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
Close to Home — What it’s like on the street where you live
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
San Diego Super Chargers
Do ask Don. He'll tell you the details of the scam. Right now we're paying more than $5 million a year out of the general fund to pay off the Chargers renovation bonds... We're also paying over $11 million annually for the Padres ballpark bonds. In addition, CCDC (which claims to be upping it's payment to help out the general fund) is paying other debt it contributed to the ballpark. All in all, we paid 75% percent of the costs of the ballpark. They won't even tell us how much Petco paid to put its name on the ugly thing, but in the end you can bet John Moores didn't put a dime of his own money into his entertainment business...while he reaps 100% of the profits. In addition, we pay an unknown amount for additional police, fire, and tolley service for both Padres and Chargers games. Every game, dozens are cited or arrested for fights and public drunkeness. So San Diego is giving away roughly $20 million every year directly and indirectly to Moores and Spanos. $20 million would solve our library, parks and recreation problems. But instead we give it away to overgrown morons who play games for a living. They spend it, apparently, on meth and steroids, as well as lots of bling. We get? Not much. Occasionally maybe a team will do well on the field, in which case they come begging for even more money. It's sick Josh. No one who loves San Diego can see this without reacting in complete disgust and loathing. Football and baseball have NOTHING to do with San Diego. If we wanted to promote our city, we'd be hosting the world's best surfing/skating teams. Watch your game. But don't fool yourself into thinking you're doing anything but harming San Diego by doing so.— January 11, 2009 10:23 a.m.
San Diego Super Chargers
Now wait one minute. You guys are absolutely full of it when you turn this around and point the finger at me. Day after day, year after year, we're all pounded by pro-football propaganda. Non-stop we're told how important and vital this industry to everything that's good about America. When I poke up my scrawny arm and say, "Hey, it's not that important people," I'm somehow the one who's not being fair? No way. Get this straight. Sports are entertainment. They are NOT infrastructure. They are NOT vital to our existence. To many of us, they're not even particularly entertaining. But they are very, VERY expensive to the taxpayers who subsidize the likes of Spanos and Moores to the tune of tens of millions of dollars every year. That's tens of millions NOT being spent on roads, sewers, water quality, schools, or public safety. I didn't make it this way. I fought against idiotic government waste like this. Yet I'm told to sit back and enjoy the spectacle? No. That's the same as telling your daughter to relax and enjoy her rape. No, it's worse. Your insisting that we all have to kiss the rapist and declare our undying love and devotion. I won't have that. You're the ones ignoring the city's woes, and instead celebrating the very people who brought us to this state of insolvency. You're the ones who are cheering for the people who are directly responsible for unpaved roads, teetering infrastructure, and soon the privatization of Balboa Park. So while you're so happy about the Chargers finally doing something with our tens of millions of dollars, I'm dreading the very real possibility it will lead to yet more wasted money on these charlatans. When you have to tell your children about the good old days when Balboa Park was still free, will you also admit it was because you decided giving money to billionaires to finance their entertainment empire was more important to you? "Hey, they won. You gotta relax!" Not me. I love San Diego too much to love the Chargers, or be distracted by a fluke winning season when I know we're the losers in the end. Best, Fuming Fred Williams— January 10, 2009 10:09 a.m.
Leaving Off the Airplane
Antigeekess nailed it: JB (to idiots at large): Don't be an idiot and do stuff that pisses off fascist control freaks. They'll kick your ass. Fred: Don't be a fascist control freak who overreacts to idiots. It's against the Constitution to go around kicking random idiot ass.— January 10, 2009 9:57 a.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
Now, boys...let's keep it civil. I also get snarky, but remember this is one of the few places where such matters are discussed AT ALL. No one passionate about current events who dares state opinions in real time about day to day issues is going to avoid making mistakes. Part of the fun is for the others to pounce on those mistakes and do a bit of crowing about it. It's best to 'fess up. I made a boneheaded assumption that the stadium manager who's name matched a certain notorious republican operative was the same guy. In minutes, I knew I was an idiot, but someone had beat me to it. I had to grovel and take my lumps, requesting that the original post be removed while the apology remains. If someone can point to a similar error I've made, and can convince me with real proof that I cannot refute or explain away, I'll do the same again. Don is a greatly moderate participator in this forum, allowing even our good friend Fumber to give his kind words of appreciation to all. As for me, on this topic, I'm not going to make it to 300. It's strayed far from the article, which is about where the city invested the money. I urge Don or Matt to write on the subject of the firefighter union and its role in San Diego politics. That would be a bombshell cover story. JF, got some juicy bits? Email Don... Best, Fred— January 10, 2009 7:02 a.m.
Leaving Off the Airplane
Josh, you know I love you like a brother, and chastise you only out of affection. There's just no "right" to be free of offense...otherwise your daily crasher articles would all be censored. They really piss off quite a few people, some of whom have called for you to be silenced. I replied to those calls in your defense. Shouldn't you extend the same courtesy to others? It's predictable that sometimes you're going to piss people off with what you write. If so, then by your reasoning above you shouldn't write it in the first place. Right? Of course, you know I don't go around wearing "F*** da Police" t-shirts because I prefer not spending time in jail. But you know, I think those t-shirts are completely legal and ought to remain so. The fact that cops will break the law and assault anyone they see wearing the shirt doesn't make the shirt bad, but speaks to the mentality of our cops today. The use of the word "niggardly" may be politically foolish, but it wasn't a firing offense. Think of where that leads: "Josh B. masticates in public." Should I be punished for saying such a thing, true as it is, simply because a lot of people don't know the difference between chewing and jacking off? When it comes to freedom of speech, I'm a purist. The founding fathers knew what they were doing when they wrote our Constitution, and I stand by it. You're proposing that there should be an exception when someone might possibly take offense. I disagree. That doesn't mean I'm too dense to understand your position, but that while understanding you I still oppose what you're saying because of the consequences. Lotsa love, Fred— January 9, 2009 12:19 p.m.
San Diego Super Chargers
Okay, okay. I'm a spoilsport, it's true. I'd be totally into the Chargers winning, if it didn't mean San Diego inevitably losing. Enjoy the games, if that's your thing. Personally, I enjoy shooting my bow and arrows. When I get six out of six in the black from more than 50 yards, I admit I'm pretty stoked. Best, Fred— January 9, 2009 12:06 p.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
JF, you're ignoring my primary point...there are others who are eager and willing to do the job at lower pay. It does NOT require extensive education, contrary to your claims, and can be done by just about any able bodied adult with a few months training. But by making the process cumbersome and difficult to protect existing jobs, the firefighters union has done a disservice to the community. In addition, taking advantage of this, the union negotiated crooked deals that are bankrupting the city. Personally, I have talents and skills that are at my age, better directed elsewhere. Others can do the job of firefighting better and I am happy to pay the taxes to make sure the job is done. Even more, I've been advocating for opening up firefighting opportunities to residents. This has been met with the inadequate CERT program. That just perpetuates the problems. Recall my letter to VOSD, which also got a lot of comments. The residents of San Diego agree that on their own they can do a lot to prepare for fire emergencies. It was the "professionals" who immediately declared that "civilians" are incapable of doing the job. I point out my own firefighting training, when I was much younger and much more fit, only to show that a computer geek and linguist like myself can also contribute in an emergency. It's not the exclusive domain of heroic firefighters. I don't want to be a part-time firefighter. I do want, in the event of an emergency, to be allowed and encouraged to help as a citizen, rather than see what happened in Scripps Ranch. Homeowners saving their own residences had to hide away like suspected criminals, and couldn't coordinate their efforts because of "public safety" interference. It all reminds me of Crassus and how he put out fires in ancient Rome. A rather cynical ploy to maintain exclusivity in your profession to so you can hide behind a fire badge and demand overpayment for the work you perform.— January 8, 2009 5:13 p.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
JF, It looks like you're part of the problem. You don't have much creativity or flexibility. Boiled down, you just keep repeating the tired mantra that you deserve even more money from the City of San Diego. You refuse to consider any other possibility. Maybe you need to go back to community college and take a course on logic. You cannot recognize the simple fact that this city is broke. Your union is a big part of the reason we are broke. Our fire service is very expensive, and not particularly effective. Yet you want us to all pay even more. It's not going to happen. The firefighters will have to come to their senses. You can lead the way, or you can obstinately cry that we're all picking on you out of some sort of weird hostility to public safety. Wrong. We're the ones trying to steer away from disaster, and you're shouting "full speed ahead". Time to decide, JF...which side are you on? San Diego or your corrupt union? Your non-response to the questions so far are quite disappointing. Best, Fred— January 8, 2009 2:48 p.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
Allright, JF. Let's assume I'm completely ignorant and all my suggestions are baseless. What do you suggest? Note: The one unacceptable answer is "maintain the status quo". Best, Fred— January 8, 2009 10:39 a.m.
San Diego Stupid Chargers
More about football paying roll models, courtesy of the current Reader cover story. I wonder why this was never in the news: When it comes to violence, a bouncer can never know what to expect, especially when alcohol, and maybe drugs, are involved. Or sports. “I was working at the club in the Excelsior Hotel,” Estu says. “It was a football party kickoff night, and the teams from USD and SDSU were there.” Stuff happened, words were exchanged, fists began to fly. “Eighty football players were there,” Estu recalls with amazement, “and all hell broke loose. We did what we could to stop it. I just held on for the ride and hoped I didn’t get hurt. Strangely enough, I didn’t get hit at all,” but the football players tore into one another. “Most people don’t want to fight, and they’ll stop when you break them up,” Estu says, “but these football players are made for this kind of thing, and they weren’t about to stop.”— January 8, 2009 9:36 a.m.