Couple of things:
- This is an interesting and abrupt development. Just as far back as July, Councilman Kevin Faulconer was non-committal about a ban on alcohol on the beaches. Now, a “melee” occurs and he can’t get one fast enough. Before the Fourth of July, Faulconer didn’t take a stand on the issue, telling our intern, Susan Grant, that it was complicated.
 |
| Kevin Faulconer |
This is going to be an interesting discussion. Now that Faulconer and City Attorney Mike Aguirre are behind the measure, the proposed ban may really have reached a tipping point toward success.
It is interesting that our community could become more tolerant of someone having one drink and then driving than someone having one drink with friends on the beach. We ban drunk driving and we ban public intoxication. We allocate at least a bit of collective trust to responsible adults who will do neither but who want to drink in moderation.
PB has more problems than just booze. What happens after they ban drinking on the beach and the next melee occurs? The place is a mess.
- I just saw that Jim Trotter, the U-T‘s NFL writer got a job writing for Sports Illustrated. Congrats to him. There are worse jobs.
- The Wall Street Journal collected (subscription required), briefly, the thoughts of pension fund managers as they re-examine their enthusiasm to invest in hedge funds after the recent losses some of them have faced.
Pension-fund managers from Louisiana to Ohio are saying they may slow their push into these funds after the recent losses suffered at big hedge funds — including ones run by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and AQR Capital Management — have reinforced some of the risks.
San Diego County Employees’ Retirement Association CEO Brian White was quoted.
The San Diego County Employees Retirement Association, which has 12 separate hedge-fund investments, lost $80 million when Amaranth Advisors collapsed in 2006, though the fund still returned 16% for the year ended in June. The San Diego fund also held positions in funds from AQR and D.E. Shaw & Co. that hit rocky patches in recent weeks.
Still, “we are looking at adding hedge-fund managers,” says Brian White, the chief executive officer. “This reinforces the rule that diversification is good.”