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Brick & mortar vs. Amazon
If the Amazon-effect trickling down into mall failures doesn't put pressure on Realty Income, rising interest rates surely will.— June 28, 2017 9:13 a.m.
Daughter of ex-Lemon Grove mayor in jail
The latest news is Anna Baker was released from custody on $20,000 bond. Her release conditions permit her to live with her mother, former Lemon Grove Mayor Mary Sessom, in Lemon Grove, remain in Southern California (requiring permission to leave that geographic area), and other reporting and contact requirements. The United States has filed its case and Anna Baker has retained an attorney. The next hearing is in late July.— June 27, 2017 10:09 p.m.
Daughter of ex-Lemon Grove mayor in jail
Visdah, you do know a lot about local history. Even down to little Lemon Grove. The Miller Dairy was last milked when it was sold to a housing developer who built single-family homes over the manure. There are still some large rural lots and commercial parcels that can be redeveloped. But the city has teetered on insolvency and after a recent court victory, the city raised sewer rates almost 45% again. (The court case was Moore v. Lemon Grove. Mr. Moore sued the city over the transfer of sewer funds to the general fund. Just proves the saying "You can't fight city hall" has some truth, especially when the city council is in cahoots.) Over the years, some people have called for disincorporation. The Reader has some stories about that subject. But you are very correct that the city has maxed out potential large developable land. What's left is mostly infill and mostly residential. Presently, there is an exodus of residents occurring. There are hundreds of homes for sale or in foreclosure in Lemon Grove. Since the real estate market has recovered, many people are taking advantage of market conditions and selling and moving to safer communities that have more amenities, better schools and such. Several long-time sit down restaurants have closed; Por Favor, Carnitas Uruapan and Casa Del Sol. The city also has many commercial vacancies that have been vacant for over 2 years. But the city hall is run like it is La Mesa with high paid staff and consultants. Once a spirited city that hosted parades and other civic events, it's now just an east county bedroom community where few outside visit or shop except for Home Depot and some auto sales on the outskirts.— June 22, 2017 8:20 p.m.
Daughter of ex-Lemon Grove mayor in jail
Other than ripping off the local sewer ratepayers to supplement the city general fund and reigning over an increasingly bloated bureaucracy. If you look carefully at the Lemon Grove Sanitation District "personnel transfers" to the Lemon Grove General Fund, the money would pay for almost 75% of the city employees. So, the city is "unique" in that its employees spend 75% of their time on sewer matters? That is what her "detractors" were upset over. The fact that once people get elected to the mayors office and city council, they begin working for the city instead of the citizens. If it were not for basically stealing money from the "sewer district" Lemon Grove would be forced to tighten its belt and run more efficiently. i.e. let go of staff and cut pay and benefits. The city manager of Lemon Grove earns $37,000 more than Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom! (Newsom earns a base salary of $130,490 but little Lemon Grove pays their City Manager, Lydia Romero, $167,963.00). Now you can see why Lemon Grove is broke. It's mismanaged by the city council, mayor... but as long as they can use Prop 215 to raid the sewer funds, all is well. This is another story that I hope someone follows up on.— June 21, 2017 8:36 p.m.
I.B. ready to sue
Dedina said. "The EPA is not doing its job. The U.S. Attorney's Office is not doing its job, the IBWC is not doing its job, the U.S. Congress is not doing its job......" Stopped short of saying what the biggest problem is.... Donald Trump is not doing his job. He doesn't even know what his job is. Other than being a human wrecking ball. Remember folks... the bottleneck is always at the top of the bottle.— June 21, 2017 8:28 p.m.
San Diego attorney James Davis couldn't find Bit Torrent movie thieves
Don, You have a point. I may be oversimplifying it. But I can download pirated software or movies, but I don’t. I guess some of these movie files could end up on DVD’s that are copied by the thousands and sold in the streets and bazaars of Bangkok or Beijing. Then it requires footwork to go to these exchanges and work your way up the distribution chain until you can snag a big fish. But trying to track the crime from an IP address is a complete waste of time and involves such technical testimony that the jury (and judge) doesn’t comprehend it. These kinds of cases usually never reach trial so they are settled. But how do you settle a case with a 14 year old in some random city in Asia? That is what this lawyer is most likely up against. Those billions in losses that the Hollywood studios claim are done one download at a time. I also don’t feel sorry for Hollywood. They seem to all be doing okay even if some kid in Bangladesh is downloading Wonder Woman.— June 20, 2017 8:20 p.m.
Daughter of ex-Lemon Grove mayor in jail
Visdah, The only information about this story (for all media concerns) so far has been from a press release the U.S. Attorney's office in San Diego published yesterday. So more details will come out when the case is filed and proceedings commence. Don Bauder’s story reveals the local connection of one of the defendants to a public figure (or former public figure) in Lemon Grove. There’s not much info out there right now and it will probably take several months before anyone gets any deeper insight into the characters in this drug bust.— June 20, 2017 8:05 p.m.
Daughter of ex-Lemon Grove mayor in jail
This 45 kilo haul of Fentanyl has a wholesale street value of $2.7 million. According to Courthouse News Service, "enough to kill 1.4 million people — the entire state of Illinois, or everyone in New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago. A single ounce could kill 9,457 people; a pound could kill more than 150,000." This must be a Mexican cartel operation with this quantity. The question then is the choices the Feds will give Anna Baker. Turn states evidence for a lower sentence but risk the consequences. Try to fight it and win on some technicality or hung jury. Or make a deal where you testify against your co-defendants and be placed in the Witness Protection Program. None are good options... this is a federal case and opiates and overdoses are topics high on the list of our nation’s problems. This is a case that unfortunately will also resonate with Trump's agenda. The size of this bust will be used as an example. Political, legal and the social disgust with the growing opiate abuse and skyrocketing overdoses.— June 20, 2017 7:12 p.m.
San Diego attorney James Davis couldn't find Bit Torrent movie thieves
John Doe lawsuits with little to go on but an IP address is a losing game. Unless the lawyer has a very talented expert to sleuth out the networking connections and convince a judge. IP addresses are often dynamic, so they change. They may also be spoofed. They may also be downloading the files in another country (outside of U.S. jurisdiction and treaties). And at then end of the road if you find the movie thief, what damages can you collect? If he can't afford popcorn and a movie, I think not much.— June 20, 2017 9:49 a.m.
Bitter La Jolla divorce burns hotter
Dianne York will sue anything that moves. When she walks in the room, the fish stop swimming.— June 19, 2017 7:38 p.m.