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In stunning reversal, mayor withdraws his support for Chargers’ convadium
All satire set aside, Faulconer could, and I stress COULD start to make a difference in the city if he did something like this, and them started to push for the real needs of the city. But, considering who he is and what he wants to be, will that ever happen? No, it won't, and the city of SD is screwed once again. Nobody who claims to be in the know thinks that C will pass. That's scary, in that polls do affect outcomes, and if the opponents think they will prevail and stay home, it could pass.— October 7, 2016 8:37 p.m.
Is Proposition X a black hole?
It is hard to imagine the AGC ever encountering a school bond issue that it didn't like. Remember that most such borrowing propositions use the money for construction, and the AGC is all about building things. So, it is to the advantage of the industry to see many such bond issues approved. (There is one fly in the ointment today. "Technology" can consume some of the money borrowed. That means buying computers, and the darned things are obsolete about as soon as they are bought. After a few years, they need replacing, and the cycle starts again.) The bond issues today are far too easy to pass. Before the law change, they were hard to get approved. Despite that, some years ago, the San Ysidro district did get its voters to approve a multi-year, half-billion dollar plan, even though the district had no immediate plans to borrow and spend that much. One can only assume that the voters of that small and poor district figured that "the man" (their landlords) would pay the resultant taxes. Or they thought they would not be around to have to worry about it. District after district is putting such financing measures on the ballot. What ever happened to the notion that the state is paying for public education? The affluent districts and an occasional poor one can tax themselves to excess to pay for new schools, gyms, stadia, etc. and provide something that the poorer areas will never afford. Yet while the court decision that mandated equal funding for schools still stands, it appears to have no effect on these borrowing plans.— October 5, 2016 8:15 p.m.
County supervisors vote against adult pot use
Ponzi, I suppose you are aware that right from the beginning, the majority of Horn's Valley Center neighbors didn't vote for him. His support comes from the urban part of his district, which is heavily incorporated. He gets elected by San Marcos, Carlsbad, Vista, and Oceanside. The voters in those cities are far more affected by the actions of their city councils and mayors, and don't really tune in to Bill's foibles.— October 5, 2016 4:55 p.m.
County supervisors vote against adult pot use
When Gore, Bahnee and Bulldozer Bill Horn all line up to oppose anything, I'm sorely tempted to vote the other way. These elected officials all have their agendas, and too often those agendas have to do with staying in office as long as permitted, filling their pockets (although at their ages, you might hope that avarice and greed have faded), and making themselves remembered well by friends (if they have any.) Make up your own mind based on your own experience and common sense. The county board of supervisors, the sheriff, and the DA all have their own biases, and frequently display them.— October 4, 2016 7:56 p.m.
Paul Gaspar is not a medical doctor
My familiarity with how employers vet applicants, and especially their academic claims, is about non-existent. I'd think that most do check such things. The problems arise when an existing employee claims to have been pursuing a degree and has then had it granted. In governmental employment, that often means more money, and also opens doors to higher-level jobs that also pay 'way more. At that point a phony certificate or fabricated transcript can do wonders. But the real danger is that charlatans can just appear, claim high-level educations and/or professional status, and run for office. How do the voters check the validity of the claims? Well, a free press and skeptical reporters can do wonders. I must point out that it is very difficult to contact a university that doesn't exist!— October 4, 2016 7:53 a.m.
Chargers, mayor, U-T collude on con job
The fact that Kev-boy took so long in announcing his "decision" of support is a dead give-away. He claimed he needed time to consider all the parts of the deal before stating his support or disapproval. What he was doing was waiting until the Spanos gang came up with enough to buy his approval. As in the claim that every man has his price, he hung tough until he got his. So forget about his desire to rebuild the infrastructure. And also forget about any effort to reform the PD, and the city bureaucracy overall. No, he has his eye on a higher elective office, and everything he does from now on out will be based on whether it helps or hinders his political ambitions.— October 4, 2016 6:58 a.m.
Paul Gaspar is not a medical doctor
At least he has a "sorta" doctorate. Not too long ago, we had a dude on the Tri-City Hospital District board who claimed a doctorate and used the honorific to help get elected to that dysfunctional board. Some opponents of his started digging and could find nothing about the university he claimed had granted the degree. When he was asked about providing evidence he had none, just a lame excuse for having lost all of it. It was a piece of total fabrication. Now there's a mini-scandal in the San Diego City Schools about a principal who claims a doctorate that neither he nor the district can validate. This kind of stuff goes on all the time, and is likely to get worse in coming years.— October 4, 2016 5:58 a.m.
San Diego's $2.27 billion pension hole
Your suspicions about Faulconer and Ronnie R ring true. Except that I don't see Kev-boy as a power broker just yet. He has backers who he must satisfy/mollify first. If you look at those who have made "F" mayor, you will know who is making the decisions. As for Roberts, he seems to have managed to intimidate most of the other local pols, and so few ever oppose him in an up-or-down vote.— September 18, 2016 5:39 p.m.
San Diego's $2.27 billion pension hole
Don, that issue is highly complicated because of NIMBYism and a host of other things. From a purely traffic-flow standpoint, it should be built. I've always suspected that the opponents were far less concerned about the environmental impact than they claimed and were more interested in keeping their own dead end streets just that way, and hence quiet. But the opponents appear to have won, and it won't be built.— September 18, 2016 5:26 p.m.
Muslim woman sues prison guards for discrimination
Ponz, I have a strong hunch that both she and convict husband are native born US citizens. As such, there's no place to send her, even if she could be deported. But as Muslin woman, she might find it more to her liking in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, or Indonesia, and might consider emigrating.— September 18, 2016 12:47 p.m.