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
Excessive Labor Costs Force Vallejo to Vote for Bankruptcy
I keep hearing about how San Diego is one of the lowest taxed cities in California, etc., but I never see any citations for that information. Anybody care to direct me to where I confirm this? Thanks.— May 7, 2008 3:23 p.m.
Memo to Fred Sainz: Clean Up Your Language -- But First Learn How To Spell
Yes, I realize a journalist sometimes has little control over the final output. It's a shame, too. I have ambivalent feelings about the Union-Tribune reporters. They are capable of great writing. The Alex Roth series on the Gina-Lisa fishing boat mystery was outstanding; Jeff McDonald, Ruth McKinnie, and Susan Braun have all written excellent articles. And also Liz Neely, Evan McLaughlin, and Ann Cearley (before she left). I haven't always agreed with them, or rather, I have sometimes disagreed with the slant or tone of the story, or the omission of facts I thought were relevant, but I usually thought the overall attempt was trustworthy, and no deliberate attempt was being made to mislead. My issue is with reporters such as Ron Powell who insisted to me that there was absolutely no connection between Reynolds' firing and his objection over the IP address request, and who refused to dig into it. Powell has written some fine articles, but, jeesh, come on, when there is a story needing to be uncovered a good journalist goes after it, hard. I am missing that with the Union-Tribune. I want the paper to tear things up around here. After all, there is no shortage of material. Instead, we are being fed (in my opinion) the party line time after time. Maybe I'm just getting old.— May 2, 2008 12:29 p.m.
Memo to Fred Sainz: Clean Up Your Language -- But First Learn How To Spell
Don, Sometimes I get so angry at what I see written by the reporters at the Union I have to speak out. It's a shame, because there are some good ones I have corresponded with in the past, but the political bias I see creeping in bothers me more and more. I sent the following letter to Matthew Hall today: Mr. Hall, Your May 2, 2008 article, "City releases staffer’s e-mail with swear words", was an embarrassment to journalism. You ignored the real issues involved and gave your story a “tempest in a teapot” tone, as though the furor was simply over a few swear words. Then you implied that Rick Reynolds’ wrongful termination lawsuit was connected to his being a supporter of Steve Francis. Are you a journalist or just a paid hack? You know as well as I do the real issue was not about a few swear words. The issue here concerns several possible ethics violations—of which the e-mail plays only a small part— and whether an employee, Rick Reynolds, was fired for pointing them out. Considering that Mayor Sanders has made the Office of Ethics and Integrity a cornerstone of his administration, supposedly, this story is an important one for San Diego. You mentioned nothing about this in your article. What you did state, oddly, was, “Reynolds is a campaign supporter of businessman Steve Francis…” This had nothing to do with the story, and you know full well Reynolds was fired months before Francis even announced his candidacy for mayor. What’s going on here, Mr. Hall? Is somebody behind the scenes directing what you will and will not write about these types of stories? If so, maybe you ought to consider growing a backbone. If not, maybe a refresher course in honest journalism is in order. Best Regards, David G. Urban— May 2, 2008 11:46 a.m.
Sanders Official Who Was Fired for Challenging Unethical Practices Files Wrongful Termination Suit
JV, Perhaps I should clarify: I (or anyone else) do not know exactly what the now infamous e-mail from Sainz to Kittle said. We know it was flagged for foul language, and that it referred to members of Aguirre's staff. The shorthand term "F*** Aguirre e-mail" is just a way of condensing the whole issue which revolves around a smear campaign directed by the mayor's office towards another elected official (Aguirre), and was not a literal translation. The ethical implications of such a smear campaign do not need to be debated. The fact that the mayor's office would stoop to this type of behavior is appalling, and it is doubly compounded by the complicity of a major metropolitan newspaper. Any journalist worth the name would have aired this dirty laundry and given both sides an opportunity to speak their piece. Instead, the paper has chosen sides and seeks to destroy one party for the benefit of another, using inside information. The public receives only part of the story, good men like Rick Reynolds are fired, and insiders continue to benefit and stack up their chips. Slowly but surely, though, people are speaking up.— April 30, 2008 9:05 p.m.
Sanders Official Who Was Fired for Challenging Unethical Practices Files Wrongful Termination Suit
Just following up, Don. It appears that neither I nor any other interested party will be looking at that Sainz to Kittle "F*** Aguirre" e-mail soon. The mayor's office is blocking release, claiming protection under the Public Records Act provision that allows exceptions if litagation is taking place. The only one with a legal stance to get it now is Pat Flannery, since he made his PRA request well before any litagation began. This will be interesting.— April 29, 2008 2:44 p.m.
Sanders Official Who Was Fired for Challenging Unethical Practices Files Wrongful Termination Suit
As you know, it was a Sept 7 2007 email between Sainz and Kittle that started all this. Pat Flannery PRA'ed the emails for a three month period covering Sept 2007, but the Sept 7 email was somehow missing in the batch he received. I have also made a PRA request for that Sept 7 email; we'll see what the response is. I'll let you know.— April 21, 2008 8:03 p.m.
Robert Allen Holding Classes in Getting Rich in Real Estate. Don't Expect Him to Mention His Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
Thank you, sdblogger. I checked out a few of your links. This guy Allen sounds like a loser. I think timesoldier owes Mr. Bauder an apology.— February 2, 2008 3:50 p.m.
Union-Tribune Lays Off 27, Says 18 More Will Go
I just saw Anna Cearley's post about her leaving the Union-Tribune. She was one of my favorite writers at the paper. Too bad she is gone, but I'm sure she'll enjoy pursuing her masters degree. Here is her post: "Hello, everybody. I just wanted to send this email to let you know that I have left The San Diego Union-Tribune after being based out of Tijuana for the past seven years. As some of you may know, the news business is facing increased economic pressures from a variety of factors, including competition from the Internet. I accepted a voluntary buyout opportunity in December and have since started a master's program in new media communications at the University of Southern California."— January 22, 2008 2:02 p.m.
People Fleeing California, Says Economist Arthur Laffer, Who Did Just That
As a 50 year plus resident, born and raised right here, I can't tell you how disappointing it is to see how things have become. I have already bought retirement property in Oregon. Heck, I may move sooner. That state will reap the benefit of my future spending, taxes and so forth. The economic consequences of the political decisions of the past in CA were not well thought out. Even now, no one thinks past the moment. The one poster was right about the hidden costs when he talked about the seatbelt ticket. Hidden fees, overall decreased services, declining education infrastructure, and an overall deceasing quality of life; all of these things are ruining California.— January 18, 2008 6:44 p.m.
Union-Tribune To Lop 15-20 More Heads
Don, Regarding comment number 2: Did the paper ever print an apology to the attorneys under Aquirre who were accused of trading campaign contributions for pay raises?— December 2, 2007 9:31 a.m.