Author: Source

By Jim Perry, Barbara McDonald, and Mary Koto

Are you aware of the NAVWAR proposal to redevelop the hangars near Old Town that we all see when we drive on I-5 or Pacific Highway? Look at the picture simulating what this area may look like if the Navy’s proposal goes forward. The Navy and City of San Diego support a mega-development of 109 buildings on the NAVWAR site, with 35 high-rise buildings.

The Navy is now calling for public comment on its “Preferred Alternative’” and other options. San Diego residents have been given a very brief amount of time to review this proposal, so if you oppose or have concerns about the Navy’s Preferred Alternative, the time to comment is NOW as the deadline is only 11 days away. Comments can be submitted directly to the Navy – go here . The deadline for public comment is July 13.

By David Garrick / San Diego Union-Tribune / June 22, 2021

San Diego is spending $15 million to buy 240,000 green recycling bins and kitchen pails so city residents can begin recycling food scraps to comply with a new state law that will fundamentally change recycling in California.

The new organics recycling law, SB 1383, forces residents and businesses to start separating out food waste and food-soiled paper products from their trash so that they can go in green bins for recycling.

By David Garrick / San Diego Union-Tribune / June 23, 2021

San Diego’s proposal to allow many businesses to eliminate their parking spots passed a key test last week when a City Council committee voted 3-1 to support the change after a contentious hearing. The vote, with only Councilmember Marni von Wilpert opposed, makes it likely the proposal will get support from at least five members of the full nine-member council next month.

Many San Diego businesses would no longer have to provide parking under policy proposal

By Chris Brewster / Voice of San Diego / June 23, 2021

If the mayor and City Council are serious about police reform, they should make clear that the expectation is that the police chief must meaningfully bring police stops into alignment with the makeup of the population, or spell out clearly why doing so isn’t desirable.

The San Diego Police Department’s leadership has been ineffective over many years at ensuring equity in police stops.

By Jesse Marx and Sofía Mejías Pascoe / Voice of San Diego / June 17, 2021

A long-awaited analysis of San Diego Police Department data, conducted by an outside think tank, was released Thursday, June 17, and offers a familiar picture of the disparities that people of color face when encountering law enforcement. But the police chief and the report’s authors have said they don’t believe it’s appropriate to attribute such disparities to officer bias.

Happenings in the “hood”

By Colleen O’Connor

Immigrants and explorers have been coming to San Diego for centuries. One of the earliest was Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, who led the first European expedition to the west coast of the United States.

Historians believe he anchored his flagship, the San Salvador, on Point Loma’s east shore near the land that becomes Cabrillo National Monument.

It was the first contact between the coastal California Indigenous tribes, like the Kumeyaay, and men from Europe.

By Thomas Ultican / Tultican / June 17,2021

Not all edtech is negative but it is important to remember that private companies are in it for the money. Giant corporations and private equity firms require return on investment. Improving education comes in second to making profits and everyone in the business knows that the real edtech gold comes from data mining.

Dr Velislava Hillman is a visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). In a post on the LSE blog she writes,

“It is hard, perhaps impossible, to go to school and not be registered by a digital technology. Cameras wire the premises; homework is completed using one business’s software application (eg Microsoft Word) that may be embedded onto another business’s platform (shared via Google);

Straight Up With a Twist

By Edwin Decker

Dear SWAT, I recently went out with a woman I met online. We had been flirting heavily by text for about two weeks until we finally went on a date which was a home run in my mind. We went for a hike, had lunch and margaritas and made out a little in the back of a Lyft. But when I texted her the next day she didn’t respond. Over the course of the next few days I texted some more, not to stalk, but because the date was such a success, I figured she must not be seeing my texts. Anyway, she never responded and now I’m just angry. Should I text her one last time to call her out on her rudeness?

Sincerely,

Once Ghosted, Twice Shy

No, OGTS, you should not text her again;

By Colleen O’Connor

Historians often use memorable contemporary events to better tell stories that define an age.

For example; to better explain the 1950s, a catchy tune from the popular musical, My Fair Lady, suffices. Sung by Rex Harrison, “Why Can’t a Woman Be More Like a Man?” says it all.

The lyrics illicit some disbelief in this century, but many still recall that catchy tune. The stage play, recordings, musical and multiple Oscar wins, generated massive box office numbers.

This century, however, the song is often described simply as a “Hymn to Him.” Different times. Different takes. Abundant examples of war, propaganda, feel-good dances, political and dystopian movies, and individual acts of bravery, also exist

By Dave Schwab / San Diego Community News Group / June 16, 2021

An environmental analysis is out on the NAVWAR redevelopment proposal to turn it into a transit hub with housing and airport connections, while pressure is building to downsize the project by a local group calling itself Save San Diego’s Character.

“Recently, the Navy initiated a direct mail campaign to notify residents and business owners of the impending renovation of the NAVWAR facility in Old Town offering five ‘alternatives’ to review and select a viable option,”

Enjoy ocean views and sea breezes on this garden tour in the beautiful Ocean Beach community. Known best for its pier, sandy shores and colorful history, Ocean Beach is also a gardener’s paradise. Stately palms and araucaria trees rise into blue skies while hillside home gardens abound in a wide array of plants that flourish in the microclimate of this coastal area.

By Andrew Bowen / KPBS / June 18, 2021

San Diego affordable housing advocates are applauding Mayor Todd Gloria’s decision this week to restart the process of redeveloping the Pechanga Arena in the Midway District. Gloria announced that decision Thursday after state officials determined the process initiated by his predecessor, Kevin Faulconer, had violated the state’s Surplus Land Act. That law, amended in 2019, requires cities to give affordable housing developers first right of refusal to build on public land that the government doesn’t need.