Alliance Resource Consulting - The Blog

Final Baseball Standings

2010-11-13T10:02:00.000-08:00

Now that the San Francisco Giants World Series hysteria has worn off, I have found the time to update the much overdue final California Municipal Baseball Standings for the past Season.

Congratulations to the City of Stockton! The Ports have won the inaugural season trophy!

Without further adieu - here are the FINAL STANDINGS

City	Team	League	Win. Percent	Previous
Stockton	Ports	A	.614	9
SF	Giants	NL	.568	3
Rancho Cucamonga	Quakes	A	.557	4
San Diego	Padres	NL	.556	2
Sacramento	River Cats	AAA	.549	7
Bakersfield	Blaze	A	.543	1
Adelanto	High Desert Mavericks	A	.543	6
Fresno	Grizzlies	AAA	.521	5
Modesto	Nuts	A	.514	14
Lake Elsinore	Storm	A	.500	8
Oakland	A’s	AL	.500	11
Visalia	Rawhide	A	.500	15
Los Angeles	Dodgers	NL	.494	10
Anaheim	Angeles	AL	.494	12
Lancaster	Jet Hawks	A	.443	13
San Jose	Giants	A	.443	16
San Bernardino	Inland Empire 66’ers	A	.343	17

As we all witnessed this past season, the San Francisco Giants are World Series Champions for the first time in my life and the first time since 1954! We also want to congratulate the San Jose Giants of the California League Class A Advanced for repeating as League Champions! The San Francisco Giants AAA affiliate the Fresno Grizzlies came in 2nd place in the Pacific Coast League Pacific Conference South Division.

You can help the California economy by buying your Giants WS gear - I did

See you next season.

California Municipal Baseball Standings - UPDATE

2010-08-08T20:37:00.000-07:00

Are we finished trading? Since our last post, the trading deadline has come and gone (but players can still come and go)

Here are the updated CMBS for the games that ended on August 8th.

City	Team	League	Winning %	Last Week
Bakersfield	Blaze	A	0.643	1
San Diego	Padres	NL West	0.582	2
San Francisco	Giants	NL West	0.563	6
Rancho Cucamonga	Quakes	A	0.548	3
Fresno	Grizzlies	AAA	0.548	4
Adelanto	High Desert Mavericks	A	0.548	8
Sacramento	River Cats	AAA	0.539	5
Lake Elsinore	Storm	A	0.524	7
Stockton	Ports	A	0.524	9
Los Angeles	Dodgers	NL West	0.518	10
Oakland	A’s	AL West	0.509	13
Anaheim	Angeles	AL West	0.496	11
Lancaster	Jet Hawks	A	0.476	16
Modesto	Nuts	A	0.465	12
Visalia	Rawhide	A	0.442	14
San Jose	Giants	A	0.429	17
San Bernardino	Inland Empire 66’ers	A	0.405	15

Congratulations to the Bakersfield Blaze for holding on to the lead in the standings, however the top 5 have two MLB teams closing in. The bottom 5 spots (#'s 13 - 17) are pretty much the same with the exception of the Oakland A's and the Modesto Nuts trading places.

MLB Salary Update!

Not to be outdone by the recent press attention given to high paid City Managers, it has been reported that former major leaguer and former Sacramento River Cat Eric Byrne has retired from baseball. Quoting from Wikipedia:

"On May 13, 2010, Byrnes announced his retirement from Major League Baseball. He lives in Half Moon Bay, California, plays slow pitch softball and golf, and reports no regrets. He will earn $11 million in 2010."

Not bad for a guy who was hitting .107 with Seattle and was signed to a $400,000 contract. Speaking of salaries......

So, what can you get for the equivalent salaries the City of Bell was paying their $800,000 City Manager and their $457,000 Police Chief? It should be noted that the average MLB salary is $3.2 million.

$800,000 will buy you.... This house in Little Rock Arkansas

or this 1995 Ferrari F50

or San Diego Padres Catcher Yorvit Torrealba

For $457,000 you can have this antique Patek Philippe Watch

Or this house in Maryland

Or hard hitting 3rd baseman Pedro Sandoval from the San Francisco Giants

Play Ball!

California Municipal Baseball Standings - UPDATE - At the Half

2010-07-19T17:45:00.000-07:00

Well, as I was reminded by Tim Johnson, author of the California Business Minute - that I haven't posted the updated CSMBS in over a month. Not that Baseball doesn't matter, but I was tuned into the World Cup (and unfortunately tuned into the Vuvuzelas)

Let's start the second half of the season with a look at where the teams are today....

City	Team	League	Winning %	Last Week
Bakersfield	Blaze	A	625	12
San Diego	Padres	NL West	.593	4
Rancho Cucamonga	Quakes	A	.583	7
Fresno	Grizzlies	AAA	.579	2
Sacramento	River Cats	AAA	.547	13
San Francisco	Giants	NL West	.543	9
Lake Elsinore	Storm	A	.542	1
Adelanto	High Desert Mavericks	A	.542	5
Stockton	Ports	A	.542	15
Los Angeles	Dodgers	NL West	.533	6
Anaheim	Angeles	AL West	.526	11
Modesto	Nuts	A	.500	8
Oakland	A’s	AL West	.500	10
Visalia	Rawhide	A	.458	14
San Bernardino	Inland Empire 66’ers	A	.417	16
Lancaster	Jet Hawks	A	.417	17
San Jose	Giants	A	.375	3

Holy smoke! Bakersfield is on the top of the standings, and the once high-flying San Jose Giants are in the basement.

In looking for the best promotions for the week ahead, we found what could be the most creative promotion of the season, and once again, it's from the Fresno Grizzlies.....

Presenting........

MAN NIGHT

Man Night

Had enough of all the ladies nights in town? The Grizzlies have your answer. It's Man Night on July 29, where we'll cater to the Y-Chromosomed half of the population with everything you need to have a manly good time at the ballpark.

Have fun and Play Ball!

Where are the California Municipal Baseball Standings?

2010-06-30T08:24:00.000-07:00

Truth be told, I am a HUGE soccer fan. The California Municipal Baseball Standings will return after the World Cup is over - or at least as soon as I lose interest in who is playing.

Eric J. Middleton

Summer Travel

2010-06-18T12:58:00.000-07:00

Greetings! As summerbegins, so does the hectic summer travel season. For me, navigating my way through airportswill take a little longer, getting through security will take more patience andre-circulated air will be used by more people.

Every year, it takes a little more energy for me to getjazzed up about heading to an airport, any airport for that matter. The aviation industry has never completely recoveredfrom 9/11 and now our current economic recession has delayed its recovery evenmore. With that said, I am extremely excited that Los Angeles International Airport’s Tom BradleyInternational Terminal is finally being renovated. There are two phases to this project, thefirst is the terminal modernization a $737 million project with a focus onmaking the terminal more customer service friendly. The second phase it the $1.5billion WestTerminal expansion. It is considered tobe the largest public works project in the history of the City of Los Angeles and it willcreate 4,000 construction related jobs over the course of the four-year projectschedule. Too bad I don’t get to use that terminal!

Being a former long-time Angeleno, LAX was my “home”airport. Actually, I don’t mind theother terminals at LAX. What I do mindis the cleanliness of the terminals. I can’tstand the dirty bathrooms, dingy floors and trash on the waiting areaseats. Now that I use San Francisco InternationalAirport and Mineta San Jose International Airportas my “home” airports, it’s so hard for me to go back and deal with the LAXstandards.

In any event, good luck with your summer travels. In case you haven’t made any plans yet,here’s a useful website with the top airports by categories (cleanestterminals, cleanest restrooms, etc.):

http://www.worldairportawards.com/Awards_2010/cleanliness.htm

Bon voyage!

Sherrill Uyeda

California Municipal Baseball Standings - Update Week 5

2010-06-04T15:12:00.000-07:00

Teams are starting to settle into a pattern as we head into this weekend's games. No movement in the top 5 teams, however, once high-flying Visalia has dropped into the bottom 5.

Here are the standings

City	Team	League	Winning %	Last Week
Lake Elsinore	Storm	A	.667	1
Fresno	Grizzlies	AAA	.630	2
San Jose	Giants	A	.611	3
San Diego	Padres	NL West	.604	4
Adelanto	High Desert Mavericks	A	.585	5
Los Angeles	Dodgers	NL West	.574	6
Rancho Cucamonga	Quakes	A	.556	8
Modesto	Nuts	A	.538	7
San Francisco	Giants	NL West	.538	9
Oakland	A’s	AL West	.527	10
Anaheim	Angeles	AL West	.500	12
Bakersfield	Blaze	A	.481	15
Sacramento	River Cats	AAA	.473	13
Visalia	Rawhide	A	.463	11
Stockton	Ports	A	.426	14
San Bernardino	Inland Empire 66’ers	A	.367	16
Lancaster	Jet Hawks	A	.302	17

If you are visiting the ball park this weekend here are the really cool give-a-ways. The Oakland A's host the Minnesota Twins. Friday is Fireworks night, Saturday is 14th Annual Oakland A's Beer Festival and Sunday is Batting Helmet day to the first 7500 kids. Only 7,500?! Sunday is also Mathletics Day - the combination Math day and Batting Helmet day is a sure winner.

If you are driving on Highway 99 be sure to drop in on the Visalia Rawhide game. Saturday is Dairy Day, yes, Dairy Day!

"Dairy Day

One of the most popular promotions we offer during the season! Come out and enjoy the lovely sight of our players competing in a cow milking contest among other things.

Cowbell Giveaway (subject to change

Presented by Land O' Lakes"

Did I see cowbell giveaway? I think I did - well this can only mean one thing We need more Cowbell

Play Ball!

California Municipal Baseball Standings - UPDATE

2010-05-29T08:19:00.000-07:00

Well, better late than never. Although these are a day late, the updated California Municipal Baseball Standings are posted! And we have a new leader - Lake Elsinore! Three cheers for the Storm. Three cheers for "A" Class ball!

Without further adieu - here are the standings:

City	Team	League	Winning %	Moving
Lake Elsinore	Storm	A	.673	UP
Fresno	Grizzlies	AAA	.667	Down
San Jose	Giants	A	.612	UP
San Diego	Padres	NL West	.583	DOWN
Adelanto	High Desert Mavericks	A	.583	UP
Los Angeles	Dodgers	NL West	.563	UP
Modesto	Nuts	A	.553	DOWN
Rancho Cucamonga	Quakes	A	.551	UP
San Francisco	Giants	NL West	.532	DOWN
Oakland	A’s	AL West	.531	UP
Visalia	Rawhide	A	.490	DOWN
Anaheim	Angeles	AL West	.465	DOWN
Sacramento	River Cats	AAA	.449	UP
Stockton	Ports	A	.429	NEUTRAL
Bakersfield	Blaze	A	.413	UP
San Bernardino	Inland Empire 66’ers	A	.367	UP
Lancaster	Jet Hawks	A	.319	DOWN

What is going on in Stockton? for two weeks they have been stuck at .429

Heading to the ballpark this weekend? Here are the "fan-tastic" give-a-ways for this weekend:
If you are heading to Stockton to watch the Ports take on the San Jose Giants you are in for a real treat it's

Salute to the Beatles Night with Fireworks

The Ports are excited to salute the Fab Four with theirSalute to the Beatles Night. Enjoy great Beatles music, trivia and much more. The Ports will also sport Beatles-themed jerseys, which will be auctioned off to fans during the game.

The Ports are proud to welcome area foster families and children to the ballpark for Foster Care Night.

Fans can also enjoy post-game fireworks.Presented by Food 4 Less/Rancho San Miguel Markets

Ok, what are Beatles-themed jerseys? Are we talking 1962 Beatles?

Or the Magical Mystery Tour Beatles? Does the entire team sport 'staches to compliment the jersey? Either way, fun times in Stockton!

If you are in San Diego this is your lucky weekend! Saturday is Chase Headley Bobblehead day and Sunday is Padres Floppy Hats for Kids give-a-way. There is nothing more flattering then a floppy hat on a 14yr old.

Play Ball!

California Municipal Baseball Standings - UPDATE

2010-05-21T15:05:00.000-07:00

Well it's week 3 of the CMBS and the Fresno Grizzlies are on a meteoric climb to the upper stratosphere of the baseball standings. As of the publishing of this blog, the junior Giants are at a whopping .700 winning percentage.

Here are the numbers.....

City	Team	League	Winning %	Moving
Fresno	Grizzlies	AAA	.700	#
Lake Elsinore	Storm	A	.643	#
San Jose	Giants	A	.610	#
Modesto	Nuts	A	.590	#
San Diego	Padres	NL West	.585	$
Adelanto	High Desert Mavericks	A	.561	#
Los Angeles	Dodgers	NL West	.561	#
San Francisco	Giants	NL West	.550	#
Rancho Cucamonga	Quakes	A	.548	#
Visalia	Rawhide	A	.500	$
Oakland	A’s	AL West	.476	$
Anaheim	Angeles	AL West	.465	#
Bakersfield	Blaze	A	.436	$
Stockton	Ports	A	.429	n
Sacramento	River Cats	AAA	.415	$
Lancaster	Jet Hawks	A	.375	$
San Bernardino	Inland Empire 66’ers	A	.310	#

Heading to the ballpark this weekend? Here's what you can find if you are going to watch the Modesto Nuts take on the San Jose Giants: Saturday is Star Wars Night with post game fireworks. How ironic that the Dodgers open up inter-league play vs. the Detroit Tigers and it's Empire Strikes Back night & free poster giveaway at Dodger Stadium. We were hoping for "bad movie giveaway night featuring the film Doctor Detroit". Don't remember Doctor Detroit? Well it's the heartwarming story of a timid college professor, conned into posing as a flamboyant pimp, who finds himself enjoying his new occupation on the streets. Hilarious. It stars Dan Ackroyd, his future wife Donna Dixon and WKRP alumni Howard Hessemann. 2 1/2 stars out of 10 on the IMDB.

Have a great weekend and Play Ball!

Friday Factoid - Alhambra, CA

2010-05-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

The City of Alhambra was founded in 1903 and named by the city's "founding father" Benjamin D. Wilson, who was also known as Don Benito." Wilson's daughters had been reading Washington Irving's "The Alhambra" and suggested the name for its romantic quality.

- The Los Angeles Times

You can find some great photos of early Alhambra at the City of Alhambra Scrapbook

California Municipal Baseball Standings - UPDATE

2010-05-14T16:54:00.000-07:00

What a difference a week makes! Ag Weekend proved to be exactly what the Fresno Grizzlies needed, while my San Francisco Giants (no bias here) were humbled, humiliated and had their lunch money taken from them by the San Diego Padres.

Here are the standings as we approach this weekend...

City	Team	League	Winning %	Moving
Fresno	Grizzlies	AAA	.676	#
San Diego	Padres	NL West	.647	#
Lake Elsinore	Storm	A	.629	#
Modesto	Nuts	A	.563	$
Visalia	Rawhide	A	.559	$
Adelanto	High Desert Mavericks	A	.559	$
San Francisco	Giants	NL West	.545	$
Rancho Cucamonga	Quakes	A	.543	#
Bakersfield	Blaze	A	.531	#
San Jose	Giants	A	.515	$
Oakland	A’s	AL West	.514	$
Los Angeles	Dodgers	NL West	.500	#
Stockton	Ports	A	.429	$
Sacramento	River Cats	AAA	.429	#
Anaheim	Angeles	AL West	.417	#
Lancaster	Jet Hawks	A	.394	#
San Bernardino	Inland Empire 66’ers	A	.286	'

At the bottom of the standings and dropping faster than a sinking off-shore oil rig, are the Inland Empire 66'ers - they are awarded the special "Phone for Help" symbol this week.

Tonight is Giant's Rally Scarf Nite, and if you are heading to San Bernardino it is 50 Cent Friday - Enjoy 50 cent hot dogs & quesadillas as well as $2.50 beer and soda and $2 lawn admission!

Presented by Toyota & Scion of Redlands.

Play Ball!

Green Waste Program

2010-05-12T16:56:00.000-07:00

Happy Wednesday! Because I handle our Firm’s recruitments in the environmental and utilities fields, I am always amazed at the forward thinking and progressive initiatives our clients are working on. In my personal life, I find I spend a lot of time discussing my clients’ programs with friends and family. My latest rave—the GreenWaste Program of Palo Alto.

The City of Palo Alto has set the goal of zero waste (no waste to landfills) by 2021. Zero Waste is a philosophy and a design principle that goes beyond recycling by taking a whole system approach to managing the flow of resources through society. It mimics natural systems where there is no such thing as waste. Zero Waste strives to eliminate waste by focusing on reducing consumption and ensuring that producers take-back products and packaging for reuse, repair or recycling.

Normally, sorting through trash is not my idea of good fun. The amount of acceptable items that GreenWaste of Palo Alto takes in though is astounding! Besides the typical glass, newspaper and aluminum cans (which my dear Generation X grew up recycling anyway), my city allows me to recycle everything from umbrellas, tools and car parts to furniture, toys and even the plastic liners in your cereal box.

I wish more cities would take up this cause because two thoughts pop into my mind—“Nothing Lasts Forever” and “What is Old is New Again!” For more information on this program, go to http://www.greenwaste.com/residential-services/palo-alto.

A Few Words About On-Line Surveys and Community Outreach

2010-05-08T10:13:00.000-07:00

We have lots of experience facilitatinglarge and small community forums, employee groups, union panels, etc.Additionally, we have extensive experience writing and analyzing on-linesurveys. I believe that if you can say it to an audience, you can write it in asurvey.

Recently a recruiter was asked about on-line surveys as partof a community outreach effort to identify the qualities of a new City Manager.

“(The consultant) described their experiencewith the use of on-line surveys and noted that they sometimes illicit fewresponses, many of which address issues, not the city manager profile. They stated that it is valuable for people to be heard and there are many differentways to accomplish this. They suggested that targeting stakeholders is the bestoption.”

We respectfully disagree – in fact the best community outreach strategy is to use both facilitated community forums and an on-line survey. On-line surveys are an invaluable tool (if written correctly):

§ They expand the reach of the outreach effort andallow more community participation.

§ They can be written to allow people who mayspeak another language like Spanish, Vietnamese or Hmong to be included.

§ When designed correctly, you will get more responses than would be in a traditionalcommunity meeting. For example, we hadover 550 responses to a survey we conducted on behalf of the City of San Jose, 125 for the City of Stocktonand 449 for the City of Long Beachin support of their Chief of Police Recruitment.

The other big advantages of surveys – they are available 24 hours a day, are convenient to people’s schedules,and allow people to take them anonymously. Community forums can be inconvenient for the very people they are hopingto attract. Scheduled too early in theday, people can’t get there because they are working. Too late in the eveningand families with children are working on homework or preparing for the nextday. Weekends are an alternative, but may be in competition with sports, familyevents, etc., you get the picture.

The quality of the data is a direct result of the quality ofthe design. Graduate level courses inPublic Administration teach survey design and statistics as part of thecurriculum. All the consultants at Alliance Resource Consulting have graduatedegrees in Public Administration from the University of Southern California and we have designed surveys that target information from residents, business residents, employeesand non-residents.

Friday Factoid - Agoura Hills, CA

2010-05-07T14:16:00.000-07:00

Last week we gave you a tidbit of information about our business home town, Long Beach, CA. Today we offer the following about the beautiful community of Agoura Hills, CA.

"In 1924 the town was called Independent Acres, but the name was later changed to Picture City after Paramount Picture Corp. bought the property. The name Agoura comes from the Pierre Agoura family, whose ranch encompassed 16,880 acres of Rancho Las Virgenes"
-Los Angeles Times History Center

Next week Alhambra.

This information was originally published in the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday December 26, 1989 and Wednesday, December 27, 1989, and has been in my files since I first read it.

California Municipal Baseball Standings

2010-05-07T12:15:00.000-07:00

Well here are the numbers we have all been waiting for – theCalifornia Municipal Baseball Standings. We have painstakingly calculated the currentstandings for the 18 Major and Minor league teams recognized by Major LeagueBaseball based on winning percentage (actually, we copied them from each league's standings and put them in an Excel spreadsheet). If you team is missing from this list, just drop us a line and we can add them to the list.

Congratulations to the City of San Francisco who are tied with their AAAaffiliate the Fresno Grizzlies the #1 spot in the California Municipal BaseballStandings.

City	Team	League	Winning %	Movement
Fresno	Grizzlies	AAA	.630	#
San Francisco	Giants	NL West	.630	#
Visalia	Rawhide	A	.615	$
San Diego	Padres	NL West	.607	1
Modesto	Nuts	A	.600	$
Adelanto	High Desert Mavericks	A	.577	1
Lake Elsinore	Storm	A	.566	1
San Jose	Giants	A	.560	#
Rancho Cucamonga	Quakes	A	.519	1
Oakland	A’s	AL West	.517	1
Stockton	Ports	A	.444	$
Los Angeles	Dodgers	NL West	.429	#
Sacramento	River Cats	A	.429	#
Bakersfield	Blaze	A	.417	#
Anaheim	Angeles	AL West	.400	$
San Bernardino	Inland Empire 66’ers	A	.357	$
Lancaster	Jet Hawks	A	.346	#

The Giants are riding a 3 game winning streak heading into New York to play theMets while the Grizzlies are riding a 2 game losing streak and play host to theSalt Lake City Buzz.

For those of you heading to Fresno this weekend – tonight is “Ag Night, Presented by Bayer CropScience andCBS 47. The evening showcases the Grizzlies' annual celebration of the Central Valley's rich agricultural history. Theorganization will recognize the impact of the agricultural community in Fresno throughout theevening with themed in-game entertainment, a petting zoo, a tractor exhibit andmore. There will also be traditional postgame Friday Night Fireworks, presentedby Bayer CropScience, as well as a performance by Minor League Baseball's mostbeloved dancing grounds crew, the Drag Kings”.

Not to be outdone, it is Collector’s Cup Night in NYC(hopefully a drinking cup and not an athletic supporter) - the first 25,000fans get a plastic cup.

We will update this list every Friday – stay tuned, and havea great weekend.

Fry-day Friday! - Warning, please eat at your own risk

2010-05-03T17:22:00.000-07:00

Last Fry-day, we lunched at the Buffalo Fire Department on Cabrillo Avenue in Torrance. In the ultimate search for a fried dish, Eric suggested that I order the hamburger with a fried macaroni and cheese layer. Eric ordered the Garlic Shrimp Burger with Wasabi Scallion Sauce. Both burgers were delightfully delicious. To make us feel better about our over indulgence, we drank water in lieu of soda and made sure to eat the lettuce and the tomato included with the burgers. Too bad french fries are not considered vegetables because I would be considered a very healthy vegetarian. This Fry-day, we will foray into the realm of fried desserts.

Macaroni and Cheese Burger Stack with Ranch

Garlic Shrimp Burger with Wasabi Scallion Sauce. Isn't this burger shiny?

Recruiting tip of the day: Please do not eat this before an interview.

Friday Factoid - Long Beach, CA

2010-04-30T16:28:00.000-07:00

Did you know that the City of Long Beach, was originally known in 1882 as Willmore City, after English developer William Erwin Willmore, who brought immigrants from Kansas City. When too few buyers appeared, his plans collapsed. In 1887 the Long Beach Land & Water Co. took over and gave the community its present name, chosen because of the size of the beach.

(Los Angeles Times)

When City Managers blog….

2010-04-30T16:14:00.000-07:00

So, how many do you think there are? Personally, I thought acouple, maybe a hundred. A veryunscientific search on Google listed 174,000 results. While there can’t possibly be 174,000 CityManager blogs (maybe this is the number that contain the word “City Manager”)this is an extraordinary count. So what do City Managers write about? Is it allbudget and taxes? Solid waste contracts? Snow removal schedules? Lets take alook…

The City Manager blogs for Lowell,MA (http://lowellma.wordpress.com/),and West Des Moines, IA (http://wdmcitymanager.blogspot.com/)are primarily focused on municipal announcements. I particularly like the Mt. Juliet,TN City Manager Blog from City Manger Randy Robertson (http://citymanagerreport.blogspot.com/)which is more like a community newspaper column, and starts many of his entrieswith a synopsis of the local weather. The blog for Rogers City, MI recently announced the Hentkowski FuneralHome Ribbon Cutting (http://rogerscity.com/blog/). The City of Eden Prarie, MN has several blogs on theirsite – The City Manager blogs, the Fire Chief blogs, the Police Departmentblogs and the City Liquor Store has a blog. Yes, the City Liquor Store (http://edenprairieweblogs.org/liquor/)

So, you have a blog, what do you do with it? City ManagerTim Zisoff from Indianola, IA (http://indianolacitymanagerblog.blogspot.com/)is a fairly regular contributor to his blog, while City Manager Rick Cole ofVentura, CA is probably the most active and has been blogging since 2006 (http://www.cityofventura.net/cmblog/). According to several sources the cardinal sinof blogging is setting one up and not using it like Blaine,WA (http://www.blaineman.typepad.com/)or Newberg, OR (http://www.newbergoregon.gov/citymanager/city-manager-blog).

Have a great weekend.

Eric Middleton

Meatless Mondays?

2010-04-29T16:11:00.000-07:00

Last month, the City of San Francisco's Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a nonbinding resolution, declaring that Mondays be "meat-free." Although this resolution is unenforceable, it urges local businesses to offer meat-free, plant-based entrees in an effort to combat global warming and improve public health.

"I want people to think about not having meat on a certain day,” said the resolution's author and sponsor, Supervisor Sophie Maxwell.

What do you think about the City's move? Can you go without meat for one day each week? If so, please don't reach for the french fries or the fried zucchini in lieu of chicken breast.

Syldy

Giuseppe Arcimboldo (Italian, ca. 1527-1593). Vertumnus (Portrait of Rudolf II), 1590. Oil on panel.

Monday Briefing

2010-04-26T17:09:00.000-07:00

It would appear to be open season on City Managers. City Manager resignations, terminations andretirements have been averaging 3 per day for the past couple of weeks. Some ofthe more notable transitions include: JimBourey will be leaving the City of Greenville, SC where he has been for thepast 6 years; Steven Thompson is outin Marcos Island, FL;and Michael B. Brown will be leavingSavannah, GA tobecome the County Administrator for Arlington County, VA.

In other news, the City of Maywood, CA is a step closer toselecting a new full-time City Manager. The City of Stockton has selected BobDeis as its new City Manager from a pool of exceptionally strongcandidates, while the City of Vallejohas asked their interim Bob Adams toextend his contract for another year (presumably to assist with the upcomingrecruitment for their next City Manger). The City of Indio is full-speed ahead in its recruitment for a new CityManager with a salary $50,000 to $75,000 lower than the previous City Manager’s salary. The position is being recruited at a salaryof $250,000 to $275,000.

As we approach the half-year mark of 2010, trends in theCity Manager field are starting to develop. It would appear that we are in for significant change in the next twoyears. This presents an opportunity for the “next generation” to step in to themanagement of communities that are in need of energetic and creative managers.For some of the outgoing managers, this may be the time to hang it up, sincemany are being asked to dismantle the organizations they have spent the lastcouple of years building up.

It's Fry-day! Do you dare?

2010-04-23T15:00:00.000-07:00

KFC's Double Down "sandwich" has been getting lots of attention lately - mainly negative attention. Most people are disgusted by it. However, I think it looks pretty good. Perhaps they can add some mashed potatoes and gravy inside it? I might even try it today. Have you tried it yet? It's Fry-day!

Friday Factoid

2010-04-23T08:26:00.000-07:00

Did you know that if you want to go from the Human Resources Department in the Contra Costa County office building to the men's restroom - you will walk through 9 doors!

Water and Art, check it out

2010-04-22T17:27:00.000-07:00

Everyone is talking about it, water is a scarce resource and it's time to conserve. About a year ago, I attended a 911 Water rally in Sacramento. It was a low energy and sedate rally. I'm sure the folks attending the rally were very passionate about the topic as it included many professionals from various water agencies. But I just had the feeling that it was only people involved or directly impacted by water (i.e. water districts or farmers) who really understood the impending scarcity of water. Below is a photo of the rally. Huell Howser was the MC - which was pretty exciting for me.

However, if you want to see some absolutely stunning images regarding this issue, The Annenberg Space for Photography presents "Water: Our Thirsty World" from March 27-June 13, 2010. Through glorious photographs, this exhibit examines the causes for the world's impending water crisis. It's a depressing topic, but at least you get to review the topic through some stunning images. Perhaps it'll even inspire you to rally for water conservation. -Syldy (The Wired Generation)

http://www.annenbergspaceforphotography.org/exhibitions/overview.asp

Below are some cool photos found on the website.

Jonas Bendiksen, Magnum Photos Nepal, 2009

Frans Lanting, Freelance, Brazil and Argentina, 2009

Welcome

2010-04-16T15:45:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Alliance Resource Consulting, your source for all the inside information in public sector recruiting. While there are many blogs out there we hope that you will use Alliance Resource Consulting - The Blog as a source for tips on interviewing, job search, hiring trends in the public sector as well as recommendations from our recruiters. So whether you are a City Manager, Police Chief, Finance Director or Management Analyst, you will find useful and sometimes amusing information on Alliance Resource Consulting - The Blog.

We will have regular columns from our team: Eric Middleton, Sherrill Uyeda, Syldy Tom and Linda Kann as well as guest columns periodically. Look for these exciting bi-weekly features:

Monday - A wrap-up of the previous week's activity in the public sector

Tuesdays with Eric - Eric Middleton gives you his insight into recruiting and hiring

Wednesdays with Sherrill - Learn about trends in transportation, aviation, utilities and special district recruitments from one of the leading public sector recruiters in the country

Thursdays with Syldy - Syldy Tom will bring you information about green and sustainable communities and what “Generation Wired” should expect when working with executive recruiters.

TGIF - Learn about our road trips, eateries and must-see places.