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Secrecy shrouds Faulconer’s SoccerCity favors
When was there ever a presidential press secretary who had any sort of career after serving in that dead-end job? No, Kev-boy has his sights set on something far better and long lasting. Just what that is we can only speculate. But I guess that it is big, and he needs big stuff on his resume.— March 11, 2017 7:51 p.m.
Secrecy shrouds Faulconer’s SoccerCity favors
The reason for all this haste to redevelop the site is probably that Kev-boy wants to have some major "accomplishment" to point to when he makes his bid for another political office. He may not have much chance at landing the governorship, but he could end up as the replacement for Ronnie Roberts on the board of supervisors, or he might make a bid for a state senate seat, or a local congressional seat. Then there's the possibility of a cabinet appointment in this or future administration, or even a crack at the presidential nomination. Think that's improbable? No more improbable than Obama was a year prior to the 2008 race. Ya' nevah know.— March 11, 2017 9:03 a.m.
ROTC instructor's illicit sexcapade reverberates
Being more than just a little bit acquainted with ROTC, both junior and senior, there are puzzling aspects to this case. A few years ago I had multiple occasions to observe the junior naval ROTC program at Orange Glen High in Escondido. The teaching staff there consisted of a retired naval officer, and a retired navy chief petty officer. Later on, the chief was replaced by a retired marine corps master sergeant. They were, technically, employees of the school district, but the Navy did have its influence on the program. And you can be sure that the Navy was paying for the whole thing, reimbursing the district for its costs, and probably providing some additional financial incentive to the district. In Air Force junior ROTC units the arrangement is just about the same. There's no mention of Gallegos' connection to the Navy or Marines. His age might indicate that he was, indeed, a retired military man. I'd think that the Navy would vet any instructor in such a role just to insure that it wasn't embarrassed down the road. This sort of thing is a major blot on the program, yet there's no mention of the navy being sued. For sure, the school did not do its homework on Gallegos, but there was obviously a breakdown in oversight and supervision of the newly-hired instructor. One final comment is that I never read or heard a report of his sentencing last year. The Reader no longer closely covers the So County school districts. As to the U-T, it may have reported the matter, but only in its southern regional section.— March 11, 2017 8:56 a.m.
Suspended by state Bar but still top lawyer?
As I mentioned above, he didn't win a significant number of cases; his clients were routinely convicted and got stiff sentences. So, I'd not characterize him as a very good lawyer.— March 11, 2017 8:37 a.m.
Secrecy shrouds Faulconer’s SoccerCity favors
As an aside, it seems as if Kev gets to surround himself with really good-looking women. Start with his wife. Now there's Cybele Thompson. Some guys just have a knack for that sort of thing. Do women think he's that attractive, or is is something else?— March 11, 2017 7:31 a.m.
Could Major League Soccer kick the city where it counts?
Some elaboration of your comments would be worthwhile. For all my life, I've seen men (mostly) who were interested in current events only if they involved a sporting activity. Look at the sheer number of ESPN channels vs. those that cover general news events. For almost all my life, I watched men, and not just limited to blue-collar, Joe six-pack types, grab a newspaper and scarcely glance at the main news, local news, financial news, or anything other than the sports section. In high school classrooms when newspapers were still generously provided, the boys would ask to see "the paper", but take only sports, and pore over it avidly. Look at anything else? Fuhgedabouddit! You mean there was something in those other parts worth knowing about? Uh, well, yes there was. The conclusion that I reached was that sports was fun stuff, and all that other news forced you to think. Worse yet it forced you to think about unpleasant events or even tragedies all round the world. That was a downer, whereas some player's ERA wasn't anything bad at all. So, that emphasis on sports you decry is the true "opiate of the masses" in the present day world. Thus sports push real critical thinking about economics, politics, overall culture, science, and the arts out of minds. That's the shameful aspect of it all.— March 10, 2017 9:22 a.m.
Could Major League Soccer kick the city where it counts?
To make all this work, the current stadium has to go. But why is that? The city complains about the annual cost for upkeep. (Actually it is probably higher than admitted, in that past upkeep wasn't kept up--pardon the pun--and there's a maintenance backlog there.) The Chargers were essentially paying no rent, so their departure has no financial impact. I've said that there's still a need for a venue for the Aztecs football games, and for the bowl games. But then, the powers that be decided to kill the Poinsettia Bowl, and claim they are going to play the Holiday Bowl at Petco. How they can make a baseball park into a football stadium is a mystery to me. And now it appears that SDSU might be OK with a much smaller stadium than the current one. There seems to be a remarkable amount of agreement that the old stadium has to go. If someone isn't saying it is a wreck--which is a gross exaggeration, someone else says it is just too big and no longer needed. Then there's the "growth is good" crowd that wants SDSU to get a big chunk of the land for general campus purposes, and use it as a close-by satellite campus. And those proponents claim that SDSU, with its inadequate amount of land, NEEDS to grow. (Personally, I think it is too large already, and that if the CSU system needs more seats for students in this county, a logical step would be to add another campus, probably in So County.) Pardon me if I'm a skeptic about the receptivity of the local potential fan base for soccer, despite the large Latino population in the county. If all of those redevelopment plans were going to be financed privately, or in conjunction with some CSU money, that would be one thing. But you point out here that there is another taxpayer ripoff brewing, and that this scheme will need a big taxpayer contribution initially, and probably in perpetuity. The city cannot afford any more of these wonderful ideas. When the massive infrastructural maintenance backlog is worked off, maybe something like that could be considered. Just keep in mind that the backlog is growing right now, not shrinking, and that under best-case assumptions it would require decades of heavy spending to erase it.— March 8, 2017 8:22 a.m.
Suspended by state Bar but still top lawyer?
Why has Hollywood had such a hold on the consciousness in America for so long? Hype begets hype, and glamor begets glamor. Many folks who watch the presentations on TV have scarcely seen any of the movies in contention. So, I suppose I've always been mystified about the popularity too.— March 7, 2017 6:32 p.m.
He said he wasn't suicidal is why
Agreed wholeheartedly. But he's going to run for another term. And he'll probably win regardless of an opponent. The sickening possibility is that he'll run unopposed. That happened with ol' Bill "Keystone" Kolender, who was likely already suffering dementia when he was re-elected the final time. Makes ya' feel so good about cops, i.e. law enforcement, in the region, doesn't it?— March 7, 2017 6:08 p.m.
Brigantine plans for former Anthony's site hit big snag
This will eventually be settled after the preparation of thousands of pages of docs. Those 800 pages are just the opening salvo. And when all the dust settles, the only real beneficiaries will be law firms who will bill thousands upon thousands of hours at many hundreds of dollars per hour. I've always really wondered what is wrong with the Ghio family that had such a great string of eateries around the county. In the past twenty-or-so years they have done nothing but close them and now the chain isn't even a chain any longer. One remains. Th-that's all folks! Todd Ghio just seems to stumble from one failure to another. He had thousands of customers rooting for him when this lease was up for replacement, and yet he wasn't even a finalist in the competition. Can we call this the Rise and Fall of the House of Ghio (and Weber?)— March 7, 2017 5:30 p.m.