Category: Economy

Don Bauder, blogger for the San Diego Reader, wrote a recent post “Football Yes, Libraries No” – reposted below. We wanted to share images of the $26 million pedestrian bridge that Bauder mentions. Groundbreaking ceremonies on the Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge just occurred back on October 23rd. It will allow Petco Park visitors – baseball fans – easier access to the ballpark from across Harbor Drive. San Diego says Yes to baseball. CCDC is driving this project. Now what with the Chargers’ revival, all of this is even more relevant. This bridge is way more important for our civic life than branch libraries or even a new downtown one. Easy access to baseball but not to books.

In a lot of ways, choosing the Bush administration’s 10 greatest moments — disastrous failures, all — is about as pointless as picking out your 10 least favorite hemorrhoids: There are entirely too many of them, and taken together they all add up to a throbbing mass of pain. But unfortunately, history demands that we at least make the effort so that future generations will understand why we perform voodoo rituals cursing Bush’s memory before we go to bed every night.

This is a monumental and unprecedented environmental catastrophe. The TVA disaster is now estimated at 5.3 million cubic yards of coal ash, or almost twice as large as the 2.8 million cubic yards generated by the World Trade Center collapse. This spill is affecting two tributaries of the Tennessee River. The Tennessee is a major river system and a drinking water source for millions of people downstream in Chattanooga, plus Alabama, west Tennessee and Kentucky. Coal ash is the waste material captured after the coal is burned for electricity – burning coal generates about half of America’s electricity….

President-Elect Obama’s initial choices for his environmental team look promising in terms of their commitment to climate action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, fund green jobs and develop renewable energy systems. They are certainly a breath of fresh air compared to the Lame Duck’s last minute pollution exemptions.

On Saturday, December 13th, the Union-Tribune ran an innocuous article entitled, “DA ends probe of land sale to college,” over on page B-3. Staff writer Jennifer Vigil described very matter-of-fact-ly how the District Attorney “had cleared everyone involved in a land sale to the San Diego Community College District that benefited two politically connected developers.” Does this bury the scandal? It’s such a small scandal and involved our former ‘ballpark czar’ Mike Madigan.

The California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday cleared the way for construction of the Sunrise Powerlink, a contentious transmission line that promises to bring more reliable and renewable power from the Imperial Valley to San Diego. The 4-1 vote allows San Diego Gas & Electric Co. to move forward with the 123-mile, $1.9 billion power-line project, which could deliver enough electricity to serve 650,000 households. At the same time, it was a disappointment to for many environmentalists, who worry about the effects of 150-foot-tall towers on unspoiled deserts and mountains. “Corporate profit won out today,” said the Sierra Club’s Micah Mitrosky.

The anonymous donation of $259,500 to save San Diego’s beach fire pits has provided a little holiday warmth for a city that is cold, broke and desperate for help. The unexpected gesture, announced yesterday, led many San Diegans to heap praise on the unknown benefactor and renewed fond memories of a beach tradition that has spanned generations.

The Federal Reserve refused a request by Bloomberg News to disclose the recipients of more than $2 trillion of emergency loans from U.S. taxpayers and the assets the central bank is accepting as collateral. Bloomberg filed suit Nov. 7 under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act requesting details about the terms of 11 Fed lending programs, most created during the deepest financial crisis since the Great Depression.

BY CRAIG NEWMAN: A lot of Americans go into service professions, but most have other means of employment, and need to find ways to help that complement their lives. To be really fair, this requires time and/or money that might be lacking; for example, a single parent putting kids through college is already more than busy. Here, I’m focusing on people who might have a little extra. Here are four possible aspects of “a craigslist for service,” and my suggestions for the Obama Administration.

The Pentagon’s three new rapid-response task forces will assist civil authorities during possible terrorist attacks or natural disasters, but they won’t perform law-enforcement missions, a senior Defense Department official said here yesterday.Some people have surfaced concerns that active-duty soldiers, who make up the core of the first 4,700-member joint task force established in early October, could be used to perform police functions, which would be in violation of the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act.

They’ve taken their sleeping bags and pillows back home and hauled away their protest placards after ending a nearly weeklong sit-in at a Chicago factory that came to symbolize the plight of laid-off labor. But a day after dozens of protesting workers walked out of the Republic Windows & Doors plant with their demands met, they said they hope their triumph will inspire others nationwide to take similar stands against employers if need be.

Gay men and women across the country are taking part in today’s “Day Without a Gay” economic boycott. Outraged by the recent passage of California’s Proposition 8 to overturn state rules allowing same-sex couples to marry, they and their supporters want everyone to be clear on where they stand. Here is what’s happening in Huston.