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Prosecutor argues against early release of Julie Harper
This should be interesting. The defense, predictably, wants the enhancement dropped entirely. The prosecution, predictably, wants it kept unchanged. Can't get any farther apart than that. This all comes down to the judge. My first take on him, leading up to and during the first trial, was that he was doing everything he could do to lead to an acquittal. But then in the second trial and during the sentencing, my opinion changed. I think he was just making sure that a conviction would withstand appeal, and it has. They have that enhancement to discourage those with murderous intent from using firearms. In this case she would have had little means to kill her husband without resorting to use of a handgun. And without that, he'd likely still be alive and she would be walking free. I'll go out on a limb here and predict that it is certain that Judge Bowman will keep all or part of the enhancement. The most likely outcome is that he will not reduce it at all.— October 15, 2018 1:19 p.m.
Susan Davis debates GOP challenger almost 1/3 her age
A look at the map of that congressional district shows that drawing district boundaries generally ignores city limits, county lines, and terrain features. All done to give the edge to one party or the other, and to keep incumbents in office. This young woman hasn't gotten the word; she's a (gasp!) Republican, and "everyone knows" the GOP doesn't want women in its ranks, especially young ones. Her ideas are well-thought out, and sincere. Her resume is a strong one for such a young candidate. What's to say about Susan Davis? She is notorious for her travels all round the world, paid for by lobbyists. As junketeer-in-chief in the House, she and her now-retired hubby enjoy the best of travel and accommodations, all paid for by favor-seekers. She hasn't had a new idea in years, if ever. A change would be good.— October 13, 2018 9:01 a.m.
Cohn restaurant manager saves the evening
The Cohn group doesn't pull off that level of service or caring at some of its other operations. Vintana in Escondido has popovers, and they are great; sometimes they are the best part of the meal. 333 Pacific in Oceanside just doesn't get it together. We have dined there three times, and I should have known better than to go there the third time. In short, they totally blew the whole thing in the kitchen and the dining room. I won't be back there again.— October 8, 2018 6:02 p.m.
Union-Tribune's chief photographer heads for the Times
Was downtown LA "charming?" The confluence of freeways had to be very visible from any of those LAT buildings if you were up high enough to avoid looking at the sidewalks of the mean streets. I suppose there were die-hard Angelenos who actually thought DTLA (as the Times calls it) was a nice place to work. Diff'rent strokes f'r diff'rent folks.— October 7, 2018 5:30 p.m.
Main Attraction leaving downtown Oceanside
The signage on that operation in Oceanside is discreet; it doesn't make much of an impression. A few of the spots on Kearny Mesa Road screamed "NUDE" right on the 163, unlike the Main Attraction. But there's an unanswered question: what will all those young Marines do for entertainment? Oceanside used to have many offerings for them, and recent years have had most of them shut down. Where do they go to find those vices and entertainment? Human nature hasn't changed, and there are still large numbers of those young guys on the base.— October 5, 2018 8:12 p.m.
Drones gone wild, Manchester late again, state pols like to spend in San Diego
Oh, boo-hoo, Dougie won't be able to claim the honorific of "Mr. Ambassador". For a guy with his track record, that sort of thing should have been a non-starter, but it wasn't. He has an ego that demanded some sort of record of official service, even if it was nothing more than being ambassador to an insignificant place like the Bahamas. But Don Bauder did point out that the Bahamas is a hotbed of money stashes and tax evasion.— October 4, 2018 7:54 p.m.
Money battle now favors SoccerCity foes
Cassander, things here in San Diego can be very strange. Just when something such as you mention seems obvious, a judge will rule the other way, and it goes that way. That has happened a number of times when the local establishment really wanted a specific outcome. I see both of these proposals being establishment ideas, the difference being between factions. Both involve fancy and costly redevelopment of a prime piece of property, and development is the driver of politics and the economy. They both involve total demolition of the current stadium, and that makes little sense economically, especially since they call for a new stadium. There is a certain surrealism about both proposals. If the voters decide--a long shot for sure--that there is no hurry to make a decision, they could just reject both of them. All this haste makes both proposals highly suspect as to their feasibility. We are seeing a grab underway here.— September 29, 2018 10:01 a.m.
The fate of Ofo bikes in San Diego
I'd guess that if you went around and picked up a few of those bikes, and also those owned by the other outfits, there would be nothing done about it. It could be argued that they are abandoned property when they are just laying around. Remove the locking devices and the electronics, repaint them, and you have a serviceable bike worth $50 or so.— September 28, 2018 4:16 p.m.
Trestles pulled down. No, not those Trestles.
That structure was picturesque in a way, but certainly didn't come up to the standards of a busy rail line carrying close-to-capacity traffic. I won't miss seeing that early 20th century type of railroad construction in Cardiff. What I do miss is that old truss steel bridge over the Santa Margarita River in Camp Pendleton. It had some character, yet was ripped out to put in a double-track replacement a few years ago. And it wasn't preserved in place or anywhere else.— September 28, 2018 4:05 p.m.
Food, ballgame, concert tickets — San Diego pols bought so cheap
[S]ome fulltime department employees had only been working half-days, huh? San Diego city government has been a do-nothing operation for decades. If the truth were known, many people came to work there and did as little as possible for their entire careers with the city. Now we have various members of the inner circle claiming that the "culture is changed" and that goofing off is no longer acceptable. Hey guys and gals, nobody changes a culture by decree. It takes years to undo the nasty habits and values that took, oh, thirty or forty or fifty years to develop. And that is changed by applying constant pressure to the system, never easing off, and never stopping until the goal is reached. I really don't see anyone or anything in the city government that will keep up that pressure. There might be some fixes in the meter readers in the water utilities department, but that's just one part of a single department. How about the public works department, parks and recreation, fire and rescue, and the most visible of all, the police department. All have had their scandals in recent years, and yet there is little evidence of anything really changing. The strong mayor system isn't doing much to alter the culture because it requires a truly strong mayor, or should I say one who is strong-willed. To start fixing the broken system and culture he/she would have to make himself/herself very unpopular with the employees, which would get a bunch of negative publicity and cost votes. So, anyone with further political ambitions will avoid getting tough.— September 27, 2018 4:51 p.m.