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Saving San Diego from “The Paper Bag Tax” and Other Political Misnomers

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By Doug Porter

Paper, Plastic or Save The Planet? It’s about time we had that discussion in San Diego.

Apparently the approved strategy for the right wing in opposing just about anything these days is to call the thing that you’re opposing a “tax”. And, as is the case with the Neighborhood Market Association’s opposition to a proposed ban on plastic bags, any time the word “tax” is used is a good time to manifest a sudden concern for working class families.

It was this deep concern for the lives of “taxpayers, mothers, fathers, brothers and working class San Diegans” that prompted “community leaders, including Mark Arabo, president of the Neighborhood Market Association” to call a press conference yesterday in front of Rainbow Market in the Chollas Creek neighborhood.   [Read more…]

GOP’s Congressional Shutdown To Cause Delayed Tax Refunds

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By Doug Porter

It’s pretty easy to dislike the Internal Revenue Service; a fact of life exploited by Congress on a regular basis. Since 2010 the agency’s budget has been slashed by more than $1 billion. Staffing has been reduced by 8000 employees, including 5000 frontline personnel.

Those staffing cuts, combined with October’s 16 day shutdown of the government by Tea Party ideologues hoping the repeal Obamacare, are at the center of an announcement yesterday that the opening date for tax filing season will start on Jan. 31, instead of the initially-planned Jan. 21.

A little noticed press release by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) quotes union President Colleen M. Kelley saying, “As the holiday credit card bills come due early in the year, millions of Americans count on a quick refund to help cover those costs. This year, that money may not be there when they need it.”   [Read more…]

It’s Off to the Races! City Council Sets February 11th Mayoral Election Date, Barrio Logan Referendum Vote June 3rd -Plus Lots of 2014 Electioneering in Other Contests

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By Doug Porter

“Bring it on!”

That was the reaction of supporters of the Barrio Logan Community plan yesterday after the City Council voted to place a referendum sponsored by maritime industry interests on the June 3rd primary ballot.  Industry backers were hoping that a successful petition drive for the initiative would force the council to rescind the plan rather than face the costs and conflicts inherent in a contentious campaign.

The UT-San Diego wasted no time showing where its sympathies lie, running with a front page story using the industry’s un-provable contention that jobs would be lost in the lede of a supposed news article.  While a City of San Diego study projects more than 4,000 jobs would be created under the plan, opponents can do no better than quoting individuals who “think” jobs might be lost.

Framing the conflict as one of “jobs” versus “neighborhood planning” is exactly the strategy pursued thus far by maritime industry advocates, who’ve managed to twist both ends of that equation (46,000 jobs will be lost! Yuppie condos are coming!) into an narrative so unpalatable that gathering signatures for an initiative was a cakewalk.   [Read more…]

The Web of Industry Falsehoods About the Barrio Logan Community Plan Continues to Unravel

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By Doug Porter

Another day has gone by and another misrepresentation by opponents of the Barrio Logan Community Plan has been exposed.  In a city with an honest daily paper these untruths unfolding would constitute a scandal; sadly we live in a city where the dominant storylines are manipulated or ignored.

Today’s UT-San Diego has not a word about yesterday’s dramatic press conference in Barrio Logan. KPBS, City Beat and NBC7News all did cover the story, which, in a nutshell, was that the union members used by the shipbuilding industry to pack City Council hearings last fall have switched sides.

Union leaders told the press they’d come to the realization they were simply pawns in a campaign of misinformation and misrepresentation, as the first stage in a hardball campaign to defeat five years worth of effort to create a community plan full of compromises that sought equitable treatment for all the stakeholders.  The shipbuilders have decided they want a no compromise plan.   [Read more…]

Putting the David Alvarez Mayoral Candidacy into a National Context

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By Doug Porter

While many of the issues at hand for San Diego voters in the upcoming mayoral runoff election may be local, there is a bigger picture being watched by political observers nationwide.

None of the top ten cities in the United States have Republican Mayors. Electing Kevin Faulconer in San Diego would be a double win for the GOP especially if the large Latino population is taken into consideration.  It would also serve as a counterbalance to the perceived trend of big city electorates shifting more towards the left end of the political spectrum.

One only needs to look to incoming mayor Bill de Blasio’s solid electoral win in New York to understand just how seriously the right is taking this trend.  An article in the New York Times last Friday catalogues right wing attempts to blame Mr. de Blasio for crimes currently being committed even though he’s three weeks away from being inaugurated.   [Read more…]

UT-San Diego Runs Gun Show Ad Next to School Shooting Coverage

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By Doug Porter

UPDATE: The paper apologized in Sunday. See below.
I gotta let the picture do the talking here (I added the banner before I posted it to Facebook):   [Read more…]

Rep. Issa’s Loose Lips Looking to Sink Security for Obamacare Web Site

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By Doug Porter

Congressman Darrell Issa’s investigation into HealthCare.gov’s dismal performance during its first two months online has turned into a full-blown executive-congressional confrontation over concerns raised about the security of documents under subpoena.

On Wednesday acting in his role as Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Issa accused Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius of criminal obstruction.  The administration has let the Republican Congressman know they won’t turn over documents related to the security of the Healthcare.gov website because they can’t trust him to keep secret information.

Congressman Darrell Issa’s game plan ought to be obvious by now. He announces a major investigation into an executive branch agency, holds a press conference or three implying this will be the scandal bringing down the Obama administration, leaks a bunch of partially redacted documents, holds hearings and… nothing ever happens because there is no scandal.   [Read more…]

San Diego’s Greedy Bastards Coalition Fights the ‘Zombie Tax’

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By Doug Porter

If you’ve not been paying attention, there’s a war going on for the heart and soul of our city. The 2012 election portended a different path for how San Diego could work as a city, a vision that scared the hell out of the guardians of ‘business as usual’. Now they’re fighting back.  Get ready for yet another referendum negating the actions of the City Council.

Last month they were peddling the completely fabricated claim that 46,000 jobs would be lost to make room for yuppie condos in Barrio Logan.  Yesterday “business leaders” stood in front of the news media who dutifully reported on their re-mobilization for opposition to a “Zombie Tax” they say will push the economy back into recession.   [Read more…]

Volunteers Needed for San Diego’s Homeless Census Count

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By Doug Porter

The Regional Task Force on the Homeless is seeking over one thousand volunteers to assist in counting homeless individuals in San Diego on January 24, 2014.

The Point In Time Count (PITC) is an annual census effort encompassing both sheltered and unsheltered homeless individuals. Data about locations and demographics is collected, enabling agencies in the San Diego region to better understand the scope, impact and potential solutions to homelessness.

The PITC is also crucial in that it supplies information essential to applications for funding to address homeless issues. Based on San Diego’s 2013 census, approximately 8,900 individuals, families and unaccompanied children experience homelessness annually in San Diego County.   [Read more…]

The Case Against RevengePorn Bad Guy Kevin Bollaert

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By Doug Porter

Yesterday’s announcement by California State Attorney General Kamala Harris about one of the operators of now-defunct revenge porn site YouGotPosted being arrested garnered coverage in nearly all the local media. There’s more to the story than meets the eye.

San Diegan Kevin Bollaert surrendered to authorities and was charged with 31 felony counts of conspiracy, identity theft and extortion.  He made $50,000 bail and walked on Tuesday evening, telling a TV 8 News Reporter “I don’t feel like I committed any crime.”

The sad part of this story is that Bollaert may be right, technically speaking. His web site allowed anonymous individuals to upload explicit images along with personal information of the subject. California’s revenge porn law only applies when the person accused of spreading the images online is also the photographer.   [Read more…]

“We Sincerely Wish Mr. Filner Well in His Rehabilitation”

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By Doug Porter

The headline on today’s column is the language used by the UT-San Diego editorial board today in summing up what they called “the final chapter” of the Bob Filner saga.  Today’s column will look at some of the coverage around the nation of former Mayor Bob Filner’s sentencing yesterday. And I’ll chime in with a few thoughts.

Between reading the coverage and today’s UT-San Diego editorial I’ve concluded San Diegans are expected to draw the following conclusions:

  • San Diego just experienced a disaster. (Has the Red Cross been notified?)
  • Bob Filner’s political supporters should to be exiled. (Will Siberia do?)
  • The news media failed to print enough rumors. (Except about Carl DeMaio)
  • The voters were stupid not to listen to Lynchester Logic™.

Just in case we, the public, haven’t “learned our lesson” from this squalid affair, our Daily Fishwrap featured Logan Jenkins warning us that the former mayor might indeed seek a role in local civic affairs in the future.  Look for additional Filner Fearmongering in your mailbox in coming weeks as the Lincoln Club types desperation deepens in their quest to disparage Democrat David Alvarez’s mayoral campaign.   [Read more…]

Occupy-Linked Lawsuit Settled: Registering Voters Outside City Hall is No Longer a Crime in San Diego

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By Doug Porter

Perhaps the most outrageous of the arrests made two years ago at the height of San Diego’s Occupy Movement was that of Ray Lutz, activist and former Congressional Candidate. On Nov 29, 2011, he was arrested for attempting to register voters in the Civic Center Plaza, adjacent to City Hall. (You can watch a video of the arrest here.)

Lutz sued the City of San Diego, along with the property management company (CBRE Group) and the private security contractor (ABM Security) who ordered a citizen’s arrest for trespassing.  All the parties have now agreed to a mediated settlement conducted by Hon. Judge David H. Bartick, in Federal Court.

Part of the deal involves scheduling a public hearing of the grievances involved, which will occur on Tuesday, December 10th at a session of San Diego City Council.  The rest of settlement has already been approved by the City in closed session.

 Lutz is encouraging all persons who support the right to peaceful political activity, such as registering voters, in the public square of San Diego, to appear and voice their support of the settlement, as well as to voice any concerns regarding the disgusting abuse of recent invalid arrests or other actions by the San Diego Police Department.   [Read more…]

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