Sale of KOCE Broadcasting License Finalized

The Coast Community College District Board of Trustees and the KOCE Foundation held a special presentation at their November board meeting to conclude the sale of Orange County’s public broadcasting station to the stations’ fundraising organization.

The Board voted last December to accept a $32 million bid for the KOCE-TV Channel 50 broadcasting license from the KOCE Foundation, a fundraising organization that has been working with the District and helping to support KOCE for decades. A final sale agreement between the Foundation and the District was approved in March which included an $8 million down payment from the Foundation, a $20 million note, as well as lease and programming agreements between the two organizations. The agreement gave the Foundation until November 1 to come up with the down payment. In October, the KOCE Foundation announced it had secured the funding for the down payment, after a seven-month campaign to gather the required cash and pledges. On Monday, November 1, the Foundation wired the required down payment to the District, effectively making the sale final.

“This is a great day for Orange County,” said District Board President George Brown at the November 3rd board meeting. “The finalization of this sale guarantees that Orange County will continue to have its own Public Broadcasting Station focused on the needs and the news unique to our county.

“I wish the KOCE Foundation continued success in maintaining and enhancing the station’s legacy as Orange County’s own educational PBS station.”

“Our Trustee Committee worked hard for many, many months to turn this sale into a reality, and I am thrilled and delighted that it has come to pass” said Trustee Jerry Patterson, who served with Brown on the Board’s KOCE committee. “It was important to our community, and to me personally, that KOCE remain an Orange County-based, educational PBS affiliate, qualified to receive Corporation for Public Broadcasting grants, now and in the future.”

“My thanks go out to many who were instrumental in making this happen, including KOCE Foundation members Bob Brown, Jerry Cwiertnia, Joel Slutzky and Ardelle St. George, along with many others. I would also give a huge thank you to our Coast District Vice Chancellor Ron Berggren and the District team including John Renley and Jeff Arthur. Truly, their tireless efforts are what kept the whole fabric of this transaction together,” Patterson said.

“The KOCE-TV Foundation Board is very excited that the lengthy license transfer process is now coming to a close,” said Bob Brown, chairman of the KOCE-TV Foundation. “We look forward to enhancing the value of this extremely important asset through expanded education, arts, culture and information for Orange County,” he added.

Election Results

All three members of the Coast Community College District Board of Trustees up for re-election in November will serve another four-year term beginning in December.

Trustee Paul Berger, who was first elected to the Board in 1987, was re-elected to serve another four years over challenger Alice Saltzman.

Trustee Armando Ruiz, who has served on the Board for 20 years, was re-elected on November 2. Trustee Ruiz resigned from his Board seat in October, and therefore will not officially serve as Trustee until he is sworn in on December 15. He ran against two opponents – Diane Lenning and Bonnie Castrey.

No opponent filed to run against Trustee Jerry Patterson.

Environmental Health and Safety - Protect Yourself During an Earthquake

EHS's Jerry Marchbank (left) and Michael Collins (right)

In your home, at work, driving your car, or walking outside — do you know what to do to protect yourself when an earthquake strikes. The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services is reminding all Californians to take steps to be ready. Here are some suggestions on how to protect yourself during an earthquake. In your home or a building -- DROP, COVER, and HOLD under

a sturdy table or desk, hold on, and protect your eyes by pressing your face against your arm. If there is no table or desk, move to a nearby inside wall, crouch down and protect your eyes and head with your arms as best you can.

Outside – find a clear spot away from buildings, trees, and power lines. Drop to the ground.

In your car – slow down and drive to an area free of buildings, trees and power lines. Stay in the car until the shaking stops.

Wherever you are – beware of falling debris when entering or exiting a building. Many injuries occur when someone attempts to enter or exit a building during or immediately following an earthquake.

Extensive research into the causes of earthquake injuries and deaths supports the use of the Drop, Cover, and Hold procedure. Most injuries in California earthquakes occur when building occupants attempt to leave buildings or move to a different location in the building.

For more information, check out www.oes.ca.gov, or contact the District’s EHS department at x84728 or send an email to jmarchbank@mail.cccd.edu

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Coastline Community College News

ABI Holds Annual Dinner/Dance Fundraiser

Bruce and Linda

Stacey Hunter Schwartz & Shalini Malhotra

The ABI Program held its fourth annual Swingin’ at Sunset Dinner Dance, raising $30,000 for its student emergency fund. The event's major sponsor, Shalini Malhotra, is a graduate of the program. Another program graduate, Bruce Miller, and his wife Linda served as the event's keynote speakers.

Miller was a computer network specialist when he experienced an aortic dissection (the same condition from which actor John Ritter died). Surgeons saved his life, but lack of oxygen to his brain forced Miller to re-learn the simplest of tasks. His wife Linda recalled to the audience of 200 how she’d watched her husband, a former math teacher struggle to make simple change at the mall. She thanked Coastline and the ABI team for teaching her husband how to re-gain skills and cope with his brain injury. Miller recently set up a computer network for a local rehabilitation facility.

Dr. Ding-Jo Currie surprised the coordinators of the event, Dean Stacey Hunter Schwartz, ABI instructor Brenda Aronson and community member Rich Fitzgeorge, with a presentation honoring their contributions to the program. "We were shocked and extremely touched by the honor," said Schwartz. "This program is something that we all strongly believe in and we are just proud to be a part of it. The success of the fundraiser is a tribute to our graduates."

Funds raised are used to assist students of the program with emergencies such as medical expenses, insurance, mortgage payments, groceries and gas.

For more information regarding donations to the ABI Program, please contact Dr. Stacey Hunter Schwartz at extension 17220.

One Stop Premiere Event

On October 26, 2004, Coastline Community College Orange County One Stop Centers, the Orange County Business Service Centers and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce partnered to present the Premier Job Fair: Navigating the Road to Success. The event was held at the Orange County Fairgrounds and Exposition Center where 65 companies were invited to be exhibitors and over 2,600 enthusiastic and energetic job candidates were in attendance.

Jobseekers were from diverse employment backgrounds, business and technical professions and represented entry to professional level interest. The event also offered job applicants the opportunity to attend Career Enrichment workshops in Resume Writing, Interviewing and Job Searching Tips and Techniques. The event was free of charge for all jobseekers and parking was free to all those who attended.

The day concluded with a private evening mixer to thank all the sponsors and exhibitors for their support and participation in contributing to our success!