Apparently the folks in the Los Angeles Times newsroom don't read the blogs, because they have reproduced the misleading information on KABC Channel 7 that Claremont Insider brought to our attention yesterday.If you've been busy and gotten behind on the latest, Norma's Torregé Xavier Alvarez pleaded guilty on monday to claiming valors that were not his. Lying, we call that. Channel 7 referred to him as "Claremont's Xavier Alvarez," despite the fact that he represents Pomona (although not my Pomona, much less M-M-M-My Pomona). Hence Claremont Insider's exasperated "Claremont to Pomona: Take Him, He's Yours."
Alas, the Times missed the memo. There on page 10 of the California section (online here) it is again: "Claremont Water Official Pleads Guilty to Lying About Medal of Honor."
I'm not really much of a conspiracy theorist, adhering as I do to the maxim "Never attribute to careful planning what can be achieved by stupidity." If I were, however, I'd be wondering about the timing... Just when Norma Torres starts campaigning for the Assembly, X-Alv gets conveniently moved to Claremont, outside of her aspired-to district.
[PARAGRAPH REMOVED ON ADVICE OF MY WISER HALF]
16 comments:
I was waiting for this post. You didn't disappoint.
Can I just say that I prefer GoP's contribution to the city a lot more than Norma's. Call me naive, but I do think the mayor is well-intentioned. She just needs to reach out for more opinions.
I can't escape the conclusion that many of these problems are the direct result of not having a local newspaper. Not an attack on the DB since they are just looking at profitability, but sometimes, I don't really have any idea of what's happening in my own city.
While I wish I was still a sahm, I live in the real world and do actually work for pay aside from the blog.
I generally find this whole X.A. topic kind of boring and sad, but I did catch the story on channel 7 late last night. Hearing them start the story with "Claremont official blah blah blah" definitely put a smile on my face as I drifted off to sleep.
G of P
Sorry about that, GoP. (Here's where K. cackles and crows -- he apparently reads you more carefully than I do.)
Ordinarily I would argue that SAHMs do "live in the real world," but since you've been there and I haven't, I'll forbear.
I agree, Ed, that Norma means well. This is the subject of another post, though, because I have conflicted thoughts about politics in our fair town.
I am not as kind about Norma's intentions as others may be.
I would put money on the fact that up in that big house (palace), on the very top of Ganesha Hills is a huge chalk board with many steps x'd out that show every calculated move she has made to get where she is.
She is not SAHM as much as she is a SHAM.
Mark
The Times actually got the headline right in the print edition. It just calls him "man" and doesn't repeat any Claremont-related error in the story. Looks like the Web staff messed it up.
There is no Stolen Profession Act, but it is a crime to misrepresent one's occupation on a ballot.
I don't know where this rumor that Torres is working there as a volunteer came from. I don't think it's true. Certainly, she has taken a leave of absence as a union official, and may not be working there full time. But there is no evidence that she is not being paid the normal wage for working at dispatch (the union wouldn't permit it), and even if she was working there as a volunteer (which, once again, there is no evidence of), that is her primary field or profession. She has been a dispatcher in the past and that is her training. So she is a police dispatcher.
Calwatch: Ah, good to know. I don't know the source of our block captain's info, but I'll try to get further info.
I'll also update the post, as not everyone reads the comments.
I won't argue that Pomona could use its very own newspaper and that the city would be more comprehensively covered if there were. And I'm a big fan of this blog and the Goddess', both of which help fill in the gaps of our admittedly imperfect coverage.
That said, today's Bulletin has two stories from Monday's council meeting, one feature (with color photo) about the rose garden at Cal Poly and stories about the police department's Volunteer Recognition Luncheon and the Distinguished Alumni Awards at Cal Poly.
We also have never reported that Xavier Alvarez was a Claremont official, nor have we ever printed false hearsay that Norma Torres isn't really an LAPD employee.
So, if non-Bulletin readers are going to throw up their hands and say they "don't really have any idea of what's happening in (their) own city," I have an obvious suggestion!
There, I had to get that off my chest. Everyone please carry on.
I don't really have the energy for this, but oh well, here it goes.
I think my comment was "sometimes, I don't really have any idea of what's happening in my own city." It strikes me as slightly disingenuous to preferentially quote, but I'm not a writer so I'll live in ignorance.
As indicated quite aptly in the previous comment, sometimes the Daily Bulletin does cover Pomona issues. Of course, that leads to the obvious conclusion that sometimes it doesn't. I guess that's the basis for my lament that we no longer have a local paper.
Just for the record, I drop by the online versions of the DB, SGVT, and SBSun at least once a day. If that doesn't count as a reader, why even offer the online versions?
Separate topic: Is there a tag for underlining?
Meg, feel free to argue that SAHMs or SAHDs live in the real world. You won't get any disagreement from me.
Didn't mean to jump down your throat, Ed, or sound like I was singling you out. I wasn't.
Various commenters on the Pomona blogs seem to avoid newspapers and council meetings like the plague, then complain they're not informed. (You're not in that category, Ed.) They must want all their news by word of mouth.
Whether the DB qualifies as Pomona's "local newspaper" is a matter of opinion, I guess, but we do have a reporter assigned exclusively to Pomona, not to mention others like me who write now and then about the city.
Like I said, we're not perfect, and we do have some rivals in the blogosphere now, but if there's a better source of news and information about Pomona than the Daily Bulletin, I'm not aware of it.
Just wish more people would take advantage of what we're putting out there, since we're going to meetings and asking questions on your behalf.
'Nuff said?
Unfortunately, the Daily Bulletin is the paper of record for Pomona. The old Progress had about five reporters devoted to Pomona issues, and Pomona was 60% the size it is today. Reading the DB and watching it shrink day after day, week after week, is like watching water torture. Unfortunately Pomona has never had the base to generate its own paper, even a "good news" paper like the SGV Examiner or Grunion Gazette. The staff try, with the resources they have, to put a decent product, despite having to commute to San Bernardino, days of computer failure, and editors dropping like flies all around them. You (collectively) should patronize the DB, at least online (which costs you nothing), and get the reporters and editors that bring you the news recognized, if only so they can keep their jobs.
Actually David, it was my fault. That's what I get for being tired when I write a comment.
I really wanted to write a comical comment comparing the DB to a "tease" that saunters in and whets the appetite, only to leave use wanting more. I also thought about a drug-peddling angle with the newspaper being sold for pennies on the corner and after a quick fix, you're left wanting more.
So, sorry about the previous comment, it didn't really express where I was coming from.
Here's another one that came to me last night:
"Mammas, don't let your babies grow up to ......newspapermen."
I thought it could be a fun post. Too bad I really despise writing.
calwatch,
where can we confirm that she is currently a police dispatcher, other than her website?
If you really want to know, call LA City Personnel Division and they will tell you if she is employed or not. You could also do a search of the City internal email directory should you have access to that. I am not a City employee but confirmed, when I heard that rumor, to my satisfaction that indeed she is gainfully employed by the City of Los Angeles. Anything else is just a vicious rumor.
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