San Diego Free Press

Grassroots News & Progressive Views

You are here: Home / Archives for Columns / The Starting Line

The Starting Line – White on White: the California GOP Convention

by

As California goes, so will go the rest of the country. State Republicans, fearful of obvious signs the party is declining into irrelevancy, circled the wagons over the weekend in Sacramento for their 2013 convention.

The theme of “fighting back” was continuously raised throughout the weekend.

The confab was larger this year than in the recent past, with controversial (among Republicans) guest speaker Karl Rove serving as a drawing card at a Saturday luncheon. The consultant to former President George Bush told delegates to “Get off your ass” and “Get back in the game and fight.”

Although incoming chair Jim Brulte pulled off somewhat of a coup by getting the GOP strategist to skip his normal six figure speaking fee, the decision was not without controversy.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Sequestration, Implementation, Discrimination, Frustration… Compared to What?

by

Happy sequestration day. 

The sky most likely won’t fall at 11:59pm tonight when President Obama signs the order implementing terms of a deal struck with Congress designed to be so odious that no person in their right mind would allow it to happen.

That should tell us a lot about the current mental state of the nation’s politicians. But it doesn’t.  The horrible deal, as it turns out, isn’t all that horrible, at least in the short run.

Guess who won’t be feeling the effects of sequestration?  From Bloomberg News:

The cuts, known as sequestration, will have no impact on the president, U.S. lawmakers and other top government officials. It is especially ironic that Congress, which has the power to avert the reductions, has nothing to lose in the negotiations, said Dan Gordon, former head of federal procurement in the Obama administration.

INSIDE: LES MCCANN, PROP H8, DISTRICT FOUR WALK-OFF, NORTH PARK GETS A PARKLET   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Brilliant! New San Diego Schools Superintendent Selected from Community

by

The grapevine was humming yesterday as word seeped out that San Diego Unified would make an early evening ‘major announcement’ following news of current Superintendent Bill Kowba’s resignation on Tuesday. Many folks, including KPBS news, thought the Board of Trustees would simply be announcing their selection process. Or naming the high priced consulting firm to sort through resumes and vet the next candidate for the job.

The announcement that Principal Cindy Marten had already been unanimously nominated by the school board as the next leader for SD Unified was indeed a shocker. A figurative “gasp” went up from many members the news media, who’ve spent the last few years crafting a narrative about the dysfunctionality of the elected Board of Trustees.

This is simply a brilliant decision. I speak from personal knowledge, having worked with Ms. Marten on education issues through my association with the parent-centric Educate for the Future. Her personal mantra (and the slogan for her school): “Work Hard. Be Kind. Dream Big. No Excuses.”

INSIDE: Filner’s Wish List, Man Bites Dog, the Sequester Conspiracy Parts 1 & 2   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Civil Rights Under Fire; Bigotry Being Tested at the Bench

by

The Supreme Court is at the core of the news about struggles for human dignity and rights this week. The bad news is they’re hearing a case today challenging the part of the Voting Rights Act that forces places with a history of discrimination to get approval before they make any change in the way elections are held.

The last time such a case was argued before the court (2009) Chief Justice John Roberts opined that the law’s past success “is not adequate justification to retain the pre-clearance requirements.” The court sidestepped the question of the law’s constitutionality with that decision, but many observers believe that won’t be the case this time around.

The good news on the judicial front is the increasing support for gay rights as the court nears the dates to hear arguments about marriage equality and the Defense of Marriage Act.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Republican Support for Gay Marriage Emerging as Supreme Court Hearing Nears

by

There are cracks emerging in the GOP social issues bulwark over the issue of gay marriage. The New York Times is up with a story this morning about 75 prominent Republicans who have signed on to a legal brief arguing that gay people have a constitutional right to marry.

The Times calls this move “a position that amounts to a direct challenge to Speaker John A. Boehner and reflects the civil war in the party since the November election.”

The Supreme Court, which unexpectedly agreed to hear an appeal over California’s Proposition 8 and another case that challenges the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act, is currently receiving briefs and rebuttals. Oral arguments are scheduled for March 26th, and a decision is expected in late June.

INSIDE: Tourism Tax Generates More Lawsuits, How Much Damage Will Brown Do to CEQA?, About Those High Paying Tourism Jobs…   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Downtown Tourism Showdown: Today’s Council Hearing is the Start of the Dump Filner Campaign

by

Nothing will be decided at today’s hearing before the San Diego City Council (2pm) about the Tourism Marketing District funding. And that’s somehow appropriate; given that the whole battle over Mayor Bob Filner’s refusal to sign off on authorization of a 39 year deal is really nothing more than a proxy battle for a much bigger conflict.

At the bottom of all this is the inability of the city’s ‘downtown crowd’ to live with last fall’s election of Filner, who’s proven true to his word thus far about not continuing to do business as usual in San Diego.

INSIDE: Today’s Battle at City Hall, Majority of Hoteliers Voted Against 2% Fee, Right Wing Heads Explode as Michelle Obama Appears on Oscars   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Who is a Reporter? Press Association Forum Triggers a Conversation That Needs to Happen

by

The topic for the evening was ‘Grade the Media’.  Local newsmakers were invited by the San Diego chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists to offer critiques of media coverage at a forum held at Point Loma Nazarene University last Tuesday evening.

Sitting on panel were Darren Pudgil, former Mayor Sanders’ director of communication from 2008 to 2012, Jan Caldwell, public information officer for the SD County Sheriff’s Department, and Michael Shames, the controversial former leader of the Utility Consumers’ Action Network (UCAN).

I wasn’t there. I ‘watched’ the evening unfold via my Twitter account. I’ve read a couple of accounts written by people who were there. And watched a couple of clips posted on YouTube. So much of what I’m writing about here has been gleaned through other people’s eyes (or fingers, as the case may be).   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Looking Past the Sequester Blame Game

by

The world as we know it will end in just nine days.

That’s about the only thing Democrats and Republicans agree about on the subject of the sequester, a kick-the-can-down-the-road budget deal that’s come due.

The GOP has decided to dig in their heels and allow billions in automatic cuts to domestic and Pentagon spending kick in March 1st. Their issue seems to be preventing the closing of tax loopholes mostly used by the very wealthy.

Democrats, led by President Obama, are taking to airwaves to warn of doom and gloom. Locally Congressman Scott Peters has led the charge, predicting dire economic impacts on jobs and basic government services.

 Today I’ll attempt to explore some of the notions surrounding this would-be fiscal Armageddon. I can’t claim to be non-partisan, nor do I want to be. But I know what bullshit smells like no matter what kind of bovine creature is dispensing it.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Big Hotels to Mayor Filner: ‘We Want Our Money, We Stole it Fair and Square.’

by

So the Big Local News story today over at the UT-San Diego is that city’s hoteliers have decided to sue Mayor Bob Filner.

It seems as though our Mayor has decided not play nice with the hotels, refusing to sign off on a deal that would hand them more than $1 billion in tax revenues to do with as they see fit over the next four decades.

These ‘hospitality’ businesses decided to collect these taxes and allocate the money without involving local citizens. The logic behind this maneuver is that hotel taxes are paid by tourists, not locals, so voter approval is not required.

All this was done by our former mayor and a council scared to death of being labeled as ‘anti-business’. Our elected representatives don’t even get a say as to who sits on the board that doles out this money.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Keystone XL Pipeline the Focus of Nationwide Protests: Mayor Filner Addresses San Diego Gathering

by

San Diegans joined with protesters in twenty other cities in North American yesterday to express opposition to the Keystone XL Pipeline project, calling upon President Obama to block it and for leaders at all levels to take action in the fight against global warming.

Five hundred people rallied locally in Mission Bay Park, hearing speeches from Dr. Jeffrey Severinghaus, director for the Scripps Institution of Oceanography Climate-Ocean-Atmosphere Program and Mayor Bob Filner.

The Mission Bay rally was part of a nationwide protest, sponsored locally by sandiego350.org, Citizens Climate Lobby, the Sierra Club, the Environmental Health Coalition and Greenpeace.

In Washington DC, an estimated 40,000 people braved below-freezing temperatures to rally at the foot of the Washington monument to protest against the Keystone pipeline.

INSIDE: The Pope’s Retirement, Manchester’s New Hotel, Gormlie’s Old History, and Why We Call Them Teahadists   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Here Comes Strike Three: Tourism Tax Showdown Symbolic of Change in San Diego

by

City Councilman Kevin Falconer called for public hearings yesterday to placate the City’s hotel industry, which is growing increasingly panicky over Mayor Bob Filner’s refusal to release funding generated by a hotel room surcharge of 2 percent to finance the city’s Tourism Authority.

“Jobs”, “Police”, “Potholes” whined Falconer, desperate for a buzzword that would play well in the evening’s TV newscasts.

From this morning’s UT-San Diego:

“Every day that goes by San Diego is losing potential tourism tax revenue that we can use to fill potholes and hire more police officers,” Faulconer said in an interview. “Shutting off those funds will hurt one of our most important industries and cost us jobs. I want to ensure that all of the council and the public know the cost of the mayor’s inaction. There’s no excuse for this inaction.”

No excuse, Kevin? Really?

How about the probability that the two per cent tax funding this program will be declared illegal?

INSIDE: San Onofre Saga Continues, Senator McGrumpy on Hagel and a Headline You Won’t Believe…   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Obamacare in California = $100 a Month Family Premiums

by

On Wednesday Covered California, our state’s healthcare exchange program created as a result of the passage of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), announced standardized benefits and costs for health insurance plans it will begin selling next year.

This is huge. One of the most difficult parts of buying any health insurance plan is trying to winnow out exactly what you get for what you pay. It’s a shell game run by insurance companies, with rules that change annually.

INSIDE: One Billion Rising on Valentines Day, All Those in Favor of Violence Against Women Please Stand, A Really Tasteless Tea Party Video, ‘Biggest Climate Rally’ Ever Slated for Sunday   [Read more…]

©2010-2017 SanDiegoFreePress.org

Code is Poetry