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Christmas Song Gripes
How about Greg Lake's song "I Believe In Father Christmas" ? I love it... regards, Deeper_Purple83— December 26, 2007 1:06 p.m.
SDCERS Does Mea Culpa Over 14 IRS Violations, but DROP and Purchase of Service Credits Still Not Before the Agency
Don, so your response to the situation in post #14 is to cut benefits to hard-working city employees? The public safety retirement benefit in SD (3% at 50) is pretty much standard across CA and much of America. The PD is having troubles hiring, the FD is having troubles hiring. I'm the first to agree that allowing the underfunding in MP1 was shortsighted. I agree with you that all the pork and corporate welfare needs to be cut. This includes raising business taxes. The increase needed in the FD is more than the entire Park and Rec budget, yet according to several studies, San Diegans are taxed less than their fellow Californians. So what's it going to be? Fire protection? Parks? Corporate welfare? Or more taxes?— December 26, 2007 10:12 a.m.
SDCERS Does Mea Culpa Over 14 IRS Violations, but DROP and Purchase of Service Credits Still Not Before the Agency
Don, in response to Post #9, I agree that some of the "failures" are big ticket items. There's no doubt about that. But some are not. I'm not the one posting a "Draft for commentary" interim report on a public web site. Aguirre is. The percentage he put in the report was only one small error. There were plenty of other mistakes. For instance, in commenting about PSC, Aguirre writes, "the current board has refused to charge the actual price required." Not true, as the rates were raised a few years ago. The board hasn't gone back and charged more for PSC purchased years ago that they're contractually obligated to honor. So is the wording of Aguirre's report just poor English? Or an attempt to make the board look bad? I don't know, but I'd also bet that there won't be an "Amended Interim Report #24" coming out anytime soon.— December 26, 2007 7:34 a.m.
SDCERS Does Mea Culpa Over 14 IRS Violations, but DROP and Purchase of Service Credits Still Not Before the Agency
And it's time to put DROP and PCS on the IRS table for a ruling. Let's get the IRS to reach a settlement so people can get on with planning their lives. But no one, including the IRS wants to get into this because it's going to affect a lot more folks than just those in San Diego. DROP programs or ones similar to it are functioning all over the country. The litigation that could be generated will take years to resolve and make multi-millionaires lawyers filing appeal after appeal. What a racket! As for errors with the Muni Code... No, they are not all Mr. Aguirre's responsiblitiy. But, his office IS responsible to draft the ordinances for the Council to approve... And once again we have complete and utter failure of MANAGEMENT Executives to actually er a MANAGE. They, our city executives should be held accountable.— December 25, 2007 12:59 p.m.
Copley Selling Casa del Zorro in Borrego, Wants Sale by End of Year
I hear it takes a lot of money to operate and maintain yatchs these days. The bigger the yatch the more it takes. My hopes are Mr. Copley will sell the U/T so someone really interested in running a daily newspaper will run it with integrity.— December 25, 2007 12:45 p.m.
Copley Selling Casa del Zorro in Borrego, Wants Sale by End of Year
Hopefully the latter can't imagine the previous publishers of Pravda could be worse. Thanks Mr. Bauder, Merry Christmas. -30-— December 25, 2007 11:05 a.m.
U-T Announces Massive Buyout Plan
Here it is -- Christmas Day -- when is someone going to post the names and titles of the unfortunate who were forced to take the U-T's buyout or were simply canned because they didn't? How come no one has the guts to report the U-T to the labor board for forcing its news assistants and reporters to work as much as five hours per day overtime without compensation?! That's just criminal! And would the paper really need to cut all those positions if Mr. Copley had the fortitude to get rid of Bell, Winner and Merriman?! That would certainly save a lot of money...— December 25, 2007 8:41 a.m.
SDCERS Does Mea Culpa Over 14 IRS Violations, but DROP and Purchase of Service Credits Still Not Before the Agency
Isn't that what most of the settlement is? Failure to amend the retirement system? A lot of those "failures" affected between 1 and 3 people. Regardless, it is still a failure and still needs cleaning up. As to Aguirre, odd as it seems, I actually do admire much of what he's trying to do. However, my opinion of his reports isn't quite as glowing as yours. For the record, I have read most of them. Again, in this last one he couldn't even get the percentage multiplier correct for the pension plan. I'd call that "assailable".— December 24, 2007 11:54 a.m.
SDCERS Does Mea Culpa Over 14 IRS Violations, but DROP and Purchase of Service Credits Still Not Before the Agency
Don, as Donna Frye showed, sometimes it is possible to get by without the "big" groups you mentioned. Again, sometimes 'politics' is about more that being elected. In Aguirre's case it sometimes seems to be more about payback for perceived slights than about being re-elected. Once again I'll ask you for your opinion on Failure #14, the Gleason settlement and how that affects the city's ability to pay it's past due bills...— December 24, 2007 9:18 a.m.
SDCERS Does Mea Culpa Over 14 IRS Violations, but DROP and Purchase of Service Credits Still Not Before the Agency
Or Aguirre is trying to appeal to the "everyman" who isn't a Daddy Warbucks business person and is jealous of the union members."Politics" could also include payback or trying to prove that he's right, no matter what the consequences. Again, there were errors as basic as retirement percentages in Aguirre's report.If he can't get those correct, what else is he screwing up?Maybe it gives some perspective, but not necessarily a wholly accurate one.— December 23, 2007 3:46 p.m.