On the last Friday of each month, San Diego Police cruise city streets along with a mob of bicyclists who don’t know where they’re going or how they’ll get there.
The bicyclists, part of an anti-automobile movement called Critical Mass, start at Balboa Park and pedal wherever their whims take them. Last week, they wandered city streets for 31 miles, visiting Point Loma, downtown and Ocean Beach.
Traffic laws are often ignored. So, in the minds of fuming drivers and pedestrians, is basic decency. But police, along for the ride to make sure things don’t get out of hand, stay in the background as much as possible.
In other news:
- It might be perfectly appropriate for a private company to spend $86,000 to develop a spiffy new logo. It might even spend that much, reject the options it gets and still not have one.
But should a public agency do the same thing? How about the one that runs Lindbergh Field?
The logo funding is only a small part of a $2.5 million marketing project launched by the San Diego airport authority, which also hired a model — complete with makeup artist — to pose for its annual report. That cost $1,192; the report itself ran to $82,000.
This is the same airport authority that boosted parking fees in 2008 and is considering imposing more new fees on the traveling public.
Mayor Jerry Sanders is not impressed: “I think people want government agencies to run efficiently, but not hire models.”
- The city of San Diego is issuing its first fines to alleged violators of water-use restriction regulations that went into effect in June. But only three citations are going out.
Why so few? Because the city is focusing on education instead of enforcement unless people refused to be enlightened.
- San Diego schools have stopped giving information about students to the military because parents weren’t able to easily opt out. In fact, it seems that the district was automatically filling out some forms for parents.
And, by the way, we had live coverage of last night’s school board meeting via Twitter.
- In our story earlier this week, we noted that the county animal shelter has drastically reduced the number of animals put to death.
They did it through several strategies, including half-price older pets and a two-for-one kitten deal.
Purrrr.
By the way, the photo we ran with the original shelter story showed an angry (or scared) dog. But not all the shelter’s pooches were so uneasy on the eyes. Check our awww-inspiring Photo of the Day.
- Quick hits: The city’s stalled outsourcing program has reached an impasse in labor negotiations, San Diego schools have a new (but temporary) second-in-command and San Diego home prices are still rising..
- Elsewhere: The U-T continues its coverage of airport authority board chairman Bob Watkins with a new story confirming that he failed to purchase a required business license for two years. Meanwhile, the paper reports that the port district has a new commissioner, former Chula Vista Mayor Steve Padilla.
And in sports, a Denver journalist lists the “seven worst blown calls in baseball history,” including one in 2007 that allowed the Rockies to beat the Padres in the playoffs. Some Rockies fans, he says, thought it was a bad call, but others didn’t; either way, they “think it’s pretty damn funny the way things worked out.”
Yeah. Hilarious.