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State Looking for Redevelopment Fraud. Suggestion: Grantville
The CCDC has announced a series of "Community Benefit" meetings where they'll be selling redevelopment, desperately trying to save their positions of privilege and power. They shouldn't go unchallenged. In fact, they should be heckled mercilessly. Their plan is to paint such rosy pictures, unopposed, that the audience will be fooled into thinking CCDC does good in the community. Facts, presented plainly, will prevent this. Please, attend the meetings and tell the CCDC flacks what you think of their attempts to sell us (using OUR money) on their wonderfulness. Don, perhaps you could publicise the meeting schedule here on your blog...at the moment they're only inviting supporters. Best, Fred P.s. Also, look who's CCDC featured speaker next week? Marco Li Mandri. http://www.ccdc.com/meetings-and-events/calendar/… Someone may want to go and ask him a few questions...hmmm?— January 31, 2011 9:39 p.m.
State Looking for Redevelopment Fraud. Suggestion: Grantville
This abuse of Grantville as so egregious that the Legislature voted unanimously to change the law, and the last Governor signed it. Yet Grantville still has to sue to try to save itself from the greed of downtown insiders. Grantville faces a phalanx of County, City, and CCDC lawyers...all arguing that this transfer was both legal and for the good of Grantville. None of them believe it, but that's what they get paid tax dollars to do...defend the interests of the downtown crowd. Judge Lewis, myopically looking at each transfer of money individually, and resolutely refusing to consider the effect of the whole chain of pass-throughs, did the bidding of her political masters, and once again justice in San Diego was thwarted. Kudos to Dr. Peterson and the Grantville Action Group. They are real leaders. They've already changed state law once, and now, with the new Governor's proposals, they will help change it again. The downtowner's are so terrified of GAG they are raising hundreds of thousands in political action money to oppose good citizens like Brian Peterson, and slander their names. Kris Michell has been dispatched from the Mayor's office to lead the liars. Ms. Michell has plenty of experience telling lies. She's worked for both Golding and Sanders, dug us deeply into the ballpark and convention center debt holes, had a hand in every major boondoggle we've seen in the last two decades, and bought herself a very nice place in Scripps Ranch with the money she pocketed. Will truth-telling citizens like Brian Peterson win? Will spin-doctors and insiders like Kris Michell continue to pillage San Diego? We know most San Diego media is already in the back pocket of the likes of Michell...but not all of it. VOSD is finally realizing what's going on, and joining the Reader in exposing it. Will VOSD soon be blackballed like the Reader? Stay tuned... Thanks for pointing to Grantville as an example of misappropriation of public money. It may be the most egregious case in all of San Diego.— January 30, 2011 1:04 a.m.
Brown's Redevelopment Proposal, If Passed, Could Whack Corporate Welfare
I'm overjoyed. Don, you know I've been speaking out against the deeply corrupt CCDC and its disastrous effects on San Diego for over a decade now. I've been met with nothing but scorn and derision from "officials" who know what's best for us stupid voters. The Governor's proposal is sweet sanity for a change. Redevelopment started with a noble purpose, but it has been hijacked and perverted into the worst kind of public entity, whose sole purpose has become to siphon money away from public purposes and put it into the hands of cronies. Hurray for Brown!— January 11, 2011 9:15 p.m.
Centre City Development Corporation Plans Public Outreach
How much is Derek Danziger paid to peddle CCDC's lies? Keyser Marston is drafting yet another bogus report? We can safely assume they have already written the conclusion and now are searching only for favorable "facts" that they'll cherry pick. We're paying how much for this fraud? I find Danziger's pathetic meeting of scared CCDC toadies a very positive sign. The biggest shame is these creeps are going to use OUR money to lie to us about how great a job they do, when everyone in San Diego already knows they're utterly corrupt. CCDC must be abolished. It has no public purpose any longer. It has been subverted and converted into a tool of powerful business interests to divert tax money into their pockets in exchange for campaign contributions. Schools, roads, and public safety are cut to feed the CCDC money machine and pay Danziger's considerable salary. Governor Jerry Brown will do a lot of good in getting rid of this scam in California. Then Derek Danziger can go look for a real job, maybe selling used cars...— January 8, 2011 1:56 a.m.
San Diego Economy Still Staggering
The San Diego economy doesn't inspire hope. While there are a few good paying professions left, many of these jobs can be moved overseas...particularly biotech and IT. Finance has ballooned in importance in recent decades, but it remains parasitic on real world activities. The same for real estate and land development. They ought to be supporting actors, a result of other activities being successful, rather than an ends in themselves. What remains is only the work that cannot be done elsewhere, a lot of which is what Don Bauder calls "taking in each other's laundry". Police, fire, and education are more properly seen as (necessary) public expenses rather than investment of productive economic activity. The same is true of military spending. When you step back and look at it from the proper perspective, it's not promoting the overall economy but a drag on it. In the end, what does San Diego make? Sunshine and good vibrations to sell to fickle visitors? Shall the San Diego economy rest on hosting others? We know how this has come to be, and now I wonder how San Diego could dig itself out of this hole.— January 8, 2011 1:41 a.m.
I found Bigfoot above the San Diego River headwaters
Bottom line...it's a bunch of B.S. You can either believe in reality, or you can fool yourself with delusions. Anyone who thinks that igneous rock can hold foot impressions is too ignorant to be published, let alone taken seriously by anyone with even a ninth grade education. The best we can do is mock these idiots, in the hope they'll slink away in shame...or at least take the time to read a book on geology before making absurd claims about mythical creatures. For those who choose to believe Mr. Snyder...good luck. You've got far bigger problems in life, like a basic misunderstanding of how the world works, and I predict it won't end well for you.— December 31, 2010 10:21 p.m.
Chargers: Look at Petco Park Failure
How much does the city lose on PetCo each year? We're paying those bonds until 2032? Yet the fanatics continue their blue-faced screaming that this is a wonderful deal...look at Dean Calbreath's hilarious article in the UT claiming football makes lots of money for the city. Isn't it time to ignore the fanatics and liars, and listen to common sense?— December 24, 2010 12:04 a.m.
Ducheny Closes Senate Officeholder Account
I wonder how much of the tab in those restaurants were for Al and Denise's booze. When she was first running for the college board, they came over to my place in Clairemont to be introduced to fellow student government members. A few years later, after I lost my run for her seat on the board, and Denise had taken an Assembly seat, I was at a Christmas party downtown and Al actually put me in a headlock over a political disagreement. Don't get me wrong, I like and admire both of them on a personal level, and like to have a drink myself...but I don't consider either of them ethical or moral people, just self-dealing opportunists who feign concern for the plight of their fellow Californians while actually advancing mostly themselves. Now she's got another plum job, Al continues to do his weird thing, and nothing has changed at all for the poor and downtrodden they once claimed to represent. Using an office holder's account to support your husband's political consulting business...I guess that's just how things are done in San Diego.— December 23, 2010 11:38 p.m.
Grantville Redevelopment Money Transfer Ruled Permissible
Here's yet more proof of the real purpose of CCDC. It's a money laundering operation. Using CCDC, the wealthy and well-connected can move cash around without public oversight. In this case, they took more than $31 from Grantville, before any redevelopment occurred, and by passing it through CCDC circumvented the very specific state law that prevents redevelopment money from being spent on beautification of County Administration Buildings. Judge Lewis refuses to take off her blinders. Choosing to pass on one after another "technically legal" transaction, she deliberately ignores the context of the suit. Having read her ruling, it's clear she has no interest in justice, only in keeping her cushy job. I've never seen such judicial cowardice. If any other entity engaged in this kind of money laundering to circumvent the law, it would be a RICO prosecution. Judge Lewis is deliberately blind to this. This case ought to be appealed. So far, Dr. Peterson and the Grantville Action Group has galvanized over 200 supporters to give $60,000 to support this lawsuit. On the other side stand full time government lawyers, a taxpayer-paid team against a small plea for common-sense and justice. www.grantvilleactiongroup.com No matter how the perjurers at CCDC spin this, they know that GAG has already changed the state law to make sure they cannot rape another community in the same way. Repealing this decision won't cost as much as the original lawsuit. Will enough San Diegans support, with either their time or money, this fight for justice? How about you, A2Z? Give Dr. Peterson a call, see if you can help with their website, doing legislative research, planning outreach...we all know, this is a fight worth getting into. Best, Fred— December 23, 2010 11:11 p.m.
Grantville Redevelopment Money Transfer Ruled Permissible
The genesis was the well-recognized traffic problems that plague the area. Originally, a plan to improve traffic is what the residents wanted. Now the plan, approved by "stake holders" who are beneficiaries of government redevelopment cash, is to put in thousands of new apartment units...and NOT improve the traffic problems but make them worse. You can find all this information through the Grantville Action Group, which has performed a vital role in fighting for government openness. If you try to get information from the City, County, or the notorious CCDC, good luck...— December 23, 2010 10:56 p.m.