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San Diego tourism weakens
Russl, I concur. Fumber writes pure poetry. I'm so impressed that I've gone out and bought a whole new collection of lard cake scraping tools and baby wipes to celebrate. If only I could budge my humongous carcass out of this recliner, I could waddle over to 7-11 for some jelly doughnuts. As you can see in my picture over at the Reader's Abnormal Heights blog, I'm so fat that if I wanted to haul ass I'd have to make two trips... See the disgusting picture here: http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/abnormal-he…— October 23, 2008 6:06 p.m.
City Pension Portfolio Plunges Below $4 Billion; That's Lower Than Level of Mid-2006
Don, you wrote: "Doug McCalla, chief investment officer of SDCERS, would not comment, deferring to a spokesperson. The SDCERS spokesperson did not get back within a reasonable time." Um, aren't they supposed to be working for the City of San Diego? Could the sad truth be that they have no idea what the investments are currently worth? Or are they willfully holding information back until after the election? The Sanders Administration has an official policy of NOT talking to the press, especially The Reader without the Mayor's express approval. So why not cut out the middle man and just call your former colleague and current Sanders mouthpiece Gerry Braun and ask for the Mayor's spin on the pension fund losses? He's paid $140k a year to answer your questions. Don, please continue to post about this. I cannot think of any local financial story of greater importance. Thank you, again, for all your diligence in bringing the truth to light. Best, Fred— October 23, 2008 2:20 p.m.
Mea Culpas by Greenspan, Cox Are Historic; Derivatives Regulation Will Help, but Will Be No Panacea
Don, it's shameful how we have ended up in this position. And it was certainly not beyond prediction...The Economist was warning about derivatives at least a decade ago. The last four administrations have been willfully deaf, dumb, and blind. Or perhaps it really is just the fallibility of our still evolving human brains? We evolved brain structures that are very well-suited to the African savanna. We can spot patterns (even when they don't exist) and react quickly to perceived dangers. We evolved the ability to cooperate with others and even read their emotions if not their intent. Language has given us the ability to rapidly pass along a lot of information as well as technology to our offspring. Yet all these advantages can be turned against our own self-interest in the modern environment. Nassim Taleb, among others, points out that we are kidding ourselves when we think we "understand" the stock market. It's betting by another name. There's no possible way to do much better than guess, and the titans of these corporations take far too much personal credit for what has essentially been a run of good "luck" that has now come to a disastrous end. We have bet not only what we own, but what we have borrowed from others -- especially China. We lost that bet. We will no longer be able to simply print money to pay off our lenders, and all the other advanced economies seem to find themselves in the same trap. It's really bad, and going to get a lot worse. The past models no longer apply because we have entered what Taleb calls a "Black Swan" era, where our past assumptions no longer work. We're in for a helluva ride, and I'm not looking forward to it. Thanks for the apologies Cox and Greenspan, but it's cold comfort considering the crisis we're entering.— October 23, 2008 2:14 p.m.
San Diego tourism weakens
Tourism is not an ideal industry to rely on for a world-class economy. We ought to be doubling-down on attracting more bio-tech, IT, and Telco firms to our perfect climate with great universities near the sea. Instead, we have a sad history of subsidizing hotels and stadiums with taxpayer money. Neither of these produce anything of lasting value to our region. Imagine being the host city of the next Google, or being the birthplace of yet another groundbreaking cure. Small innovative companies ought to be made welcome here in San Diego. Perhaps all those vacant condo boxes towering over the bay can be converted to places suitable for small distributed businesses to headquarter. Perhaps we'll eventually get mid-city transportation as a priority, connecting all the residences from Golden Hill to SDSU with downtown. We ought to be expanding residential public transit instead of cutting it. Trolleys once served these neighborhoods instead of mostly stopping at tourist attractions. That's because the city founders knew that San Diego would only prosper if it actually produced things of lasting value. Overnight stays and sporting events are ephemeral options, not the kind of businesses to establish as our beacons of economic independence. Please support candidates who won't be beholden to the tourism industry in the future. Our future as residents of San Diego depends on it.— October 23, 2008 1:59 p.m.
County Grand Jury recommends consolidation of CCDC, SEDC into single redevelopment agency
Stephen Whitburn has stepped up to tell the truth: CCDC and SEDC both need to be dissolved so the responsibility for decisions will rest once again on properly elected officials. Insiders who take campaign contributions from disgraced members of the CCDC Board, like Todd Gloria, take the opposite view. They think everything is fine and the citizens of San Diego should just avert their eyes away from the corruption and greed. I'm glad Donna Frye has endorsed Stephen Whitburn. They'll make a great team on the city council, and one of their first steps will be to disband CCDC and SEDC, and insist on fully independent audits of agencies like the Housing Commission, which are ripe for fraud. It's time to Change San Diego. Vote for Whitburn.— October 23, 2008 12:19 p.m.
Following Atkins's Lead
Yet more lies and deception directly from the keyboard of Todd Gloria...disguised by the pseudonym "Stephen_Davis_of_South_Park", the name Todd Gloria hides behind in his desperate efforts to smear Stephen Whitburn. There is NO Stephen Davis in South Park. Look it up at the Registrar of Voters. Former City Councilman John Hartley was the champion of district elections and improved public safety in District 3. Even after his embarrassing and humiliating experience, over 4,000 district residents voted for John Hartley because they know he really does put their interests first. That's why Whitburn accepted John's endorsement. John Hartley knows that Stephen Whitburn will put neighborhoods before downtown lobbyists and developers. Stephen Whitburn uses HIS OWN savings to pay for his campaign. Gloria, by contrast, takes dirty money from any slime ball with cash. He's even proud to take money from the bigoted reactionaries at Manchester Financial Group, the gay-bashers backing Proposition 8. Gloria was humiliated at the neighborhood debates in District 3. He was loudly booed by those he claims to represent. When he claimed he personally built "2000 affordable housing units" everyone knew he was a bald-faced liar. We don't need another tool of developers on the council. We need honest and open leadership that will support change in San Diego. That's why Stephen Whitburn has the endorsement of the Neighborhood Leaders Alliance, the Sierra Club, Donna Frye, and the San Diego Democratic Party. Imagine that...even his own party, in spite of relentless pressure from Susan Davis and downtown lobbyists, refused to endorse Todd Gloria. Nobody trusts Todd Gloria with his unrelenting lies. It's time for Change in San Diego. That's why I'm voting for Stephen Whitburn.— October 23, 2008 11:52 a.m.
District Three Doppelgangers
After doing a bit of research at the Registrar of Voters, I found that there is no "Stephen_Davis_of_South_Park" registered to vote in District 3. If I could see the originating IP address of Todd Gloria, "District 3 Resident" and "Stephen_Davis_of_South_Park", I bet they'd all be the same. Yep, Todd Gloria, already a shameless tool of the downtown crowd who have bankrupted San Diego, is also the kind of candidate who is too cowardly to stand up and use his own name when smearing his opponent. Vote for Stephen Whitburn. He isn't afraid to stand up for our neighborhoods and he doesn't take dirty money from developers.— October 23, 2008 11:37 a.m.
Developers are San Diego City Council's largest donor group
Why is it not surprising that the developers who are backing Todd Gloria hide their real professions? Whatever you call it, it's still dirty money. San Diego has had enough of the scams and deceptions. If a candidate is hiding money from developers, don't vote for that guy. Time for Change in San Diego. I'm voting for Stephen Whitburn.— October 23, 2008 11:30 a.m.
Bucks for friends
McMillan ripped off the city for millions with NTC. Now they are backing Todd Gloria for City Council? Please! Hey, McMillan, why don't you give some of that money back to San Diego instead of putting it into the pockets of professional political hacks?— October 23, 2008 11:28 a.m.
Party Crasher by Proxy
Josh, Fred here... Don't forget we've got a date November 4th at Golden Hall. I've done my part by telling all the campaigns that they've gotta provide a lot of alcohol and food this time around. All we need is YOU! Wear your "I Voted" sticker and bring along a designated driver. Best, Your poxie party proxy, Fred— October 23, 2008 11:26 a.m.