When will the fire department start passing out mustard-yellow jackets with all the politicians names stenciled on the pockets? Perhaps the water department can pass out hard hats with the mayors' staff people names embossed across their foreheads. Sure seems like a lot of people are tripping over each other to get their mugs in front of the cameras. The victims of this tragedy need a press conference with Kolender, Dumanis, Landsdowne, Bersin, and some Homeland Security honk, standing in the back ground. Understand that Jerry Sanders will be holding a press conference out there at 10:00---right on time for the 10:00 news broadcasts. Impeccable timing for maximum exposure. What a circus. What a weird sense of compassion and problem solving. Let the professionals do their jobs and send the publicity hounds back to city hall.

Posted by Dale Peterson | reply to this comment
October 3, 2007 3:37 pm

Why are you bent out of shape that Mike Aguirre went to the scene of a disaster? I was glad to know somebody was in charge. Aguirre had information about what emergency services were present -- SEMPRA and the fire department -- and he had some historical facts about the instability of the neighborhood dating from slides there in the 1960's. He also told us that Mayor Sanders' man-of-many-hats Jay Goldstone would be along shortly, as Hizzoner was out of town. If there is criticism to be leveled, you know where it should be directed, and it's NOT at the City Attorney.

Posted by Needs Less Sloppy SLOP | reply to this comment
October 3, 2007 4:11 pm

Faulconer's chief of staff didn't know who's dime the Councilman was traveling on? Wow! As a Mt. Soledad resident I'm real confident in the ability of my elected official to handle the situation...

Posted by DC | reply to this comment
October 3, 2007 4:39 pm

Aguirre arrived several hours after Goldstone and then began stammering through an interview citing geological information which he clearly knew nothing about. It was laughable. An excellent job on the part of city services though. Water, Fire, Wastewater along with volunteers, Red Cross and SDG&E all working hand in hand to minimize the effects of this disaster. Aguirre remained off in a corner not speaking to anyone other than the media. Let's rid ourselves of this little Napolean cancer!

Posted by Leanne | reply to this comment
October 3, 2007 4:44 pm

Although Less Sloppy SLOP displays an ignorance of city government by saying that Mike "was in charge," I agree that the city attorney's presence was not inappropriate. However, I also understand SLOP's remark. Unfortunately, Mike has cheapened his office and made himself look foolish by both his serial press conferences and his propensity to inject himself into any and every issue that arises or might arise in San Diego or anywhere else in the universe.

Posted by Marnie | reply to this comment
October 3, 2007 4:54 pm

Aguirre did the Al Haig Jr "I'm in charge here". It looked as inappropriate now as it did then. A total media whore who looked to gain from other people's tragedy. Nice job, Mike - this one will bite you in the ass

Posted by Frank1 | reply to this comment
October 3, 2007 4:59 pm

Maybe he's bent out of shape because as a citizen taxpayer he wonders why the city attorney goes on national television and admits liability of the city, without knowing any facts. Goldstone is the Mayor in his absence, at least for these purposes. Aguirre's role never includes being the mayor. Do you understand?

Posted by Hey, needs less | reply to this comment
October 3, 2007 5:44 pm

Mike is the guy that RUNS this City, so he should be there to direct and supervise everything.

Posted by Billy Bob Henry | reply to this comment
October 3, 2007 6:37 pm

Gotta say it's a tragedy for the people who are going to loose their homes. I think the fact that this slide occured in LaJolla, that everyone is jumping on it. LaJollans have lots of cash to back up some class action lawsuits even though the slides might be nobodys fault except nature. You can't sue nature. I wonder if this happened in city heights if there would be as much hype? I have to say, it was strange to see Mike taking the lead on this. If an outsider was watching the news casts, they would think he was the mayor. Can't the mayor just stay in town? Why did Faulconer need to tag along? Did he carry his bags? How about some BLOGS on Faulconer? What's he all about Alfie?

Posted by Norman | reply to this comment
October 4, 2007 3:28 am

Is this the same Faulconer staffer who couldn't come up with a straight answer when he skipped important meetings to cruise the Caribbean? and why would he need to go to DC.. on the public's dime? For that matter, why does the Mayor keep going to DC on the public's dime.. how many trips has he had? What have we gotton for those trips? Nice timing, Panders. You deserve to let Aguirre one-up you.

Posted by Tom S. | reply to this comment
October 4, 2007 6:10 am

Faulconer and Sanders were on a four-day, Chamber-led junket to Washington, D.C., that included an "after-dark" tour of the U.S. Capitol led by Brian Bilbray. Yep, important stuff....

Posted by TY | reply to this comment
October 4, 2007 7:31 am

Hey BBH, yeah Mikeee is running this town - into the ground and into bankruptcy (which is his secret desire to make his life and career justified). Perhaps he's running it like Al Capone ran Chicago. He's out stirring up people to sue the City over this event and making statements that will prevent him from defending the City in those suits, and perhaps even lead to the City having to fork over my tax dollars to people who knew or should have known the risk of living on Soledad. The City is not the insurer of last resort, and Mikee is making it turn out that way. Go run something else - like far away maybe.

Posted by Cynic | reply to this comment
October 4, 2007 7:39 am

Aguirre sees the media setting up for a planned press conference by the City's COO, public safety, geologist, SDG@E, etc. and seizes the opportunity to grandstand, criticize the Mayor's staff, and strongly hint that the City is liable due to a water leak. This was clearly out of line. How much longer do we have to put up with this guy?

Posted by Dick | reply to this comment
October 4, 2007 7:39 am

The loss of property is a real personal crisis. Whatever the city is legally responsible for should be done as soon as possible. I take a different view on Aguirre, the Mayor and the ever missing Faulconer. First, it was apparent that there was no elected official running the scene. Mr Saniz and Goldstone do not represent the citizens they are paid employees of the city. They may have done a great job, but the lack of leadership at the site was not the way the city should be run. Aguirre, being an elected official was welcome there. The comments by the Mayor's staff were inappropriate. When the deputy mayor finally decided to show up, his comments were confused and wrong. Next on to phase II, the investigation of what really occured.

Posted by Rick | reply to this comment
October 4, 2007 7:56 am

(cont) I remind you the Mayor held a investigation of Sunroad, it was weak and in some cases not true. Now do we trust the Mayor to investigate himself again. I do not think so, it needs to be independent and I do not believe that the Mayor understands that word. Faulconer will do whatever the Mayor wants him to do. His words and actions do not relfect any orginal thinking. He just follows the Mayor's direction. Just what was he doing and who was paying for him to be out of town and what did it cost to get him back here to attempt to do his responsibility? I bet that was a pretty expensive trip. He surely does not represent San Diego.

Posted by Rick | reply to this comment
October 4, 2007 8:05 am

Well now that the road sunk in the heights those of us in the flats get all the traffic from Mt Soledad Rd coming through here on Beryl, with no re-timing of the traffic signals, left turn signals or safety enhancements to account for the double/triple volume we now have. My kid almost got hit by one of the poor Ferrari-owning La Jollan's speeding home on the new "detour" through PB. All the cops posing for the cameras up on the hill should have been down here directing traffic! PB Flatlander

Posted by PB Flatlander | reply to this comment
October 4, 2007 8:08 am

BBH: Where in the City Charter does it state that the City Attorney "RUNS" the City? Send that to me when you find it, okay? (Note: I won't hold my breath awaiting your response because you won't--cannot--find any such section in the Charter because it does not exist!) And, Mayor Sanders, can't you handle the City's business with the feds via video- or tele- conferencing? Isn't it more cost effective to do this, rather than paying for expensive airline tickets each month? It's no wonder Mike was at Mt. Soledad on Wednesday afternoon with yet another case of diarrhea of the mouth. When you leave town, you leave the fox (Mike) in charge of the hen house. This is partially YOUR fault because you are away from the City so much.

Posted by CeeMac | reply to this comment
October 4, 2007 9:39 am

It's odd that the La Jolla residents affected by the landslide expect the City of San Diego to accecpt liability or even provide services. Just ask one of them what city they live in. I promise you they will never say San Diego. They even get La Jolla printed on their driver licenses. But, I know...I know..they pay property tax and we'll have to help them out. Just so they remember from now on that La Jolla is a community of San Diego. The same as San Ysidro, Logan Heights or Encanto.

Posted by Pat | reply to this comment
October 4, 2007 10:42 am

"Hey Needs Less" wrote that Goldstone is the mayor in the Mayor's absence, and this raises a good question. Is this true? Obviously, it's not Aguirre as much as he'd like it to be.. but would Peters be the Mayor? What is the correct legal answer under charter or code - anyone know?

Posted by Tom S. | reply to this comment
October 4, 2007 11:18 am

I feel sorry for all the "poor" millionaires who lost their homes, since they have no insurance to help out. Previous homeowners who sold in that area are wiping the sweat off their brows now, congratulating themselves for getting out of that situation before THEIR house got covered up. It gives new importance to the term "buyer beware." And who does Aguirre represent, anyhow? He is holding a community meeting to tell future plaintiffs against the city how "mad" he is about this situation, and probably implicating the city in billions of dollars of lawsuits. How does that represent the best interests of the city?

Posted by Cheeky | reply to this comment
October 4, 2007 11:23 am

Tom S. - Yes, Scott Peters would be the interim mayor if the current mayor was incapacatated or otherwise unable to serve. However, Jay Goldstone is the Chief Operating Officer (insert City Manager) and was in touch with Sanders throughout the ordeal. An interim mayor is not put in place each time the current mayor leaves the city anymore than an interim president would be sworn in whenever the current president left Washington. Goldstone was in charge at the incident site and did a fine job. Aguirre simply walked around looking for television cameras with short tripods while everyone else ignored him. When he heard a few hysterical residents decide to blame the city after realizing they weren't covered by insurance, he went into political mode without thinking it through, thereby costing him several thousand votes to gain a few.

Posted by Caitlin | reply to this comment
October 4, 2007 12:22 pm

When will media people just report the Soledad Mountain Road sinkhole and slide story and stop using loaded words like "tony," "pricey," and "upscale" to describe the neighborhood where many people have experienced an unmitigated and uninsurable disaster? When will voice correspondents show a scintilla of sympathy for people whose homes were destroyed in one morning? The easy descriptors, classism, and envious crowing are disgusting. Most of the ruined houses were built as long ago as the '60's and '70's on unstable fill. I heard on Channel 10 that the originals sold for $35,000, and some of them failed in this same manner before completion back in the day. Who could imagine that the hillside and road would start to fracture and slip in 2007? A little mercy, please.

Posted by Francine Foraday | reply to this comment
October 4, 2007 12:42 pm

Gosh, golly gee aren't we just happy we have a new ballpark downtown and our city employees are getting nice big pensions and we gave away NTC? Look, we have Mt. Soledad falling apart and now .... "According to the San Diego Police Department, Ingraham Street between Sea World and West Mission Bay drives, West Mission Bay Drive to southbound Ingraham Street and the Sea World ramp to northbound Ingraham Street will be closed indefinitely due to a major water main break". Guys, our city is falling apart and we've got the boys out playing in DC. Isn't that just special!

Posted by Norman | reply to this comment
October 4, 2007 2:32 pm

Too bad the Mt. Soledad cross didn't fall into the sinkhole. James McElroy and the ACLU would be out there pushing it in; Sanders and Duncan Hunter would be trying to pull it out; and Aguirre would call the press conference. Now THAT would make good television.

Posted by SD4Life | reply to this comment
October 4, 2007 3:05 pm

Scott Lewis said = Still shaking my head that Mike Aguirre was speaking for the city on this one. (Did he rush there to depose the sinkhole?)I probably would be right to say Scott Lewis does not have much use for Mike Aguirre but to imitate somewhat of a respectable non biased journalistic medium it might look more professional if you did not look totally biased against Mike Aguirre every time he shows his face in public – My Opinion is who else is suppose to speak for the City of San Diego when it comes to Legal Opinions you Scott Lewis or maybe me I have a High School Education would you like me to speak for you on issues of Legality and culpability? The point is as a supposedly Reporter or whatever you call yourself the Facts are what is Important not your Likes and Favorites.

Posted by Donald Reno | reply to this comment
October 4, 2007 3:44 pm

It is an editorial Mr. Reno. Scott is well within his jounalistic bounds to state an opinion. If you are an Aguirre supporter, I suggest you rethink your position. What attorney would rush out and offer any legal opinion on such a matter while the ground is still sinking and no suit has yet been filed. I am horrified this man is representing my interests and you should be as well, particulary since Aguirre has a history of not reaching settlements even in unwinnable cases. He prefers to take every case to court, lose it, file an appeal and then cry corruption.

Posted by Caitlin | reply to this comment
October 4, 2007 5:06 pm

I think Scott's comment about the sinkhole begs the question...why was Aguirre there at all? Because there were cameras there, that's why. The City Attorney doesn't need to be at the scene of a natural disaster. He is not the City Engineer. He doesn't speak for the Mayor. He may be an elected official but his role is completely different from the Mayor and Council (at least I think it is). So did he depose the sinkhole? And why were all his investigators there? What do they know about landslides? I believe what he is really doing is investigating the mayor's staff. He is at odds with the rest of the City and it shows.

Posted by Ann | reply to this comment
October 4, 2007 6:19 pm

Caitlying, how many times did you fail the Bar exam before you threw in the towl?? CeeMac, Mike RUNS this City, that is obvious to anyone who lives here, so I don't need to show you anything, if not for Mike SD would be paying HS educated FF and PD millions MORE in pay and pensions, and they would be retiring at age 45 instead of 50, claiming they die 1 month after retiring so the deserve it.

Posted by Billy Bob Henry | reply to this comment
October 4, 2007 6:42 pm

Sir - I was wondering, since you tend to tend to note/disparage the educational level of City employees, you must have some sort of advanced degrees of some sort - please share your level of education/training/e with the blogging public. Thank you

Posted by Dear Mr. BB Henry | reply to this comment
October 4, 2007 7:48 pm

Oh Silly Billy! You know that the only thing that Little Mikey runs is his mouth. And you are still playing that one note on the pensions. So, tell us again what it is that your Hero has done for this City. It certainly is not winning any of the many law suits he files. Silly Billy yur rants are as boring as Little Mikey's trying to get the cameras on him. Caitlin...I liked your short tripod remark. ROFL

Posted by Panchy | reply to this comment
October 4, 2007 8:09 pm

To Dear Mr. BB Henry and my good buddy Panchy- I have never disparaged the educational level of City employees, I only stated the obvious, HS educated workers do NOT deserve to bve making more than Doctors, lawyers, Accountants and Judges-they deserve to be paid what they would make in the private sector with that HS diploma. Now if you can name one, JUST ONE employeer in San Diego that pays HS educated workers 6 figure incomes and multi MILLION dollar pensions I will support that for PD/FD-no name just one! What would happen if workers at McDonald's demanded to be paid $50/hour and wanted million dollar pensions?? A Big Mac would cost $150, and then McD's would be out of business. Taxpayers are tired of supporting freeloaders who milk the system. My solution is simple, if PD/FD doesn't like their pay scale, go get a private sector job.

Posted by Billy Bob Henry | reply to this comment
October 4, 2007 11:05 pm

Mr. BBH: Because you so denigrate public service, you must be a librarian. Did you attend public schools? Do you drive on public roads? Do you take prescription drugs that were developed with public funds? Or would you rather that we contact out these services to private companies like Blackwater and Haliburton that have done so well for us in Iraq? You are precisely the kind of whiner who is first to complain when YOUR public services are cut. Notwithstanding their educational level, police officers and firefighters have difficult, dangerous jobs. And like teachers, on whom the progress of civilization depends, they are underpaid. Since you base so much worth on advanced degrees, you must support the raises that Mike recently gave his lawyer deputies. (I see that extra money as bribes to keep quite about the chaos in the office.)

Posted by Marnie | reply to this comment
October 5, 2007 7:39 am

Let me see. A bunch of rich people bought expensive homes on a sandy hillside, knowing that sand washes away especially when leaky old water pipes are around ... and then there's those pesky earthquake, and thinking, as rich people do, that God is a republican and will not let any bad things happen to them. Reminds me of a story my blue collar friend told me about a rich old lady, driving her mercedes in the Horton Plaza parking lot, who waved him over because she had realized that everything was different and somebody had moved Nordstroms, and could he tell her how to get to Nordstroms. It was an emergency! Now there are fire emergencies, and police emergencies, but a Nordstroms emergency? Definately a republican wouldn't you say.

Posted by Dimples | reply to this comment
October 5, 2007 11:28 am

Mike Aguirre violated National Incident Management System protocol by showing up at the scene of the landslide, pretending to be in charge, and talking to the media. Not only did this clown prance around claiming to be in charge but, the first thing out of his mouth to the media was an admission of liability for the landslide. At incidents like this there is an incident commander but, Mike wouldn't know about that since his office didn't participate in the Incident Management System training. He is not a geologist or water pipe expert, he's a barely competent attorney and he needs to do his job and stop doing everyone else's.

Posted by Gayle Clarkson | reply to this comment
October 5, 2007 2:40 pm

I think you forgot to mention your level of education in your reply, so please enlighten us. Thank you

Posted by Dear BB Henry | reply to this comment
October 5, 2007 5:33 pm

As one of the 10,000 city employees who was forced to complete two National Incident Management System computer classes - about six hour of city time each ( wonder how much 10,000 employees X 6 hours costs) I can attest that even if the city attorney would have taken it, it would have been worthless - as it was to those who took it. Same for the required ethics training, customer service training, BPR, mission statements, visioning, diversity and other diversionary stategies to cover the fact that the city bureacracy is worse than it has ever been..losing good employees with institutional memory and commitment to the public while lumping them in with the corrupt management that (for the most part) has left.

Posted by NIMS graduate | reply to this comment
October 5, 2007 8:20 pm

Marnie, teachers are the MOST OVERPAID PROFESSION IN CALIFORNIA! I still have MY teaching license, so unlike you I know how overpaid teachers are, how the cannot be fired (like all free loading gov workers), and can NEVER be laid off or downsized (again-like all free loading gov workers), , all this and $44 and plus another $25 an hour n benefits, yesr teachers are UNDERPAID MARNIE!...lol... what's next, are you going to tell me that the earth is not flat and the sky is blue??? BTW, here i sthe PROFF baby, I dare you to rebutt the COLD HARD FACTS THAT TEACHERS ARE OVERPAID. Link here sweety pie ; link

Posted by Billy Bob Henry | reply to this comment
October 5, 2007 9:17 pm

Billy Bob, where are you?

Posted by Dear BB Henry | reply to this comment
October 5, 2007 9:19 pm

Gayle,you forgot the boys were out of town in DC ...lining up special deals or maybe they were out clubbing. Anyhow, they weren't here and I bet our next disaster they'll be off in la la land somewhere else. Someone's got to watch the hen house.

Posted by Norman | reply to this comment
October 6, 2007 4:21 am

You sure about all your statements, Gayle? At least one is false. I have a question, perhaps Scott can get to the bottom of, where were the elected City officials- Faulconer, Peters, Sanders? Days after the landslide, Aguirre was the only one to hold public forums. Love him or hate him Aguirre is tireless, and committed. Sometimes other elected officials act like their offices are part time jobs- or end at 5:00. If you don't want him to do your job, do it yourself.

Posted by PBnJ | reply to this comment
October 6, 2007 9:06 am

So, you still have your teaching license - Do you have a BA or BS? A Masters or posssibly PhD.? Also what is/was (in general terms, of course - I don't want to be too nosy), your profession? Thank you (again) for enlightening us!

Posted by Dear BB Henry | reply to this comment
October 6, 2007 1:13 pm

I have a BA from the most respectable school in San Diego, next question please.

Posted by Billy Bob Henry | reply to this comment
October 6, 2007 6:28 pm

City College Billy? I didn't realize teachers made $69 per hour. This will come as news to my sister in law who has been an elementary school teacher for 25 years.

Posted by re: Billy Bob | reply to this comment
October 7, 2007 7:27 pm

Dear BB Henry...I think you should visit match.com!

Posted by Norman | reply to this comment
October 8, 2007 5:27 am

BBH: First let me apologize for the typo in my previous post. Obviously, I meant that you must be a libertarian, not a librarian. Now, on to your hysterical remarks about teachers being overpaid. My sister-in-law just retired after 45 years of teaching in Southern California elementary schools. She was a dedicated teacher who always gave individual attention to her students, even when she had 35 in a class. Rarely a night or weekend went by that she did not spend hours correcting papers or preparing new lesson plans. In addition she had to buy a lot of her classroom supplies. (To be continued)

Posted by Marnie | reply to this comment
October 8, 2007 11:19 am

BBH: (Continued) Although my sister-in-law and brother did travel during summer vacation, she also used those weeks to read books and articles relating to her profession, to plan displays to make her classroom more engaging, and to devise new ways to challenge and excite her students. She understood that, as a primary grade teacher, she was uniquely in a position to influence the course of her students' lives. After all this and five years of college, she is now getting less than $2,500 a month in retirement.

Posted by Marnie | reply to this comment
October 8, 2007 11:20 am

PBnJ, I stand by my statements, all of them! Norman, the boys who went to DC are not first responders in a disaster. I don't think anyone has ever seen or heard that the City Attorney is a first responder for a fire, landslide, water main break, heart attack, riot or any other sort of disaster. Aguirre's favorite Charter section, section 40, doesn't even mention incident response as part of his duties.

Posted by Gayle Clarkson | reply to this comment
October 8, 2007 6:49 pm

Marnie, your relative NEVER had 35 students in an elementary class. NEVER. The last 8 years it has been 20 MAX!, and before that it averaged 22-27, no school has over 30 students per class except Physical Education. Also, you said the teaching profession was underpaid. I just linked you to the pay scale in So Cal, it is $40-$44 an hour PLUS another $25K per year in benefits. You said the profession was underpaid-it is not. Is it hard, yes, it is very hard. Are there tons of excellent teachers, Yes. Are there tons of teachers that should be fired, Yes, tons of dead wood. Considering you cannot be fired, cannot be downsized, cannot have your pay lowered, it is an excellent job that pays far more than other professions that require a college degree. I never said teaching was no hard, and I knwo first hand, notfromarelative.

Posted by Billy Bob Henry | reply to this comment
October 8, 2007 7:54 pm

Gayle, they are the first responder if it's their council district! If you're not in town your can't respond. Simple as that. When you're out playing with the big boys, you can't watch out for your own. Faulconer wasn't here just like when he was cruising the Carribean and missing important votes on the council. I bet we would have never even known Faulconer was in DC if this disaster didn't happen. A good blog would be, where is your council person this week and who did they meet with and why. That blog would give us a good look at who they are working for!

Posted by Norman | reply to this comment
October 9, 2007 7:03 am

If anyone watch the council meeting today, I find it disturbing that Mr. Faulconer proposed passage of the Seaforth item without ever having a copy of the negative declarations. It took Ms. Frye to bring out this small and hugely important detail that none of the council got such an important document. Action such as this is why we are still having problems running our city. The good ole boys are too eager just to pass things through. Please council do your homework and stop playing political games!

Posted by Norman | reply to this comment
October 9, 2007 10:58 am

Hey Norman: The reason I asked BBH his education, training, and profession is because he thinks EVERYONE in government is undereducated and overpaid. I'm just curious to see if he uses HIS skill/training/educa levels as a baseline to judge the same in others. He hasn't been too forthcoming as to revealing the basis for his judgements of others, so I deduce that even with his BA (in whatever - he is obviously too ashamed/embarrassed to state) he is probably stuck in, or retired from, a low paying, dead-end job. He DID mention something about being in real estate - perhaps he's a gardener?

Posted by Dear BB Henry | reply to this comment
October 9, 2007 8:46 pm

Apology to BBH: I checked with my sister-in-law, and you are right. While she taught in California, she never had 35 students in one class. The most that she ever had was 33. So mea culpa! However, for a couple of years during which she taught in another state, she had 37. By the way, I did teach high school for a short time, but I soon discovered that I had neither the talent nor the calling to be a good teacher.

Posted by Marnie | reply to this comment
October 10, 2007 6:25 am

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