A line of hikers posing with the chip.

Piqued Potato Chip populist protests

Ryan Brothers, we get it. All of your journalists, (I mean you too, Siobhan), are displeased with the dystopian potato chip (“Potato Chip Rock from Poway”, Roam, January 5, 2024). While I’m surprised you didn’t insult the hikers like your buddy S based on their choice of athletic wear (not all spandex is LuLu Lemon, Siobhan), I see you still can’t get over the fact that it’s a rock. I walked past it myself five times before realizing, “That’s it?”

But dudes, it’s a PAVED trail, at least the Woodson side. It’s family friendly, and it’s an attraction. No one is forcing you to brood; go down the other trails on a weekday and surprise yourself. Yes, the line of people taking photos is annoying if you’re in the line yourself. People come from far and wide to see this.

Maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll get to find some of the dinosaurs or crocheted rocks I hide along the trail, or notice how strong the mother is who legit carried her toddler up that thing, or even the little five-year-old KILLIN it on their first ever hike—that is, if you can notice anything except yourself for a few minutes. I doubt anyone held a dagger to your throat to get this story. Relax, dudes.

Kimmy J.

Ramona

Anti-fascist advocate asks for apology

The Al-Alloj Intifiada article (“The Al-Alloj Intifada”, SD on the QT, December 22, 2023) is a piece of fascist anti-semitic propaganda that could have been copied verbatim from Der Sturmer in 1940. Publishing this hateful call to genocide (“highway to the sea” = “river to the sea” = genocide) is stupid. You must publish an apology and never let thugs like Amir Asham have a platform in your magazine. I also noticed there is no author identified in the article, why?

John Freutel

Oceanside

Walter Mencken is the author of all articles on the Reader’s SD on the QT: Almost Factual News page.

Fuming Fletcher fan fulminates

You’re using Nathan Fletcher as satire? (“Man of the Year Nathan Fletcher undergoes psychoanalysis”, Cover Story, December 27, 2023) Are you that bored for content or just lazy? WTF? Cut the guy some slack. He led us through the health and economic ravages of COVID in addition to being one of the most competent advocates for veterans, especially combat veterans, in the country. It’s not funny. It’s stupid. Are you trying to drive away all of your remaining advertisers? Yo Holman? You still alive? Abortion! Abortion!

Chris Pearson

Spring Valley

Reader publisher Jim Holman is still alive. Nathan Fletcher blew up his own political career in 2023, and so earned our Man of the Year award.

Social justice for all?

REGARDING: Madame Genevieve Jones Wright to challenge Mayor Todd Gloria for reelection (“Volo Beach, San Diego”, Under the Radar, December 28). Through my past interactions with Madame Wright, I have come to believe that she is a decent and honorable woman. Having said that, I pose the $64,000 question. Being an avowed social justice advocate par excellence, one would surmise that she would recuse herself from political events to which I was uninvited after being labeled an illegitimate candidate. Isn’t that what social justice is about? Dan Smiechowski is also a qualified candidate for Mayor of San Diego.

Dan Smiechowski

Bay Ho

Backwards La Jolla

I was horrified at the blatantly anti-semitic article you allowed to be printed in the December 23 edition (“The Al-Alloj Intifada”, SD on the QT, December 21) along with a hateful image and caption (From the freeway to the sea, all La Jolla must be free). Free from Jews is the obvious implication. There is no by-line but the author quotes Amir Asham a UCSD student and a spokesperson for Students for Palestinian Promotion at length.

Mr. Asham implies that Jews should be eliminated from La Jolla and that the community should return to a La Jolla real estate policy from decades ago, restricting Jews from owning property there. He refers to Jewish people that wanted to buy homes in La Jolla as “settlers” and “colonists”. The title of the article is The Al-Alloj Intifada, obviously, Al-Alloj is La Jolla backwards.

Shame on you for letting dangerous garbage like this pass for journalism. Can you imagine the outrage this article would have caused if the target was the Black Community, or Hispanics, or Asians, or LGBTQ? Is it only OK if it’s directed at Jews, the object of the oldest prejudice/hatred in the world.

I believe you owe the few readers you have left an apology.

Peeved

San Diego

Dear Peeved, SD on the QT is the Reader’s Almost Factual News column, and has similarly “targeted” the Black Community, Hispanics, Asians, and LGBTQ. If it helps, you might consider whether or not Jews are the actual “target” here. Hint: the guy’s last name is A-sham.

Un-housed but not unheard

I appreciated hearing directly from un-housed people (“Mobile Homeless”, Cover Story, December 13) and the attention given to the Boomer population’s great wealth (and growing inequities).

Jenny J

Bankers Hill

What’s the plan, Dan’s fan?

Dan has a fan; Vol 48 Letters: Dan has traveled the world, so no doubt will not cherry-pick an example-city unconstrained by existing infrastructure, Federal Government formats, or other fixed limitations that many US cities including San Diego are burdened with as Dan retrofits those world-class city amenities into an aging, land-locked, almost 300 year old city like SD. No doubt Dan has examples on exactly how to “world-class” San Diego on day one.

Dan’s fan may be onto something with eliminating pensions and placing everyone onto Social Security, but don’t be surprised if in parallel, Dan’s fan not only supports but rigorously advocates for significant cuts to said Social Security. I wonder if each of those world-class cities from Dan’s travels follows that same vision? I wonder if Dan’s fan himself relies solely on SS, or is that just for workers?

Remember, though, that Pensions are earned by employees throughout their career, with those earned benefits paid out upon retirement, and the cycle continues with new employees paying in (earning) and then receiving those benefits upon their retirement. Not very complex nor sexy sounding, but it does sound like a must-component of world-class, just like Dan’s fan envisions.

City assets, charters, and rezoning: no doubt Dan’s sample world-class cities have none of those pesky binding agreements that often dictate ownership, development constraints, lease requirements and other negotiated legal clauses, so do those clauses and agreements SD currently has simply disappear for Dan and his fan? Great. Please have SD’s city attorney explain in detail at the next city council meeting how those agreements are cancelled. Oh and make sure the associated costs, projected lawsuit timelines and all relevant (known and unknown) details are presented in Dan’s roadmap of how to undo and then immediately enact world-class iron-clad no-cost-to-the-city agreements. Perhaps have him bring the exact model that Dan’s sample city used from across the globe as they developed.

Since Dan and fan have cracked the code for world-class conversion no doubt they’ll enthusiastically share it with La Jolla, LA, Sacramento, San Fran, Seattle, Pittsburg, Detroit, Miami etc. This sounds downright euphoric.

Great that Dan’s fan states Dan is Politically Independent so no doubt will – even if not elected – identify and work tirelessly to root out that political corruption Dan’s fan mentions. Is Dan’s fan doing something about it already? Fantastic! Oh and is there some kind of secret to “including all political parties”? Is that something the voters of the sample world-class cities did to elect thus represent their world-class(ness)? Sounds like a SD voter task but maybe not needed if Dan’s already on it.

Bart Lahtinen

San Diego

Puzzled over puzzle

December 28th issue has a problem with the crossword puzzle, the grid is not numbered correctly and the clues are the same as the December 14th issue. Just thought I would let someone know. Since the crossword puzzles are my favorite part of the Reader. Thank you.

Malena

San Diego

Cross over crossword

It seems like your crossword puzzle clues are not the ones that go with the grid on the latest Reader, 28th of December. It’s a mess...

All Crossed Up

San Diego

Misteaks were made

You butchered David Levinson Wilk’s “final puzzle” crossword. You show LAST WEEK’s clues, and a new grid.

Unable to Solve!

San Diego

Make it make cents

There wasn’t a crossword puzzle category for the December 28 issue. It doesn’t make any sense. Thx

LM

San Diego

Final Hurr-oops

The clues for the very last crossword puzzle of 2023 are from the puzzle of 2 weeks ago! Not a very fitting way to end David Levinson’s two decades of crossword creations :( Could you please print on your website or in the next issue the correct set of clues? Thank you for your time and trouble!

James V. Cimarusti

Carlsbad

David Levinson Wilk’s December 28 puzzle was accidentally paired with the clues from the December 14 puzzle. The Reader regrets the error, and is re-running Wilk’s final puzzle, this time with the correct clues, in this week’s issue.

Announcement

Volume 1 of the Reader was published our first year of existence, 1972. Since then there has been some confusion about the volume listed on the cover. To end that confusion, we are using the correct number – volume 53 – for 2024, starting this issue.