Southwestern College Pushed to the Brink by Brutal Power Struggle; Blackwater connection

Southwestern College Pushed to the Brink by Brutal Power Struggle
February 7, 2010
Voice of San Diego
By SEAN CAMPBELL and LYNDSAY WINKLEY

Andrew Rempt was correcting composition papers at his home when the doorbell rang.

Earlier that day, the Southwestern College English professor had stood with students protesting against class cuts. Now, the college's human resource director was standing on his doorstep alongside an armed campus police officer. Their message: Rempt and three other professors were banned from campus that night.

Three of them later learned they were being investigated for inciting students and not cooperating with campus police.

The incident enflamed the already volatile relationship between the South Bay community college's employees and Superintendent Raj K. Chopra. It has been an almost constant battle since Chopra was hired in August 2007, and there is no sign of letting up, even after the state's accreditation agency put the college on probation on Tuesday.

The president has acted unilaterally to enact massive budget cuts in the face of deep financial troubles, breaking course with previous administrations who involved faculty in decision-making. Now, three pro-Chopra board members are facing a recall, faculty is complaining of a culture of fear and California's college accreditation commission is threatening to shut the whole place down if the campus environment does not change...

They were up in arms about Chopra's decision to associate the college with controversial war contractor Blackwater and its "mercenaries." ...



Blackwater used 'child prostitutes in Iraq'
08 Aug 2009

New disturbing charges have emerged against XE, the infamous private security firm formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide, whose operations came under spotlight after its 2007 carnage in Baghdad.

According to a report by MSNBC and based on alleged sworn declarations by two Blackwater employees in federal court, the firm used child prostitutes at its compound in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone.

The declarations added Iraqi minors got involve in sexual acts with Blackwater members in exchange for one dollar and Erik Prince, the firm's owner, "failed to stop the ongoing use of prostitutes, including child prostitutes, by his men."

Based on other statements, the firm was involved in another sex scandal; "Prince's North Carolina operations had an ongoing wife-swapping and sex ring, which was participated in by many of Mr. Prince's top executives."

The two employees also alleged that Prince "views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe," The Nation reported...

Blackwater (now "Xe") employed untrained foreigners for senstive operations, also former CIA officials/Links to Shinoff ruling and Terry Greir

Click here to see "Judge Judith Hayes will rule on whether Dan Shinoff was intimidating, unethical or unprofessional when he sued Dr. B.J. Freeman on behalf of VUSD."
See all Judge Judith Hayes posts.

Click HERE for Terry Grier.


See Erik Prince, Master of War.
Who exactly was keeping America safe during the Bush years? And who was buying loyalty with US taxpayer dollars? It looks like Blackwater (now known as Xe) was using tax dollars to pay foreigners and former CIA agents for their loyalty--to Blackwater.


How Many Moral Waivers Has Blackwater Issued?
The Washington Note
Oct 11 2007
(Note the date. It seems that our calamities are often predicted; it's just that no one acts on the warnings.)

A while back, I got interested in the fact that the Pentagon has issued more than 125,000 "moral waivers" to recruits in order to continue to meet manpower requirements. While issuing these waivers for various kinds of felonies -- including theft and assault -- the military under its highly righteous most senior general, Joint Chiefs Commander Pete Pace, continued to legally harrass and expel discovered homosexuals in its ranks.

This raises the questions about norms in private military contractors -- like Blackwater.

I don't know the answers but it would be interesting to know if Blackwater has issued any moral waivers to its recruits -- or whether it has any moral benchmarks at all. Someone really ought to ask...

Former DoD official and defense policy staffer at CSIS and the Council on Foreign Relations John Hillen used to focus on the "norms gap" between society and the Department of Defense -- and he'd side with the anti-gay bias of the Pentagon in general. But Blackwater USA and other private contractors raise a new question not about the gap between their outfits and American society -- but about the norms gap between a Blackwater operation and the military.

My New America Foundation colleague and friend Jim Pinkerton -- who used to hang out with the current President when "W" was a lost puppy looking for purpose under the political direction of Lee Atwater -- has written a great essay on Blackwater -- with particular focus on the cockiness of the firm's CEO, Erik Prince...




Blackwater tapped foreigners on secret CIA program
By ADAM GOLDMAN and PAMELA HESS, Associated Press
Aug 30, 2009

WASHINGTON – When the CIA revived a plan to kill or capture terrorists in 2004, the agency turned to the well-connected security company then known as Blackwater USA.

With Blackwater's lucrative government security work and contacts arrayed in hot spots around the world, company officials offered the services of foreigners supposedly skilled at tracking terrorists in lawless regions and countries where the CIA had no working relationships with the government.

Blackwater told the CIA that it "could put people on the ground to provide the surveillance and support — all of the things you need to conduct an operation," a former senior CIA official familiar with the secret program told The Associated Press.

But the CIA's use of the private contractor as part of its now-abandoned plan to dispatch death squads skirted concerns now re-emerging with recent disclosures about Blackwater's role.

The former senior CIA official said he had doubts during his tenure about whether Blackwater's foreign recruits had mastered the necessary skills to pull off such a high-stakes operation. Blackwater's later hiring of several senior CIA officials who were involved in or aware of the secret program, including one of the men who ran the operation, showed the blurred lines of using a private contractor for such a highly classified and dangerous project...

Meet Erik Prince, Master of War

UPDATE: Erik Prince has been implicated in murder
Blackwater Founder Erik Prince Implicated in Murder
08-4-09
thenation.com:
A former Blackwater employee and an ex-US Marine who has worked as a security operative for the company have made a series of explosive allegations in sworn statements filed on August 3 in federal court in Virginia. The two men claim that the company's owner, Erik Prince, may have murdered or facilitated the murder of individuals who were cooperating with federal authorities investigating the company...



After reading the first chapter of Master of War by CNN producer Suzanne Simons, I'm already an admirer of Erik Prince, a man who designed his own life from an early age. It seems that he incorporated his parents' conservative values into his life plan, rather than being drawn into any plan of his parents. I am also terrified of Mr. Prince. His personality seems to consist almost entirely of driving ambition, with little room left for contemplation.

The first sentence of Suzanne Simons book is, "Erik Prince's body bounced off the hood of the North Carolina Parks Development pickup truck before vanishing over a steep embankment next to a mountain road." The story goes on to prove that nothing gives this man pause.



Master of War
By Suzanne Simons
Introduction by publisher:

The name Blackwater, the world's largest private military contractor, became infamous early in the Iraq War, when four of its men were seized by a mob in Fallujah, murdered, and hung from a bridge for the world to see. Since then, Blackwater has expanded dramatically; its men have been involved in major scandals, including a shooting spree in Iraq that has now caused the Iraqi government to blacklist the company...

He publicly reassures everyone that Blackwater only works for the U.S., and would never become a mercenary organization for other governments, yet he has another entire company dedicated to doing just that...

In addition, he has a private spying company, run by former top CIA men, employing extraordinarily sensitive methods and technical sophistication, for rent by any interested party...

He has given Suzanne Simons hours of interviews; access to his staff; invitations to join him on trips to Afghanistan; and more. He is a fascinating figure, part deeply conservative, evangelical patriot; part rebellious, go-it-alone kingpin. He is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and his companies are worth billions. His empire dwarfs all of its competitors, to such a degree that even if the military wanted to wash its hands of him, they wouldn't be able to replace him.



Erik Prince Murder Charge: In Troubled ‘Blackwater’s?
August 5th, 2009
Thaindian News

...According to the allegations, Prince supposedly considered himself a “Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and Islamic faith from the globe”. The accusations leveled against Blackwater, portray the organization as one that “encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life”...

Blackwater evades taxes

Reuters
Lawmaker accuses Blackwater of tax evasion

By Kevin Drawbaugh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chairman of a congressional committee said on Monday that documents obtained by his panel suggest that private security contractor Blackwater USA "engaged in significant tax evasion."

But the company -- under scrutiny already because of deadly shootings in Iraq involving some of its personnel -- told Reuters the lawmaker's assertion was incorrect.

Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee, accused Blackwater of "failing to withhold and pay millions of dollars in Social Security, Medicare, unemployment and related taxes."

Blackwater update: Nisoor Square

Nisoor Square

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS reports that Iraqi authorities want the U.S. government to sever all contracts in Iraq with Blackwater USA within six months. They also want the firm to pay $8 million in compensation to the families of each of the 17 people killed when its guards opened fire with a heavy machine gun last month at Nisoor Square, in an upscale section of Baghdad.

The fiasco began when a Blackwater gunner opened fire on an approaching white car, instantly killing the medical student who was driving. The car kept moving, so Blackwater gunners shot at it some more, killing the mother of the student. A ten-year-old boy in the car behind the white car was also killed.

The other 14 civilians were apparently killed when four Blackwater vehicles were called to the traffic circle and began shooting without provocation.

Apparently, Blackwater has been operating without a license in Iraq since June 2, 2006, so it has no immunity from prosecution. Iraq wants the shooters to be turned over for trial.

Blackwater answers to no one

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post has written a short but enlightening description of the testimony of Erik Prince, the chief of Blackwater before a House committee on October 2, 2007:

"...How much does Blackwater, recipient of $1 billion in federal contracts, make in profits? "We're a private company, and there's a key word there -- private," Prince answered.

"What about the 2004 crash of a Blackwater plane in Afghanistan, when federal investigators said the pilots acted unprofessionally? "Accidents happen," Prince explained.

"The lack of prosecution for a drunken Blackwater worker who shot and killed a security guard to an Iraqi vice president? "We can't flog him," Prince said...

"Republicans, meanwhile, proved content to shill for a major donor. Prince's father helped to bankroll the religious-conservative movement, and his sister, Betsy DeVos, is a big Republican fundraiser who married into the Amway fortune. Prince himself has given $236,000 to GOP candidates and conservative causes -- typical of a defense contracting industry that, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, gave nearly $1 million to members of the oversight committee since 2003 -- 83 percent of it to Republicans...

"We should take care not to prejudge," said Tom Davis of Virginia ($717,829).

"We should not be holding this hearing," protested John Mica of Florida ($145,454). "Therefore, I move that the committee do now adjourn..."

Original story:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/02/AR2007100202022.html

San Diego County employee of the month: Lori Spar, Blackwater lawyer

KPBS TV in San Diego published the following story about a lady with interesting ethics.

Blackwater Opponents Say County Employee Has Conflict of Interest
Jul 24, 2007
by Amita Sharma

Opponents of a proposal to build a training camp in East County for military and police personnel say a San Diego County employee -- who until recently was working on the review process for the project -- has a conflict of interest. Full Focus reporter Amita Sharma has more.

The opponents have honed in on Lori Spar. According to Raymond Lutz, coordinator for Citizens' Oversight Projects, Spar's work history raises questions about whether the review of the Blackwater project for Potrero by the county's department of planning and land use is truly objective.

Lutz: She worked at the department of planning and land use as a planner and then went out and got her law degree and passed the bar exam and so forth, and was working at the law firm that was representing Blackwater -- and you can see the file at the department of planning use that she was the person at the meetings representing their point of view. And then just a month later she had gotten a job back at the department of planning and land use, was working on the Blackwater case, and was now representing the county.

County officials, including Lori Spar, did not return phone calls to Full Focus.

But earlier this year Glenn Russell, chief of the regulatory section of the department of planning and land use, confirmed at a meeting on the Blackwater Project that Spar used to work for the county as a planner. He said:

Russell: Then she decided she didn't like being a lawyer and wanted to be a land-use planner and then she came back to us. She actually was working on the project team. As soon as it was brought to our attention that her firm was actually the firm representing the applicant, we took her off the project. We are very concerned that there might be an appearance of a conflict of interest.

Lutz says county officials need to rethink whether Spar should be on the payroll at all while the department of planning and land-use assesses the Blackwater project.

Lutz: We should take a look at these hiring practices because to hire someone and then to just assign them to a project that they're on, this doesn't make any sense to anyone I can talk to -- except for the people at DPLU, they think it's fine.

Legal observers are split on the appropriateness of Spar's employment at the county. Some say it's legal but ethically questionable. Others say Spar has a conflict because working for the county requires her to disclose all she knows about Blackwater.

But her prior role as that company's attorney precludes her from such disclosure because of attorney-client privilege rules.

Welcome to California, Mr. Bonfiglio

NBC Blackwater Report

The Following Is A Transcript Of A Report Broadcast Aug. 9, 2007 On KNBC (NBC4 Los Angeles):

They say they are not a mercenary outfit, but Blackwater USA has one of the most profitable private armies in the world, with outposts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now they're coming to California, and one Los Angeles activist is gearing up to take them on.

PAUL MOYER: They're unforgettable...horrific images from Iraq in March 2004...the bodies of four American civilians burned and strung up by an Iraqi mob. Few of us knew at the time that the victims were employees of a company called Blackwater, one of the fastest-growing private security outfits in the world

RICK JACOBS: They are former seals and former highly trained army personnel. They have helicopters. They have tanks. They report to no one.
MOYER: Rick Jacobs first learned about Blackwater while making this documentary about the 180,000 private contractors, including Blackwater's own, who work in the war zone outnumbering even American troops.
JACOBS: We told the story of Blackwater as probably the most egregious of the private contractors that have really privatized the war in Iraq.
MOYER: Now Rick is worried about another aspect of Blackwater's agenda – its plans to create a massive training base in a desert east of San Diego.
JACOBS: Blackwater arguably is on its way to becoming auxiliary policemen in this state.
MOYER: Jacobs, an LA-based political activist, has organized a grass-roots crusade to keep Blackwater out of California -- and he's attracted some powerful allies, like Congressman Bob Filner of San Diego.
BOB FILNER: The same group that is training for foreign mercenary groups can be used in domestic situations whether it's a riot or some other a disaster. That worries me that we don't have any way of knowing what they're doing really.
MOYER: Why does Blackwater inspire such intense emotion? Speaking broadly, it's just a private company doing business here and abroad.
BRIAN BONFIGLIO, Blackwater West: We're not a mercenary army.
Blackwater as a whole, as a company, does not engage in offensive operations. Never have, never will. And we've never worked for any other state than the United States of America. So mercenary doesn't apply.
MOYER: And he says the company is accountable – to the law and whoever contracts its services. Not everyone is reassured.
JEREMY SCAHILL, Author Of Book Blackwater: Out of the rubble of 9-11 it has risen to become one of the most powerful private actors operating in the so-called war on terror.
Blackwater operates the largest private military base in the world in North Carolina. It has operatives deployed in nine countries around the world. They boast of having 20,000 troops at the ready that could be deployed at a moment's notice.
MOYER: After the Faluja disaster, says Scahill, Blackwater took legal action to keep the families of its own slain operatives from questioning its policies in open court. And, he says, it got more government contracts from the conservative friends of its billionaire founder Eric Prince.
SCAHILL: It is a company that is operated in secrecy and is largely protected by the uber-secretive administration of George Bush. They don't appear to be accountable to the elected officials of the US Congress or the taxpayers who foot the bill.
MOYER: Gradually, says Scahill, Blackwater has begun to move in a new direction.
SCAHILL: This is a company that increasingly has its sights on domestic deployments inside the United States.
MOYER: During the Katrina disaster, says Scahill, he spotted armed Blackwater operatives in New Orleans… initially looking for work…finally hired as protection by FEMA and private citizens.
SCAHILL: Where I think it gets terribly disturbing is when you have the prospect of wealthy individuals hiring what is essentially a militia to quote unquote protect their private property.
MOYER: Last April a top Blackwater official, Cofer Black, became senior adviser to GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, thus expanding the company's political potential. Meantime, Blackwater has set up shop at various locales across the country – a development that particularly troubles Rick Jacobs.
JACOBS: Blackwater's objective is to have a base of operations in just about every geographic area of the US. They have one in Chicago, they have one in North Carolina.
MOYER: And now, he says, they're looking to snap up this patch of territory near San Diego
JACOBS: This one's close to the Mexico border. Some people argue that Blackwater's attempt to be near the Mexican border is a way to militarize that border with private security people… with mercenaries so that the federal government doesn't have to get its hands dirty
MOYER: Jacobs says Blackwater wooed local officials into green-lighting the project.
JACOBS: Their facilities consist of, and in this case they have advertised will consist of a driving range of 10 football fields in length, several firing ranges, about 350 people there at any given time.
MOYER: It's a picture confirmed by Brian Bonfiglio of Blackwater West.
BONFIGLIO: A lot of if not a majority of this facility will be leased by law enforcement organizations, and the same holds true for the military.
MOYER: Publicly the proposed facility is touted as a training base for police and security personnel.
BONFIGLIO: They'll have their unit instructors come out with units prior to deployments, conduct their training and then go back to their bases. Small arms training, no explosives taking place out here, no artillery, no tanks.
MOYER: Whatever the training, says Jacobs, if the police or military are involved, this gives Blackwater a relationship with them it could exploit in an emergency.
JACOBS: Imagine that organization just loose in this state, not answering to any one.
MOYER: Sound far-fetched? Jacobs points out that a former spokesman for Blackwater, Chris Bertelli, has, until recently, been working for Governor Schwarzenegger's homeland security committee and is still attached to his administration
JACOBS: Governor Schwarzenegger comes out of a certain heroic film background. You can imagine him in various roles where he saves the day. And Governor Schwarzenegger may have a very good heart about all of this. He really probably does want to save the day, if there's ever a reason to do so. Now he has a guy next to him whose history and background is hiring guns.
MOYER: Bertelli declined to be interviewed, and Brian Bonfiglio of Blackwater West says he's had no dealings with the former company official. But he does confirm Blackwater is hoping to get into Border Patrol work.
BONFIGLIO: I do believe that augmenting much needed force here on the border, whether it be on the Mexican border or the Canadian border is something that we'd potentially look at.
MOYER: Some people who live near the proposed Backwater facility support it.
LOCAL CITIZEN: Anything that can seal or tighten that border is for the good.
LOCAL CITIZEN: The engineers have come up with a computer model for the noise that indicated that the community would not hear any noise coming.
MOYER: Other locals are opposed.
LOCAL CITIZEN: The fire danger will be enormous from their armory. The noise will be intolerable for people who live within five or six miles. The traffic will be enormous.
LOCAL CITIZEN: We love the beauty of the place and want to keep it that way.
MOYER: Jacobs says his campaign against the proposed facility is gaining support and Congressman Filner is planning to sponsor legislation to bring private security outfits like Blackwater under tighter Federal control.
FILNER: We have seen democracies undermined by mercenary armies. This is something that all Americans need to watch very carefully.
MOYER: Blackwater emphasizes in a written statement that it supports enforcement of all US and international laws. The California Office of Emergency Services tells us in writing it is unlikely to contract from the private sector in an emergency.

FAIR USE NOTICE. This document may contain copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. San Diego Education Report is making this article available in our efforts to advance the understanding of corporate accountability, human rights, labor rights, social and environmental justice issues. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

NBC Blackwater Report: This is a company that increasingly has its sights on domestic deployments...

LOS ANGELES -- They say they are not a mercenary outfit, but Blackwater USA has one of the most profitable private armies in the world, with outposts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, it wants to come to San Diego County, and one SoCal activist is gearing up to take them on.

JACOBS: We told the story of Blackwater as probably the most egregious of the private contractors that have really privatized the war in Iraq.

MOYER: Now Rick is worried about another aspect of Blackwater's agenda – its plans to create a massive training base in a desert east of San Diego.

JACOBS: Blackwater arguably is on its way to becoming auxiliary policemen in this state.

MOYER: Jacobs, an LA-based political activist, has organized a grass-roots crusade to keep Blackwater out of California -- and he's attracted some powerful allies, like Congressman Bob Filner of San Diego.

BOB FILNER: The same group that is training for foreign mercenary groups can be used in domestic situations whether it's a riot or some other a disaster. That worries me that we don't have any way of knowing what they're doing really.

MOYER: Why does Blackwater inspire such intense emotion? Speaking broadly, it's just a private company doing business here and abroad.

BRIAN BONFIGLIO, Blackwater West: We're not a mercenary army.

Blackwater as a whole, as a company, does not engage in offensive operations. Never have, never will. And we've never worked for any other state than the United States of America. So mercenary doesn't apply.

MOYER: And he says the company is accountable – to the law and whoever contracts its services. Not everyone is reassured.

JEREMY SCAHILL, Author Of Book Blackwater: Out of the rubble of 9-11 it has risen to become one of the most powerful private actors operating in the so-called war on terror.

Blackwater operates the largest private military base in the world in North Carolina. It has operatives deployed in nine countries around the world. They boast of having 20,000 troops at the ready that could be deployed at a moment's notice.

MOYER: After the Faluja disaster, says Scahill, Blackwater took legal action to keep the families of its own slain operatives from questioning its policies in open court. And, he says, it got more government contracts from the conservative friends of its billionaire founder Eric Prince.

SCAHILL: It is a company that is operated in secrecy and is largely protected by the uber-secretive administration of George Bush. They don't appear to be accountable to the elected officials of the US Congress or the taxpayers who foot the bill.

MOYER: Gradually, says Scahill, Blackwater has begun to move in a new direction.

SCAHILL: This is a company that increasingly has its sights on domestic deployments inside the United States.

MOYER: During the Katrina disaster, says Scahill, he spotted armed Blackwater operatives in New Orleans… initially looking for work…finally hired as protection by FEMA and private citizens.

SCAHILL: Where I think it gets terribly disturbing is when you have the prospect of wealthy individuals hiring what is essentially a militia to quote unquote protect their private property.

MOYER: Last April a top Blackwater official, Cofer Black, became senior adviser to GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, thus expanding the company's political potential. Meantime, Blackwater has set up shop at various locales across the country – a development that particularly troubles Rick Jacobs.

JACOBS: Blackwater's objective is to have a base of operations in just about every geographic area of the US. They have one in Chicago, they have one in North Carolina.

MOYER: And now, he says, they're looking to snap up this patch of territory near San Diego

JACOBS: This one's close to the Mexico border. Some people argue that Blackwater's attempt to be near the Mexican border is a way to militarize that border with private security people… with mercenaries so that the federal government doesn't have to get its hands dirty.

MOYER: Jacobs says Blackwater wooed local officials into green-lighting the project.

JACOBS: Their facilities consist of, and in this case they have advertised will consist of a driving range of 10 football fields in length, several firing ranges, about 350 people there at any given time.

MOYER: It's a picture confirmed by Brian Bonfiglio of Blackwater West.

This editing of the NBC news story was posted at:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1561865

Protest against Blackwater in Potrero

Yesterday, campers, bicyclists and hikers came to Potrero to listen to speakers regarding the Blackwater military security contractor's proposed training camp in Potrero.

They were joined by some who came just for the afternoon education session, which included a slide show by Ray Lutz, president of East County Democratic Club. Carol Jahnkow presided over the scheduling. The Sierra Club gave a presentation regarding wildlife in the area, and Enrique Morones spoke about violence at the border.

I was captivated by the beauty and quiet of Potrero. It is certainly a loss to the world to transform this place into a school for mercenaries, especially at a time when Blackwater has been banned from operating in Iraq. The September 16, 2007 incident in which Blackwater killed 17 civilians for no apparent reason has earned the company persona non grata status from the Iraq governement.

Why does Blackwater need more training camps if its theater of operations is diminishing? Are they training mercenaries for domestic actions?


The San Diego Reader reported in April 2007 on the history of Blackwater:

"People who lost loved ones when four employees were massacred in 2004 have charged that the company provided the men with inadequate equipment. In its defense, Blackwater has hired famed attorney Ken Starr and sued the lawyers who filed the case. Last month, five more Blackwater employees were killed in a helicopter crash. The company's owner, Erik Prince, has given lavishly to politicians, including former representative Tom DeLay, who left Congress in a lobbying scandal, and Duncan Hunter ($1000 in 2004)."



Blackwater representatives met with Rep. Duncan Hunter and Sup. Dianne Jacob in May, 2006. A month later the project opened at the San Diego County Department of Planning and Land Use (DPLU). Blackwater made a presentation to the Potrero Planning Group in Oct. 2006 and that group voted 7-0 to approve the project in Dec. 2006. A lawsuit was filed opposing the actiions of the Potrero Planning Group. Jan Hedlun, who opposes the Blackwater takeover, was sworn into office in January, 2007. A December 11, 2007 Recall Election has been approved by the Registrar Of Voters.


Miriam Raftery and Muriel Kane wrote on April 3, 2007 for Raw Story:

"One citizen opposed to the project revealed that Lori Spar—listed with the California Bar Association as an attorney with a law firm representing Blackwater on July 31, 2006 —has since unexpectedly surfaced as a land use/environmental planner for the Department of Planning and Land Use.

""She walked into our Mar. 1, 2007 Save Potrero meeting, representing the County," said former Potrero planner Carl Meyer.

"After RAW STORY inquired about her ties to Blackwater, the Department of Planning removed her from the project...

"Documents filed with the county indicate Blackwater officials have been meeting privately with Department of Planning and Land Use personnel since at least May of 2006. Members of the public in Potrero did not learn of the proposed project until Oct. 12 at the earliest. One whistleblower contends that failure to notify the public until late in the planning process may violate the California Environmental Quality Act; others allege that County planners may have violated the Brown Act, which mandates open meetings.

"Environmentalist Duncan McFetridge questions why residents weren’t included in early planning.

""It is as close to collusion as you can get without actually being illegal,” McFetridge says. “I am convinced that one of the main reasons that Blackwater came to San Diego is that we are the capital of privatization where lines between private and public sectors is a total blur.""

San Diego County Supervisors Dianne Jacob and Greg Cox should extract themselves from the grasping fingers of developers, at least for this useless and harmful project, and vote against allowing Blackwater to take over part of the Cleveland National Forest and other sensitive land.