CoViD-19: San Diego Bans All Social Gatherings of Any Size | The Chicken King of OB | Bernie Bows Out | Links & Articles of Interest

This bunny has taken up occupancy of our yard for the past several months.

I had to file for EDD today. Unfun. On the positive, I actually got through my first batch of today's emails by 5pm (instead of working till 2am yesterday) so I guess I'm streamlining a bit better and making a more functional system, kinda like Konmari (read now, label and read later, delete without reading). The main news today was that the County and City will be adding a Behavioral Health Fund, but all these new systems, which should've existed all along in the first place, are really slow to roll out, so we'll see what happens there. The bigger news is that ALL SOCIAL GATHERINGS ARE NOW PROHIBITED in San Diego unless you are members of the same household.

The County Wednesday expanded its Health Order to prohibit gatherings of any type, effective Thursday. 

“We decided to extend the gathering restrictions because people were getting together in parks, beaches and other open spaces,” said Wilma Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., County public health officer. “People should stay at home and only go in public when doing essential activities, such as grocery shopping or going to the pharmacy.”

Here are my latest for NBC:

• SoundDiego: Forget Joe Exotic; Here Comes the Chicken King of OB (4.8.2020)
• SoundDiego: Local Musician Shares Covid-19 Recovery Story (4.7.2020)
  Drew Andrews has recovered from COVID-19 and offers some helpful advice should you find yourself sick from the novel coronavirus. (4.8.2020)

And some of the latest must-read articles:

• Trump Said the Quiet Part Out Loud on Vote-By-Mail: Republicans Think They Can't Win When More People Vote - Esquire (4.8.2020)
• The Reality of Covid-19 Is Hitting Teens Especially Hard
  The pandemic has been emotionally devastating for us adults, but its impact on teenagers is arguably far greater. - Wired (4.6.2020)
• How the Pandemic Will End
  The U.S. may end up with the worst COVID-19 outbreak in the industrialized world. This is how it’s going to play out. - The Atlantic (3.25.2020)
• Celebrities keep saying, ‘We’re all in this together.’ But Lady Gaga isn’t so sure. - LA Times (4.7.2020)

And of course,

• Bernie Sanders Suspends His Presidential Campaign - NPR
  STOP SAYING BOTH PARTIES ARE THE SAME. THEY CLEARLY ARE NOT. CAN WE ALL MOVE ON NOW? VOTE BLUE NO MATTER WHO. 

And hopefully these aren't bogus like the dolphins in the canals of Venice, but some bright news...

• With Humans in Hiding, Animals Take Back the World
  During lockdowns around the globe, species of all kinds have emerged in areas previously crowded by humans. (Bloomberg, 4.8.2020)

While I'm still writing for SoundDiego, that income is definitely not enough to cover expenses. If you appreciate the posts on this site, please consider a small donation or tip via Venmo/sddialedin or Paypal.

Balboa Park Update: Plaza De Panama Jacobs' Plan is Dead!!

I've been working and compiling and digging through photos for this one for a week, so I'm obviously not reporting breaking news, but last week was a momentous week for San Diego. The Jacobs Plan ("Plaza de Panama Plan")--which included cutting into the Cabrillo Bridge and creating a bypass bridge to a to-be-constructed parking garage--was declared dead. Technically, there was a whole bunch of hemming and hawing that it's on hiatus, that fundraising has ceased, that the major donors had pulled out, that construction expenses exploded, that SOHO and other lawsuits were to blame. The way I see it, SOHO should take credit. Balboa Park Heritage Association and Balboa Park lovers like David Lundin should take credit. Everyone who attended Council meetings, planning meetings, took to social media, called their Councilmembers, wrote Op-Eds and Letters to the Editor at all the local rags against this horrific plan-- we should all be CELEBRATING and TAKING CREDIT. 

There were so many things wrong with the plan, not least of all adding a PAID PARKING GARAGE to Balboa Park. Did you think they'd leave all the remaining spots free? People cringe at the mention of Bob Filner, but he was fundamental in getting rid of the Museum of Art lot, throwing down some paint and bollards and patio furniture, and it changed the park for the better. But in addition to this Jacobs plan already manipulating our reps and the aforementioned reasons, it would've removed the Alcazar lot and which is critical for disabled parking and the archery range, dozens of 100 year old trees, and there was all kind of not-quite-as-published information like allowing sponsored naming rights throughout the park and the fact that the City limited their input to $49 million dollars in bonds because any more would require a City-wide vote. Anyway, all that is dead. What a relief. What isn't dead is that the park still has an estimated $80-$120 million in DEFERRED MAINTENANCE. Where's that generosity of Mr. Jacobs and the Plaza de Panama Committee for that??   

Anyway, this is all good news for all of us. If you love the park, consider volunteering or donating or even just following the actions of Balboa Park Heritage Association, who are trying to prevent proposals like this by setting goals like changing the City Charter to ban paid parking in the park FOREVER and get a chunk of TOT (so-called Hotel Taxes) dedicated to all the deferred maintenance. You can also support Save Our Heritage Organisation, whose preservationists were instrumental in saving this beloved gem.

Here are a few of the articles that ran last week:

Voice of San Diego: The Plaza de Panama Plan Is on Hiatus

KPBS: Bids To Remake The Plaza De Panama Are $20M Higher Than Expected

KPBS: Halt To Plaza De Panama Revamp Frees Up $10 Million For Balboa Park

U-T: Balboa Park's no-car project is a no-go

CityBeat: The Plaza de Panama revamp is dead. Let’s keep it dead.

More after the jump.