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Vista squeezes pot clinics with 4375 percent fee rise
Prop Z, approved by Vista voters in November, 2018 was hailed as a great financial boon to the city. Vista is a city that seems, like most others, to be financially strapped. The election was "bought" with huge support from pro-cannabis groups and others with a big potential payoff if it passed. This report seems to indicate that it hasn't been such a boon after all, and that the city is now asking the legal operations to pay for enforcement. As to these "illegal" operations, it seems that there's no enforcement going on. That is, if they are truly illegal. Or is it that they operate in a legal gray area? It's getting too complicated for most of us to understand. By the way, the way the photos were placed in the story is confusing. Two photos of Oceanside folks, including Rodriguez, are in the paragraphs describing Vista news. Why not a photo or two of our Vista Village Idiots, aka our city council? Why these shops are called "clinics" in the headline makes little sense. There's nothing medical about them or what they sell. Try calling them what they are: stores, shops, or maybe "outlets." Final comment: Chris Rodriguez is making plenty of waves in Oceanside. The group that was gathering signatures to put his recall on the ballot gave up recently. Now he wants to be mayor. As far as calling all those peddlers whom he dislikes "thugs", ask yourself who the "thug" is in all of this debate.— August 5, 2020 7:26 a.m.
La Costa 48 survives appeal
Due to the terrain, that parcel of land isn't obvious if you pass by it. The gas station is on a high spot north of La Costa Avenue, and from there the land slopes toward the north. It is surprising that it hasn't been developed already, or at least cut up into smaller parcels and used for custom homes. But with the population pressure that exists in the county now, every scrap of vacant land will be proposed for residential development. And this one has an ocean or lagoon view for most of the proposed homes! Yes, there's money to be made on this for sure. One thing that gets lost in these proposals is the traffic impact. Even though the development is close to Leucadia, it won't be in walking distance of a grocery store or any other retail outlets (except for the gas station.) Even if this plan is rejected, they'll be baaaack soon with some other one. We all need to get used to the infilling and ultra-high cost of housing here.— July 29, 2020 8:56 a.m.
Adam Day in show-down with fellow San Diegan Jeffrey Krinsk on CSU board
This new power broker, Adam Day, seems to be a chip off the old block, namely his dad who was president of SDSU from 1978 until about 1996. Dad was imperious and dictatorial to the max, and managed to alienate the faculty at SDSU and get their vote of no confidence for his actions to manage the economic downturn in the early 90's. The man was just not a leader: at best he was an administrator who didn't care to listen to anyone other than himself. Does this sound like his son, the sort of bossy, mouthy, and dictatorial personality that he seems to be? Like father, like son, except that Adam lacks his father's doctorate and academic credentials. In fact, how did Adam come so far and so fast?— July 22, 2020 8:41 p.m.
San Diego's ethics commission picks nits but defends secrecy
Isn't there a contradiction between ethics and secrecy? I'm rather surprised that this commission still exists, given the total breakdown in ethical behavior by the council, members of other groups, and the mayor. Correct me if I'm wrong, but our former "Mare", "Murph the surf" Dick Murphy was the very person who wanted to have the ethics commission, and got it adopted. He, the most educated mayor the city had ever seen, turned out to be feckless and an abject failure as mayor before he quit mid-term. Isn't there some better way to investigate political corruption than such a weak-kneed operation?— July 22, 2020 7:58 p.m.
Jacked-up sewer rates laid to $33 million of polluter subsidies, San Diego auditor indicates
This auditor is doing his job; I wonder how long he will last in the position. But doing his job or not, the bureaucracy goes its merry way being lazy, unconcerned, and probably corrupt. And yet critics claim that the city is anti-business. Why doesn't the city have enough funds to meet its basic responsibilities? This is just one of many reasons.— July 18, 2020 6:52 a.m.
Diane Jacob gives chunk of campaign fund to sheriffs, what they do with the money
Her name is "Jacob" without the "s". She's the epitome of a professional, life-long politician, taking care of her supporters to the end.— July 18, 2020 6:44 a.m.
Advice to surfers headed for Rosarito
That advice is excellent advice. The cops in Mexico are utterly corrupt and are looking for shakedowns whenever they can get them. Why this guy hasn't learned and still says it is safe to visit is a mystery.— July 18, 2020 6:41 a.m.
Cost of overtime haunts UCSD campus cops
Even though the university employs thousands of people, and has students measured in the tens of thousands, the count of police personnel sounds high. Why? Well, universities tend to be generally law-abiding places and have little violent crime. (There are more financial crimes committed in such institutions, and the uniformed cops don't get involved with those.) All the undocumented and unapproved overtime is just another example of how UC campuses are out of control. UCSD isn't the only one by any means. Khosla has plenty of scandals on his watch, and should have been replaced by now. The UC president, Napolitano, is resigning effective at the end of this month. As a lame duck, she hasn't been doing things that need doing, such as firing one or more campus chancellors, such as Khosla. No, she is leaving those messy situations for her successor. I do wonder if this cop count includes the overzealous parking enforcement staff. All UC campuses have a parking "problem", and all charge plenty to park, and then enforce any/all violations with great, Gestapo-like vigor. When I was on that campus I don't recall those enforcers as being uniformed police, but that may have changed.— June 20, 2020 7:45 a.m.
Del Mar Fair asks Orange County Fair for bail-out
For as long as I've lived in the county, and that's a long time, that agricultural district and its operations have been very strange. There's virtually nothing about it that is "transparent", and there are suspicions that various pols have used it as a source of funding along with a way to influence other governmental agencies. One thing it does appear to do is employ some local residents, pay them well, and provide good benefits. In that way, it is doing good things. In fact, years ago there were some of the seasonal employees there who earned enough in a few weeks of work to carry them through the year, nice work if you could get it indeed. But the purpose of having the fair was originally to showcase local agriculture at a time when that was a major industry locally. Add in some rides and amusements and you had a formula for entertainment of a relatively unsophisticated rural population. In more recent years the fair has turned into a carny operation with many out-of-town peddlers selling anything and everything, and then leaving town with the proceeds. As to the financial management of the district, and its need for an emergency bail-out, it is outrageous, and ought to be investigated for criminal conduct. If there were a real audit and a real investigation, I'd expect some very embarrassing revelations. Past governors have appointed members to the board who were shady and strange, and we all might wonder why.— June 19, 2020 8:06 a.m.
Oceanside police answer criticism
This PD has an unpleasant record over the years. Abuse of the citizenry was one of its specialties, as was settling fat lawsuits. Then there was the series, that spanned many years, of female cops being abused, and again fat settlements with them. That seems to have faded, but there's no guarantee that it is over. The OPD does have its work cut out; the city has multiple gang-infested 'hoods, and the cops cannot seem to keep up with them. The result is that it has the same challenges as the Escondido PD. But this deal with the chief of police is weird. He retired in October, 2013, but is still the chief of police! And as a part-timer is taking down over $400K a year. Does that bother you? Do a Google search on him and it gets worse. Back in 2012 his wife was sentenced to 15 years in prison after shooting at cops from their home in Orange County. Yeah, that's right. Then there's the endless justification for overtime by the cops, some of whom earn more in overtime than from their base pay. Oh, but it saves on pension and benefit costs, they always claim. But do you want to deal with a cop who has been on duty for twelve or more hours, or who hasn't had a day off in a month? Fatigue affects performance and attitude.— June 11, 2020 7:55 a.m.