A letter from the new editor, Ken Williams
“Wherever there is a pervasive sense of community, a paper that serves the special informational needs of that community will remain indispensable to a significant portion of its residents.”
Warren Buffett penned those words a while back as his Berkshire Hathaway holding company began gobbling up newspapers large and small, at a time when the U.S. economy was still on the rebound and some papers were struggling to continue printing. Many journalists thought Buffett made a shrewd business decision because local newspapers have always been the lifeblood of a community.
Buffett’s words also ring true for the San Diego Community Newspaper Network, a collection of six popular papers that serve diverse communities from Downtown to Uptown to Mission Valley to La Mesa, and even our local LGBT community.
Community newspapers comprise the very foundation of journalism, serving readers with the local news they want to know and the local advertising on which they rely. Hyper-local news keeps readers informed on matters that concern them the most, frequently pocketbook issues that are often overlooked by reporters at bigger papers or television stations.
In two recent surveys by the Newspaper Association of America Readership Study and the American Opinion Research Study, readers described community newspapers as educational, helpful, engaging, enjoyable, addictive, enlightening, compelling and desirable. As the new editor of Uptown News and Mission Valley News and contributing editor to the other four SDCNN papers, I hope to live up to those standards and expectations of readers.
For some of you, I’m a familiar face after spending more than five years as editor-in-chief of San Diego Gay and Lesbian News, a media partner of SDCNN. My byline has appeared on these pages during the time I spent at the online media source.
From 2005 to 2009, I worked as a senior copy editor at the San Diego Union-Tribune, before the ax fell on many of us as one of the biggest daily newspapers in the country fell victim to a depressed economy and the sale of the media corporation by David Copley. Before that, from 1994 to 2005, I worked as deputy copy desk chief at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in Texas. I’ve also had stops in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Hollywood, Florida, and Hamilton, Ohio, so I’m now into my fourth decade as a journalist.
Please feel free to drop me a line at [email protected] or call me at 619-961-1952. News tips and story ideas are always welcome. And by all means, send a letter to the editor if you want to share your views with other readers.
Reckless on two wheels
Had to chime into the frustration of sharing the road with a bicyclist and the reverse [see “In defense of reckless bicyclists,” Vol. 7, Issue 8].
When I am driving a vehicle I am often annoyed at the lack of consideration received from bicyclists; the vast majority won’t drive to the right and allow you to pass, and they almost never obey traffic signs, which I believe, is certainly against the law, and could result in a fine.
On the other hand, when I’m on my bike, I always try to ride on the extreme right of any roadway. However, I almost never stop at a traffic sign when it seems ridiculous to do so.
I believe that laws for bike riding need to be changed, perhaps allowing for a yield at all stop signs, just as a starter suggestion. (It should be noted that most motorists don’t come to a full stop at stop signs, and I have come close to losing my life when I’m on a bike and expect a motorist to actually stop at a traffic sign.)
With more and more bicyclists on the roadways we need to start educating both motorists and bicyclists, on what they must do, and what they should do.
I’m not aware if bike riders have to follow the same laws and guidelines as motorists (although I would assume that’s the case). I don’t even know if bicyclists are allowed to drive on sidewalks or not.
And I would assume that most motorists and bicyclists are in the dark as well. Thanks for bringing attention to this problem,
—Cuauhtémoc Q. Kish
I have ridden a bike in San Diego since 1976 and know how dangerous it is sharing the road with so many vehicles. I now drive much more than ride a bike and realize that some bikers think that they have all rights of way. Many times I have come very close of hitting or running into a cyclist because I did not see them until it was too late. Most of the times have been the cyclist’s fault because they are not as visible as another vehicle and especially at night when they do not have lights or reflectors. I do not ever want to have an accident with anyone, but realize that it may happen and wish there was a better way of sharing the road instead of wondering if I will have one of those horrible accidents. So far they have all been close calls and I hope it stays that way.
—Nick Beck
Care About South Park responds to South Park Business Group member
Care About South Park (CASP) would like to correct several of the inaccuracies in Donna Walker’s recent letter to the editor concerning our opposition to the planned South Park Target [see “Letters to the Editor” Vol. 7, Issue 8].
CASP has held only one rally; it took place in front of a closed business whose owner gave us permission. The gathering was peaceful, and the crowd was friendly. We ended the rally with a song by local schoolchildren and a 10-minute protest walk along 30th Street. We received no complaints that CASP caused any business to experience a “disruption” or a “loss in sales” or “made customers feel uncomfortable,” and there is no evidence to support any of those claims.
CASP is extremely supportive of South Park businesses. We oppose the planned Target in large part because we believe it will threaten the viability of small local businesses. We have never picketed any local store nor threatened to boycott any local store (except for Target if it takes over the Gala property). We have never misrepresented the South Park Business Group in media interviews because we have never mentioned the business group in interviews.
The South Park Town Council does not have a “singular agenda … to stop TargetExpress” because the Council does not yet exist. When it is launched as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, it will be, as stated in the original Uptown News article, “strictly community education and community engagement … a ‘big tent’ that welcomes a broad range of opinions.”
As for Donna’s charge that CASP “ignore(s) community feedback,” we will simply point out that 87 percent of respondents to an Uptown News poll opposed a South Park Target and only 13 percent supported it. Strong community feedback on this issue is why CASP was formed and why we will continue our peaceful activist campaign.
We agree with Donna on one point: The property owner has the right to lease to whomever he chooses. At the same time, neighborhood residents have the right to question how his choice will affect their quality of life (traffic, property values, community identity, etc.) We know that the San Diego-based Barons Market is still interested in leasing the property for competitive terms. We hope that Donna and other South Park business owners will consider whether our community would be better served by a local retailer like Barons or a national corporation that recently paid over $3 million in penalties for overcharging San Diego customers at its cash registers.
—Sabrina DiMinico, co-founder, Care About South Park
An endorsement in District 3
As a small-business owner in North Park for over 45 years, I have been continuously involved in efforts to maintain and improve the local environment, not only in the commercial sector but equally in the historic residential neighborhoods. To that end, I petitioned City Council to create the North Park Business Improvement District, known today as North Park Main Street, and served for 30 years on that board.
Our efforts to mitigate blight and stimulate commercial revitalization speak for themselves. I was also elected to serve on the Redevelopment PAC as well as the Small Business Advisory Board for many years. Recently I served four years as president of the San Diego Business Improvement District and was able to work closely with all 17 assessment districts in representing their needs and interests to the City Council.
In all these years I have had the support and close working relationship with District 3 elected council members, from Gloria McColl to Chris Kehoe, Toni Atkins and Todd Gloria.
During the thousands of hours sitting in public meetings, I was able to identify those city officials who were engaged and effective in performing their duties. Most of them were professional and concerned, but some were clearly more involved personally than others.
Anthony Bernal, serving as director of business and community projects under Councilmember Todd Gloria, impressed me with his knowledge and personal commitment to issues important to District 3 during the past decade. In all of the meetings in which I was involved, it was clear that he understood the problems we were trying to resolve and was able to offer positive solutions necessary to move the agenda forward. He represents the best characteristics of elected representatives. He listens. He remembers. He acts efficiently and professionally. He is a dedicated and committed worker and takes his job seriously.
I wish we had more elected officials with his talents, and I fully support his efforts to continue the wonderful success District 3 has enjoyed over the past half century. I strongly endorse Anthony Bernal for City Council.
–W. Patrick Edwards
Save the pepper trees
I have tried to get the city to consider ways to save those lovely old trees on Juan Street.
I consulted with a highly regarded landscape architect who has done work for Balboa Park and many municipal and corporate clients. He told me that when there were three large trees adjacent to a sidewalk at the Veteran’s Memorial in Balboa Park, they saved the trees by making the sidewalk thinner than usual where the tree roots were located. He also advised AGAINST installing deep root barriers for big roots. Deep root barriers are used to prevent small roots from invading under a walk and then growing, so they make sense with newly planted trees but not with these very old ones with big roots.
The team working on this project is a bunch of young engineers. The city doesn’t have the staff position of urban forester filled, so no one can stand up to people who only think of building things, not growing things. People in San Diego are notorious for destroying trees. Yet trees are among the most accepted means to improve the quality of urban life, and add a lot of value to property.
The value of each old tree along Juan Street is estimated at a minimum of $4,000 to upwards of $10,000, while a 15-feet-long by 5-feet-wide concrete sidewalk costs $500 to install. A sidewalk could fail and be replaced many times before its cost would equal what would be lost by destroying those large old trees.
I hope you can interview people at the City about the waste of valuable assets that would occur if those trees are cut down, and write another column. We need to embarrass them into doing the right thing.
Kay Stewart, California landscape architect