It sure would be nice to be able to travel from San Diego to Los Angeles without suffering through the traffic nightmare of the Orange Crush or the perennial delays of Amtrak. And imagine getting up there in less than 90 minutes.
And picture this: Getting to San Francisco from here in a matter of hours without having to go through airport security or the cattle-call Southwest boarding process. I can taste the sourdough already.
Well, I’ve gotta keep waiting and so do you. Work is supposed to begin this year on California’s wicked-fast bullet train. But San Diego is a low priority. How low? We’re not supposed to get the train for about 20 years, and that’s if things go well. L.A., San Francisco and the Central Valley are all ahead of us.
How’d that happen? We explored the state of high-speed rail and came back with four things you should know.
Council Won’t See New Pension Alternative
City Council President Tony Young says he won’t allow the council to discuss a proposal by David Alvarez, a fellow Democrat and councilman, that offers an alternative approach to reforming the city’s costly pension program for employees.
“I just don’t see trying to rush something on the ballot, especially something like this,” Young said. Another pension reform plan, supported by the GOP, is already headed to the ballot in June.
Young said there’s not enough time by a ballot deadline to engage in required negotiations with labor unions.
“Can someone please show me the downside to @TonyYoungSD allowing discussion of @AlvarezSD plan?” wrote CityBeat editor Dave Rolland on Twitter. “If Young’s against, no danger of passage.”
Our Liam Dillon explains that “Tony sees his position, rightly or wrongly, as non-political.” Dillon pointed to one of his previous stories, whose headline says it all about the councilman’s strategy: “How to Run the City Without Taking Sides.”
On Tap: Even Worse Roads
The shake-rattle-and-roll state of the city’s streets will continue to get worse over the next five years despite plan to borrow $500 million for repairs.
Liam Dillon says three things are clear: 1) Streets are worse under Mayor Jerry Sanders, 2) the city isn’t spending enough money to reverse that decline, and 3) the Mayor’s Office takes no responsibility for either.
“The city’s plan to borrow $500 million won’t provide enough money to reverse the decay or even preserve the status quo. Under its current proposal, the city won’t begin making progress until 2017,” he says.
For the big picture, check out our Reader’s Guide to the city’s infrastructure decay.
Your Play, School District Says to Union
The San Diego school district has taken its teachers union up on its offer to try to reform the state’s frustrating budget game. The district says it just needs one thing to make it work: the union’s support of doing away with a coveted union protection.
That protection? A rule that says districts have to warn teachers by March 15 if they’re going to lay them off later in the year. It’s at the heart of the frustration and agony that comes about in schools each year about this time when the district has to start making budget projections based on flimsy numbers.
No word yet on the union’s response.
Why Lifeguards Aren’t So Swamped
City lifeguards have been rescuing a lot fewer people from local beaches over the past few years, as our graphic of the week shows.
What gives? Is it the economy? Fear of sharks? An outbreak of seaweedphobia? We asked a lifeguard for his thoughts, and he says weather cycles, better equipment and older lifeguards could be responsible.
Get Hep to San Diego’s Jazz Scene
We’ve posted another video from last week’s Meeting of the Minds event, this time focusing on San Diego’s jazz scene. Writer D.A. Kolodenko provides the scoop on local jazz history and stars of the scene, along with details about where to listen to modern musicians.
Freeze Out
In a story about growing tensions between franchisees and franchisers, The Wall Street Journal checks in with the local owner of two Coldstone Creamery stores. “We’re paying too much for our products and we’re making less profit every year,” he told the paper.
Make sure to check the images with the story (some are in the accompanying video), which were made by our contributor Sam Hodgson.
Ay, Papa
A blogger at the Huffington Post worries over the motives of Doug Manchester, the hyperkinetic hotel developer who just bought the U-T. Meanwhile, San Diego Explained, our video series in conjunction with NBC 7 San Diego, takes a closer look at the man who insists on being called “Papa Doug.” We’ve dubbed him the city’s cheerleader-in-chief.
Maybe I can give him a hand. “Hey San Diego, Ra Ra Ree! Kick ’em in the Knee! Ra Ra Rass! Kick ’em in the other knee!”
He’d just better not borrow my pompons.
Please contact Randy Dotinga directly at randydotinga@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter: twitter.com/rdotinga.