Sunday, January 10, 2010

New Years Resolution for Mayor Cheryl Cox

Bonnie Dumanis just got through insisting that the tax dollars wasted on her preposterous prosecution of Steve Castaneda were NOT spent to help her pal Cheryl Cox.

It looks like Cheryl and her friends have decided to use the resources of the City of Chula Vista to try to start a new prosecution. Angel Castillo and Jenna Anderson seem to be the pawns of some mystery person.

TEZOZOMOC SPEAKS
Jan 8, 2010
La Prensa
Es tiempo por New Year’s Resolutions:

For Mayor Cheryl Cox: the resolve to run for re-election based on her accomplishments and not on some out of town attorney digging up dirty on her main opponent… by the way, what is the running total on that bill. The LA attorney has been reviewing those CastaƱeda files for some time now… what is it, $200 dollars an hour??? Nothing brings a smile to an attorney, or a consultant, like an open check book.



Investigation of Castaneda moves forward

By Tanya Sierra, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
January 8, 2010

CHULA VISTA — An outside attorney hired to look into allegations that Chula Vista Councilman and mayoral candidate Steve Castaneda violated campaign laws in 2004, 2006 and 2008 said yesterday she has verified proper procedures were followed to file the complaint and will now analyze the merits of the case.

Julia Sylva, who has been investigating the Castaneda complaint since November, said she verified that the man who filed the complaint is a Chula Vista resident.

The Chula Vista municipal code requires that a campaign contribution complaint be filed in writing and by a resident of the city. Now that the Los Angeles attorney has verified those details, she will delve into the allegations.

“It’s pretty complex,” she said yesterday without citing specifics. “I’m going to need at least a month.”

On Nov. 18, Angel T. Castillo, who once lived in the same Chula Vista condominium complex as Castaneda, filed a thick complaint against him.

Castillo has not returned multiple calls seeking an interview about his complaint, and the city has not released a copy.

Castaneda said he has not spoken with Castillo since 2003 and does not know why six years later he would file a complaint. “I don’t think I’ve even ever run into him since I moved out of that place,” Castaneda said.

He said he and Castillo were at odds over landscaping of the condominium complex they both lived in.

According to the city, there is no record of Castillo ever having made a public records request for Castaneda’s campaign statements or for any other public documents on file with the city.

One name that popped up seven times this year seeking information on Castaneda is Jenn Anderson of Chula Vista.

The only Anderson in Chula Vista of similar name in the same ZIP code is 23-year-old Jenna Anderson. When reached by phone yesterday, she denied that she was the one who made records requests.

“I’m just a college student,” she said.

Friday, January 08, 2010

Peg Myers makes interesting claims; CTA continues to oppose use of scores to evaluate teachers

What is Peg Myers talking about? She relied on a tiny group of parents to justify the power of a tiny group of teachers to control principal after principal at Castle Park Elementary. CVESD Superintendent Lowell Billings reported at a board meeting that when he transferred Peg Myers, Robin Donlan, Nikki Perez and other members of the "Castle Park Family" out of the school, scores went up greatly.

Local Schools Weigh In On Reform Bill
January 6, 2010
Channel 10 News

SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego school system could be getting a major overhaul as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to sign a bill that would give parents more power to control what happens in their child's school.

While the state Senate approved a bill that could qualify the state for $700 million in federal stimulus money, some educators and experts feel the changes may not be worth the money.

At a glance, Lincoln High School does not measure up to other schools in San Diego County. The school's overall academic performance rating is at 587.

"It's not until you crack the 750, 800 mark can you be considered one of the elites in the city," said Lincoln High School Principal Mel Collins.,

Lincoln High could be one of the schools targeted by a new bill aimed at reworking state schools. The bill would give parents the power to petition to make sweeping changes, including having a principal removed or closing a school if its performance is not up to certain standards.

Sweetwater Union High School District Superintendent Jesus Gandara told 10News, "If you give one group all that power to say, 'we want this principal out,' without teachers having a say, without management having a say, there's a problem there."

"It should be a collective decision made by a number of different entities," said Collins.

Peg Myers of the California Teachers Association said, "We actually have great results in our schools, and that's because we do work with the parents."

The California Teachers Association opposes the state's plan, which would also make it easier for parents to transfer their children to another school...

Monday, January 04, 2010

Ex-Chula Vista Elementary Aide To Be Sentenced For Molestation

Ex-Chula Vista Elementary Aide To Be Sentenced For Molestation
Channel 10 News
Jan. 4, 2010

A former instructional aide with the Chula Vista Elementary School District who pleaded guilty to molesting a teenage girl was scheduled to be sentenced Monday.

Vincent Matthew Lopez, 47, is expected to be sentenced to a year in jail. The defendant was arrested in February after a 15-year-old relative called police to report that Lopez had sexually assaulted her.

Lopez was subsequently also charged with molesting another girl of similar age, said Deputy District Attorney Vanessa Duvall. Last month, he pleaded guilty to one count of committing a lewd act on a child.

Lopez, a part-time employee for the school district, was placed on administrative leave following his arrest. There were no indications that any of the assaults occurred at Halecrest and Tiffany elementary schools, where Lopez worked, authorities said.

In addition to 365 days in jail, Lopez will be ordered to have no contact with either victim for five years, Duvall said.