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Sweetwater board candidate stumps on civility
Yes, I wonder who gets "credit' for crafting the bit of disinformation that was released as the Cartmill campaign broadsheet and plea for donations. He is about as honest as the proprietor in Les Miserables, the one who sings "Master of the House"...pretending to be so honorable, and pilfering and lying about it all the while. A veritable whited sepulcher.— September 28, 2014 11:10 a.m.
Sweetwater board candidate stumps on civility
Exactly...if that doesn't indicate his true moral position, well--perhaps Cartmill's subconscious is more truthful than his conscious self.— September 27, 2014 8:14 a.m.
Sweetwater board candidate stumps on civility
I have to believe the main reason that Sweetwater under Ed Brand all but wiped out the R.O.P program is that they were very interested/motivated/paid off to usher in the new era of the "For Profit" schools. Remember, it was around this time that Brand was trying to link up with all sorts of questionable educational institutions...and handing over students' private contact information to these same institutions. Brand was trying to turn Sweetwater students into more of a revenue stream for himself and pals. The fact that Jerry Brown had decided to reallocate some of the funds didn't help...because it gave Brand the excuse he was looking for. You see, in the sick mind of Ed Brand and all those who have gone along with him (and any who still continue to go along with him), Sweetwater students are only numbers for state reimbursement and objects to take financial advantage of. Why have a nice R.O.P. program, when you can charge students an arm and a leg plus interest to learn the same thing--and get "bonus" payments for it!!! Of course, this is merely my take on the matter. Perhaps there is a better understanding of what has gone on in Sweetwater. If so, I really hope to learn what it is! In the meantime, jerrythomas, I wonder what Ed Brand is doing these days with all his time? I wonder if he has any other tricks up his rather large sleeves. Keep speaking out, don't let what has been lost and destroyed be forgotten!— September 26, 2014 2:42 p.m.
Ixnay on Plan B, says SDG&E
And what do you think the likelihood of high-speed rail getting to San Diego in the next 10 - 15 years is? I am not being snide, I am wondering. I do think that is a very active spot for a substation. But I am not an engineer, by a long shot.— September 26, 2014 9:35 a.m.
These are the monsters, Mayor Cox
It should be noted that through Mr. O'Neill's knowledge of how this system works, we have been able to see how things have been abused. Without that, the BOC might never have had any teeth in it whatsoever. Watchdogs are necessary, and Mr. O'Neill has been an excellent and painstaking one. I hope more such honorable people will keep working at all the problems in Sweetwater. We all know how entrenched the corruption is--it takes eyes on the situation 100% of the time and the willingness to speak up and report, or things won't get better. Few people are eager to spend their time going line by line through all the district documents, figuring out what they mean, what they refer to, what they are trying to hide. We truly owe a great deal to people like Mr. O'Neill who do this in their free time, of their own volition, so that there is a chance that Sweetwater can one day be run honestly, honorably and reasonably--and we are still far from that day.— September 26, 2014 9:28 a.m.
Sweetwater board candidate stumps on civility
Cartmill evidently will never take responsibility for what the Sweetwater Board has done, has not done and has allowed to take place. What we need is an enormous chart listing each and every error made. The biggest problem is, would the errors be listed in chronological order, or order of degree of negative impact? Then, we can list who voted in favor or against each item. At that point, we can show to the world what Jim Cartmill's record is, in black and white, without the "patriotic" red and blue to discolor and distort the truth. It is very obvious that Mr. Cartmill pays no attention to this community's real educational needs. He only pays attention to what he thinks he can get for himself, while trying to appear like someone far different from what he is. Sad. For his own sake, I hope he starts realizing what truth is.— September 26, 2014 9:20 a.m.
Ixnay on Plan B, says SDG&E
Is there a short version of why the CA High Speed Rail Authority does not want the substation at that location? Too close to rails? I would want to listen to what they had to say. If they are thinking that in case of a derailment, cars would be too close to the substation, then perhaps CHSRA has a point.— September 25, 2014 3:22 p.m.
Goodbye to romance
Well, thanks for this. Is there a chance this will be a clean hearing? I hope so.— September 25, 2014 11:16 a.m.
Sweetwater board candidate stumps on civility
Cue the theme from "The Godfather"...as the warbling accordion music softly plays, let us think of Mr. Cartmill's real accomplishments. He voted every single time, in absolute lock-step, with the Brand/Gandara/Brand administrations which were rife with corrupt dealings. He did not call a halt to any of the horrifying wastes of attorney fees when Mr. Garcia was charging top dollar the moment he started his car in his driveway in the L.A. area and drove down here. He did not call a halt to any of the poor usages of attorney fees and other related legal fees for law suits that were unwarranted. (Fighting a girl's softball field for over 10 years when it was clearly mandated by Title IX...and then, when all of us thought it was over and done with , we just recently learn that the board filed an appeal in 2012, which they, of course, LOST! And we end up paying half a million dollars more! This, all will be interested to know, AFTER THE FIELD HAS BEEN INSTALLED AND HAS BEEN UP AND RUNNING FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS--something like a $1 million job...) I could go on and on. Mr. Cartmill apparently does not understand what it is a board member of a school district is supposed to do, which is unfortunate, because he has been doing it (or not doing it) for the past 20 years. Great Day In The Morning...I hope all have awakened, and know better than to vote for Cartmill, who is clearly not capable of the discernment required to do the job as board member. Or if he does have the discernment, he long ago chose to ignore it and vote with those whose financial support could be counted on. Too bad the latter is what is called corruption. But let's all be polite, while Cartmill and pals play burn the tax and bond funds, as the public isn't paying attention. Except we now are paying attention. I have a campaign slogan for you, Mr. Cartmill: **Honestly, if you want Honesty, you don't want Cartmill!!**— September 25, 2014 11:12 a.m.
These are the monsters, Mayor Cox
I agree that South Bay Community Services is overdue for a thorough going-over in terms of how they spend their monies, the programs they are running, as well as the actual counts of children in all the programs. I have seen some of the numbers on the salaries of those at the top, and those are some very generous salaries. However, we still have some well-meaning people in our community who really are there to support the programs for the kids--and I agree that we have been severely burned in the past--but that should not make us completely cynical about everyone and everything. Kevin O'Neill is a quietly hardworking individual who has gone out of his way to make things better for the children of this area in ways that do not draw attention to himself. He has devoted time, effort and materials for various projects that would not have happened without him. He has done this very quietly, because he was not doing anything for personal acclaim. This is the person you are doubting--and, of course, you are entitled to your doubts. But really, is it possible to find anything negative on Kevin O'Neill? Not that I know of. If he did attend a splashy event for South Bay Community Services, what does it mean other than he may have wanted to see who else was going, to see who was active within that group? People, we need to know what is going on. If we want to improve what is going on with South Bay Community Services, isn't it a good idea to find out about it? Again, as Freud said, "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar!" And Mr. O'Neill is always Mr. O'Neill, which is to say, honest, straightforward and thinking of the good of the community and the best way to use our resources.— September 24, 2014 8:09 a.m.