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The janitor did it
The slobberin' school district can't do much of anything right, or efficiently. They hand out credit cards to various employees, including maintenance technicians, to make the system work smoothly and efficiently, but cannot manage to have any sort of centralized accounting and accountability. So typical of the district for many years, despite reviews, audits, and critical reports.— June 15, 2017 7:55 a.m.
Genetically speaking
The matter of U-T reporting, it might be noted (as I do every day) that the coverage of local news is scant, spotty, and often mistaken. So it is quite possible that no reporter had the story on his/her radar, due to the skimpy staff that remains employed. Worse yet, the paper may be down to a point where nobody knows who Craig Venter is, what he and his organization do, or his significance. If you think their reporting is weak, the editing is at least that bad with some really glaring errors getting through.— June 15, 2017 7:50 a.m.
Del Mar's parking fail
This is rather typical of Del Mar. The city has a love-hate relationship with the Fair and the racing season. Its city government loves the revenue it gets from all the activity. But the residents hate the sleaze, the noise, the crowds, and the general tackiness. Since there's no getting rid of the fairgrounds/racetrack, the city wants to get the maximum benefit. So, putting in a flock of overpriced and round-the-clock-enforced metered spaces was just a way to milk the operation.— June 13, 2017 8:40 p.m.
San Diegans shell out 39.6 percent of income to mortgage
There's another phenomenon in San Diego, that of the "second" home, which can be the third, fourth, or fifth home for certain very rich and plutocratic people. Those homes are often some of the grandest homes, yet sit empty for much of the time, too. The top end is then out of reach for many of the most affluent local residents who are forced down the ladder, and who bid up the prices. The process works its way down the scale, all the way to the bottom. There are other factors, such as the one you mention, aided and abetted by Air bnb.— June 13, 2017 8:08 a.m.
Succulent thief in North Park and University Heights
Since most gardeners will happily provide cuttings of plants like succulents, there's just no reason to steal them. The pattern of ripping them off in broad daylight and escaping in a Prius (a Prius, really?) shows something. Just what it shows isn't apparent.— June 12, 2017 4:51 p.m.
San Diegans shell out 39.6 percent of income to mortgage
I have given up trying to explain to my own satisfaction why San Diego home prices are so high and why folks living here are willing to spend so much to own those homes. Right at this time, the high percentages of income going into housing in Silicon Valley and in San Francisco can be explained. The job market for tech and for the social media operations is white hot. That is centered on the peninsula, and yet those cities aren't accommodating housing needs at all. There's little growth in the supply, and that suits the existing homeowners just fine. Almost any respectable tract house in Palo Alto will command $1 million. With no other places to go, the workers head south to Silicon Valley or north to San Francisco. But LA? LA??? People live there because the jobs are there, and they have to live somewhere close. But pushing up the prices and the percentage of household income past 40% for homes in that undesirable place is just nuts. The others listed have something going for them in ambience, lifestyle, or career satisfaction. IMHO LA has none of those things going for it.— June 12, 2017 2:11 p.m.
Queen of the double-dippers
An interesting idea for sure. But if some of these jokers could not retire and then return to work, they would never retire, at least officially. What they could do is "retire on the job", a practice of staying in position while doing as little as possible and putting in as little time as they can get away with. And it isn't necessary to be old or older to retire on the job. I saw 30-year-olds do it a few times.— June 11, 2017 4:06 p.m.
Judge Curiel gets another tough one
This may be a simple case. The defendants "said" they would not sell pot on the premises. Then they did. If what they said can be established in court by witness accounts, the oral representations will be seen as part of the lease. The lease was violated in such a situation, and the lessor can kick them out. The smart way for the lessor to handle it would have been to write the marijuana prohibition into the lease. Then it's a slam dunk. The judge could rule on the simple matter of a lease dispute, and also rule that all the other considerations are extraneous to the case. Heck, I think he could even send it back to state court. Indian tribes and bands love their sovereignty when it suits them, i.e. when it is advantageous. But when it gets in the way of doing things such as making donations in elections to help favored candidates, you hear nothing of it from them. It is hard to blame them, but that sovereignty they possess is a blade that should cut in both directions.— June 11, 2017 11:14 a.m.
Queen of the double-dippers
Yeah, I think so. Recent reports have decried the administrative bloat in both the UC and Cal State systems. Admin staffs have grown faster than the size of the student bodies and faculties, and their costs have ballooned. Moreover, the salaries of some administrators have gone stratospheric. Her salary, pre- retirement, of about $300K, sounds excessive to me, and I'd guess to most observers. Multiply her compensation across the twenty-plus CSU campuses, and you start to understand why the fees keep going up. It would not be so bad if the educational experience was improving along with the higher fees, but it isn't, and even the campuses admit that.— June 11, 2017 8:52 a.m.
Lawsuit targets Del Mar's short-term rental ban
There is some strong legal basis for these claims. For as long as I've lived in the county, it was well known that owners of some of those upscale Del Mar homes were using them as a source of seasonal income. The usual move was to rent out the home during racing season, and leave the home to the short-term tenants by taking a vacation trip themselves, or relocating to lesser digs elsewhere. The purpose of the CEQA was to keep the coast accessible to the public, and the Commission enforces that. In this case those well-heeled folks who rent homes in Del Mar would be denied their access to the coast. Boo-hoo. I'm sympathetic to those people who resent having their neighborhoods turned into Air Bnb ghettos, but Del Mar is a much different situation with this practice being already well established.— June 11, 2017 8:19 a.m.