The far left-wing groups that organize illegal immigration protests don't go too far out of their way to hide their radicalism.

A group called Power to the People Collective marched in Oxnard (where else) for "solidarity" with other workers across the world on May Day.

According to the Ventura County Star, May Day was established by the International Socialist Congress in 1889. The Star noted that since then, "most of the world observed May 1 as Labor Day, and it was strongly identified with socialism, communism, anarchism and grim faced old duffers atop Lenin's Tomb reviewing endless columns of Soviet weaponry."

The meaning of the day did not seem to be lost on the protesters, who describe themselves as "members of the collective."

John and Mary Tolian of Oxnard were at the rally and march in support of workers. "I think it's important to come out on May Day," John said. "I wish they did more in the city of Oxnard."

The Power to the People Collective doesn't just have a name that seems sketchy, its mission statement sounds like it was copied and pasted from the New Black Panther Party or the KKK.  The group's mission statement calls for "organizing for the self-defense and empowerment of our community as a response toward the escalation of repressive measures aimed at migrants, families, and workers."

Organizing for self-defense?

There's more--the group's website states that "engagement and communication with those forces that oppress and attack our community are inevitable..."

 What are they going to do when they engage the "attackers?"

The website has a contact email address with the domain riseup.net. Riseup is a self-described revolutionary group that states that its purpose is to "aid the creation of a free society...where power is shared equally. We do this by providing communication and computer resources to allies engaged in struggles against capitalism and other forms of oppression."

Riseup also declares that a society's "means of productions should be placed in the hands of the people," the definition of communism.

The word "liberation" is sprinkled throughout Riseup's website, a theory that is central to the Party of Socialism and Liberation, another revolutionary group that organized on May Day for "workers' rights."

The PSL regularly holds workshops on Marxism and calls itself a "militant" group.

To the casual reader flipping through the newspaper, the Power to the People Collective is merely a coalition of concerned citizens. A few minutes of Googling, however, reveals the group is sympathetic to a revolutionary, militant, Marxist ideology. 

Oxnard has a new police chief, and the city's mayor is among the last to know.

The Star reported that Mayor Tom Holden was "blindsided" by Monday's announcement that City Manager Ed Sotelo hired Jeri Williams, 44, to succeed Chief John Crombach.

Crombach left the department to work with Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean.

"This is a continuation of a very troubling pattern, which is the city manager acting on his own, in secret, and in contradiction of an established city policy, and something needs to be done about it," Holden told the Star.

Holden said that he was repeatedly assured, even as late as Friday, that he would be part of the selection process.

Apparently, other council members and the Oxnard police union expected to be involved but also were kept in the dark about the decision. Councilmen Bryan MacDonald, Dean Maulhardt, and Tim Flynn each expressed concern about Sotelo's unilateral decision.

One councilwoman defended Sotelo's hiring of the second female in the county to lead a department. Irene Pinkard said Sotelo didn't break any rules.

The Oxnard soap opera continues.

Rep. Lois Capps wants to boost enrollment in school lunch programs. Ironically, we might just all end up on food stamps thanks to misguided Democratic economic policy on the recession, which Capps says is "lingering" (wasn't this Recovery Summer?).

Concerned over a possible rollback in food stamp benefits, advocates and dignitaries gathered Thursday to urge that nutrition programs be protected.

"Everybody now has been pushed so hard by the recession that just keeps lingering," Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, told the group of 50 people meeting at FOOD Share, the county's regional food bank in Oxnard. "We have to give everyone the confidence that the basics can be there."

One key issue is legislation authorizing a variety of early childhood and school nutrition programs.

 Ahem, "dignitaries" might be going a little too far, if it refers to this person.

In her remarks Thursday, Capps applauded the goals of the House nutrition bill, saying it would boost enrollment in school lunch programs, plus improve food quality and safety.

So Capps is in Oxnard saying we need more people on school lunch programs. Now that reminds me of something...

Oh yes, I just remembered! The Star just reported that Oxnard fraudulently billed the state for millions dollars worth of school lunches it never served!

Great timing, Lois!

The chief benefit of the press in American society is to keep an eye on the government. While it's nice to know the weather, calendar of events, and crime report, the truly important work that journalists do is keeping public officials honest. The Ventura County Star, in two series of articles, has demonstrated that it is dedicated to the higher purpose of acting as a government watchdog.

Since the Bell public employee compensation scandal erupted, the Star made information requests for salary and benefits information for officials in Ventura County cities, revealing that some individuals cost taxpayers over $300,000 annually, and is doggedly investigating Ojai, which provided a vague response to the request.

The Star made its public records request to each of the 10 cities in the county on Aug. 2. All cities complied for council members, except for Ojai, which provided the $5,700 base pay of the elected officials but just general benefits information with no exact figures. The Star also is reviewing the total compensation packages of the cities' top management.

On Saturday, the Star reported a wide disparity in pay between several cities in the county.

Council members in Thousand Oaks, a city of about 130,000 residents, are paid $21,000 a year but also can receive full health benefits and retirement, pushing their total compensation up to $51,650 annually, city records show.

By contrast, council members in Fillmore, a rural community of about 15,600, can earn up to $2,250 annually in monthly stipends but get no city benefits. And Ventura's City Council members earn less than $10,000 annually for a coastal community of 108,000.

In Oxnard, city leaders are reeling from an FBI raid that closed City Hall ten days ago, having to do with possible misappropriation of funds related to large public works projects. Over the summer, the Star reported on the failure of the public works director, Ken Ortega, to disclose gifts he received from consultants doing business with the city. Two days later, he resigned.

Ortega resigned in June after admitting that he failed to disclose gifts he received from companies doing business with the city, including some working on the water project known as GREAT, the Groundwater Recovery Enhancement and Treatment program. At the time, he said that the disclosure had nothing to do with his resignation, which he attributed to his increasingly difficult relationship with City Manager Ed Sotelo. He argued that he was being singled out for things that other city officials had done or failed to report.

The feds and the DA certainly seem to agree with Ortega's assertion that he's not the only one.

Mirroring the timing of a raid the week before at City Hall, investigators showed up late Friday afternoon with search warrants at Herrera's home and those of City Manager Ed Sotelo and Assistant City Manager Karen Burnham.

There will be plenty more stories on the public employee compensation and city of Oxnard tracks in the weeks and months ahead.

The Star could serve as a model in its role of watchdog that the national media would do well to follow in light of an increasingly out-of-control federal government.