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Let’s Build an Even Bigger Jack in the Box in North Park
Plus, I tried to order a Jumbaco there and they said they don't actually exist, which made me mad, which makes me hope even more that they don't get a variance.— February 16, 2012 2:24 p.m.
Let’s Build an Even Bigger Jack in the Box in North Park
@MisterRogers, You seem well-informed, but you miss the point when you you focus on why JITB is not, in fact, 'breaking the rules' if the city lets them do this. Since JITB is seeking a variance to avoid the impact of a clear and unambiguous, pre-existing zoning ordinance, it is JITB's duty to justify why they deserve this variance. Here is where the rubber meets the road: JITB essentially has no argument. They claim the building is old, but it is in perfectly fine condition and far from decrepit or an eyesore. The real reason is they want to make more money. But that is true of EVERY business that is impacted by zoning laws, and thus "We want to sell more burgers and fries" is not grounds for a variance. Especially in light of the vociferous opposition of the residents. JITB does not have to deal with the external costs it imposes on the neighbors, so they don't care if expansion will drive down the value of dozens of nearby homes. More and better landscaping? Wow, thanks for taking us for fools JITB! Under the criteria for variances, JITB is dead in the water. But JITB is a local heavy, so residents are rightly concerned with improper influences on what is supposed to be an objectively fair process, as special favors for those with $$$ is our sad legacy in SD.— February 16, 2012 2:21 p.m.
O.B. Rag Takes Stand on Publishing Location of Dumanis Fundraiser
Um, I don't see a threat here. Someone, anyone, please explain how any reasonable adult would feel threatened by the comment as quoted in the above article. Talking to everyone they know about allegedly "unprofessional" journalism is not a threat, it's just free speech. Mr. Gormlie, I believe your paper has the right to publish the address of the fund raiser as it was already publicly released, but calling the response from the property owner even a "vague" threat is completely ridiculous. Some mighty thin skin there . . .— September 22, 2011 11:14 a.m.
Rename the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge?
I hope your re-naming effort fails miserably. I am ashamed he was ever elected president. My dad explained to me (I was five years old then, and still remember how angry my dad was about this shameful choice of Reagan's), in no uncertain terms, how it was no accident that Reagan announced his presidential candidacy in Philadelphia, Mississippi. You know, the town where the four civil rights workers will killed by KKK members to send a message that outsiders should mind there own business or they would be murdered? See here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39… : "Philadelphia, county seat of Mississippi's Neshoba County, is famous for a couple of things. That is where three civil rights workers -- Michael Schwerner, James Chaney and Andrew Goodman -- were murdered in 1964. And that is where, in 1980, Republican presidential candidate Ronald Reagan chose to launch his election campaign, with a ringing endorsement of "states' rights." Furthermore, my dad let me know what a racist, p.o.s. coward Reagan was to use the dog-whistle phrase "states' rights" to appeal to the KKK and other southern racist groups. This phrase would seem harmless, if you don't know the dark history of it and how it is really a code-phrase for racists meaning, basically, "white power". You should be ashamed of yourself, especially if you already knew about this low, low, low moment in political race-baiting by Reagan. There is no excusing this execrable conduct, and certainly no one can pretend Reagan somehow did not realize the history of Philadelphia, Miss., or that he did not know the coded meaning of "states' rights". FACT: He was either a racist, or was quite willing to portray himself as one to "excite" the southern voting bloc he knew he needed to win the election. Your choice, but either way, he deserves no honor of any kind from real Americans. You can disagree with me politically about his legacy, but I don't forgive racist overtures, especially coldly calculated ones like this, and you lose all credibility if you try to overlook this or explain. I call it what it is: racism. In conclusion, I wish massive failure on your efforts, cheers!— February 1, 2011 3:49 p.m.
Bad Owner
Thanks for your response Grasca, I am going to talk to the owner about his dogs past history. I don't want to see the wrong thing happen (i.e., his dog is put down) if it not a truly aggressive dog, as I have know many dogs that are "all bark and no bite", plus, if it was going to bite me, it seems like it would have, because the situation took about 30 seconds to unfold before the dog returned to the owner's command.— June 3, 2010 3:23 p.m.
Bad Owner
If you own a large dog, with or without aggressive tendencies, you must be more cautious about how you handle them. My kids were walking to the car with my wife this Monday morning when a Neopolitan Mastiff, who had escaped its yard, charged full speed at them, barking maniacally, from three houses down. Thankfully, it took a few seconds for the dog to cover the distance, according to my wife, who screamed at the kids to get in the car. The kids and she made it to the car, and closed the doors; the dog continued growling and barking at them, circling the car. I had my son's baseball bat on the porch, and picked it up because the dog turned towards me when it saw me on the porch, as I was the last one to come out of my house. The dog had its ears back, teeth bared, and hair standing up on its neck. I loudly commanded "down", "sit", "stay"; no response. I am about two seconds from swinging that bat as hard as I can at the dogs skull because it was still walking straight at me snarling (this dog is about 3 feet tall, and weighed at least 150 lbs, the jaws looked massively muscled). I am glad I did not have to, because the owner finally heard the yelling, came out, and called his dog back, who stood down when he heard his owner. Another neighbor who saw this harassed the owner for allowing the dog to get out. Owner says "but he is nice" and acted as if it did not happen the way it was described to him. I wanted to hit him with bat, too. Then I realized, maybe the dog had never done this, and the owner really was surprised top hear of this. My family and/or the dog could have been hurt (or worse) due to negligence of this owner. His dog was so big, he has to more extremely careful even if he thinks "my dog would not do that". I am a dog lover, dog owner, and not generally scared of dogs. However, I was scared of his dog because his mastiff was so big and muscular, I was not sure I could have even stopped (or even slowed) it with the bat if it had come any closer to me (it was within about 6 feet of me on my porch, and I had no where to go, as I wasn't about to lower the bat and turn around to open the doors) Check your yard! Check it three times if your dog can maim with one bite! I am on the fence about reporting this guy, because I am not sure there is anything to report without a bite? Thoughts?— June 3, 2010 11:58 a.m.
Buttinsky?
Littering is already illegal, so simply enforce the law, don't try to add another business regulation. I know there is a heavy police presence in the Gaslamp, they could start to ticket litterers while they continue to look for more serious offenses. Once word gets out, most smokers will hold onto their butts. If this is really a big problem, have the business owners band together and ask the SDPD to enforce littering laws to curb this bad behavior. Bonus effect: More $ for the city generated by these tickets. I have no sympathy for someone too lazy (or drunk) to find a trash can.— May 19, 2010 4:48 p.m.
Seal You Later
I have no dog (or seal) in this fight, but let us all be clear: the sandy area where the seal rookery is is NOT a natural environment. All of the areas in La Jolla with limestone shore and rough surf are natural to the area. The spot immediately to the south of the wall is referred to as "the washing machine" by divers, and during calm days, divers with metal detectors can find lots of gear lost by divers who get caught in the washing machine. The children's pool is attractive to seals for the same reasons it was attractive to parents: it is the calmest entry point with sand for miles on either side because of the sea wall. The wall was built because, as many locals know, there is no protected (i.e. waveless) body of water that La Jolla children could use before the wall was built in 1931. The wall was actually built right on top of several rocks that used to be called "Seal Rock Point", and the wall blocks the bulk of the wave energy that used to pound this area. The cove used contain more water surface area and much less sand, but since winter storms no longer send waves over the old "Seal Rock Point", sand had filled in much of the cove. Seals are quite smart and great hunters; they have and will continue to thrive in local waters, even if they can't use Casa Cove as a rookery. I am thinking that some of the pro-seal crowd must not realize these are impressively well-adapted marine mammals, not pets, who managed to go 70+ years without using Casa cove as a rookery, and would be fine if Casa Cove was returned to the intended use as a beach for children, as it was for the first 70 years after the wall was built. That said, some anti-seal people seem like giant d-bags who are in this debate primarily to ridicule their opponents, and could care less about the historic use of the beach by the children of La Jolla. Maybe the debate will only end when the sea wall crumbles. Only then will no mammal, biped or pinniped, want to use that area because the sand will shrink and the waves will be too much for most people to handle. The city would be too broke to fix it and could never get a permit from the Coastal Commission in any case.— February 26, 2010 1:07 p.m.
Seal or Sea Lion Found
Also, seals and sea lions have vastly different bone structures due to their different evolutionary origins. You can easily tell them apart on land: Sea Lions have strong front flippers, hence they can "walk" on these front limbs and are sometimes called walking seals; true seals from the order phocidae are known as crawling seals because they do not have strong enough front flippers to support their weight on land, and wiggle/crawl on land. As noted in the article, true seals are known as "earless seals" because the lack external ear flaps. Sea Lions and other phocids do have external ear flaps and are knows as "earred seals." These differences have to do with how many millenia ago their respective mammalian precursors began venturing back into the ocean. Also, please save your anti-evolution comments. As noted by John Stewart when speaking about anti-evolution/science memes, "The earth is either 5 billion years old or 6,000 years old, depending on whether or not you are wrong."— February 26, 2010 1:04 p.m.
Festival of Car Lights
The parking attendant was not scamming, there is an option to pay $20 to get a premium spot. I believes the city allows Ace Parking to run this concession. This use of public space for private profit is not okay with me. Some people can't afford $20 to park, so they have to wait in line, while a person who can afford it can show up much later and snag a great spot. These spaces are in the public lots in Balboa Park, not private property. The zoo cannot charge for parking because, unlike the lot at the Wild Animal Park (or Sea World, for that matter) they do not own the lot. This same issue caused an uproar when the city allowed the The Prado Restaurant to cordon off a block of prime spots in the lot just west of Palm Canyon, which is also a public lot. Another private contract at the expense of all park users who did not want or could not pay to valet.— January 6, 2010 1:11 p.m.