[President Perspective] [Meet The Member] [Monthly Meeting]
The recent Board of Registration meeting in Los Angeles to consider canceling the April test took testimony from many civil engineering advocates, including APWA, California Society of Civil Engineers, and our L.A. Section President Harvey Gobas on behalf of ASCE. The Board responded with a budget-based statement that their hands are tied. They just don't have the money to hold two tests, and they refuse to consider streamlining the process and/or raising the entrance fee to cover costs.
They did resolve to make attempts, first, to find additional State funds, second, to limit the number of applicants accepted to take the test (State attorneys are reviewing the legality of this approach) and, third, to cancel the April test. With the many other pressures on the State budget I don't hold out a lot of hope for keeping the April test. It is unfortunate since this will have a negative effect on those engineers hoping to advance their careers through required licensure.
It is frustrating to see this bureaucracy causing an unnecessary hardship on our profession. There are other options available. A simple change such as making the test available in fewer, larger venues, and with fewer required proctors would greatly reduce the expenses. Also, if efficiency changes are made, I have to believe that a fee increase would be appropriate. We as civil engineers are constantly streamlining processes, providing cost estimates (that is "opinion of probable cost" if my insurance agent is reading this), and determining how to spread costs. Why can't our Board of Registration figure this out? I would urge those of you affected by this development to contact your State Representative and express your dissatisfaction with this fiasco.
by Russ Thompson
In this month's column, we'll meet John Falkenstein. John is hardly new to the area and is probably well known to many of our members. However, many of you may not know that in June of this year, John was appointed City Engineer of the City of Paso Robles. Congratulations to John on his new job!
John was born in South Central Los Angeles in 1952. Soon after, his family moved to Whittier where they lived until 1965. He attended Redlands High School and then went on to San Bernardino State College. John's original major was mathematics. At some point during his college career, he began to think about employment and eventually changed his major to Civil Engineering. His brother-in-law who became a Civil Engineer also influenced John's decision. John completed his degree at the University of California, Irvine, in 1974.
John's first job was with the Los Angeles County Road Department in Baldwin Park, where he worked until 1977. He then moved to the Central Coast where he vacationed for six months until taking a job as a draftsman with H.P. Foley. H.P. Foley was an electrical contractor working at Diablo Canyon in the seventies. In 1978, he started with the City of Paso Robles as a Civil Engineering Assistant. In 1981, he passed the Civil Engineering exam and received his license. By 1985, he was promoted to Assistant City Engineer. In 1986, John left the City to start his own company, Cuesta Engineering. He managed Cuesta Engineering for seven years. In 1993, he closed Cuesta Engineering and started as Project Engineer at Cannon Associates. John soon became Director of Civil Engineering at Cannon. He worked at Cannon for nine years before accepting his current position with the City of Paso Robles in June of 2002.
John's career has taken him from working in the roads department at L.A. County, to drafting, to owning his own company, and finally to municipal engineering. He has worked on many challenging projects along the way. Most memorable were the original Niblick Bridge in Paso Robles, the Atascadero Factory Outlet, and realignment of the freeway access for Home Depot in Atascadero.
John and his wife celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary this year. His wife teaches high school in Morro Bay. His son attends college at Cal State Hayward, his daughter at Cal State Sonoma. His hobbies include golf and basketball. Watch out for John at next year's ASCE golf tournament.
by Greg Ray
It's the time again to recognize civil engineering projects which were constructed during the past year and which showcase the best of civil engineering on the Central Coast. Our December luncheon will focus on two recent pedestrian bridge projects which have been nominated this year for "Project of the Year." This year's nominees are:
¨ The City of Lompoc's Highway 1 Santa Ynez Bridge Widening for Pedestrian Improvements, and
¨ Cal Poly's Society of Civil Engineers' Pedestrian Bridge Improvement in the Reservoir Canyon area.
We'll have representatives from the City of Lompoc and the SCE present the details of the design and construction of each project. One of these worthy projects will receive our award as the Central Coast Section "Project of the Year." Come and enjoy good holiday cheer, see these presentations, and admire these two excellent examples of civil engineering at work.
by Russ Thompson