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As for actions of the current Foundation management, why don't I close with this excerpt from the City Auditor's office's new audit of the museum:
"In early 2007, current Foundation management informed City management that there may have been a misuse of Capital Campaign funds by the Foundation's previous management and that there were insufficient Capital Campaign funds to repay the Bonds due to mature in 2009. This communication ultimately resulted in our audit of the Foundation's Capital Campaign."
And here's a statement from City Auditor Laura Doud, found in yesterday's press release announcing the audit's arrival:
"Additionally, it is extremely important to note that the Foundation brought in new management in November 2006 and that controls are being put in place to ensure that the problems identified in this report do not happen again.”
What needs to happen is for the management under investigation to organize as a teachers union, hire Gerrie Schipske as its legal counsel and offer to buy her all the campaign posters she wants for her next election.
This strategy worked at TALB, where much of the same kind of activity took place (according to the California Teachers Association's internal audit), but where no criminal investigation has been launched.
Thousands of local teachers are still wondering how much of their dues were misappropriated by management there. Maybe none, maybe a boatload.
I bet Gerrie knows--but she ain't talkin'.
See how it works?
As to TALB buying campaign posters: members' dues cannot be used for political expenses. Any monies used to help any political candidate have to be (and were) paid out of the PAC funds which are separate and voluntarily contributed. TALB has always endorsed my candidacy for public office before and while I was employed by TALB. Like other city council members, assembly candidates and state senate candidates endorsed and supported by TALB, I had to go through PAC interview to win the endorsement. I was then endorsed by 250+ member Representative Council and the 15 Member Board of Directors. If you have any questions, kindly forward them to CTA.
I bet randy could elaborate, but he ain't talkin'.
foster is done. In the LB version of the Clean Trucks program, he bent over for the trucking special interests to avoid a lawsuit, breaking away from LA which stuck with their viable plan, and guess what? LB still is getting sued! What a nimwit. He deserves to stay in long beach where he fits in with the museum, queen mary, animal control, aquarium and other ridiculous shenanigans.
The only person he probably made happy is the unofficial mayor of long beach, randy whoredon, who probably told foster what do do in this instance.
1) INDEPENDENT -- The audit was arranged and paid for by either TALB or the California Teachers Association. In Law School 101 and Journalism School 101, these are known as "interested parties," those who would benefit from having an audit turn out a certain way. Interested parties are not automatically good sources of credible information. An investigation by law enforcement or an independent regulatory agency could be seen as independent and would be more credible. This has not yet occurred.
2) LAUDATORY -- Compromised as it was by direct union sponsorship, the audit concluded (if memory of press reports serves) that there was "egregious" management behavior. EGREGIOUS, as in "conspicuously bad." I could be wrong, but I believe press reports included such details as management personnel writing checks to themselves, critical financial records going missing (wonder where they went . . . ), and so on. The union-sponsored audit did conclude, however, that such actions did not rise to the level of criminality. Maybe Gerrie Schipske thinks this means the audit gave management a clean bill of health. Those of us in a reality-based world might think the audit actually said management was conspicuously bad, and accounts certainly left the impression that worse behavior could have occurred but could not be documented or proven in a court of law due to those pesky records going missing.
3 & 4) FULLY DISCLOSED -- As far as I recall, all media reporting of the audit results was based entirely on interviews of the CTA trustee brought in to assume control of a union waylaid by egregious management. I don't recall a single news story actually quoting from an audit report. They were all based on quotes attributed to a very interested party -- the CTA trustee. While this is egregious journalism (and I'm talking primarily about the P-T here, I don't think The District was following the story), it was also, on the face of it, superlative media management by the trustee who was faced with having to turn around some egregious union management. "You want to SEE the audit report? Sorry, no can do. But, hey, let me tell you about it . . ." Anyone else see a problem with this?
5) EXONERATING -- Word on the street says the audit didn't even bother to name names, just referred to "management" as the target of its investigation. So here's the beauty part -- as long as there is more than one person working as management, anyone in management can claim exoneration: "Wasn't me," you say. Fact is, this is how I keep alive my flicker of belief in Gerrie Schipske as a politician of some occasional courage and value. i see her take some courageous stands on the Council from time to time and it's hard to square that sense of her with these accounts of egregious union management. But still -- is it exonerating to stand tall and say "Yes, I was a party to conspicuously bad management?"
6) PUBLIC -- I'm not sure about this one, but -- has this audit been made public? or even available to the media? As I mentioned, I don't think a single news account acknowledged the reporter actually receiving such a document. CALLING WILL SWAIM -- thousands of honest, credible, fair-minded local teachers could be the best ambassadors The District will ever have if they can count on you to give them the first unbiased account of what actually took place. They haven't gotten that account yet. I understand that this story may be a few months past its expiration date, but couldn't you just report what happens when you look up the P-T stories and request this audit report and see if it squares more with my understanding of events or more with Gerrie Schipske's clean-bill-of-health pronouncement? I'd trust your judgement. News of such an honest accounting would sweep through the schools in the city and make The District a household name.
7) IGNORANT -- oops, this is actually a word Gerrie Schipske might have used to describe ME! Sorry, my bad.
7) FORTHRIGHT -- unless you believe "audit" should be defined as a non-independent, non-laudatory, non-fully disclosing, non-exonerating, non-public report of an "investigation" of suspect behavior.
You know, Gerrie, there are many passionate defenders of teacher unionism who believe that teacher unionism's greatest enemies are corrupt, venal, incompetent, asleep-at-the-switch, or egregious teacher union officials who try to sweep crappy union behavior under the rug. And we actually need to let the world know about them -- 'cuz they make organized labor and teachers look bad and lose influence when we protect them.
And God help us all if unions disappear.
Ignorantly yours,
D.
. . . and rest in peace, George Denis Patrick Carlin. The world needs more, not less, of your generous spirit, moral clarity, and joyous outrage.
One can only assume that the businesses who pay dues to gordons union support this unhealthy anti-schoolchildren program. Speaking for myself, I can not support any business who goes along with this disgusting scheme. Next I guess gordon will be promoting chips and sodas in LBUSD cafeterias. How about selling cigarettes to 18 and over students in our high schools?
I hear your continuing, deafening silence on this issue. I'm feeling charitable, so I will understand from your second post here that you are probably barred, legally or politically, from commenting more directly on this sad chapter in Long Beach union history and want to move on.
I'm all in favor of moving on, though I think the closing of the ranks that follows most union decision making is, in general, a mistake that will take unions to lesser power, not more. I think this is especially true of teachers unions, which organize those who, at the height of their skills and talents, are demonstrating, extolling and instilling in our young people the capacity for independent critical thought. My two cents.
(From Webster's) "IGNORANT -- lacking knowledge, information or awareness about something in particular." Gerrie, you didn't use the word itself (didn't say you did), but that's precisely how you attempted to characterize me.
On a happier note, I understand that the current interim executive director at TALB is a reportedly stand-up guy with sensible ideas about the effective deployment of union power for maximum benefit of the membership. Funny thing -- I don't think I've read a profile of him yet. Did I miss one in any Long Beach news outlets? I'd be interested in learning more about the guy -- I've heard he has a very interesting background.
(End of thread hijack)
You should really talk to Bill Pearl, who runs LBReport.com. He is God's Own Bulldog on the subject of westside particulate polution. If anyone can help you get the facts you want, he can.
What is my business, as I reside and do business in Long Beach, have relatives attending LBUSD schools, and breathe polluted port air daily, is the issue of the business-union boss who claims he cares about our schoolchildren yet uses his unions money and power to fight reasonable legislation. Legislation that would greatly help not only our schoolchildren, but all area residents, especially the weakest. Widely recognized for talking out of both sides of his mouth, he, to quote doug krikorian, has always been "annoying", but this remarkable behaviour proves him truly despicable.
I would not pay dues to this guy, nor would I want him to speak for me. Shame on those who do. They can't be unaware of what this fool is doing.
I don't know that for a fact, since I refuse to subscribe; in fact I barely even look for a "used" paper at work. The Times and the online news works just fine, and even being a 44 year ex-reader of the IPT I could care less about it!