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Earth to Humans: My Fever Continues to Rise

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Southern California may have lucked out in 2015 when it comes to the torrential rains associated with El Nino, but that’s about the only good news, according to the State of the Climate in 2015 report.

The 300-page report, utilizing 450 scientists from 62 countries around the world was published by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The bottom line: 2015’s global surface temperature towered over any year preceding it.

The planetary fever underway was linked a record-challenging El Niño event, with warmer-than-normal tropical Pacific Ocean waters heating up the atmosphere. Record-setting concentrations of heat-trapping gasses from human activity were also cited as a cause.   [Read more…]

Open Letter to San Diego Port Commission About ‘World Class Waterfront’ Development Proposals

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Provided by Bill Adams / San Diego UrbDeZine

Dear Chairman Merrifield and Commissioners:

On behalf of the San Diego Environment + Design Council, we are submitting the following comments.

The San Diego Environment + Design Council is a coalition of organizations whose primary interest is to promote environmentally-sustainable land use policies that create healthy, green neighborhoods and great public spaces in the San Diego-Tijuana region. We provide an open venue for diverse organizations and interests to come together and develop recommendations to improve how our communities live, work and play.

We have reviewed the six development proposals regarding the subject 17-acre site occupied by Seaport Village. In keeping with our mission, we offer the following comments.   [Read more…]

Tri-City’s Fired CEO Cleared Again of Wrongdoing

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When Tri-City Medical Center fired Larry Anderson three years ago, they wanted to save the $650,000 in severance pay his contract required if they fired him without cause.

They chose to rely on an anonymous telephone call, followed by a secret internal investigation conducted by hospital attorneys, to come up with a list of fourteen reasons to fire him for cause. He was accused of one or more of the following offenses: committing a felony, an illegal act involving moral turpitude, a willful and dishonest act, or a breach of duties and obligations.

Without telling him in advance what the charges were, the hospital offered Anderson thirty minutes to defend himself at a hastily arranged board meeting. When he refused to attend the board voted to fire him.   [Read more…]

General Dynamics, Once a San Diego Mainstay, Now Dearly Departed

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The following article appeared in the 1969 print edition of the San Diego Free Press. It has been transcribed from the microfilm at the San Diego Public Library.

As Frank Pace says in the Foreward to Dynamic America: A History of the General Dynamics Corporation by John Niven. “In 1960, ours is the most powerful of nations, intimately involved in all the earth’s daily business, the major bulwark against communism and so most threatened. From these times to the present, during our growth, from an insular agrarian society to the world’s political and industrial leader, the position of the United States in world politics has determined, almost exclusively, the flow of product research and development from General Dynamics.”   [Read more…]

Grading on a Curve: Carlsbad’s Intersection Circumspection

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Carlsbad’s elected officials took the city’s vision of “a small town feel and beach community character” and twisted it into a developer-friendly General Plan. Fortunately, their questionable integrity and patronizing “we know best” attitude are not reflected in the leadership and staff of Carlsbad’s talented, courteous and responsive city employees.

The 2009 public opinion survey that led to the development of the city’s Community Vision produced statistically sound results. But Mayor Hall and his council colleagues used them to justify land use changes allowing shopping centers and multi-use commercial/residential housing near the beach and lagoon.   [Read more…]

Welcome to Half Dome, Sponsored by Nike

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Instead of funding our parks, the government will now auction off naming rights to the highest corporate bidders.

By Jill Richardson / OtherWords

Imagine painstakingly making up your way up the cables of Yosemite National Park’s famous Half Dome peak — only to see swooshes and slogans encouraging you to “Just Do It.”

“Welcome to Half Dome,” a gleaming banner greets you, “sponsored by Nike.”

Unfortunately, it’s a possibility. As the coverage swells over Barack and Michelle Obama’s recent visit to Yosemite and Carlsbad Caverns, Americans are learning that national parks will now start selling naming rights.   [Read more…]

For Private Prison Companies, Orange Is the New Green

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By Donald Cohen / Capital & Main

Private prison companies are extremely secretive, but in the last few weeks we’ve gotten two powerful glimpses of how these companies harm prisoners and the people that work for them.

Recently, Netflix released the latest season of its fictional drama series depicting female prisoners, Orange Is the New Black. The show’s prison, now managed by a private company, receives a flood of new prisoners and becomes dangerously understaffed.

Piper Kerman, the former prisoner whose experience the show is based on, wrote, “This is true to reality—to maximize profit for their investors and reduce operational costs, private prisons often cut corners on staffing and other essentials of safety.”   [Read more…]

Coastal Commission Halts Carlsbad Mayor’s Land Use Shell Game

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Find the Hidden Mega Mall

By Richard Riehl / The Riehl World

Regional shopping centers and mixed use residential developments were not allowed to sneak past the California Coastal Commission, thanks to the vigilance of Olga Diaz, the organization’s commissioner, and the leadership of Cori Schumacher, a candidate forCarlsbad City Council.

The attempted scheme was halted during the Coastal Commission’s May 11 meeting to approve a Local Coastal Plan (LCP) Amendment to the city’s General Plan Update.   [Read more…]

Defined-Contribution Plans are Inadequate Substitutes for Pensions

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By Ben Valdepena / Californians for Retirement Security

In testimony to the Democratic National Committee’s Platform Committee, Californians for Retirement Security called for national action to address the nation’s retirement security crisis.

Hello, my name is Ben Valdepena. I’ve been a custodian with the Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District. California since 1983. Today I represent the 1.6 million teachers, firefighters, nurses, classified schools employees and other public servants who are members of Californians for Retirement Security. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to submit testimony to the Platform Committee.

Over the last few decades, as pensions have all but disappeared for private sector workers, retirement security has been sliding further and further out of reach for many Americans. The shift toward 401(k)s has proved a failure for providing retirement security for all except the very wealthy. This trend has been particularly harmful to women, people of color, low-income workers, and young people who are already burdened with student loan debt.   [Read more…]

San Diego North County Coastal Cities Moving Forward On Clean Energy Initiatives

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By John Garcia / SD350.org

During the past year, the San Diego North County Coastal cities have taken steps forward in implementing their Climate Action Plans (CAP) and studying Community Choice Energy (CCE) initiatives, which will enhance their ability to significantly increase their use of Clean Energy in the future.

Three of the cities – Encinitas, Carlsbad, and Del Mar – have formally approved their Climate Action Plans. The Encinitas Climate Action Plan was approved in March 2011. It was not tied to a General Plan and therefore had purely voluntary measures. This month however, the Encinitas City Council voted to draft a new, enforceable Climate Action Plan as mitigation for the housing element of their General Plan and to allocate $100,000 towards its development.
  [Read more…]

The Gig Economy: OK If the Profits Went to the Giggers

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There’s nothing inherently wrong with the idea of working a job here and a job there according to the worker’s convenience and other activities. The problem is that the profits go to some centralized corporation rather than being spread out among all the giggers in proportion to their participation in the system.

If Uber or Lyft were a co-op, the profits would go to all the worker/owners instead of a handful of investors. Then the gig economy would offer not only a technique for working at one’s convenience and fitting into one’s schedule whether that schedule might be educational or child care or surfing or whatever.

In other words making up one’s own work schedule so it fits into your life is not a bad thing as long as the enterprise is co-operatively owned and provides not only convenience but worker protections.   [Read more…]

Pre All-Star Game Homeless Purge Continues Amid Heat Wave

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The mayor’s campaign to rid downtown of homeless humans in the days leading up to Baseball’s All-Star Game continues, even as record heat blanket’s the region.

Advocates for the homeless are operating a ‘cooling station’ at 14th & L, offering cold water, shade, and bandanas, serving more than 200 people on Sunday. They are asking for volunteers to help in offering support during the heat wave.

The San Diego Police Department and the California Highway Patrol have been deployed to sweep up encampments.   [Read more…]

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