" Water, a major issue and resource needed by all. I can not believe Napa County does not have 1 water district, providing water to all residents, and leaves it up to individual cities to fend for themselves. The city shares tax revenue with the county, why doesn't the county share water for the residents? With the county population roughty 120,000, just as Marin, but yet Marin municipal provides to all of Marin. Just because the reservoir is in San Rafael, doesn't mean Novato, and Mill Valley can't have any water. Why does the city of Napa get access to Lake Hennesey (their main water reservoir), located in Rutherford,CA while other cities do not? "

" I would of been PLEASED to have sat at this table to ask my own set of questions, I'm a AC resident! "

" Vote Caldwell on this one. He has the right idea about recycled water and does not want ot push it down our throats. Simpsion would really like to run for state office but has to much baggage when he was on the police force. "

" Vote Simpson on this one. He actually lives in the Coombsville area and knows all the issues. Plus Caldwell is in a mess and probably should just get out. I can't imagine people will vote for him after this mess with approving phony degrees. If he can't manage a small department how would he manage the county. Scary. "

" Dodd, Moskowite, Jager, and Simpson were attending meetings on the Coombsville water problems two years ago, where was Caldwell? He is just trying to make this a campaign issue and he is a johnny come lately who has no credibility. Like "jtfs" points out, Caldwell has a big mess on his hands with the phony degrees and should get out of this race. "

" jtfs, you are latching very strongly onto this "phony degree" issue and I suspect that Caldwell's opposition will try very hard to use this issue to divert attention away from the ones that matter. This is the game of dirty politics I suppose. Don't we have enough of that going around already?

You are entitled to your opinion but I happen to believe that you cannot hold managers solely responsible when their employees present these phony degrees. I visited the Alameda College site. They have an accreditation link and on the surface, they appear legitimage.

My nephew obtained a degree from this institute after arriving home from Iraq. He relocated back East and used this "phony degree" to obtain a job in a bank, although I think that he genuinely believed that his degree was legitimate. Basically, he was ripped off. In this respect, both the employer and the employee become victims.

I think we should address the issue of the "phony degree" industry. That's important. But Blaming Caldwell? Unless you can prove beyond a doubt that he knew that Alameda College was a phony operation AT THE TIME that his employees were given a raise, you cannot hold him any more guilty than any other employer who becomes victim to this scam. Most likely, Caldwell is a victim and quite possibly the employees who fell for this type of deception were too.

Anyone who is interested should go view the Alameda College website. Compare it to any other college such as Healds, Phoenix, or Empire and tell me how you can tell what the difference is!

Additionally, take a look at WHO is supporting each candidate. Do we really need to strengthen the "good old boys" network? "

" I found the info below on the internet about phony degrees. Just about anyone can be convinced that these diploma mills are legitimate (read below) unless an employer is looking specifically for an Ivy League, UC, or CSU type college. Vote, or don't vote for Caldwell based on the issues, but using the diploma mill scam as a criteria is allowing yourself to be conned by the opposition who may want to blur the truth.

Phony degrees impress many in the private sector who rarely pick up the phone to verify the credentials. "It's amazing how little checking is done," Bear says. "They're clueless."

Bear surveyed personnel managers on which schools impressed them. "We gave a list of 10 schools, five of them fake, and asked which ones they were likely to accept. Columbia State came out better than the accredited schools."

Even the accreditation process is suspect. Bear says the World Association of Universities and Colleges in Henderson accredits diploma mills. "It's just a mail drop," he says. "That has misled more people than anything else." Maxine Asher, who reportedly operates the Henderson business, did not return phone calls.

"They're ruining it for good schools," says, Bear, who believes diploma mills place a pall on legitimate distance learning institutions.

UNLV spokesman Tom Flagg concurs. He says UNLV provides bona fide distance learning classes, which are accredited, but the perception of abuse in the industry hurts everyone. "They make us look bad," he says.

Employers may not be the only victims of diploma mills. The students themselves may be deceived into thinking the colleges are legitimate. Sally St. John, a longtime drug counselor and local television personality, says she was lured into getting her doctorate in psychology from LaSalle..... "

" Vocal, you live in Anguin and obviously lack local knowledge of the phony diploma situation. By the way, that is ALMEDA University not Alameda College.
You are so desperate to find a Supervisor that will (maybe) vote against the Triad project that you are here posting up witout knowing what is what or what really happened at the Amcan Fire Department. No one who knows an Amcan Fireman or any Fireman for that matter belives Calwell din't know axactly what these diplomas are. Your uninformed excuses will not help those in District 5 elect an ethical candidate. Caldwell must withdraw. "

" Be forthright Delphi, about EXACTLY what Caldwell did wrong. Explain exactly what has happened in the Amcan Fire Dept. If all this stuff is going on, would you explain to me what it is so that I can at least be informed.

And yes, I want a supervisor to be elected who will be cautious about growth. I'm not trying to hide that fact. Caldwell seems more concerned about growth and environmental issues than other candidates.

Regarding the Almeda or Alameda diploma mill, my nephew finished a BA degree in less than six months and it sounded like "Alameda" to me. Ok so it's called Almeda. Same thing. He was a security officer in Iraq and was considering going into "search and rescue" when he returned. I wonder if this particular college targets firemen, policemen etc? A lot of these guys may not be suited for intense academic studies, general education etc. I'm just wondering whether a pay raise should be dependent on a college degree? I'd rather be rescued by a fireman who has gained certification which is relevant to his field than have one who has gained a general ed degree, even a legitimate one. "

" I meant to mention this on my last post....this Almeda college was on a list of "approved" colleges.

Wouldn't you rather have Caldwell focusing his expertise on firefighting issues rather than trying to figure out whether a college is "approved" when it's stated by upper level management that it is? If this is the only thing you have on Caldwell, it's not enough.

Those who want a level of controlled growth in Napa should vote Caldwell. His opponent is pro development. That's what I'm focusing on.

And if you want to make diploma mills an issue, you really should be questioning the relationship of a BA degree to a pay raise, in general. If upper level management has a policy indicating that this is the norm, you cannot blame lower levels of management for incorporating it into their practices.

Also, it's quite sickening for opposition to latch on to the diploma mill issue. The only reason it has become a topic at all is because the opposition doesn't want anyone to highlight subjects which will expose weakness. "