Is the 1st Amendment being abused?
According to the 1st Amendment, it’s OK to plaster political signs all over the place. Some politicians proudly state in their brochures and at forums they are all for greenery in the scenery and the environment, yet their massive placards everywhere is a contradiction. Among the offenders are the law enforcement unions with their massive endorsement placards leaving folks to ask if they are above the law. According to advertising pros, primary purpose of street signs is for name recognition. Maybe voters oughta recognize these names and skip over them when they cast their ballots.
UT sale soon?
Lotsa speculation on the future ownership of the Union-Tribune following the latest round of staff departures at the end of September. Palaver around the paper racks is there will be a sale by the end of the year and maybe as soon as the end of next month. Black Press of Canada that took over the Honolulu Star Bulletin several years ago when it was near expiring has been named as a possible suitor. Also Mike McKinnon, owner of KUSI/Channel 51, whose dad Clint McKinnon sold the San Diego Daily Journal to the Union-Tribune in the 1950s. McKinnon has said he would recruit a bunch of local investors. Meanwhile, the UT staffers that are left are wondering who’s on first?
Five weekends
Orange County Fair at Costa Mesa that closely follows SD County Fair (June 12 thru July 5) will run Wednesday through Sunday from July 10 through Aug. 9 next summer in order to capture five weekends. It has been dark on Mondays during its present schedule. The additional week will require adjustments by exhibitors and concessionaires who traditionally quickly move on to other fairs. And what will grandma’s blue ribbon cake look like after being in a glass showcase for a month?
Times support
Influential L.A. Times has gone on record supporting folks who oppose the projected toll Hwy. 241 that would slice through San Onofre State Park. State Coastal Commission already is against it. According to the Times, it will serve neither the state nor the nation. The feds are involved becuz the road would travel through a park they have jurisdiction over.
State budget
It’s been a month since the lethargic Sacto electeds approved the overdue budget. Now the Governator is saying there is need for a few billion dollars as of yesterday or the state won’t be able to pay its bills. According to Debra Bowen, Secretary of State, the state has about $53 billion of infrastructure-related General Fund debt outstanding and will add another $l6.5 billion if all the niceties on the November ballot are approved. What is in your wallet?
Your tax $$$$ at work
Flower Capital Parks & Rec. Dept. used $250 of your tax
$$$ to appeal Planning Commission’s denial of a Hall Park project. That is something that is hard to believe even if it appeared in “Ripley’s Believe It or Not.” Counsel for the city sez it’s legal but unusual.
$100 grand for an
agreement
Surfrider Foundation has agreed to endorse Solbeach’s shoreline plan. It received a check for 100 grand. Agreement was signed last December but it came to light only recently. That’s becuz the deal was worked out in closed session. Which is a shining example of what your electeds do behind closed doors.
Opus to exit from
comic page
Bloom County starring “Opus” in the not-so-funny comics pages will be history after next month. Creator Berkeley Breathed, who won a Pulitzer Prize for the strip, said he is pulling the plug after only six years.
Redevelopment
amendment
Vista City Council has approved an amendment that will allow most of the city’s residential neighborhoods to be included in an existing redevelopment zone. The vote was 3-0 for, with electeds Frank Lopez and Bob Campbell silent on the issue becuz of a potential conflict of interest.
New O’side
By the turn of the decade, residents of that city can say they “remember when” the bizness area was mostly honky tonk joints and uninviting shops. Upscale resort developments are taking shape and recently the Planning Commission OK’d a 92-acre mall that is said to be the largest around. It will erase the now-closed Valley Drive-In Theater on Hwy. 76. If the appeal period passes without objection and current bizness conditions don’t interfere, developer has said groundbreaking could occur by year’s end.
Holiday parade marshal announced
Morris Pike, aka Captain Book, founder of treasure chests filled with jewels of knowledge (books), has been selected as the grand marshal of the Flower Capital’s Holiday Parade to be held Dec. 6. Themed “A Storybook Holiday,” Pike was considered to be the logical choice according to Carolyn Cope, a member of the parade committee. He has created wooden chests and filled them with children’s books and there are now 270 of them throughout the county. Cope sez they help to inspire kids to read.
One-liners
Rancho Santa Fe Education Foundation is campaigning to raise 800 grand to aid in maintaining high quality education at its elementary school … MainStreet O’side will present Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) on Nov. 2., it’s a traditional Hispanic observance for family members who have died … Donald Mosier and Mark Filanc will succeed Mayor David Druker and Councilman Henry Abarbanel on the Surfside city council next month … San Diego Chamber Music Society will present “Music For String Quartet & Horn” at Cardiff Community Room on Nov. 5 under the auspice of Friends of the Cardiff Library … Leucadia Town Council prexy Rachelle Collier, a council candidate, is beating the drums for a large turnout at the 101 Streetscape workshop Nov. 13 at City Hall starting at 6 p.m. … La Costa dentist Michael Klein is the lone challenger to incumbents Beth Hergesheimer and Joyce Dalessandro in the San Dieguito High School District election … Flower Capital community library has received an award of merit for its design from California Construction, a statewide publication.
Hasta la Vista
