San Diego Leaders: Sorry to Disturb Your Weekend, But Some Shit Is Going Down In Case You Hadn't Noticed

Crowd Leaving Waterfront Park For 4th of July In Other Times (Taken 7.4.2017)

I pulled some tweets and Facebook posts from my elected officials around 9pm on Sunday night, so the time stamps are accountable from that point backward. All weekend I've been trying to follow our leaders for meaningful comments, and while a few did, the silence of our City is absolutely deafening. After seeing what was going on in La Mesa on Saturday, why weren't they all over social media on Sunday with a unified message? Why isn't there someone offering information and guidance for the protesters who wanted to keep things peaceful, organized, and still within the boundaries imposed by the City? It's a shame many of them were just nowhere to be found or merely offered the equivalent of "thoughts and prayers" with generic pleas for unity.

County of San Diego Facebook: Last Post 5.29.2020 5:41pm
City of San Diego Facebook: Posted on 5.31.2020 about POETRY and 5.30.2020 about the automotive museum.
San Diego Police Department: Posted around 4pm on 5.31.2020 to enact Unlawful Assembly order and to complain about protesters.

Covid-19: City of San Diego Briefing | Public Safety for Memorial Day Weekend | City and County Will Honor Church Closure | City Libraries Offer Pick Up

Hiking Slot Canyon in Anza-Borrego in 2019 (3.26.2019)
I do NOT recommend this hike this time of year, whether or not it's open

Alright, I've been up way too long, so here's the last briefing for the day. A lot more of the same stuff about safety, and extra law enforcement this weekend to enforce the public health order. Faulconer also announced that 11 San Diego branch libraries will open starting Tuesday for reserved pickup of books. All that info is below.

Plaza de Panama Info & RANT: Westfield Horton Plaza Changes Parking Rules

(2.6.2013: Plaza de Panama update: Irwin Jacobs and Bruce Coons both spoke to KPBS yesterday, with Irwin stating, "At this point, it's over." Article, audio and video can be seen here.)

As a native San Diegan, I've seen this city change and evolve. I grew up in Chula Vista, but have been registered as a City of San Diego voter since college. This is the first time in my voting life that the mayor (Bob Filner), my councilperson (Todd Gloria), and my congressperson (Susan Davis) are all people for whom I voted, not to mention the president (Barack Obama), the governor (Jerry Brown) and the Lieutenant Governor (Gavin Newsom) and a host of other elected offices. Maybe this is the reason I've found more interest in local politics of late. Thankfully, nobody is keeping track of how many hours I watch Cox 21 (CSpan), Cox 23 (California Channel), and Cox 24 (Local Government Access). (Side note: 24 is especially great now because between programming there's now a live seal camera at Children's Pool --though the music is horrifying. Mr Filner, if you'd like to program all local music, I can make that happen to make it a TRULY local access channel)

Anyway, I guess I've always cared, but when I can tweet @ToddGloria about the nightmare water/sewer construction problems on my street and get not only a response but a resolution within hours, it feels like even my voice matters, and not just the voices of wealthy property and business owning campaign donors.

So the reason for this post is two-fold. First, I wanted to share the link from KPBS about the Plaza de Panama proposal in Balboa Park. A Judge has ruled that the Plaza de Panama project is in violation of the city's municipal code. Hopefully SOHO and Irwin Jacobs can come to a better proposal in mediation and serve the park's parking needs while also maintaining the integrity of the Cabrillo Bridge and the Plaza de Panama. (update: See Full SOHO press release at the end of this post or here)The other reason I'm posting is because  Westfield Horton Plaza has changed their parking fees and validation rules. And while it seems to have nothing to do with government, in a way it all ties together. That is going to be quite a rant, however, so I'll post that after the jump.