Pinniped Predicament

Right on NBliss! The seal colony is a treasure in this city. Prior to moving to San Diego, I would visit a few times a year and the seal colony was one of those unique places I looked forward to seeing. It is amazing to watch these animals in a natural habitat. For the seals, this is their home - and we must respect that. People have plenty of places to sunbathe or dive. The San Diego Union Tribune has written an editorial in support of the seals. You can find it here: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jan/16/pr… They write: "...We agree that in the long run the shared-use policy does not serve the best interests of people or the seals. We also believe that, as demonstrated by two scientific surveys, the large majority of San Diegans want the seal colony protected. And there is precedent: Carpinteria, a city south of Santa Barbara that has the only other such seal colony on a public beach in Southern California, has closed its beach to the public entirely from Dec. 1 to June 1...San Diego should do no less."
— March 16, 2010 1:45 p.m.

Pinniped Predicament

Is this supposed to be a news article? It's clearly biased and belongs in the editorial section. "...without harassment by seal activists..." sounds biased to me. Why are people so obsessed with swimming in this one tiny part of the beach?? The seals use just a few feet of water/sand. People can swim in the rest of La Jolla, Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, Torrey Pines, Ocean Beach, and hundreds of miles of waters to the north and south, where you can take your diving gear, sports equipment, toys, diapers, food, trash, etc. Let the seals be!!
— March 11, 2010 8:17 p.m.

We Filipinos eat with our hands, drive crazy on the road, point with our lips

My opinion is that the article is derogatory towards immigrant Filipinos, whether it is written by a Filipina-Am or not. The lines where her father is talking ("I am your podder") are clearly aimed at mocking her father and his accent. The technique of repeatedly focusing on his accent is reminiscent of the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's, where Mr. Yunioshi's thick Asian accent was one of the "comical" elements in the film - simplifying and stereotyping him while differentiating him from the elegant and refined Audrey Hepburn. The key here is the author's tone and style - the accent is conveyed in such a way as to prompt the reader to laugh at her father, rather than understand where he is coming from. As a result, it denigrates her father - who represents her old-world Filipino values and culture. It's fine if she feels this way, but writing it down and distributing it to thousands of people who might know nothing about Filipino culture is disrespectful to say the least. Imagine if a non-Filipino person wrote these exact same words to describe her best friend's father for example - would people still brush it off as just that person's experience, or call it for what it is?
— March 11, 2010 12:40 p.m.

We Filipinos eat with our hands, drive crazy on the road, point with our lips

I am not Filipino. However, I can see why people were offended. I too have parents who came from another country, and I wouldn't want someone writing a story with my heritage plastered all over the cover - as if they represented ME or my culture. By plastering "Filipino Rules" on the cover, the article becomes less about the individual author and more about Filipino culture in general - and who made this girl a spokesperson for Filipino culture? She does not speak for all Filipino people, and her story might not represent other Filipinos' experience. Her culture is a strong part of her background - I get that - but I don't think they'd print a cover story bluntly called "Jewish Rules" or "Black Rules" or "Mexican Rules" - as if the writer represents the whole culture - so I'm a little surprised that they would print this. They should have just called it Maecel's Rules - or [insert her father's name] Rules, which is more accurate. However - I did like her writing style, think she has talent, just a poor editorial decision.
— March 6, 2010 5:07 p.m.

Hell is other condo owners

PistolPete's comment:" "However, by knowing what you're getting into, you also have nobody else to blame but yourself." Unfortunately, most people have no idea what they're getting into. You assume that the HOA will follow the CC&R's, right? Wrong. If they break their own rules (which happens often), and abuse their power, how do you stop them? You have to take them to court - which will cost you lots of $$$ and stress, especially when you have to see these people every morning when you step outside of your condo (they're "patrolling" the building to look for "trouble-makers"). Elect new directors? HOA "elections" are a joke. Oftentimes ballots are "inspected" by the HOA themselves. In our case the HOA didn't even post notice of the elections so many homeowners did not even know they were happening. There are none of the safeguards in typical "elections" like we see in government, but the HOA's are like mini-governments because they control how you live your life. Lots of people just give up, especially if they have health conditions or don't have the money to pay an attorney. Lawyers are expensive. And in my opinion corporate HOA lawyers seem very happy to drag out lawsuits and bill for their time. Also, many condo buyers are first-time homebuyers - fairly young and inexperienced. They have no idea what they're signing up for. Another large portion are older people who are easily targeted and feel vulnerable, and they are scared to speak up.
— February 25, 2010 10:39 a.m.

Hell is other condo owners

THANK YOU SD Reader for writing this story!! I live in a fairly new condo complex downtown and it's like the wild wild west out here. The HOA is running the building as if they are kings and the homeowners have NO say. Proper procedures are not followed. Changes to the rules are NOT voted on, and they are starting to hold the meetings in secret. Any homeowner that voices concerns or attempts to communicate with the HOA is promptly shut out. I thought the HOA was supposed to be a cooperative group since we all have a stake as homeowners! Boy was I wrong. At this point I'm planning to rent out my unit and get the heck out of here, maybe even sell it and cut my losses. One thing is for sure - I will NEVER EVER buy anything with an HOA ever again. I'd rather rent - at least it's easy to get out if the landlord is a jerk. Our politicians need to enact legislation to bring the HOA's in check and protect individual homeowners, who often feel vulnerable against a corporate HOA with their own lawyers (paid for by our dues no less).
— February 21, 2010 11:46 a.m.