San Diego Free Press

Grassroots News & Progressive Views

Who Doesn’t Want to be Mayor of San Diego?

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By Doug Porter

And you thought getting rid of the last Mayor was a circus? Wait until you see the field of dreamers looking to replace him on November 19th.

The list of candidates filing with the city clerk’s office about their intention to vie for the top job in San Diego grew to thirteen yesterday and includes only one well known politico, Nathan Fletcher.

Telephone polls are being conducted, one of them asking questions about a potential candidate who doesn’t even live in the city of San Diego.  Readers over at SDRostra, the local conserve blog, report being polled about Matt Romney, son of former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney. The younger Romney doesn’t even live within the city limits; he resides in the 4S Ranch development north of Rancho Penasquitos.

Among the more interesting questions being asked by poll takers are questions linking the timing of the election to passage of a city-wide living wage ordinance. That same poll, believed to have been paid for by a labor union, also asked about City Councilman David Alvarez—somebody who’s not been the subject of much speculation when it comes to mayoral candidacies.   [Read more…]

Our Continuing Excursion in City Heights, Part Two: Komad Market

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Komad Market
4348  54th Street
San Diego, CA 92115
619-229-9607

By Judi Curry

My former student  Corinne and I had just finished exploring the Safari Market (Part One of this series)  and, as we were walking out the door, we spotted another market across the parking lot called Komad Market.  For some reason it drew both of our attention so decided to take a stroll and see what it had to offer.

(When I went to Google to check the address for this article I could not find it listed; what I did find, at the same address was “Komad Fashion Spirit.”  Somewhere in the time they opened to now the name has changed and I suspect so has the concept.)

I think what caught our eye as we headed toward the car, was the array of long skirts that beckoned to the potential buyers of this area.  It was a very hot day, the muggiest so far this year, and everything looked so fresh and cool.  Upon entering the small store, albeit messy like the Safari Market but smaller and some semblance of order, we were greeted by two of the loveliest young women we had met in a long time.

  [Read more…]

Sex in San Diego: Marriage Is For Liars

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By Dr. Kelly Flanagan

We stand together on the marriage altar, and we begin the most important relationship of our lives with a terrible lie. We say, “For better or worse.” But we don’t really mean it.

If we were to be honest with ourselves, if we were to begin the marriage authentically, most of us would say, “I have a bunch of needs which have never been satisfied in my relationships. Today, in front of our friends and family, I’m publicly gambling that you will be the person to finally meet those needs. If you do, I will be happy, and I will try to make you happy. If you don’t, well, God help us…”

Not so long ago, as my wife was ambushing me with her brilliance and her beauty and our kids were still beyond imagining, I was a young, eager, graduate student and researcher at Penn State University. And I was determined to unearth the secrets to marital bliss. More than one hundred couples participated in my dissertation research, and I watched hundreds of hours of videotaped arguments between spouses who had been married for less than a year.

And I was shocked by what I observed.   [Read more…]

Fast Food Workers Organizing in San Diego; First Action Set for Thursday

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By Doug Porter

Standing up for better wages in the fast food restaurant industry; it’s been like the little engine that could.  Last November it was just a couple hundred fast food restaurant employees in New York City.  By July the movement grew to include thousands of workers across seven other cities, including Chicago, Detroit, and Seattle.

On Thursday, August 29th, one day after nationwide commemorations of the 50th anniversary of the march for “Jobs and Freedom”, fast food and retail workers in 35 58 cities nationwide will stage one day strikes, job actions and demonstrations.

Here in San Diego the Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, led by Rabbi Coskey will be answering the nationwide call for higher wages and better working conditions.  They’re urging people join them at 1st and Broadway on Thursday at 10am to stand in solidarity with fast food workers around the country. (More info here)   [Read more…]

City Heights’ & Little Saigon’s A-Chau

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By Beryl Forman

Since the end of the Vietnam War, many Vietnamese families began settling in San Diego. In City Heights, families were welcomed with settlement programs, which is why there is a large cluster of family-owned Vietnamese businesses along El Cajon Boulevard.

A Chau, which means Of the Orient, has had their stake in this community since 1986. A Chau was first at 54th and University, but when it was time to expand, they moved to El Cajon Boulevard at Menlo Avenue. This is in the center of what today is being branded as the Little Saigon district.

When the Nguyen family first arrived in San Diego, Hoa, the mother of the family, had a dream of owning her own business. She refined her skills in Vietnamese cooking, particularly on a selection of meats such as ham, head cheese and pâté, traditionally suited for the Vietnamese sandwich known as banh mi.   [Read more…]

An Excursion into City Heights, Part One: Safari Market Bazaar

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Safari Market Bazaar
4348  54th Street
San Diego, CA 92115

In continuing with San Diego Free Press “neighborhood watch”, it was time to venture into areas that I had never been before.  I recently met a man that I thought might be the companion I was looking for and asked him if he would like to go with me to review the Safari Market.  He said to me, and I believe this is a direct quote, “You couldn’t get me to go into that crime zone.”

Needless to say I am not seeing him anymore and was even more curious about what he considered a “crime zone.”

I asked a former Swiss student, a world traveler, if she would like to join me on this voyage, and she was all for it.  Since the market doesn’t open until 2:00pm – closes at 8:00 pm – it was perfect timing for her. She could surf in the morning; continue writing her dissertation before we left, and take a well deserved break to join me before continuing on her dissertation.
  [Read more…]

Sempra Wants to “Fix” Your Energy Bill

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By Jay Powell

Hold on to your wallets, you are about to get walloped. International energy giant Sempra Energy, owners of SDG&E, have set up a front group called “Fix My Energy Bill” to promote a whopping $120 per year fixed charge on every residential electric customer bill in the State of California. It is pending in the State Senate in the waning days of this legislative session.

What started out as a bill sponsored by Assemblyman Perea from Fresno to ostensibly help poor elderly folks sweltering in the Central Valley heat be able to afford air conditioning, AB 327 has morphed into a full blown attack on working families ability to control their energy bills and to make homeowner investments in energy efficiency devices and improvements including roof top solar much more difficult.

NEWS FLASH: Run with the Sun will be joining California Solar Energy Industry Association representatives and Supervisor Diane Jacob at a news conference Wednesday, August 28 at 11 am at the steps of SEMPRA, 101 Ash Street to address the problems with this attempt to “fix “your energy bill in Sacramento.   [Read more…]

Obamacare Employer Mandate: Boon or Boondoggle?

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By Andy Cohen

The American healthcare system since World War II is based on employer supplied health insurance. It happened almost by accident, as tight wage controls prevented employers from offering prospective workers higher wages, so they got creative and offered benefits such as health insurance instead. It has since become the bedrock of our system, and remains that way today. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 55.1 percent of Americans received health coverage through an employer; among those aged 18-64 who were employed, 68 percent received health insurance from an employer.

Employer provided insurance is the cornerstone of our healthcare system, but now many employers are not happy about it. The cost is too prohibitive, they say. Having to provide health insurance to their employees hurts their ability to be competitive in the global marketplace. Manufacturing jobs have been off shored, in part, because of the rising cost of health care.   [Read more…]

The DeMaio Dilemma: Congress or City Council?

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By Doug Porter

Will he or won’t he? Run for mayor, that is.

It’s my contention (I’ve been wrong at least once before) that former City Councilman Carl DeMaio will not be entering the upcoming mayoral contest.

First, there’s my transactional analysis of what he’s doing on Twitter.

Yesterday his followers were invited to two fundraising events, “Young Professionals for Carl DeMaio” (tonight at the Hard Rock) and (for those who are young at heart and brain addled) a birthday celebration for the former city councilman on September 12th that specifically mentioned his candidacy for Congress.   [Read more…]

Feeling Zihua

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by Ernie McCray

I love getting out into the world and I’m particularly fond of spending time in Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico with Maria, mi querida.

That little seaport town and its surroundings compose a world of beaches and bays and mountains and lush jungles and mahogany colored peoples – and kick-ass mosquitos who seem to savor the taste of tall old black men.

This part of the world, as I learn more about it, gives rise to my spiritual nature, granting me a sense of what it must have been like for the Tarascan, Aztec, Toltec, Olmec and Maya peoples who walked this world many yesterdays ago.   [Read more…]

If You Liked Trickle Down Economics, You’ll Love ‘The Plan’ for San Diego’s Next Mayor.

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By Doug Porter

In case you missed the news, Bob Filner’s days as Mayor will be coming to a close this week.  The City Council went into closed session, voted to accept a deal worked out in mediation, played cards for 75 minutes, and came back to announce the results.

The soon-to-be ex-Mayor came to the front of the room and gave a rambling speech on Friday.

The announced date for the resignation to take effect is Friday, August 30th. By postponing the inevitable a week into the future, the schedule for future special election(s) was moved up in a manner more favorable to a higher voter turnout.  This could turn out to be one small last gift to the people of San Diego from hizzoner.

Today’s UT-San Diego hails City Attorney Jan Goldsmith as one of the four citizens who ‘saved’ the city.  While making his victory laps around town this morning, Goldsmith appeared on NBC7/39, telling us about how it’d been 8 months of tough work…

Wait? Does that mean his “investigation” started before the scandal?  I’m sure it was just a mental slip up. Right?   [Read more…]

The Collected Works of Our Savior Nathan Fletcher, the Magic Democrat

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By Jim Miller

In the aftermath of the Filner resignation, a group of Democratic Party insiders and money people are continuing to run around with their hair on fire trying to anoint Nathan Fletcher as our savior and discourage other truly progressive candidates from entering the field.

Of course this includes folks like Christine Forrester, who runs a marketing consulting firm that connects businesses with hedge fund money, and former Labor Council leader Lorena Gonzalez, who has long been championing her personal friend, the former Assemblyman with an 18% labor voting record over the vociferous objections of many in labor.

Indeed, anyone who has been closely following the inside moves behind the curtain of the Filner scandal knows that the backroom meetings and fundraising efforts designed to put the fix in for Fletcher began simultaneously with the press conferences that kicked off our month-long three ring circus.

Let me be clear, Filner certainly opened the door for them with his bad behavior but they didn’t waste a second rushing in to ensure his quick political demise and Fletcher’s ascendancy. It’s not a conspiracy; it’s just inside game politics and Machiavellian opportunism at its worst by Democratic power brokers and moneyed interests who want to fix the game before any of us get to play.   [Read more…]

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