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
Why Warner Springs Ranch is in hot water
Greg S. Maizlish. the current "board" are breaching their fiduciary duty to ALL the owners and can be held personally liable for such breach of fiduciary duty (such as not notifying ALL the owners of the Pala buy out offer). Why not just sue them for that breach??? A judge will be able to get to the bottom of this a lot faster than the self help pace going on now-which is a snails pace, with the current board reaping all the benefits. That's what I would do. Either that or make the current board buy out the other owners who want to sell at market rate.— August 20, 2008 9:26 p.m.
Maritime Terminals Create Good Jobs, Says Research Institute; Idea to "Double-Deck" 10th Ave. Terminal Would Hurt Economy
Almost a year ago, the California Supreme Court ruled that salaries of government employees, including police officers, are a public record and must be available upon request to "ensure transparency." The ruling ended a Contra Costa Times lawsuit filed in 2004 against the city of Oakland after the city refused to release the names and salaries of its employees. The Oakland Police Officer's Association and other employee unions fought to keep the information private. (Sheriff's repsonse) The Deputy Sheriff's Association received a legal opinion on listing individual benefits, particularly health care, Bickert said. They sent the opinion to county counsel and the county administrator. If that information is not removed from the site, the union may take legal action, he said. (I guess the Sheriff's Association did not see the CA SP CT's ruling making these items PUBLIC RECORD) http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_10194074?… http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_10194074?…— August 20, 2008 9:17 p.m.
Maritime Terminals Create Good Jobs, Says Research Institute; Idea to "Double-Deck" 10th Ave. Terminal Would Hurt Economy
Here you go Don, if you can make it over to Nebraska Thursday evening you can meet Warren Buffet and David Walker for the world premier of I.O.U.S.A.; http://www.iousathemovie.com/ Tickets for the I.O.U.S.A.: Live with Warren Buffett, Pete Peterson & Dave Walker in-theatre event on Thursday, Aug. 21st at 8:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. CT / 6:00 p.m. MT / 7:30 p.m. PT (tape delayed) are available at presenting theatre box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com. http://www.iousathemovie.com/press/meeting/— August 20, 2008 9:08 p.m.
Maritime Terminals Create Good Jobs, Says Research Institute; Idea to "Double-Deck" 10th Ave. Terminal Would Hurt Economy
Gee Johnny, your buddy Aguirre says that firefighter benefits are only .57 of salary. =================================== JF, the Contra Costa Times just posted the full compensation of ALL county employees, including FF's and Sheriff's. CC has the exact same retirement that San Diego (and every other gov in CA.) has. The PENSION contribution ALONE was 70% of salary-that was not counting the PAID medical, that was NOT counting the 4 weeks of PAID vacation, the 13 PAID National holidays, the 12 PAID sick leave days. These all cost money. Big money. I am pretty sure that when ALL the benefits I listed are added up they total as much as base pay. I don't want to look for the link right now, but will find it later and post it. So the full benefit package for government is so out of whack that it is insane.— August 20, 2008 9:05 p.m.
Co-Counsel in District Attorney's Pension Conflict of Interest Case Takes Job with Superior Court
Response to post #31: Home prices have come down 28 percent since the November 2005 peak, but prices are still high. ================ I predicted a 30% decrease-max-so I think we are at rock bottom or close to it, and havestabilized. I think we will not go down firther, but will be in a stagnant period with no appreciation for 1-3 more years.— August 20, 2008 12:51 p.m.
Maritime Terminals Create Good Jobs, Says Research Institute; Idea to "Double-Deck" 10th Ave. Terminal Would Hurt Economy
They have more education than a FF does I bet. Also, the FF and cops's benefits (yes, including the "make more than when you worked" pensions) increase their compensation by a factor of 100%.— August 20, 2008 11:45 a.m.
Co-Counsel in District Attorney's Pension Conflict of Interest Case Takes Job with Superior Court
Most of all, remember: bankruptcy. San Diego is close to it. Best, Don Bauder ======================= I hope I am wrong-but San Dieg is so far in the hole, I just cannot see us digging out. I also think it is only going to get worse as more and more PD/FD retire and drive up penions and healthcare costs even higher than they are right now. Hope I am wrong, and it does not come to BK, but that is where I see San Diego sooner or later. I think the state is at a crossroads also-the republicans will not do a tax increase. So I hope some fiscal caps are put on state spending. The prisons are going to be given a population cap very, very soon by federal judge Thelton Henderson.— August 19, 2008 10 p.m.
Co-Counsel in District Attorney's Pension Conflict of Interest Case Takes Job with Superior Court
So let me get this straight, you want me to tell firefighters in other parts of the country that they should sell their house and come here where they can't buy a house? They may be working for peanuts, but they have a better lifestyle there than here. ========================= The invisible hand of the free market dictates to get labor and costs to the lowest point possible while still making a profit, or in the case of government break even. Richard Rider said he could get thousands of people to apply for SDFD with pay at half what it is today-and I am sure he could. We can get quality, competent FF's and cops for $50K per year, since there are basically no education or work experience needed before being hired-at least for PD-limited requirements for FD. I know PLETNY of people, all PROFESSIONALS, who cannot buy a home in San Diego. I know lawyers working 60 hours per week for $50K-$60K with NO benefits-zero. They also have 6 figure student loans. That is a direct cost of the sunshine tax. If they can do it then so can GED and HS educated cops and FF's-who I might add have 100% job security and are not "at will" employees.— August 19, 2008 9:53 p.m.
Co-Counsel in District Attorney's Pension Conflict of Interest Case Takes Job with Superior Court
That retirement increase was given to firefighters in lieu of pay raises. As numerous studies have shown, we are way behind the rest of the state in pay. ===== Let me state this again-I do not care what ANY other county or city are paying their FF's. It has no bearing on what San Diego can or should pay. The question is not what others are payng, the question is how much does it take to get a qualifed applicant to do the FF job. I will tell you----->>> $50K and a 401K. If Burger King pays their HS workers $$50K per year while McDonalds pays the market rate of $15K for the same education and experience levels then Burger King is going to go out of business. San Diego right now is Burger King, trying to become a McDonalds. Put that another way, San Diego is more like McDonalds while Burger King is more like Vallejo. We know where Vallejo is right now, don't we. There would be no problem getting quality FF's, FF's who could do the job of FF for $50K per year and a 401K or Socal Security.— August 19, 2008 8:17 a.m.
San Diego Continues Losing Jobs; Unemployment Rate in July Was 6.4 Percent, Above Nation's 6.0 Percent
San Diego could capture signficant employment over the next few years if they promote and understand the global opportunities that our proximity to mexico provides. ===================== While I agree with much of hwat you said, especially the tax problem, I do not think we need to export anymore manufacturing jobs- anywhere-including Mexico. Manufacturing is the backbone of the middle class-without it there is no middle class. We have exported millions and millions of manufacturing jobs the last 3 decades-while we should have had a policy and plan in place that kept them here. When the backbone of America is exported-then the country will fall apart-sooner or later-and that is exactly what we are seeing today, and for the last 25 years. The only people making money in the middle class today are government employees and that is pretty much it. While the top 1/10 of the top 1% have seen their income expand 5,000% the last 20 years. Read "Free Lunch" by David Cay Johnston-then you will see the big picture.— August 17, 2008 10:40 a.m.