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North County brewer shuts down
Ian, you must know more than you are reporting. How about you tell all of us what you know? This looks like the sort of thing that happens when an industry starts to mature. The small operations that pioneer the concept don't or can't grow, and soon the bigger boys, such as Ballast Point and Stone, crowd out the small fry. If that business had been doing well, there is no reason for failing to reopen and then take off, except that it could not take off, due to scarce resources and maybe underpaid and unappreciated innovators. We will probably never know for sure.— February 10, 2017 8 p.m.
Coronado Avenue traffic median consternation
This story is tagged as Imperial Beach, yet the city that is mentioned is San Diego. Which is it, IB or SD? Inquiring minds want to know.— February 9, 2017 8:07 p.m.
City holds garage sale next to homeless center
That use of "hopefully" always grates on my ear. Used that way, it also means that nothing may ever happen, whether in [the] next few weeks, or a few months, or a few years, or many years.— February 8, 2017 2:51 p.m.
MTS responds to Baja Rail charges
In the four years I've followed this story, the ownership of PIR has been a tangled web. Lawsuits, some going back a decade, have been filed at almost every step along the way. The only way to clean it up to allow Baja Rail to take over may be in bankruptcy court. But with the objections now filed, even a bankruptcy reorganization plan may take years to sort out. There are claims and counterclaims. PIR was, according to the original timetable as I understood it,was supposed to be running test trains on the line by early 2013. That's four years ago, folks, and there's no evidence that any work has been done on the US portion of the line, nor that any equipment has been run on those rails. What we have been treated to is a series of revisions that MTS accepts instead of the milestones in the original lease. But even now Baja Rail has not submitted anything specific, nor has it done anything on the ground in the US. It does claim to have made major improvements on the Mexican part of the line, although those are very hard to verify. So, it enjoys a small business of taking cars into and out of Mexico through the San Ysidro border crossing, to the tune of between 1000 and 1500 cars each quarter. Virtually all of them arrive in Mexico carrying cargo of one sort of another, and most leave empty. That belies all the potential that PIR claims of having for outbound traffic to ship out to the east. Finally, Union Pacific has declined to comment on these plans, although it is that railroad that would receive the outbound shipments to their rails at Plaster City. I'd say UP knows that this is still a fanciful scheme. And yes, MTS needs to keep its buses on schedule, something it does poorly today, and serve the riders.— February 4, 2017 12:57 p.m.
Former lieutenant guns for Goldsmith
When Bahnee D leaves the DA's office, it will be most interesting to see how many of her current and former deputies will take to the courts to seek redress in much the same way. Citizens of the City of San Diego and the county have been most ill-served by these two politicos, both of whom have had bigger ambitions than their elective offices. It is so sad in that he could have really reformed the office. After the messes left by Gwinn and Witt, his predecessors, even modest efforts to make the operation work in the way intended would have made him look heroic. But no, Jan doubled down on stupid, and got away with it for eight years. Now the city taxpayers will pay, pay, and pay more for his wrongful prosecutions and corrupt dealings.— February 1, 2017 7:53 p.m.
Feeling the sunshine tax squeeze
For the past few years, Obama years I must remind everyone, it was deemed that the cost of living had stayed flat or nearly flat. So I saw no boost or a tiny boost in both Social Security and my VA allowance. Personally, our water bill went up enough to justify a couple percentage points, and the SDGE rates are also up. Where was any saving? Well, gasoline, which gyrates all across the board, came down, but I can think of nearly nothing else that did. I have a weakness for fresh fish, and even the lowest-cost kind keeps rising in price.— February 1, 2017 5:12 p.m.
Green Elementary assault trial starts today
Taking this to trial is nervy. The district administration (read: superintendent) and legal counsel must think the case against them is weak, and that the district will win. I would not want to try that. Of course, since this decision was made by or heavily influenced by the supe and casts doubts on her performance, she has a personal stake in the outcome. The usual response to suits like this one is a quiet settlement. If the parents don't really care about the money and are more interested in seeing this aired publicly, then their going to trial will accomplish something, even if they get no award. It could still be settled before the trial ends and the jury rules.— January 30, 2017 4:19 p.m.
Trump goes swamp fishing
With nothing better than educated guesses about what will come from this administration, the best anyone can do right now assume. We can all hope that our assumptions are more-or-less correct, and go from there.— January 29, 2017 10:09 a.m.
Hello Betty is not as welcoming as it sounds
Unfamiliar as I am with that part of San Diego, I'll have to accept your appraisal. But it does have a reputation for high prices that empty tourist wallets--or more likely corporate coffers--while delivering enough to keep the tourists coming back.— January 28, 2017 10:31 p.m.
Hello Betty is not as welcoming as it sounds
I think the notion that tourists will lap it up and pay inflated prices for ho-hum food and drinks is just right on the money. There was a time when Oceanside had little tourism, except for the harbor area. But now it has the hotels and "resorts" that were built in recent years, and is actually getting a chance to milk tourists. So, in the highest traditions of San Diego and other coastal spots, it is going to go for it. Pay the prices if you want to, but don't forget that these operations don't care if you ever come back. They'll do just fine with the steady stream of tourists who show up and love it regardless of the prices, quality, or service.— January 28, 2017 8:10 p.m.