mauralarkins.com
| Public Entities |
| "Sometimes, people who do not have the best interest of the community at heart are in control of public entities."* |
| PERB |
| *Quote at the top of the page: This is a paraphrase of San Diego City Councilmember Jim Madaffer's 2005 words about the San Diego City Airports Division, but I'm working on a list of others who have also made this observation. It's a comment that's been made again and again. |
| The California Public Employee Relations Board is officially known as "PERB." It is supposed to make sure public agencies follow the law with regard to their employees. Sometimes PERB enforces the law. Sometimes it doesn't. PERB appears to be completely under the thumb of California Teachers Association. This might not be surprising given that Bob Thompson is its general counsel, but even Republicans like John Duncan hide their heads in the sand when CTA breaks the law. Of course, his motive for doing this in the Maura Larkins case was to protect the Republicans who acted in concert with CTA. |
SAN DIEGO EDUCATION
REPORT
REPORT
| The San Diego City Attorney's Office Under Mike Aguirre Many, perhaps most, public entities have over time surrendered to the tendency to become rigid bureaucracies, hence the familiar acronym "PERB." (PUBLIC ENTITY= RIGID BUREAUCRACY) These institutions tend to lose track of their original purpose, and they end up devoting most of their energy to simply maintaining the institution for its own sake. |
| The San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board used to be "more concerned about avoiding confrontation with polluters than enforcing clean-water laws," says Laura Hunter. Link to SDUT article: S.D. water-quality board goes from "worst to best." |
| Why Does PERB Refuse to Comply with the California Public Records Act? Maura Larkins made an appointment to see PERB files, and drove to Sacramento to see them. PERB General Counsel Bob Thompson falsely stated that documents Maura Larkins wanted to see were at the state archives. Maura Larkins has learned that the state archives do NOT store PERB files. PERB does! |
| "The anger in Sacramento is as much about administrative arrogance and the surreptitious way perks were handed out...as it is about the sums involved...The university is promising to be more transparent." San Diego Union Tribune Feb 9, 2006 Peter Shrag article (from The Sacramento Bee) |
| Secrets in Government Agencies |
| Protecting Lawyers Who Blow the Whistle March 2006 Fran Pavley has introduced a bill (AB 1612) to protect lawyers who blow the whistle to law enforcement officials when governments commit serious criminal breaches of the public trust. |
| CVESD Violations of Public Records Act |
| These Agencies Cleaned Themselves Up (1) |
| March 2006 Terry Francke* suggests a per-day fine for "whatever period a public agency denies access to a clearly public record." Perhaps if this policy were law, Susan Fahle of CVESD would have provided Maura Larkins with the documents she requested a year ago about how much Daniel Shinoff has recently been paid for representing the district. |
| *Terry Francke, general counsel for Californians Aware www.calaware.org |
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| Who Controls San Diego Public Entities? |
| PERB Does! |
| San Diego City Airports Division http://www.signonsandiego.c om/news/metro/20051116-9 999-2m16means.html |
The current City Attorney, Michael Aguirre, is shaking things up substantially, enforcing the law rather than maintaining bureaucratic connections with those who have given away incredible amounts of taxpayer money, and taken taxpayer money, in furtherance of a plan to conceal huge budget problems. |
| These Agencies Cleaned Themselves Up (2) |
However, it is not fair to apply this stereotype automatically to every public agency. Surely no one would accuse the City Attorney's office of San Diego of being a rigid bureaucracy. |
| Mike Aguirre Clean Up contd. |