We’re getting close to an election to choose a new City Council member to represent much of southeastern San Diego, and we’ve already got a bogus campaign claim to tell you about. It’s courtesy of opponents of candidate Myrtle Cole, one of the apparent leaders in the race.
Despite the claim in a campaign flyer Cole is not “responsible for $10,000 in San Diego Ethics Commission fines.” In fact, the claim is so egregious that we’ve declared it to be “Huckster Propaganda.” For details, click here.
But a campaign flier supporting Cole has its own problems: It says she “has lived and worked here for more than 20 years,” but that’s actually misleading. She’s lived in San Diego, yes, but not in the district as it used to be drawn. We think “here” means the district boundaries for the election, not the city.
• For details about the positions of candidates who aren’t thought to be leaders in the election, check our story that includes perspectives from rivals Monica Montgomery, Sandy Spackman and Tony Villafranca.
• KPBS has interviews with three of the apparent leaders in the race: Cole, Barry Pollard and Dwayne Crenshaw.
Meeting of the Minds: Catch Up via Video
We’ve posted video of the speakers at our latest Meeting of the Minds event. Our recap leads off the weekly Culture Report, our compilation of links to coverage of the local arts and culture scene.
Turns out we’re a great city for pizza (who knew?) according to Travel + Leisure and there’s great news for fans of TV’s nifty detective series “Veronica Mars,” which was filmed (but not set) in our fair city. I watched, but nobody else did and the show failed to last long.
The only big question is: Will the new big-screen version be neither filmed nor set here? If that’s the case, maybe Veronica Mars could crack it.
• Also in culture, our arts blogger Libby Weber tells the San Diego Symphony that it’s time to play a different tune (well, several different tunes) when it comes to its annual lineup: “Can we please change things up a bit?”
Weber wants to hear more variety in terms of the age of the music and the format. “We trust you to play what you select beautifully. Trust us to appreciate it.”
Letter: Hijacking of Balboa Park Celebration
In letters, George Mullen, an artist and writer, warns of “four areas of questions regarding our troubled 2015 centennial celebration” — the 100th anniversary of the exhibition that turned Balboa Park into a jewel. He complains of a “hotelier cabal that hijacked it.”
City Council to Go to Pot
“Mayor Bob Filner is proposing an ordinance to allow medical marijuana dispensaries to operate in commercial and industrial areas for a $5,000 annual permit fee and a 2 percent city tax on sales,” the U-T reports.
That’s not all: The pot shops could be near churches and libraries but not schools and playgrounds. Marijuana vending machines wouldn’t be allowed. And the shops could open in any area zoned for commercial or industrial use.
The council may consider the pot plan next month. For background on what Filner has promised, read our story here.
Quick News Hits
• There were ever deeper and more disturbing problems in San Diego Hospice than we’ve realized, KPBS/Investigative Newsource reports.
• For the first time in a while, teachers aren’t being tortured pink by notices of potential layoffs. (U-T)
• As we reported, the state treasurer wants the attorney general to look into whether unusual school borrowing schemes are illegal. Now, the L.A. Times takes a look at the issue.
• The port won’t consider a plan to install a large flag in a Coronado park to greet returning sailors because “the approval and review process would likely be complicated and costly,” Patch.com reports. While the flag plan had support from politicians, residents complained they’d lose the open space of the park.
• The U-T has an NCAA bracket-style contest to name San Diego State’s coolest person who went to San Diego State. (Actually graduating doesn’t appear to be a requirement.)
One of the hopefuls is the late Art Linkletter. As I discovered after he died in 2013, Linkletter spent several years in San Diego and admitted later that he was both a fabulist and a voyeur during his time here. Celebrities say the darndest things!
• This might be a first. Police say a man and woman skedaddled after their newly purchased $250,000 vehicle crashed into a wall at La Jolla Village Drive and La Jolla Scenic Drive, NBC San Diego reports.
The car? Lamborghini. The couple? On the lam with no borghini.
Randy Dotinga is a freelance contributor to Voice of San Diego. Please contact him directly at randydotinga@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter: twitter.com/rdotinga.
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