pawsinsd
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
Wake Up, Speak Up
Thanks, Freedom. I didn't make it about dogs, my old neighbor did. My issues were appropriate public notice and the fact that one needs no qualifications whatsoever to be on a rec council. And Doyle had to amend its bylaws to include our park and neighborhood residents because as a former public servant, I notified the Mayor and head of Park and Rec of my exclusion. That decision was turned around in a heartbeat and my 15 minutes of public activism was unleashed. I think I'll go back to cooking now. Good luck at the BKA meeting. I think your friends probably have a room by now so they'll not be present. Cheers!— April 13, 2010 8:48 p.m.
Wake Up, Speak Up
Wow! I've been gone for seven years and haven't seen this much excitement for a while. As far as butts go, one needs no resume or qualifications except to be on a rec council except to sit in a chair for three consecutive meetings, remain silent, and then become a voting, talking member. I was denied access at first because this rec council represented our park but our park and us were just outside their designated area. I worked very hard to support the initiatives of rec council members with regard to classes and special events and voted to approve nearly every monetary decision. Until I was appointed VP of the Friends of Parks and Recreation Foundation I worked closely with staff and the rec council chair on gaining city grants for programs the rec council deemed worthy. After becoming a member of a grant-making body it was a conflict of interest for me to advocate for one rec council over all the others. To say I was terminated for non-attendance is pretty silly, because there was no way I could continue to serve from halfway across the country. I still maintain a solid commitment to helping parks and wildlife areas and only regret that so many people, so many years later, still express such vitriol over my online presence. A little piece of advice: get a life.— April 13, 2010 8:07 p.m.
Wake Up, Speak Up
The sole requirement for sitting on a rec council is sitting one's behind in a chair for three consecutive meetings. I did that and was refused entry because my park was represented by the rec council but I did not live within their mapped area. I complained to officials, using the first Tea Party defense. Why did they despise me so? I had a dog and came to ask for a legal leash-free area in our community. Rec councils are advisory and yes, they are made up of control freaks who call out Animal Control trucks after widows with Bichons and Yorkies where the trucks break water lines then complain to the city about broken water lines. I left San Diego seven years ago, partially because of harassment from park controllers in our neighborhood. Alcohol ban? Whatever. The problem is that Park and Wreck won't allow for public comment on their issues they have "validated" by the people's behinds who sit in those chairs. If you have to go to the rec center and view a partially covered page on the bulletin board, that is NOT public notice.— April 13, 2010 5:41 a.m.
San Diego off-leash citations
Ah, Villa La Jolla, picture a small park frequented late afternoons by senior citizens, many widows, and their Yorkies and Bichons. Then picture three radio-controlled Animal Control trucks aiming these trucks at the ladies at 40 mph, breaking all the sprinkler lines in their path. The good old days. It's refreshing to see that the same neighborhood bully who thinks this park belongs to her is still calling Animal Control several times a day to scare the wits out of her neighbors who may not be able to take their dog for a long enough walk every day because of age or infirmity. If it were me, I'd offer to help them walk their dogs, not take away their precious social security moneys through heinous fines and misdemeanor citations. San Diego City and County government are still the small-minded fools they were years ago when I lived there. Except now they're bankrupt. Financially as well as morally. Taxpayers money should be used better than fining little old ladies. The point is that nobody used the park when the dog owners were there early mornings and evenings but it bothers this one person enough that she's spent over 12 years fighting her neighbors. It's a pity that one person can harm a neighborhood so much.— July 6, 2009 8:30 p.m.
Dog owners and non-motor boats battle over Mission Bay
Years ago I testified at Land Use and Housing in front of Harry Mathis when they wanted to make Fiesta Island into a golf course. I said that this was the San Diego that tourists don't see, that is a free place for dog owners and many others to go. I said that to turn it into a place where 144 white guys could hit a little ball would be a disservice to all San Diegans. Since 1995 I've worked to gain legal leash-free areas for dog owners. While gaining some traction, Fiesta Island was never up for grabs until I moved away. See, I promised my dog a leash-free area and she died awaiting it. I worked in the inner circle of leash-free advocates and even served on a park board because I believe in parks, not just in dogs and their owners. I had to fight to join my rec council because they governed our park but we were not allowed to be represented, so I pulled out my "taxation without representation" speech and threatened another Boston Tea Party. Dog owners have worked so hard over the past 15 years, for so little gain. Fiesta Island was ours until it was nearly taken away and we had to fight for it again. Now paddlers think they can come in and take all these years of work away. Do unto others comes to mind. Dog owners scratched to get part of what they were granted by law and now newcomers are here scratching for a part of that. Did anyone paddle in the last decade? If so, where were you? Now you come and demand access and if you throw the City Council a hundred dollar bill they'd probably give you Fiesta Island and more. Its a sad state for my city.— February 10, 2009 9:29 p.m.