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The cigarette smugglers among us
The more something is taxed, the more incentive there is to evade the tax. California's tax on cigs is sky-high, and now there is a burgeoning "industry" of cheaters. Usually evading that tax involves bringing them in from a lower-tax state or better yet, from a source that has them tax free. But pulling it off right within sight of the border crossing takes the prize for nerve.— November 19, 2017 9:02 a.m.
Okay, California Pacific Airlines ready again
At last? We've been waiting and waiting, and still there's no scheduled, open-to-the-public air service out of Carlsbad. I'd like to say that I'll make frequent use of this new airline, but then I haven't seen their fares. But if this is for real, it will sure beat getting to Lindbergh and going through screening there. Now, if only they could figure out some way to avoid the TSA altogether . . .— November 19, 2017 8:56 a.m.
Vagrants and adversaries, make way for Target
Are you aware that Kresge decided, in the 60's, to make a try at the so-called discount department store field, which had many many regional players coming and going? It came to that party late with Kmart, and soon was the biggest such chain of all. Eventually Kmart (Kresge changed its corporate name to Kmart by that time) overtook the biggest retailer of all, Sears. The rest, as they say, is history.— November 17, 2017 10:53 a.m.
SDG&E pillow talk
The picture that I conjure up of three generations of that family at the public trough is hilarious. If you know how to play it, certain kinds of public agencies, especially those under the radar, can be most lucrative places to work (and retire from.)— November 17, 2017 9:49 a.m.
Vagrants and adversaries, make way for Target
The history of that building and others in North Park was national chain retailing. Two such companies were mentioned in the piece, Penney and Woolworths. There were others in that shopping district in its hey-day. Shopping districts like that one were vibrant with both local merchants and chain stores. The balance in numbers favored the locally owned stores, but the corporate chains were usually the higher volume ones. Penney probably did very well there until the advent of the mall; the way those shaped up was that if you didn't go into one when it became available, you would lose out. So Penney decamped when Fashion Valley opened in 1969, and it became an anchor there with its makeover approach that tried to compete with Sears in just about all categories, including automotive and tools. I think College Grove also had a J C Penney store in the 60's and 70's. I'm inclined to agree that having a tenant like Target in that spot is highly preferable to having it vacant, covered with graffiti, and producing no jobs, no sales tax revenue, just an eyesore. Hoping for a retail renaissance of small shops and specialty stores, locally owned, is fine; keeping the business district active will help until that day arrives.— November 17, 2017 9:13 a.m.
As aviation-gas lead drops over Serra Mesa...
When the big push came in the 70's to get the lead additives out of gasoline, I never gave any thought to aviation gasoline. I was vaguely aware that it had a higher octane rating than any gas sold for terrestrial motor vehicles or boat motors, but that was about all. So, it was exempted from the laws that outlawed tetraethyl lead, huh? If a few planes were burning it in small quantities, that would be one thing. There are more than a few general aviation aircraft out there, and some are used intensively. That implies a lot of lead-containing exhaust is generated, and the ban on lead additives is being circumvented, if on a smaller scale. There are still plenty of old cars and trucks on the road that date from the era when lead was added to the gasoline. Somehow their owners/operators have managed to deal with the absence of leaded gasoline. (Maybe a lead additive they use? Or something else?) If the industry keeps making airplane engines that require that high-octane fuel, it will go on forever.— November 16, 2017 8:53 p.m.
Where to get your pie in San Diego
"Palate after palate of pumpkin pies" sounds interesting. But the person was saying "pallet after pallet", meaning something else. Darned homonyms!— November 16, 2017 2:34 p.m.
Lovejoy and McDavid guilty of attempted murder
You weren't implying that we would have had no local coverage of this case, I know. And since I watch no TV to speak of, wasn't aware that it was getting national notice. You are absolutely right that the TV coverage was there in the main because she is attractive. One reason I regret the decline of the newspaper is that if most voters rely on TV for their news, we are sunk. The TV networks cannot and will not even try to report news that doesn't fit their narrow template.— November 16, 2017 8:06 a.m.
SDG&E pillow talk
Is this conflicted board member from the Helix district the only one who could be the representative to the SDCWA? How about having that district appoint someone who has no such conflicts, and who can vote on all matters? Seems very simple.— November 15, 2017 7:51 p.m.
Error alleged in Rancho Bernardo High baseball
One thing I've seen in many years of following newspaper reporting is how someone will tell the paper or reporter that a story didn't belong in the paper. In other words, it wasn't newsworthy. gottatellthetruth, after a series of lengthy comments, is essentially saying that this story isn't newsworthy. But it is! Some time back, when the North County Times was still publishing and allowing anonymous comments, there was one commenter who frequently told the paper to "pull a story." The usual reason was that it was tragic and that the family was suffering. Isn't that news, then? I always thought so. News can hurt, but it informs the public about unfortunate events. Dorian does a very good job of reporting news; as a result he makes a lot of folks squirm. We might wonder about the identity of gottatellthetruth, who just signed on to the Reader yesterday. But we will wonder and never know, thanks to being able to comment anonymously.— November 15, 2017 7:38 p.m.