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Point Loma Sprouts fires longtime employee for alleged theft
Mr. Rey is a nice guy and a great employee for Sprouts. Always helpful and always smiling.— May 9, 2013 7:54 a.m.
Mayor Bob Filner releases more details on draft medical marijuana ordinance
In another act of compassion, Saturday morning Mayor Bob Filner announced that the City of San Diego will not be taking the Winter Emergency Shelter tent down at the end of the Fiscal Year. Instead the Tent will be funding year round. Praise the Lord and Hallelujah for our new Strong Mayor Filner. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxV-OOIamyk— March 17, 2013 12:06 p.m.
Cable-company monopolies
Perfect timing for your question. This Thursday March 21, 2013, at 9 am the California Public Utilities Commissioners www.CPUC.ca.gov will have their annual San Diego County meeting at our beautiful new County of San Diego Conference Center Hearing Room, San Diego County Operations Center, 5520 Overland Ave., San Diego, CA 92123. If you work watch the 9 am meeting online from the CPUC website www.cpuc.ca.gov or by phone, dial 1-800-857-1917 and enter passcod 92105 to hear the discussion. Mayor Bob Filner will be at the meeting to give public testimony. There is still time to organize a Padres to the People protest before the meeting. At public comment, Padre fans should ask this Time Warner and Fox Sports issue be put on the CPUC's agenda for a future meeting. The first agenda item is Public Comment which starts promptly at 9 am. This is where San Diego Padre fans can make their wishes and complaints known to the actual decision makers. https://ia.cpuc.ca.gov/agendadocs/3311.pdf Note this correct webpage link is hard to find on purpose. Other online versions of this public meeting state the issues will be heard in San Francisco. Do not be fooled. Mayor Bob Filner will be at the CPUC meeting to lead the charge on local Environmental issues including Item 41 San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) Company's Local Capacity Requirement and Power Tolling Agreements. Which has to do with 2 new proposed gas power plants, the Quail Brush Power and Pio Pico Energy Center. See Item 41. The staff recommendation is to "Denies authority to enter into purchase power tolling agreements with Pio Pico Energey Center and Qual Brush Power." A fun fact is the estimated costs notes: "Costs will be confidential at this time. However these corporate monopolies are tricky. The CPUC Board can rule against the Staff Recommendation, and can approve the 2 new San Diego Gas Power Plant projects with just the Board's vote.— March 16, 2013 1:41 p.m.
Filner takes on the Portland Loo!
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2009/aug/18/filner… "In the early 1990s, Filner spent so much time pushing for San Diego's first waiver that he called himself “Congressman Sewage.” He succeeded in 1994, when President Bill Clinton signed his bill to create the option for an exemption."— March 12, 2013 2:38 a.m.
Judge Prager OKs convention center expansion tax
Hi Don. In the language for both the 1- to 3-percent Special Tax for the Convention Center Expansion, and the 2 percent TMD, allows the City Council the options of setting the additional Hotel Tax rate to between zero and 5 percent maximum. If a public vote to increase the overall TOT from 10.5 to 15.5 maximum is made, the City Council can put the extra Hotel Tax rate at zero percent. Or if a 5 percent TOT was put to a public vote, at the same time the vote could also end the 1- to 3-percent Special Tax and 2 percent TMD. There are many solutions.— March 11, 2013 8:58 p.m.
Judge Prager OKs convention center expansion tax
Tomorrow March 12 there is a Special Election for State Senate which includes Assemblymember Hueso. March 26, 2013 Council District 4 is having a Special Election for a new council member. It is very likely that Special Elections will be needed for the top two District 4 City Council candidates, Assemblyman Ben Hueso, and Lorena Gonzalez The next wave of required Special Elections should be together on one ballot. At that time the City Council can put citywide issues on the Ballot if they choose. The Chargers should also put up their plan for voters approval. Potential citywide Ballots language could include: Within the City of San Diego should our TRANSNET revenue administered by SANDAG be used for Transit First , including creating sustainable east-west pedestrian and bicycle corridors along the San Diego River, San Dieguito River, Chollas Crrek, and Otay Mesa? By this vote San Diegans authorize SANDAG to prioritize TRANSNET funds to update our local neighborhood community plans, and local streets. SANDAG is using the excuse of the 2004 public vote for forcing increases to our Freeways and not adhering to minimum future air pollution stadards. A 5 percent TOT increase to fund public infrastructure projects.— March 11, 2013 6:26 p.m.
Chargers hawking combined convention center/roofed stadium
Financially, do you think San Diego should increase the TOT 5 percent for public infrastructure/needs, or just leave the annual $80 in bascially free money on the table? How would the ballot be worded to get the 2/3 voter approval needed to increase Hotel taxes?— March 10, 2013 8:07 p.m.
Chargers hawking combined convention center/roofed stadium
Currently San Diego is leaving an annual $80+ million on the table through the Hotelier- and City Council pre-approved 5 percent increase to our Hotel Taxes, because everyone is afraid to put the issue to a public vote which needs 2/3 public approval. The private Hoteliers lack of cooperation to increase Hotel taxes for the benefit of all, is the reason we have such a low TOT rate compared to other big cities. Hopefully after the Hotel tax increase lawsuits are thrown out, a discussion on the merits of increase our extremely low TOT for infrastructure and public improvements will happen. Solution. Put the issue of increasing Hotel taxes to a public vote.Make the deal as sweet as possible for voters, and give environmentalist everything they want. Instead of 5 to 6 percent Hotel Tax Increase going to advertisement and the hotelier-only approved 5-acre Convention Center expansion; the legal 5 percent tax increase (annual $80 million) through a public vote could be used for advertisement, a 15-acre multi-purpose NFL Stadium and contiguous Convention Center expansion on our waterfront, or any other properly vetted infrastructure projects voted on by the public. Like a direct subway from downtown and the Old Town Trolley to the airport, by a full reclamation of our public tidelands. www.tinyurl.com/20120606a Farmers Insurance promised $600 million for the naming rights to the proposed AEG downtown Los Angeles NFL Stadium and Convention Center expansion. Now that the LA project has been turned down by the NFL, San Diego coiuld get the same deal to invest the same $600 million just in private naming rights for a multi-use NFL Stadium and Contiguous Convention Center Expansion. After the Hotel taxes are deemed illegal this week, San Diego will not have the 1- to 3-percent Special Tax to pay for the $575 million Convention Center Phase III Expansion, and the 2 percent TMD to advertise San Diego as a world wide tourism destination. In LA, the city taxpayers planned to pay for the foundation and off-site mitigation, with private AEG, Farmers Insurance, NFL, and private investors paying for the actual above-ground structure. Therefore, not one nickle of public funds for a NFL stadium in downtown Los Angeles. It can be done. San Diego can get the same deal with the NFL declaring San Diego its West Coast Headquarters. Beautiful San Diego Bay is much more marketable than cramped downtown LA. If you could write a deal in favor of the taxpayers, what would the ballot language say in order to get the 2/3 public vote?— March 10, 2013 4:37 p.m.
In Filner case, tangled tale of four GOP leaning judges
In the Navy Broadway Complex case, Judge Ronald Prager ruled that San Diego does not have any State-recognized Seismic Hazards including liquefaction and active faulting.do to a lack of digital State Seismic Hazard Maps. See Pages 22 - 23. www.tinyurl.com/20130117 https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_fHftxFXFhyWE1jQ… The Convention Center Special Tax hearing has been rescheduled to March 13, 2013 at 10 am.— March 7, 2013 9:42 a.m.
Todd Gloria, staffer, hotelier and spouse signed nomination paper for judge who ruled against Filner
The Budget and Finance Committee chaired by Todd Gloria met on February 27, 2013 to discuss Item 4 Fiscal Year 2013 Mid-Year Budget Monitoring Report prepared by Mayor Filner. This issue has been sent to the full City Council for an upcoming hearing. www.tinyurl.com/20130227 Council President Todd Gloria has yet to schedule a hearing date to confirm the financial adjustments, and in fact may try to change the Mayor’s recommendations at the upcoming City Council hearing. Specifically as it relates to Balboa Park Traffic, and extending the $300,000 for Emergency Winter Homeless Shelter for 3 months in Fiscal Year 2013, which end June 30, 2013. http://granicus.sandiego.gov/ASX.php?view_id=16&c… Linked above, please see Video Start Time: 2 Hours and 16 minutes to 2 Hours and 20 minutes for Council President Todd Gloria comments on Mayor Filner’s Mid-Year Budget Recommendations. Todd Gloria wants alternative funding recommendations for the $3.6 million, and is not supportive of new Balboa Park Traffic Management Plan and the $500,000 costs. For the 3 month extension to the Emergency Shelter, Gloria wants the extension added in the fall in Fiscal Year 2014, instead of right now in Fiscal Year 2013. Gloria has also asked the City Attorney to prepare a legal memorandum to discuss legal and environmental CEQA reviews that were waived when siting the Temporary Winter Homeless Shelters. This is great news as we will finally get to see City Attorney Goldsmith’s misguided legal arguments, repeated by Council President Gloria, on the need for Conditional Use Permits (CUPs) for Homeless Emergency Shelters citywide.— March 6, 2013 7:35 p.m.