Residents from southeast San Diego’s Mountain View neighborhood took matters into their own hands yesterday; cleaning up garbage accumulating at a foreclosed property owned the Bank of America, and “depositing” it outside a nearby branch office of that financial institution. The doors were locked at B of A’s 36th and National location as reporters and TV camera crews watched community members, led by the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, unload furniture, appliances and litter gathered from the shuttered, but uncared for, property currently owned by the bank.
The dramatic protest was staged to call attention to the proposed Property Value Protection Ordinance, under consideration by the San Diego City Council. The law would require banks to register homes in the city upon the filing of a notice of default, with a $100-a-day fee for failure to obey the act. If lenders register a distressed home but fail to properly maintain the property (leading to blight), the bank would be subject to a fine of up to $1,000 a day. This, proponents say, would help the city cover the true cost of neglected properties.
The first post-primary debate between Mayoral contenders City Councilman Carl DeMaio and Congressman Bob Filner is scheduled for tomorrow night (August 9th) at UCSD’s Institute of the Americas, located at 10111 N. Torrey Pines Road. The debate, scheduled to begin at 6pm, will be moderated by KPBS reporter Tom Fudge. There will be no admission charge for the debate, but pre-registration is requested. Audience members will have the opportunity to submit questions to the candidates.
Polls show Bilbray vs Peters Congressional race tied… UT-San Diego has an article today that cites two polls funded by Democrats that show challenger Scott Peters (D) tied with incumbent Congressman Brian Bilbray in the race for the 52nd Congressional District. The poll results are significant because Bilbray maintains a 19 point lead in name recognition; voters given both positive and negative profiles about Peters ultimately preferred the challenger over the incumbent, according to data supplied by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research.
San Diego Free Press Romney Tax Watch Share With Your Friends!
Romney watch…. Without further ado, we proudly introduce the San Diego Free Press tax watch box, which will help you keep track of how many days Presidential candidate Mitt Romney has been evading questions raised by Nevada Senator Harry Reid about his income taxes over the past decade.
From CNN:
Republican sources say they’re in a Catch-22 situation on how to reply to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s claims that GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney went 10 years without paying taxes.
They understand that they’re taking Reid’s bait and that responding to his unsubstantiated claims against Romney to keeps alive the issue of Romney’s refusing to release his tax returns.
Still, these GOP sources say they feel that if they do not respond to such a serious charge from such a high-ranking Democrat, it will look like a tacit admission Reid is right.
Republicans stepped up attempts to undermine Reid’s unsubstantiated allegations Monday, saying Reid and other Democrats’ accusations are being orchestrated by President Barack Obama’s campaign — specifically his senior campaign adviser, David Axelrod.
From Daily Kos:
Conservatives think they are winning when they are pissing liberals off. Why else do you think they’ve rallied around a gay hatin’ fast food joint? Why do you think lightbulbs are a cause celebre for them? Or reversing former (and future) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s ban of styrofoam cups in the House, freedom fries, littering on Earth Day, buying Ann Coulter books to get them on the Best Seller list (as if they actually read them), stocking up on guns just because, and a billion other idiotic things.
What they never expect is for liberals to punch back, which is why they’re apoplectic over Sen. Harry Reid’s claims that some dude told him that Mitt Romney won’t release his tax returns because he paid no taxes.
I read it on Twitter, and it’s true:
@BuzzFeedAndrew
Someone I know reminds me the ship sent to Boston harbor in 1768 to enforce British taxes on the American colonies was the HMS Romney.
The best government money can buy…. Assemblyman and former City Council President Ben Hueso has asked for a state investigation into campaign contributions that may have been tied to approval of a city permit for rehabbing a property to house a Walmart store at the old Farmer’s Market in southeast San Diego. At issue are two five-figure political contributions from Walmart to the Sanders/DeMaio ‘we’re private citizens here’ pension ballot measure last spring. One contribution was made at the beginning of the market approval process and another one once the permits had been approved.
One probable outcome from this weekend’s attack on a Sikh temple in Wisconsin will be a fundraising letter from the National Rifle Association. According to the DC-based Think Progress, the NRA did a nationwide mailing just three days after the shootings at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. The gun lobby’s plea for funds claimed that Obama’s re-election would result in the “confiscation of our firearms” and potentially a “ban on semi-automatic weapons.” The Think Progress article goes on to point out that President “Obama has stubbornly refused to support new gun regulations even in the wake of three mass shootings — Tucson, Aurora and the recent Sikh temple shooting — that occurred on his watch.”
A coalition of immigration rights groups have announced a series of programs designed to help undocumented immigrant students with information and assistance in complying with the President Obama’s new policies regarding new policy, slated to go into effect on August 15th, allowing qualified young people to stay in the US and apply for work permits while they finish their studies. The San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium (SDIRC) has formed the Dreamer Assistance Network, which consists of legal, faith and community based groups from throughout the County.
The Network has launched an educational website and will be hosting forums in San Diego, National City and Oceanside over the next month. Lawyers from the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) will be present to provide information and answer questions. Network partners will assist eligible applicants who attend these events in completing the necessary paperwork to comply with the new requirements. The Dreamer Assistance Network and San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium are powered by the Equality Alliance of San Diego County (soon to be called Alliance San Diego). For more information visit www.dreamerassistance.org.
Feed your mind… Roy Zimmerman sings satirical songs – original songs about class warfare, creationism, same-sex marriage, guns, marijuana, abstinence, Republicans (a lot of songs about Republicans), ignorance, war and greed. He’ll be performing tonight at Church Of The Brethren, sponsored by the Peace Resource Center of San Diego. Tickets are $18, or pay what you can. (7p-9p)
On This Day… In 1588 the Spanish Armada was defeated by the English fleet, ending an invasion attempt. In 1970 Janis Joplin bought a headstone for the grave of blues singer Bessie Smith. Smith was one of Joplin’s idols. In 1974 President Nixon announced that he would resign the following day. (I spent the evening across the street from the White House drinking cheap champagne. It would be the last time I drank cheap bubbly.)
Eat Fresh! Today’s Farmers’ Markets: Carlsbad (Roosevelt St. btw Grand Ave. & Carlsbad Village Dr.) 1 – 5 pm, Encinitas Station (Corner of E Street & Vulcan in parking lot B) 5 – 8 pm, Mission Hills (Falcon St. btw West Washington & Ft. Stockton) 3 – 7 pm, North San Diego at Sikes Adobe Farmstead (I-15 at Via Rancho Parkway. 12655 Sunset Dr., Escondido.) 11 am – 2 pm, Ocean Beach (4900 block of Newport Ave. btw Cable & Bacon Sts.) 4 – 8 pm, San Marcos – Cal State San Marcos (333 S. Twin Oaks Valley Rd., Parking Lot B) 3 – 7 pm,Santee (10445 Mission Gorge Rd. abandoned school parking lot) 3 –7 pm, Temecula (40820 Winchester Rd. Promenade Mall, parking lot btw Macy’s & Penny’s) 9 am – 1 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.
Doug Porter
Latest posts by Doug Porter (see all)
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I think you meant Aug. 9th instead of July 9th for the mayoral debate….
thanks! it’s fixed.
Let’s hear it for the Romney Tax Watch.
Seems as tho the “Alliance” might be cited for trespassing and littering? I salute their cause but, as the old adage goes: “Two wrongs don’t make a right.”
Ethan- the Alliance removed the litter. I alsosalute the cause and I do not think we can rationally talk about two wrongs in this situation.