** Mayor Sam Exclusive: Controversial Academia Semillas del Pueblo Charter School battles popular Hecho En Mexico Restaurant

Academia Semillas del Pueblo Charter School

 When objective observers and local media are seeking answers to questions about a controversial Charter School's failing test scores and financial structure, what mode of crisis management do they revert to in seeking to redirect attention?   

 First, mobilize the educational collective against a perceived enemy of your controversial Charter School, in this case a popular El Sereno Eatery Hecho En Mexico (make it the new version of former KABC Talk Radio combatant), who has a long track record of giving back to the community. Then feign acts of malfeasance on the part of the restaurant (ie. lewd conduct, loud parties, explicit advertising) and create mass protests to condemn the alleged behavior.

 Create talking points on the alleged bad behavior of the restaurant and call upon Councilman Jose Huizar to take action against the supposed repeat offender. Remember that it is "suggested" that all members of the collective take part in protests and boycotts of Hecho En Mexico. (** Plus Academia worked hard to ensure that Councilman Huizar won the El Sereno vote in last springs election).

 

Use school resources to craft this ABC complaint letter (** For the Record, Hecho has a great ABC compliance record) and have each of your educational collective student's parents fill out the appropriate areas as "suggested" by school staff (or required by the school's "Executive Director"). ** Remember that any hesitation to support the wishes of the school's Executive Director and Principal (wife) will meet with communal denouncement and increased chances of child "referrals". 

Journalistic "dust up" over Academia Coverage between the "Weekly of Record" and "The Old Gray Hag on Spring Street".

 LA Weekly's Hillel Aron (with recorder)

LA Times Howard Blume (right) being interview on KPFK Pacifica Radio.

Bravo to the "Weekly of Record" for its calling out of "The Old Gray Hag on Spring Street's" puff piece on the controversial Academia Semillas del Pueblo Charter School. It was easy to ascertain that Times Education Scribe Howard Blume was pre-disposed to cut the failing charter school some slack in his softball missive.   This after the "Weekly of Record" set the bar for Academia coverage with Aron's excellent piece.

Here are some of the highlights of "Aron y Blume on Academia".

The Times makes no mention of why these four elected politicians voted to ignore Superintendent John Deasy's recommendation to shutter the school.The paper doesn't challenge Garcia's view that schools that experiment with children should be allowed continue churning out students who cannot read or do their arithmetic, as compared to the identical socioeconomic kids elsewhere.The paper doesn't challenge Garcia's view that experimental failing schools deserve to continue on for more than a decade, affecting many children.Toward the end of the piece, Blume includes a "let's hear from the other side" paragraph.Yet Blume doesn't choose to quote from the many groups and people on the legitimate, thinking other side who are aghast at how far behind the Semillas children are falling -- and who have cogent arguments about why this is bad.

.....  and judging from Academia's Founder Marcos Aguilar latest action against Hecho En Mexico, there will be plenty of story content in the near future for the "Old Gray Hag on Spring Street" to change its reporting track record on the failing charter. (If Blume dares crosses the elites that controls Charter Schools in Los Angeles).

Your thoughts ...............
Scott Johnson in CD 14

Morning Briefs on the Los Angeles Political Machine for Monday

Political Consultant Harvey Englander

Great post Cinco de Mayo Monday to all as the month of May becomes the final sprint for those county,  state and federal office seekers in search of finishing first or second on Primary Day in June. Beyond the exterior efforts of candidates trying to connect with voters, the consultants behind the candidates such as "Parke", "Eric", "Harvey" and "Private Citizen John", are immersed studying voting trends, crafting mailers, raising money and espousing spin on needed occasions for their respective clients. Creativity is a must in this line of work, especially navigating the gray areas of campaign finances and one of the more brazen examples of this comes from none other than the website of Harvey Englander. Penned for Englander by a young scribe who has gone on to "grayer pastures" (on Spring Street), we bring you what we coined "Alcohol and Contributions do Mix".

By Howard Blume The caterers were hustling and the booze flowing at this New Year´s Eve fundraiser for a congressional candidate in the posh Holmby Hills. The mood was growing happy and generous, and campaign consultant Harvey A. Englander was convinced his guests would be willing to exceed the federal limits on contributions of $1,000 a calendar year.
But then, this was New Year`s Eve - the party technically spanned two calendars."I raised twice the money," recalls Englander, sitting in an office cluttered with golf collectibles. "I got the first half of it, the first $1,000, as they came in, and the second thousand as they left."Englander grows serious for a moment. "A couple of guys joked that they wouldn´t give the other thousand when they left." He pauses, then returns to his joshing, insider´s patter. "Well, we certainly couldn´t do anything strong-armed, but you know.""They tried afterward to say that they were drunk. But they didn´t drink that much, because I wouldn´t have allowed that. That would have been crass."

Crass? No wonder why "Harvey's head size" is equated with Darth Vader's helmet..

Los Angeles Times LAUSD Beat Writer Howard Blume (right) being interviewed on "Occupied" Pacifica Radio.

From those early days of earning dollars for gushing musing of self-promotion for the likes of Harvey Englander, Howard Blume now earns his keep, musing on all things LAUSD for the "Old Gray Hag on Spring Street" (or should we say, shilling for charters in LAUSD?)

Blume's byline can be seen twice in today's fishwrap as he ponders why a charter school in Glassell Park with high test schools would face relocation while a Charter School in El Sereno with low test scores would have problems with Charter Renewal. 

Aside from the fact that the Van de Kamp site was built with LACCD bond money for the purpose of being a Northeast LA branch of LA City College and that Academia Semillas del Pueblo failed to improve on benchmarts imposed on them five years ago during the last renewal process. Blume fails to find the one constant that links both of these questionable charter schools and their dubious undertakings, that would be the Education Mayor Antonio Villar. But for the likes of Blume, especially with a rabid supporter of Charter Schools Eli "Lord" Broad eyeing the purchase of his employer, a pro-charter spin (even for one with cult-like tendencies) to his educational reporting may be good for future job security (especially those with ties to Mayor Villar)?

** Rick Orlov in this Monday's edition of his Tipoff Column notes the waning days of the "Reign of Villar"  "the musings of Lord Broad, pending rate increases at DWP and a corporate candidate for mayor in 2013.

Your thoughts ..............

Scott Johnson in CD 14