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Will Tegna drain the KFMB talent pool?
Strange indeed if this were a mere change of ownership. Even the U-T used to print short pieces that announced the momentous ownership changes it had in the past few years. Suppressing that news indicates a sense of shame or guilt.— December 28, 2017 8:28 a.m.
San Ysidro School District sued (again)
This practice, if you want to call it that, of paying off supes who go off the rails is well established in the county. San Marcos did it with the odious Ed Brand, Sweetwater did it with now-convicted crook Gandara, and there have been other examples of such "buy outs", "payoffs", and "separations" that all involved six-figure payoffs. Oddly enough when Poway had cause to sack its superintendent more recently, it invoked the for-cause language in his contract and just cut off his compensation. (That guy, Collins, is now under criminal indictment for embezzlement of public funds.) So, why is it that a poor, struggling district like San Ysidro able and willing to pay Fonseca to leave, when a far richer district is smart enough to just fire theirs? Wealth equates with common sense? Maybe the only cure for this egregious waste of public funds is a state law that prohibits school districts from entering into employment contracts that provide for any sort of pay after separation, and prohibits the payment of any funds under such conditions. That would end much of these negotiated deals to bring new supes on board, and to rid the district of bad ones.— December 28, 2017 8:20 a.m.
City okays USD plans to build on three sides of widow’s home
It probably isn't tax-exempt now. Back in the early 70's USD cut its official ties to the diocese of San Diego, and the bishop has no direct control over it. It has a governing board, and operates as a not-for-profit educational institution. The current president has been there for just about three years. I can't find any report of his salary, but you can assume it is generous. But don't confuse his salary with that of the recently-departed president of San Diego State, or that of the chancellor of UCSD. The latter two do get big salaries.— December 27, 2017 11:05 a.m.
City okays USD plans to build on three sides of widow’s home
This doesn't mention just when USD offered $475,000 for the house; if it was in 2011 or 2012, that figure might have been low-ball, but not totally out of line. But now, no home in that area with a view, regardless of how humble, would not command just about twice that much. And if the home is really special, I'd say it should go for over a million. (For those who haven't been watching recently, a million-dollar home is nothing rare at all. Plenty of rather ordinary homes are selling for that price in prime areas, or if they have views.) It is sad, but her best option would be to sell out to the university for a realistic price, if they want to avoid litigation. Some arrangement to stay in the home until they need to demolish it could be worked out. That day may be, as USD claims, far off. All of this being said, I'd say she has a good case, and USD is playing hard ball with the whole plan. Someone should remind USD that it is a Catholic university, and needs to act with Catholic charity in its dealings with neighbors, the public, and students.— December 27, 2017 9:20 a.m.
Local unemployment keeps dropping
Forgive my skepticism, but a figure that low doesn't make sense. Too many unemployed folks lost their jobs several years ago, and gave up. The claims for disability benefits are at a level that was never contemplated two or three decades ago. My take is that many who would take a job if they could easily find one would do so, but now don't want to admit to themselves that they want a job. Add to that the problem of underemployment with well-trained and well-educated individuals who cannot make use of their expertise and hold down poorly-paying jobs or part-time jobs, and you have a bleak picture of everyday existence for many job-holders. Yes, employment in the county is up; the freeways and streets and roads are more crowded than I can ever remember. But that doesn't translate to full employment by a long shot.— December 27, 2017 9:07 a.m.
National City power grab suspected
Most term limits in cities, and now for the board of county supervisors, the limit is two terms. Whether you like term limits or not, if there are to be limits, two terms seems sufficient. Three is most liberal, or call it generous, but that's not enough for the National City bosses. Strange city is this one.— December 22, 2017 9:39 p.m.
Ace Parking sued for printing TMI on receipts
Uh, when those reports are generated and released, the record of them being heeded is poor, I think. In truth, they are generally ignored. Their value might be in piquing interest of the FBI, and maybe the DA. Notice that I said "maybe" because this previous DA did little to root out corruption, despite declaring that she would crack down. The new one? Who really knows. But I'm not optimistic.— December 22, 2017 10:12 a.m.
Amazon overload
This does a great job of pointing out the weak link in e-commerce involving merchandise, supplies, or equipment. Simple and quick to order, and the seller (Amazon in this case) has it in a warehouse where they box it up and send it out. But connecting with the recipient is not so simple. There's that "last mile" problem, and just leaving packages on the doorstep of a home or business doesn't make for secure delivery. UPS had that as a major weakness for years, and leaving items with neighbors wasn't always the answer. Sometimes it resulted in the certain loss of the package. I'm surprised that there are not many more thieves following the delivery vans around, grabbing as much as they can as soon as the delivery vehicle is out of sight. While I don't order much on-line, when I do I try to order from Target, Walmart, or Home Depot, and pick it up from the nearest store. Not only does that avoid delivery charges most of the time, I know that the merchandise won't be sitting on my doorstep for anyone to come along and grab. This is not something that will be solved simply or cheaply at all. In fact, it may be a major limiting factor in the continued expansion of on-line sales.— December 22, 2017 9:54 a.m.
"Landmark" pine tree the culprit
The headline may have been corrected, but the first sentence of the story still says "eucalyptus."— December 21, 2017 7:50 p.m.
Ace Parking sued for printing TMI on receipts
If Ace is mobbed up, they are very careful to keep it out of sight. One of the dirty little secrets of the SD establishment is how that outfit can dominate paid parking in so many locations. I shudder to think of the clout it would have if this were Chicago, which requires paying to park your car in most situations. There seems to be little real competition in the parking industry, at least here in San Diego. I've paid to park in their lots maybe ten times in the past thirty years--yes you read that right. But the experiences were always anxiety-raising. If this city and county got some real attention from the feds (read FBI), there would be plenty of scandals. Ace might just be one of them.— December 21, 2017 7:16 p.m.