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Surviving Sudden Poverty

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By Jeeni Criscenzo

While trainloads of Americans, who never expected to make the journey from the complacency of middle class to the downward spiral of poverty are trying to figure out how this could have happened to them, those fortunate enough to still be holding on to the American Dream seem oblivious to their own vulnerability. Smug in their financial security, they watch the repo man haul off their neighbor’s car as everything they own is unceremoniously carted to the curb under the oversight of the sheriff.

And they think the fate of their neighbor was their own doing, the result of poor choices. It will never happen to them, they believe, because they have worked hard and managed their finances and played by the rules. No doubt their unfortunate neighbors believed that myth once too—not long ago.
  [Read more…]

Colorado’s Legalization of Marijuana Is a Huge Success

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Pot taxes to fund school construction and substance-abuse programs

By Walter Einenkel / Daily Kos

Colorado voters agreed on how to spend $66 million of the revenue generated by the legal sale of marijuana.

The measure sends the first $40 million to school construction and $12 million designated for youth and substance-abuse programs. The remaining $14.1 million goes to discretionary accounts controlled by lawmakers.The ballot question was the third time in four years that voters considered how to spend pot taxes, after approving Amendment 64 in 2012 to legalize marijuana and Proposition AA in 2013 to levy sales and excises taxes. In both prior ballot questions, voters sanctioned sending $40 million toward school construction.

The vote was important because otherwise, those revenues would have been redistributed to citizens at about $12 to $16 per person—not as meaningful as spending it on education and drug prevention.   [Read more…]

The End of the Keystone XL Pipeline (We Hope)

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A major defeat for proponents of dirty energy is in the works, as news reports indicate the Obama administration is set to block the permits needed for the Keystone XL pipeline. Construction of the project has been a political hot potato, with supporters using big-money lobbying and opponents focused on a grass-roots activist campaign.

In 2008 the Canadian company TransCanada applied for approval of a transnational pipeline designed to carry 830,000 barrels of petroleum per day from the tar sands of Alberta province to oil refineries and ports on the Gulf Coast.

Proponents point to estimates of a $3.4 billion dollar contribution to the economy and say it will create jobs. Environmental groups have opposed the project because it would provide a conduit for marketing petroleum extracted from tar sands using methods requiring far more energy and water than conventional drilling.   [Read more…]

The Fall of the Haggen Grocery Chain: A 21st Century Morality Story

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The collapse of the Haggen grocery store chain just over month ago was a sad moment for neighborhoods and thousands of employees throughout California. More than two dozen stores in the San Diego region will soon be (or already are) closing, leaving some vacant properties behind and about a thousand employees wondering about paychecks as the holidays approach.

Now, thanks to reporting by the Seattle Times, we know the inside scoop on how this deal came down, and it ain’t pretty. Private equity investors flipped the real estate for cash, handed operations to an overwhelmed management team and will see their risks marginalized by the bankruptcy courts.

It’s all legal; another example of greed run amok. They win, we lose. And we’re supposed to accept this as the “natural order” of things in a market economy.   [Read more…]

L.A. Developer Awakens North County’s Sleeping Village by the Sea

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Lessons Learned by Rick Caruso, Elected Officials and Carlsbad Voters

By Richard Riehl / The Riehl World

Signatures have been validated on a referendum overturning Carlsbad’s city council approval of a shopping center on the shore of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon. It’s time to reflect on lessons learned from the developer’s failed attempt to bypass city voters, the normal review and approval process, and the California Environmental Quality Act.

When L.A. developer Rick Caruso approached city officials three years ago, they urged him to build community support for his plan. They must have assured him 48 acres of land adjacent to the pristine lagoon would be the perfect place for a shopping center.   [Read more…]

‘Pay Their Own Way’ Initiative Exposes Downtown Rifts

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By Doug Porter

You don’t have to know anything about Attorney Cory Briggs’ “Pay Their Own Way” proposal allowing voters a say in tourism taxes to understand how it much it upsets the established order downtown.

Simply put, it exposes the ugly reality underlying San Diego politics by going after both the money and political mechanisms used by the tourism industry and its affiliated real estate interests to direct government institutions to do their bidding.

The ultimate reaction came from San Diego Chargers counsel Mark Fabiani, who is still reviewing the 28 page initiative: “As a general matter, anything that reduces the iron grip of the hotel lobby on our Mayor and some of our City Council is good for San Diego’s future, and Mr. Briggs’ initiative would go a long way toward accomplishing that goal.”

Bingo.   [Read more…]

Protests Planned as Police Explain Gaslamp Death

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By Doug Porter

As of this morning, police in the United States have killed 927 people this year. Number 925 on the Guardian’s list was Lamontez Jones, age 39, who died at Sixth and F Streets in San Diego’s Gaslamp District. He was, according to activists with United Against Police Terror (UAPTSD), the ninth person killed by law enforcement in San Diego this year.

Media reports say Jones was shot by two motorcycle officers when he pulled a gun replica on them as they chased him through downtown San Diego Tuesday afternoon. The body cams worn by the policemen were not activated before or during the encounter. Department procedure is to turn them on prior to arriving on the scene.

Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman defended the officers failure to activate the cameras at a press conference, saying officer- and public- safety concerns are more important than use of the devices.   [Read more…]

Wonder Where San Diego’s Redevelopment Money Went?

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…Not to address homelessness

By Jeeni Criscenzo/ Part one of a series

Since the statewide dissolution of redevelopment agencies in 2011 Katheryn Rhodes, a local advocate for homeless people, has been speaking up at City Council meetings about the millions of dollars that could be used to address homelessness that the City is letting slip away. You’d think that someone suggesting that there is money available for a problem that is starved for adequate funding, would get an eager audience. Problem is, no one seemed to understand the reams of spreadsheets and data the soft-spoken Rhodes provided to support her claims.

At a recent event, I told City Councilmember Gloria that I believe Rhodes claims have merit, but I’m at a loss how to explain it. He sighed, admitting no one seems to be able to figure it out. That’s actually progress because for the past five years eye-rolling has been the usual response to Rhodes’ requests to consider her findings. Reasonably smart people, myself included, assumed that since they couldn’t make sense of the myriad of acronyms, encumbrances and legal requirements Rhodes offered to support her claims, that she is either a financial savant or a flake. No one likes to admit that something is too complex for them to comprehend.   [Read more…]

South Bay’s Future Greenbelt: An Interview with San Diego County Supervisor Greg Cox

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By Barbara Zaragoza / Part Three of Four

The big new items that Supervisor Cox shared with me during his interview were three visions for the South Bay’s future:

  • A “barrio to barrio” bike path, which will link the Virginia Avenue Pedestrian entrance at the border (due to open in 2016) to the Bayshore Bikeway;
  • The Bayshore Bikeway completion within the next 5 years. This will become the major artery through the South Bay, linking North and South, East and West, to the Pacific Ocean to Otay Ranch. It will also link into the California Coastal Trail that spans up to the Oregon border;
  • The Sweetwater Reservoir will eventually have a completed loop for hikers, bikers and, most importantly, equestrians.

  [Read more…]

Geothermal: The Other California Renewable

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By Peg Mitchell / SanDiego350

Burning less coal, oil and gas is not only something we must do, but something we can do. Nature gives us a variety of renewable energy sources, and the technology to tap into them is getting better all the time.

Climate change makes the news often for a variety of reasons, from the multiple impacts we have been witnessing locally — drought, record-breaking temperatures, mudslides, fires — to the President’s issuance of the “Clean Power Plan” to the Pope’s encyclical. But ultimately climate change discussions must focus on economically viable solutions.

We are fortunate to live in a state that has ample natural non-fossil-fuel resources to provide electricity for our citizens. Not only do we have an abundance of sun to power solar generation, but we have a reliable steady-state resource right in our backyard: the Salton Sea Known Geothermal Resource Area in the Imperial Valley.

The geothermal fields near the Salton Sea are the hottest, most prolific resource in the U.S.   [Read more…]

Social Security Stuck with the Bills as Companies Subvert Workman’s Comp

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By Doug Porter

A study released today by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) makes the case that so-called reforms to workman’s compensation programs at the state level are tied to a rise of the number of workers receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (DI).

Over the past quarter century, the number of beneficiaries in this program has gone from 25 per thousand to 59 per thousand, bringing the DI trust fund close to depletion in 2015.

Republicans are claiming the rise in claimants for disability benefits is being fueled by lower-wage workers seeking an easy way out of the labor force. It’s just the latest wrinkle in the old “poor are shiftless and lazy meme” at the heart of so-called reform schemes.   [Read more…]

South Bay Rising: An Interview with San Diego County Supervisor Greg Cox

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By Barbara Zaragoza / Part One of Four

Media outlets are still buzzing with the news about Gross Domestic Product growth in the South Bay jumping by 37.6 % between 2010 to 2013. (That’s compared to 12.9 % for the entire County.) Community members within the region, however, might start to feel uneasy. Nobody wants to see unchecked growth, skyrocketing housing prices, increased traffic congestion and no place to breathe in fresh air.

This week I focus on parks and recreation within the South Bay. It’s not as sexy as, let’s say, craft beer or the Charger’s stadium. But parks and recreation touch upon issues of climate change, pollution, habitat preservation and neighborhood livability–to name only a few.

Turns out, the South Bay–within the next decade or so–will have some of the largest acreage dedicated to parks throughout San Diego. A primary reason is thanks to the efforts of the County government, which continues to buy land and dedicate space to habitat preservation as well as public recreation.   [Read more…]

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