Letter: Time to expand the Supreme Court
When Donald Trump was in office, he and Mitch McConnell made three lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court. McConnell went so far as to defy Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s dying wish—that the next president appoint her replacement—by packing the Court with Amy Coney Barrett just...
Letter: County Fire shows it is up to the task
A little after midnight on Friday, July 11, I was awakened by the sound of sirens from many fire engines and a call from a neighbor, saying, “You’re OK, but you need to get out of your house, now. The barn next to you...
Guest view: Food security is critical to economic and national security on Central Coast
The agricultural stretch of California’s Central Coast along the Salinas Valley is often called the “Salad Bowl of the World,” and for good reason. It supplies more than 60% of the nation’s lettuce and substantial portions of strawberries, spinach and broccoli.
But beyond the fertile...
Trekking through the rich minefields of the consultant’s game
The consultant game is rich territory – especially when the firms are dealing with school districts spending taxpayer money. Who’s really qualified to make the judgment on construction projects, budgets, timelines and change orders? Administrators? School board members? Staff? The answer 99.67% of the time is the proverbial “None of the Above.” That’s how MHUSD gets into the conundrum it’s in now. Interim Superintendent Steve Bertando wants the technology implementation plan to start now for $20 million plus – $2 million in engineering fees. Meanwhile, a couple of trustees believe that Cumming Corporation, the project management firm hired by the district in May for $1.5 million to oversee the first $55 million in capital improvement projects funded by the $198 million Measure G bond, should handle engineering, etc. What school districts need to do? 1. Form an advisory facility committee composed of members from the business and construction world; 2. Hire a staff administrative-level project construction management person to oversee all facilities projects. They would negotiate contracts and have, as clients, the taxpayers and the school district. If districts would make those changes, a lot of money would be saved and a lot of battles avoided. And, really, when you’re talking about spending $198 million and getting the best bang for the buck, doesn’t it make perfect sense?
