Tuesday, March 08, 2005 | Write this 20 times on the City Council chalkboard after work. A curious letter sat among the normal public documents left outside council chambers Monday. Addressed as an open letter to the citizens of San Diego from the mayor, council, city attorney and city manager, it reads more like an […]
Posted inGovernment
Inspiration from the Mountaintop
Tuesday, March 08, 2005 | One of these days the cross may indeed come down off Mt. Soledad, but don’t hold your breath. The city has had a losing streak on this issue that stretches back to 1991. Now only Councilman Scott Peters and City Attorney Mike Aguirre seem disposed to throw in the towel, […]
Posted inGovernment
Municipal Migraines and Memory Loss: Perspective from a City Employee
Tuesday, March 08, 2005 | Short is the public memory and fickle is its thankfulness toward public employees. After 9-11 firefighters and police were honored heroes for whom the public could not do enough in recognition of the risks they take every day to protect our health and safety without regard to the size of […]
Posted inBusiness
Putting More Women on San Diego Corporate Boards
Monday, March 07, 2005 | In this post Sarbanes-Oxley era, I often hear that there is a shortage of qualified board members. Many chief executives no longer feel that the risks and time commitments are warranted by the rewards of sitting at the boardroom table. But I know who does want to sit at that […]
Posted inSports
Values and Principles
Monday, March 07, 2005 | On Friday, Oct. 8, 1954, the Abilene High School Eagles beat the Borger Bulldogs, 34-7, at Fair Park Stadium in Abilene, Texas. I was there. I was in the sixth grade. The Eagles did not lose another football game until I was in the ninth grade, in December 1957. In […]
Posted inGovernment
Confirmation of New Pension Board Members Delayed Upon Outside Audit Committee Request
Monday, March 07, 2005 | Mayor Dick Murphy pushed back the confirmation date of his seven pension board nominees Friday at the request of an outside audit committee recently brought in to reconcile the city of San Diego’s outstanding fiscal year 2003 audit. The announcement came two days after federal investigators called together city officials […]
Posted inEducation
Education Buzz: March 4, 2005
Monday, March 07, 2005 | San Diego Unified Approves Four More Charter Schools At their March 1 meeting, trustees for San Diego City Schools approved four new charter schools: Gompers, Keiller, Memorial, and King/Chavez. Gompers and Keiller are middle schools in trustee Shelia Jackson’s district, and Memorial Middle School and King/Chavez elementary schools are located […]
Posted inEducation
Civility vs. Intrusiveness
Monday, March 07, 2005 | Many San Diegans watched the antics of the past San Diego Unified School District Board of Education embarrass themselves as they ranted at each other. Now a new board is in place and the hopes of bringing civility back to board activity was a hope for many. So far we […]
Posted inGovernment
Healing the Horrific Rift
Monday, March 07, 2005 | Sir William Gilbert wrote the satiric and preposterous lyrics for last century’s Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas. What’s happening at City Hall these days is pure Sir William. Strains from “The Pirates of Penzance” play in my mind when I read or hear of poor Dick Murphy. That operetta is […]
Posted inGovernment
Dipsey’s Free Advice and Worth Every Penny of It
Friday, March 04, 2005 | I’m telling ya folks this world is a baffling place. There I was, on The Hudson and Bauer show, sailing along giving all sorts of advice on how things should be run when someone threw me back in the dumpster and slammed the lid shut! That didn’t stop me from […]