City College’s “edifice complex” on display.

Mice done playing

No wonder SDCCD Chancellor Constance Carroll submitted her resignation the day Joe Deegan insight expose on district maleficence appeared in the Reader (“San Diego’s City College squeezes the adjunct profs,” City Lights, January 29). The jig may be up for modern-day robber barons Carroll, Bonnie Anne Dowd, and the always unanimous SDCCD board. No internal auditor for ten years? Clearly the mice (board, Carroll, and Dowd) all winked at each other while there was no cat (internal auditor). Fortunately people like Deegan, many adjunct faculty, and rank-and-file Mesa (as well as City, Miramar, & continuing education) students like me were not born yesterday. Please join me in registering a formal complaint regarding this glaring dereliction of duty to the California Community College State Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley (https://www.cccco.edu/About-Us/Chancellors-Office). Bugs and SNAFU’s continue to occur in the district’s multi-million waste of tax-payer money Oracle system. Students like myself who complete the recently ended intersession term (ended 01/29/2020) are unable to access final grades due to the fact that no link exists for us to obtain our hard-worked-for grades! What a disaster! Thanks again, Joe Deegan.

• Robert C. (Bob) Thomas
• La Jolla

Many employees complain that under the top-down leadership of Chancellor Constance Carroll, serious problems — including fraud and embezzlement — lower down the command structure too often go unnoticed.

Morrison memories

I enjoyed reading your article on Jim Morrison, poet or rock star (“Jim Morrison hoped to be remembered as a poet rather than as a rock singer,” Poetry, September 26, 2019). I saw the Doors twice out here in Connecticut. Once at the Oakdale Theater in September of 1967 and then in December of 1967 at the infamous New Haven Arena show when Jim was the first rock star to be arrested on stage. The Doors are my favorite band to this day! Check out their music; you will be pleasantly surprised!

• Kevin
• Connecticut

North County callout

I totally and completely agree with Mr. Leighton’s calling out the North County Women’s March for its prevalence of political candidate vote lobbying (“North County Women’s March ‘was not anti-Trump’,” Neighborhood News, January 21). The same was true for the downtown San Diego Women’s March where I felt we were being used. However, the mid-January worldwide women’s marches from the beginning were designed both to rally against Donald Trump per se and advocate against Trump and his cronies’ harmful behavior and/or policies – sexual abuse, immigrant asylum seeker detention and family separation, SNAP reductions, bigotry against various sub-population – and opposition to progressive policies – gun control, election security, or more recently certification of the Equal Rights Amendment so it becomes part of the Constitution. But when did it become all right to reduce the legitimacy of the latter objective--to attack Trump and his cronies’ actions and policies about specific issues – to a “political woke-fest” or “just a rally for women’s rights?” Or was the headline just misleading by design or not?

• Lynne D Shapiro
• San Diego

Alderson says between 1200 and 1500 attended;Oceanside police estimated between 600 and 700.

Photo courtesy Joe Dusel Photography

Beefy veggies

Regarding Ed Bedford’s column on San Idli Veg Cuisine(“San Diego Idli: South Indian Vegetarian Cuisine,” Tin Fork, January 30). Hey Ed, marmite is not a beef product. It’s yeast extract and is vegetarian. Read the dang ingredients panel. It’s easy!

• Chris Bowd

Lunch special. Includes rolled dosa (left), and that’s the mini size

When projects are knocking

The Loma Alta Creek Restoration Plan…Coastal Rail Trail…Buccaneer Park Remodeling Project…La Salina Lift Station Project and the decommission of the seven acre La Salina Wastewater Plant – five projects, one third of a mile long beginning at the 1400 block of South Pacific St. to the 1500 block (“Coastal Rail Trail: 44 miles from Oceanside to the Santa Fe Depot,” Roam-o-Rama, September 4, 2019).

We say, when opportunity knocks, open the door. Opportunities like this rarely come along, therefore, let’s master plan the entire area including the seven-acre parcel that currently houses the soon to be decommissioned wastewater facility. As it is, the city separated each project, therefore bypassing the master planning process. The entire area could be dynamic and serve residents and visitors alike. Imagine, the creek enlarged/enhanced, an expansive park, possibly an interpretive center, larger restrooms, more parking, enhanced galley, who knows - maybe a surf shop. Just a spectacular place for residents and visitors alike. Master planning the entire area makes sense considering what is recommended in our Local Coastal Program (LCP) and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements. Our LCP states, “Any residual land not needed for the La Salina Treatment Plant should be considered for public use”.

There is an unpaved Class I Bike Trail to poionsettia Coaster Station

We’d love to see the creative minds in our community at work on something that comes along once in a lifetime – master planning the entire area. Some might argue that there is no funding for planning and implementation of a project like this. Well, that’s just not true. We direct you to the recent $8 million grant received from the office of Assemblymember Boener Horvath for beachfront improvements at the Strand! The assemblymember recognizes the economic benefits of our beaches and the necessity to improve services for the public alike. Buccaneer Beach Park is one of Oceanside’s most widely used beach parks providing free beach parking and lower-cost visitor serving uses. As Oceanside continues to densify along the coast, and with the looming threat of sea-level rise, the need for more beach access is clear – expanding the park area will provide more and better access to the beach. We are confident that should we put the bright minds in our community to work master planning the property, funding will follow. Furthermore, data collected while updating our Parks and Recreation Master Plan depicts high beach use in Oceanside.

Ninety-seven percent of residents surveyed visited our beaches or harbor (43% once a week or more, 32% once a month,18% once every few months, 4% once a year, and 3% did not use). We can only imagine what the numbers would look like if visitors were included. Lastly, piecemealing the area/looking at things separately could lead to CEQA issues later. According to CEQA, cumulative impacts must be considered first, not as an afterthought. Will planning the area be a missed opportunity? As H. Jackson Brown Jr. once said, “Nothing is more expensive than a missed opportunity”, let’s not let this slip through our hands. We urge you to write the city council at [email protected], copy our coastal planner [email protected] , and urge the city to master plan the entire area including the La Salina Wastewater Facility for more and better beach access. The property should stay in public hands for public uses, not sold for luxury housing.

• Shari Mackin
• Oceanside