Speed Rail connecting northern and southern California.
These sorts of dream projects highlight three sorts of people or players:
- IDEALISTS who dream of the beautiful and urgent things an honest government could achieve;
- CONSERVATIVES who believe from temperament combined with experience that the government can’t do anything right;
- and, inevitably, the KLEPTOCRATS or PARASITES – the ones who tend to ruin every well-intentioned government project. These folks can smell a gravy train from many many miles away – a chance to amass more power and money for themselves and their friends through no-bid contracts and other shady methods. Derailing High-Speed Rail we had our own Curt Pringle and dozens like him statewide; corrupting the OCPA we had Brian Probolsky, Ryan Baron, and Melahat Rafiei and her disciples.
Then of course the conservatives say “See? We told you so!” while the idealists try their best to clean up and right the ship. We’re going through all that right now. But first… what IS the purpose of Community Choice Aggregates and the OCPA specifically, can they fulfill that purpose and should OJ readers care?
Why Community Choice?
EPA.gov lists the “advantages of community choice aggregation” as:
- Potential retail electric rate reduction.
- Enables rapid shift to greener power resources.
- Local control of electricity generation, which can be responsive to local economic and environmental goals.
- Expands consumer choices.
- Can spur local jobs and renewable energy development.
Those all sound like worthwhile goals, but has the OCPA been achieving them? And if not, could it be made to, and how? The four (mostly new) members of the six-member Board who do believe in the OCPA’s mission emphasize the “green power resources” and climate goals, as well as the goal of “expanding consumer choices” – Board Chairman and Fullerton Mayor Fred Jung, a conservative Democrat, is especially keen on giving customers a choice besides the monopoly of SC Edison.
Fred is still “cautiously optimistic – and emphasize the word CAUTIOUSLY” – that the OCPA’s business model is still viable, under better leadership – “Check back with me in two months,” he says. He hopes Irvine does not vote to leave the agency before then, a move he sees as destructive and premature. Irvine’s Tammy Kim, as well, is not ready to give up on the agency – it is way too early to give up on the necessary reforms, and she feels leaving this early and abruptly violates her fiduciary duties to Irvine ratepayers.
The OCPA’s greatest true believer is Buena Park’s new member Jose “Trini” Castaneda. He was fighting to make the OCPA a reality for nearly a decade, before Irvine took the plunge. He sees the move to green energy as a worldwide and existential imperative, and he fears that if it fails in Orange County, as it has in a FEW other places, the dream could die altogether. What he says he wants to bring to the agency above all is “transparency and accountability” and I believe him. That’s what it’s been lacking most under “current leadership,” “current leadership” being a euphemism for CEO Brian Probolsky, along with attorney Ryan Baron, who recruited Probolsky and protected him until suddenly resigning last week (knowing that his termination was imminent.)
The hapless and utterly unqualified CEO Probolsky, who refuses to quit, has become a lightning rod – a sort of Moby Dick to Dr. Kathleen Treseder‘s Ahab, the fiery climate scientist who has sworn up and down that if and when she is ever able to, she will remove him. Apparently she may not realize that the majority of the Board agrees with her, but wants to accomplish this more deliberatively which may take, yes, a couple more months. You never hear Jung, Tammy or Trini talk about “Probolsky,” they talk about “staffing issues,” because Brian is a rumbling volcano of legal threats. But everyone knows that Probolsky is the mother of all staffing issues.
(The only ally Probolsky has on the Board, the only director left who’s happy with the status quo, is kleptocrat Supervisor Don Wagner – Wagner who plays a conservative on TV but was placed on the Board of Supervisors by uber-klepto Curt Pringle. And new Huntington Beach member Casey McKeon reportedly doesn’t say much at meetings, but is apparently an honest-enough conservative Republican appointed by a Republican-majority council who doesn’t think their town should be in the agency, but there is no reason he should have any affection for a wasteful klepto like Probolsky.)
Irvine Should Not Leave the OCPA Tonight.
I’m running out of time, but I want to say that I hope Kathleen pulls her item tonight (or that it doesn’t pass.) A lot can go wrong if Irvine pulls out now – it could cost the city $7 million, it’ll cost Irvine ratepayers the fees to get back with Edison, it’ll cause hardships for the other three member cities of Fullerton, Buena Park and HB, and it’ll do more to make the whole idea of Community Choice look like a loser. Sure, Irvine will still be stuck in the agency till the summer of ’24, and can change their mind up till then, but HOW FLAKY WILL THAT LOOK? And this is not a good time to look flaky.
I believe my friend Kathleen is being too impatient – I was impatient with HER last month when she voted to STAY in the agency – I reminded her that she’d been “elected as a heat-seeking missile against corruption” and maybe that was true – but I was being impatient and hot-headed myself. She reminds me of one of my favorite Jesus quotes:
The reforms Dr T wants WILL happen, under this new Board, just not quite as quick as she would like. PATIENCE, we can do this!
Vern out. For now. I’ll be back tonight to update on the Irvine desmadre.
Update 7pm
Well, Dr. T. continued her item to Feb 28, because Mike Carroll was absent and she wanted everyone to be there. Public commenters were pretty evenly divided between those who want Irvine to leave because OCPA won’t reform, and those who want Irvine to stay and reform OCPA. Pretty much nobody (in the public at least) claims that OCPA doesn’t need reform. Oh, and I got to hear Eric. Twice!
Okay now on to my piece on “Is Anaheim’s Campaign Finance Reform Unconstitutional Under Citizens United?” [Spoiler alert – NOT!]
Meeting started at 2:00 p.m. Vern. Not, this evening.
KPCC is on Irvine considering removal of city from OCPA on tonight’s agenda.
Irvine needs to get out of OCPA yesterday. They already cost Irvine resident’s money by not doing it the last chance they had. It will be greater than $7 million if they stay and are wrong.
Vern, what happened, did someone spike your coff…er kool-aid??
Mushroom girl for the scalp.
https://twitter.com/KPCC/status/1625556231912886272?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
Why do you call Kathleen “Mushroom Girl?” What did I miss?
Psilocybin? Sounds promising.
She is an expert In fungus. And, it’s a play on Jerry Garcia’s partner Mountain girl.
FYI Mushroom girl’s appointee to Green Ribbon Environment Committee, closet Mike Carroll fan and environmental activist reports on some changes over at OCPA today. Hat tip to Branda Lin for the retweet.
https://mobile.twitter.com/AynCraciun/status/1625997264023080961
Pay attention Vern. No vodka or psilocybin for you. Mmm chocolates. https://faculty.sites.uci.edu/tresederlab/
Well now is somebody going to make a crack about how her knowledge of fungus helped her get to the bottom of the Melahat situation? I don’t want to be the one.
Ya frickin made me giggle and snort.
Fungi tend to be parasitical.
Also, isn’t it Valentine’s Day massacre for Live Nation???
Continued to Feb 28 because Carroll wasn’t there.
Well he was there until he wasn’t. Half way through public comments on agendized items he moved to have the Live Nation (item 5.2) and districting advisory committee (item 6.7) [read as “Tammy Kim’s attempt to stonewall and filibuster districting and council expansion until after 2024”]. Why the f did they waste like 2.5 hours of people talking on 5.2 if it wasn’t really going to be considered. Carroll had plans tonight from last year when this meeting was originally scheduled. That was excuse. Ok, so then why not have specially set meeting to 15th. And, what was planned? His debriefing by the Feds?? Sheesh. It’s a sh*t show in Irvine. And how.
Irvine sets special meeting to consider Live Nation deal and districting committee agenda items originally set for regular meeting last Tuesday but continued during meeting. H/T Branda Lin.
https://mobile.twitter.com/BrandaLinIrvine/status/1626828133143040003?cxt=HHwWhsDSqavk05MtAAAA
Oc Register community events assignment desk cub reporter for Irvine and Westminster reports on special meeting Branda tweeted out yesterday. Ms. Farzan is a tool. I don’t know what this is or what she is, but it ain’t journalism and she ain’t a journalist. Eric said it.
https://www.ocregister.com/2023/02/19/irvine-council-to-meet-tuesday-on-great-park-concert-venue-partnership-with-live-nation/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_content=tw-ocregister&utm_campaign=socialflow
Valentine’s Day Massacre?!? Poor choice of words for the headline. Not sure I want to bring a comparison between Mobsters mowing others down in cold blood with machine guns to a Council Meeting in Irvine……
Good gravy!! Try some different writing techniques
And yet…
1) here you are, along with
90011001400 other readers so far2) the decision COULD be FATAL for an agency many still have hope in
3) most Irvine Councilmembers have as much fondness for each other as rival mobsters
4) HYPERBOLE (or as Mitch McConnell pronounces it, “hyBURPole”)
5) timeliness – it WAS Valentine Day
Beyond that, carry on.
“…the majority of the Board agrees with her, but wants to accomplish this more deliberatively which may take, yes, a couple more months. You never hear Jung, Tammy or Trini talk about “Probolsky,” they talk about “staffing issues,” because Brian is a rumbling volcano of legal threats. But everyone knows that Probolsky is the mother of all staffing issues.
Jesus Christ, Vern. Fred, the Chairman, is stalling. Move “deliberatively?” To accomplish what? That’s Wagner-speak. This dumpster fire is hopelessly compromised. My compliments to Ms. Treseder for using political leverage to get action. Referring to her as Ahab is just insulting.
Your faith in inevitable reform from this circus show (“Trini” – that’s a hoot), and “just wait and do it right,” is playing right into the hand of the bad actors who created this mess. Temporizing is their game.
Yeah well, Probolsky’s days are numbered, or three people are lying to me.
Hope Dr T doesn’t feel I was insulting her, I utilize hyperbole as has been noted.
If the combination of Fred, Dr T, Tammy and Jose doesn’t make the needed changes in the next couple of Board meetings, then I’ll admit I was wrong and Dr T was right. And that Fred, Tammy and Jose were lying to me.
But at this point, because of their December decision (right or wrong) Irvine is stuck with the agency another 17 months or so. Any hasty move they make now would only have destructive (and theatrical) effects. I think.
My guess is that there will a sudden cancellation of OCPA meetings altogether until The Probe can figure out how to game the thing longer. He’s a lot smarter that the drones on the Board he needs to stay there.
There is a move afoot to take Fullerton out of this mess, too. Whitaker and Dunlap will do it, but need another vote.
“Trini” is a commonly used diminutive for “Trinidad,” a name available to both genders.
If nothing else, you should know it because of this guy, whom you’ll see playing La Bamba for a roomful of white kids.
Cue Trini Lopez!
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=search&v=1304989753371120
Queue these two gems which I believe foreshadow the fate of Trini and his OCPA colleagues. But, I appreciate you getting musical with it oh myopic booby one.
https://youtu.be/MUaL1FnotRQ
https://youtu.be/FWkCybdOy7k
https://shroomiezworld.com/
Put that in your earhole Vern. What I’m listening to right now.
https://www.panicstream.com/vault/widespread-panic-02-11-2023-durham-nc/
Did Dr. T. read this story? Maybe… she is going with patient work now. Hat-tip Eric:
https://voiceofoc.org/2023/02/irvine-councilwoman-reverses-course-plans-to-stay-in-controversial-oc-green-power-agency/
I’ll try and get more details from her; meanwhile I’ve been getting some interesting tips. Spoiler alert: Curt Pringle is trying to get his grimy hands into this agency…. Can’t have it be changing from the OC Probolsky Authority to the OC Pringle Authority, that’s for sure
My guess is that somebody got to the weasel Carroll and she doesn’t have three votes in Irvine. There goes her leverage. So she has to make go with what she’s got and try to save face with a declaration that the agency is moving in the right direction. This is my spin to put her in the best possible light – which could be very wrong.
How anything cold be moving in the right direction with Probolsky in charge is a mystery to me.
By which I should have said “doing it properly.”
Some interesting takeaways from last night’s Irvine Special Meeting (2/21/2023) re Live Nation Ampitheater deal and Establisment of a Districting Advisory Committee.
1. Treseder got either Chi or someone on Live Nation’s side to confirm that Patrick
Strader was involved in Live Nation negotiations. This was during first round of
questions before public comment on special meeting agenda item 1.1.
2. Treseder and Agran unsuccessfully voted against Option 1 in special meeting agenda
item 1.1 but then Treseder and Kim unsuccessfully voted in favor of special meeting
agenda item 1.2 re district advisory committee.
3. If you want to see how truly incoherent Kim is, watch her flailing aimlessly in hopes
her pleas will be answered and council will vote in favor of 1.2. Nope. DOA.
4. Khan is mean. It looks like there is a great divide between staff and some council
members.
5. Khan tried to keep comments re 1.1 to a minimum and had no concern about her
representative speaker proposal would cut zoom participants out of the conversation
last night. Thankfully, it didn’t pass.
6. And, all of a sudden Kim is the defender of open government.
I’ve been enjoying most of Eric’s comments on Dan’s blog, which only stay up for a couple hours before Dan takes em down – he must not be able to figure out how to block Eric.
But this morning’s Eric comment (already deleted) links to a REALLY disgusting 2018 story of Dan’s that I don’t remember seeing. And what I learned is, ANILA ALI IS ACTUALLY WORSE THAN FARRAH KHAN.
Anila had tweeted that her opponent Lauren Johnson-Norris (a criminal attorney) is a “KNOWN CHILD MOLESTER.” Lauren complained to Irvine police; Anila changed her tweet to “she defends child molesters,” and then accused Lauren of racism for calling the police on her, a brown Muslim woman “over just a tweet” – a complaint that became Dan’s story, as Dan was an Anila booster at the time.
Yes, sounds just like Farrah but worse. Dan of course reprinted only the second, not-quite-as-bad (but still inexcusable) tweet; and some of Anila’s fans claimed the first tweet never existed. But not before some others said they’d seen it. And then Dan, the “free speech champion,” closed comments.
https://theliberaloc.com/2018/07/12/did-council-candidate-call-police-over-a-tweet/
How funny. I remember back in the day when ChemicaLewinsky called the cops about a comment somebody made on Bushala’s blog in (bad) jest about Galloway maybe cutting Sidhu’s brakes (or some such nonsense) in order to jump into a Supervisor campaign run-off against Shawn Nelson.
Then ChemLew had to bitch about how inconvenient it was when Irvine cops showed up at HIS house to laugh at him.
What an utter, useless tool.
Dan’s comments on that story are nauseating self-parody; nobody could do better lampooning him than he does himself here.
All the classic Dan traits are displayed: https://theliberaloc.com/2018/07/12/did-council-candidate-call-police-over-a-tweet/#comment-269205
I can say no more.
Glad I’ve amused you, Vern!!!
OCPA finally fires Probolsky although he gets till May 30, and who knows how big of a fucking golden parachute. This is only one item of reform promised, although it’s been a big deal to a lot of people.
And what’s with all the lavishing the Probe with praise, from the folks who’ve been talking shit about him for many months?
Tamster: “You’ve held composure and grace under pressure. I just applaud all your work and all your efforts. Kudos to you.”
Treseder: “I really appreciate Mr. Probolsky’s efforts at creating this agency.”
Trini: ““It is telling that despite the challenges and the uphill battles we’ve all shared together, you’ve provided so much leadership in bringing a team that will bring about this vision of transforming Orange County. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the work you’ve done.”
Are they scared of this guy or what?
https://voiceofoc.org/2023/04/orange-county-power-authority-fires-controversial-ceo-after-two-years-of-unrest/