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San Diego Marine pilots handicapped by tight airspace and ammo
Doesn't it bother you that with all the vast military training reservations in Arizona and Nevada--and California, too, they can't train properly? It does me. Huge parts of those three states are off-limits to everyone to visit and to use for camping, hunting and fishing. Blaming the limitations on a lack of "funds available for modernizing range capabilities, such as electronic warfare systems, were prioritized for operations in Southwest Asia, and limited by continuing resolutions" is typical, but doesn't tell the story. If the Navy an Marines really wanted to upgrade their areas, they would get the funding. Now they cannot train on the munitions that they are expected to use in real combat. What does this portend for the new F-35 family of jet fighter/bombers? They are, we are told, marvelously capable warplanes, but if the pilots cannot train on those capabilities, where are we left. Up a creek? This is a matter of priorities, and too often the military services end up with them backwards.— April 23, 2019 8:13 a.m.
San Diego pothole repairs failing at record rate, but...
Matt has been reporting on this sort of subject matter for a long, long time. If more San Diegans had paid attention to the reports he made over those years, it would likely have much less corruption, pay to play, and outright waste. Yeah, you should feel lousy, and even worse, knowing that it has been the norm for decades, and that it explains the crumbling infrastructure in the city. Those specific topics you mention are just a few of the features of life in "America's Finest City" that are endangered. There are many more, and the all add up to the "Los Angelezation" of San Diego that folks were fretting about forty or fifty years ago. It hasn't stopped at all, but has worsened, in case you haven't noticed.— April 17, 2019 10:45 a.m.
Crackdown on racing Tijuana taxis
The traffic in TJ was crazy forty years ago, and I can imagine that it hasn't improved at all. Now I know partly why that's true, and it makes me more certain than ever that I won't visit TJ again. (It has been 10 to 15 years since I was there.) The TJ boosters in SD County--and there are many of them--keep trying to convince potential visitors to go there with claims of how it is a "clean" and "modern" city. Uh, huh. Crazy bus, taxi and van drivers don't go with a city that wants to polish its image with tourists. I know there are visitors to TJ who would be disappointed if the city didn't have its dark side, and crazy traffic is part of that. But they are in a minority, and add in the murder rate there, it's a wonder anyone visits.— April 17, 2019 10:32 a.m.
Cheapest San Diego County gas is Pauma Valley and Oceanside
It seems like every year or two there's some excuse for "short supply" and price hikes. This time it's the two refineries that are off line. It also seems as if the refiners and refineries take turns with these "unexpected" production cutbacks. Is it still true that only those few California refineries produce the California summer blend fuel? That's always been an excuse for the high prices, and it seems to me that some other refinery in a neighboring state could start producing it, flood the market with it, and go far in keeping the price in line, while still profitable. But then that other refinery would be owned by Big Oil, and it suits Big Oil to have things as they are now. The state air resources regulators are, I believe, complicit with this price gouging, if for no other reason that it does keep gasoline consumption down, and hence, keep the air a bit cleaner.— April 16, 2019 3:42 p.m.
San Diego pothole repairs failing at record rate, but...
It would be a surprise if the incompetent contractor WASN'T cozy with either the corrupt pols or the city management staffers. But who would investigate? The same city bureaucracy that let it happen in the first place? The city attorney? Maybe, but we still don't know if she's going to go after corruption. The DA? LOL No, Mr. "Empty Suit" Mayor Faulconer has his pet project of the year, street repairs, get tarnished by this foul-up. And what will he do about it? Fire somebody? I strongly doubt that.— April 15, 2019 5:24 p.m.
Soapy Joe's too popular for Oceanside strip mall
Uh, RealNeighbor, when you use all that condensed boldface type, it makes my eyes hurt. You can make your point in lower-case type, like I'm trying to do now. And maybe break up your rant into paragraphs. I'd like to read your reasoned, and also maybe emotional, arguments in a way that allows some thought, without the eyestrain. Think about it.— April 14, 2019 8:09 p.m.
San Diego pothole repairs failing at record rate, but...
This is just one of many examples of how the "slobberin' city" used to conduct business, and probably still does. As far as earlier reports go, these sealcoat jobs that didn't stick have been redone at the contractor's expense. But those were reports in the Light News, and who knows about their credibility. So "Empty Suit" Faulconer states that they will settle for nothing less than high standards. Yeah, right, Kev boy! If the city was doing its job, it would catch those bad jobs before they were finished, and make sure they were redone correctly on the spot. But with bureaucrats like Richard Eugene Matter, Jr. in charge, anything goes. He is now on record, finally, of having accepted favors and emoluments from the paving contractor. Why is he still employed by the city? Any connection between his enjoyment of favors fro tha contractor and the miserably shoddy work? Well of course not; he's a good (or as good as they get) city managerial employee, isn't he? Isn't He? ISN'T HE?— April 14, 2019 8 p.m.
Susan Davis returns to the trough – in Israel
Each one of those ten UC campuses is a big operation, and a few are huge. Each one really needs a CEO, and I doubt that one UC president could manage all ten, plus four med centers. It may even be true to say that they are so large now as to be unmanageable. But a good operator should be able to keep scandals at bay, and keep the folks reasonably happy. At UC Santa Barbara the same chancellor has held the position since 1994. His name is Henry Yang, and he's now about 79 years old. During his time at UCSB the school has grown, but has also managed to shed its reputation as a pure party school. (That was no small accomplishment.) While I'm sure he has his detractors, when I've heard him or seen him, he's quiet and even self-effacing. But he is proud of his UC campus, and what it has become. When he retires, they will find it hard, very hard, to fill his shoes. BTW, he followed a pair of clinkers in the position, both of whom left under a cloud. So, it is possible to lead and bring about positive growth.— April 12, 2019 1:22 p.m.
Susan Davis returns to the trough – in Israel
On the topic of Khosla, what we see is further decline in the caliber of people hired by UC headquarters to be UCSD chancellor. If you go back to Atkinson, he had serious shortcomings, but managed to move up to the presidency of the university. His record in that position was less-then-stellar. He was followed by Dynes as chancellor, and then Dynes too became the UC president. It was during his tenure as president that the regents grew highly frustrated by his administrative incompetence. There was a proposal floated then to create yet another vice president who would perform the administrative functions of the office. He slunk away in 2008. His successor as UCSD chancellor was Fox, who arrived with plenty of baggage. She was serving on the corporate boards of more than six major corporations and was drawing big stipends for so doing. When did she have time to be a full-time campus CEO? Well, after a few years and after a few scandals, it became apparent that she wasn't running the place after all. But whe was taking down more income from board service than her very-generous salary. She became such an embarrassment to the university that she was nudged into retirement in 2012. And so for the past seven years they've had Khosla, a guy with a mixed job history and a slimy reputation. Now he's accused of being a tyrant and a bully, two characteristics that are not appreciated at all in academia. Will the current UC president, Napolitano, find it necessary to fire him. She has fired two chancellors already, and more could be coming. What is the problem here? Can't they get anyone worth having to take those prestigious appointments? Something is wrong at the UC, very wrong.— April 11, 2019 4:43 p.m.
Soapy Joe's too popular for Oceanside strip mall
That former CHP station could use a new tenant for sure. I drove past it a couple days ago and it looks just awful. Is the state holding out for too high a price? Or is it just too hard to deal with the state?— April 11, 2019 8:12 a.m.