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Chief Spoll Check Officer

Our award winning bloggin' mangler of the English language, Scott Johnson, has once again shone a big spotlight on something not smelling too good in Los Angeles. No, not the Mayor's sock drawer but the case of a one Academia Semillas de Pollo (uh, que lastima, Pueblo) here in Los Angeles.

You've been following for years the story of this controversial charter school, everything from the Aztec language lessons to the Costco pizza snacks to the attempted, literal attempt to throw newsman Sandy Wells under the bus.

Scott has been doing excellent investigative reporting on the school for some time now, with documents happily provided by alleged employees, former parents, public officials and what he could dig up himself. Apparently, as the school escaped near death at the hands of LA schools super, John Deasy (by school director Marcos Aguilar dressing up like an Aztec warrior and securing the vote of LAUSD Board Chair Monica Garcia who probably, like me, has enjoyed one too many Costco pizzas), they've become much more sensitive to anyone shining light on their operations.

Snackin' Semillas Style?

Thus, a very confusing "cease and desist" letter came to Johnson, who laughed in it's general direction and was emboldened by even further document dumps coming out of El Sereno.

And, as we have seen before, this action does not serve to shove the whole matter under the wrong, but it only wakes up local media, who - despite their political leanings - don't take kindly to government types trying to shut up fellow members of the working press.

Two good examples of that today, a thoughtful analysis of the story so far by Joseph Mailander at CityWatch and a delicious reportage dripping with her trademark snark, by Simone Electra Wilson at the LA Weekly. 

We hear more is coming.

I believe it as former Watergate burglar and now right wing gold salesman G. Gordon Liddy who is famous for allegedly having said "Once you squeeze the toothpaste out of the tube, it's hard to get it back in."

Stay tuned.