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Dave Roberts never apologized to Kristin Gaspar
Some random thoughts come to me in this piece. Yes, many health practitioners hold a "doctorate" of some sort. Providers of hearing aids are doctors of audiology. Optometrists are also doctors. A real surprise to me is that physical therapists also carry some kind of doctorate. But most of those folks do not, unlike chiropractors, use the honorific, and many would be embarrassed to do so. But Gaspar is not easily embarrassed. Neither of those two candidates was particularly sympathetic. Roberts made his own scandal all by himself--he hired them, he supervised them, and they said he created a toxic environment. But he would not accept responsibility for the mess, and blamed others. (In some political issue where things went wrong, would he do the same? We didn't have such an issue, and could not find out.) When a boss goes wrong, he/she can appropriately be fired. The voters almost didn't fire him; the election was that close. And he blew his chance for a second term in an office that seldom goes to a challenger. Term limits will make the board of supervisors a whole new ballgame. Mentioning Logan Jenkins reminded me that, while he tried to stay above the fray, was telegraphing his liking for Roberts. That is the approach Jenkins has to take. He doesn't come down on either side of many controversies, but he does give a "balanced" story that allows the reader to make up his/her own mind. But his bias can come through in many cases, and this was one of them. Poor Kristin just doesn't get much respect. Will "Dr." Gaspar and his associate win some damages? Hard to tell, but some sort of financial settlement rather than a trial is likely.— September 8, 2017 10:16 a.m.
San Diego no place for greedy home-sellers
Oakland? Really? That must be spillover from the Peninsula, Silicon Valley, San Francisco and the other booming corners of the Bay area. And it's not so hard to understand, in that just a few years back housing values there were not matching the rest of the area. That spillover is a signal that the wild run-up in values is near a peak. And it should be. As to San Diego, it lacks the white hot job markets of the Bay area, the pay levels can only support about so much housing outlay, and the city is not exactly the paragon of virtue as far as quality of life is concerned.— September 7, 2017 5:56 p.m.
Breaking Bad: Clairemont edition
Where is the proactive, community-oriented policing that the SDPD has been touting for the past several years? Letting those "small" violations go is what results in a whole area being taken over by criminal gangs or syndicates. Oh, I forgot that the PD is understaffed, underpaid, and is just stretched too thin. But is anyone, least of all the chief, doing anything to turn it around? Uh, she complains, and Kev-boy talks of some way to boost the budget. This is just another case of the city not delivering on its obligations, and having political careers built while Rome, i.e. San Diego, burns. I think it took a big dose of personal courage for Julie to even write this piece. I'm sure those gangstas read the Reader and know who she is.— September 7, 2017 7:43 a.m.
Take my newspaper, please
There's an old story in the newspaper business of something much like this. Shortly after WWII, Phoenix had a population of only about 45,000. The local newspaper(s) was(were) struggling. The owner was despairing of ever making a profit, and wanted out. (He should have hung tough for a few short years.) One day a friend introduced him to the owner of the Indianapolis paper who was "wintering" in Arizona, something that affluent folks did in those slower-moving times. Eugene Pulliam owned the property in Indianapolis which was successful and profitable at the time. So the then-owner of the Phoenix operation made a proposal. He offered to sell the whole thing to Pulliam, the story goes, for $1 if Pulliam would assume the considerable debts of the publishing company and bring them current. That way he could walk away with his head held high. Pulliam took him up on it, and the rest was history. The Arizona Republic and Phoenix Gazette grew in circulation and revenue and far outstripped the Indianapolis paper. BTW, that Pulliam was the grandfather of Dan Quayle, vice president 1989-93.— September 6, 2017 8:48 a.m.
Up to 30 deputy city attorneys terminated
There's one matter that hasn't been covered. With all the vilification he suffered, how was it that he was hired? City government spent huge amounts of effort and plenty of treasure to pull off those stadium shenanigans, and he was the loudest and most effective opponent. And yet, there he was, toiling in the city attorney's office. Who hired him? Witt? Gwinn? Aguirre? Goldsmith? I cannot imagine any one other than Mike Aguirre putting him on city staff. It is hard to imagine the Goldy kept him on staff through two terms; that guy did enough foolish things that one more foolish termination would have been inconsequential. Well, maybe he just didn't want the bad publicity. Yes, it will be interesting to learn of the reasoning that led to this many layoffs. If they are all part-timers, it might be a desire to cut down on the numbers of people requiring supervision, and to bring on more career deputies on board. However, if that city ordinance prohibits layoffs, and certainly mass layoffs, then it was illegal. Can't the city attorney read the law? Isn't it rather ironic that now that Henderson's claims and concerns have been vindicated, he's lost his remaining job? If he had played along with the power elite in San Diego, he might have had a long career on the council and/or other elective office. As it was, he did the right thing and apparently suffered for it, and still suffers for it. Another damning indictment of city corruption and mis-governance.— September 6, 2017 8:31 a.m.
Horton Plaza has gone to seed
Despite all the hype that came out of city government, and especially Pete Wilson when he was mayor, that mall never did rejuvenate downtown. The current residential development is no thanks to the mall, either. Wilson expended far too much time, attention, money and scarce political capital on getting that mall built. In so doing he sold the city's soul to one of the nastiest and greediest developers in So Cal history--and that's saying a lot--Ernie Hahn. Twenty years ago on a Saturday the mall was an island of retail activity in a sea of indifference. Retail stores on C Street were usually closed on that day; no office workers, no business. So, there was no spillover from the weird mall onto the surrounding streets. Its very reason for being built, supposedly, was to get downtown to come back to life, and it never did that. Heck, the traffic into and out of the mall didn't even keep that uber-fancy retail operation across the street, The Paladion, going during the economic downturn of the early 90's. More recently, within the past two years, I had occasion to kill some time downtown, and I went into Horton Plaza to get some lunch. What passes for a food court there, a cluster of hole-in-the-wall takeout spots that have little or no seating of their own, does have some communal outdoor tables. While attempting to eat there, I was panhandled six times! Where the heck is security? I saw no sign of anyone who looked like a security agent at all and the homeless and those who wanted to look that way had free run of the mall. As to whether Westfield will spend a cent on that mall is pure speculation. Why would they when the tenants keep closing? The reason Westfield is refurbishing UTC is that it is/was full and with more tenants lined up seeking space. Malls are on the way out, and UTC is a major exception. We may soon see that only two malls in the county are viable, the aforementioned UTC and Fashion Valley. The rest of them? Meh.— September 3, 2017 10:14 a.m.
Now Jen Campbell's going after Zapf's seat
Ponz, I think Zapf's teeth may be that white all the time. Not that it proves anything. Oh, and I doubt that she's anything taller than 5 feet. So, the package is not unattractive at all, but actions are what define what a politician represents. When SD had a glamorous mayor (of similar short stature) there was plenty of attention paid to her looks. What was missing was anything like intellect, and she may have been the biggest disappointment in local politics in ages. So, yeah, you have it pegged pretty accurately.— September 2, 2017 7:37 p.m.
Councilwoman Zapf dodges financial hardship
One little trick those agents have is doing most of the sales pitches verbally, and always prefacing their remarks with "I think." Ask one about the house or vacant property next door, and you'll hear what you want to hear, with the words "I think". If you don't insist that the agent research the matter and show you the printed info, you'll likely be misled. Years ago we were considering a house that was next to an open parcel of a number of acres. In response to my query the agent told me that the parcel was (he "thought" of course) designated as open space. We didn't buy the home, and within about a year, that parcel sprouted two-story attached homes. One of the buildings was within 50 feet of the home we viewed, and overlooked it. So much for asking and settling for something the agent "thinks" is true.— September 2, 2017 8:02 a.m.
Now Jen Campbell's going after Zapf's seat
He bankrolled her run for Supervisor, and it appeared that he cleaned out his pockets doing so. And that may have explained his subsequent criminal acts.— September 2, 2017 7:48 a.m.
Eclipse road trip: Weisler, Idaho
It's been a few years, but I've traveled on US 95 from here to the Boise area, which isn't far from Weiser. That's more than a hop and a skip. I'd not care to try to do it without an overnight stop. Depending upon your exact route, Bishop or Lone Pine are not bad places to find a motel room or campsite. But part of US 95, just about 100 miles of it, actually passes through Oregon, the southeastern corner of it, and about as desolate and lonely an area as can be imagined. And it has some remarkably straight stretches of highway. But the problem is that Oregon, while "liberal" in some ways, isn't liberal about speed limits on regular highways. Last time I passed through there, the limit was 55! That's particularly irritating in that Nevada allows 70 mph on their portion of 95. But when you hit McDermitt on the state line, be aware. Yes, Oregon does enforce that dumb limit out there. Looking at the area and terrain, you might assume they don't, and on my first trip through the area I thought so too until I came upon an 18-wheeler pulled over by an Oregon State Police cruiser. That rig had passed me many minutes earlier doing 70 or more. That area usually has very few cars or trucks passing through, even during the day. If that area where you were doing 90 was in Oregon, you may have lucked out. There was safety in numbers, I suppose, but I'd prefer not to risk a speeding citation, and maybe a trip into a tiny town to pay a hefty fine.— September 1, 2017 4:27 p.m.