San Diego Free Press

Grassroots News & Progressive Views

The Starting Line – The Standoff at the Tourism Corral Continues

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There was plenty of drama yesterday in downtown San Diego, as Mayor Bob Filner was ordered by the City Council to sign an operating agreement that they originally approved in November for the city’s Tourism Marketing District (TMD).

Word was out on the grapevine prior to the meeting that the Mayor and TMD officials were close to a compromise agreement in closed door negotiations. Later in the day Filner told the media he and district officials had resolved 90 percent of the issues and was confident he could complete a deal if given more time.

His request to the Council for two more days to complete those negotiations fell upon deaf ears. It was obvious that the TMD folks were playing hardball. And you have to wonder if they’re willingness to negotiate with the mayor was mere posturing.

They packed the council chamber with hospitality employees brought in to put a face on earlier threats about jobs being on the line. More than 100 tourism workers booed Mayor Filner as he argued forcefully against the resolution.   [Read more…]

SDSU Grad’s Sundance Film “I Am Not A Hipster” Returns to North Park April 5-11

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By Victor Payan

It takes exactly 42 seconds to realize that Destin Daniel Cretton’s standout debut feature, I Am Not a Hipster, is a San Diego film.  That’s when the Casbah’s iconic black upholstered backdrop comes into view.  It’s also when you realize that the music is going to be good, and the film is not going to be about hipsters.

Set in and around the vibrant North Park indie music and art scene, I Am Not a Hipster is scheduled to return to its home community for a week of screenings April 5-11 at the Media Arts Center San Diego’s new Digital Gym Cinema, located at 2921 El Cajon Blvd.

This heartfelt feature, which premiered to capacity screenings at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, tells the story of singer-songwriter Brook Hyde, an Ohio transplant who has developed a loyal following in the San Diego music scene.   [Read more…]

The Southern California Major Dailies Failed Miserably in “Commemorating” the 10 Year Anniversary of the Iraq War

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The LA Times and the U-T San Diego Continue the Deception of Ten Years With Their Failure to Discuss the War

Southern California is home to two major daily newspapers – each from the major cities in this part of the country: the Los Angeles Times and the U-T San Diego.

In a review of their coverage of the ten year anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq, I found them to be woefully inadequate in any discussion about “lessons learned” on the war, the invasion, or the run-up to the conflict.  I especially searched to see whether they went further and exposed the falsehoods and lies that the Bush administration told the public to convince us to go to war.

Those of us who suffer the U-T would not be too surprised to learn that the Manchester daily would not get too involved with a critique of the Bush’s deceptions and misrepresentations.  However, one would have thought the LA Times – once the bastion of liberalness on the West Coast – would have at least attempted to put together some kind of journalistic endeavor in examining all the ways that the American people were misled a decade ago.   [Read more…]

Full Access to Cedar Creek Falls Will Open April 5 With Visitor Use Permit System

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from East County Magazine

Starting April 5th, hiking to Cedar Creek Falls will require a visitor permit. Access from the San Diego River Gorge Trailhead in Ramona is also set to reopen. The trailhead has been closed since the death of an El Cajon teen who fell over the top of the falls in July 2011. A second trailhead reopened last year.

With the opening, the U.S. Forest Service is implementing a Visitor Use Permit System that will limit the number of visitors to Cedar Creek Falls, while providing for protection of natural resources and enhancing public health and safety.

Under the visitor use permit system, a permit will only be required while recreating within the Cedar Creek Falls visitor use permit area, which is located in the immediate area around the falls. Visitors will need to make a reservation online and pay a $6.00 permit fee. Other trail users who are not recreating within the visitor use permit area surround the falls will not be required to obtain a visitor use permit. All users of the trailhead are allowed to use and park in the San Diego River Gorge Trailhead parking lot free-of-charge. It is important to note that the visitor use permit is a not a parking permit – limited parking space is available at the San Diego River Gorge Trailhead and is offered on a first-come, first served basis.   [Read more…]

America at a Crossroads: The Civil Rights Issue of Our Time

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Will the Supreme Court reinstate the “separate but equal” doctrine that was overturned in 1951?

The Supreme Court of the United States today takes up the first of two cases involving the rights of gays and lesbians to marry. Today, they heard oral arguments in Hollingsworth v Perry, the challenge to California’s Prop 8, banning same sex marriage. On Wednesday, the justices will hear arguments in United States v Windsor, the challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

It boils down to this: Should gays and lesbians have the same rights as straight people? Or should we as a society be allowed to discriminate against them because of who they are? In reality it is an issue that has implications that extend far beyond whether or not the marriages of gays and lesbians should be legally recognized. It is no different than the civil rights fight of the 60’s, where African Americans were routinely discriminated against for no other reason than the color of their skin.

This is a losing battle for social conservatives who continue to want to drag this country back to the 1950’s, and they know it. Our society has evolved on marriage equality, doing almost a complete 180 even since Prop 8 passed with just over 52% of the vote in 2008, despite polling showing at the time that 51% of Californians accepted same sex marriage. Prop 8 reinstated the ban on gay marriage in California that had been overruled by state courts.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line –A Day of Reckoning for Proposition H8

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There’s only one story that matters today for millions of Americans: Hollingsworth v. Perry.

The US Supreme Court will hear arguments today challenging the legality of California’s Proposition 8, a measure passed by voters in 2008 that banned same sex marriage.

Hundreds of San Diegans, including prominent politicians from both sides of the aisle, converged on the federal courthouse downtown last evening to rally in support of same sex couples having the fundamental right to marry.

But you wouldn’t know about that outpouring of support by reading the morning paper. UT-San Diego studiously ignored the rally. There was no mention of the dozens and dozen of similar events around the country.   [Read more…]

Spare Us from Our Good Boys

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By Norma Damashek

You’ve already read my take on bad boys.  Now it’s time to flip the coin and ponder San Diego’s good boys. 

Lately, good boys have been coming out of the woodwork.  You can spot them a mile away by their gee-whiz grins and GQ grooming.  Their toothy, soulful smiles can break your heart.  Of course they’re super-civil and never raise their voices in public.  You wouldn’t hesitate to bring these dewy-eyed boys home to meet your momma. 

Don’t do it!  What you see is NOT what you get from these two-dimensional paper dolls… Stepford wives in drag.  Who are these people, you ask?     [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Much Ado About Something? Opposition Research Dressed Up as Journalism Or Journalism to Control the Narrative?

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Carl DeMaio’s back in the news just months after losing San Diego’s Mayoral election. The UT-San Diego ran with a front page banner headline and the hot button sub heads using words like ‘secret project’, ‘financiers’, and ‘legality unclear’. The gist of the story is that DeMaio was the focus of a failed effort by his political enemies to dig up ‘dirt’ under the guise of a journalistic enterprise.

The cast of characters aligned against the then-mayoral candidate includes a downtown developer with a personal dislike for DeMaio, an aide to former Mayor Jerry Sanders, and several individuals ‘aligned with’ the candidacy of Republican-turned-Independent Nathan Fletcher. Additional funding came from a Native American casino and the Firefighters union.

This project was active in the early months of 2012, as a crowded primary campaign was underway for the top spot in San Diego. The contest got very ugly, replete with nasty TV advertising campaigns, charges and counter-charges. Carl DeMaio and Bob Filner emerged as victors. By then the project was dead.   [Read more…]

Emerald: It’s Time to Take the Mayor Seriously

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City Council likely to amend resolution to nullify judge’s ruling

Last Friday Judge Timothy Taylor affirmed his tentative ruling in favor of Mayor Bob Filner in the Tourism Marketing District’s suit against him personally, determining that the Mayor was not in fact obligated to sign a contract negotiated by the City Council and previous mayor. The language in the resolution authorizing the city to enter into an operating agreement with the Tourism and Marketing Authority, Taylor found, allowed the Mayor to sign an agreement, but did not mandate that he sign this agreement.

There is one caveat, however: The judge will entertain another hearing should the City Council see fit to revise its resolution and close the loophole and instead require Filner to sign the contract in front of him. The City Council was due to take up the matter in closed session last week, but tabled it until after Friday’s court hearing. They are now slated to discuss it Tuesday.   [Read more…]

Hotel Pharaohs, please break matzah with us

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By Rabbi Laurie Coskey

My grandmother had two seasons, each lasting half a year: Before Passover and After Passover.

For Jewish families, the festival of Passover is the biggest holiday of our year. The dinner is planned for months, with exotic dishes from the Old Country (wherever that may be) made only for the holy day.  And always, the story of the Exodus is recited around the holiday table.

The story of Passover recounts the hard labor endured by the biblical slaves during the time of the tyrant King Pharaoh – who oppressed them through inhumane working conditions and retaliation for their smallest complaint – and ends with their subsequent liberation.  It’s a good story.

Today, the story applies here in San Diego to employees of the Pharaoh-like hotel management company, HEI…    [Read more…]

Help Bob Filner Stand Up to Business as Usual: Vote for Myrtle Cole in District 4

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Tomorrow is Election Day in District 4, and it matters.  While this City Council race has garnered very little attention in San Diego as a whole and will certainly be a low turnout affair, the stakes are actually quite high.  Indeed, the direction of the city is on the line.

As Doug Porter noted last week, outside money has been pouring into District 4 attacking Myrtle Cole. Why?  Because Cole is the only candidate who will stand firmly behind Bob Filner’s agenda and buck the powerful moneyed interests that are bent on subverting the mayor.

Who’s behind the attacks?  San Diego County Voters for Progress and Reform, a shadowy group that has been funded by the usual suspects: developers, downtown business groups, and the Lincoln Club.  Those same folks are backing Cole’s opponent, Barry Pollard, and even fellow progressive Dwayne Crenshaw has taken money from Robert Gleason of Atlas Hotels (and a key figure in the TMD struggle against Filner) as well as Rural/Metro Corporation whose contract with San Diego for paramedic services will soon come up for renewal.  In addition to this, sources close to the campaign tell me that Cole is the only candidate that has not met with the Lincoln Club, which should tell you all you need to know.   [Read more…]

The Dove and the Cockerel: Meet the Author

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Steve Burns will be traveling in April and, if you are in Europe, here is your chance to meet the author!

On Saturday, April 6, Burns will be at Shakespeare & Co in Paris, and on Saturday, April 13, he will be Bewley’s Grafton Street Café in Dublin. He will be both locations at noon.

You may attempt to identify him from the photo or look for the grey fedora. This is not an official book signing, but the first one to contact him will receive a signed copy of the first draft of The Dove and the Cockerel.   [Read more…]

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