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Oceanside Cop Back to Work
Hear, Hear! There are now three justice systems in America. One for the rich. They can hire so many lawyers and legal specialists (like Kroll, the ones who whitewashed the corruption in San Diego) that they'll never face justice. Another for the poor. We all know about this one, where you get railroaded, incompetent defense, and inhuman treatment in prison. Then there's the super-extra-special justice system for cops and prosecutors. In this system, it's rare they ever get charged for anything whatsoever. Even if a prosecutor willfully withholds evidence and obstructs justice, they cannot be prosecuted themselves by law. We all know how rare it is for a cop to even be investigated, much less charged...or even more rarely, found guilty. Looks like they put the victim on trial, and Officer White, who showed brazen cowardice, and dangerous incompetence was not just let free, but given his job back. What a travesty. Unfortunately, this is typical. It's why I no longer support cops. I suspect cops. White should have been tested not only for drugs and alcohol (he'd just come from "a beer or two" with his wife) but also steroids. It is so typical of the "us against them" mentality in law enforcement that they refused to give him equal treatment. White is a disgrace to the police. If he had any honor whatsoever, he'd resign and move away to another state.— June 25, 2009 1:16 a.m.
Lights, Camera, Cuts
McCann doesn't pass the smell test. He was the same doofus who wanted Chula Vista to get into bed with the Chargers, giving away hundreds of millions of tax dollars to the notorious Spanos clan...who incidentally helped McCann raise bucket loads of money for his expensive Assembly bid last year. McCann's grandstanding, plain and simple. He is exactly the kind of person we don't need in public office. It's unfortunate. Chula Vista ought to make further cuts, recognizing that the hard times won't be over quickly, saving money now they'll need in the near future. But to have McCann advocate such a position is ridiculous, given his track record.— June 23, 2009 11:50 p.m.
San Diego's Hotel Business among Nation's Worst
Some questions for you Don...how would this affect the general fund revenue projections? A lot of the TOT goes into the pot for paying off pet projects of previous politicians. Just how over-commited is this money now? How bad will it get if the next few years see continuing low levels of hotel occupancy? Thanks, Fred— June 23, 2009 7:32 a.m.
It’s Hard to Eat With a Paper Bag Over My Head
From now on whenever I make a restaurant reservation I'm going to use the name of a restaurant reviewer. My date will be so impressed...thanks for the idea, Naomi!— June 19, 2009 9:19 p.m.
Backyard Bow-Hunting in La Jolla
I'm curious why you don't mention the excellent range in Balboa Park, under the bridge next to the freeway. It's one of the best I've even had the privilege to use. I started with a recurve, moved on to compounds, and am now back to using a recurve again. It's true that with all the modern gear, shooting a compound can be a lot like shooting a rifle. Shooting a recurve, with no sights, is a very different experience. Sure, I don't get the show-off tight groupings I achieved with my compound bow, but there's something more satisfying about it. Nice to read an article about archery in the Reader.— June 14, 2009 1:57 a.m.
The search for convention center money in San Diego
The convention center is fine as it is. Comic Con and other conventions will most likely reduce in size in coming years, rather than continue what looks like unsustainable growth. How many comic books and action figure fans are there, any way? And how much disposable income do they have right now? Training, travel, and conference budgets are being slashed every where. So why would any rational business invest into a declining market based on fickle tourism and conventions? Well, the Convention Center board doesn't seem compelled to run the place as a rational business. They see themselves as semi-officials of the local government. The result is staggering fixing of the figures. Don and Professor Sanders are correct. We need an independent audit of the whole organization. Let's find out some real numbers before we go opening our wallets (yet again) to subsidize low paid hotel jobs.— June 11, 2009 1:20 a.m.
Let’s Toast to Banning Booze
Beermonkey ought to run for the council. Replacing Kevin "Birdbrain" Faulkner with a higher order primate would certainly be an improvement.— June 11, 2009 1:13 a.m.
More Ugly Stats
Rip me off with a ballpark Give me corporate pork Buy me a mayor and council seat After the vote our team always gets beat Cause it's fraud, fraud, fraud economics Taxpayers lose It's a shame! Then it's one, two, three billion gone In this big shell game Remember all the deluded happy talking politicians and business creatures (many of them with us still today) who intoned: "Build it. They will come." As if a line from a Costner movie was sound economic advice. The Murph was a premier multi-use facility. It hosted the Padres and Chargers and other events (I fondly remember a late eighties Who concert). Then Golding and McGrory got wet and gushy over Alex Spanos and on his private jet promised to "renovate" the Murph into a football only stadium. John Moores went along, knowing he could then extort and cajole his way to his very own stadium next. He got even more. Through bribery and hiring McGrory, Moores also got ten percent of downtown in the deal. Now we're stuck with empty condos, empty ballpark and stadium, and empty promises...all at the highly predictable cost of hundreds of millions of dollars. F*** John Moores, Susan Golding, Jack McGrory, and the whole Spanos clan. They ought to be in jail for what they've done to San Diego.— June 11, 2009 1:09 a.m.
Letters
Best fish I ever had...(and it was illegal!) When I was sixteen I went on a week long backpacking trip in the Sierra Nevadas. I took along my fiberglass recurve bow and two wooden target arrows. We camped in a mountain meadow with a stream meandering through the middle, overhung with trees and hosting lots of bugs. That's why the trout were so big, and oblivious to my peers' lures. Just there gliding arrogantly along, you could see that beautiful plump rainbow-sided monster, Mr. Fat Trout. I placed the arrow onto the string, drew back, breathed out, aimed just under the fish to allow for refraction and...thwunk. Mr. Fat Trout squirmed on the sandy bottom, impaled through the side with my arrow. I stepped into the wet and cold, carefully worked the arrow loose while the fat fish bucked, and pulled both out of the water. There was already a small fire. I found some large flat leaves, gutted the fish with my swiss army knife and rinsed him in the stream. I wrapped him up carefully, and put him on the fire. A few minutes later, I turned him over. Gave it another couple minutes, and pulled the steamy leaf roll to a flat rock. Unwrapped, the fish gave a wonderful fresh aroma. I had no salt or pepper and didn't miss it. I used my fingers to pull apart the flesh, and ate all but the fins, tail, and skeleton. The meat was tender, firm, with a hint of the smoke it steamed upon. Mmmmmmmmm. I sincerely apologize for having been sixteen and unwise. I now know that bringing weapons like bows and arrows isn't really the thing to do in a national forest. And shooting trout out of a clear stream, while impressive to amateurs, is about the easiest shot to make. Not at all sporting. I'd never do it now. I still remember Mr. Fat Trout. None could ever be fresher or more tasty, or more illegal.— June 11, 2009 12:55 a.m.
New City Hall Superfan
The W Hotel is apparently available. Maybe it would suit Ben Hueso better than his austere work environment downtown. True, the old, ugly, dangerous, and inconvenient civic center complex is a disgrace to our city. But our enormous debts are far more disgraceful. Besides, if Hueso (or anyone else downtown) is thinking about 50 years, then anticipated sea level rises would obviously rule out building something downtown, which just might be under water in future decades. Kinda like our current financial situation... When a proposal like this comes from the CCDC, already well known for deception, self-dealing, and misappropriation of tax payer money for its own aggrandizement...it should be rejected out of hand. Dissolve CCDC, use the money we save to rent some appropriate office space. Then start long range planning for where this city will be in 50 years. Include the likelihood that coastal areas (like downtown) will be affected by rising seas, and the entire region will be lacking fresh, drinkable water. That would be real leadership.— June 9, 2009 7:23 a.m.