Yes, I agree with the approach... send in an initial list to buy time so the list can be revised and resubmitted later. I do not see a problem with that. And I suspect the City of San Diego, as large as it is, is not the only jurisdiction to take that approach. I'd call it smart... despite how comical the response from the Mayor's Office appeared.

Posted by Brandon F | reply to this comment
December 23, 2008 9:38 am

It seems that Darren Pudgil did not learn from the mistakes of his predecessor. People tend not to like people who just can't admit to being wrong occasionally. It is okay to say "I made a mistake" instead of making up stuff like Pudgil did in this case. Obviously the Mayor's Office was pressured to submit the list - they presurred departments to get something in and the insertion of the library was a mistake they did not catch.

Posted by T. Tanaka | reply to this comment
December 23, 2008 9:44 am

Has anyone considered that this was an effort to make the Obama administration aware of everything that was ready to go and COULD be done in the region -- and the value of having a higher number so that when you get a fraction, it's a larger number? That's how you lobby for federal money so that you aren't overlooked when the doling out begins. This list isn't a "fund everything on my list" one by one like a grant application, it's "look at all these items that are ready to go." Kelly Bennett's story actually puts it in the proper perspective, whereas Lewis just ridicules aimlessly without thinking of the actual objective of the list -- then ridicules the explanation given.

Posted by Another view | reply to this comment
December 23, 2008 4:01 pm

I for one am quite tired of the local "gotcha media". The problem here is that you clearly don't have an inkling of an understanding of how this stimulus package works and what will ultimately be funded and how. It is fully expected that Congress will push funds out to states and locals under existing programs. They are not going to "earmark" or delineate specific projects in the bill, but yet members of Congress have asked for project lists so they can see the types of local projects. This will assist in their decision as to which existing programs to fund, but not how much to appropriate. As Mr. Pudgil indicated, local agencies submitted their previously approved CIP lists, as requested by Congress, in a compressed timeframe to serve as examples only. Grant requirements from the respective federal agencies will ultimately dictate what projects can be funded, not these lists.

Posted by sdsouthcoast | reply to this comment
December 23, 2008 10:13 pm

I hope the list includes brain transplants for the mayor and his PR flacks.

Posted by larry | reply to this comment
December 23, 2008 4:09 pm

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