Good morning from Point Loma.
- The city of San Diego received sobering pension news on Friday. Its annual payment will be $20 million more than it expected and the entire pension system is in its worst shape since 2004, the worst of the city’s pension scandal. One stat I didn’t include in my story: The city is now $2.1 billion in pension debt.
- San Diegans should expect more service cuts as a result of the increased payment, the city’s chief operating officer said. Also in that U-T story, Councilwoman Donna Frye said she believes the city eventually will have to declare bankruptcy.
- The Chargers’ abysmal defeat Sunday at the hands of the New York Jets put a damper on hopes for a new stadium, the U-T reports. There’s still a few years for the team to recover before the public might vote on the project.
- Before the Chargers loss, the Newark Star-Ledger weighed in with a story on the stadium search. It featured this priceless quotation of impending doom from team special counsel Mark Fabiani:
If we’re having this same conversation next year … and we’ve made no progress – then the clock will be ticking very, very loudly. You might not even be able to hear me over the ticking of the clock.
- UCSD doctoral student and former voiceofsandiego.org staffer Vlad Kogan argues that a new Chargers stadium downtown would be a “questionable” use of redevelopment funds. Recommended story for perspective.
- Meantime, L.A. developer Ed Roski held a job fair last Friday for people looking for work to build his proposed stadium. But he won’t start hiring until he finds a team, or if he finds a team.
- U.S. Rep. Bob Filner, D-Chula Vista, is everywhere in local politics. That’s why he’s been able to hold his seat amid changing demographics in his district and a sometimes abrasive personality.
- More candidates are lining up to take on San Diego County Supervisor Bill Horn as Horn’s actions in promoting a controversial housing development in North County continue to spark dissent.
- The city of San Diego should find ways to lower permitting fees for solar energy installations, the U-T editorializes.
The city is conducting a service-level survey as part of its review of the city’s long-term budget gap. Critics say the city should already know what residents believe city priorities are.
- San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders — known for his pro-gay marriage position — is in San Francisco testifying this morning in a federal court case on the constitutionality of banning gay marriage.
- Sanders touted the city’s savings last week for outsourcing part of its I.T. services. He didn’t tout that some I.T. jobs will go to India and others to the Los Angeles area.
- Included in Sanders’ State of the City speech last week were plans to restore Balboa Park’s central plaza to pedestrian friendly instead of car friendly.
- Proposals to charge fees to at-fault drivers for accident response have no fan in U-T columnist Michael Stetz.
- The local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is teaming up with the Republican Party in the party’s lawsuit on San Diego’s campaign finance limits.
- Oceanside’s ballot proposal to become a charter city comes with pointed provisions against labor unions.
- Democratic Assemblywoman and county Board of Supervisors candidate Lori Saldaña failed to report three gifts she received in 2008, the AP reports. Local legislators Dennis Hollingsworth, R-Murrieta, Martin Garrick, R-Solana Beach, Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego and Mary Salas, D-Chula Vista are also on the fail-to-report list.
- The California Coastal Commission is requiring the city apply for a permit before it removes fire pits from the city’s beaches. Removing the pits will save $120,500 a year in maintenance costs and the situation is often used as a rallying cry against budget cuts.
- The city of San Diego is hiring another PR person, this one an intern in the public utilities department.
- The head of the local League of Women Voters is upset at how a City Council committee treated her ballot proposals.
- Los Angeles is set to pass strict rules on medical marijuana dispensaries today.
- Last, City Council is on recess this week so no “Public Comment.”
— LIAM DILLON