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Condemned
Has Jim Madaffer ever had any job in his lifetime other than in the government? He was Judy McCarty's staffer before inheriting the seat. He's been behind some of the worst deals in city history, including the Republican Convention (we STILL don't know how much that cost us!) the stadium conversion and ticket guarantee, the ballpork fraud, underfunding of pensions, water-rate lawbreaking ("let them sue us!" he said), the $20 million Kroll copy/paste whitewash...and so on. He'll be richly rewarded for his greed and subversion of the public good into his private friend's profits. He's already "earned" a city pension so rich it would make Midas blush. If, by some miracle, he doesn't golden-parachute right into another government job next year, look for him to be hired by Peregrine/Padres fraudster John Moores. So long as smirking Jim Madaffer remains in San Diego, look for us to continue to be screwed. The record of his misdeeds is all public. In addition, back in 1993, he openly bragged about putting his "community newspaper" into his wife's name so he could get free money from the city. He refused to pay his own water bill, and illegally tampered with the city's meter. Where is the so-called "ethics commission" or the District Attorney? They're too busy "investigating" Aguirre and prosecuting Castaneda, all the while turning a willfully blind eye to Diamond Jim's behavior. Time to Change San Diego before it's too late. Feel free to add your own insights to www.changesandiego.org. Best, Fred Williams— May 22, 2008 7:57 a.m.
Greg Cox, a shoo-in, collects $280,000 for county supervisor seat
Dumanis may not have started as a member of the aristocracy, but she has worked her way into their good graces. Witness the malicious prosecution of Cox rival Castaneda. This was a completely meritless case and the jury laughed Dumanis out of court. Did she do this as a favor to the Cox duo? Sure looks like it. The culture of corruption in San Diego isn't limited to the city. The county is run by a tight oligarchy that remains completely unaccountable to the voters. So long as the local media, dominated by the liars for hire at the UT, refuse to report what is so glaringly obvious, there is little hope for change. If you'd like to get around this information embargo, you have to read the Reader and do research online. You can also use www.changesandiego.org to post your own analysis of what is going on. It's a wiki that anyone can edit. If it weren't for a few brave and persistent writers like Don Bauder, we could claim ignorance of what's going on here in San Diego. But we should all know the truth by now and vote accordingly. Best, Fred Williams— May 22, 2008 7:43 a.m.
How San Diego's pension debt ballooned
Correction, three long posts. Had to split them up due to size limitations. Time to Change San Diego. If you agree, please see www.changesandiego.org— May 22, 2008 7:30 a.m.
How San Diego's pension debt ballooned
(cont.) This is where it got really expensive. To pay this hush money AND build the billionaire's ballpark, the city simply didn't fund the pensions they promised. Union leaders went along with this, knowing full well they would not be personally affected. They sold their members a raw deal, but rewarded themselves handsomely. So far, not one single person has been held accountable for this massive fraud. The only ones who have been punished are Henderson and Aguirre. The establishment continues to smear them for daring to open their mouths in opposition. Ignorant sports obsessed fans to this day vilify them both. Now, in 2008, we're electing four new members to the council. Will they do anything to remedy these frauds? San Diego's future rests on this. If the new council majority doesn't take action to repudiate these deals and get our money back, then it's game over. That's why I'm back in San Diego now, to try to get some honest people elected to the council. This is our last chance. Sorry for writing two long posts like this, but it's important that we all know what we face. We must Change San Diego now, or forever live with the consequences. Best, Fred Williams— May 22, 2008 7:24 a.m.
How San Diego's pension debt ballooned
(cont.) The Golding administration continued the dirty tricks. When they faced the prospect of a forced vote on the football stadium, they bulldozed the eastern end at midnight on new year's eve. This fait accompli ended any chance of saving the situation. Henderson and Aguirre persisted, but when cost overruns threatened another vote, the Golding administration got Qualcomm to pony up $18 million. This is why it's now called Qualcomm Stadium. With the stadium permanently converted to football only, the Padres whined "we can't play here." They threatened to leave town if the city didn't build them a baseball only stadium. Consultants suggested that they call it "ballpark" instead of stadium, and made the torturous connection to redevelopment, declaring downtown "blighted". The Padres wisely packed their team with meth-snorting steroid-popping ringers. They duly went to the world series, and weeks later (after spending more than $2.5 million on the campaign) won the voter's nod for a new ballpark to be paid by hotel taxes. Of course the union leadership knew this was a carefully conceived fraud the city could ill-afford. The union bosses demanded fat pensions or they would blow the whistle. It worked. Union bosses got such juicy deals they are the envy of mobsters everywhere. A few, again, stood up in opposition. Again, they were vilified, ignored, taunted, and ridiculed for telling the truth. Scott "Million Gallon Man" Peters, called Shipione crazy. The local media, again, went along with the lies. (cont.)— May 22, 2008 7:23 a.m.
How San Diego's pension debt ballooned
Paul, I'd say that San Diego in the late eighties and early nineties was pretty great. We were talking about building libraries, had a fine dual-use stadium, the roads were good and traffic not too bad yet. I was deployed with a Miramar F-14 squadron when they filmed Top Gun, and seeing the city on the big screen made me proud. I think the down-turn happened with the election of Susan Golding. The "establishment" knew she was bent before the election, and downplayed her knowledge of her husband's criminal dealings. In fact, according to a former Golding staffer, she practiced endlessly in 1992 to ensure that when Navarro finally brought the issue up in the last days of the mayoral race, she'd get the tears just right. It won her the election. After that, things quickly went sideways. The establishment saw the Golding win as a blank check. Since Navarro ran as a limited growth candidate, the developers decided it was time to build, build, build. If the projects made no economic sense, a few contributions and secret meetings downtown meant the city paid for any shortfalls. The old city manager was eased out, and his young deputy Jack McGrory was put in place. McGrory had been talking up a downtown sports stadium since at least 1991. The conversion of the dual-use Murphy stadium, an arrangement that made perfect sense and served the city well for decades, into a football only stadium started the most egregious of the rip-offs. Along with Mike Aguirre, former councilman Bruce Henderson stood up and denounced this as a very bad deal. The UT, egged on by the football team, smeared Henderson. He received death threats. There were even bumper stickers demanding that he leave town. (cont.)— May 22, 2008 6:48 a.m.
Real Estate, Nightclub Developers Solicit Sanders Donations. Surprised?
Great career openings at "Universal": * Breakfast Cook * Restaurant Runner * Sweeper * Security It's unclear if applicants must be "Omnisexual", but it's a good bet that a willingness to work for minimum wage is required. Just the kind of business Sanders welcomes and encourages in San Diego...huge throbbing dens of omnisexuality pulsing and sweating until the early hours. As the glassy eyed throng stumbles into the streets, side-stepping fresh blotches of santorum, we hear a familiar refrain. "Do you, Fred Sainz, take Fido to be your lawfully wedded dog?" "I do" "And do you, Fido, take Fred Sainz to be your lawfully wedded b****?" "Woof!" "I pronounce you both members of the Mayor's Omnisexual Administration. You may lick the toilet" (Just kidding. We all know that no self-respecting dog would willingly consort with such a person. Dogs are good judges of character. So my apologies to all the good doggies of San Diego for my little jest.)— May 21, 2008 8:53 a.m.
AG's Report Clearing Sanders Is a Joke, as Expected. Here's Some Advice: Follow the Money
What about Tom Story? Wasn't the initial issue that he'd clearly and repeatedly violated city lobbying bans? Wasn't the subsequent issue that the Mayor personally blocked a search warrant issued to investigate Tom Story? Weren't there additional revelations about Sander's meetings with Sunroad, big campaign donations, a history of ignoring the FAA, going over building inspectors heads, and using "weatherizing" to actually continue building? Fred Sainz has a long history of fabricating false allegations against Aguirre that later prove false. This leftover from the corrupt Golding administration tells the UT what to write, and how to write it. (We've got it all in writing, thanks to Pat Flannery.) The result? No investigation of Tom Story or Sanders and Sunroad. The "Ethics" people, DA, and AG are blind to these obvious and well-documented violations. Yet a blatant lie from Fred Sainz gets instant responses, including a call from Scott "Million Gallon Man" Peters to charge the City Attorney with extortion. (No word yet on exactly which criminal charges Peters still faces over his "negligence" in 2002.) Peters, Sanders, and the Attorney General have spoken. Their message? "F*** you, San Diego."— May 21, 2008 8:38 a.m.
Number of San Diego Unemployed Drops Sharply in April from March, but Is Still Up from a Year ago
It's not just the number of jobs, but the type of jobs that matter. I'm concerned about our long-term prosperity if we continue to emphasize our role as a tourist destination. There is a sort of soul-poisoning that occurs when you get too much tourism domination. It becomes an us against them mentality that is no good for anyone. In addition, these tourism jobs tend to be low income. Where are our manufacturing jobs? Other than biotech, what sectors do we lead? If you like, please put your information on www.changesandiego.org Thank you, Fred— May 20, 2008 10:10 a.m.
Sanders Claims City Can Return to Bond Market. Oh? That Will Be Up to Investors. Bond Rating Agencies Suffer from Bad Reputation
I would like to see more discussion of these kind of issues. So I put up a wiki that anyone can freely edit: www.changesandiego.org Please put more information there. What is our "real" economic situation here in San Diego? Will we be forced to raise taxes and lay off employees? Can bad deals be reversed? You can even extoll the benefits of wheatgrass, if you like. I look forward to learning more from all of you. Best, Fred— May 20, 2008 10:04 a.m.