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Gunning for the sheriff
There could be another explanation for taking ads like those. The ad clerk and manager get jaded, looking at so many ads that if it is grammatically correct, and all the words are spelled correctly, they are satisfied. Looking at the claims of ads must be a struggle, because there is hyperbole in almost all ads, to a greater or lesser degree. Then you have the matter of lack of understanding of the product or service featured, and bogus claims can slip through. But some are so obviously phony that anyone with any sense should see it. In those cases it was a matter of "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil", and take the money.— March 4, 2018 10:16 a.m.
Gunning for the sheriff
Don, You don't mention his dental education and experience. They could be perfectly legit, or maybe not. He did manage to get licensed in California before he blew it. Guys like this are those who take advantage of the proximity to the border, and lax regulation in corrupt Baja. While the story isn't totally clear to me, it appears as if he was soliciting dental work in the US, then having the customers decamp to TJ, where he practiced on them. So, if he did that, the charge seems to be that he was required to be licensed on both sides of the border. But he didn't leave it at that; he started selling misleading financial scams in the US. He's a real credit to his heritage and his cross-border shuttling. Both California and Baja should shut him down. Will Baja do the same? LOL— March 3, 2018 7:04 p.m.
Sara Jacobs, 29, runs for Congress
At first Jake and wife were being philanthropists of first rank. But more recently his "giving" has taken on a sinister tone, influencing elections and buying favor with two-bit politicians. His sons, and now his granddaughter, are looking for political influence. He tried to buy a remodel of Balboa Park, was rebuffed for a time, and now seems to be back at it. Unless I"m mistaken, he now owns the mayor and another group of local pols, who are ready to do his bidding. That's not true generosity; it is legacy building where he cares not what the citizens want. If he wants to do something for local residents, he could quickly stop the influx of H-1B workers to Qualcomm, and start hiring grads of his namesake school at UCSD.— March 3, 2018 6:53 p.m.
National City teachers protest the lack of supplies
Interesting story. Basic cash and bank deposit handling procedures are designed to prevent just this sort of thing. So, the "business" office of the district was so inept that they now have missing funds, and can't be sure how much is missing. I'd say she's in serious trouble. But the business manager of the district was incompetent, and should be replaced, pronto. How credible are the claims made by Carson? It sounds as if the missing funds situation happened on his watch. There are Kool-Aid stands that are better managed than some of these school districts.— March 3, 2018 11:23 a.m.
Doug Manchester versus a killer pizza oven
All this grief with that hotel may be Nature's way of telling ol' Doug it's time to hang it up and enjoy his remaining years. And while he's at it, he could abandon the project on the SD waterfront, and let some younger and more visionary up-and-comer have a crack at it.— March 3, 2018 10:36 a.m.
Sara Jacobs, 29, runs for Congress
The Democrat field of candidates for that House seat is large. Only one will emerge with the nomination, and I doubt it will be Jacobs. Her thoughtless and rather flippant "humorous" remark about "crusty Marine colonel" was referring to Applegate. But it also pertains to a GOP candidate, Rocky Chavez. At this time I think he'll get the GOP nomination, and may very well win the seat. One thing is for sure: The state and county don't need more influence of the Jacobs/Qualcomm fortune in their elections. If that family wants to be a good influence locally, there is much it can do, starting now. But trying to put favorite candidates forward, especially when they are not strong ones, helps nobody. As a family member, she's a true lightweight with no hard knocks in her preparation. Let her get some real experience, and then come back and make a try for office.— March 2, 2018 8:34 a.m.
Wrecked it Ralph Inzunza
This slob went to prison, but somehow Zucchet skated after a jury convicted him. That deal has always had me wondering. And yet there are pollyannas among us who don't think there's a corruption problem in San Diego.— March 2, 2018 7:26 a.m.
Suspended Sierra Club's appointed leaders back SDSU
That would require some leadership from a mayor and council who are unconcerned about the next election, and who want to do the right thing. Starting with Kev-boy and working down through the council seats, most of them are looking at the future political careers. The city blew it on Liberty Station, turning it over to a single developer who had no vision for the area. San Diego is running out of spots of that size that can be redeveloped into something the city can be proud of. I'm not sure which former mayor had a real vision of such things. Pete Wilson was taking some steps to control leapfrog development, and to put the infrastructure in place first. Most of that seemed to fly out the window shortly after he went to Washington. He had a vision for downtown that pivoted on the Horton Plaza shopping mall, a deal that never delivered the things they hoped for.— February 27, 2018 3:55 p.m.
Trash talk (and arrest) in Cardiff
The system doesn't effectively deal with "neighbors from Hell." Just what a civil suit would accomplish isn't obvious to me. You sue for damages, you win, you try to collect. Good luck. During the suit you might get an injunction, but this indicates she was arrested for violating a restraining order. An injunction is a judicial order enforced just about the same way as a restraining order. And there seems to be the rub. A generation, actually more like two generations, ago people who had bizarre or disruptive or combative behavior were committed to mental hospitals, better known as insane asylums. That got them off the streets, but rarely resulted in any sort of cure. That was then, now we just put them through a set of revolving doors, where they come out and come home just as messed up as ever.— February 23, 2018 4:45 p.m.
Weldon McDavid shot Greg Mulvihill on secluded dirt path in Carlsbad
This whole case would be wildly amusing if it were not about such a tragic event. The interrogations and admissions are something "stranger than fiction" and prove that criminal acts are not always well thought-out. Those of us who did not attend the trial had no idea of just what the testimony included, and without this report would never have heard about it. As the trial started, it seemed as if the DA knew far more than could have been known without one or both of the defendants having confessed, more or less. That's what McDavid did in spades, yet he kept up the story that he didn't go out there to kill but rather to do something that he never made clear. In so incriminating himself and Diana too, he made the case for the DA, and guaranteed a guilty verdict. I doubt that any appeals will be successful. Both of them have little to look forward to in life.— February 22, 2018 7:17 p.m.