Why didn’t Governor Patrick lock down the whole Commonwealth of Massachusetts?

Brian BradyBrian Brady 7 Comments

…or Massachusetts and the surrounding states?  …or the whole country? I logged into Facebook last Friday evening as I rode the train home from downtown San Diego.  I was thrilled to see that the second suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing was apprehended.  Facebook friends were posting nice tributes to the Boston PD on their status updates.  I was even …

EXPOSE’ — FAA is INTENTIONALLY causing massive airline flight delays to punish taxpayers

Richard Rider, Chairman, San Diego Tax FightersRichard Rider, Chairman, San Diego Tax Fighters Leave a Comment

The story is out that the FAA is INTENTIONALLY causing massive airline flight delays to coerce the public into voting for tax increases. See the WALL ST JOURNAL editorial below. Never have we seen a more stark difference between President Reagan and President Obama.  Does ANYONE believe for an instant that the FAA brass would have organized such a work …

Filner hires retired CAO Ekard

Thor's AssistantPress Releases / Media Advisories Leave a Comment

Press Release MAYOR FILNER HIRES FORMER COUNTY CHIEF EXECUTIVE WALT EKARD TO CONSULT ON ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS (SAN DIEGO) – Mayor Bob Filner has hired Walter F. Ekard, the former Chief Administrative Officer for the County of San Diego, to provide strategic advice on the organizational structure and effectiveness of the City of San Diego. While at the County, Ekard managed …

SDCTA Announces Finalists for Good Governance, Media Watchdog Awards

Thor's AssistantPress Releases / Media Advisories 3 Comments

Winners to be Recognized at SDCTA’s 18th Annual Goldens Awards Dinner on May 9th San Diego — April 24 2013: The San Diego County Taxpayers Association (SDCTA) today announced the finalists (see list below) for its annual Golden Watchdog, Media Watchdog and Public Private Partnership “Golden” award categories. Winners will be honored at a special dinner at the San Diego …

Popaditch leaving San Diego to join Teach for America Corps

Thor's AssistantRostra Administrator (Thor's Assistant) 3 Comments

from former Congressional candidate Nick Popaditch… I have been offered a position in the 2013 Teach For America Corps to teach secondary math (grades 7-12) in the Mississippi Delta. April and I are excited about this new mission, including the new scenery. Changing lives and the world, 30 students at a time. What a great mission — one suitable for …

You wanna win? Be present

Tony ManolatosTony Manolatos 6 Comments

[captionpix imgsrc=”http://sdrostra.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/IMG_1965.jpg” captiontext=”Dwayne Crenshaw and me”] Most people know nothing about local politicians and just about everyone else knows one or two things about them. So if the one thing a politician is known for is charm, he or she is probably winning on Election Day. I haven’t seen any research that tells me this but it’s a theory that makes …

San Diego Hotel Tax Update

B-DaddyB-Daddy 4 Comments

In a ruling that certainly disappoints, Judge Steven Denton has dismissed the lawsuit of Mel Shapiro challenging the 2% hotel tax that supports the San Diego Tourism Management District (TMD).  The suit was dismissed on the technical grounds that Mr. Shapiro lacked standing to file the suit because he was not an affected hotel owner.  From the U-T: Shapiro, the …

GOP Assemblyman Rocky Chavez Pushing New Subsidies — Disappointing

Richard Rider, Chairman, San Diego Tax FightersRichard Rider, Chairman, San Diego Tax Fighters 48 Comments

AB 13 – my bill to grant #Veterans in-state tuition – just passed out of Asm. Vets Affairs Committee! Next stop, Assembly Approps — Rocky Chavez (@AsmRocky) April 16, 2013 RIDER COMMENT I found this Tweet rather unsettling.  As I see it, this Rocky Chavez bill is a bad start for our new San Diego County GOP Assemblyman. If one …

Boston Marathon Bombing: Talk Moves Faster Than Fact

Bob SiegelBob Siegel 1 Comment

Originally published by Communities @ Washington Times SAN DIEGO, April 16, 2013 ― In the wake of an event more horrible than the original “Boston Massacre,” our bewildered country tries to make sense out of yesterday’s nightmare. At the moment, we have very few answers. It only took a split second for two bomb blasts to transform a beloved Boston …

Eyes On the Bully’s Pulpit

Greg LarkinEyes on the Bully’s Pulpit, Greg Larkin 12 Comments

Today is the launch of a new column, “Eyes on the Bully’s Pulpit.” Most political wonks involved in City of San Diego politics have heard numerous stories about the actions or inactions of Mayor Bob Filner, with many experiencing some of the most interesting incidents first hand. Some of his actions may very well cross the bounds of political ethics. …

Boston Tragedy: Just what were they thinking?

Greg LarkinGreg Larkin Leave a Comment

“After every national tragedy, you can be sure that some clueless brand will try to exploit it. In today’s episode of ‘What the hell were they thinking,’ the food website Epicurious sent out the following tweets to its 385,000 followers”… Read it at Mr. Media Training. I’ll add this… Along with every politician of any party with no connection to the situation, …

College Republicans at UCSD review FrackNation

Brian BradyBrian Brady, Guest Column Leave a Comment

I watched the documentary Fracknation last week and heard producer Ann McElhinney field questions afterwards.  The event was co-sponsored by the UCSD chapters of College Republicans and Young America’s Foundation. Freshman Jonathan Natale responded to my request for a summary of the evening: by Jonathan Natale: On Thursday, April 11, the College Republicans at UC San Diego shared in the …

Faulconer on Mayor Filner’s budget: ‘Repeats the mistakes of City Hall’s past’

Matt AwbreyMatt Awbrey 2 Comments

For Immediate Release: April 15, 2013 Contact: Matt Awbrey, Communications Director – (619) 929-0089     Councilmember Faulconer’s Statement on Mayor Filner’s 2013-2014 Budget Proposal  SAN DIEGO — Today, Councilmember Kevin Faulconer released the following statement regarding Mayor Filner’s proposed Fiscal Year 2014 budget. “Instead of continuing with fiscal discipline, accountability and fully implementing voter-approved managed competition, Mayor Filner’s proposed budget repeats …

UPDATED: REASON’s California High-Speed Rail Due Diligence Report

Richard Rider, Chairman, San Diego Tax FightersUndesignated Leave a Comment

Here’s an updated version of the superb 2008 REASON due diligence report on CA High-Speed Rail.  The key point to remember is that every flaw that REASON’s original report pointed out has since been validated — though usually UNDERestimated in magnitude.  This is the executive summary, with links to the full report for those who want to know more. http://reason.org/studies/show/california-high-speed-rail-report …

More Caltrans skewering from Joel Anderson

Thor's AssistantRostra Administrator (Thor's Assistant) 10 Comments

From Senator Joel Anderson… In case you missed it, I wrote an op-ed that appeared in this morning’s San Diego Union Tribune which called for a drastic change in the Caltrans culture of corruption and urged my colleagues to vote against the nomination of Acting Director Malcolm Dougherty. Some of the highlights of the op-ed include: Under Dougherty’s leadership over …