Recent testing of San Diego fourth and eighth graders showed that the poor kids are doing even less well in San Diego’s schools than when similar tests were conducted in 2003. From the U-T. Among San Diego’s fourth-graders eligible for free lunch, those tested last year earned a math score that was 38 points lower than those who do not …
San Diego Navy Lights and USS Benfold Tour
I took a break from politics this evening and took family and friends to the Naval Base in San Diego for the Holiday Lights and a tour of the USS Benfold (DDG-65). It was great that the Navy opened up the base to the public and let them tour some of our ships. I was struck by the professionalism and …
Obamacare, Medical Marijuana and the tea party
No this isn’t an article about whether Obamacare should cover medical pot. If you thought so, I recommend reading up on my blog’s agenda and purpose (links are not to sdrostra.com posts). Today’s U-T reports that a group known as Citizens for Patient Rights plans to introduce a ballot measure that would regulate medical marijuana in the city. The plan …
Unacceptable Tax Hikes in California
A few days ago, I read Richard Rider’s detailed post about how truly awful the California tax burden is. A quick refresher. California has the 3rd worst state income tax in the nation. 9.3% tax bracket starts at $46,766 for people filing as individuals. 10.3% tax starts at $1,000,000 http://www.taxfoundation.org/files/bp59_es.pdf (election likely later this year to again raise these rates) …
Super Difficult Draconian Security-Threatening Cuts to Start. . . in 2013
Well, no wonder they failed. In political terms, 2013 is a lifetime away. Obama will probably not be President by then. There is no immediate impact other than to credit ratings. It gives the new President and a new Congress time to deal with the problem. It even gives the current President and Congress time to deal with the problem. …
The Mess that is SDUSD
The actions of the San Diego Unified School District board are irrational. Consider the following. The board proposed a plan to shutter schools, including high performing magnet schools to save money for a reported savings of $5 million. In the same article, it stated that the board is considering selling or developing real estate to save money. Two credit rating …
San Diego’s Budget – Impact of Prop D Defeat
Last November’s defeat of the half-cent sales tax measure, Proposition D, was supposed to be the warning shot across the bow that galvanized city leaders into drastic action to cut budget deficits. From the Citizen’s Fiscal Sustainability Task Force Analysis of FY2012 Budget Deficit: In all frankness, the seeming absence of a sense of urgency demonstrated by the City …
Surprising Veto by Jerry Brown – SB 469
I was alerted by a tweet from my councilmember Lorie Zapf that Governor Jerry Brown has vetoed the anti-Walmart legislation sponsored by Juan Vargas, SB-469. Despite any rhetoric to the contrary, this bill was designed to make it harder for cities to approve Walmart supercenters that sell groceries, in direct competition with the largely unionized grocers like Ralphs, Vons and …
Tea Party and Occupy – Some Common Ground? UPDATE
Update below the fold. Temple of Mut has a great round up on the Occupy (insert your city here) events yesterday. Fellow SLOBs W.C. Varones and Left Coast Rebel both attended the San Diego event yesterday. W.C. has great video and LCR has revealing pictures. They are worth a review, because this movement is complex and even self-contradictory at times; …
Pension Reform Battle Just Heating Up
This is no longer news, but nevertheless important. Carl DeMaio announced that the pension reform initiative had over 145,000 signatures, with 93,346 needed to qualify. It appears likely that the initiative will qualify for the ballot. The furious counterattack by labor on even allowing a vote on the measure has been curious. Clearly they see a huge threat in this …
Weekender Political Roundup
I thought the grocery unions might be on strike at the time of this writing, and they still might by the time you read this. However, a 7:10 p.m. deadline came and went today without a strike. This is great news, and perhaps a strike can be averted. Despite my antipathy for the union position and belief that they will …
Endorsing DeMaio – One Tea Party View
I don’t speak for the tea party movement, no one does. I think that’s necessary to understanding the movement as a whole. The best explanation for this comes from the SCTRC web page on the Starfish and the Spider. The principles that bring the tea party movement together are less government, less regulation, and lower taxes and lower costs of …
Dumanis Disqualifies Herself
Bonnie Dumanis was interviewed by the U-T editorial board today. Ricky Young, @sdutYoung on Twitter, has a couple of key quotes. Dumanis to U-T edit board, asked about Prop D, says she voted but ”My vote is personal” Dumanis says she doesn’t remember Prop 23, last fall’s effort to undo AB32, so doesn’t know how she might have voted. Gustafson …
Good Timing for a Grocery Strike? UPDATE
Yesterday’s U-T headline announced that San Diego County’s unemployment rate had increased to 10.5% during the “summer of recovery.” Unemployment in San Diego County ticked up in July to 10.5 percent, up from a revised 10.4 percent in June, reaching a high not seen for nearly a year, according to data released Friday by the state Employment Development Department. So imagine …
Obama Administration’s Illegal Illegal Immigration Plan
The administration announced Thursday that it will cease deporting those identified as illegal immigrants who pose no threat to public safety or national security so that it can focus on catching and expelling criminals who do. That’s the purported rationale. Let’s look at the overall policy of the administration with a view to actual results. Step 1. Don’t enforce the …
401(k) – Better for Workers
Is a promise that won’t be kept really a promise at all? I was thinking about the issue of defined contribution plans (401(k)) vs defined benefit plans for city workers that will be on the ballot in June 2012. The Voice of San Diego summarized the issue neatly: It [the ballot measure] was an agreement to unite and to set …
Debt Downgrade – Blaming the Tea Party – San Diego Responds
All of the usual suspects have decided to blame the Tea Party for the recent S&P downgrade of U.S. government debt to AA+. This should be in the category of dog bites man news, of course, but it somehow makes the papers. First of all, the downgrade is long overdue. Second, unless spending is curbed, the debt will grow; tax …
Of Course SDSU Only Applied Non-Discrimination Policy to the Christian Sorority
Sisters of Alpha Delta Chi – Delta Chapter. In yesterday’s news, 10news is reporting that the 9th Circuit has ruled against San Diego State sorority Alpha Delta Chi, the only Christian sorority on campus. The crux of the issue is whether an officially recognized campus group, which can receive funding if recognized, may restrict membership on the basis of religion. …
Current Ballot Initiative Petitions – Tea Party Perspective
It’s that time in the election cycle where we are seeing a big push to get petitions signed to qualify ballot measures. I signed four petitions over the weekend, and thought I would share what I consider to be the tea party perspective. (Following Dean‘s lead, I am going to start using small case for tea party to emphasize that …
Deficit Reduction – The Voters Will Need to Speak Clearly
The collapse of talks between Boehner and Obama on a “grand bargain” on the debt ceiling and future deficit reduction can be blamed on many things, but ultimately, the perceived self-interest of all parties makes such a deal impossible. There is no solution that will get enough Republican votes to pass the House that would also get enough Democratic votes …
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