May 2014

The Absolute Last Minute Voter Cheat Sheet for San Diego Progressives

May 31, 2014 by Doug Porter

VOTE NOW plsBy Doug Porter

Okay, so I know the deal. You’ve been putting off doing your election homework and now you’re getting nervous because you have no clue about many of the contests on the ballot.

Don’t even think about not voting on Tuesday June 3rd. Here’s your one-stop shop for better candidates and issues on the left side of the aisle.

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Bob Brewer Is Ready to Be District Attorney of San Diego

May 31, 2014 by Frank Gormlie
Thumbnail image for Bob Brewer Is Ready to Be District Attorney of San Diego

By Frank Gormlie

The first thing I asked DA candidate Bob Brewer when I met him yesterday was if he could do “something about the traffic?” as it was bumper to bumper at 2:30 in the afternoon on I-5 as I drove to the interview – (okay it was a Friday – but really?) . We both chuckled and grimaced and he responded, “yeah, I’ll build another freeway” knowing full well that wasn’t the answer.

We sat down in an empty conference room on the 3rd floor of one of those new fancy buildings in the Carmel Valley area. He’s “of counsel” for the firm Jones Day where he’s been for the last 6 years.

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Reader Responds to Planning Commission Discussion

May 31, 2014 by Source

Editor: There has been an entire discussion occurring in the comments to Friday’s post “Planning Commission Approves OB Plan Update But With New Language that Guts its Teeth on Variances“. Seth Connolly – a current member of the OB Planning Board – shared his thoughts and we liked them for their clarity so much that we repost it here.

By Seth Connolly

Speaking as a private citizen, I think there are a number of issues here beyond blanket terms such as “property rights” or “gentrification”. Property owners have the right to develop their properties within the bounds of the codes that everyone else has to adhere to, and hopefully, with strong consideration to policy documents such as the OB Precise Plan. Understand that while some of this is discretionary, this code is the *law* and not some arbitrary guideline to follow. Whether or not one likes the 0.7 FAR with 25% dedicated to enclosed parking or finds it too restrictive is about as relevant as thinking a 0.08 blood-alcohol content is too low for one to get a DUI.

The variance process exists to address special circumstances, and not to provide an end-around for some to buy their way out of the law.

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“Yes” on Props B & C is the Way to Support the Barrio Logan Community

May 31, 2014 by Ernie McCray
Thumbnail image for “Yes” on Props B & C is the Way to Support the Barrio Logan Community

by Ernie McCray

Here we go.

Same old same old politics in San Diego. The “Big Boys” have to get their way. They want us to vote “No” in opposition to a plan that was created to make a community healthy and safe.

And mayor, Kevin Faulconer, who has billed himself as an “independent” leader, has, as such, been going around talking about how when Propositions B & C are voted down, “it will be our opportunity to pass a plan that works to protect our families, to protect our economy.”

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Junco’s Jabs: San Diego’s Maritime Industry Feeding at the Electoral Trough

May 30, 2014 by Source

juncochanche03

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Meet Susan Guinn – the Real Candidate for County Clerk

May 30, 2014 by Doug Porter

Susan GuinnMeet Susan Guinn

By Doug Porter

This week I met with Susan Guinn, the attorney who is challenging Ernest Dronenburg for County Clerk, and came away impressed.

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Ernest Dronenburg is a Terrible Choice for County Assessor/Clerk/Recorder

May 30, 2014 by Doug Porter

By Doug Porter

Functionaries like County Clerk Ernest Dronenburg are important assets for the big money types that typically dominate local governments. Their behind the scenes efforts mean that policies get interpreted and enforced (or not) in a manner ensuring that “business as usual” remains Business As Usual.

That’s the reason why Dronenburg was among the earliest (along with Bonnie Dumanis) to get an editorial blessing from UT-San Diego. And they had to s-t-r-e-t-c-h the truth to find a reason to support him. Or, as one astute commenter noted, perhaps they just penned the editorial based on a campaign press release.

Let’s face reality here; the position of “County Assessor/Clerk/Recorder” is usually not likely to be of concern to most voters.

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Planning Commission Approves OB Plan Update But With New Language that Guts its Teeth on Variances

May 30, 2014 by Frank Gormlie
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It was embarrassing to observe how the Planning Commission coddled one single property owner while gutting key language regarding variances

By Frank Gormlie

On Thursday, May 29, for nearly two hours, the Ocean Beach Community Plan Update was before the San Diego Planning Commission sitting in the City Council chambers. After having a staff presentation, listening to public comments pro and con, and their own questions and issues, the Planning Commission unanimously approved the Update. However, they approved the Plan with two modifications whose ramifications are not clear.

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Community Plans – Both of OB and Barrio Logan – Discussed at OB Town Council

May 30, 2014 by Source
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by Lois Lane

The OB Town Council meeting on Wednesday, May 28, focused on Community Plans – the one in Barrio Logan under attack and the OB Plan hopeful of approval.

If you have read your ballot by now – A YES vote on Propositions B and C preserves the 2013 Barrio Logan community plan resulting from the city’s community process and approved by the San Diego City Council. Challenged by the shipyard interests, a NO vote will overturn the approved plan.

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BREAKING: Planning Commission Approves OB Plan Update – With a Couple of Modifications

May 29, 2014 by Frank Gormlie

Just returned from nearly a 3 hour San Diego Planning Commission meeting – a good part on the OB Community Plan Update that was before them.

With a couple of modifications, the Planning Commission did finally approve the Plan unanimously. The Plan will now go before the City Council, scheduled at this moment for June 30th.

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Republicans Zapf and Faulconer Politicize San Diego’s “Tony Hawk Day” at OB Skate Park

May 29, 2014 by Frank Gormlie

Okay, we know it’s election season, with the June 3rd Primary date less than a week away. So, why are Republicans Mayor Faulconer and District 6 Rep Lorie Zapf politicizing a proclamation today in honor of legendary skateboarder and native San Diegan Tony Hawk? The City is declaring Thursday, May 29 as “Tony Hawk Day” in San Diego.

And Faulconer and Zapf will be down at the OB Skateboard Park today at 11:00 am to host some kind of event. But why Zapf? She is running for District 2 – BUT SHE AIN’T THERE YET ! Why the heck will she be there – except to promote her candidacy against Democrat Sarah Boot. If anyone ought to be there, it should be Councilman Ed Harris – who does represent District 2.

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Man Can’t Live on Cabbage Alone

May 29, 2014 by Source

Americans need credible nutrition advice they can trust, not a choice between quacks and “experts” sold out to junk food companies.

cabbage-faceBy Jill Richardson / OtherWords

I ran into an acquaintance recently and he told me he’d started seeing a new nutrition expert. “You know what?” he said, “It turns out I’m gluten intolerant.”

OK. Him and everyone else. I told him I was glad he found an expert who could help him.

A week later I saw him again. “I went back to the nutritionist,” he said. “I can’t have nightshades either.” That means no more potatoes, tomatoes, chili peppers, or eggplant.

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Many Thanks, Maya

May 29, 2014 by Ernie McCray
Thumbnail image for Many Thanks, Maya

by Ernie McCray

I miss you, Maya,
but you will forever reside
in the breezes of
the breaths of fresh air
you gifted us with
when you were here,
ever so lovely and dear,
so wise beyond any years,
captivating us with your smile
and your wit
and your humor, all the while,
teaching us the ways of “We,”
you, him, her, them, me –
all of humanity.

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Howard the Homeless

May 28, 2014 by Source

via Eric at Flikr https://www.flickr.com/photos/penforhire/27223428/By Bob Dorn / San Diego Free Press

About 50 feet away, at another bench, a metals guy with two giant white bags calls out, as I take a rest, “Can you play something.”

It’s not exactly a question, but it’s no insult either. It is an interruption, but then so is the trumpet played in the park.

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OBceans Urged to Attend Planning Commission Hearing on OB Plan – Thursday, May 29th

May 28, 2014 by Staff
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Obceans* are urged to attend Thursday’s San Diego Planning Commission meeting and show support for the OB Community Plan Update. OB planners say “this is the most important document that will guide development in OB for the next 20 plus years.”

The Plan Update is scheduled to go before the Planning Commission on the 29th of May. Planning Commission meetings start at 9 am sharp.

The meeting will be held in the Council Chambers at City Hall, downtown at 202 West “C” Street, 12th Floor. Here’s the agenda: http://www.sandiego.gov/planning-commission/pdf/agenda/2014/pcagenda140529.pdf

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Science Debunks 10 Biggest Pot Myths

May 28, 2014 by Source

marijuanascienceBy any objective analysis, cannabis and cannabinoids exceed the FDA’s existing standards for medicine.

By Paul Armentano / AlterNet

Medical cannabis opponents are fond of promoting many myths and misconceptions about the herb. Here are the facts.

Medical cannabis is too dangerous to recommend as a medicine
The cannabis plant and its biologically active constituents, known as cannabinoids, possess an impressive safety profile compared to other conventional therapeutic agents. According to the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, marijuana possesses an estimated dependence liability of less than ten percent. (Others have acknowledged that pot’s true dependence potential is likely even lower.)

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Ocean Beach Town Council Meeting Wed., May 28: Debate on Props B and C

May 27, 2014 by Staff
Thumbnail image for Ocean Beach Town Council Meeting Wed., May 28: Debate on Props B and C

On Wednesday, May 28th, the OB Town Council will be hosting a debate and discussion on local San Diego propositions B and C. These props will determine the fate of the Barrio Logan Community Plan update. This has been described as a battle between community and economic interests. The OBTC invites the public to come learn about these two initiatives. at our OB Town Council meeting on Wednesday and then cast your vote on June 3rd.

The Town Council will meet May 28, at 7:00pm, at the Masonic Center, 1711 Sunset Cliffs Blvd.

Speakers include:

– Corinne Wilson, Protect Our Children’s Health San Diego (Pro Props B & C)
– Rep from Protect Our Jobs Coalition (invited) (Anti Props B & C)

There will also hear an update on the Ocean Beach Community Plan …

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New Report Exposes Government Spy Network Employed Against Occupy Movement

May 27, 2014 by Source
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by Michael Steinberg / blackrainpress – Indybay.org

A report released just recently detailed a government spy network that was employed to monitor the Occupy movement “hour-to-hour” during 2011.

The Washington DC- based Partnership for Justice Fund just released an investigative report, “The Hidden Role of Fusion Centers in the Nationwide Spying Operations against the Occupy Movement and Peaceful Protest in America.” It took two years to carry out this investigation. Its principal authors are PFJF members Maria Verheyden-Hilliard and Carl Messineo.

Fusion Centers, funded by hundred of millions of dollars from the Department of Homeland Security, sprung up across the nation after the 911 attacks. Their mission was ostensibly to fight terrorism. But ten years later they made fighting the Occupy Movement their Number 1 priority.

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Death to the Death Penalty

May 27, 2014 by Source

death to the death penalty cohn

By Marjorie Cohn, Truthout | Op-Ed

The recent torturous execution of Clayton Lockett in Oklahoma has propelled the death penalty into the national discourse. The secret three-drug cocktail that prison authorities administered to Lockett – the first to render him unconscious, the second to paralyze him, and the third to stop his heart and kill him – didn’t work as planned. After writhing in pain for 43 minutes, he finally died of a heart attack. Madeline Cohen, a lawyer who witnessed the botched execution, said Lockett had been “tortured to death.” Seasoned reporters, also witnesses, called it “horrific.” President Obama found it “deeply disturbing” and promised a review of how the death penalty is administered.

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San Diego City Works Press Calls for Submissions for Its Anthology – “Sunshine/Noir II” – Writings from San Diego and Tijuana

May 27, 2014 by Jim Miller

SDCWPBy Jim Miller

San Diego City Works Press is soon approaching its 10-year anniversary. SDCWP is run by a 100% non-profit collective and is the only small literary press in San Diego that focuses primarily on the publication of local writers with an emphasis on our region that moves beyond the postcard version of our reality.

In an era where commercial forces and hegemonic instrumentality are drowning out what remains of literary culture, we have persisted against the odds. We invite all interested parties to be a part of our beautifully useless endeavor.

To celebrate our anniversary, we are putting together a second edition of our first anthology, Sunshine/Noir II. All local writers are encouraged to submit work for consideration.

See the relevant details inside:

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SeaWorld Sucks!

May 26, 2014 by Source
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Someone altered this freeway sign on Sunday, May 25, 2014. It has been verified that it is a real alteration, not simply a photo shop product.

Watch this video. … COME INSIDE

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Memorial Day: Remembering 70 U.S. Wars, Big and Small

May 26, 2014 by Source

memorial day picBy Clancy Sigal / Alternet

Except for mourning family members and Boy Scouts loyally placing tiny flags on veterans’ gravestones, hardly anyone knows anything about Memorial Day except that it’s a day off. It’s the saddest of the military holidays, invented after the Civil War, supposed to help us honor, or at least pause to remember, all the American dead from all our wars. That’s a lot of men and some women to remember going back, well, how far?

Big and small, we’ve “done” about 70 wars starting with the mid-18th century so-called French and Indian wars where George Washington was bloodied and when we got our first taste of industrially massacring Native Americans, mainly Ojibwas and Algonquins who sided with the French against our British masters.

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The Whole World – Including San Diego – Is Marching Against Monsanto

May 23, 2014 by Frank Gormlie
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March Against Monsanto

The whole world is marching against Monsanto this weekend. Including San Diego.

Local activists have three days of protests planned for the coming weekend, starting

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A Reminder of “Who” We Are – A Call to Action in Support of the Zapatistas

May 23, 2014 by Ernie McCray

galeano_medium_withtextBy Ernie McCray

I hear all kinds of arguments about what’s wrong with schools and the sentiments tend to avoid the keys to what’s essential in the creation of a learning environment: an understanding of “who” the person is who’s being educated. And nothing gets at “who” a child, a student, is more than an educator who respects and appreciates that person’s culture and gives him or her an education that’s rich in the arts.

With that being said, on May 2, 2014, a hero of mine, a teacher extraordinaire, Jose Luis Solis Lopez (Galeano), was assassinated at the Zapatista’s “Little School” (La Escuelita), in Chiapas, Mexico. The school was built to celebrate “who” children are and “who” they can become.

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Junco’s Jabs: Beware of Big Business Wolves

May 23, 2014 by Source

juncocanche02

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CVS Pharmacy Begins Rehab of Old Apple Tree Market in Ocean Beach

May 23, 2014 by Frank Gormlie
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Yes, it’s finally happened. CVS Pharmacy has begun the work of rehabbing the former Apple Tree Market in OB.

On a visit at the site on Thursday, May 22nd, I witnessed plenty of activity that displays the development. An on-site contractor also confirmed that CVS is really beginning the process of moving in.

Workers inside were finalizing the dusty and dirty job of gutting the interior of the Fifties-style cavernous building – once the site of a Safeway. The wood will be saved I was told – and I could see wonderful reddened wood covering the ceiling.

The plans are to a complete remodel of the interior. It would be easy speculation to say that the remodel will look very similar to other CVS Pharmacies.

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Do Organics Make Good Neighbors in OB?

May 23, 2014 by Frank Gormlie
Thumbnail image for Do Organics Make Good Neighbors in OB?

Do organics make good neighbors? Or more specifically, do businesses selling organic products make good neighbors here in OB?

When Blue Dot Refills opened earlier this year right next door to People’s Food, the common wisdom was ‘wow, they must really get along’ – referring to the gigantic OB-centric vegetarian and organic market – OB’s largest employer – and the small two-person refill storefront. Both stores were pushing organic things in order to help the environment.

But there have been complaints from People’s managers about a couple of things that have to do with the new neighbor. First, someone from Blue Dot came into People’s and went up to customers telling them that Blue Dot had cheaper and better products. Oops! That’s a definite abuse of neighborly love.

Second, Blue Dot customers are parking in People’s parking lot, the allegation goes, while People’s own customers circle the block looking for spaces. We all know that parking is an issue in that part of OB.

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OB Town Council Endorses Ocean Beach Community Plan Update

May 21, 2014 by Staff
Thumbnail image for OB Town Council Endorses Ocean Beach Community Plan Update

Update Goes to City’s Historical Resource Board May 22nd

As the Update of the OB Community Plan winds its way through the official approval process, it achieved a significant boost of late with the OB Town Council passing a resolution in support of the Community Plan.

On Thursday, May 22, the Update is scheduled to be in front of the City of San Diego’s Historical Resource Board. It then has to pass muster before the Planning Commission on May 29th, and then is set for the full City Council on July 1. On April 30th, the Smart Growth and Land Use Committee waved a green flag for the Plan Update to proceed, after a dozen OBceans had testified.

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My Maria and SDSU’s Multicultural and Social Justice Program

May 21, 2014 by Ernie McCray

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By Ernie McCray

She’s really something, my Maria. Maria Nieto-Senour. College professor by way of the Mexican barrios of San Antonio and Austin and the inner-cities of Detroit. Mo-Town.

At any moment she’ll be retired which means she gets to hang out with me more. I can’t wait because she’s fun to be around and she’s about as loving a human being as one could be.  

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Who Knew? Organic Foods Contain a Dose of GMOs

May 21, 2014 by Source

gmoisdangerousBy John Lawrence / San Diego Free Press

To be labeled as “USDA organic,” 95% of the ingredients must be organically grown and the remaining 5% may be non-organic agricultural ingredients or synthetic substances that have been approved for use in organics by the USDA.

The 5% of non-organic products are usually derived from GMO corn which is highly sprayed with Monsanto’s Roundup.

It’s a little known fact that some organic packaged foods contain GMOs and pesticides thanks to the lobbying efforts of Big Organic corporations.

For example, consider a container of Organic Tomato Basil soup, a product of Canada, purchased at Sprout’s.

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