Obama’s Immigration Order, Jeopardizing the War On Terror and the Case of the Missing 1916 Flood Piece
By Barbara Zaragoza / South Bay Compass
Immigration & White Dudes
Two newsworthy pieces for our South Bay community:
Fourteen months ago, President Obama ordered a program that would allow illegal immigrants who are the parents of citizens or of lawful permanent residents to apply for DAPA, where they could avoid deportation and receive work permits. The program was called Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents. The New York Times reported this week that the Supreme Court will consider a legal challenge to President Obama’s immigration rules.
Because we’re a minority-majority region with over 50% of the population Hispanic, a large Asian–mostly Filipino–community, AND around half of us are women:
You might want to be aware that Alex Zaragoza caused a complete uproar at City Beat with her article Dear white dudes… A response to your entitled, whiny bitching. Her article–that emphasizes putting yourself in the shoes of other people’s experience, making sure to stick up for women when you’re in a group of macho men, putting aside literature about white males so that you can saturate yourself in the experience of women and minorities, dropping down the defensive ‘But I’m not like that’ — all these messages seemed to be lost upon the barrage of angry commentators who used the ‘c’-word among other profanities. I guess we all want to be heard–privileged or not. But then one question: who’s left to listen?
IB accuses Coronado Of Jeopardizing The War On Terror
Vincent Farnsworth in the San Diego Reader explained: “Imperial Beach has accused Coronado of jeopardizing the War on Terror by suing Imperial Beach over who has the right to provide sewage services to the new Navy SEAL training facility proposed for the south end of Silver Strand.”
The Union-Tribune also investigated, explaining that Coronado filed a lawsuit on January 6th against the San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO). They claim that Coronado should provide the sewer services because the new base will be within its city limits.
Imperial Beach, however, has an almost 50-year contract with the Navy for sewer services at the old “elephant case” on the IB/Coronado Border. When the Navy extends their base into Coronado City limits, IB claims they still have the right to provide sewer services.
More Imperial Beach
- A groundbreaking ceremony will take place on Monday, January 25th at 9am on 536 13th Street for a project along the Bayshore Bikeway. Two warehouse buildings will be transformed into a rest stop for bikers and hikers. It will include a large outdoor deck, restored native wetland planting and a water bottle refill station.
- The old Imperial Beach library, which opened in 1978, was torn down a few weeks ago. This week, the city broke ground on a new library.
- Dr. Mike McCoy, the activist who helped make sure Imperial Beach, the Tijuana Estuary and Border Field State Park would remain undeveloped and pristine, is returning to practice as a veterinarian at Imperial Beach Pet Hospital.
National City
- This week KPBS interviewed Matt de la Pena after he won the 2016 Newbery Medal for his children’s book. He is originally from National City.
Tijuana River Valley
- A shocking beetle infestation has hit more than 70,000 trees in the Tijuana River Valley. It’s not just a local problem. North County avocado growers have also been hit.
Otay
- The San Diego Reader discovered the Otay Valley Delta this week. The County has worked hard to restore the ecosystem in these parts and now hikers & bikers can enjoy the trails. The Canyoneers tell you more.
- Route 950, the express bus route that takes commuters from the Otay Mesa Port of Entry to Iris Avenue Transit Center, will have frequency reductions on both weekdays and weekends. Here’s the new bus route schedule.
This week the Otay Water District Board of Directors voted unanimously to elect Mitch Thompson president. A Chula Vista resident, he has 30 years of experience in real estate, public finance, housing development, banking, and redevelopment. He was also previously appointed to serve an unexpired term on the Chula Vista City Council.
The Otay Water District provides water service to more than 220,000 customers in southeastern San Diego County (including eastern Chula Vista and Otay Mesa). The five-member Board of Directors are responsible for rates, taxes, policies, ordinances, the annual budget, and the overall management and operation of the water agency. Because of our water crisis, they (as well as the Sweetwater Authortiy) are extremely important organizations to follow.
Chula Vista and the Case of the Missing 1916 Flood Piece
- Mayor Mary Salas proposed term limits on elected officials for Chula Vista, but her colleagues rejected it. A large number of Chula Vista council members, both past and present, have had two terms, taken a small amount of time off and then re-entered office. Some argue that the Chula Vista “tradition” of re-electing previous council members makes it hard for newcomers to break in.
- Chula Vista City Councilmember, John McCann, was found to have overspent by $55,000 in the 2014 election. I guess he wanted to outdo Steve Padilla, former Mayor of Chula Vista who was sued back in 2006 by a political consultant for failing to pay campaign debts. Padilla will be running again for CV City Council in District 3.
The Heritage Museum has been re-located to the Civic Center Library. Its grand opening is Wednesday, Jan. 27 at precisely 5:05pm. The exhibit will be about The Great Flood of 1916 which began when the dam broke at exactly 5:05 pm one hundred years ago.The Union Tribune reported that the Chula Vista Fire Department agreed to extract one piece of the old 1916 dam from the Otay Valley floor. Turns out, pieces of the dam are still scattered through the valley, mostly rusted and embedded in dirt. The Fire Department was suppose to recover a piece and transfer it to the Chula Vista Public Library before the exhibit opening.
The extraction, slated for Saturday, January 16th, was abruptly cancelled when the Watershed Manager of the City of San Diego found out about the project. He explained that there would first need to be an archaeological review before any materials were taken from the valley floor.
The exhibit will include many other artifacts and old photos of the 1916 flood. For a preview, see Patricia Maxwell’s Part 1 and Part 2 history of the flood.
Disclosure: The reporter is a board member of the not-for-profit South Bay Historical Society and Chula Vista Heritage Museum.
I don’t understand how the War on Terror is affected by whoever provides sewage services to the Navy. Are Coronado’s sewage services better than IB’s? I guess, if the toilets clog up, that could be a serious concern for the Navy’s quick response to a terrorist attack.
I guess you call that OTT. :)