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Earth Day with Trumpet Player: Mr. F Doesn’t Race Jaguars, and Bret Knows The End is Near

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By Bob Dorn

Separated from each other by temperament — and some 30 or 40 minutes — Mr. F and Bret find their ways to a place in the park I don’t normally choose for my practice sessions. The car was out of gas, and the benches out front of our condo were empty, so… The thing is, it’s Earth Day, and how long will I be left to myself?

Mr. F (not his name, by the way) is shy and awkward (despite the hearty urban male fist bump he’ll be offering once he’s comfortable) and it takes him three or four minutes to get within some 10 feet of me – clearly inside the inter-personal radius — and he can’t make eye contact as he circles.

He was wearing a showy stadium jacket, altogether appropriate for the chilly Earth Day morning, with Jaguar racing emblem and crew designation and other racing signs. I asked him if he raced Jaguars; he looked away and murmured something. The competition between his behavior and his strange camouflage is causing noticeable dissonance. He has approached and retreated.   [Read more…]

Nobody Who Works Full Time in San Diego Should Live in Poverty

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By Doug Porter

If you believe the San Diego’s Chamber of Commerce latest outlook, as reported on KPBS,  on the region’s economic health you’d better wear sunglasses because the future’s that bright. Business looks great, especially for the minimum and sub-minimum wage tourism, entertainment and hospitality sector.

On the other hand if you delve into the study entitled “Making Ends Meet 2014,” released this morning by the Center on Policy Initiatives and United Way of San Diego County, keep a box of tissues handy.

Their research quantitatively demonstrates that the cost of a basic, no-frills lifestyle without public or private assistance is beyond the reach of 38% of all working age households in San Diego County. That’s 300,000 households. Even with someone working full-time year-round, or with multiple part-time earners, about 1 in 4 households in the region have incomes too low to cover the basic costs of living.   [Read more…]

It’s ‘Pin the Tail on Filner’ Week in San Diego

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By Doug Porter

‘Blame Bob Filner’ seems to be the catchphrase of the week here in San Diego. Months of demonizing our former mayor in the media have seemingly created an atmosphere where it’s possible to deflect political and legal problems by simply blaming The.Worst.Mayor.Ever.

I don’t argue the point that he screwed up. He’s suffering the consequences. And it’s my educated guess that there’s more legal troubles headed his way. But this business of trying to blame him for all of San Diego’s ills has got to stop. What’s next? Can we blame Filner for the lack of rain? Or too much rain, if that should happen?

If you believe reports in the Daily Fishwrap and other local media, the ex-mayor is now supposed to take the fall for two of our city’s new found embarrassments-an illegal campaign contributions scandal and a floundering Balboa Park centennial– in what seems to me to be an obvious effort to protect other officeholders.   [Read more…]

The Dark Side of the 2015 Balboa Park Celebrations

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By Doug Porter

A non-profit group set up by the city to create a world class year long celebration of the centennial of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition  in Balboa Park hasn’t produced much of anything concrete to date, despite spending millions of dollars in public monies. And they’re making the claim that their lack of progress is nobody’s business.

Citizen activist David Lundin’s inquiries into the machinations of the group responsible for planning the Balboa Park Centennial Celebration have stirred up quite a fuss. After reading reports about difficulties and missed deadlines by the entity (Balboa Park Celebrations, Inc) he filed a series of requests for documents (ala Public Records Act).

The resulting exchange was simply stunning in its arrogance and hostility. My response from reading the email exchange between Lunkin and the group is that something must be seriously amiss with this group.

  [Read more…]

Organizations Commemorate 20th Anniversary of Zapatista Uprising

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Enero Zapatista Committee Organizes Month Long Series of Events

By Brent E. Beltrán

Twenty years ago on January 1 an unknown, rag tag rebel group walked out of the fog and rain forest of Chiapas, Mexico and into the imaginations of millions of Mexicans, indigenous people and lefties throughout the world.

On that fateful day, from below and to the left, the Ejercito Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (EZLN/Zapatista Army of National Liberation) made their first of many appearances upon the world stage.

Named after the great Mexican revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata the Zapatistas demanded work, land, shelter, food, health, education, independence, freedom, democracy, justice and peace not just for themselves but all Mexicans and oppressed people throughout the world.   [Read more…]

Virtual Mayoral Forum- Part 2: Looking Back on the Plaza de Panama Controversy

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Welcome to Day 2 of the SDFP Virtual Mayoral Forum. (See Day 1, Asking about managed competition, here.)

With input from our many contributors, editors put together a series of eight questions we felt were unique, not too opened ended and not trite. We’re publishing one response from the candidates per day (Monday-Friday) so readers can see the verbatim responses side by side.

We emailed the questions to the addresses listed with the City Clerk’s office as contact points, knowing most of the minor candidates wouldn’t respond. What we didn’t count on were two of the big names (Fletcher & Faulconer) refusing to participate. We can only assume–and, believe me we’ve tried to get them involved– their non-response sends a message about their openness to the citizens in this city. You can decide what that message is. (We’ll still be glad to add responses and delete this paragraph. It’s not too late!)

The complete questionnaire can be found here.   [Read more…]

Commemorate Día de los Muertos throughout San Diego – Long Live the Dead!

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Día de los Muertos Commemorated for Thousands of Years in the Americas

By Brent E. Beltrán

Los días de los muertos have been commemorated for thousands of years in the Americas. It started in what is now México and has spread throughout the United States and the world. Today these days are celebrated by people of many different colors and cultures.

November 1 is Día de los Inocentes (Day of the Innocents) when deceased children are honored and November 2 is known as Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) where we pay tribute to adults who have passed away. These dates correspond with the Christian holidays of All Saints’ Day and All Soul’s Day.   [Read more…]

Multinational Corporations Seek to Rule Over San Diego’s Barrio Logan Community

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“We may be poor, brown folk but we have organized to take on the state, city and industry numerous times and have won. This may be our biggest battle yet, a battle for our very existence.”

By Doug Porter

For thirty years, San Diego’s Barrio Logan community existed without a community plan. There was no law, no order when it came to land use and zoning.  Having prospered in chaos for so many years, nearby maritime industries are threatening the region’s economy unless they get their way.

Historically speaking, in the minds of the downtown-centric elites any regulatory structure was simply not necessary in Barrio Logan. After all, the community was just chock full of “them”, as in people of color, mostly of Mexican heritage.  Children were exposed to toxic emissions, the nearby waters used to dump heavy metals and other pollutants, and the robber barons of the shipbuilding industry looked away.   [Read more…]

Barrio Art Jam and Barrio Film Festival Set to Go Off this Weekend

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Barrio Logan at the Epicenter of Grassroots Arts & Culture Movement

By Brent E. Beltrán

Word is out that Barrio Logan is a thriving, happening community that treasures its art and culture. Not a week goes by without some type of artistic happening taking place within this predominantly Mexican neighborhood.

Places like Chicano Park, Voz Alta, The Roots Factory, Glashaus, Bread & Salt and even the placita at Mercado del Barrio feature a variety of arts and culture events that showcase the desire to create and present. This weekend is no different.

The first annual Barrio Art Jam and the second annual Barrio Film Fest are going down simultaneously. The neighborhood may be relatively small but there is plenty of artistic space for both of these grassroots ventures to thrive.   [Read more…]

Serving Witness on Labor Day – San Diego City Worker “George”

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George is a Greens Keeper at the Balboa Park Golf Course for the City of San Diego.

He is 28 years old, and for the past 7 years he has worked to keep the City’s public golf courses beautiful and functional for all San Diego residents and tourists to enjoy.

His day begins at 5:30 a.m. During his shift he may do everything from mowing the greens and tees, to maintaining his equipment. George takes a great deal of pride in his work. Most people don’t know that the grass on a golf course is as short as onetenth of an inch. George has to be precise in his work to be sure he doesn’t cut more than one third of that “tenth of an inch” – or the grass could dry out and become brown. That mistake would be noticeable for days and could affect the prestige of the course.   [Read more…]

San Diego Pride Parade 2013: Freedom to Love and Marry

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By Doug Porter

This year’s San Diego Pride celebration was extra special for many of its participants.  After years of political organizing, lawsuits and personal angst, the door are open once again in California for same sex couples to celebrate their love through the institution of marriage, following rulings by the Supreme Court last month.

Nearly 200 individuals, community groups, churches and corporations participated in this year’s Pride Parade.  Celebrities Brad and George Takei, along with LaToya Jackson did the honors as Grand Marshals. The theme for 2013 was “Freedom to Love and Marry”.

Photos by Haley Joy Porter   [Read more…]

KNSJ Goes on the Air with Filner, Frye Speaking Out

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By Bob Dorn

Several hours into its maiden voyage yesterday, July 04, radio station KNSJ-fm, broadcasting live from Balboa Park’s World Beat Center was pleasantly interrupted by his honor, the Mayor of San Diego, Bob Filner, looking lean and I’m not saying mean, because he was among friends there.  Real friends.

Floyd Morrow, former San Diego city council member and Marine who had promised the station Filner would show up, grabbed Filner in a hug.  The mayor had no bodyguards hovering nearby nor tightsuits with clipboards and iPads in hand surrounding him, and he was relaxed.

Spontaneous hoots of encouragement echoed through the giant old water tank that Worldbeat Africanized and made its home decades ago, and which, for this Independence Day, was the broadcast studio of KNSJ.   [Read more…]

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