Photograph by Eric Scire, starlightparade.com

On October 12, Vulcan Materials, Corporation, operator of the Chula Vista Quarry, gave $5000 at John McCann’s behest to sponsor the city’s Starlight Parade and Festival, per a November 29 report.

Behesting blasts

Chula Vista mayor John McCann continues to collect so-called behests from the city’s developer and a related crowd, according to a series of disclosure filings with the city clerk’s office. On October 12, Vulcan Materials, Corporation, operator of the Chula Vista Quarry, gave $5000 at McCann’s behest to sponsor the city’s Starlight Parade and Festival, per a November 29 report. 

The gift comes less than four months after Vulcan’s Chula Vista sand and gravel operation suffered a worker fatality on June 22. “A contract bulldozer operator died when the bulldozer he was operating backed off the edge of a highwall,” says a preliminary report on the incident, which it says took the life of John C. Hatfield, 60, a two-year veteran of the operation with 27 years in the mining industry. The notice was posted online by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration. 

John McCann: the best when it comes to behests?

“The bulldozer operator was clearing the bench in preparation for drilling and blasting and had removed the berms along the edge.” It was the 24th fatality reported by the Administration in 2023 to that date. Says Vulcan’s Chula Vista website: “Our quarry operates with the highest standards of health, safety, and environmental stewardship to provide the materials that helped build our community as we know and love it today.” The site adds: “Our day-to-day operations and blasting activities are designed to be safe, precise, and effective and are done in accordance with our permits and best practices.” 

On March 15 of this year, Vulcan’s Fort Pierce Mine in Florida also experienced a fatality, per regulators. “A miner was operating an excavator along the bank of a water-filled pit when it fell into the pit and submerged,” according to a March 23 preliminary mine safety report. 

Earlier, on January 4, John Ogle, a 28-year-old worker at Vulcan’s Sevierville quarry in Tennessee, was fatally injured while working on a rock crusher, according to the mine safety administration’s final report, “when the swing jaw of the primary jaw crusher moved as he was performing maintenance, pinning him between the back side of the swing jaw and toggle block frame.” Concluded the regulators: “The mine operator recognized the potential for unexpected movement in performing this task but did not block the swing jaw against hazardous motion. The mine operator engaged in aggravated conduct constituting more than ordinary negligence by having a lead man present during the maintenance work and allowing miners to position themselves in a pinch point next to the unblocked swing jaw. This violation is an unwarrantable failure to comply with a mandatory standard.” 

In addition to Vulcan’s contribution to the Starlight Parade and Festival, McCann rounded up $7500 at his behest on October 25 from Meridian Development.

Dearly departed

San Diego’s loss is San Francisco’s gain in the case of recently departed Union-Tribune reporter David Hernandez. Last week Hernandez left for a Bay Area gig as the U-T continues to shed staff (and shrink its print advertising base) under its new master, so-called vulture investment outfit Alden Global Capital, thought by some to be eyeing a total print shutdown. “The San Francisco Chronicle is pleased to announce that David Hernandez has joined its breaking news team as a reporter,” the Chron announced December 4. “We are thrilled to bring David’s deep experience covering public safety and his keen sense of storytelling to our newsroom,” added a statement by the Chronicle’s Assistant Metro Editor Dominic Fracassa. “His arrival comes at a pivotal moment for the Bay Area, one that requires fearless, sensitive and attentive reporting to ensure our readers receive the kind of top-notch journalism that helps them understand their world. David will help us provide that.” 

Meanwhile, although rapidly losing reporters, the U-T is advertising for a Digital Sales Executive, per a December 5 job notice on the website of MediaNews Group, the Alden-owned newspaper chain calling the shots here. “We are committed to delivering world-class content and advertising solutions to our diverse and engaged audience,” says the notice, offering a salary between $70,000 and $90,000. “If you are a results-driven sales professional with a passion for digital media, innovation, and building lasting client relationships, we want you to hear from you!” Job candidates will need to “demonstrate expert knowledge in online media channels, as well as an understanding of their correlation to offline executions, enabling you to effectively position our products and services against competitors.”

Lavish laundries

Eli Lilly, an ongoing target of California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s effort to lower insulin prices, came up with $5000 on December 1 for the 2026 Lieutenant Governor campaign of Bonta’s fellow Democrat, state Senator Toni Atkins. Bonta’s lawsuit against pharmaceutical giant Lilly and other insulin makers, along with a group of pharmacy benefit managers, accuses the defendants of “driving up the cost of the lifesaving drug through unlawful, unfair, and deceptive business practices in violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law,” says Bonta’s January 12 news release. 

Rob Bonta says “basta” when it comes to high prices for insulin.

“In the U.S., insulin is so expensive that many diabetics struggle to afford it even when covered by health plans and are forced to ration their use — sometimes with deadly consequences.” Added Bonta in a statement, “No one should be forced to ration or go without basic medication that could mean the difference between life or death. California will continue to be a leader in the fight to ensure everyone has equal access to affordable healthcare and prescription medications they need to stay healthy.”...

With San Diego mayor Todd Gloria looking to improve the city’s homeless clean-up game, a notice for portable laundry rooms has been posted on the city’s website. “The City is currently seeking qualified bidders to provide as-needed mobile laundry trailers with eight washers and eight dryers,” says a December 1 announcement. “The Contractor shall set up the mobile laundry trailer and deliver to the City complete and ready for use. City may, at its option, request additional mobile laundry trailers, as needed by the City.” No cost is provided, but at least one bidder touts its high-end products. “Spacious and accommodating, our bathroom trailers don’t feel or appear like what you might typically imagine of such units,” notes the website of Comforts of Home Services Inc. of Aurora, Illinois. “With a Comforts of Home portable restroom trailer, using a comfort station is like being in the facilities of a lavish residence.”

— Matt Potter

(@sdmattpotter)

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