In a new story, we uncover a district attorney investigator’s allegation that the San Diego Police Department brass refused to serve a search warrant on the house of a renegade cop — the one who’s come to symbolize the department’s grim collection of officers accused of misconduct.
“The prosecutor wanted stuff done. It wasn’t done,” the investigator said in a 2013 deposition. “You’re never hindered. And this was the first time in my now 28 years in law enforcement that I’d ever seen anything like that.”
We already knew the cops had plenty of info about Arevalos’ predator behavior in the years leading up to 2011. The DA investigator’s statements reveal that pattern may have continued even after Arevalos had been arrested.
• The above story is about an allegation that police officers left the office of District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis hanging. On the same day, we published a commentary arguing the opposite message: that the DA herself has left law enforcement officers in the lurch. Matthew Clay, president of the San Diego County Deputy Sheriffs’ Association, argues Dumanis “hasn’t adequately prepared (officers) before they testified at trial, and that she regularly neglects to provide officers with feedback afterward.”
SeaWorld in Statistics
In the latest installment of our Quest: SeaWorld series, we take a deep look at the numbers surrounding SeaWorld, such as attendance at the theme park here and its lease arrangement with the city.
We also note the amazing number of animals that live at the park: 27,000. A wide majority are fish.
Behind the Balboa Park Centennial Debacle
It was supposed to be the celebration of the century: a grand centennial party to mark the 100th anniversary of the fair that turned Balboa Park into Balboa Park. A $30 million extravaganza, some folks thought. Maybe even a $100 million one! An event planner’s nirvana.
Now, the party has fizzled. It’s not as bad as it could be: Sounds there will be much more to the 2015 celebration than a couple party platters from Costco (although that sounds delicious). Still, the whole project has collapsed, with a non-profit group killing itself off this week.
On KPBS, a spokesman for the effort explains what went wrong. Expectations, he said, weren’t met, contributing to a downward spiral in fundraising as plans kept shrinking.
Fact Check: Have Feds Killed Automatic Tips?
In theory, automatic tipping sounds nice. No longer do diners have to figure out what 15 or 20 percent adds up to. (Pro-tip: Try doubling the tax.) Fabulous, right?
Not necessarily. Jay Porter, the restaurant owner who’s now skipped town (but not without aggravating a contingent of VOSD readers), found that mandatory tips got a mixed reception. Another restaurant owner wrote a follow-up to Porter’s commentary noting that new IRS rules will make it harder to require tips.
Is that right? San Diego Fact Check finds that it’s Mostly True.
Quick News Hits
• The L.A. Times checks in with local legislator and state Assembly leader Toni Atkins and notes that she won’t be the speaker for long.
• KPBS has an update on the endless legal battle over the Mt. Soledad Cross. Endless isn’t an exaggeration: The fight has been going on for some 20 years.
• The new Central Library may be an architectural marvel and a sign of the city’s commitment to knowledge, but it’s also something else when it’s windy: Noisy. NBC San Diego checks in on an eerie howl.
• Remember when an ad last fall for now-Mayor Kevin Faulconer included stock footage of a road crew in Montana? Now, a Long Beach candidate is getting mocked for a campaign mailer featuring a giant photo of the skyline of … San Diego. Oopsy daisy. (L.A. Times.)
• As a person who’s visited just about every Chipotle location in the county (got my eye on you, Otay Lakes!), I was horrified to learn about the possibility of an impending guac-pocalypse. Yes, Chipotle warned that climate change could lead to a shortage of avocados and even (gasp) the end of its guacamole.
WHOOP WHOOP! Man battle stations! AOOOO-GAH! Everybody panic! Oh wait. Now Chipotle is telling everyone to chill out.
But it’s true that avocados — of which many are grown in North County — could take a big hit if temperatures rise this century. Good heavens. Make my next guac order a double … and don’t be stingy, baby.
Randy Dotinga is a freelance contributor to Voice of San Diego and vice president of the American Society of Journalists & Authors. Please contact him directly at randydotinga@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter: twitter.com/rdotinga.
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