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 City Employees pension fund ailing
I'm calling bulshytt on this repeated "invitation" to join the police or fire department, with the implication that ONLY police and fire are qualified to comment on these public policy subjects. ================== That's not the implication at all. The implication is that you can't handle the job, even though you say it's easy. Besides, why wouldn't you want the job? It's cushy, right? Lot's of days off to still have your own business? Good pay.. etc. I really can't see why you wouldn't apply.— February 5, 2009 8:56 p.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
Interesting to note how much overtime contributes to the problem. ================ Well, here's part of the problem. The city eliminated many of the staffers from the department. You know, the lower paid management analysts and such. As it turns out, the work load remains the same. The county still wants EMS reports, the city council still wants compliance reports, etc. So now, the city pays battalion chiefs and captains OT to fill the jobs of those staffers that have been eliminated. It probably costs less in the long run.. but meanwhile, Carl is whining...— February 5, 2009 8:52 p.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
Fred whined that firefighters and cops don't have all that dangerous of a job. I guess he forgot about the firefighters killed in the helicopter crash up north this summer. Oddly, so did the feds, since wildland firefighters are counted as "forestry workers" in stats, not as firefighters. Oh, and he missed this quote from Forbes, "Badge-wielding types took a serious hit. Of all occupations, protective-service occupations suffered the greatest relative increase in workplace fatalities in 2007, jumping 20% to 314. Nearly one-half of those were police officers; indeed, enough men in blue perished in the line of fire to earn a spot on the list of America's 10 most dangerous jobs."— February 5, 2009 8:44 p.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
JF and JW have argued that they are underpaid. =============== Sorry Don, but in reference to increasing taxes I wrote, "Apply that increase to increasing staffing, not increasing benefits." Given the current economic climate, I don't think we should get a raise at all. Plus that helps the unfunded ratio, as the assumption is for a 4% raise each year. If the raise is lower, the unfunded ratio goes down.— February 5, 2009 8:36 p.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
Nor do I accept that officers and paramedics assigned to those events are suffering so badly that they need to be paid overtime. =================== Will you accept that the Fair Labor Standards Act requires it? Employees of the city cannot be forced to volunteer in their position.— February 5, 2009 8:23 p.m.
Alan Gin's USD Leading Indicators of San Diego Economy Continue Plunging
We all have choices, Fred. As I recall, you're in IT. Perhaps you should apply to work at the city.— February 4, 2009 6:23 a.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
We need a referee. ================= Not really, Don. Like so many other posters on this board I'm leaving too. I have better things to do than argue with someone who will not change their position no matter how how strong the evidence is against them is. I'll still stop by to discuss things with you, but no more comments on Johnny's crap. As I've said, Johnny is obviously a troll. Johnny, since you know so much more than everyone else I have one last proposal for you. Sue the city. You say you're a great lawyer who's argued before the Supreme Court. Surely you could win a little case against the city. Come out of the shadows and sue. That's the only way you'll accept the truth.— January 28, 2009 7:48 p.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
JF, the benefits you just named have no impact whatsoever on Contra Costa County's pension contribution-because the contribuition is a % of BASE pay-not all the things you stated. Even if CCC's base pay were 50% more, THE % OF PENSION CONTRIBUTION WOULD REMAIN THE SAME-BECAUSE IT IS A %, so your comment makes no sense. ====================== Well, first off, the discussion was about ALL benefits as a percentage of pay. Not as a part of pension contribution. And.. you left off the very next line of my statement, "They also get more holidays and annual leave." That will affect the percentage of pay. As usual, you're reacting to one small part of what I write rather than the whole thing.— January 28, 2009 5:05 p.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
"Anyone who opposes unsustainably high public safety salaries and benefits in Vallejo is called a "hater." We are called "haters" because apparently the, "if you're not with us, you're against us" mentailty reigns. The alleged "haters" are accused of hating all police officers and firefighters. We don't hate police officers and firefighters." =========================== Really? This is what you claim to believe? But didn't you write this, "SDPD is comprised of GED and HS grad educated (85%)cops-what do you expect with Bottom of the Barrel hires??? It is that way all over the state. Slapping a federal civil rights lawsuit on the losers is the only way to get them to change-because the only thing their small minds understand are $$$$ damages." Using terms like "bottom of the barrel" and "small minds" sure doesn't seem like an anti-union comment, but more of a general disdain for police officers.— January 28, 2009 2:59 p.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
Good point, Don. I hereby amend my statement to, "Which one of you is more inaccurate..." We've already seen that DeMaio is inaccurate by adding non-benefits such as unemployment and disability insurance. However, removing those makes DeMaio's number go down...even further from Johnny's number. I find it kind of funny that Johnny uses figures from Contra Costa County and tries to extrapolate them down here. CCC makes 30% more than us, as can be seen by the current fire recruit flier posted on the city web site. They also get more holidays and annual leave. He posts about sick leave and vacation as though they are separate. That shows his level of ignorance. They have not been separate here since 1981. There is one bank of leave. Johnny includes paid holidays as part of his figure. I suppose he doesn't realize that we only get that holiday pay if we actually work the day of the holiday. It is not paid for those who were scheduled to be off anyway. Just more ignorance on Johnny's part.— January 28, 2009 2:56 p.m.