Author: Source

by Debbi Baker / U-T San Diego / May 23, 2012

For the second time this month a green laser was aimed at the eyes of Harbor Police officers patrolling the shoreline.

The officers were about a half-mile offshore of Ocean Beach just before midnight Tuesday when the powerful beam was pointed at their faces, Harbor Police Sgt. Mike Rich said. They notified officers on the land, who searched Sunset Cliffs near Ladera Street for about 20 minutes before locating four men in their 20s on the beach, Rich said.

Call to Action to Pass the California Homeowner Bill of Rights!

California is one of the easiest states in the union to foreclose upon people, as evidenced by the astounding 84 percent rate of fraudulent foreclosures in SF, that have occurred without legal documentation! The banking lobby has also bought the finance committee in the state legislature, so they have tabled the CA HBR. Please sign this SignOn petition.

Click here to sign petition:

http://signon.org/sign/pass-the-california-homeowne-3

By Charles Davidson

Support the California Homeowner Bill of Rights (HBR). The HBR is a package of bills that will give greater protection to homeowners facing foreclosure,

BY J. A. Rippo / The Espresso / Originally published May 16, 2012

Arizona governor Jan Brewer has signed into law a bill that effectively ends Mexican-American studies classes in Arizona’s public schools (HB 2281). She did this after Tom Horne, a school superintendent and candidate for Attorney General, made noise about his dislike of a Mex-Am culture program in Tucson.

Horne and Brewer justified their action by claiming the classes promote the overthrow of the US government, preached resentment toward white people; particularly well-off ones, and urged ethnic solidarity at the expense of a melting-pot mentality.

By Josh Eisman

While Romney’s firm ran Dominos, the customers’ cost of a pizza was cut by nearly 35%. Pizza price and taxes are both forms of revenue, Mitt Romney has now vowed to cut government revenue.

In order to stay afloat with such low revenue, Romney’s firm cut the quality of current products and the research and development of future healthier products.

To deal with these cuts, Mitt Romney has vowed to cut social programs, green jobs and the development of college student’s (through student loans). He suggests he would de-regulate business and corporations, which would automatically reduce quality of these businesses.

By John P. Anderson / WalkingMissEva

As anyone that helped our family move in the fall of 2010 can attest to, I have a healthy affinity for plants. Maybe slightly more than healthy, some might say. Either way I’ve really enjoyed having a yard to work in for the past year and have learned a lot about plants. I previously touched on using coffee as a fertilizer, today’s post is about the benefits that eggshells can bring to your yard and garden.

Commentary:

When we started our garden I was really disappointed to see our first plantings disappear almost overnight. Basil, tomatoes, cilantro, and many other seedlings we put into the garden would quickly lose most or all of their leaves. After a few nights of inspection with a flashlight I found multitudes of silverfish, slugs, and snails feasting on the greenery. I was unable to find a quick solution to the silverfish, but eggshells proved to be a strong deterrent to the slugs and snails and I learned they also provide a number of benefits to the soil and plants.

By Kit-Bacon Gressitt / Excuse Me, I’m Writing / May 20, 2012

Traveling is a great occupation — for so many reasons, not the least of which is the differences between home and “there,” wherever there might be. In this case, it’s Spain.

In Spain, my normal breakfast of Weetabix with raisins and organic milk is replaced with hearty ham and goat cheese, fresh fruit and coffee with hot milk.

In Spain, our rampant consumerism is replaced with a two-hour midday siesta, when shops are shuttered and families and friends leisurely dine together.

In Spain, my country’s clenched sphincter is replaced with a mobile prophylactic dispensary.

By Norma Damashek / NumbersRunner / May 18, 2012

Two things I need to clarify.

First thing: Some regular readers of NumbersRunner questioned last week’s harsh assessment of how San Diego is faring under our ‘strong mayor’ system. Actually, I understated the problems — they’re much worse than you think.

While it’s not unheard of for city leaders to sweep messy problems under the rug, the lack of professional management inside City Hall and the disintegration of public accountability and honest disclosure under our current mayor are — without a doubt — San Diego’s most closely guarded secrets since Diann Shipione (former board trustee of the San Diego City Employees Retirement System) spilled the beans about gross mismanagement, lack of disclosure, and deceptive practices shrouding our pension system.

Protest Roars to Life at Chicago NATO Summit in Face of Violent Police Crackdowns

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Veteran Scott Olsen returns his medal, nurses fight for their rights, and police crack skulls in the latest demonstration of 99% outrage.

By Matt Reichel / AlterNet / May 21, 2012 |

For weeks, people have speculated over the potential for a blooming “American Spring” this weekend in Chicago, when thousands were expected to come protest the meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. In the end, it might be more appropriate to speak of a newly born American Summer, as demonstrators were dosed with unseasonably warm 80- and 90-degree weather in a weekend that felt more like July than May.

Editor: Opposition by the public – the people of San Diego – to the plan for Balboa Park by Irwin Jacob – the billionaire – is growing. On Friday, May 18th, San Diego’s Historical Resources Board voted against it unanimously, and on the day before, the Park and Recreation Board voted 5-4 against it. The plan, the Plaza de Panama plan, will be taken up by the Planning Commission on June 7 and by the San Diego City Council on July 9.

By Roger Showley / U-T San Diego / May 18, 2012

San Diego’s Historical Resources Board voted unanimously Friday [May 18] against the Plaza de Panama plan for Balboa Park.

It was the second city board to register its opposition, following Thursday’s 5-4 vote by the Park and Recreation Board. The Planning Commission is scheduled to act June 7 and the City Council, July 9.

By Save Our Heritage Organization

Opposition to the controversial Plaza de Panama plan for Balboa Park is building into a groundswell, as the design team’s cost estimates balloon, from $40 million to $45 million in a matter of days, and doubts arise over completing construction by 2015, the centennial of the Panama-California Exposition.

The Innocence Project in New York says DNA alone has freed 289 prisoners since 1989.

By David G. Savage / LA Times / May 21, 2012

WASHINGTON — More than 2,000 people have been freed from prison since 1989 after they were found to have been wrongly convicted of serious crimes, according to a new National Registry of Exonerations compiled by University of Michigan Law School and Northwestern University.

Its sponsors say it is by far the largest database of such cases, and they hope it will help reveal why the criminal justice system sometimes misfires, prosecuting and convicting the innocent.

“The more we learn about false convictions, the better we’ll be at preventing them,” said Samuel Gross, a University of Michigan law professor.

See here for Chicago braces for final day of anti-NATO protests as demonstrators march on Boeing HQ

Reuters / May 20, 2012

Nearly 50 U.S. military veterans at an anti-NATO rally in Chicago threw their service medals into the street on Sunday, an action they said symbolized their rejection of the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some of the veterans, many wearing military uniform shirts over black anti-war t-shirts, choked back tears as they explained their actions. Others folded an American flag while a bugle played “Taps,” which is typically performed at U.S. military funerals.

By Donna Frye / Voice of San Diego / May 21, 2012

If you don’t know about the relationship between state low interest loans for city wastewater and water projects, city bond offering documents and Proposition A’s proposed ban on Project Labor Agreements, you will probably want to read this to the end.

Fact is, they have a lot in common and it’s an interesting relationship.

On Tuesday May 22, the City Council will vote on two agenda items, 51 and 52, that allow the city to borrow money from the State Revolving Fund (SRF) program at a “low 2.0933% for a 20-year term”. Both items are for public infrastructure projects; one is for wastewater and the other is for replacing old water mains. Combined, the city is seeking to borrow approximately $30 million at this low rate of interest.

Some background in the agenda: