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Will Tegna drain the KFMB talent pool?
An excellent, well-researched piece. Most of us know just about nothing of the corporate structures and economics of the broadcast industry. This brings much of the intrigue into focus.— December 21, 2017 7:08 p.m.
"Landmark" pine tree the culprit
Well, more or less, that's what I think. Unfortunately, if all those giants along my street were removed the entire ambience of the street would be gone. One of them is about one-hundred-fifty feet tall, and has occasional visitors on the hunt for rodents, but not the usual hawks. These are golden eagles, and without that super-high perch would never be seen. Nothing is so simple, is it?— December 19, 2017 9:06 p.m.
"Landmark" pine tree the culprit
This doesn't mention just what the city alleges that would make the condo HOA partly responsible. But aside from that, eucalyptus trees can be bad news. There are so many species and sub-species that it is never clear just which one is involved. My rural street is lined with eucalyptus that are 80-90 years old. In recent years four of them have been removed. One was towering over a house, and the elderly occupant feared it would drop a branch onto the house. She somehow managed to get the city and/or SDGE to pay for its removal. The house, it needs to be noted, was built about 1984, meaning it was built when the tree was already mammoth in size. So, why did she buy the house? Oh, the house could have been built farther away from the tree, but wasn't set back from the street for some reason. Along this street, a few branches have fallen due to wind. But others have just come down spontaneously. Those are the scary ones. Thus, there is risk from the tree toppling, or from branches snapping off and falling to the ground. With all the obvious risks, are they still planted? Why, yes they are. In this area hundreds were planted along with some fast-growing pines in the area of Shadowridge back in the 80's and the city planted the same trees in a number of its new parks at that time. The only reason I can think of is that the seedlings are cheap, and that the trees get big quickly. But that also means that they get too big quickly too. The HOA in Shadowridge is busily cutting out those eucs and pines before they fall over, and replacing them.— December 19, 2017 3:59 p.m.
Foreign gas stations opening up to Mexico
So, if the gasoline you buy at the ARCO station comes from Pemex and is the same stuff and the controlled price is the same, why go to ARCO? The story mentions the distrust of locals in the accuracy of the pumps at Pemex. Gee, why would they doubt the government owned oil company? LOL Could it be that brand new, clean and bright stations are in stark contrast to the run-down and often-filthy stations bearing the Pemex logo? In the old days of the US oil business, Big Oil found that the retail marketing of their products was not very profitable at all. They made their money from producing the oil (pumping it from wells) and from refining (turning it into useful fuels or feed stocks for petrochemicals.) But while that may no longer be the case, it is still hard to understand why ARCO is opening gas stations in TJ. The conclusion I reach is that it is the first step in being able to refine its own products and eventually produce them in that country. When that happens the expropriation of the 1930's will be history, and any/all petroleum corporations will be able to operate there. Maybe that will bring some real competition and decent customer service to buying motor fuel in Mexico.— December 18, 2017 5:38 p.m.
Border wedding included drug-smuggling groom
After his guilty plea to serious smuggling offenses, he gets bail? That sounds odd, and if it is typical, lax, too. There's no way he should have been at that park, his proper domicile at this time should be the MCC in downtown SD, or some other federal confinement facility.— December 17, 2017 3:28 p.m.
Gas thieves drill truck's tank
Time to repeal the gas tax increase. "Poor" folks can't afford to pay for gasoline, so they steal it. Seriously though, drilling into a tank like that is dangerous. Get it a little too hot, or have a spark, and it's conflagration time. But with a plastic tank, it's much less dicey than with a steel tank. This may be the new crime of opportunity: a high clearance vehicle that allows access and enough space to place a container, and away you go. Just when you think you've heard everything . . .— December 16, 2017 4:13 p.m.
Home invader gets 180 days in the clink
Under the circumstances, this looks like a smack on the hand for the offenses committed. Where's our tough-on-crime DA? AWOL? The def is lucky to be alive; once a homeowner or home occupant starts to spit lead, he usually doesn't just wound a burglar. It doesn't often occur, but when it does, someone usually dies. My take is that far more serious crimes were committed, and that if they were pursued, he could have been sent up for many years, decades, or for life. Whazzup?— December 14, 2017 7:34 p.m.
College Spanish teachers sue for hostility and more
The article doesn't mention which campus is involved here. That district has San Diego City College, San Diego Mesa College, and Miramar College. Oh, there may be more locations. That professor who was "living in Mexico" at the time of his complaint should not expect special treatment. A normal work schedule could be expected to involve an early morning start, and if you choose to reside on the other side of that sluggish border crossing, that's your choice. With my limited knowledge of slang, I'd say that the "nicknames" mentioned in the story were definitely negative, and obvious put-downs. In fact, if they had been uttered by someone with a non-Hispanic surname or background, would have been labeled highly racist. I do know that "Chilango" is not a term of endearment in this area. So, it will be a face-off between Hispanic instructors here in the US. Ain't it great?— December 14, 2017 7:28 p.m.
Deported U.S. Army vet wants in
Having followed this story for about as long as the Reader has covered it, I find it jarring to see Barajas in his Army uniform posed in TJ. There are some ways to honor his service, and deporting him wasn't one of them. Here's a guy who grew up in the US and served in one of the Army's most elite units. That should/could have qualified him for citizenship. In his case it didn't. My gut says that they can make allowance and let him return. (Oh, I note that someone has provided him with the current Army service uniform, the blue one, whereas he used to appear in the now-discarded green uniform.) But then there's the matter of his arrest for shooting into a car; was he convicted? My recall is that in an earlier post he was described as having a conviction for animal cruelty, or maybe my memory is just faulty. Let me describe my reaction as conflicted, and leave it at that.— December 13, 2017 7:57 p.m.
Kill your boyfriend, go to jail
Don, your post was brief and didn't say what will happen to the beauteous Taylor Langston, who knew of the crime. Unless she was somehow directly involved, she may face no charges at all. The matter of this being a federal crime was news to me. I'd have thought since it was a killing in Mexico, the fact that it involved two US citizens had no effect. And so I'd have assumed the Mexican "justice" system would have dealt with Meza. I do also wonder just what "life" in a federal prison means. Is there some sort of parole in the federal law?— December 12, 2017 7:34 a.m.