Photo by Annie Lane

Gay Pride Weekend Recap… The historic significance of San Diego’s 38^th annual LGBT Parade of Saturday garnered press from around the country over the past couple of days as military personal received official permission to participate in the procession. A Navy Times article featured the story of Senior Chief Dwayne Beebe who drove all the way from Pensacola, Florida to attend the event. He’d packed his dress white uniform, not knowing in advance if he would be able to wear it. The parade came to a momentary halt as Beebe stopped at an intersection and got down on one knee to propose to his boyfriend, supported and surrounded by service members as partner Jonathan Franqui said yes.

Mayoral candidate Carl DeMaio’s participation in LGBT events over the weekend drew a decidedly mixed response. Some spectators participated in an Facebook organized protest and turned their backs as the controversial candidate passed by; polite applause was mixed with boos throughout the parade route. This video gives a good sense of the reception he received. DeMaio blamed the demonstrations of disapproval on organized labor in a UT-San Diego article. Protest coordinators appeared to have no connection with labor, saying that their issues with the mayoral candidate were connected to donations and endorsements he solicited from backers of an anti-gay marriage initiative, along with purported promises that LGBT issues would be downplayed during a DeMaio administration.

Mission Trails power plant proponents to appeal Planning Commission ruling…  Opponents of the project were elated last Thursday when the San Diego Planning Commission voted four-to-one to deny rezoning of open space adjacent to Mission Trails Regional Park for the proposed 100 megawatt gas-fired “Quail Brush” power plant.  Plant builder Cogentrix has announced that they will appeal the Planning Commission decision to the San Diego City Council. The Sierra Club San Diego Chapter, along with Save Mission Trails and other groups have pledged to continue their opposition to the proposed power plant.

Issa continues to grandstand… Now that the “Fast and Furious” debacle has faded from the headlines, our own Rep. Darrell Issa has decided to propose legislation that would name most U.S. coastal waters after former President Ronald Reagan.  Issa reintroduced his bill Wednesday to rename the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which generally extends from three miles to 200 miles offshore, as the Ronald Wilson Reagan Exclusive Economic Zone.  There are no reports yet if any jobs will be created by this critical legislation.

Bob’s a baseball fan… Mayoral candidate Bob Filner was the only local politico in attendance yesterday morning as baseball fans gathered outside Petco Park to protest the lack of availability of baseball games on local television due to a financial dispute between providers and Fox Sports San Diego. He spoke to the crowd briefly, promising public hearings should the standoff not be resolved after the fall elections. UPDATE: Over at the SDReader they’ve noticed that Congressman Filner ‘s face is noticeably absent (he is waaay back in one crowd shot) from the 13 photos of the rally they ran. That’s pretty amazing, since there were only 150 people there. Here’s our crowd scene with Filner; we deliberately saved mentioning him at the rally for today’s column, BTW.  (H/T Matt Potter)  Meanwhile, the Padres, one of the worst teams in baseball during the first three months of the season, have been….winning? They beat Colorado 3-2 yesterday.

The mean meanies over at the NFL…. Team owners have decided to lock out referees for the 2012-13 season rather than continue negotiations.  Nine officiating trainers have been dismissed for refusing to train replacements, who arrived in Dallas on Friday. The NFL issued a statement saying the trainers were not fired but are seasonal employees “who have decided not to work at this time.’ You gotta love corporate doublespeak.

When is a union not a union?  The San Diego Labor Council announced on Friday that the United Taxi Workers of San Diego had signed on as the council’s first non-union affiliate. Under current California law, taxi drivers are termed “independent contractors,” which means they are technically not employees and don’t have the right to collectively bargain. Drivers are not covered by labor laws. They often face 12 hour shifts and uncapped lease fees, lack health insurance, and face retaliation in their efforts to improve safety conditions. The Labor Council will provide taxi drivers with support as they work with elected officials regarding policies that support drivers and  hopes to shine a light on the industry and owner-specific abuses within the San Diego taxi industry.

The Big Lie on corporate tax rates… When Susan Ford, a senior executive at Corning Inc. told the House Ways and Means Committee last week that America’s high corporate tax rate was putting her company at a disadvantage, it seemed like a scenario fir for a Mitt Romney campaign ad. There was only one problem with her testimony:  Corning Inc. was one of 26 companies over the four year period from 2008-2011 that managed to avoid paying any American income taxes, even though it earned nearly $3 billion during that time. In fact, according to Citizens For Tax Justice (CJT), the company received a $4 million refund from 2008 to 2010.  Her claim that the company was facing an effective tax rate of 36 percent in 2011includes taxes on profits earned overseas that haven’t been paid and won’t be unless the company decides to bring the money back to the United States. Corning’s actual tax rate in 2011, according to CTJ’s analysis, was actually negative 0.2 percent.

The top five worst newspapers… In response to a UT-San Diego advertorial (“Presidential Busts”) for the Republican Party yesterday that asserted President Obama sat at the top of a list of the five worst chief executives in US history,  reader Laura Egendorf responded with her own list of the five worst newspapers in America:

1. The U-T under Papa Doug
2. The U-T under Copley
3. The New York Post
4. The Washington Times
5. Whatever newspaper Papa Doug and John Lynch buy next.

 On This Day:  In 1904 the ice cream cone was invented by Charles E. Menches during the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis. In 1977 Foreigner’s “Cold As Ice” was released.  In 1984 Miss America, Vanessa Williams, turned in her crown after it had been discovered that nude photos of her had appeared in “Penthouse” magazine.

 Eat Fresh! Today’s Farmers’ Markets: Escondido (Welk Resort 8860 Lawrence Welk Drive) 3 – 7 pm

I read the Daily Fishwrap(s) so you don’t have to… Catch “the Starting Line” Monday thru Friday right here at San Diego Free Press (dot) org. Send your hate mail and ideas to DougPorter@SanDiegoFreePress.Org    Check us out on Facebook and Twitter.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

Doug Porter

Doug Porter was active in the early days of the alternative press in San Diego, contributing to the OB Liberator, the print version of the OB Rag, the San Diego Door, and the San Diego Street Journal. He went on to have a 35-year career in the Hospitality business and decided to go back into raising hell when he retired. He won numerous awards for his columns from the Society of Professional Journalists in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Doug is a cancer survivor (sans vocal chords) and lives in North Park.

Latest posts by Doug Porter (see all)

• Last Call. Last Column. - December 14, 2018
• Which Presidential Candidate Will You Support in 2020? - December 13, 2018
• Mounting the Assault on Big Gay and Other Drivel From SDSU’s Minimum Wage Scrooge - December 12, 2018