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Brian’s Farmers' Market
It's Golden Hill, Reader. Not "Hills." About "at the market for fresh fruits and vegetables at a lower cost than going into the grocery store" ...not true. Nothing at any of the Beevers' FMs costs less than produce sold at local, independent, nonchain grocery stores. People wanting low-cost veggies and fruits know to go to Gala, North Park Produce, Pancho Villa's, etc. FMs are for people who like the scene, like being part of a scene, and have disposable income to use in bolstering their hipster image-building process, not for people who are conscious about prices, whether poor or rich. The City Heights (where Beevers lives, but not a Beevers' market) FM is probably the only FM that caters to the ethnic tastes, at low-ish costs, of the locals (Somalian, Ethipian, etc.. You might find some affordable exotic (to North American natives) produce there, but if that's your thing, do check out NP Produce. They cater to the local African/Mediterranean clientele, at very low cost.— July 2, 2011 8:37 a.m.
Stone Brewing: We’ll Come to You
South Park is not exactly Jerry territory. It might be where he is most disliked by the greatest number. The only people who "like" him in this fringe area are those who know how to work the system and take money from it and from the non-business-community residents. For Jerry's pals (you know who you are), he's the one, the enabler. That said, he probably seems a lot more palatable with a good drunk on.— June 16, 2011 2:19 p.m.
Wave of Support for Belmont Park
When I first heard about the City's rent increase (quite a while ago), I went over to the Park to see how it looked. It looked great! The upkeep and maintenance were very good, with attractive, well-tended landscaping making it a pleasant ramble. There was a good crowd of families and some tourists. The kids were enjoying all the rides and the place seemed to be thriving. Over the past decade I have taken my elderly parents to the Plunge to swim; they really enjoyed it. It's a good place for people who can't physically enjoy the sand and surf to still enjoy the ocean setting and watch the sunset. We loved watching the kids do the artificial surf thing. Sad that the City wants to ruin a place that really serves a broad spectrum of residents.— June 15, 2011 3:01 p.m.
Panama in the Buff
Thanks for this article. The Panama Canal is fascinating both ways and on the lake in the middle, and alongside, afoot on the roads and pathways that follow the canal. I have a question for anyone who knows Panama City: when I was there, it struck me as strange that most of the tall buildings housing apartments, condos, and businesses were dark at night. For what seemed like a hugely developed city, there was very little post-sunset lighting. Eerie. I rented a car to go see the archeological ruins (fantastic) and then drove around, a harrowing experience: it's the wild west for drivers and extremely scary. I saw only one person get plowed down by a bus, much to my surprise. The way drivers behave, it's a wonder that I didn't see more people killed. But the people are very nice. I accidentally got on a toll road going south near dusk, and there was no exit for many, many miles. Long after it was dark I spotted a few lights and a turnout; there was a Panama City taxi driver at a gas station there, and he kindly led me back to the city and the car rental place. Whew! I got him to take me to my destination after I turned in my rental car. All he wanted, rather than remuneration, was to practice his English and express his anger at Noriega for not allowing English to be taught in school when he was growing up.— June 15, 2011 2:54 p.m.
Man Attempts to Enter Sewer in Front of Rock Church
Are you for real, ..."pray for" him? You have mental cuffs. You and he: 1 degree of separation.— June 14, 2011 7:49 p.m.
If You Want a County Job, Get E-Verified
The banned version.— June 14, 2011 7:45 p.m.
Water Under the Bypass Bridge
The question to ask is "Why was a paid-parking facility located inside Balboa Park so important to Jacobs and Sanders et al.?" The number of parking spaces in the Plaza is small and needn't be replaced, if just clearing the Plaza for pedestrian-only use is the only issue. Would the City (Park and Rec) not be able to collect the revenue from a paid-parking facility located outside the Park, if the facility was not on city-owned land? One might think that the whole silly scheme was just a means to make Balboa Park a pay-to-park revenue-generating Park. One might think....— June 10, 2011 1:33 p.m.
Taxpayers Association Hires Ex-EdVoice Hand to Draw "Non-Partisan" Redistricting Maps
Thanks for this info, Matt. Visduh, I think we have lots more to worry about than city employee unions... It's more to do with money-controlling power fiefdoms in neighborhoods and existing districts. Much of the urban in-fighting blather is about forming "voting rights" (translation: ethnic and gender blocs) districts vs. forming "residential" (everyone else) districts. It's just nauseating. Adding Lutar and the Voice's Rose Institute sycophants (aka "coastal Republicans") to the mix, not to mention billionaire Redevelopment-money-reaping Broad, is truly toxic.— May 23, 2011 4:05 p.m.
San Diego Used to Be Nearly Recession-Proof. What Happened?
Michael, What is currently the top employment sector in San Diego? In the 90s cutback of defense contracts, the employees that were laid off still had great technical engineering and computer science educations and skills, and many could find good-paying replacement jobs locally. Today, the age groups 20-40 seem largely to have soft skills: sales, PR, marketing, etc., plus building-related trades. These skills depend on a healthy economy. What will people in these employment categories do, other than work in the service trades?— April 7, 2011 5:03 p.m.
Pacific Beach Foot Traffic, Retail, Up in Smoke
The City of San Diego's Development Services now oversees the BID Council and its individual member BIDs. (The Economic Development Division formerly did the "oversight".) The BID Council has established itself as the BID Foundation, a nonprofit (latest 990, 2009, EIN 330607406). http://www.bidcouncil.org/ http://www.sandiego.gov/development-services/smal… Each year around this time the individual BIDs have to submit a budget and narrative to the City Council for approval. If you'd like a glimpse into the BID finances, watch the Council agendas for the docketed item. The Council has never failed to approve these budgets. The FY 2009 PB BID narrative had the following budget: Total Appropriations: $170K _____________________________________________ Total Expenditures, $170K, as follows: Personnel (Salaries/Wages: $60K Office Costs: $20K Brochures, Newsletters, Production: $45K Special Events: $20K Maintenance, Beautification, Clearing: $20K Consulting Services: $3000 Other: $2000 Formerly, under the Economic Development Division, one of the main goals that individual BIDs were encouraged to pursue was to establish assessments on property owners in the business districts, and even properties on nearby noncommercial streets. The BID groups would have control over this money. No doubt with a larger appropriation, their overhead would go up. Currently, North Park's BID, NP Main Street, is trying to levy a property tax because they "need" more money than can be taken from the business owners. Discover PB tried this in 2008/2009, but there was an outcry and Faulconer pulled the reins in on the attempt. I'm glad there is no BID where I live.— April 6, 2011 4:30 p.m.