Author: Source

By Allison Linn / msnbc / April 25, 2012

Shacking up. It’s not just for the kids anymore.

The number of people over age 50 who are living together romantically has more than doubled in a decade, from 1.2 million in 2000 to 2.75 million in 2010, according to an analysis of government data done by Bowling Green State University.

The 50-plus group represents nearly one-third of the approximately 7.5 million people of all ages who were living together in 2010, the researchers found.

But while young people tend to be testing the waters for marriage, experts say older people aren’t necessarily living together as a step toward tying the knot. They’re doing it for the money.

By Frank Rich / The New Yorker / April 22, 2012

The first 25 conservative donors to give $1 million or more to super-PACs this cycle, either on their own, with their families, or with companies that they or their families control. Others have likely given millions more to 501(c)(4)s, “social welfare” groups that are not required to disclose their donors. (Based on filings through February 29.)

Sheldon Adelson, casino developer, his wife, Miriam, and their family

$16.5 million: Gingrich

_____

Harold Simmons, leveraged-buyout pioneer, his wife, Annette, and his holding company, Contran Corporation

$15.4 million: Crossroads, Perry, Gingrich, Santorum, Romney

By Frank Rich / The New Yorker / April 22, 2012

If you want to appreciate what Barack Obama is up against in 2012, forget about the front man who is his nominal opponent and look instead at the Republican billionaires buying the ammunition for the battles ahead. A representative example is Harold Simmons, an 80-year-old Texan who dumped some $15 million into the campaign before primary season had ended. Reminiscing about 2008, when he bankrolled an ad blitz to tar the Democrats with the former radical Bill Ayers, Simmons told The Wall Street Journal, “If we had run more ads, we could have killed Obama.”

It is not a mistake he intends to make a second time. The $15 million Simmons had spent by late February dwarfs the $2.8 million he allotted to the Ayers takedown and the $3 million he contributed to the Swift Boat Veterans demolition of John Kerry four years before that. Imagine the cash that will flow now that the GOP sideshows are over and the president is firmly in Simmons’s crosshairs.

By Kit-Bacon Gressitt / Excuse Me, I’m Writing / April 22, 2012

In the 1960s, when Juan Felipe Herrera was in elementary school, he lived in a homemade RV in Escondido.

“We lived in a trailer my dad made, off Lincoln,” Herrera said, “He built a house on top of a car. That way you could pull it.”

Like most campesinos, they moved a lot, the boy and his farm worker parents.

Today, Juan Felipe Herrera — UC Riverside creative writing professor, activist and artist — is California’s fifth poet laureate and the first Chicano. He was appointed to the position by Governor Jerry Brown in March. These days, with 28 books, an opera, plays and a joy that is contagious, Herrera is still moving a lot, but in a different way.

Fire breaks out at San Onofre on Friday – took nearly an hour to contain

Editor: It seems we hear new problems about the San Onofre nuclear power plant every time we open a newspaper or watch the news. Apparently, yesterday, a fire broke out at the plant that took nearly an hour to contain.

The U-T reports: “on Friday, the plant operator reported that a fire broke out in the plant’s turbine room outside the reactor containment dome on the northern reactor, Unit 2. The fire was reported at 12:49 p.m. and was extinguished at 1:41 p.m. by the plant’s own fire department. There were no injuries, Edison said in a written statement. The fire took place “in an electrical panel,” the statement said. Edison spokeswoman Jennifer Manfre could provide no further description of the fire and its cause was still unclear.”

Friends of the Earth / April 20, 2012

San Francisco, Calif. — The Japanese firm responsible for fabricating the failing steam generators at Southern California Edison’s San Onofre nuclear reactors announced today that it is undertaking analyses of the causes of the serious, unresolved safety problems.

In papers filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the firm, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, revealed that its reviews will extend at least through the end of August — ensuring that the troubled reactors will not be able to operate through the summer.

OB Assisted Gates: Camera Lucida Series Concert

By Eric / blogsandiego.com

Searching for a spiritual gate, if in need of a mantra or a blissed sound trigger, try the sounds of Charles Curtis, OB resident and Camera Lucida Concert Series curator among many other titles and accolades. These live concerts consist of the best players the region and often beyond has to offer in the manner of old world, classical, intensely magical, and proficiency. Musicians include the top San Diego Symphonists and top UCSD players, joined by special guests to create some of the highest quality chamber music in the US.

I attended the presentation on April 2nd, consisting of Bach’s Preludes and Fugues for String Trio (arr. Mozart), Strauss’ Sextet for Strings from Capriccio, Op. 85, and Brahms’ Sextet for Strings in B-flat, Op. 18. The Strauss piece was especially sweet, balanced in a moment, delicately calling into the upper right-hand section of my brain to question noble dances of a certain imagined time. Throughout, the playing was superb, the mood blissful, and the audience proved fully engaged as they offered a standing ovation with multiple call-backs for the players to be recognized.

Farmers Market Building Demolition by Walmart

By Save Our Heritage Organization / April 19, 2012

On Tuesday – April 17th, Walmart began demolition of the historic Farmers Market, an iconic building that is an important link to the heritage of the Logan Heights and Sherman Heights communities. This was done without community notice or the preparation of an Environmental Impact Review or even review by the historic resources board which should have occurred prior to approval.

On Wednesday a judge issued a stay, stopping the work, pending a hearing. The hearing is scheduled for this coming Monday, April 23 at 9am, at the Hall of Justice, 330 W. Broadway, Dept. 66. The public is encouraged to attend.

by Dirk Ebers

When the weather in San Diego warms up — as it will this weekend — many residents opt for a wardrobe change. From gents in tank tops to ladies in short shorts, the flesh displays ramp up as the temperature rises.

In a word, it’s all about skin. And as the cladding gets more scanty, some curious ethical dilemmas arise:

Is it cool to flaunt one’s body parts? When others flaunt, is it okay to look?

As a man, there’s one flesh display that I find especially confusing: cleavage, meaning female breasts, or more specifically, the space between them.

 Emergency Community Rally at Farmers Market Building on Wednesday The Sherman Heights community was alerted today- April 17th – to…

Peter Douglas, creator and long-time executive director of the California Coastal Commission was fighting an ongoing battle with cancer when he learned he’d been named the Peter Benchley Ocean Awards’ Hero of the Seas for 2012. He wrote that he was honored and would be there to accept if his body and the universe gave him dispensation. Sadly, Peter passed away on April 1. His now posthumous award is in recognition of 40 years working to assure public access to and scenic protection of California’s more than 1,100 miles of spectacular coastline. Last year a delegation from the World Bank visited California and told him his state has the best coastal protection on earth.

New Building Opens designed in the style of Monterey’s Cannery Row

The Log / April 10, 2012

Point Loma Seafoods, a staple at America’s Cup Harbor since 1963, has just put the finishing touches on its $2.7 million renovation.

“Point Loma Seafoods did an incredible job with its renovation,” said San Diego Board of Port Commissioners chairman Lou Smith. “This is a business that truly understands the meaning of community.”

San Diego City Council president Pro Tem Kevin Faulconer and Board of Port Commissioners members Smith, Scott Peters and Bob Nelson celebrated the restaurant’s makeover and grand reopening April 5, and dedicated its public art component.

By Jim Madaffer / Mission Times Courier / April 12, 2012

The East Village skyline’s architectural landmark is taking shape. The signature dome of the New Downtown Central Library can now be seen from various vantage points downtown and beyond. After decades of dreaming, the City’s newest and most state-of-the-art public building is set to open in mid-2013.

I had an opportunity to tour the main library construction project recently and walked each floor to see what will surely become an icon of perseverance and a gift to future generations of San Diego. The construction site reminds me of an erector set with each piece of the building carefully set with precision equipment and high technology.

The $185 million nine-story New Central Library was designed by San Diego architect Rob Quigley and will undoubtedly be the signature statement of his career. Construction is on schedule and on budget.