Where the streets have no name

Neighborhood pavement may be pocked with gaping holes, but before the city gets around to fixing the streets, one San Diego City Council member thinks there ought to be more “honorary street names.”

According to a January 27 memo from the Fourth District’s Myrtle Cole, “The purpose is to honor an individual and/or organization that has gone far beyond what was or could have been expected in contributing to the quality of life of San Diego and its diverse communities.” For those seeking contemporary glory, there’s a possible catch. Unless “waived by a majority vote of the city council,” honorees would have to be “deceased for at least five years before being proposed for an Honorary Street name,” according to Cole’s suggested policy.

Judging from the “financial considerations” Cole’s office listed regarding the designations, it may also help to have friends at city hall. “The cost to install honorary signs on both ends of the street (no longer than a one-block radius) will be the responsibility of the sponsoring Council District Office. The approximate cost of a street sign installation ranges between $120–283.”

Meanwhile, the influence-peddling business of Democratic ex-city councilman Tony Young, Cole’s predecessor, was more lucrative than ever in the final quarter of 2015. In addition to $22,000 from Sempra, he picked up $27,000 from the Otay Water District. Ten thousand dollars came in from shopping-mall giant Westfield, and the downtown office of Buchanan Ingersoll and Rooney paid the same for Young to lobby city hall regarding a “contract procurement” for legal work. San Francisco’s Airbnb home-stay outfit paid him $5000.