THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN MY APT. BLDG.

Tonight I was chatting with a guy who's been here for about 5 years and I mentioned that archeologists have found pottery shards in Japan that date back to 16,500 BC.  He argued that that was only 3,500 years ago...

NOTE TO SELF

I have been thinking about starting my own computer business centering on people 55 and over but after helping a couple of my neighbors, I don't think this is a good idea because they simply refuse to spend the time necessary to learn the simplest rules.

THE RETURN OF A BOOB

Roger Forrester and his staff was fired from the local SCSEP program for being incompetent boobs yet he somehow managed to land another social service position:

New job-search support group launches this week in Tucson 
Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Sunday, May 6, 2012 2:01 pm

Unemployed professionals can get free help finding jobs from a new local organization launching this week.
The Professional Employment Exploration & Resource Service (PEERS), a new job-search support organization for professionals, kicks off Wednesday.
Registration begins at 8 a.m. that day at Pima Community College Community Campus, 401 N. Bonita Ave., Rooms A-109 and A-112.
PEERS was initiated by the Pima County Workforce Investment Board. PEERS Chairman Roger Forrester said the program will host industry-specific networking events, build strong employer connections and help job seekers fine-tune their job-search, social media and networking skills.
Job seekers and employers are encouraged to attend the job search and networking function that will immediately follow the kickoff ceremony.
To register for the event,  go to www.peersaz.com and click on the event calendar.

I sent a web-based email to the Pima County Workforce Investment Board and I'll update if I get a reply.

A NICE SURPRISE

As I was waiting for a bus, I talked with a guy I know from Parker Consulting. He told me that John Dollinger has been fired by the wife of the owner. According to my source, the wife showed up in Tucson and was appalled at the poor physical state of the equipment and that was the end of John. This should've have happened years ago, before John had a chance to ruin Parker's reputation and before that young woman had a stroke.

GREAT NEWS!!!

I filed a formal grievance about my exit from the program last Friday and today I had a meeting at PCOA headquarters and my grievance was upheld.  I still need to finish the re-certifcation procedure so I will meet with Kerry at El Rio tomorrow.

THE LATEST FROM SCSEP

I spoke with Roger Forrester last week about being grand-fathered into SCSEP and he said he would look into that but was non-committal.  I asked him if he had a meeting with HR at the U of A and he said he put in a call to the person Leslie Porter delegated the task to but had not gotten a return call and he wouldn't do so now because SCSEP funds have been cut.

This week, I called up Joel Miller and asked him if the the 30-day exit procedure was a rule. He said no but apparently changed his mind (see copy of Riecken below).

This week, I finally got an interview with Michelle at the Primavera Men's Shelter and she is eager to have me start.
I sent Forrester and Riecken an email about this good news:

I spoke with Joel Millman a few days ago and he said there
was no rule about mandatory "exiting" after a placement
doesn't work out.

Even better, the Primavera Men's Shelter wants me to
work for them through SCSEP!!!

This is Riecken's reply:

Steven;



Joel spoke with me on Wednesday and confirmed that he explained to you that there was a 30 day limit to the leave of absence last fall, as I had implemented.



Regarding your application status, we are beginning to process people into SCSEP. By policy we process those who are considered “high priority” before any other candidates, and I have no idea how long it will be before your file rises to the top of the list as there are many factors to consider.



Regarding Primavera, they, as well as the University of Arizona , are not a Host Agency with Pima Council on Aging’s SCSEP, nor will they be in the foreseeable future.



As Roger Forrester and I discussed with you more than once in the past few months, it is extremely inappropriate for you to represent SCSEP in recruiting Host Agencies or promoting yourself to organizations as a potential candidate. I again advise you to discontinue this activity.



Laura Riecken

Program Manager

UMC UPDATE

Today I spoke briefly with Keith Wilburn and he said he would get back to me by Wednesday but he wanted to check with HR people.  I told him that Allison Vaillancourt and Leslie Porter were already involved and he seemed to like that.  I also said that Roger Forrester had to meet with one or both of them to get the final OK for the U of A.

Joel Millman hasn't replied to my e-mail about SCSEP's definition of "unemployed."