Monday, May 14, 2012
Speakers at a City Council meeting said neighborhoods should get equal shares of infrastructure repair money.
Funds for services and infrastructure repairs should be spread equitably throughout all of San Diego's neighborhoods in the upcoming fiscal year, speakers at a City Council public hearing on the proposed budget said Monday night. The message of the approximately 25 public speakers was markedly different from past years, when cuts threatened a variety of civic programs. While funding has been withheld for some individual programs, there are no major spending reductions proposed in the $2.7 billion plan for the fiscal year that starts July 1. Several members of the public said more money needed to be spent on infrastructure improvements in City Heights, including some teenagers who requested a skate park. Councilman Todd Gloria, the chairman…
Rep. Brian Bilbray's bill would provide public funding for skin cancer research.
A San Diego County lawmaker whose daughter is battling melanoma is the co-author of a bill to provide a public source of funding for skin cancer research. Rep. Brian Bilbray, D-Solana Beach, co-authored the Melanoma Research Act of 2012 with Rep. Carolyn Maloney, R-N.Y. His 25-year-old daughter, Briana, recently underwent surgery in her battle against melanoma. The congressman said people have a one-in-50 chance of developing melanoma in their lifetime, and the rate is higher for those under 30. "While this disease does not discriminate, in the last 40 years the incidence rate has been on the rise with young women," Bilbray said. "We need a committed source of funding to allow the National Institutes of Health to adequately research this …
Councilman Carl DeMaio has gained support, according to a new poll.
Councilman Carl DeMaio has padded his lead among the four main candidates for mayor of San Diego, according to a poll released Monday. DeMaio, who has led the polling since the beginning of the campaign, received support from 31 percent of those questioned by SurveyUSA for 10News, up three points from last month. Rep. Bob Filner, D-San Diego, and Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher -- whose switch from the Republican Party to an independent gave him an initial boost -- tied for second with 21 percent. Since the last poll, Filner gained one point, and Fletcher lost five. If no one receives more than 50 percent of the vote in the June 5 primary, the top two finishers will face off in the November general election. That makes the race for second …
Thursday, May 10, 2012
The state park has stayed opened despite budget cuts.
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Thursday, May 10
San Diego Gas & Electric has pledged $20,000 to help keep Palomar Mountain State Park open, it was announced Thursday. The utility responded to a fundraising effort by the nonprofit Friends of Palomar Mountain State Park, which is trying to keep the area open following state budget cuts. State funding was due to expire on July 1. Campsites at the 1,862-acre park were closed last October, but re-opened last month thanks to other donations. Rick Barclay, chairman of the nonprofit, said the SDG&E contribution will allow the group to expand educational programs. "The grant will also move us forward by helping underserved children in the community visit the park and learn about nature and stewardship for the environment," Barclay said. "These …
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
President Obama announced Wednesday that he thinks same-sex couples should be able to get married.
Mayor Jerry Sanders has come out in support of President Barack Obama after the nation's leader announced, in an interview with ABC News on Wednesday, that he believes same-sex couples should be able to get married. “President Obama made the right decision today and I applaud him for it. As someone whose position has also evolved, I know this is an issue of equality and basic human rights. Two people who love each other should be able to get married. It’s really as simple as that. History will judge President Obama kindly for his decision today.” Obama's announcement comes on the heels of Vice President Joe Biden saying on Sunday that he is "comfortable" with same-sex marriage. The vice president's words prompted many to call for Obama to…
The mayor's office says the claim is exaggerated.
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Wednesday, May 9
The city of San Diego wasted about $130 million last year that could have been put to good use, mayoral candidate and City Councilman Carl DeMaio said Tuesday, while the mayor's office dismissed his claims as an election-year stunt. DeMaio said the city squandered $26 million on overtime pay, which wouldn't be needed with better staffing procedures, and paid out about $24 million through a deferred retirement program -- something he wants to eliminate. He said those examples were among dozens. "Every dollar that is wasted is a dollar less that could be put into neighborhood services, like library hours or graffiti removal," DeMaio said. "Every dollar wasted is less money for road repairs." For every 2.2 employees, there is a city vehicle…
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Employment will increase by 271 positions despite the decrease in dollars, according to a staff report.
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Tuesday, May 8
San Diego County will spend nearly 2 percent less in the fiscal year starting July 1, according to a budget presented to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday by the county's chief administrative officer. Walter Ekard presented the $4.77 billion spending plan to the board, which will begin its budget deliberations June 11. The spending plan represents a 1.9 percent reduction in spending compared to this year's budget of about $4.86 billion, Ekard said. Supervisor Dianne Jacob was upbeat. "This is a smaller budget this year than we've ever had," she said, "and we're doing more with less, and it's because of the creativeness and the innovation and the charge that everyone has at every level to try to do the best that we can to try to provide the …
Monday, May 7, 2012
Deadline for applying for an absentee ballot is 5 p.m. May 29, according to registrar’s office.
Rancho Bernardo residents who have registered as mail-in voters will soon receive their ballots for the June 5 primary election. According to the San Diego County Registrar of Voters, an estimated 724,000 vote-by-mail ballots are being distributed in the county. Deadline for applying for a mail ballot—also called an absentee ballot—is 5 p.m. May 29. San Diego residents could elect a new mayor in June if one of the four major candidates—Councilman Carl DeMaio, Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and Rep. Bob Filner—receives more than 50 percent of the votes. And Rancho Bernardo will soon have a new City Council representative. Businessman Mark Kersey runs unopposed to replace DeMaio. Voters also will have the …
The funds will come from the state government.
The San Diego County Office of Education will receive $22,500 in state funds to enforce tobacco-free school policies and collect data on the prevalence of tobacco use and other behaviors that put students' health at risk. More than $410,000 in Tobacco Use Prevention Education dollars from the state Department of Education went to 30 districts across California. The winners in TUPE competitive bidding demonstrated the greatest tobacco-use prevention efforts, and proposed programs that will likely be effective, said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson. "Schools can help our kids learn to avoid dangerous behaviors -- including tobacco use—early," Torlakson said. TUPE is a three-year, $16.5 million competitive state grant…
U-T San Diego makes a big push for Carl DeMaio as San Diego mayor. Does it help or hurt?
As a policy, Patch does not endorse candidates in elections. But we back any effort to explore all sides of a race or ballot initiative. We have a standing invitation to all incumbents and office-seekers to blog on Patch—giving them direct, unfiltered access to their communities. But it’s traditional for newspapers to endorse candidates for local, state and national office. Locally, U-T San Diego on Sunday used a wrap-around of the front page to display its editorial backing of Carl DeMaio for San Diego mayor. In light of media fracturing—with many sources of news and opinion available—do newspaper endorsements still carry any weight? Do people take cues from the local metro daily or the free weeklies? Or are these efforts now meaningless?
Ron Selkovitch
8:59 pm on Monday, May 14, 2012
I wish Briana well, and I am all in favor of publicly funding cancer research, but I wonder if representative Billbray is abusing his position. Would he have supported the bill if someone else's daughter had contracted cancer. more ›