Editor: Don Bauder, the best blogger of the San Diego Reader, reports that Union-Tribune employees are getting nervous … again … about the future of the City’s daily. And for good reason ….
by Don Bauder / Scam Diego – San Diego Reader / March 21, 2011
Union-Tribune employees are wondering once again just who will own their company, or whether the U-T could be folded into a conglomeration of Southern California papers.
Two management missteps fomented the worry.
First, the company said early this year that employees who had stockpiled vacation days (as layoff cushions) should bring their cumulative weeks down from 8 to 5 at a modest pace. Then, suddenly, employees were told to get down from 8 to 5 by April. Obviously, there was fear that the company is trying to get cumulative vacations off the books.
Second, both employees and retirees who are on defined contribution plans were told without warning that they would be getting their checks from a different bank and should consult a different firm for pension advice. (At least, they were told that there will be no change in pension benefits.)
For the remainder of this article, please go here.
Not to be cold hearted and/or insensitive, but let be real. The UT is a sucky newspaper and has been for long time. Even after Bob Kittle left there hasn’t been any real improvement. Combine that with the simple fact that old fashioned newspapers are a dying entity. The smart employees are hopefully thinking about and working on either getting into new sources of media or new career fields entirely. I am never happy about anyone losing their job but the writing has been on the wall on this one for quite awhile.
I third that !!
whatsa matter? don’t you find ten day old NY Times articles of interest? how about that business section focus on hospitality with one lonely article relating to the topic on hand? or how about when they ran the same comics two days in a row? (they said the comics thing was due to “technical difficulties”, lol.)
If the Union-Tribune stopped publishing would anyone care?
Unfortunately yes. I need something current to read with breakfast and those first cups of java. And not on a screen – I’m on a screen for a good part of the day as it is. However, usually, I can breeze through the first section, having already read everything on the net the day/ night before. Then I go for the local news – which is a must read if you’re doing media in this town.
Not me.
Once,in 1980 or so,I wrote a letter to the paper about some police practrices I’d observed along the wall.The ombudsman would not print your letter unless you gave up your name and address. The next day the heat was pulling up my pot plants.If they can’t protect thier readers then let them fold. Anyhow, where they when the run up to Irac was goining on.I guess you can figure that out.
are you sure one of your drug buddies did not rat you out… …come on now….sounds like a deal gone bad to me.
Evidently “thinking out loud” isn’t from Ocean Beach or much of a thinker, either.
Three things I know for sure mr rick.
1. I am NOT ” from ocean beach”
2. I am Not much of a thinker
3. I am NOT holding some imaginary grudge from 30 years ago against some long deceased UT Junior Editor. In some circles they call your grudge paranoia .
I just want to make one last comment about the above. This story should be put in another section,but ,my computer skills are limited and I’m basically lazy. The letter (refered to above was written after I witness some aggregious police tactic one sunny day at the wall.I was sitting there and some trolls were on the rocks between the flag pole and the lifeguard station.The cops drove thier cruiser up on to the board walk to check the I.D.of the homeless people mentioned above.As they were hassling these guys some old folks were walking up with a super pregnant girl with a stroller. These people had to walk around the cop car.This wouldn’t usually be a big deal,but the grass was buried under about 6 inches of sand. You cas imagine what a hassle it would be if you were 90 yrs old or had that stroller. In my letter to the editor I pointed this out and wondered if the officers didn’t paid enough to walk the extra 20 feet. The next day I was Riding my bike home and saw 4 or 5 cop cars in front of my house.I wainted and watched from the grass at the foot of Saratoga St. until they left. When the coast was clear I went home to survey the damage.My neighbor,Spanky,said they had pulled up my plants and ceremoniously left a note on my door.It said”We confiscated the marijuana in your garden.If you have any questions regarding this property,don’t hesitate to call us” It was signed Sgt. Whatever His Name Was. I just wanted to set the record straight. I should clean this up spelling and form wise but it would take me another 2 hours. Please accept my apologies.
I guess I am not real smart , but it appears when you sent a letter to the UT you also told them you grew weed ?? big gaps in this story mr rick….
sounds like you are carrying a big ass chip on your shoulder….One thing i would suggest next time you need help from the SDPD….dont call them …call your friends.
your lack of understating on the SDPD is evident by your remarks….
” cops in front of my house…the coast is clear notes on your door…..” sounds like a cheech n chong movie dialog.
I’m not sure if you’re being facetious or not, but just in case you might have missed an implication in Rick’s post that I’m pretty sure he thought was perfectly clear, let me break it down for you.
Rick sends a letter to the paper complaining about something the cops did that he thought was lame. The cops read the letter and decide to check out who this “Rick Ward’ character is that apparently doesn’t have what they believe to be the proper level of respect for the force. Maybe when they show up they smell his plants growing and decide to steal his crop. Because they weren’t looking for a grow op, probably don’t have the proper paperwork to bust him, and because it sounds like it was a small time personal use garden, they probably just stole his plants and, because he wasn’t around to harass, they left. It’s indirect retaliation for his failure to salute when they ran their homeless-haggling underwear up the flagpole.
Thanks for making this clear and breaking it down so Jethro can understand.
Pretty big leap from he sent a letter, TO they ” probably” did all these things gezze you both should write paperback crime novels !!
You missed a lot in this starting chapter , starting with why the SDPD even was talking to these homeless wanderers on the rocks….For all you know Lifeguards saw them do something illegal,…….I will adopt your stance now…..This probably or might have been what happened. OK Now you are dead in the water….Hey like Barretta used to say ” if you do the crime the do the time”
And so you know the paper does not ” turn over” letters they get to the Police Dept….
paronia will destry ya !! ……….
Geeee you cant even get through on 911 do you really think the SDPD is reviewing letters from potheads that the UT gets ??
come on…
Hey now, I never said I thought the cops didn’t have cause to hassle the people they did. And it doesn’t even sound like the hassling was the point of the letter, more the arrogance in the display of force by driving their car off the road just to make a scene. By doing so, they blocked the sidewalk and created problems for elderly, disabled, and/or pregnant people trying to use a sideWALK for what it was built for.
I’m pretty sure the scenario where the newspaper turns over a letter to the police and suggests they investigate is a figment of your imagination, because you’re the only one that suggested it. Even given the shady, ultra right-wing stances the U/T has been known to take, that sounds like a stretch – almost as much of a stretch as your assumption that police don’t read newspapers and that there’s not a chance a particularly vindictive one came across it.
I’m not saying it’s definite or even likely things went down how Rick interpreted them, but I’m certainly saying it’s possible. You don’t agree with me. That’s okay. But do you think you could tone down the aggression a notch?
the original comments are laced with assumptions the whole bitch is based on what ifs and i think s gezze get a real gripe !!
like i mentioned for all you know the guys the police were talking to had done something illegal or maybe the couple you refer to who had to walk around actually called the police because the guys on the rocks were doing something disgusting you know that happens on the seawall………
and so what if they drove on the sidewalk…take a stroll on sidewalk and rock area and watch what goes on you will agree the police may have had reason..if you don’t like it change the policy…..
they the SDPD drive on the sidewalk on occasion so what we have to assume they have a reason for it…
nuf said this whole thread is a waste of time…
Yes, there were assumptions involved in some of the commentary. I don’t see how or why you thus feel it’s appropriate to twist the original poster’s words because of that.
Your comments are also full of assumptions, the only difference is that you assume everything and anything the police do is justified. Your comments also seem to be full of rage and it appears you’re attempting to drag the level of discussion down to a simple mud-slinging internet tough guy match. If you’re really done and find this thread (and the site in general) a waste of time, fine. But I will tell you that this forum is much more heavily moderated than a lot of others I participate in, and there’s not a whole lot of leeway given for personal attacks and pointless hostility. Just give it some thought next time you feel the urge to post, unless you’re trying to get banned.
who the hell are u….banned because i have a different point of view…
get a life…
Banned because you’re acting like a troll…and I’m just a guy who’s seen people get the boot for behavior less childish than yours. But hey, nothing I can do to make you want to act like a semi-literate adult if you insist on e-thuggin’. I imagine one of the editors will be poking in soon…
its beautiful out take a walk…….
breath deep….enjoy life..
I would like to thank “thimking out loud” for giving me my web name.It was taxing my limited imagination to get myself a less revealing handle.Appreciate it, Bro.
That last comment is as moderate as it gets.
I was trying to change my handle and got confused.Handle is an indication of my tech. saviness.Well, sincere thanks to “thinking out loud”my nom-de-plume is from now and the future mr.rick.
I want to take to thank Dave Rice for pulling my socially unsophisticated ass off the rocks.Hopefully,I can do the same for someone in the future.
I just hope I got the gist of what you were trying to say right and not putting words in your mouth!
I’m putting the ragosphere on notice: From now(or as soon as I can figure out how) on my pen name is mr.rick.
To DavevRice, “Correctumundo”.
Iguess I have to get back into shis scrap,since my 30 year old story(as true as I can recall it) stirred this up. I was trying to come up with a simple,civil response to the suggestion that someone with my background would associate with “Rats”.I can tell you for sure that if I was jammed in such a manner in person the fight would be on.As my pugillistic record isn’t that stellar,4 or 5 wins versus 20 or so losses(many of those at the foot of Newport St.),I probably would get thrashed.But be that as it may.It seems to me that “thinking out loud” has to either work for the paper or the S.D.P.D. or he/she wouldn’t have gotten so upset. As an aside, never have and never would call a cop even my life depended on it
The comments on this thread have gotten WAY off topic. I am sorry it took me this long to do it but comments on this post are now CLOSED.
Comments on this entry are closed.