Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Cheryl Cox, Frank Luzzaro and me

Frank Luzzaro and I have known Chula Vista mayor Cheryl Cox for many years. We all started working for CVESD at about the same time in the seventies.

Then Cheryl became a CVESD board member, and we found out how closely tied she was to developers.

Frank recently filed an ethics complaint against a developer's friend on a city committee.

My only wish is that Frank had taken more of an interest in ethics at CVESD. I guess he didn't want to step on Cheryl Cox's toes when she was playing footsie with his pal Jim Groth, past president of Chula Vista Educators and current CTA director.

Here's the story about the recent complaint:

Ethics complaint filed against Realtor on board

UNION-TRIBUNE
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20071217-9999-1m17b2briefs.html
December 17, 2007

CHULA VISTA: Chula Vista residents Frank and Susan Luzzaro have filed a complaint with the city's Ethics Commission against Richard D'Ascoli, a member of the city's Redevelopment Advisory Committee.

The complaint, filed Dec. 3, alleges that D'Ascoli, the director of governmental affairs for the Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors, has used his column in the Realtors' newsletter to criticize Chula Vista “NIMBYs.” The Luzzaros say D'Ascoli isn't objective regarding residents' concerns.

Chula Vista established the Redevelopment Advisory Committee in July 2006 to hold public hearings on urban infill projects.

D'Ascoli said he was confused by the complaint because he thought he was selected to the committee to represent the Realtors' organization, which has more than 1,000 Chula Vista residents as members.

He said that he has requested clarification on his role from the city attorney.

– T.M.

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Two codes at Chula Vista's Castle Park Elementary: one for students, another for teachers

Students at Castle Park Elementary in Chula Vista, California are expected to obey the following code:

Castle Park Code Of Chivalry

A Castle Park Knight Will:
Behave in a peaceful and caring manner.
Demonstrate honesty in all Situations.
Respect the rights and property of others.
Take responsibility for his or her actions.

For teachers, the expectations are different. Pamela Smith, Bertha Lopez and the rest of the school board, as well as the teacher "leaders" at Chula Vista Educators/CTA, have cost taxpayers $100,000s in legal fees in their efforts to foster the following code of ethics:

A Castle Park teacher will:

1. Work to get rid of at least one student and one adult each year, preferably Spanish-speaking.
2. Follow instructions of district lawyers to hide the truth.
3. Climb over others to elevate his/her position in the school and the teachers union.
4. Defend himself/herself indignantly if caught violating the law, and insist that it's someone else's fault.