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Sunday, May 1, 2011

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1 Libya: Moammar Khadafy survives a NATOair strike blamed for killing one of his sons. A8

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1 Giants: PabloSandoval out fourto six weeks. B1

Urban adventures— from kayakingin Seattle to hikingin Hong Kong. 6

Snakes, lizards and their tales at the Academy of Sciences. 14

Recipes just in timefor the opening ofcommercial salmonseason. H1

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INDEX

Only in The Chronicle1 Stories with this logo can be found only in

The Chronicle’s print and e-editions atthis time. They will be available onlineat sfgate.com beginning Tuesday.

By James TempleCHRONICLE STAFF WRITER

Larry Ellison learned to sail before he was Larry Elli-son. At least the one the world knows as the swashbuck-ling chief executive of Oracle Corp. and one of the world’srichest men.

In the mid-1960s, he arrived in Northern Californiafrom Chicago, as a college dropout in his early 20s whohad been raised by adoptive parents of modest means.Drawn to what he would call the “idyllic independence”of sailing, he took a course on San Francisco Bay.

One day, clear of the eyes of his instructors, he tackedout past the Golden Gate Bridge, where steepeningwaves nearly capsized his small, plastic day sailer.

SUNDAY PROFILE Larry Ellison

In boardroom or at sea, he plays hardball

Ellison continues on A19Victor R. Caivano / Associated Press 2010

LarryEllison, one

of the world’srichest men,

has beeninstrumental

innegotiating

the deal thatwill bring the

America’sCup races to

SanFrancisco.

By Carolyn LochheadCHRONICLE WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON — In 1994,a rookie lawmaker namedDianne Feinstein pushedthrough the largest nationalparks and wilderness bill ever— by a single vote on the lastday before Republicans tookcontrol of Congress — protect-ing 8.5 million acres of theCalifornia desert against thewishes of many who livedthere.

Seventeen years later, manyof those who warned that theCalifornia Desert ProtectionAct would sacrifice their wayof life to an environmentalistutopia have changed sides,

becoming allies in Feinstein’squest to create one of the big-gest environmental legacies inCalifornia history: a new bill toprotect 1.165 million moreacres ringing the nationalparks at Death Valley andJoshua Tree and the MojaveNational Preserve.

“Is it going to pass tomor-row anywhere?” Feinsteinsaid. “No. Am I going to ceaseand desist? NO!”

When it comes to the desert,“She’s just intense,” said Shan-non Eddy, executive director ofthe Large-Scale Solar Associa-tion. “She’s persistent. She’svery formidable.”

With Republicans again in

CONSERVATION

Desert billbrings shiftin alliancesFormer foes of protection back effortto save areas near 3 national parks

Desert continues on A16

By Marisa LagosCHRONICLE STAFF WRITER

Maria Luisa Figueroa helpedget Gov. Jerry Brown elected lastfall, not only voting for theDemocrat but working phonebanks for hours to get others tosupport him.

Still, the 58-year-old natu-ralized citizen who left Mexicodecades ago isn’t sure whereBrown will come down on thepolitical issues most importantto her; among them a bill toextend labor protections for

domestic workers like her andanother bill to let local govern-ments opt out of a controversialfederal program that automat-ically checks the immigrationstatus of anyone booked into alocal jail.

“I voted for Jerry Brown …but I don’t know what he’s go-ing to do,” said Figueroa, ahome caregiver whose husbandwas deported last year afterpolice arrested him outsidetheir Oakland home for drink-ing. “He said he is going to help

POLITICS

Latino support, budgetput Brown in tough spot

Politics continues on A18

By Stacy FinzCHRONICLE STAFF WRITER

For the next 20 years, MattFoist will be paying off his$46,000 in cooking-schoolloans, and all he says he has toshow for it is a useless chef’sdiploma, a nice set of knives —but no job.

He said he’d be lucky tomake $15 an hour in the culi-nary world, even though theschool told him he would landjobs with annual salaries of$45,000. So he’s gone back tohis software career.

The 46-year-old, who be-lieves he was scammed by SanFrancisco’s California CulinaryAcademy, is one of the repre-sentatives of a class-actionlawsuit in which a $40 millionsettlement offer from the cook-ing school is pending.

As part of the settlement, the

8,500 students who attendedthe academy from 2003through 2008 were notified lastmonth that they could be eligi-ble for rebates of up to $20,000each. Tuition prices are typ-ically $46,000 for a 12-monthprogram and an additionalthree months of on-the-job

training.A hearing to approve the

settlement is scheduled forAug. 22.

In addition, Career Educa-tion Corp., the parent companyof CCA (it also owns 15 othervocational colleges, includingthe Texas Culinary Academyand Le Cordon Bleu), hasagreed to eat $1.8 million instudent debt.

But for many, it’s notenough. They say the dreamthey were sold to be high-paidchefs was bogus. And nowthey’re faced with enormousstudent loans to pay off —some in excess of $100,000,after deferrals and interestaccruals.

“By the end I’d realized I hadthe wool pulled over my eyes,”Foist said. “I feel like it was ahuge waste of time and a huge

Michael Macor / The Chronicle

Traci Joyce, who graduated from California Culinary Academy $130,000 in debt, handles pizzadough at Zachary’s Chicago Pizza in San Ramon — where she worked before cooking school.

FOR-PROFIT COLLEGES

Schools accused of failingto deliver on promises

Schools continues on A18

Brant Ward / The Chronicle

Matt Foist: “It was a hugewaste of time and … money.’’

Auction Appraisal EventFine Watches, Wristwatchesand ClocksMay 18-20

Inquiries and Appointments+1 415 503 3218madeline.garcia@bonhams.com

Patek Philippe. A fine rose gold wristchronograph, Ref. 1579, retailedby Gobbi, Milano, circa 1950Sold for $103,700

bonhams.com/uswatches© 2011 Bond No. 57bsbes3248

Kat Wade / Special to The Chronicle

Irene Hernandez (left, holding Lionel Rodriguez), Maria Luisa Figueroa, Cristina Ceballos,Hortensia Muñoz and Maria Santiago are watching how the governor’s next months play out.

us, but I don’t know.” Brown was elected with 64

percent of the Latino vote, ac-cording to exit polls — andLatinos are one of the fastest-growing ethnic groups in Cali-fornia, now accounting for 37.6percent of the state’s total pop-ulation. By contrast, his Repub-lican opponent, Meg Whitman,received only 30 percent of theLatino vote; her campaign tooka blow when her undocument-ed Mexican former house-keeper emerged to describe howbadly Whitman had treated her.

Now, some Latinos are wait-ing to see how Brown will de-cide issues and bills that largelyaffect them, particularly as thestate’s budget deficit dominatesthe conversation in Sacramento.Brown is in a tough position: Heis building support for his bud-get plan, including seekingbacking of business groups thatoften oppose workplace protec-tion laws.

‘A level of disappointment’Gil Duran, a spokesman for

the governor, declined to com-ment for this story, sayingBrown does not take positionson bills before they land on hisdesk. Political observers, how-ever, said the Latino communityhas expectations the governorwill support their issues, andfor good reason. But thosehopes have been tempered bythe reality of the state’s financialcrisis.

“He’s probably perceived asamong, if not the most, support-ive governor in the country ofLatino issues,” said David Tabb,a retired San Francisco StateUniversity political scienceprofessor. “But there’s nowhereto go at this moment. … I don’tsee Brown’s support within theLatino community as beingparticularly threatened, butthere is a level of disappoint-ment that has to do with theeconomy. Until and when thatchanges, they won’t expect verymuch.”

Andrea Cristina Mercado,lead organizer at the Bay Areaadvocacy group Mujeres Un-idas y Activas, agreed. She saidLatinos in California have

watched President Obama’sfailure to tackle immigrationreform with disappointment,and aren’t expecting too muchfrom Brown.

“But Jerry Brown is actuallyindebted to domestic workersfor his election, so it will beinteresting to see how it playsout,” she said.

Brown’s predecessor, ArnoldSchwarzenegger, had a decided-ly mixed record on issues im-portant to the influential ethnicgroup. He signed a bill increas-ing the minimum wage, forexample, and helped instituteworkplace protections for farm-workers — but he also repeated-ly vetoed a measure that wouldmake it easier for farmworkersto organize and help enforcethose workplace protections.

The author of that measure,Senate President Pro Tem Dar-rell Steinberg, D-Sacramento,reintroduced the bill this yearand recently succeeded in get-ting it through the Senate; it willnow be considered by the As-sembly.

Steinberg, like many Demo-crats, is hoping for a friendlierreception from Brown, butadmits there are “no guaran-tees.” He noted that Brownmade history in 1975 when hewas first elected governor andsigned the Agricultural LaborRelations Act, which allowedfarmworkers to organize andbargain with employers.

“One of our points now is thatwhile that was a monumentalachievement, 36 years later, thelaw needs some significantupdates,” Steinberg said. “Wewill be talking to the governorabout the bill.”

Latinos’ increasing influenceThere’s no question that

Latinos’ influence on state poli-tics has increased since Brownwas last governor. In addition tothe sheer importance of theelectorate, there are many Lati-no lawmakers representingCalifornians in Sacramento.The Latino Legislative Caucusnow has a 27 members, almostone-fourth of the Legislature,and one of the top positions,that of Assembly speaker, isheld by John Pérez, D-Los An-geles, a Mexican American.

Sen. Kevin De León, D-LosAngeles, noted that Brownbroke ground three decades agowhen he was last governor byelevating Latinos to importantpositions in both his adminis-tration and in the courts, beforethe group had such politicalsway.

De León argued that theflailing economy is preciselywhy Brown should supportproposals that would helpworking families, who weredisproportionately affected bythe recession.

“Gov. Brown is going to bevery, very proactive when itcomes to workers’ rights — he

has a long, rich history withLatinos,” De León predicted.“It’s not an issue you have toconvince him of — that’s themost important thing. … Heknows, he understands, givenhis history.”

From educating to passingAssemblyman Tom Ammia-

no, D-San Francisco, agreed.Ammiano wrote both the TrustAct, which would allow localgovernments to opt out of thefederal deportation program,and the bill that would givedomestic workers rights toprotections including overtime,meal breaks and paid sick days.

“This is not something he’scoming new to,” Ammiano said.“I certainly expect more sympa-thy and empathy than from Gov.Schwarzenegger. This governor,in many ways, has proved him-self.”

Still, Ammiano said, whereBrown will come down on indi-vidual bills has yet to be deter-mined.

“But I am hopeful, and Iknow the governor is quitecapable of a dialogue on this,rather than just saying ‘no,’ ” hesaid. “Under Schwarzenegger,the feeling was we should dothis, it doesn’t have a chance inhell, but we should educatepeople. Under this governor, weknow we can educate people,and if everything goes right, wecan probably get themthrough.”

Appointments to key posts

Elmy Bermejo, who sits onthe state’s Commission on theStatus of Women and hasworked for several lawmakersat the state and national level,said Brown has already shownsupport for Latinos this year byappointing some to key posi-tions in government. That in-cludes naming Catherine San-doval to the California PublicUtilities Commission, appoint-ing former AssemblywomanAnna Caballero as secretary ofthe State and Consumer Servic-es Agency, and keeping theSchwarzenegger-appointedAna Matosantos as director offinance.

“These are not lightweightappointments. They are reallykey things,” she said. “Whenyou have people like that, itsends a signal.”

E-mail Marisa Lagos atmlagos@sfchronicle.com.

Latino supportfor Brown tiedto crucial billsPolitics from page A1

Current bills that would affect Latinos1 AB889 by Assemblymen Tom Ammiano and Manuel Pérez, D-Coachella (Riverside County), is known as the Domestic Workers Bill.It would provide basic labor rights such as overtime, meal breaks andpaid sick leave to domestic workers such as nannies and house-keepers, who are currently excluded from workplace protections.

Status: Recently passed an Assembly Labor Committee and will nextbe taken up by Assembly Appropriations Committee.

1 SB104 by Sen. Darrell Steinberg is known as the Fair Treatment ofFarmworkers Act and would allow farmworkers to vote for or againstunionization by signing a card instead of holding a secret-ballotelection.

Status: Passed the Senate on March 31 and will be considered by theAssembly.

1 AB1081 by Ammiano is known as the Trust Act and would let localgovernments opt out of a federal program that requires police toautomatically check the immigration status of all arrestees.

Status: Recently approved by the Assembly Public Safety Commit-tee; will now be considered by the Assembly Appropriations Com-mittee.

1 SB432 by Sen. Kevin De León would require California hotels touse fitted sheets and longer mop handles. He said the flat sheetscurrently used in hotels result in injuries among housekeepers, whomust lift dozens of 200-pound mattresses each day to make theluxury beds.

Status: Will be considered in the Senate Appropriations Committeeon Monday.

1 AB131 by Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, is known as theDream Act. It would let undocumented college students qualify forfinancial aid.

Status: On suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

A18 | Sunday, May 1, 2011 | San Francisco Chronicle and SFGate.com GXXXXX

FROM THE COVER

waste of money. And I’m one ofthe lucky ones who had a job togo back to.”

According to the suit, stu-dents and lawyers, the schoolmisrepresented its 98 percentjob placement rate, exaggeratedits prestige in the industry andsuggested that it had a selectivequalifying process.

“This rate is a lie,” the suitstates in regards to the school’splacement rate. “The place-ment statistics included non-professional entry level jobslike prep cooks, $8-$12 an hourline cooks and Starbucks baris-tas. That culinary degree wasnot a pre-requisite or evenrelevant for many of the in-cluded jobs.”

Ray Gallo, the lead plaintiff ’sattorney on the case, said, “Inmy opinion, very few of theclass members would havebought what CCA was selling ifthey had the facts that I havetoday.”

Suit called ‘distracting’CEC denies the allegations

and agreed to settle the suitonly because it was “distract-ing to our mission and extraor-dinarily expensive to litigate,”Mark Spencer, a spokesmanfor the company, said in a state-ment.

“Since these allegations weremade, we have carefully re-viewed and modified our pol-icies and practices for report-ing job placement rates, admis-sions and advertising,” hewrote. “While we believe ourprevious practices were legal,we have been very conservativein modifying our policies and

procedures to ensure that stu-dents understand that we arenot promising any specific joboutcomes or salaries.”

According to informationcurrently posted on CCA’swebsite, the school shows a 48to 87 percent placement rate,depending on the program andmethodology used.

And despite the plaintiffs’claims that they were unable tofind decent jobs after leavingthe school, a number of CCAgraduates during that periodhave gone on to successfulpositions, including Jill Barton,who owns San Francisco’s LeCrepe Shoppe; Gonzalo deCastillo, who along with hisbrother owns and operates SanFrancisco’s LaLola, a tapas bar;and Josh Becker, a chef at theRitz-Carlton South Beach’sDiLido Beach Club in Florida.

$24 billion from fedsCCA is not the first for-profit

school to come under scrutiny.There are 2,000 private voca-tional schools, ranging frompsychology and cosmetology tobusiness administration andmedical training, receiving $24billion in federal money eachyear, according to governmentoversight investigations con-ducted last year. Some politicalleaders fear that high studentloan default rates for theseinstitutions could echo thesubprime mortgage crisis.

The Obama administrationhas proposed a new rule thatwould require for-profit careercolleges to have better jobplacement results and lowerloan default rates or risk losingfederal student aid. The “gain-ful-employment” rule has been

controversial on both sides ofthe aisle and has received resis-tance from lobbyists and mem-bers of Congress, includingHouse Minority Leader NancyPelosi, D-San Francisco.

The U.S. Department ofEducation is in the process ofrevising the regulations and isclose to a final recommenda-tion that Secretary of Educa-tion Arne Duncan said will be“much more thoughtful.”

4 Senate hearingsSen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa,

has been seeking stringentrules. He led four Senate hear-ings to probe whether studentsand taxpayers are being wellserved by the schools andfound them sorely lacking.

“At their best, for-profitcolleges provide flexible al-ternatives for students to pur-sue postsecondary education,”Harkin, who is planning towrite legislation to overhaulthe system, said in a statement.“But unfortunately, some havebecome highly profitable mul-ti-state corporations whilefailing to provide the learningenvironment and career servic-es that will enable their stu-dents to graduate and suc-ceed.”

Harkin’s Senate Committeeon Health, Education, Laborand Pensions found that for-profit schools have a highdropout rate. Nearly 62 percentof Career Ed Corp.’s studentswithdrew from their programsduring the 2008-09 school year.

Statistics kept by the Depart-ment of Education also showthat 47 percent of all studentloan defaults come from for-profit schools. And in many

cases the same programs areavailable at community andcity colleges for a lower price.

Last year, the GovernmentAccountability Office releasedits findings after conducting asting operation on 15 for-profitschools in six states, includingCalifornia, Texas and Arizona.Those schools, whose nameswere not released, were chosenpartly because they receive 89percent or more of their reve-nue from federal student aid.

The congressional watchdoggroup sent undercover in-vestigators posing as prospec-tive students to each schooland found that all 15 madedeceptive and questionablestatements, including exagger-ating potential salaries aftergraduation, giving sketchydetails about costs, and fudg-ing the duration of the pro-gram.

Falsify aid formsAt four of the colleges, ad-

ministrators encouraged theundercover applicant to falsifyhis or her financial aid forms toqualify for federal aid. In onecase the admissions repre-sentative told an applicant tofraudulently omit $250,000 insavings, according to the re-port.

Often, the schools target themost vulnerable segment of thepopulation, said Robert Mills,another attorney representingthe CCA plaintiffs. In the caseof the Culinary Academy,many of the students werechildren of immigrants, whohad family members co-signfor their loans thinking thatthey’d get lucrative jobs aftergraduation, he said.

Traci Joyce, who graduatedfrom CCA in 2003, said she’llcarry her $130,000 debt to hergrave.

“This is the elephant I sleepnext to every night,” the 40-year-old said. “I can’t get rid ofit even if I declare bankruptcy.Student loans are exempt. Soit’s ruined my credit, kept mefrom buying a house and put-ting money aside for my retire-ment.”

‘Making sandwiches’

Joyce, who worked in restau-rants for 15 years and dreamedof being a chef, said she wassold by the CCA’s program themoment she walked into theadmissions office.

She said the admissionspeople made her feel like shehad a good chance of becomingan executive chef because ofthe school’s status in the in-dustry.

But the only jobs she landedwere positions at a cateringcompany and a butcher shop.“I was making sandwiches,”she said.

Finally she got her job backat Zachary’s Chicago Pizza, buteven that was a demotion.Before culinary school she wasa manager, now she works inthe kitchen.

“If I could go back andchange this, I never would havedone it,” she said. “The mostembarrassing part is what afarce I feel like. My friends andfamily introduce me as a chef. Iwant to say, ‘Yeah, right. I makepizzas.’ ”

E-mail Stacy Finz atsfinz@sfchornicle.com.

For-profit colleges face suits, U.S. scrutinySchools from page A1