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September 9, 2010· scvtalk.com · WordPress (SCVTalk 3.0) · Wayback capture

September 9, 2010 – Daily Brief

By Jeff — Jeff Wilson

  • Supreme Chancellor Dianne Van Hook gets a cushy $16,000 raise for time served, making her among the highest paid community college administrators in the state SIGNAL
  • Speaking of COC, their renovations & expansion of Mentry Hall is complete. SIGNAL. Also, I was pleased to note that the cafe + coffee shop in the University Center is now open and it’s Hawaiian themed to boot.
  • The same region water quality control board that’s attempting to force the SCV to build a $210 million chloride treatment plant has fined the Southern California marine institute $9,000 for dumping treated ocean water back into the Pacific. SIGNAL
  • Canyon Country gang members who shot a man in 2009 sentenced to 45 year + life terms after they are found guilty of attempted murder KHTS
  • Federal Government Accountability Office to probe the US Forrest Service’s response to the Station Fire after bipartisan group of California lawmakers, including Buck McKeon, pressure for an investigation. Reporting brought to you by Brian Charles, Signal alum, now a reporter for the WHITTIER DAILY NEWS
  • Saturday September 11 will be a busy day in the SCV. First there are a few 9/11 memorial events, one in Stevenson Ranch at Richard Rioux park, and one at Newhall’s Veteran’s Plaza. Also on Saturday is the yearly River Rally cleanup. Details at KHTS
  • “Just think of the clouds as a blanket,” a meteorologist tells the Signal about this week’s cool weather. Temps aren’t expected to rise higher than the 70s today SIGNAL
  • City will pay artists to display their work at October’s Festival of the Arts in Old Town Newhall. Certain restrictions apply of course. PROXART BLOG
  • John Boston rages against Islam, which, on the balance, he considers to be an evil religion WRB
  • Lynne Plambeck decries the failure of the plastic bag ban bill and encourages you to use reusable bags. “Folks at the local farmers markets have gotten this idea. Most bring their own bags. The farmers have even been known to
    throw in an extra piece of fruit as a “thank you,” she writes.

Comments (52)

  1. Your Web GuruSeptember 9, 2010 at 7:50 am
    John Boston makes a few points on radical Islam, but it’s just that…RADICAL! As for his comparisons to Baptists and Mormons…Hmmm. There was the Utah War in 1857, where Mormons went against federal troops to defend their perceived right to a separate theocratic empire on U.S. soil. There was good old Jim Jones, an ordained minister, who directed almost 1000 of his followers to drink the poison Kool-Aid. Yes, he might have ended up hating Christ, but he did start out a simple minister with a simple mission that perverted itself due to his radical psychotic ideals. There was David Koresh who manufactured his own biblical prophecies to manifest his psychotic desires of sex and violence which resulted in the deaths of many of his followers. Now we have Terry Jones and his good old Q’uran burning. How about those crazy Baptists with their “God hates fags” signage? How about the Catholics who have turned a blind eye to the sexual abuse of children by which the long term effects of society and the church have been damaged for the forseeable future. Every religion has its Bozos, and every religion also has its awesome philosophies and dogma that basically helps us understand the difference between good and evil, right and wrong, and provides us with a univeral understanding of love and brotherhood. The vapid hatred and vitriol of late with regard to Islam sickens me. It is perpetrated by those whose hatred for Islam is only overshadowed by their obvious hatred for themselves. It is ugly, vicious, and will have no positive outcome in the long term. People who call themselves proud Americans pervert our rights to domestic tranquility by wrongfully pointing accusatory fingers in the direction of those who are not like them, and want to decide who is allowed to reap the benefits of the rights bestowed on us all. I’m not denying that we are in danger from religious radicalism, or trying to placate Islam as a whole without understanding the dangers of the radicals who drum up business via their own propaganda, but we’re treading scary ground with our newfound ‘Religious McCarthyism’ which certainly will do us more harm than good in the long run.
  2. SamSeptember 9, 2010 at 8:38 am
    http://ragnarssonreview.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/bamiyan-buddhas.jpg
  3. Jeff (But not the one that runs this blogSeptember 9, 2010 at 8:22 pm
    Amen brother Guru, amen. We have this constant need to create enemies, whether real or imagined, at all times. The enemy of the day happens to be Islam, during previous war times it was Japanese Americans. We have to a “cold war” type bad guy or we’re not happy.
  4. SFC PerezSeptember 10, 2010 at 9:54 pm
    Exactly Jeff(But not the one who runs this blog)! There was in fact a congressman who made an extremely similar comment prior to 9-11(not going all conspiracy theorist). I do believe after my many travels across the globe and meeting ppl but not killing them all, you will find once you establish communication and truly learn about each other most of the misperceptions you have tend to disappear. Too often we are led around by the nose by the fear mongering press you see in all countries. Take the time to get to know someone from a different nation, or culture, and impress upon them we are all human beings and the defense industry may soon hate you )
  5. Tim MyersSeptember 9, 2010 at 7:55 am
    Interesting to see if the “haters” come out on the Chancellor’s salary. I wonder how much longer Van Hook with continue? Is she grooming a successor within the college? I would guess it would be the person in charge of the CC campus, Dena Maloney. I worked with her before on a local education reform initiative and she exudes that air of calmness and supreme competence that Van Hook possesses. Two examples of the Van Hook touch: The CC Campus They probably overpaid for the land (I said so at the time) and there were building problems but, by God, they had a functioning campus open 18 months later. Compare that with the Hart District goofing over a Castaic High School for TEN years. (So long that it is probably not necessary currently.) Vital Express PAC Naming Rights That was a cluster f*(K with the college failing in due diligence when the Boaz’s flaked out and blew town nearly one year after the naming. It turned out the only thing they actually paid for out of the $2 million putative gift was the Vital Express signage. When the Signal asked some maintenance functionary about why the signage remained he stated some bureaucratic nonsense about no budget money to remove them. I drove by the college and THE NEXT DAY they were GONE. (I have a mental picture of Van Hook at midnight ripping out the signs with her bare hands.)
  6. Fred ButlerSeptember 9, 2010 at 10:10 am
    Supreme Chancellor? Like she controls a star system or something?
  7. PetzSeptember 9, 2010 at 3:23 pm
    Are you in for Prager on Monday?
  8. mikeSeptember 9, 2010 at 3:30 pm
    you ever gonna come to trivia?
  9. PoliticoSeptember 10, 2010 at 5:49 am
    The Vital Express naming rights resulted in one of the highest cash-in-hand donations ever made to the college. No harm, no foul on that one. Everybody got taken in by the Boazes. But the college got a fat check from them. Again, score one for DVH.
  10. mikeSeptember 10, 2010 at 9:09 am
    I agree with everything else you’ve said here, but VE hardly handed over any money, IIRC, certainly less than the fair market value of the their official association with the PAC. Do you have any figures? I thought that deal stunk from the first minute, informed by some unpleasant dealings with VE prior to their announced sponsorship. If the owner of the company saw fit to scream on the phone as us for an hour over a <$2,000 damage claim, I knew there was no way they'd have the loose change to pay for the naming rights.
  11. Tim MyersSeptember 10, 2010 at 12:17 pm
    Politico: Check your facts. The Foundation collected $35K of the $2 million 20 year commitment (there was no money down) and most of that went to pay for the signage.
  12. navigatorSeptember 10, 2010 at 12:29 pm
    I assumed he knew that Tim.
  13. navigatorSeptember 9, 2010 at 8:34 am
    Whether Diane deserves the raise or not isn’t really the question. When classes are being cut and other cost saving measures are taking place, is a raise for her in good contrast with the cuts everyone else is experiencing. There is no denying that DVH has done a great job with COC but most people could live very nicely on the pay she has been getting.
  14. Jeff (But not the one that runs this blogSeptember 9, 2010 at 8:25 pm
    I agree Navigator, now is not the time for this type of raise in the type of “business” she is in. The cuts all around and their leader gets a raise? Doesn’t make sense or look right.
  15. scvtruthsquadSeptember 9, 2010 at 8:52 am
    Diane has an ego as big as her hair…. with her cushy high paying salary she is not going anywhere…”let them eat cake” as she looks down at her peasant students strugling to get classes…”Now I wonder what other building can be named after me” she retorts.
  16. PoliticoSeptember 9, 2010 at 6:52 pm
    You really ought to change your handle considering the false rubbish you are spewing.
  17. scvtruthsquadSeptember 13, 2010 at 9:01 am
    What is false about my statement..she has a big ego… she has big hair….she earns a ton of money..she had a building named after her… Students are struggling to get classes… well???
  18. ToddSeptember 9, 2010 at 8:53 am
    I had the “privilege” of “attending” DVH’s 60th birthday party… which was lavishly hosted in the lobby of the University Center a couple weeks ago. (And by “attending” I mean I had to walk through it to get to my MPA class on the second floor). It seems she has quite a few of these functions taking up the space in the lobby of her self-named gem. As an undergrad, I cannot ever remember there being any sort of private function held in a public common area like the lobby of an active classroom building. They have a patio out back (a rather nice one) which would be a much more appropriate venue for this kind of thing. Instead, they’d prefer to have these schmooze-fests in the lobby, where common joe student (such as myself) is confronted by someone with a nametag asking my name for the “list.” I’ve not met her, and to be 100% honest, I’m not entirely certain of her legacy, but as a casual observer, she seems a bit self-righteous. I know she didn’t name the building after herself… but were I her, I would have declined the honor until my retirement. Then again, I have a huge issue with naming public buildings/streets/parks after sitting persons/politicians.
  19. mikeSeptember 9, 2010 at 9:06 am
    She happens to be the very best at what she does and is without a doubt, the most capable and successful public official this community has seen. Self-righteous? Not in the least.
  20. Tim MyersSeptember 9, 2010 at 9:13 am
    And the haters are here!
  21. navigatorSeptember 9, 2010 at 9:30 am
    TM – hating DVH and being fiscally responsible are totally different. When a business makes no profit or loses money raises are not given (unless it’s AIG, etc). As a state run institution it doesn’t matter if we’re broke or not, the raises keep coming.
  22. mikeSeptember 9, 2010 at 9:42 am
    Important distinction – in a business, losses mean the company is doing poorly, and if you run that company, it means you aren’t doing what you are hired to do. COC’s current revenue troubles are a function of the statewide budget crisis, not a reflection of performance. On the contrary, the college has weathered this and other storms quite well (compared to most districts), which the board and DVH can take credit for.
  23. navigatorSeptember 9, 2010 at 9:56 am
    Good point Mike, however, even a good CEO can’t outweigh the dire financial conditions of his company’s clients.
  24. gregory molineriSeptember 9, 2010 at 11:03 am
    I agree with all of navigator’s remarks on this. Does she do a great job? Without question! Is it good form to take a raise when so many around you are taking a machete? Probably not. Taxes, fees, bond measures… they’re hitting us all and we’re really feeling it these days. It’s irritating to see this translate into bigger paychecks for the higher-ups while our kids can’t find the courses they need to graduate. I know the raise is a drop in the college’s budget bucket but denying a raise in the current environment would earn huge respect. I mean, she still has gas money, right?
  25. ToddSeptember 9, 2010 at 11:11 am
    Wasn’t trying to hate. Just making limited observations. My experiences with COC have been mostly as a site for me take my MPA classes, although in finishing up my BA, I took a couple online and a couple night spanish classes. One class had to meet once @ the Canyon Country campus when it opened and was still mid-construction and I thought that it seemed as if it was rushed (there were no paved walking paths, IIRC). And again, she may deserve to have the UC named after her… but I don’t believe in naming anything after the living. What happens if in a moment of poor judgement one night after a couple martinis she gets behind the wheel and the unspeakable happens? Are we going to remove the naming of the building????
  26. Need for Involved CitizenrySeptember 9, 2010 at 9:21 am
    I’m not a “hater” but I do question two things: 1. Should the pay for the job of running a JC with half the enrollment of CSUN and not nearly the depth of programs be comparable to the CSUN’s Chancellor? 2. At a time of budget cuts in all aspects of public education, is a salary increase for a Chancellor who is at the top of the comparable range appropriate?
  27. mikeSeptember 9, 2010 at 9:40 am
    To your first point, it’s been clear for a very long time that a significant portion of her salary is based on achievement, growth, longevity and innovation – paying extra for something that is very hard to find otherwise. Isn’t isn’t simply based administrative load.
  28. TTFSeptember 9, 2010 at 10:40 am
    not to mention a JC that isn’t making inroads on the class occupancy overload issue.
  29. mikeSeptember 9, 2010 at 10:44 am
    The state pays per student. The state has limited how many students it will pay for. COC’s hands are tied.
  30. navigatorSeptember 9, 2010 at 11:07 am
    My point exactly. If the state gives COC $5/student and there are 100 students that’s $500 from which she draws her salary. If she gets a raise it comes out of the same $500 which leaves fewer dollars to use for the classroom.
  31. mikeSeptember 9, 2010 at 11:09 am
    Sure, symbolically significant, but statistically insignificant.
  32. townbeetSeptember 9, 2010 at 5:21 pm
    What $5.00 are you talking about? The state doesn’t even have a budget approved yet and the payment of COC by the state per student hasn’t happened. Yet, COC has been fiscally capable and has kept all full time faculty and support staff employed; mind you COC is one of biggest employers in SCV. Also, even though they were drustically the cut, Summer classes carried on, unlike other surrounding community colleges which were closed for the summer. Why is that important? Because whoever lost their job and went back to school is getting their tax dollars back at $26.00 per unit and getting retraining for the next job. I’ll admit to having drank the COC cool-aid, but nevertheless facts speak for themselves and they are in favor of rewarding good leadership.
  33. PubliusSeptember 9, 2010 at 6:49 pm
    “If she gets a raise it comes out of the same $500 which leaves fewer dollars to use for the classroom.” Sorry navigator, but wrong again!!! DVH’s salary comes out of an entirely different pot of money than does money for classrooms. The pots never cross and money from one mnever touches another. You could reduce her slary to zero and not a penny would go for classrooms or road construction, or whatever. It would just sit in that pot for use to pay someone else’s administrative salary.
  34. mikeSeptember 9, 2010 at 11:18 pm
    exactly! different soups
  35. TTFSeptember 9, 2010 at 10:39 am
    Oh boy! I loved John Boston’s baked bean of a story in the WRB: “Evil spelled backwards is ‘live’”. Right on. This guy might be on to something. Come to think of it, God spelled backward is ‘dog’. This thing goes deeper than we thought. Also, what if we were just like some mote of dust in like God’s sneeze or something? Whoah, look at my hands!
  36. Your Web GuruSeptember 9, 2010 at 1:07 pm
    Modern history often overlooks the activities of the Irgun Zvai Leumi, the Jewish right wing underground movement that used terror as a method of establishing a Jewish state in the 1940s. Led by Menachim Begin, they routinely bombed administration buildings, police stations and military installations. While they may not have strapped bombs to themselves, the IZL did take credit for the King David Hotel bombing in Jerusalem in 1946 which left 91 dead in an effort to persuade Britain to give up Palestine in the name of Israel. Menachim Begin later won the Nobel Peace Prize.
  37. OccassionalPosterSeptember 9, 2010 at 11:16 am
    I wonder how many people would complain if she wasn’t Diane Van Hook, and was Dan Van Hook.
  38. navigatorSeptember 9, 2010 at 11:22 am
    Fortunately you only post occassionaly. What difference does that make? These aren’t sexist remarks they are fiscally prudent remarks. Whether Dan or Diane good things have occurred at COC.
  39. gregory molineriSeptember 9, 2010 at 11:28 am
    The gender card? Really?
  40. OccassionalPosterSeptember 9, 2010 at 11:35 am
    It was rhetorical.
  41. PubliusSeptember 9, 2010 at 6:44 pm
    Tim, Tim, Tim!! You keep beating the same dead horse regarding the CC land purchase. For the millionth time, the college did not overpay for the land. The land was valued by several independent appraisers. Under state law, the college had to pay the highest appraised value. If anything, the college moving into that area increased the land values (at least until the R/E bubble burst). The only shenanigans occurred when your friend Ron Gillis leaked the appraisal values out, which caused the sellers of several of the parcels to try to get more money out of the college.
  42. Timothy MyersSeptember 9, 2010 at 8:14 pm
    It was the most expensive finished real estate in the history of the SCV, and we all know about appraisals in the boom.
  43. PoliticoSeptember 10, 2010 at 5:46 am
    Most expensive?? I doubt that. So your’e saying it shouldn’t have been done?? What kind of crazy statement is that? The college was required by law to pay the highest appraised value on the land. It did so. Everything was completely above-board and done comepletely by the book. Bringing community college education to the east side was one of Dianne’s most significant accomplishments. Sorry you got hood-winked into the Gillises’ shenanigans. you seem smarter than that.
  44. scvtruthsquadSeptember 13, 2010 at 9:02 am
    do you work for the college?
  45. NavigatorSeptember 9, 2010 at 9:43 pm
    @publius I stand corrected. Of DVHs salary doesn’t come from the taxes we pay please tell us how she is paid
  46. PoliticoSeptember 10, 2010 at 5:52 am
    You do stand corrected Navigator. No one said her salary doesn’t come from taxpayer money. But, it does not result in fewer less tax dollars for the students or classrooms. Do you fish for red herring often? Your’e pretty good at it.
  47. navigatorSeptember 10, 2010 at 8:41 am
    As long as I’m “fishing” you didn’t answer the question. Where does her salary come from? And how much was the fat check the college received from VE for all the advertising they received toward their promised $2MM donation?
  48. PoliticoSeptember 10, 2010 at 9:39 am
    Ok, navigator, let me spell out what I just answered for you, but in a way you can understand. “No one said her salary doesn’t come from taxpayer money” = her salary comes from taxpayer dollars. Deservedly so. You want the best, you pay the best. You don’t like it, run for the COC board yourself, which I doubt you will do as you seem content to sit on the sidelines and just bitch about thinkgs rather than offering anything constructive. As I explained to you before, you could increase her salary again . . . or you could decrease it to zero and there will be absolutely no effect (i.e., NONE, absolutely ZERO) on classroom size, new construction, books, whatever. It comes from an entirely separate funding source.
  49. navigatorSeptember 10, 2010 at 9:46 am
    Ok, Nimrod, now that you’ve hopefully finished attacking me for asking a question that I honestly wanted an appropriate answer to, I’ll leave you to your little corner of the world while I DO all the things I do for the SCV.
  50. mikeSeptember 10, 2010 at 10:05 am
    It so happens that the man behind the mask does a lot for this community. There are plenty of sideline whiners on this site, but navigator isn’t one of them.
  51. TimBen BoydstonSeptember 10, 2010 at 6:07 pm
    Navigator is a true servant to our community. His point about the DVH salary increase in this economy is excellent. Of course she deserves to be well paid as she has done an excellent job. But even our City Council did not give themselves a raise this year. And DVH is paid from taxpayer money. Never mind which “pot” it is from. If the pot that pays the admin salaries had extra, the “powers that be” could use it for students. “Guns or Butter” Econ 101.
  52. scvtruthsquadSeptember 13, 2010 at 9:03 am
    She is way overpaid…

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