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The Hanged Man
We will miss you in these pages, Barbarella!— August 24, 2016 9:29 p.m.
Mayor’s office not so transparent
So much for sunshine at the Mayor's office, especially when it comes to details of Irwin Jacobs' proposed intrusion at Balboa Park. How is it the City is allowed to redact details of such a meeting? National security? As for land-use honcho Hansen, you are fair to include his quote here about a homeowner wanting to weigh in when an outdoor bar is being planned for 20 feet away from a bedroom window: he is quite right.— August 24, 2016 2:38 p.m.
Big money Mexico-tied donor backs Trump
Why is it no surprise that Trump fund-raising is doing so well in San Diego? We are just a Trump kind of place, I guess. Still, it was news to me that Irwin Jacobs has repeatedly contributed not only to candidate Hillary, but also to the Clinton Foundation. What could he have gotten in return, I wonder? It all reminds me again of Bernie Sanders' prophetic year of campaigning: we are today a highly stratified society with the rich getting richer at the expense of everyone else.— August 23, 2016 10:37 p.m.
Larcenous land sharks trawl SeaWorld’s water park
Mea culpa. As if by magic, yesterday's Los Angeles Times travel section had a letter from a Sea World patron who refuted my claim about the company's Lost and Never Recovered department. The writer's daughter's missing wallet turned up at the Sea World Lost and Found.— August 22, 2016 6:02 p.m.
California watchdog limits freebies for Latinos for Israel
It seems to me that Latino South Bay Congressman Juan Vargas has been wined, dined and luxuriously lodged on AIPAC junkets to Israel, "the only democracy in the Middle East."Where does AIPAC get its money for these public relations extravaganzas? Is the organization required to divulge? It would be interesting to see the donor list.— August 22, 2016 5:51 p.m.
San Diego’s planning commission overrules Gaslamp groups
CVS in any incarnation is tacky, poorly equipped with merch and staffed by idiots. But a huge one in the middle of Gaslamp -- a pretty tacky place in its own right --is allowed by the Planning Commission while overriding the wishes of the local community planning association and in spite of another CVS nearby, well, it speaks volumes about the kind of city government we have. The Planning Commission is comprised of Kevin Faulconer appointees and they are all about helter-skelter development, by any means necessary. No alcohol? In a city with 7,000 documented homeless in the neighborhood? Sounds like a joke.— August 19, 2016 10:29 p.m.
Larcenous land sharks trawl SeaWorld’s water park
No matter what they're offering -- irritable orcas with sunglasses or bacterial waterslides -- Sea World manages to rip off their"guests." Definitely need to rename their Lost and Found because nothing lost there is ever recovered. And how about a lower fee and bigger size for those self-service lockers? The prices are outrageous. Otherwise, I would just remind Sea World customers about the 10-year-old boy who was decapitated last week on a poorly-engineered super-tall Kansas City watersilde. Caveat emptor.— August 19, 2016 5:18 p.m.
tronc to San Diego: you're fired
Or will they both be destroyed by a thousand cuts from "tronc" honcho Michael Ferro who is thus far unwilling to free any newspapers in his Chicago Tribune Co. portfolio? Is Matt Potter obliquely suggesting that Irwin Jacobs could ante-up to save the Union-Tribune in league with his billionaire friend Eli Broad in Los Angeles who has expressed a similar interest in "saving" the Los Angeles Times? The two rich old guys have much in common -- love of civic power foremost among them -- and how better to shape one's community than by owning a newspaper? Hence Potter's reference to early influential Ira Copley who established San Diego's direction for years through the conservative pages of San Diego's Union and Tribune.— August 17, 2016 10:28 a.m.
Revolving lobbyist
Tony Young is no Ron Roberts. Roberts, a Republican, has served his community in elective office his entire life. But Tony Young, A Democrat in name only, has disqualified himself by past actions to run for anything, including dog catcher. The idea of wolf-in-sheep's clothing Young on the County Board of Supervisors is, well, disturbing. Young left his own inner-city 4th District Council in the lurch for a private-sector-style appointment to a cushy Red Cross job -- a sinecure for politicians like ex-mayor Jerry Sanders and ex-Admiral Ronne Froman who also had done the bidding of downtown developers and GOP influentials. And then he jumped that ship to become a high-paid lobbyist. Like Young, I'm a registered Democrat, but I think we've had enough of disgraceful opportunists like him running for taxpayer-financed public office. The San Diego County Democratic Central Committee needs to do better than offer this re-tread for election to Supervisor.— August 17, 2016 9:54 a.m.
tronc to San Diego: you're fired
Inexcusable errors about an important election. Apparently U-T workers are on vacation and we can only hope the electorate is at the beach as well. In fact, incumbent County Supervisor Dave Roberts, the only Democrat to be elected in decades to that powerful five-member board, has done an excellent job in his first term. He deserves re-election this fall. Aside from Roberts' strong personal qualities, it is always healthy to have political diversity on such an important decision-making body. Dave Roberts has been intelligent, effective and moderate. He is well-regarded in the community for serving local government in his district and for having his kids in local schools. He has withstood a scurrilous full-court press by the GOP to remove him from this job and he certainly needs accurate reporting to continue to raise money needed for re-election.— August 16, 2016 5:55 p.m.