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The Benadryl did it
Ah, gee! The job of the defense attorney who can't claim that the defendant didn't do it is a hard one. Yet they all give it their best effort, even when that is nonsense. She has to admit that he dunnit, and then come up with a narrative that blames some sort of intoxication for the enraged bludgeoning of his own mother. (Have you ever heard of an antihistamine overdose? That's a new one for me.) Then again, some juries can be swayed in odd ways.— May 11, 2018 7:49 p.m.
To dispel the rumors
Working in Encinitas in the early 80's, I visited that restaurant a time or two, and found it to be good. Can't remember what it was called then, but it wasn't either of the taco joint names mentioned. But it seems to me that in the late 80's it closed for a time and then got a new name. And at that time, I don't recall it being open for lunch. So, now the story is that they had to reduce their hours due to the 2008 recession. Besides the fact that the recession had relatively little effect on Leucadia or the No County coast, have they not noticed that the recession is over? The economy right now is booming, yet they keep the operation to four hours a day, six days a week. Cash only? Ya' gotta be kidding! 'Splain that to me. With the current dearth of sit-down Mexican restaurants that actually care about their food, that place should do a booming business. Well, if they own it, they can do as they darned well please. I think I'll try it out during that tight 5 to 9 pm schedule. I'd like to find a good Mexican restaurant like those we used to take for granted. Enough with the hole-in-the-wall taco joints!— May 11, 2018 7:42 p.m.
Oceanside's civic freak flag
Mr. Witboard refers to Fairfield as a "two star" hotel. Actually it is the "economy" brand of the Marriott Corporation, and strives to be something nicer than that. BUT, I've had experiences with Fairfield operations that fell far short of anything to be proud of. And, after the last one I just swore off Fairfield completely. Hilton's "economy" operations, Hampton Inns, are far better. So, what they build there will likely deteriorate rapidly, and could be a typical "Patel motel" within twenty years. That spot doesn't need a standard chain motel like just any other Interstate highway interchange. Oceanside keeps trying to boost its image, but this doesn't do anything like that.— May 11, 2018 5:23 p.m.
858 S.D. County educators collect pensions of $100,000+
It's obvious that none of them were average or rank-and-file teachers. It might be possible that a handful of them were in highly-paid districts and served for forty-or-so years. The real abuse, and which is widely practiced, is a form of spiking the benefit. The pols have tried to convince voters that public employee spiking has been curbed; it hasn't for STRS. No matter how modestly a teacher has been paid for decades, if he/she can move into the admin ranks for a few years, his/her retirement benefit can be jacked up, way up. The benefit calculation uses a "base" year earnings to determine the retirement payout. Anyone in the system who has 25 or more years of credited service uses the single highest year as the base. For nearly all of the teachers and school administrators, that is the last year of employment. And so, superintendents and their retinue of paper-pushers, and principals, all arrange pay arrangements that put their final year of earnings up as high as they dare. The poster boy for this abuse is Collins, recently-fired "supe" of the Poway district. Even though he has made a guilty plea for financial irregularities and had agreed to a substantial restitution, it is most unlikely his retirement benefits will take any hit. And his monthly payout will be based on his gigantic $400K+ final annual salary. Expect him to head the list of those who are pulling down over $200K a year, or maybe even $300K.— May 10, 2018 7:34 p.m.
DeMaio looking beyond the gas tax repeal
If that tax rollback passes, it will be a real jolt in this Oh-so-blue state, and might just reorder some priorities. And if it passes, he'll be the guy who is remembered for making it happen. His political career could get a rebirth, and who knows where that might lead. Those talk show guys are hot for a time and then fade. He needs to plan something beyond radio chatter.— May 7, 2018 3:40 p.m.
Ex-Merrill Lynch broker booted from business
Uhh, those guilty pleas date from 2014. What took so long to sentence them? It should have been over and done with years ago.— May 7, 2018 3:34 p.m.
Ex-Merrill Lynch broker booted from business
Ahh, Yin and Yang, er Wang, were up to no good. But if you want to be an inside trader, you need to do it big, big enough to flee the US and avoid prison. This was a small fry bit of such trading, and I'd still wonder how they got caught. Of course Yin, with no employment prospects will just write a check for the $5 million fine and the $1.4 million restitition. Yeah, right!— May 7, 2018 3:31 p.m.
We're not L.A.
A "swooped up . . . motor?" Is that the terminology they now use? There was a time when we souped up auto engines, which sounds like the same idea.— May 5, 2018 12:09 p.m.
Grandpa Irwin’s TV money
Up until eight or ten years ago, I'd have tended to agree with you about the Jacobs family. Back then the donated money went to cultural or educational institutions, and little seemed to be expected in return. Since then, the Jacobs family name has been plastered on many, many buildings, schools, and hospital facilities. A disinterested observer, such as I once was, would be obliged to conclude that ol' Irwin and wife and sons are on a huge ego trip. But it's worse in that they have moved into politics, attempting with not much success yet to get family favorites elected. There was the attempt, which is still ongoing, to have Balboa Park remodeled in ways that are not at all well-received by many local residents. Under the "leadership" of Irwin and later Paul, Qualcomm became a big user (translate: abuser) of the H-1B program that brings foreigners into the US as employees. It should never be forgotten that just about every one of those people is taking a job away from a qualified US citizen. Qualcomm has outsourced plenty of its work to other countries. In short, the Jacobs family and Qualcomm are not good citizens. Sara may be a fine young woman, but she's not qualified to be a House member. Granddad's money should not be allowed to buy her a congressional seat.— May 4, 2018 2:25 p.m.
Grandpa Irwin’s TV money
Ponz, we can only hope that you are right when you say she won't be in politics for long. With that kind of money to spend on a House primary race, she just might pull enough votes to make it into the general election. There are no certainties in this one, with all that money being spent on just one candidate.— May 2, 2018 4:17 p.m.