Food for thought from USA Today: Federal civil servants earned average pay and benefits of $123,049 in 2009 while private workers made $61,051 in total compensation, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The data are the latest available. Federal workers have been awarded bigger average pay and benefit increases than private employees for nine years in a row. The …
Proposition 8 gets New Life — Federal Appeals Panel Reinstates It Today pending a New Hearing
A 3-judge “motions panel” today overruled district court Judge Vaughn Walker’s decision to invalidate the voter-approved Proposition 8. It will remain the law of California on marriage pending further Federal review. Constitutional Law experts have long believed this case will not finally be decided until the 9-member U.S. Supreme Court gives its opinion. California resident Anthony Kennedy may have the deciding vote. Proposition 8 …
Despite Deceptive Editorial, SD CityBeat Supports Sales Tax Increase
In a recent editorial, San Diego CityBeat’s staff claimed to oppose Proposition D, the sales tax increase on the November ballot. But the purported opposition is just a convenient fig-leaf for the tax-and-spend CityBeat “liberals”, as they prepare to endorse the sales tax hike. The “liberals” (I don’t like calling them liberals, as they’re not – they are leftists) rule …
It’s Not A Tax Unless We Need To Win In Court
When Obama was running for president, he promised: “Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.” -Barack Obama– September 12th 2008 Then, while trying to pass his “health care reform,” Obama came …
Jerry Brown pension may cost him the election
The story below could cost Jerry Brown the election this November. Brown gets a lucrative state pension for his relatively short time in state government. No surprise there. But what IS scandalous is that the state’s secrecy over such pensions. More important for Brown, he is credited with MANY more years’ state service than he seems to have earned, boosting …
Laredo Police Dept. confirms Zeta incident
After nearly three weeks of denials, the Laredo Police Department has confirmed there was a Zeta cartel incident and that the police blotter is authentic. Naturally this begs the question as to why law enforcement continued to deny the event. There are still many questions left to be answered and more details will be forthcoming from this reporter. (Not Blogger). …
No confidence votes plague ICE and Border Patrol
The recent 259-0 disapproval of ICE’s point man John Morton by his fellow coworkers lends itself to an unwanted pattern in federal law enforcement agencies. Just last year the U.S. Border Patrol’s union, National Border Patrol Council put forth a similar vote and declared “no confidence” in their leader, David V. Aguilar. The unanimous “no confidence vote” from the U.S. …
Alert the Media: San Diego County Taxpayers Association Opposes Proposition D
In a move that didn’t catch much of anyone by surprise, the San Diego County Taxpayers Association’s Board of Directors overwhelmingly voted to oppose Proposition D, the City of San Diego’s half-cent sales tax increase which will come before San Diego voters on the November 3, 2010 ballot. Proposition D imposes a half-cent sales tax increase on all eligible purchases …
Union intimidation in College Board race? Who’s really lying?
Read below about Orrin Kole, a candidate for an open seat on the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District (GCCCD) board, who had some interesting “contacts” from labor reps in the days approaching the deadline to file for office. Interesting that the union head, Jim Mahler, claims that he and his operatives contacted Kole because, as he put it, “We don’t want …
Breaking News: Pfeiler Files for City Council
Current Mayor of Escondido, Lori Holt Pfeiler has just filed papers at the deadline to run for city council. Lori, who announced last year she would not be seeking re-election as mayor has decided to stay with politics. She joins a crowded field of 7 candidates vying for 2 council seats. Current incumbent, Marie Waldron is seeking re-election to her …
Taxpayers Not Even at the Table
This op-ed originally appeared in the San Diego Union-Tribune Mildly optimistic about recent progress in negotiations with the state’s 21 unions, but disappointed in what appears to be the “deal,” we now need some answers. Roughly three months before California goes to the polls, why would a lame duck governor be able to bring parties that have heretofore been unwilling …
Headlines From The Future
Join me, as we break through the boundaries of time and space to visit newspaper headlines 20 years in the future. The first thing we discover is that there are no more newspapers, but their electronic counterparts do still have headlines, such as, “Supreme Court Rules The Entire Constitution To Be Unconstitutional” “Animal Rights Activists Demand Permission To Marry Pets …
Sheriff Joe attracts a crowd of critics and fans in San Diego
Leave it to Arizona’s top Sheriff Joe Arpaio to attract a crowd at a conservative luncheon held in San Diego yesterday. Not one to shy away from his critics, Sheriff Joe was more than happy to say a few words to the 100 anti-Arpaio protesters from a north county group called Escondido Human Rights Committee. Before Sheriff Joe gave his …
“Blue Chip” Recruit– East County Realtors name Alan Smith their new Executive Officer
You’ve heard the expression, “It’s nice when Good Things happen to Good People”? We have a story like that with news the East San Diego County Association of Realtors has named Alan Smith as new Executive Officer. That’s not just a 1st-round choice, it is a Lottery Pick for the East County Realtors. Alan Smith has worked for every good …
Planning for the Worst: A Lesson in How Not to Think Like a Bureaucrat
A local San Diego veterinarian recently informed me about an issue that veterinarians across the country are having with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) accreditation process. Accreditation by the USDA is required for any veterinarian wishing to issue health certificates for animals traveling between states or out of the country. In the past, once a vet was accredited, they …
DeMaio Releases Plan to Restore Browned Out Fire Stations
Councilmember DeMaio today released a plan to restore browned-out fire stations — using cost savings in the FY11 budget that his office uncovered. DeMaio issued the following statement along with the release of the plan: “Public safety does not and should not be a casualty of the city’s financial problems. My office has identified $4.2 million in immediate cost savings …
November Candidates
The candidate list is “up” at the Registrar of Voters. Remember that if a name is listed, that doesn’t necessarily mean the person filed for the office by the Friday deadline. See if the name is listed as “qualified,” meaning they actually finalized the qualification steps to run. If an incumbent has not filed in a race, potential challengers have …
Labor and Latino leaders begin voter registration drive
With less than 90 days until the November midterm elections, California labor unions and Latino community leaders are ratcheting up their voter registration teams in an effort to minimize Democratic losses. “For Latinos, the 2010 election is more than merely electing one candidate or another, it is about taking an active role, now more than ever, in the decisions that …
Evidence the SD sales tax is doomed
When the San Diego city sales tax was first agreed to this week by the city council, there was a short “Breaking News” piece on the U-T website. The next day there were over 200 comments. But what struck me was the OVERWHELMING rejection of the tax by commenters. Normally there is a hyperactive cadre of government employees commenting away …
San Diego doctors rally against Obamacare
A sea of white coats filled Spanish Landing in downtown San Diego to present a united front against government-controlled health care. A group of physicians formed the National Doctors Tea Party and have begun their cross country trek; however these doctors are on a mission to educate Americans about the perils of Obamacare. A bevy of speakers addressed the crowd …
Recent Comments