Cal Trans is making progress on traffic relief along the 15 corridor!

Caltrans widening freeway ramps

Workers prepping for express lanes

By Angela Lau
STAFF WRITER

November 28, 2008

ESCONDIDO – Caltrans has begun widening the Interstate 15 ramps at West Valley Parkway to prepare for the construction of express lanes in the freeway median.

Residents puzzled by the construction work at the ramps now have an answer.

“A lot of people have been calling City Hall to ask what we are doing there,” said Joyce Masterson, Escondido's spokeswoman. “We are not doing any work there. It's Caltrans.”

The project is part of Caltrans' $1.3 billion project to install 20 miles of express lanes in the median of I-15, from state Route 163 in the south to state Route 78 in the north.

When completed in 2012, the express lanes are expected to ease the commuting pains of North County as its population continues to expand.

Now, 170,000 to 290,000 cars travel on I-15 every day, resulting in daily delays of 30 to 45 minutes during commuting hours.

It isn't just the troops deployed overseas who miss their familes on the holidays -- this story talks about the recruits and drill instructors here in San Diego.

Marching drills, then feasting

Marine recruits take break from routine to eat holiday meal

By Steve Liewer
STAFF WRITER

November 28, 2008

SAN DIEGO – One by one, 3,000 future Marines stepped up to the glass door of the mess hall for yesterday's midday meal. Pivoting smartly, each recruit snapped off his brimmed camouflage cap and barked “Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen!” as he entered.

Then they waited in line as cafeteria workers heaped turkey, ham, roast beef, mashed potatoes with gravy, corn and fruit salad on a cafeteria tray.

A pumpkin pie dessert? Nope, that's for civilians. Marines eat crisp green apples instead. Later, it's back to the parade ground for more marching drills.

Welcome to Thanksgiving at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego.

On a day when the nation gorged on turkey and kicked back to watch football, Sgt. Attikus Piper rousted the members of Recruit Platoon 2145 at 5:30 a.m. and marched them around the open fields.

This article does a good job of walking through the impact Prop 13 had on revenues to the state.  After a one time drop in revenues after its passage, property taxes have continued to grow, but have done so on a more steady and reliable projection than pre-prop13.

Daniel Weintraub: Property tax revenue might be next domino
By Daniel Weintraub
dweintraub@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008 | Page 15A

California's financial free fall is likely to get much worse before it gets better, spreading from the statehouse to every other level of government, including schools, cities, counties and the special districts that fight fires, maintain parks and levees and run libraries.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state lawmakers are already grappling with an expected drop in revenue from taxes on personal income, sales and corporate profits. Since they adopted the budget in September, the state's revenue estimate for the current year has dropped by $11 billion, or about 10 percent, with no prospect for a recovery in sight.

This story walks through the unfortunate reality of economic uncertainly—companies have to save money and states must become more competitive to retain their jobs.

From story:  “I can't speak for everybody in the company, but for those I've spoken to in Oakland, I would say some are shocked, some are disappointed," Zampa said. "But it seems to be understood that given the downturn in global trade, if we don't take action (to cut costs) our company could be in trouble."  The company did not say where it plans to move its headquarters, only that it would be a more "cost-effective location." Zampa said those details likely would be announced next month and did not expect a change in plans. …Zampa cited the Bay Area's high costs for office space, residential real estate, labor, transportation and fuel as factors that affect the company and its workforce…….Metro Furniture recently announced it is closing its East Oakland manufacturing facility, where it employs 100 workers, and transferring the operation to Texas. Coca-Cola announced this month that it is relocating its Oakland offices to San Ramon. About 90 workers will leave Oakland as a result.

From this editorial: What money is left over often is spent in downright flippant ways. In San Diego County, that has meant providing belly-dancing classes for pregnant women. In San Bernardino County, that meant paying for a play area at the local Mexican consulate. In the Bay Area, according to a memorable San Francisco Chronicle story, that meant “everything from children's ice-skating lessons and Monterey Bay Aquarium field trips to supplies for Halloween parties and chartered buses to the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield.”

Surfers, seals and federal regulations all collide in this story as the federal government revises regulations that cover a variety of topics including tow in surfing at one of the world's biggest breaks.

Revised rules at marine sanctuaries allow tow-in surfing at Mavericks

During high-surf advisory days, watercraft can be used at the famous riding spot in the Monterey Bay marine sanctuary. Other regulations are altered at the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank sanctuaries.

By Kenneth R. Weiss
November 21, 2008

After seven years of soul-searching, federal officials on Thursday agreed to allow tow-in surfing at California's most famous big-wave riding spot, known as Mavericks, as part of a major expansion of federal rules governing three marine sanctuaries.

The revised rules ban chumming for great white sharks around San Francisco's Farallon Islands for thrill-seeking divers in cages and photo-snapping tourists -- rules that have long been enforced closer to shore in waters colloquially known as the Bloody Triangle for their history of shark attacks.

The new management plan also expands the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary by 775 square miles to offer permanent protection for the Davidson Seamount, an enormous undersea mountain about 70 miles off Big Sur that is full of sea life found nowhere else on Earth.

These plans will also prohibit ocean cruise liners from dumping partially treated sewage and other wastewater into the protected waters of the Monterey Bay, Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank national marine sanctuaries.

This article walks through a series of studies and tries to boil down the actual numbers on the uninsured.

What Do We Really Know About the Uninsured?
We should find out before Obama turns our health care upside-down.

Next year, when Barack Obama becomes president, he will almost certainly move quickly toward some form of government-provided -- and possibly government-mandated -- health insurance. A principal reason for this is the oft-cited figure of 46 million uninsured Americans.

But what does this number mean? And do we really need to remake our entire health-care system to protect the uninsured? Most people have an incomplete understanding of the uninsured population, which can lead to bad policy choices.

Another story on the Escondido "rapping teacher" who will now represent California at the National Teacher of the Year competition.  This is a great story.

Good story in the journal today on Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Democrats who dominate the California legislature agree the state needs to raise taxes to help stave off billions in budgetary red ink. But the governor faces a roadblock in his own party, Republican Assemblyman Mike Villines.

Mr. Villines (pronounced Vuh-LINES) is leader of the state Assembly's Republican caucus, which, with just 32 of the legislature's 80 members, has little power to set the agenda. Political observers here like to joke that the Republican caucus, along with its counterpart in the Democratic-led state Senate, holds real sway only two times a year -- when the state's budget is being set and during the legislative softball game.

The game was called off this year amid a tanking economy. But Republican lawmakers were able to flex their muscle in preventing Gov. Schwarzenegger and the Democrats from using higher taxes to help close a $15.2 billion deficit in the current year's budget, which passed in September after a nearly three-month delay. The Republicans have disproportionate power over tax bills, because California is one of a few states requiring that budgets pass by a supermajority.