How do I annoy thee? Let me count the ways.
I annoy thee to the depth and breadth and height
My ATM, which you fund, can reach,
I annoy thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I annoy thee freely, as men strive for PortoLet;
I annoy thee purely, as $96K can express.
I annoy thee with the passion put to use
In my old dementia, and with my childhood's mess.
I annoy thee with my vote which doesn’t count
With my bought for lawyers, which you fund
Smiles, tears, of all my life!-and, if the IRS chooses
I shall but annoy thee better after death.
Apologies to Elizabeth Barret Browing
LETTER
Laguna Woods Village, CA - Straziuso’s thinking is so
archaic it is painful to watch him flounder. Silva’s message below is a measured and honest discussion of
corporate life. It is also an accurate depiction of the behavior of the crews
who literally mash their way through our lives and homes all day, every day. I
find it particularly appalling that on two separate occasions while I have been
in the “back yard” I have been subjected to the lack of concern by PCM workers
as they have come to relieve themselves on the wall of the building thinking
that the bushes would hide them from view. Perhaps from the front of the
building!
They drag a freaking PORT O LET around on a truck! USE
IT!!!! This behavior doesn’t just offend…it also pollutes. Joe Silva is
right…the comments are loud, intrusive and unwarranted. I must say I have been
forced to enjoy several of their rather off color remarks about a certain
neighbor and her sartorial splendor…. Then there is the out and out foul
and gross. All the while they are tossing equipment anywhere and everywhere
which they leave. There is so much noise here most days that one wonders if we
are living in Midtown Manhattan with the windows wide open all the time. The
boards are operating on the belief that there is unending money at their
disposal. They count on the fact that people will not rise up and object to their
behavior. How many are afraid to speak their minds because of the fear of
retribution?
The present boards and their members have just lost it
completely. Go to the websites of the mutual. READ the agendas, minutes, notes.
What is this that United is planning….a “restatement” of the governing
documents. What is that? People who ask for the agenda in advance of the
meeting, as they are allowed and supposedly encouraged to do, don’t get the
entire agenda package so they have to guess what will transpire in that
meeting. Why is it that we now see lawyers at every single board meeting? What
are our REAL legal expenses? What does it cost to have Sandra Gottlieb
and/or Kelly Richardson sit at a board meeting all day? Even Bill Hart doesn’t
go that far.
How many of you have read the report from Paul Hastings, LLP
about the trust? Did you notice that any information was filtered through Hart
King and Coldren and then the report was again filtered through that less than
esteemed firm when “reported” to the community?
How many of you realize that we had to buy back our own
asset from Connexion to the tune of $850,000.00 thanks to the antics of the GRF
board. They can sit up there and whine that THEY weren’t on the board at the
time the Connexion debacle took place, but I can guarantee you that the
members sitting on that board today were on the housing boards and those are
the people RESPONSIBLE for electing GRF board members. Just exactly when
did Connexion become the PARENT COMPANY of Broadband? It’s not in the contract
I’ve seen. Lloyd Foster can whine all he wants.
Let’s talk about Patrick Murphy saying his vote made no
difference when he voted to allow the $96,000.00 party fund for PCM. HIS VOTE
MADE NO DIFFERENCE and that is the same thing that Erwin, the patriot, Levy
said. So, two out of four votes MADE NO DIFFERENCE yet it was a split vote and
Murphy broke the tie by voting for the money.
Who are they kidding? Marv Rosenhaft sat there and wandered
all over the map with his opinion about how this was not legal to vote
down…..when did he become a lawyer? I am personally sick to death of every tom
dick and harry on any stinking board handing out legal opinions as though it
were tissue paper. People!!! If you aren’t a member of the California Bar, YOU AREN’T
ALLOWED TO PRACTICE LAW IN THIS STATE! Knock it the hell off! MAYBE, just maybe
if you had some of your meetings in the sunshine instead of hiding behind
closed doors for EVERYTHING you wouldn’t be excoriated quite so often.
So, we have $96,000.00 for a party fund for PCM. We have
$850,000.00 for our own broadband and Russ Ridgeway is still employed here. We
have who-knows-what-kinds of shenanigans being pulled by United this coming
Tuesday….PEOPLE, WAKE UP! Hold these people responsible for their actions! My
goodness, we even have LINDA WILSON on the TRAFFIC COMMITTEE!!!!! LINDA WILSON!
This woman sits in judgment of drivers. She has no right. NONE. The reason is
public record. Go read it. Lloyd Foster told a member he didn’t know what he
was talking about when referring to electrical codes because he “used to
enforce those codes.” Well, Mr. Foster, the man you were addressing WROTE THOSE
CODES! It would behoove all of you to shut your faces and LISTEN for
once. Mike Straziuso goes off like the fireworks in San Diego this 4th of July….all at once, all fuss and
fury and leaving absolutely nothing behind but a burned smell. He is one of the
group elected in the past two elections who are just doing what they are told
and don’t realize, apparently, that while “you don’t even have to think”
because you are being good puppets for your masters, YOU will be held
personally liable for your actions. Personally, Straz. Maybe you should listen
to your doctor.
ANY fool who thinks the IRS comes in, takes a sniff around,
revokes a tax status and then leaves…..never to have any interest again…..is
barking mad. GRF should accept that the IRS is their new, best friend and they
had better pay attention. The IRS is and so are several other government
agencies. The boards can deny all they want but they should also read news
reports, understand connections to other places and similarities in problems
and re-enter the world of now. What do you suppose the IRS is going to think of
the party fund? How about Connexion becoming oh, so silently, the PARENT of
Broadband? Ever heard of excess benefit?
Do enjoy your Sunday, People, the PCM work crews will be
back first thing in the morning making as much noise as they possibly can,
literally soaking residents while “testing” sprinklers, peeing on buildings,
while actually accomplishing very little. Wasn’t that an old prison camp
trick? Maybe they are building an escape tunnel.
Katherine McDaniel
Sent: Saturday,
July 07, 2012 3:18 PM
Subject: Employee
“appreciation” gifts and events
Hi everyone,
As a current IBM employee I’d like to share my
thoughts on this comment, “Personally Connie,
given your long-term employment with a large employer such as IBM, whose
formalized employee appreciation opportunities are almost legendary,…”
My experience is that “formalized employee
appreciation opportunities” at most large corporations are now, indeed, a
legend. A legend, according to merriam-webster.com, is a :a story coming down from the past . The operative word here is past. During
my early years in the corporate world (the 80s and 90s) many large companies,
including my employer then, ATT, shared a number of perks with rank and file
employees. We had tuition assistance, holiday gatherings and sporting events
sponsored by the company, subsidized cafeterias, free gyms located at most
large corporate buildings, etc. The elimination of these perks seemed to start
at about the year 2000 or so. No more gyms, no more tuition aid, no more
holiday gatherings paid for by the company, etc. By the time I was
outsourced to IBM in 2007 there was little left in the way of “employee
appreciation opportunities”. In my current organization, the only perk of this
nature is a quarterly or so ‘pizza’ gathering at limited locations around the
country. IBM is still a fantastic place to work but the reality is that
the nature of employment in the private and public sector has changed. The new
‘normal’ for the rank and file is job insecurity ( I and most corporate
employees are always at risk of having our positions ‘offshored’…I’ve said
farewell to many friends and co-workers over the last few years who lost their
jobs to India and Brazil), stagnant salaries and increased work loads.
If we want to emulate today’s corporate model, then we should
expect PCM to reduce headcount and reduce expenses WHILE improving service.
Today, most corporate service contracts are renewed only after finding a
company that can provide better service
atreduced costs.
Additionally, if service levels are not maintained there are severe monetary
penalties that kick in. Also becoming common; salary DECREASES. I went through
one of these a couple of years ago.
As for showing “appreciation”, this concept is a two
way street. In the nearly three years that I’ve lived in LWV my experience with
the office personnel has been quite pleasant. Nearly everyone I’ve dealt with
there has been friendly, helpful and respectful. They seem to understand and
appreciate the fact that we pay the bills. I have no problem with showing them
some ‘appreciation’.
On the other hand, the folks who always seem to be
underfoot around the manors , the landscapers, the painters, the trimmers,
etc., strike me as being, for the most part, poorly trained, poorly supervised
and ill mannered. The actual work they perform is adequate. However, the way in
which they perform it leaves me shaking my head. I’ve lived in various condo
environments for decades and these guys are by far the loudest, least
professional most annoying crews I’ve ever encountered. They whistle, sing, laugh,
shout at each other from across the street (just casual greetings…I know, I’m
from Mexico and understand what they are saying). They swear without restraint
(I also know about swearing, I spent 4 years in the US Army) and assume,
although we are in Southern California, that no one understands what they are
saying (or maybe they just don’t care). Besides the swearing, they make
inappropriate comments about us, the residents. I once heard them saying about
my friend, from inside my condo, “Hay viene la Chinita”. This means, “Here
comes the little Chinese lady.” Yes, they had been leering as she still had her
tennis skirt on…the same thing happens at the paddle ball courts if the lawn
crews are around. It’s so obvious that it makes ME feel uneasy. As I’ve said,
I’m from Mexico originally and know that this type of behavior is much more
acceptable there. But OUR employees need to be trained that they are no longer
in Mexico and that they should behave accordingly.
Another practice that I can’t believe has developed
here and is allowed is that of having their lunches and breaks on our front
lawns or in our carports. I’ve even seen them cooking their lunch over sterno
on front lawns. I did yard work every summer, all summer, from the time I
was 10 until I was 18 years old. I did this in the Imperial County , without
the benefit of riding mowers and leaf blowers. I pushed my mower all around
town from sun up till sun down. Not once did I plop myself on my employer’s
porch for lunch, not once did I set up a grill on their lawn to cook my meal, I
never played my favorite tunes on a portable radio. Yet all of these activities
are somehow acceptable in a retirement community? We are surrounded by nearby
parks, open spaces and eateries. These areas are far more appropriate places
for lunches and breaks.
In summary, if we are seeking to follow the
corporate model we need to recognize that the current model is one of
austerity. Corporations, like IBM, are cutting benefits, cutting headcount and
cutting perks while increasing productivity. We are doing more with
less. As for us showing appreciation to our employees, I would feel
better about appreciation expenditures if I felt that ALL employees (not just
the office staff) respected and appreciated us as residents and employers.
Finally, I’m pretty sure that we all have the same
objectives: To provide and maintain the best Village possible while keeping
costs from rising and under control. I think we just have different ideas on
how to achieve those goals. By maintaining an open dialog and working together
we can achieve those goals.
Cheers to all and a big thanks to those of you on
the board; we all know you work hard and you are appreciated.
Joe Silva
#######
If you would like to make a comment about a specific news article, editorial or commentary and have it considered for publication in the CotoBuzz Journal as a Letter to the Editor, please send it to buzz@cotobuzz.com --. Do not send attachments- or mail to Letters to the Editor, c/o CotoBuzz, P,O. Box 154, Trabuco Canyon, CA 92678
Letters should be brief, and may be edited for clarity and length.. They become the property of CotoBuzz Journal and may be republished in any format. Please include your full name, mailing address and daytime phone number (your number will not be published).
|
RELATED STORIES
This went to the Globe today June 21, 2012, to be published in the next issue. I doubt it will appear. If this single thing doesn’t upset you then you have either decided to join the ranks of those who just have so much money to live on for the rest of your lives that you just can’t spend it all or you have not been paying attention. This is just one single thing that has been a part of the overall and overwhelming abuse heaped upon us for all the years any of us has lived here. I apologize for the run on sentences. I am just very upset. We moved here before we were to retire so we could set down roots and live here for the rest of our lives. That isn’t going to happen.
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009
Busy Busy and still covering up
Posted by Katie McDaniel 10-07-2009 2:30 PM
Laguna Woods Village, CA- Bob Hatch has decided along with the help of that Corporate Oracle, Kathryn Freshley, that a new incentive plan should be put in place for PCM. The fox is ripping apart the hen house. Even Linda Wilson of the United Board admitted the board members are hardly experts according to the newspaper report.
LETTERS
We received a follow up letter, posted below, to a GRF resolution outlining rules of engagement for open board meetings (click here for copy) scheduled for approved today. We asked Ms. Donie Vantizian, co-author of the long-standing Los Angeles Times column "Associations" to comment on the merits of such letter, and have included her response under Comments below
GRF Rules of Engagement Innovation, or Self-preservation?If you would pay attention ((click here for copy of GRF resolution dealing with rules of engagement) ) to what the residents are telling you, you wouldn't have to be so scared and try to impose illegal sanctions against the people who are paying the bills. The residents would not be angry.
Different Homeowners Association, Same Issues
I assume that you are a member of the Walnut Creek Leisure World Association, or is this another HOA in the area? We have had many comments of similar problems by HOA's who happen to run into our website and I'm glad that you contacted me.
The Right LWV Leadership for Such a Time as This?
Is this general manager (Milt Johns) over his head in his management skills? Can someone come out with only experience from the garden to manage a 90 million dollar business without a conflict of interest? When is the last time Mr. Johns lowered our costs...
RELATED STORIES
New Golden Rain Foundation Rules of Engagement
On the heels of the Golden Rain Foundation?s (of Seal Beach) decision to appeal the recent Court of Appeals decision, on a financial transparency lawsuit, to the state Supreme Court, the embattled GRF HOA board of directors recently decided to enact...
$2 million Verdict Returned Against Homeowners Association
Conduct constituted malice, oppression, or fraud and committed by one or more officers, directors or managing agents of the HOA - Presiding Juror Earlier this week a jury in a case filed in Superior Court of California Riverside, a jury ruled in favor...
GRF 2009 Budget Review, Be There or Be Out of Luck!
Letter from LWV resident M. Curtis inviting concerned residents: Tomorrow (Tuesday, July 22) at 9AM, in the Community Center Board Room, GRF will have a Special Corporate (all boards) meeting to review next year's budget. See the...
Different Homeowners Association, Same Issues
I assume that you are a member of the Walnut Creek Leisure World Association, or is this another HOA in the area? We have had many comments of similar problems by HOA's who happen to run into our website and I'm glad that you contacted me
The Right LWV Leadership for Such a Time as This?
Is this general manager (Milt Johns) over his head in his management skills? Can someone come out with only experience from the garden to manage a 90 million dollar business without a conflict of interest? When is the last time Mr. Johns lowered our costs...
RELATED VIDEO CLIPS
|
 | June 2, 2009 Golden Rain Foundation annotated board Meeting - as Board President denigrates fellow director and cancer patient Michael Curtis, while defending property management company's actions Click here for the rest of the story.. |
| Desperate Directors of Laguna Woods - The Facts Behind the Fiction Part Two - Click here for video | |
|
|
