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San Diego's biotechs soared, then came down to reality
Don Bauder.— August 29, 2018 1:46 p.m.
Robert Venturi's columns tucked behind La Jolla bungalow
Maybe some well-placed member of the staff or board has plans for taking them and using them elsewhere, without paying anything for them of course.— August 28, 2018 9:34 p.m.
350,000 grads, $7.5 billion of debt
In this current environment, the NYT can be counted on to slam anything/everything coming out of the Trump administration. That's a foregone conclusion. But the editorial is correct about the nature of Bridgepoint, and its complete dependence on the federal government for its income. Don't lose sight of the fact that many of the most prestigious universities in the US are getting huge funding from the government every year. Calling such operations as Stanford "private" is amusing in that it would probably fold if the federal funding were to stop. Bridgepoint has carried that dependence upon federal largess to its ultimate conclusion of offering the bait of a college degree to uninformed and unprepared students, and then delivering it only when the student stays the course and earns the degree in spite of what the "school" actually provides. But I'll say again that if the public universities along with the legitimate private ones reached out to the veterans and others who are victimized by Bridgepoint and brought them in, slimy outfits would have slim pickings. The notion of a college degree for everyone who wants one and is willing to work for it is a good one, and the colleges and universities should do far more to open their doors.— August 28, 2018 8:14 a.m.
Pigs make a smooth landing in downtown Vista
So, Ian, you ate all that in one sitting? Or did you take a "little bit" of it home in a clamshell? Yeah, we've appreciated the food there a number of times. Can't say it's cheap or even moderately priced, but then, what is nowadays? I still have a problem with the two eateries having such similar names, and both in what passes for downtown Vista. (That's a coy way of saying I can't keep them straight.)— August 27, 2018 5:29 p.m.
San Diego builds itself into danger
After each one of the big fires, starting back in 1970, and notably in 2003 and again in 2007, politicians and fire fighters along with the land managers all claimed to have "learned" a great deal. That suggested that they had learned how to mitigate and/or avoid further conflagrations like those years, and also keep the brush fires out of the urban areas. Yet over and over again, just as in Alpine a few weeks ago, a fire breaks out and races along taking out homes, businesses and infrastructure. You keep hearing about "defensible space" around homes, but that usually means what a homeowner can do on his/her own property. It's a good idea, but in a huge, raging and wind-driven fire, it is useless. What comes up missing most of the time is any concept of defensible space for the whole neighborhood, i.e. the development. So, they put homes right at the edge of the native chaparral and often keep finger canyons full of brush right in among the homes. Reading descriptions of the Cedar Fire of 2003 and how it raced into several areas, notably Wildcat Canyon, where most of the fatalities occurred, the narrow roads and lack of warning were a deadly combination. There was a description of gridlock at the intersection of Wildcat Canyon Road and San Vicente Road outside the SD Country Estates that kept fleeing residents trapped in their cars. The least that a developer can do is provide plenty of roads for egress in emergencies. Shelter in place sounds great, but should be only the absolute last resort. Do the people who propose sheltering in place plan to live there and rely on it themselves?— August 25, 2018 7:31 p.m.
Sanctuary city and pot become Vista fault lines
I'm not sure Joe Green really meant what he said in his apology. He's running for mayor, has campaign signs up all over the city, far before the time that campaigning with signs is allowed, and is making a big power play. Methinks he just decided that having those words quoted over and over during the run-up to the election would be poison, especially with the older Vistans living in the southern part of the city. My take also is that by supporting Measure Z, he is alienating some part of the electorate that he really needs to win.— August 24, 2018 5:13 p.m.
America has guns
It isn't the norm, huh? Maybe it is rapidly becoming the norm, sad to say. If he can keep that from spoiling his stay in the US, good for him. If something like that happened to me--and it did last year in an unnamed southern European country--I would not be able to just let it go.— August 24, 2018 2:11 p.m.
Vista house party horror
Eva, you pick the darndest cases to cover. This one is just over-the-top; an Airbnb rental used for a pay-to-enter party by a gang member. If anyone thinks that owning a house and renting it out is pure gravy, think of the owner here. This should make anyone think twice about renting out his home, or any other piece of property, to someone he/she doesn't know. You could end up with tens of thousands of dollars of damage and no way to make anyone pay. And on top of that, you might have to defend yourself from a lawsuit. Was it worth it?— August 24, 2018 1:18 p.m.
Hunter, Chavez mailers scrutinized
This makes three possible replacements for Hunter on the ballot for the 50th that have been floated. First I've seen Issa mentioned, then Chavez, and now Hunter's dad. Although unlikely, the incumbent may just ignore the charges and win reelection. Sheesh. Gets weird, doesn't it?— August 24, 2018 1:14 p.m.
Coronado's dog owners lobby for school plot
After recently enduring a noisy go-round about off-leash park usage here in Vista, this all sounds so familiar. Has anyone considered a private, commercial off-leash dog park? Take a vacant and hard-to-develop parcel of land, fence it and secure it, and charge users a nominal fee to let their dogs run free. Hey, an all-American solution to a problem. Folks no longer expect trampoline parks to be provided by cities, and willingly pay to use those provided by businesses; what's the difference here?— August 23, 2018 7:17 a.m.