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Clairemont still waits for Trader Joe's
Costco Morena Blvd. is using DIY checkout stations.— February 25, 2019 11:07 p.m.
San Diego's street lights that spy
A great story in the public interest from Readerwriter Matt Potter. Surely our Democratic-majority San Diego City Council will immediately call for sunshine on this never-revealed "situational awareness service" we the sheeple of San Diego are both paying for and are the unwitting subjects of. Surely Council will vote an end to this program. Surely this will be an important issue in the coming mayoral race. Incredibly, we are learning here about a nearly three-year-old program, unique to us, of covert municipal surveillance of undisclosed streets and citizens and data collection by police and other paramilitary agencies -- an operation which is regarded elsewhere in California as threatening to individual privacy rights. Mayor Faulconer sinks into disgrace for his reprehensible quid pro quo deal-making with tech purveyors who got lucrative contracts to turn our municipal streetlights into spy cams in return for re-election campaign cash -- without an intelligible word of public notice. It is shocking that our debilitated daily press and effete online counterparts missed this story while tiny La Prensa mentioned it. It is wrong that City Hall stonewalls legitimate Reader requests for public information and comment.— February 25, 2019 11:02 p.m.
Clairemont still waits for Trader Joe's
If people in Clairemont want a Trader Joe's, I hope they get one, but not where the ACE hardware is in Clairemont Square! That would be an unfortunate tradeoff of the necessities of life for frozen lemon cheesecake and chocolate-covered almonds! Personally, I have never been drawn to TJ's -- not even for the famous Two Buck Chuck red wine which probably came in that tanker truck described in the story. As for Costco consumer strategy: no one ever gets out of there for under $100, but now they will help you take heavy stuff to your car if you ask. And in the relentless march toward full automation, both Costco and Von's recently have put in DIY checkout stations.— February 25, 2019 9:02 p.m.
Balboa Park garage – after all the money – seems dead
I saw the Mayor on TV last night, talking to residents of Hillcrest at the restaurant where a shooting occurred last week. It was pathetic and I felt sorry for him. Faulconer inherited the "strong Mayor" form of government, but it has never served him or us politically. Strong mayors have a lot of authority, but they have to be willing to use their power for the public good and to be highly visible in the community. Faulconer has operated behind the scenes, failed in many ventures like the Convention Center expansion and Soccer City, and is virtually absent from the public stage. Maybe it's the Peter Principle at work. I remember when Kevin Faulconer was on City Council and finally voted to ban booze at Mission Beach: it was a tough decision he didn't want to have to make -- lots of booze purveyors in his district loved the status quo -- but he voted to ban (after a Labor Day riot spilled onto the streets) and I admired him for it and was grateful.— February 21, 2019 2:08 p.m.
Never Look Away: Why not?
I appreciate this information, dwbat, but I am not a fan of Amazon Prime because they have rigged it so that once you've subscribed, it's almost impossible to cancel. I consider that a sharp business practice to be avoided by consumers.— February 21, 2019 1:53 p.m.
Never Look Away: Why not?
I'm with Amy. "Never Look Away" was odd and wonderful and did not feel as long as I was warned it would be by the ticket-taker at the Landmark Hillcrest. Someone else in the hall mentioned "The Lives of Others" to me as I was leaving. I will try to find it on Netflix.— February 20, 2019 5:09 p.m.
Balboa Park garage – after all the money – seems dead
I had to laugh at your "some speculate" that our GOP Mayor Sunny will soon defect to the Democrat Party, following in the footsteps of Nathan Fletcher Gonzalez and Brian Maienschein. I don't think so. But the County Democrats are taking nominations for best-in-show at their upcoming annual Jefferson-Jackson/Franklin and Eleanor/Lorena & Nathan Dinner, so who's to say what the future holds?— February 20, 2019 4:54 p.m.
The lively last days of Peking Restaurant
I was interested to read your assertion that soon-to-close Peking Restaurant was the oldest restaurant in San Diego. I'd always thought that distinction belonged to La Pinata in its charming old bungalow on Juan Street in Old Town. So I googled La Pinata and discovered it had unceremoniously closed late last year with no farewell in these pages. (Juan Street is not as happening as North Park.) Still, we imagine such old familiar places will go on forever, but they don't. It's good to remember them here.— February 19, 2019 9:02 p.m.
Risks rise as San Diego's painted curbs fade
How about the City focus on actual performance instead of tweaking its "performance metrics?" Many curbs are themselves crumbling -- poor surfaces on which to paint anything. But I have personally witnessed a San Diegan on his hands and knees painting an ordinary curb red adjacent to his beach-area driveway. Another homeowner, less a scofflaw, had her housepainter touch up the faded blue handicapped curb on her block. That blue curb originally cost her about $400 and took many calls over two years to get installed.— February 18, 2019 4:32 p.m.
Frons list
I don't know how many films were on your very long contrarian's list, but I recognized (and saw) maybe 15 of the ones you noted -- and I go to the movies often. Your never even mentioning "A Star Is Born" makes me sad that you somehow missed the century's most amazing romantic/tragic film and putting "Roma" in the second tier makes me think you must have watched it on some small screen or never been to Mexico.— February 15, 2019 9:54 p.m.