Catch up on the latest news about the Bernardo Fire by exploring the resources — Twitter feeds, websites and more — that we’ve put together to help you keep on top of things. And now to the rest of the day’s news.
♦♦♦
In theory, it sounds like an idea that would please everyone from earth-huggers to the build-build-build crowd: Make the Clairemont neighborhood more friendly to mass transit and the environment by allowing more people to live near a pair of trolley stations.
Developers get to build new homes. New residents don’t have to travel as far to commute. Everybody happy… right? Wrong. More people = taller view-blocking buildings, and the most vocal members of the Clairemont community rose en masse — and in about the rudest way possible — in opposition.
As we explain in a new story, these kinds of developments have trouble gaining support, even from residents you might assume would be on the green side of things.
However, as we note, the city’s proposal isn’t dead yet.
All About Rep. Scott Peters
The June primary election is inching closer, and Rep. Scott Peters, a Democrat who represents some of the coastal areas of the city of San Diego and a big swath of our northern stretches, will soon need to step up his game.
He’s basically a shoo-in to grab one of the two November run-off spots, but he’ll be fighting off what’s almost certain to be a strong Republican challenge. The race for the 52nd Congressional District, in fact, is expected to be one of the tightest House races in the country.
If you’d like to catch up on all things Peters, check our new Reader’s Guide to the congressman.
Among other things, he’s a former city councilman who was in office during perhaps the most disastrous period in San Diego’s modern history. His failures remain a major challenge to his standing.
Our round-up includes more details about Peters, including his extreme wealth, his emphasis on his political moderation and his one-time water-hog reputation.
Quick News Hits
• VOSD’s weekly Culture Report has murals on the mind, along with news about pickles, Bon Jovi, classical music and the Marx Brothers.
• “Gov. Jerry Brown detailed his revised $107.8-billion state budget proposal at the Capitol on Tuesday morning, laying out his plans to address California’s mounting pension liabilities, increased costs of providing healthcare to the poor and paying off debt,” the L.A. Times reports. The governor, a Democrat, is apparently resisting Democratic efforts to spend more money to help the needy.
• Remember when the preservationist organization SOHO filed suit to stop the Irwin Jacobs plan to remake Balboa Park? Now, as NBC San Diego reports, the city is mulling whether to pay $355,000 for SOHO’s legal and court fees.
Meanwhile, the park’s new configuration in the area between the organ pavilion and the art museum is still leaving elderly and disabled visitors in the lurch. “We took away (handicapped parking) spots that were near the museums,” said the president of the Balboa Park Committee of 100. “We sort of promised them we would have transportation through shuttle or something to get them around to the Museum of Man, to the Old Globe. That hasn’t happened.”
• Expect more noise around the North Island Naval Air Station the next few weeks as more aircrafts engage in training. (U-T)
• The firefighters with the San Diego Fire Department are the heroes of the week, but the SDFD was a flop when it came to keeping people advised about what was going on yesterday via Twitter.
Meanwhile, the county’s emergency department apparently sent out an alert warning people of a “fire in your pants.”
Oh dear. As a public service, I am temporarily evacuating the Morning Report Bad-Pun Production Center.
Randy Dotinga is a freelance contributor to Voice of San Diego and president-elect of the American Society of Journalists & Authors. Please contact him directly at randydotinga@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter: twitter.com/rdotinga.