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Teresa Gunn and the Bridge from the Mean Streets to a Street of Dreams

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Street of Dreams Spoken Word Concert
7:00 pm Friday July 13
Seville Theater San Diego City College
1450 C Street San Diego CA 92101
Donation at door

Those who do not have power over the story that dominates their lives—the power to retell it, rethink it, deconstruct it, joke about it, and change it at times—truly are powerless, because they cannot think new thoughts. Salman Rushdie, novelist

City Heights resident Teresa Gunn is a songwriter, a singer and an activist. She knows about the power of stories to connect us to each other and to lost and hidden parts of ourselves. Above all, she knows that our stories can heal us.   [Read more…]

City Council Approves Jacobs Plan

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Seven-and-a-half hour City Council marathon ends in 6-1 vote in favor of Balboa Park overhaul.

Update: Statement from Scott Peters

The most controversial decision in the San Diego City Council since the Chargers ticket guarantee finally came to a head last night at around 9:30 pm, and when the council had completed its vote, the Irwin Jacobs plan to transform Balboa Park had its official go ahead. The $45 million plan to eliminate vehicle traffic from the Plaza de Panama, build the “Centennial Bridge” that will circumvent the centerpiece of the park itself, and lead into a brand spanking new $16 million parking structure that will introduce paid parking into Balboa Park for the first time in the park’s history got the City Council’s official go ahead.

Despite overwhelming public opposition to the perceived privatization of San Diego’s crown jewel, the City Council voted 6-1 to approve the plan pushed by the billionaire founder of Qualcomm, the eighth largest employer in San Diego, with even the council’s most liberal members giving the plan the green light.   [Read more…]

The writers group

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By Kit-Bacon Gressitt /  Excuse Me, I’m Writing

We sat in my living room on a Saturday morning, our laptops and manuscripts strewn across the well-worn upholstery with its patina of cat hair — three writers, women, mothers, wives. I’m not sure what the order should be there. It probably depends on our moods, being girls and all. (I hate that stuff. I should probably stop bringing it up. It just encourages the misogynists.)

Physically, we were in similar stages of age-induced decay. We struggled against aching joints, weight gain in awkward places, frequent urination, and the pain and itching of invasive idiocy — the nation’s intoxicant of choice. We took advantage of the small but friendly audience we provided one another to rail in harmony at recent examples.

First was the sympathetic mourner who had asked if the lost loved one had been “saved.” Would the answer determine the depth of the mourner’s sympathy, we wondered, the volume of her prayers, the amount of tuna casserole she’d drop off? “What is wrong with people?” we asked, and it was not rhetorical, but we did not have an answer.
  [Read more…]

I Hate the 4th of July

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What is it about shooting off firecrackers that reduces big men to small boys? What is the thrill of the loud bang? What is the thrill of the possibility of doing real damage to property and living things? Why is it necessary to bring these illegal noise makers into neighborhoods that already famous for their firework shows year after year after year?

I have an eleven year old Golden Retriever. He is well trained; well mannered and scared to death of loud noises. When a fire cracker is shot off he tries to hide. Everywhere. He tries to get under the covers; he tries to get under the carpet; he tries to get under clothes in the closet. He will try to get into the shower; He runs through the house like the firecracker is tied onto his tail. Buddy is not a small dog. He weighs close to 115 pounds. Yet he is tormented by unthinking people that are into instant gratification every year at this time. …   [Read more…]

Ted Nugent’s Latest Idiotic Comment: ‘Perhaps We’d Be Better Off if the South Won the Civil War’

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AlterNet | By Angela Lee

Romney endorser/American rock singer Ted Nugent already has a long history of outlandish political statements, but now appears to have taken his BS to a whole new level.  In a Washington Times op-ed blasting Obamacare, Nugent suggested today that America would have been a better country had the South won the Civil War:

 Because our legislative, judicial and executive branches of government hold the 10th Amendment in contempt, I’m beginning to wonder if it would have been best had the South won the Civil War. Our Founding Fathers’ concept of limited government is dead.

  [Read more…]

Pinta Island (Galapagos) Tortoise Now Extinct with Death of ‘Lonesome George’

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National Geographic News / Christine Dell’Amore

If there’s a giant tortoise heaven, Lonesome George is lonesome no more.

The century-old giant tortoise was found dead in his corral Sunday at the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz Island (map), part of Galápagos National Park.

Perhaps best known for his apparent aversion to female tortoises—hence his nickname—George was the last known individual of his subspecies, Geochelone abingdoni, also called the Pinta Island tortoise or Abingdon Island tortoise.   [Read more…]

Six Bogus Economic Arguments Used to Trash Local Food

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By Jill Richardson

Economists all know this joke, which “comes from the stereotype that many economic models require unrealistic or absurd assumptions in order to obtain results.” And yet, how many heed its warning?A physicist, a chemist and an economist are stranded on an island, with nothing to eat. A can of soup washes ashore. The physicist says, “Let’s smash the can open with a rock.” The chemist says, “Let’s build a fire and heat the can first.” The economist says, “Let’s assume that we have a can-opener…”

A new book, The Locavore’s Dilemma: In Praise of the 10,000 Mile Diet by Pierre Desroches and Hiroku Shimizu, uses arguments from neoliberal economics to explain why those who advocate eating local food are wrong. Often, their arguments require assumptions as silly as the one in the joke. For example, in making the case that the world moved from a diet of local food to a global food system for a good reason (and therefore we should not return to eating local), they assume that modern locavores will face the same technological limitations as our ancestors, who were also locavores. But aside from the numerous strawman arguments found throughout the book, there are several points where economics are properly applied to food and agriculture and – the authors charge – prove that local food is a bad idea.

But perhaps the opposite is true instead; that the models used in neoliberal economics do not accurately apply here. Here are six economic principles that do not fit when it comes to food and agriculture:
  [Read more…]

A Weekend of Protests Over TPP Trade Negotiations Set

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The Coalition to STOP TPP continues its week of actions with 2 more conference sessions (Friday evening and Saturday late afternoon), a rally at noon on Friday and a major “Pot’s and Pans” March on Saturday.

Friday, July 6, 12:00 noon rally at Hilton Bayfront
Friday, July 6, 6:30 – 8:30 pm • Food Freedom or NAFTA on Steroids Peace Resource Center: 3850 Westgate Place, San Diego, CA

July 7, Saturday, 11 am – March with Pots and Pans Against TPP! March leaves Civic Center at 11 am
Saturday, July 7, 3:00 – 5:00 pm People’s Conference: A Better World Is Possible! Peace Resource Center: 3850 Westgate Place, San Diego, CA   [Read more…]

You may be dysfunctional, but you’re still my fellow American…

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Musings on the Fourth of July

By Bill Guy
Neighbors invite us newbies to the annual cul-de-sac Independence Day party. Pot luck in the park. Bring your lawn chairs, celebrate the holiday. Get to know your neighbors better. Quite a mix. Mostly retired folk or those countin’ it down. One younger couple with two grade school boys and a gorgeous little girl with mocha skin, topaz eyes and Shirley Temple curls. Two couples obviously long-time SoCal denizens. Others sporting tans, but still betraying back-east accents. Expatriate Brits, Asians, Okies via Massachusetts and Tennessee, and an Illini married to an Islander. Maybe a Hispanic hombre, but then again, he might be an Italian uomo.

Food was great. Traditional favorites like hot dogs, potato salad, deviled eggs. But also tasty dishes from newcomers’ kitchens cooking other cultures. Scotch Eggs, Asian noodles, salsa. Cheesecake with blueberries and strawberries, peach cobbler, chocolate covered strawberries soaked all night in vodka. Later, we could watch the city’s fireworks from our back yards.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – League of Women Voters Stymied by UT-SD’s “Two Bumper Stickers and a Tweet” Letter Policy

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July 6, 2012—The miniaturization of the UT-SD letters to the editor. Yesterday we heard from some friends associated with the League of Women Voters who were aghast because our local daily had rejected their letter to the editor due to its length. Meh, we said at first, you ought to be able to express yourself in 250 words or less (which used to be the standard at the paper) so there’s room for more letters. Then we learned that UT-SD’s rules have changed—letters to the editor are now limited to 125 words. Here’s the UT’s rejection letter:

We limit letters for print publication to 125 words. If you would like to shorten your letter and resubmit it to letters@utsandiego.com it will be considered for publication. We will retain your original for possible posting online.

 Thank you for taking the time to submit your comments

 Joe Taylor | Letters Editor 

 As one of our sources said, “that’s two bumper stickers and a tweet”. Of course, when our contacts started counting the number of words in yesterday’s letters, they came up with three missives that exceeded that limit, with 128, 142, and 157 words respectively. So, as a public service, we’re going to publish the original letter in its entirety here today. The public deserves to hear more than UT publisher Doug Manchester’s vision for our city.   [Read more…]

Field of View: A Marshmallow Fight on the Fourth of July

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Thousands congregated in Ocean Beach for a colorful fireworks show – even more so considering the malfunctioning mishap Downtown – and the decades-long traditional marshmallow fight. Young couples, teens, older folks and families all took part, armed either with their own bags of marshmallows (sold for $3.99 or less from various prepared vendors along Newport Avenue) or scooping up whatever fallen artillery they could find. The warfare didn’t wait until the fireworks finale, though things heated up dramatically afterward.

The event is a wonderful thing to have so close to home. One significant downside was the amount of trash – especially the plastic – that was left on the beach. If something could be done about that, this would the harmless, uniquely OBcean experience it was meant to be.   [Read more…]

Corrupted File Miscues San Diego Bay Fireworks

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By Nadin Abbott

July 5, 2012 (San Diego)– If like most of us in the coast you heard a loud rumbling that lasted for about thirty seconds, last night, you were not alone. Nor was it your imagination. The fire works had a glitch. The good news is, nobody got hurt.

According to August Santori, the person in charge of the show last night, they suspect they had a corrupted file in the firing cue sequence. Hence the four barges and the land site on Imperial Beach all fired their mortars in thirty seconds. He also explained that this was a weird event and that it was unexpected. They had another twenty nine shows around the nation, and they all went off perfectly. His company runs three hundred shows a year, and their goal is to achieve a 100% rate of success.   [Read more…]

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