Bankruptcy OK'd for Lennar M.I., associated firms

Whittom you are a joke. Grow a spine you piece of shi(t)!!

The good news is Lennar is finally bankrupt but still attached to MI, the bad news is it adds to the sad state of Vallejo where nothing but weeds will grow.

The real bad news is no one on council or staff will challenge lennar.

Anonymous wrote:

The real bad news is no one on council or staff will challenge lennar.

i hear ya who got the kick back from lennar back in 96 to start this mess???

So, let me get this straight- we're stuck with Lennar, they get to reorganize, and come out with $90 million in cash, and its unclear whether or not Lennar even wants to continue the Mare Island project? Great. And the cleanup? What's holding that up? Isn't the Navy paying for all of that? What's the holdup on that? The more I hear about the departments under Craig Whittom, the more I question what he's doing.

interesting wrote:

So, let me get this straight- we're stuck with Lennar, they get to reorganize, and come out with $90 million in cash, and its unclear whether or not Lennar even wants to continue the Mare Island project? Great. And the cleanup? What's holding that up? Isn't the Navy paying for all of that? What's the holdup on that? The more I hear about the departments under Craig Whittom, the more I question what he's doing.

Your second post of the day criticizing Whittom. Is it because he is part of the city's negotiating team? Is it because the VFD considers him an impediment to the contract they want? You complaining about Whittom gives me hope that he is taking a stand in negotiations.

Sorry about the cynicism but your comments have proven, time and again, that your only true concern is for Public Safety Contracts. Could it be that Whittom has found himself in the same PSU crosshairs that were previously reserved for Tanner?

If you really want to do something constructive maybe you could look at the budget/employee costs and come up with some plan that makes everything rosy. To date, your only suggestion in that regard was to trim some secondary employee benefits; the equivalent of bringing a squirt gun to a structure fire.

otis cambell wrote:

<quoted text>
i hear ya who got the kick back from lennar back in 96 to start this mess???

That's what I have been asking!

My observation is this. 1: Lennar is now in backruptcy and must reorganize. 2: If Lennar is backrupt and cannot meet it's obligations, the City of Vallejo must, not should, must take Mare Island away from them and take control of the operation there. For better or worse as I have said all along "LENNAR HAST TO GO!!!!"

Captain wrote:

<quoted text>
Your second post of the day criticizing Whittom. Is it because he is part of the city's negotiating team? Is it because the VFD considers him an impediment to the contract they want? You complaining about Whittom gives me hope that he is taking a stand in negotiations.
Sorry about the cynicism but your comments have proven, time and again, that your only true concern is for Public Safety Contracts. Could it be that Whittom has found himself in the same PSU crosshairs that were previously reserved for Tanner?
If you really want to do something constructive maybe you could look at the budget/employee costs and come up with some plan that makes everything rosy. To date, your only suggestion in that regard was to trim some secondary employee benefits; the equivalent of bringing a squirt gun to a structure fire.

I have posted twice today prior to this post, and both times mentioned departments under Craig Whittom's authority, because they were the topics of discussion. I think the only difference between my posts and yours is that I've directed my criticism at a specific department head who appears (to me) to be a roadblock to real progress. You're now advocating a outside auditor to assist in modifying city hall to run more efficiently. When I suggested this months ago (Robert Bobb), I believe you were less than suppportive. In the past when I suggested an internal committee made up of members from every department in the city to assess and solve city problems, I believe your response was "That's been tried and it failed." (BTW, I believe Sandy Salerno is now putting together such a committee).
So, you can critisize me and my suggestions all you want, but I'm stating what I believe. Cutting public safety employee direct compensation will cause more employees to leave, decreasing departmental efficiency and increasing recruitment and training costs. I think this is penny wise and pound foolish behavior. Cutting indirect compensation is a far better alternative, and won't destroy what's left of employee morale and the city's ability to retain the ones they have left.

interesting wrote:

<quoted text>
I have posted twice today prior to this post, and both times mentioned departments under Craig Whittom's authority, because they were the topics of discussion. I think the only difference between my posts and yours is that I've directed my criticism at a specific department head who appears (to me) to be a roadblock to real progress. You're now advocating a outside auditor to assist in modifying city hall to run more efficiently. When I suggested this months ago (Robert Bobb), I believe you were less than suppportive. In the past when I suggested an internal committee made up of members from every department in the city to assess and solve city problems, I believe your response was "That's been tried and it failed." (BTW, I believe Sandy Salerno is now putting together such a committee).
So, you can critisize me and my suggestions all you want, but I'm stating what I believe. Cutting public safety employee direct compensation will cause more employees to leave, decreasing departmental efficiency and increasing recruitment and training costs. I think this is penny wise and pound foolish behavior. Cutting indirect compensation is a far better alternative, and won't destroy what's left of employee morale and the city's ability to retain the ones they have left.

"I have posted twice today prior to this post, and both times mentioned departments under Craig Whittom's authority, because they were the topics of discussion. I think the only difference between my posts and yours is that I've directed my criticism at a specific department head who appears (to me) to be a roadblock to real progress."

- my point exactly. He is a roadblock to the VFD getting the contract that they want. You, being the advocate for PS compensation, have made whittom the latest target. I think we agree for the second time - regardless if you agree my statement (its not in your nature).

"You're now advocating a outside auditor to assist in modifying city hall to run more efficiently. When I suggested this months ago (Robert Bobb), I believe you were less than suppportive."

-and I'm still not supportive of some career government employee trying to solve Vallejo's problems. My position is that government employees are part of the problem and therefore are not in position to solve the problem. When I mentioned Vallejo needed a consultant from the "private sector" it was in anticipation of you making the very comments you just made (Robert Bobb).

"In the past when I suggested an internal committee made up of members from every department in the city to assess and solve city problems, I believe your response was "That's been tried and it failed."

It did fail. That is a worthless idea to begin with. I guess you're now advocating taking a management team that has helped (with the unions assistance) run a city into the dirt and trusting them to solve the city's problem - I don't think so. We are way past this groups ability to manage.

"Cutting public safety employee direct compensation will cause more employees to leave, decreasing departmental efficiency and increasing recruitment and training costs. I think this is penny wise and pound foolish behavior. Cutting indirect compensation is a far better alternative, and won't destroy what's left of employee morale and the city's ability to retain the ones they have left."

Pure Crap. But at least we got down to your core concern - compensation!

interesting wrote:

<quoted text>
...(BTW, I believe Sandy Salerno is now putting together such a committee).
So, you can critisize me and my suggestions all you want, but I'm stating what I believe. Cutting public safety employee direct compensation will cause more employees to leave, decreasing departmental efficiency and increasing recruitment and training costs. I think this is penny wise and pound foolish behavior. Cutting indirect compensation is a far better alternative, and won't destroy what's left of employee morale and the city's ability to retain the ones they have left.

"(BTW, I believe Sandy Salerno is now putting together such a committee)."

- considering the VPOA & CAMP contracts she helped negotiate I can't believe she even haas a job. Putting together the committe you speak of is just more evidence of her futility.

"Cutting public safety employee direct compensation will cause more employees to leave"

- the budget is what will cause employees to leave because the city will be forced to send out more pink slips.

"Cutting indirect compensation is a far better alternative, and won't destroy what's left of employee morale and the city's ability to retain the ones they have left."

- I'll agree with that. Lord knows there is plenty of fat on that bone.

Captain wrote:

<quoted text>
"(BTW, I believe Sandy Salerno is now putting together such a committee)."
- considering the VPOA & CAMP contracts she helped negotiate I can't believe she even haas a job. Putting together the committe you speak of is just more evidence of her futility.
"Cutting public safety employee direct compensation will cause more employees to leave"
- the budget is what will cause employees to leave because the city will be forced to send out more pink slips.
"Cutting indirect compensation is a far better alternative, and won't destroy what's left of employee morale and the city's ability to retain the ones they have left."
- I'll agree with that. Lord knows there is plenty of fat on that bone.

Why do you even waste time responding to the idiot "interesting", nothing but a PSU buttsucker.

Cops-FFs-Welfare Queens wrote:

<quoted text>
Why do you even waste time responding to the idiot "interesting", nothing but a PSU buttsucker.

Probably for the same reason your (D)umbazz does.(T)urd Burglar.

There is nothing holding up the environmental clean up of Mare Island--it has been and remains an ongoing effort over many years, and it will take a few more years to get it done. The Navy left a lot of crap scattered around the Island, and it takes a lot of time to find it, determine what it is exactly, and clean it up, clean it out, and otherwise deal with it properly.

And remember that this is California, the environmentalist capital of the United States. There are Federal & state environmental agencies that must approve every step taken to clean up Mare Island. That means that it can NEVER be as fast as one might like.

But it remains a fact that millions of dollars are being spent to clean up Mare Island every year. This summer & fall there will be 2 cleanup projects on Mare Island that total something over $10 million. If as much money was being spent on actual development of Mare Island rather than simply moving dirt around & knocking down old buildings, Mare Island & Vallejo would be a much better condition than they are today. But we will get there.

Cops-FFs-Welfare Queens wrote:

<quoted text>
Why do you even waste time responding to the idiot "interesting", nothing but a PSU buttsucker.

Why do you respond to Pissle? The guy is an insecure homophobe with nothing to say. I think you're a smart guy with much to say so why not say it?

BTW, can you post the link to the teachers salaries? Do you have a link to national averages for FD employees? Do you have an opinion on the practice of city employees (union) negotiating other city employee contracts (also union)?

Captain wrote:

<quoted text>
Why do you respond to Pissle? The guy is an insecure homophobe with nothing to say. I think you're a smart guy with much to say so why not say it?
BTW, can you post the link to the teachers salaries? Do you have a link to national averages for FD employees? Do you have an opinion on the practice of city employees (union) negotiating other city employee contracts (also union)?

Read post #13,(b)uttplug. Oh and by the way, you're a thief and an adulterer.

It is very much the case that government employees are part of the problem and can NOT be much of a part of the solution on the issues of government job security, compensation, retirement benefits and all the rest. Government employees develop a certain mindset of entitlement and entrenchment--the fact that they can't be fired is the underlying problem. It should be illegal for government employees of ANY kind to be unionized.

Government employment is a conspiracy of insiders that feed on each other. Many government jobs--perhaps most--are only available to existing government employees; the general public need not apply. This has led to terrible inbreeding in the public sector.

All of these problems--and they ARE problems--should be addressed in comprehensive fashion.
Redesign the civil service regulations to make them match up to common practices in the private sector. Bar unionization of public employees--ALL of them. And in California, repeal sections of the Brown Act that relate to personnel & employment matters such as contract negotiations with unions. Of course, if unions are eliminated from the public sector that part of Brown would become moot.

The days of government employment being a jobs program for the indigent, the incompetent, the entitled and the lazy are OVER, folks. We can no longer afford to carry that enormous lead weight.

Captain wrote:

<quoted text>
my point exactly. He is a roadblock to the VFD getting the contract that they want. You, being the advocate for PS compensation, have made whittom the latest target. I think we agree for the second time - regardless if you agree my statement (its not in your nature).

-and I'm still not supportive of some career government employee trying to solve Vallejo's problems. My position is that government employees are part of the problem and therefore are not in position to solve the problem. When I mentioned Vallejo needed a consultant from the "private sector" it was in anticipation of you making the very comments you just made (Robert Bobb).

It did fail. That is a worthless idea to begin with. I guess you're now advocating taking a management team that has helped (with the unions assistance) run a city into the dirt and trusting them to solve the city's problem - I don't think so. We are way past this groups ability to manage.
Pure Crap. But at least we got down to your core concern - compensation!

This is just sad. You're now stating thoughts "in anticipation of" what I'll say? How about you just post what you really think?
Not once in my posts have I mentioned the VFD contract, or the IBEW contract for that matter. You're making an assumption about what I mean, and assuming that I post the way you do- tactically rather than honestly. You couldn't be more wrong. When I post about what I perceive as inefficiency at city hall, its really about that, not about Safety Employees.
As for an efficiency expert, Robert Bobb was in the private sector when he performed the audit on Oakland. Many people who have worked in government, and therefore know how it runs, become private consultants. Would you refuse to hire soomeone to perform this function if they'd spent time in governmental service? That's just silly in my book. People who understand how and why government works from personal expereince aren't automatically tainted. They have a wealth of knowledge that makes their insights valuable.
When has a committee of employees been tried in the city of Vallejo? I don't recall anything of the sort ever being tried. Please tell us what committee was formed and when, and what constituted "failure".
As for your "pure crap" comment, I think you have no idea what it costs to train a new employee. I think the police department has an extended new employee program that takes months to get through before an officer can work alone. Not only are we paying full salary for an officer who isn't working regular patrol, but we're paying for another officer to work with them in their training time. Two officers performing the work of less than one regular patrol officer for the duration of training time- and you're telling me that this doesn't cost a great deal of money and efficiency? I think you're wrong.

Captain wrote:

<quoted text>
Why do you respond to Pissle? The guy is an insecure homophobe with nothing to say. I think you're a smart guy with much to say so why not say it?
BTW, can you post the link to the teachers salaries? Do you have a link to national averages for FD employees? Do you have an opinion on the practice of city employees (union) negotiating other city employee contracts (also union)?

Post #16 describes your entire life. Congrats.

Captain wrote:

<quoted text>
Why do you respond to Pissle? The guy is an insecure homophobe with nothing to say. I think you're a smart guy with much to say so why not say it?
BTW, can you post the link to the teachers salaries? Do you have a link to national averages for FD employees? Do you have an opinion on the practice of city employees (union) negotiating other city employee contracts (also union)?

Teachers in Southern California are compensated in cash, on average (not the HIGHEST), between $40-$45 an hour in cash, and are compensated another $25 an hour in benefits, for a total of $65-$70 and hour- on AVERAGE, some make much more.

Civic Report
No. 50 January 2007

How Much Are Public School Teachers Paid?

According to the BLS, the average public school teacher in the United States earned $34.06 per hour in 2005.(See Table 1.) The average white-collar worker (excluding sales) earned $25.08 per hour, and the average professional specialty and technical worker earned $30.66 per hour. The average public school teacher was paid 36% more per hour than the average non-sales white-collar worker and 11% more than the average professional specialty and technical worker. Nationwide, public school teachers earn more than the average workers with whom they are grouped into categories by the BLS.

The Detroit metropolitan area has the highest average public school teacher pay among metropolitan areas for which data are available, at $47.28 per hour.(See Table 1A.) The average public school teacher in the San Francisco metropolitan area is not far behind, at $46.70 per hour. The third-highest average public school teacher pay is in the New York metropolitan area ($45.79). The top ten metro areas in terms of average public school teacher pay can all be found in California, Michigan, or the Northeast.

http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/cr_50...

__________

We are number 1 in teacher salary (see NEA website); number 27 in total expenses for education (see http://ftp2.census.gov/govs/school/05f33pub.p... and number 48 in academic testing.