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Kindergarten sexual harassment case continues
I too am a retired teacher, although I didn't put in anywhere as many years as you. Soon after entering the profession I became profoundly concerned by "leaders" who had no discernible leadership traits or ability. For most of my life prior to entering teaching, I'd been at least deferential to the boss. A few experiences with principals left me utterly disillusioned. Those who are still in the classroom usually have no real respect for the campus or district administrators; they tolerate them and work around them, teach as best they are allowed to teach, and avoid run-ins with either parents or administrators. Some "profession" when you get scant respect or admiration.— January 27, 2017 8:36 p.m.
More pressure on Mickey Kasparian
It might be worth pointing out that he's what is usually called a "union boss." In recent years we were treated to allegations that, in So County at least, all the grief in the school districts was fomented by "teachers union bosses.' Yeah, "union bosses" who came and went every few years, who still taught classes, and went home at night tired from a hard day of work. Contrast those folks to this dude who has headed that union for longer than many/most of its members can recall, and who sticks his foot in his mouth almost every time he makes a public comment. Does he labor in his trade? Don't make me laugh. Does he get a generous salary along with items like a big vehicle allowance or car provided? Yes, of course. Does he enjoy a lifestyle vastly better than all those union members who pay dues to support him? You can count on that. Why do the members keep reelecting him? It is hard to describe, but why do voters keep sending the same people to Congress or to the Senate? It's time for old Mick to go. He and his cohort are keeping themselves busy in the office (wink) while the union stores close left and right. If I were a member of this alphabet-soup named union local, I'd be looking for the exit as fast as I could.— January 27, 2017 8:27 p.m.
More pressure on Mickey Kasparian
If he loses his job running the union, what can ol' Mick do? Has he ever worked in a supermarket? Would he be able to get a job in one? Could his oversized ego allow him to stock shelves or unpack lettuce? Questions, questions.— January 27, 2017 7:44 a.m.
Drought is over (says local water authority)
Isn't there some middle ground between the draconian restrictions imposed statewide and a total relaxation? Here in SD County, we may have been very dried out, yet we weren't at a stage of lacking enough water to get by. We have paid dearly for all the upstream reservoirs and for the new Carlsbad desal plant, just so that we would not suffer unduly in a drought. But Brownie decided that we would be lumped into the same sort of limits as the driest areas of the state. We should now be able to relax a bit; but the idea of conserving water needs to become a way of life. The current water limits should be saved for real emergencies and not what we have now. To continue these restrictions in the middle of downpours is like the boy who cried wolf when none were there. When there was a wolf, nobody believed him.— January 26, 2017 8:44 p.m.
Kindergarten sexual harassment case continues
A response like "I believe she may have" is no answer at all. What kind of attorney for a plaintiff would just accept such a response? If the supe was saying that she didn't remember that was one thing, but the "believe" part coupled with "may" just says nothing. That sort of testimony, which isn't testimony at all, screams evasion. Poor old SDUSD, the district that cannot find or keep any sort of decent superintendent. This one was proclaimed because she is home grown and female. But that means little when we recall that Poway's recently disgraced and fired supe was home grown for over a quarter century. Vista not so long ago had a female supe who was as useless and incompetent as could be imagined. No, they just go from flop superintendent to flop superintendent. It's as if the job is just too big for anyone to handle properly. When you get people into roles of authority who cannot handle them, things like this follow as night follows day. What a miserable outcome from a miserable incident that was grossly mishandled.— January 26, 2017 8:28 p.m.
Faulconer’s marauders
Faulconer has subscribed to what I've long referred to as the "third rail of local politics." In other words, he was utterly fearful that if he didn't placate the Spanos gang somehow with a new stadium, or at least give himself cover when he could not pull that off, he would be political toast. And so, instead of those wonderful promises he made when first elected, and then later on when re-elected, he pissed away his energy, time, attention, and (most important) political capital. There was little or none of any of those things left that would have allowed him to make more than verbal attempts to work on the quality-of-life things Alex mentions above. There are aspects of the city's infrastructure that cry out for attention. Crime, including a major reform (swamp drainage) of the police department, needs much effort. Jobs are always a consideration, and I don't mean city government jobs. The city is notorious as unfriendly to business in too many ways to list here. He might have taken a chance, and rather than keep that Chargers/Stadium pot boiling, have just told the crooks and the citizens alike that he had much greater priorities. And for the past three years (approx) have put his energy and attention into repairing the potholes, water mains, sewer lines, etc. Then he could have gone to work on reforming the hick town police department and its chronic cronyism. Making sure that the tax dollars going into the fat wallets of city employees were actually getting results would have been the unifying theme. He might have received widespread, even national, recognition as a bright, good-looking reformist mayor. Ahh, but that's not what he did, or ever will do. He won't be known as any sort of reformer or even an effective city CEO. He's just another in a string of political hacks who have sat in the mayor's seat.— January 25, 2017 9:40 p.m.
NFL supposedly upset with Chargers' move
There is one facility that has wonderful connotations, a long history, and a wretched location that just goes on and on. I refer to the Rose Bowl. For decades it was used infrequently, which was just fine with the residents that live on the hills around it. But somehow about 1980 it offered to be the home stadium for UCLA, which jumped at the deal. No longer would they have to share the LA Coliseum with the detested Trojans of USC! Except for one thing: the Rose Bowl was old and hard to access. Some time since the 70's the bowl added some special seating in a grandstand on one side of the bowl, called the Terry Donahue Pavilion. Donahue was UCLA's head football coach from the mid-70's until 1998 or 1999. But the reality of the place is hard to square with its reputation. The area around the bowl in a golf course, and the parking and tailgating areas are makeshift at best. A system of shuttle buses has been set up to get the folks in and out, not a great way to access such a stadium. For most of its existence it had backless bleacher seats. Those were converted from wooden planks to aluminum "planks" around 1970, and are most uncomfortable. Only about 1980 were some of the seats given backrests! The City of Pasadena operates the Rose Bowl. One might wonder if UCLA might covet a move to the now Kroenke wonderland when it it completed. I'll bet the school would love to move from that antiquated place to his new, gold-plated operation. But I suspect that UCLA is locked into a long-term deal in Pasadena, one that it cannot afford to abandon. So, is there a big college team that could play in Inglewood? Uh, probably not. USC essentially controls the Coliseum which is across the street from their campus, and is most unlikely to leave, even if they could. Those ancient stadia may be serviceable, but seeing a game in one of them is not always a joy. Convenience anyone? Comfort anyone?— January 21, 2017 11:04 p.m.
Goldsmith loses, Briggs wins
What you describe is a favorite way of filling vacancies on city councils and school boards here in the county. They made a move like that when Bill "Keystone Kop" Kolender had to be replaced as sheriff. That's why we now have Gore who, while not K's handpicked successor, was the drug of choice for the BofS. No, I think you have it nailed, aardvark, and you can go on record (with me at least) for your prediction.— January 21, 2017 8:06 p.m.
NFL supposedly upset with Chargers' move
Now there is talk (reported in the oh-so-predictable U-T) that the city could close the stadium because the Chargers are gone. Huh? The team was playing there free, so the cost structure is not affected. So, where will SDSU and the two bowl games play if not at Qualcomm Stadium? That they don't mention. Seems that the lease deals for both entities only go through next year. Is the local establishment going to allow those bowl games to just go away, or move to another city? Both of them are all about being near the beach, in San Diego. No, there would be hell to pay if those bowl games were lost; our tourism cabal won't allow it. And the Aztecs do have a certain following, with somewhere around a half-million locals being alums or hard-core fans. They want to see them play, and especially now that they are on a winning run with a winning coach. There's a boatload of nonsense being discussed as a result of this Spanos move out. But some of the stuff is just so far removed from common sense and obvious constraints that we can only shake our heads.— January 21, 2017 7:01 p.m.
Goldsmith loses, Briggs wins
We need to remember that Jan doesn't pay the hundred grand. The city (tax-paying residents of the city) pays it. There's no way to recover it from him. But the scary part is that were it not for term limits, the jerk might have run for a third term and won. Local voters don't pay attention. Just look at Dumanis, the worst excuse of a DA in memory is in her fourth term. It looks as if she's going to bow out at the end, or before, and not run again. So, don't tell me local voters understand what's going on, how it affects them, and that they do have a choice.— January 21, 2017 6:46 p.m.