Category: San Diego

by Lucas O’Connor / Two Cathedrals

The first draft of state redistricting maps were released and approved [June 10th]. There will still be revisions, but this should be relatively close to what we’re dealing with. Flash analysis, roughly based on current numbering and roughly South to North.

If Palomar Mountain State Park is closed, as the gov wants to do, our big state will really not save all that much from its closure. According to Roy Sterns, Deputy Director of Communications for the California State Parks, California will only save less than $160,000 a year by closing Palomar Mountain State Park. That isn’t much for one of the grandest natural treasures San Diego County currently claims.

As you have probably heard, Governor Jerry Brown wants to shut down 70 state parks up and down California in light of the state’s budget crisis. The parks slated for closure would meet the governor’s $22 million budget cuts. These include Palomar Mountain State Park here in our county.

In our coverage of SlutWalk San Diego we’ve noted the number of young people involved in this event. I want to give a more formal introduction to two of the young women that were involved in organizing this the movement in San Diego.

For a week the OB Rag ran a poll on the mayor’s race, listing declared and undeclared candidates for San Diego’s top executive post. With nearly 200 respondents, current Congressman Bob Filner – who has now declared – came out on the very top with 58 votes or 30%. Former Councilmember Donna Frye – who has not declared – came in second with 43 votes, or 22%. In third place, was Democratic State Senator Christine Kehoe, 38 votes and 20% of the total. Kehoe has begun a process to set up her campaign although some pundits do not consider her a “declared” candidate as yet.

As the mayor’s race continues to unfold, the election season rite of local Republicans trying to morph themselves into “moderates” palatable to the ever-malleable Democratic electorate in San Diego continues. The most recent example of this is Nathan Fletcher’s announcement that he is coming back from Sacramento to save San Diego.

As reported in the Union Tribune and KPBS Fletcher has a vision:

“When I look at the city I see an amazing potential for the future of San Diego over the next decade and I believe I represent a new generation of leadership that can get us there . . . “

I’ve attended many rallies and protests at downtown San Diego’s City Hall, but never have I attended one with so much sizzle. Sexuality was the issue– predominately, but not exclusively female sexuality. As Patty Jones has noted here the message was “yes means yes and no means no.” Participants were as unequivocal about everything that the “yes means yes” part implies as they were unequivocal about the “no means no” part. “Yes” put the sizzle in Slutwalk and it was a deeply sensual and life affirming “yes.” That is probably why Slutwalk was not only empowering and thought provoking but also a whole lotta fun.

I realize that I am not a restaurant reviewer – although I always thought it would be fun to be one – and I also realize that this restaurant is not in the 92106/92107 zip code, but it is pretty darn close – 92110 – on Midway (3185 to be precise), but I was served one of the best meals I have had in years. The “PUNJAB RESTAURANT, Taste of the Himalayas” smelled divine as we entered the small restaurant for lunch. There were 3 of us; all women that had met when we were in a water aerobics class at the “Y”.

Saturday, June 11 2011, SlutWalk San Diego held its first rally as a large group gathered in the middle of Civic Center Plaza. By 1:30 pm, there was a crowd of about 150. People were assembling in the shade of the large trees in the Plaza. According to Frank’s headcount, by 2:00 it was up to 350 with people still streaming into the plaza.

SlutWalk!

Ocean Beach Community Garage Sale!

Part 2 : The Stage Is Set for Revolution

Editor: This is the second part in a series about the history of Mexico written for gringos, and it was written in 1979-80. (Come inside for the link to Part 1.)

The liberal reform movement in Mexico during the middle of the 19th century was lead by Benito Juarez, the first and only Indian to gain the Presidency of Mexico. The reformers wished to dismantle the old semi-feudal economic structure, where the masses of peasants worked on large estates. But the conservative forces of society, the Church, large rancho owners, merchants, militarists, and opportunists who wanted to re-establish the Crown, violently resisted Juarez’s reform efforts.

Councilmember Kevin Faulconer is so concerned about the failure of the City of San Diego to yet successfully put out to bid – or to have built – the public restroom at the foot of Brighton Avenue in Ocean Beach, that he plans to have the Council audit the department that is responsible for the bidding process.

Mr. Faulconer, who represents Ocean Beach as part of District 2, has added and has had approved an audit of the City’s Purchasing and Contracting Department …

The next meeting of the San Diego Redistricting Commission is Thursday, June 9th. The Commission will meet at 4:00 pm in the auditorium of the City’s Metro Operations Center in Kearny Mesa, 9192 Topaz Way.

The Commission is in the process of re-drawing the City of San Diego’s council districts and adding one. There are currently eight districts, and the voters elected to add one additional district to make 9. Having nine districts in a strong-mayor city government system aids the council-branch in its deliberations with the mayor over policy, budgets, and other issues, such as land use.