If you’re still figuring out who to support in the mayor’s race, we’ve put together a scorecard about where the two candidates stand on a wide variety of issues from street repair and pension plans to medical marijuana dispensaries and public safety.
We’ve published dozens of stories about the mayor’s race, and you can click here to see a summary of the stories we’ve written about the issues.
One intriguing tidbit: Councilman Carl DeMaio, no shy violet when it comes to expressing opinions, hasn’t endorsed a candidate for president.
Why? Because he’s a Republican running for mayor in a city that really likes Obama. A new survey commissioned by San Diego Metropolitan Magazine finds that Barack Obama has the support of 58 percent of likely voters, compared with 33 percent who are behind Mitt Romney.
The survey of 402 people also found that the race for mayor is virtually deadlocked.
You might wonder: Didn’t a U-T poll just put DeMaio way ahead? It sure did. But the survey excluded city employees and people who lived with them. Our Scott Lewis offered his perspective on this, while CityBeat ran the numbers it got from the polling firm and found that the exemption could have swayed the results by 6.7 percent.
Taxing Task of Understanding Prop. 30
This much is clear: Prop. 30 raises taxes in California. Where the money goes is more complicated .
Supporters say it will save public education from a financial doomsday. “The message is: It’s money into the schools, or money out of the schools, this is third grade arithmetic,” says the governor.
But the ballot measure isn’t really so simple.
We’ve written up a guide to Prop. 30 — read it here — that will help you navigate the confusing claims.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times talks to Southern California school officials who warn of what one calls a “bloodbath” if the proposition isn’t approved.
Comments of the Week: Killer Foods Run Amok?
“For me, GMOs (genetically modified foods) are toxic. I need them to be labeled. This should not cost any more than a label that says ‘May contain peanuts,” writes J. Russell Lemon in response to our story about Prop. 37, which would require labeling on some genetically modified foods.
He’s one of several readers whose thoughts about the news landed them in our Comments of the Week feature.
Olin Hyde writes that the local Orchestra Nova, now snarled in a labor dispute, has improved greatly since the days it played “like a high school band — unprofessional, missing cues and notes with all the vigor of a sleeping dog.” (The sleeping dogs I know like to snore, grumble and twitch. Here’s hoping the orchestra didn’t do that too, although it sure would be entertaining.)
Also, Andy Cohen, who supports Democratic causes, writes critically about Councilwoman Sherri Lightner, who’s running to keep her council seat. His comments are an example of how people on the left are conflicted about Lightner’s independent streak since she appears to be a species once thought extinct: a moderate who swings to the left and right.
NC Times Gone, Now Building Is Sold Too
The newspaper office and printing plant of the North County Times and its inland predecessor, the Times Advocate, are landmarks in downtown Escondido. They’ve been at the same spot near the modern City Hall since 1953 and currently take up an entire block.
But not much longer. The U-T, which recently bought the NCT, is selling the property for $7 million to an Escondido charter school, the NCT reports. The U-T is consolidating its northern presence into two offices in North County.
Quick News Hits
• Auto shop class is on the rise at San Diego schools: “officials have built automotive program facilities at three high schools and hope to upgrade shops at two other schools if voters approve a bond issue next month,” the L.A. Times reports.
• The U-T finds that a bunch of local school district superintendents have gotten pay boosts over the last two years: Seven received raises of at least 10 percent.
• The U-T takes a closer look at the backgrounds and personalities of mayoral candidates Bob Filner and Carl DeMaio.
One drives a Jeep; the other drives a hybrid. One rents; one owns. One likes Adele; the other is a Springsteen fan. They share the same astrological sign. And both seem to have lost a few pounds.
But where do they stand on Team Jacob vs. Team Edward? Voters demand to know! Well, at least 13-year-old future voters do.
Please contact Randy Dotinga directly at randydotinga@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter: twitter.com/rdotinga.