Jill Parvin's tragedy and "toning down"

Today March 8, 2009 I received an email telling me that Jill Parvin's husband just died. The anonymous emailer said, "I might want to consider removing her name or at least toning some of this stuff down in regards to her."

First I am very sad she lost her husband. I am sure he was a fine man and I believe she is probably a very good woman, just misguided regarding Guffanti. Let me offer her my deepest sympathy. I am sure her loss is profound. I hope she has wonderful memories to comfort herself in her very sad and difficult time.

But secondly, I have re-read the post the anonymous emailer referred to. Here: http://vistaschools.blogspot.com/2008/10/guffanti-criminal-campaign-fraud.html
I found a couple of poorly written sentences that need help and I found a lot written about Guffanti, but very little about Jill Parvin. I am not sure what 'stuff' about her needs toning down. I wrote almost nothing about her. I do not know her. I had never heard of her before the NCTimes broke their long standing publishing policy and allowed her two published editorial pieces in the same week--one a letter to the editor and another a forum piece. Worse the TWO published pieces were redundant. Here is the pertainant part of the NCTimes LETTERS POLICY: Writers are limited to one letter to the editor or Community Forum about every two weeks.

Both her published pieces were on the same subject, support for Guffanti in the school board election. Worst of all the Forum piece was factually in error and contained a false charge against the good teachers of the VUSD and a gross factual error on the amount of money spent by Guffanti. I corrected her errors, nothing more.

Her first false claim was that there was a campaign by the teachers to deny that Guffanti was a doctor. She gave no verifiable evidence to back that contention. The North County Times editors did not force her to document the charge as they routinely do (line by line) when a PRO-education writer submits a Forum piece.

I am quite familiar with the Vista Teacher's Association. I receive their emails and campaign literature. There were no such charges in any campaign literature. I have never heard anyone on the PRO education side say anything about him not being a doctor.

I also corrected her second false statement that Stephen Guffanti had spent only a few thousand dollars in his campaign against the teachers.

I knew back in October that this statement was false as I know how much campaign fliers, etc cost. I knew then that he had spent tens of thousands of dollars but had no information about the totals. Tonight I have received an email spreadsheet listing his 2004 contributors and the amount they contributed. It comes to either $56, 866.04 or $62,776 depending on how the amounts are added or valued.

Jill Parvin's Forum was ABSOLUTELY wrong where she said he spent only a few thousand dollars on the campaign. This fact could have been checked at the San Diego Registrar of Voters office. It was not. Yet it was allowed in the Forum by the editor (J. Stryker Meyer?) who checks Forum material for the NCTimes before it is published. This was clear bias by the NCTIMES editor.

I corrected her editorial. I did not insult her.

What am I supposed to tone down regarding her? By the way the same false charge about the teachers denying Guffanti's medical credential was in the North County Times blogs as recently as yesterday. http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2009/03/06/news/coastal/vista/zafeb0db720418fa8882575710068a8e6.txt

To find the false blog scroll down after the article to the comment by Samuel March 7, 2009 2:56PM PST who said, "Some of the information was blogged including the claim that he (Guffanti) wasn’t really a medical doctor."

I believe I read every blog having to do with VUSD in the NCtimes from June 2008 through today March 08, 2009. I have at no time EVER seen a blog that denied that Guffanti was a doctor.

Again what about Jill Parvin should I tone down in the above? The article is mostly about Guffanti. Very little is written about Jill Parvin. Please anonymous tell me what is objectionable.

Here is the email in its entirety:

Just so you know, Jill's husband recently passed away unexpectedly. Perhaps you might want to consider removing her name or at least toning some of this stuff down in regards to her. Guffanti is what he is but she's going through a rough time and it's sort of sad to see her name here when I was just looking for his obituary.Thanks.

Further research in the NCTimes archives—Another two hours on a Sunday night.

I re-read Jill Parvin’s editorial in the North County Times in October 2008. In the first paragraph she referred to a blog after the NCTimes article about the VTA endorsing candidates. She claimed the blog was posted on September 5, 2008. There was no such article that I could find on that date. Using “vista schools” as the search words for that date, September 5, 2008, I found seven entries all had to do with high school sports not one had to do with the school board election.

I ran a five more searches with different terms for September 5, 2008 with words like “union” “endorsement” “endorses” etc. There was not one hit.

I, after a dozen more searches, finally found the VTA endorsement article on August 30, 2008 “VTA backs three in school board race” http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/08/30/news/coastal/vista/zec24e211d7b31852882574b40057a5a1.txt

I read all of the sixty of so blogs following the article, I found NO reference that said Guffanti did not have a medical degree.

So again I ask what is it about my original blog entry correcting Jill Parvin’s forum that was objectionable? Or incorrect?

I am very sorry for her loss. I will correct or change anything in my blog that is factually wrong. I will even change wording of the blog. Please give me suggestions. I do not want to add to her grief.

FURTHER UPDATE March 13, 2009

I received a second comment on this matter this time from "Jerry". He pointed me to the article that Jill Parvin's Forum "Dr. Guffanti is a doctor" had referenced. The article was published on September 4th 2008 in regards to the CSEA joining the VTA in endorsing Jaka, Chunka, and Lilly. Here: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/09/03/news/coastal/vista/z8ad321691d7c4e18882574b9005b9e47.txt

His post is at the my original blog. Here: http://vistaschools.blogspot.com/2008/10/guffanti-criminal-campaign-fraud.html

The blog about the article that Jill Parvin referenced was posted on September 5. Interesting that the NCTimes did not provide a link to the article in Jill Parvin's Forum piece. First time I have ever read an article in NCTimes that referenced an earlier NCTimes piece without a link. Perhaps because the blogs following that article do not support Jill Parvin's main contention in her Forum that the VTA had a campaign to say Guffanti was not a doctor. Never happened. The blogs do not support that contention.

The blogs followed a CSEA announced endorsement. I would guess most of the bloggers were CSEA folks. Even so not one blog said he was not a medical doctor. One said he was retired which was inaccurate and corrected on the blog. but I certainly understand the confusion we all have about Dr. Guffanti's practice of medicine. He has no office listed in the phone book. He has not had "privileges" at either Tri City or Palomar Medical Center. We have been told he practiced ER medicine in central California, Borrego Springs, San Marcos at Workers Comp office, and now Jill Parvin says he has an office in Vista. All confusing, maybe explained by the blog that says he is a "substitute" doctor.