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St. Louis sues Rams and NFL over team's departure
As far as San Diego suing the NFL, Chargers, et. al., we can only ask why. The city will be far better off without the team sucking dollars out of its treasury. The city should say "good riddance", but it cannot do that. The legions of Charger fans who are in agony now that "their team" has decamped want revenge/solace/recompense. So, a suit by the city would be an appropriate step, given the attitude of those residents. But that doesn't mean that it would be pushed hard or at all. File suit, get a camera moment, and then just let it languish until it is forgotten.— April 13, 2017 7:57 p.m.
Fisher bids adieu to $1.2 million annual compensation
You have partly misinterpreted my comments about those donations. Yes, if those donors want to give tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to stuff in the coach's pockets, they should be allowed to do so. That's what the campuses call "earmarked" donations. And it happens all the time. Many universities, however, prefer to keep the donations from being committed to specific applications. But they do accept any and all donations that come from legitimate donors. What I was questioning is why those folks will give so generously to provide a princely salary to a coach. I doubt that they would give much or anything to support the academics on campus. Their identities are a mystery to me, and many of them probably want to keep it that way. It's just a question of values, as in what the role and function of a university should be. Are sports more important than the other things done on campus? I'd say they are, given the disparity in salary between the president and one of many coaches.— April 12, 2017 9:05 a.m.
Fisher bids adieu to $1.2 million annual compensation
Remember how, five years ago, there was some outrage at the size of the salary of the new SDSU president, Hirshman? He was getting $400K a year, with $50K of that provided by donors. That was the highest pay package for a president in the CSU system. More recently his pay has climbed toward $500K. But, here's the basketball coach being paid three times the salary that the president was paid at that time. Where's the outrage about that? Ans: there really isn't any. Howcum? This is just the way it goes in pro sports--and make no mistake that college basketball is pro sports. Who are these donors who come up with an extra $ 3/4 million a year? If those funds were channeled into the academic program on campus, it would make a major difference in the number of classes offered, the quality of the faculty, and a host of other features. But that would never happen. Sports rule, and don't ever forget it. So, now we know why Fisher stayed on to age 72. You just don't walk away from that kind of lucre. Had the past season been a better one, he likely would not have decided to leave. It's good to go out at the top, and if you cannot do that, at least leave before the bottom falls out.— April 12, 2017 7:36 a.m.
The Hedgecocks sue city over Pacific Beach sidewalk slip
Well, since it is April 10, not April 1, we can assume it isn't April Fools. I have often said that the real news in the Reader is sometimes stranger than the spoofs we used to see from Mencken. Not to be unkind to the lady, but this is testimony of reasons for not getting implants.— April 10, 2017 5:06 p.m.
Supervisor embezzled to go to Super Bowl
Ponzi, You and I are always expressing bafflement at how some of these embezzlers can get away with draining huge sums of money out of those companies while the business just goes on. They had to be wildly profitable, far more so than the owners and top managers realized. A few of these cases have involved $ millions. After one of the larger thefts, the victim said that the woman who cleaned him out "wanted to destroy" his business. Ridiculous! She wanted it to go on forever, so that she could milk it for as long as possible. But as to why they don't have decent internal controls (simple things like not letting the controller/bookkeeper sign checks) or bring in an audit firm to perform a cursory review, I have no answer. I suppose that the owners just "don't like" having to look at accounting reports, and are too cheap to hire an auditor. A few of those deals were absolutely pathetic.— April 9, 2017 9:37 a.m.
Mayoral whopper: "Hundreds of millions" will be lost if convention center not expanded
One complaint I heard was that the signature gatherers were telling voters that by signing the petition, they were insuring a vote on the deal. That was a lie, because the SoccerCity developers want to take it to the council and get it approved WITHOUT a vote. Any time one of those petition scammers tells you that your signature will "put it to a vote" an appropriate reaction would be to spit in his or her face. If you don't buy the story fully, never sign one of those measures! Voters are getting smart in some cities. Despite a hard-hitting and very costly campaign, Carlsbad voters turned down the Caruso development scheme to develop the strawberry fields area south of Agua Hedionda lagoon. That was another one that was supposed to "put it on the ballot", but was approved by the council to avoid the cost of an election, or so the members said. There was such an outcry that the council reneged, put it up to a public vote and it failed. And anyone on the council along with the mayor is now vulnerable to being turned out of office. Occasionally there is a little justice at the ballot box.— April 9, 2017 9:24 a.m.
OSH - another big box first for San Marcos
You are remarkably well-informed. I'd not have guessed that there had been any sort of corporate Monopoly gaming behind Dixieline. It is one of the largest, or largest overall, lumber suppliers in the county, meaning that their retail operations are only one facet of the larger enterprise. I suspect that the wholesale part of the business generates massive sales volumes while the retail part complements that with the showrooms of products and contractor service. If I were a contractor, I'd much prefer to deal with Dixieline rather than HD, unless the price disparity was huge. The service level at Dixieline just blows past anything the big box warehouse operators can or do offer.— April 8, 2017 7:28 p.m.
Mayoral whopper: "Hundreds of millions" will be lost if convention center not expanded
So, here he goes expending his dwindling political capital on this ill-conceived piece of development. Rather than put the infrastructure first, and propose that the transient tax all go to its upgrade and ongoing maintenance, he favors diverting some of it to the expansion. But how much of that increased tax revenue will to to fixing the streets vs. the corporate welfare? Not very darned much, I'd guess, regardless of what the language in the proposal is. If Kev would really get serious about the infrastructure and show the residents of the city some improvements--the streets would be the place to start--they would love him. How many of them care about the convention business? How many are affected by it at all? Very few for sure. I can only figure that he's captive of some powerful interests, some of whom we know about, and others who are shadows, who want the things he's been promoting. If he would just do one small thing that displayed some independence and a willingness to take a chance at losing his big bucks supporters, I'd stop my tirades about his failure to keep any of his campaign promises. Once again the mayor of SD has been hijacked and now serves his masters while ignoring the voters.— April 8, 2017 4:56 p.m.
OSH - another big box first for San Marcos
Ponzi, In the early 70's, Weyerhaeuser bought Dixieline from the Cowling family. Then, maybe fifteen years later, that fprest products corporation wanted to exit the retail business, and sold it back to a Cowling. (In the interim, he had been running it for Weyerhaeuser.) That sort of thing seldom happens nowadays. That Cowling passed away a few years ago, and what since happened to its ownership I don't know about. But, at least, Dixieline seems to prosper, deliver great customer service, and is one of the few old-time local retailers that is still around.— April 8, 2017 4:46 p.m.
Supervisor embezzled to go to Super Bowl
Where is he, a convicted and imprisoned felon, going to get over two million bucks? Hey judge, he spent the money and it is gone.— April 8, 2017 12:11 p.m.