Month: July 2020

Councilwoman Jen Campbell who represents District 2 on the San Diego City Council is in trouble at the beach. After two major missteps – the first being her design to get rid of the 30-foot height limit in the Midway District, and the second being her recent plan to legitimize short-term vacation rentals – the Councilwoman who bested then-incumbent and Republican Lori Zapf in 2018 has lost support from residents and activists in the beach neighborhoods of her district.

And the criticisms of Campbell on these two major issues has opened up other complaints about her practice of being a councilperson. Many of them center around her lack of presence at the beach and other minor issues that have stuck in the craws of those who have been observing her for the last two and half years.

It’s getting so bad that’s there open talk of putting together a recall effort against her. Recall efforts can be very divisive and ineffectual and usually don’t succeed in this town. But nevertheless, people who voted for Campbell and even worked on her campaign for election have been soured on her presence on council. And are now having second-thoughts.

Midway 30 Foot Height Limit

HomeFed Corp. Plans 3,000-Unit Development in Santee

By Colleen Cochran

The threat of bulldozers spurred me to hike the Stowe Trail in northern Santee. The stretch, that leads from Santee Lakes through Sycamore Canyon on Fanita Ranch, is one of the last havens for endangered Quino checkerspot butterflies, creatures that once fluttered abundantly throughout San Diego County skies, and for endangered least Bell’s vireo songbirds.

Because I had been hearing a lot of news about HomeFed Corporation’s plans to ravage the area by constructing Fanita Ranch, a development of 3,000 units of multistory townhouse boxes, I decided I better go on that hike before it becomes too late.

The following email newsletter was sent out to constituents by Councilwoman Jen Campbell’s office July 9.

By Councilwoman Jen Campbell

Last week, I announced guidelines to finally make progress on one of San Diego’s most vexing problems – short-term vacation rentals (STRs).

There have been a lot of misconceptions and falsehoods leveled at these guidelines. To cut through the clutter and speculation, here’s what you need to know –

• These guidelines, once passed, will permanently reduce the number of STRs in San Diego by over 70%.
• These guidelines create an actual enforcement mechanism to ensure there are repercussions for bad STR owners.
• Each STR renter may have only one permit for one unit, whether or not it is home sharing or whole home rental.

by Ernie McCray

Life a bit crazy,
hazy,
spacy,
racy.
Like looking at reality
through a grease spattered
kitchen screen,
trying to make sense
of a wide scope of happenings,
white dudes
thinking they’re supreme,
possessing superior genes,
spelled j-e-a-n-s,
if you get my drift
and know what I mean.

The City is announcing that street sweeping routes will once again be enforced. Beginning on Wednesday, July 15, posted routes will again be enforced by citations. Talk about a sign of the return of “normalcy.”

The above letters were being left on windshields through parts of OB.

A week ago, two teens made a dramatic rescue of two young girls at Sunset Cliffs. It was Friday evening July 3 when two girls, perhaps aged 12 or 13, were standing close to the ocean, when a large set came in and just simply swept them off their feet and into the choppy water.

“The older one hit her head probably down on the reef and had a pretty serious head injury in the water,” Lt. Andy Lerum with the San Diego Lifeguards told ABC10News.

The incident was witnessed by famed OB photographer Jim Grant said. “Two young girls … They looked to be about 12 or 13,” Grant said. “They were down at this point, and a large set came in and swept them off their feet.”

Editordude: Here’s the Voice of San Diego’s take on Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s latest “legacy-shaping” plan – which we’ll call the “Incomplete Communities” – by Andrew Keatts. For other takes, see OB Planning Board vice-chair Kevin Hasting’s post where he says the plan would bring high-density and eliminate OB’s floor-area-ratio, and San Diego policy-wonk Norma Dameshek’s view that the plan should be jettisoned altogether.

By Andrew Keatts / Voice of San Diego / July 6, 2020

In the waning months of his administration, Mayor Kevin Faulconer is proposing a set of policy changes aimed at delivering on his own previous promises and the city’s long-term goals, as well as reforms required by state law. He hopes the various pieces of the plan, dubbed Complete Communities, would make way for far more homes near transit, remake how the city funds parks and community improvements and change the way it measures the environmental effects of new development.

From San Clemente Greens:

What could be worse than Global Pandemic, Climate Change and Socioeconomic upheaval?

Nuclear waste escaping containment all around the country if we fail to do something about it now, while we still can. Imagine getting through all of these tough challenges only to be undone when inescapable and everlasting radiation is allowed to contaminate our planet.

There’s still issues (and scandals) at San Onofre nuke plant.

So, here’s 3 easy things to do to influence the Coastal Commission on San Onofre nuke waste:

By Eric S. Page / 7SanDiego / July 8, 2020

The hulking concrete structure at the site of the former central post office on Midway Drive in San Diego has been haunting a stretch of Point Loma for nearly a decade, with little to no activity at the location.

No good activity, anyway. Back in 2015, James Dudley cut a lock on a fence and broke into the building, stripping out nearly 700 pounds of copper before he was discovered loading it into his vehicle. He pulled a 30-month sentence and was ordered to pay $123,984.08 to the Postal Service for his trouble.

For years, the property, bounded by Barnett Avenue to the south and Midway Drive to the east, has been as still as a graveyard. Its glory days began in 1972, when the building became the city’s main post office and was San Diego’s go-to for late tax filers, with drivers lining up April 15 to drop off returns. Its descent, however, began in ’93,

Mayoral candidate and Councilwoman Barbara Bry is speaking tonight, July 9 on the latest Proposal for Short-Term Vacation Rentals – among other issues. Councilwoman Jen Campbell has recently come out with the new proposal – and it’s not receiving good reviews at the beach. This will be Bry’s first public response.

The event is sponsored by the chief group fighting STVRs in San Diego, Save San Diego Neighborhoods. Here’s their announcement:

Proposals are to be opened Friday, July 10 – the public will then have 11 days to evaluate plans, submit feedback to guide the city’s choice

By David Garrick / San Diego Union-Tribune / July 9, 2020

San Diego residents on Friday can take virtual tours of up to four competing proposals to redevelop the city’s 48-acre sports arena property into a modern village, featuring entertainment, housing, retail shops and office buildings.

Each of the proposals will be featured on a special city website created to gather public feedback over 11 days, beginning Friday morning through Monday, July 20. The site is sandiego.gov/sportsarenaopenhouse.

Don’t Sacrifice Teachers and Students to the Neoliberal God

By Thomas Ultican / Tultican / July 8, 2020

The US is not ready to open schools. We blew it. Let’s face reality squarely and quit making outcomes in our country even worse.

New York’s Michael Flanagan Ed. D. wrote,

“The pressure to reopen schools, and return to work, will continue to intensify, no matter how many new cases of Covid-19 there are each day, and the numbers are growing. Businesses, politicians and even health professionals are in the process of trying to convince us that sending our kids back to school will be safe.”