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Kevin Faulconer’s Republican Problem

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By Doug Porter

The race for mayor of San Diego is technically non-partisan, but don’t tell that to the various political action committees and “social welfare” groups around town.

While media speculation has focused on the foibles of newly minted Democrat Nathan Fletcher, and David Alvarez’s unabashed support from organized labor, Kevin Faulconer’s campaign has been conducting a master class in how avoid the “R” word.

I hadn’t given it much thought until yesterday, when the email from Faulconer spokesman Tony Manolatos to reporter Clare Trageser surfaced, complaining about her KPBS feature, saying that the account focused on “Kevin being a Republican and a tool for big business”.

That’s right. A Republican mayoral candidate’s spokesman is mad because a news story called him a Republican.   [Read more…]

Carl DeMaio Launches “Free to Be” (Poor) College Tour

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By Doug Porter

Failed mayoral candidate and wannabe Congressman Carl DeMaio is taking his message of “opportunity” to college students in the San Diego area this week, hoping that a smiling face and a pocketful of libertarian promises will woo the youth vote into the Republican fold.

Like the witch in Hansel and Gretel he’s hoping to lure young votes with the lure of sweet success: he’s the “new” Republican. Students are supposed to forget about all those nasty old white men waving their transvaginal wands to ward off people of color and other likely Democrats from voting booths around the country.

“I’m taking on the Republican Party and trying to get them off those divisive social issues — let individuals decide these kinds of issues for themselves,” the 39-year-old DeMaio told UT-San Diego. “The whole tone and tenor and culture has to change.”   [Read more…]

Walmart CEO: Food Stamp Cuts Could Be Good for Business

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By Doug Porter

Today’s the day.

Twenty three million Americans, including four million in California and more than a quarter million in San Diego will see a 5% reduction in their food stamp benefits starting November 1st.

As many as one in nine California families receive food benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — known as CalFresh in this state.  The cuts mean a family of four will receive $632, or $36 less per month in federal food assistance, even as California food costs rise. That is the equivalent of losing roughly 21 individual meals per month based on calculations used by the Department of Agriculture.

Walmart’s CEO Bill Simon says they’re “cautious but modestly optimistic” about those cuts, despite the fact that $14 billion of the $80 billion appropriated for food stamps was spent in their stores last year.  Simon told a meeting of financial analysts earlier this year when the benefits are cut, price becomes more important to the consumers, which he said will play to Walmart’s advantage.   [Read more…]

Why Blackface Isn’t Funny and Other Halloween Tales

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By Doug Porter

A couple of football coaches from San Diego’s Serra High School have been in the news this week after photographs of them wearing blackface as part of their “Jamaican Bobsled Team” halloween costumes surfaced.

San Diego Unified School District officials have acknowledged “inappropriate activities” and are investigating the incident, which seems to have involved a non-school related party.

To nobody’s surprise the UT-San Diego has a letter to the editor today decrying the ‘political correctness’ of the situation.  Reader Jack Cohen opines, “The absolutely priggish administrator who said that we cannot tolerate the slightest insensitivity should be exiled to the next universe.”   [Read more…]

Controversial Privatization Expert Hired by Interim Mayor Todd Gloria

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By Doug Porter

While many San Diegans are focused on the election promises of the four major candidates contending for top job at city hall, interim Mayor Todd Gloria’s made one move that could have a serious impact on the conversations taking place about services and neighborhood.

Fox 5 San Diego reports the iMayor has retained the services of former Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Goldsmith (no relation to the City Attorney) as an efficiency expert.

Known as an expert in privatizing city governments, his claim to fame comes via aggressive programs government services and selling them out to the private sector.   [Read more…]

What’s Next for Political Reporting in San Diego? A Nose Hair Census?

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By Doug Porter

Mayoral candidate Nathan Fletcher’s campaign has had their fair share of issues over past six weeks or so.  The former assemblyman is taking hits from both the right and the left; direct mail pieces have flooded city mailboxes seeking to exploit what polling says are the front runner’s vulnerabilities.

I’m not persuaded that these efforts are working, despite the fact that I share the sentiment behind them.

But I’ve found common ground with the Fletcher campaign’s refusal to participate in the latest exercise in “transparency journalism” at UT-San Diego. Snoop dog reporter Trent Seibert’s latest exercise in lunacy includes a stab at rounding up of mayoral candidates’ college transcripts.   [Read more…]

Right Wing Continues to Block Immigration Reform

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By Doug Porter

The body of law and administrative policy defining reality for the nation’s 12 million immigrants has once again risen to the top of our national “do-list”. The Republicans in Congress see it as yet another opportunity to thwart the administration, saying the latest push for action is simply an attempt to draw attention away from more “pressing issues” like Benghazi and Healthcare.gov.

Last week President Obama urged House Republicans to act on immigration, saying: “Democratic leaders have introduced a bill in the House that is similar to the bipartisan Senate bill. So now it’s up to Republicans in the House to decide whether reform becomes a reality or not.”   [Read more…]

RECALL? Legislators Lorena Gonzalez, Ben Hueso, Other Latinos Targeted by ‘Free California’ Group

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By Doug Porter

Emboldened by recent recall efforts in Colorado, ex-Minuteman types have joined with guns rights advocates to form Free California, a “grassroots” organization targeting elected Latino officials in the state legislature.

Ostensibly the recall petition drives are being organized in response to sweeping gun control measures recently signed by California Governor Jerry Brown. Legislators on their hit list include Sens. Norma Torres, D-Chino, and Ben Hueso, D-Chula Vista; Assemblywomen Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, and Sharon Quirk-Silva, D-Fullerton; and Assembly Speaker John Perez, D-Los Angeles.

The group says its targeting lawmakers in swing districts, especially those who were put into office in special elections.   [Read more…]

The Fish Stinks From the Head – Tales of Woe About San Diego’s MTS and NCTD Transit Authorities

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By Doug Porter

“The fish stinks from the head” is an old Turkish metaphor used to attribute poor leadership as the cause for dysfunctional enterprises.

News accounts from the past 24 hours about San Diego’s Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) and the North County Transit District (NCTD) speak to seriously misplaced priorities, along with racism and sexism in both organizations.

In today’s UT-San Diego there is a story detailing how officials with the Metropolitan Transit System have declined to offer discounts for low income students. A pilot program, funded by both the school district and the City Council will now be cut by more than half.

Yesterday reporter Brad Racino at inewsource/KPBS broke a major story about sex and age bias in employment policies within the North County Transit District.    [Read more…]

UT-Faux News: Scraping the Bottom with ‘Filner Era’ Journalism

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By Doug Porter

News organizations relying on dead tree products (print) have been taking a lot of body blows over the last decade.  The continual decline of ad revenues since the second quarter of 2006 is so depressing for publishers that the Newspaper Association of America simply stopped reporting quarterly figures last month.

Some publishing companies are making up for the loss in revenue with increased subscription revenues. Others have morphed into multi-platform businesses. And still others, like our city’s UT-San Diego, are dabbling in faux news, a term acknowledging the role played by the homonymously-named TV network news operation plying the airwaves with Barely True News.

“Slow news day? Make something up!” appears to be the operating philosophy at their Mission Valley headquarters these days.   [Read more…]

Even Congressman Darrell Issa is Threatened by Falling GOP Poll Numbers

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By Doug Porter

Bad things come in threes, so the saying goes, and the Republican Party just got a triple whammy of disastrous poll results.  How bad is it?

It’s so bad even a “safe” Republican like Congressman Darrell Issa’s numbers have tanked. You know it’s bad when the local Democratic Party sends out fundraising emails talking about unseating Brian Bilbray in the last election and saying Issa’s next.

A Public Policy Polling (PPP) survey of 650 voters in the 49th Congressional district taken October 15 & 16 shows Rep. Issa with a 49-43 disapproval margin (9% undecided).  For the first time ever, voters preferred a generic Democratic opponent in a theoretical match up, if only by 1%, well within the margin of error. And his constituents opposed the GOP’s “shut ‘er down” strategy by 62-32%.   [Read more…]

Just Say No to Shills Telling Tall Tales to Sell the Phony Maritime “Jobs” Initiative

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By Doug Porter

San Diego shopping centers and grocery stores were blanketed this weekend with contract employees reportedly retained by Southwest Strategies.  They were being paid $1.75 for each signature gathered on a petition that aims to challenge the Barrio Logan community plan.

People signed the petitions in droves. Why wouldn’t anybody? After all these shills were peddling anything but the truth.  And the implications of this initiative effort for other neighborhoods in San Diego are huge.

Want a change in your neighborhood plan for something big and ugly favored by special interests?  If you’ve signed one of those petitions, that’s what you’re opening the door for.   [Read more…]

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