Moving on

As most of you already know, in December 2009 we merged the CMC papers – the Rancho Santa Fe Review, Carmel Valley News and Del Mar Village Voice - into MainStreet Media, owners of the La Jolla Light, Del Mar Times and Solana Beach Sun.
At the time of the merger I sold my interests in our three papers to the new company and decided I would stay in my role as publisher through 2010. After three months of blending the culture of two companies into the new company (MainStreet Communications) it became very obvious to me that I saw the world differently than my new partners. I decided I would step down as publisher earlier than originally planned.
As a 25-year Rancho Santa Fe resident when I bought these papers in 2004 I truly believed the Rancho Santa Fe Review was a community treasure – it still is! My parting wish is that the new owners treat the Review and the Carmel Valley paper with the same level of editorial honesty and support that these two papers have had during our ownership going forward.
I’ll be keeping an office at the Fairbanks Village Plaza (suite 3-13) and will remain on the new company’s board of directors for the balance of the year.
I wish you all a prosperous and successful 2010!
Dex Allen

Time for a refresher on personal safety

With the sad story about the disappearance of the Poway teenager in the news over the past week, we (this newspaper group) thought it would be a good time for a refresher on safety and security matters. And it’s not just about our children. Everyday, we potentially put ourselves in situations where harm could come, whether it’s crossing the street, jogging at the beach or on local trails, or getting out of the car at the mall.
While we live in a community relatively free of crime, it’s good to occasionally review the world around us and to remind family members and coworkers about safety tips.
The list of tips that the San Diego Sheriff’s Department shows on the Community Outreach section of its Web site at http://tinyurl.com/yatq3tr is enough to make you want to lock your door and never go out again. But, taken as basic information, it’s a good refresher.
It may seem obvious to know where your children are or to never leave your child alone in a vehicle or store. But what about having updated information files on your children or being aware of people they don’t want to be with and why?
Then there’s the whole world of the Internet and social networking — and for all of us, the threat of identity theft.
Remind your children and teens that if they’re somewhere that they feel they are in danger from a stranger or even feel like they are in danger from something they’ve done (like drinking too much or thoughts of suicide) that they should call 9-1-1.
One tip that may not be on the list for is to let the family know that our fire stations may be another safety zone. While there may not always someone there if they’re out on a call, just the fact that it is a public place may act as a deterrent to a criminal.
Also, not to raise alarms unnecessarily, but it is important to remember that the state Department of Justice is required by law to post information about the whereabouts of registered sex offenders. (It’s not a surefire list and the Web site makes it clear that “not all sex offenders have been caught or convicted” — and it doesn’t include information on all convicted sex offenders.)
A quick review shows there are none registered at Rancho Santa Fe addresses. To find out details, go to www.meganslaw.ca.gov.
Sometimes a little information can go a long way toward avoiding an unwanted predicament.

Considering term limits for county supervisors

By Gordon Clanton

In June, voters will be asked to consider term limits for county supervisors.
I am generally opposed to term limits. They rob the public of expertise that comes with experience. They devalue public service, encouraging a cynical view of politics. They greatly expand the influence of corporate lobbyists. Term limits are unnecessary: If elected officials do a bad job, voters can replace them.
Legislative term limits, approved by California voters in 1990, encourage job-hopping among the politically ambitious. They create anxiety among members of Congress that termed-out state legislators will come after their jobs. Term limits are a major source of the costly dysfunction in Sacramento.
But I may make an exception to my opposition to term limits, because races against incumbent supervisors are nearly impossible to win.
Financing a challenger's campaign is difficult, because most donors (other than developers and builders) simply do not care.
The enormous size of the districts, roughly the same as a congressional district, means a successful challenger must do lots of very expensive mail and TV advertising to create name identification. Incumbents almost always have much more money than challengers — in part because of big contributions from developers and other special interests.
Most San Diego County voters live in one of 18 incorporated cities, so they don't think much about county government. If you ask average voters what stake they have in county services, you'll be lucky if they come up with animal control and senior vaccinations. Try running a campaign on that platform!
The best argument for term limits for supervisors is the entrenched incumbent board. All five are white in an increasingly diverse county. All five are Republicans, although the city and now the county of San Diego have Democratic pluralities.
Predictions? Two incumbent supervisors will be re-elected, and term limits will be approved.
Ron Roberts (District 4, downtown San Diego, 16 years on the board) faced two potential challengers, Assemblywoman Lori Saldana and San Diego school board member Sheila Jackson, but both dropped out. Roberts had more than $100,000 cash on hand compared with $17,000 for Saldana. Do the math.
Bill Horn (District 5, North County, 16 years in office) has raised almost $100,000. His strongest challenger, Vista Councilman Steve Gronke, has about $2,000 on hand. Horn, long considered developer-friendly, supports the proposed Merriam Mountains development.
Even if the initiative passes, all the incumbents will be eligible for two more four-year terms. So they are more likely to be taken out by age, illness, boredom or affluence than by this ballot measure.
Gordon Clanton teaches sociology at San Diego State University. He welcomes comments at gclanton@mail.sdsu.edu.

Those afraid to speak out send wrong message to children

Re: The story titled “Investigation continues into scene of underage drinking at RSF party house...”
I’m saddened, angry and ashamed that my neighbors don’t have the courage to step forward and teach their children the same, and by their example, to take responsibility for any part they played in this disaster. We are all in danger, and our children. But “for the grace of G..d” we would all be there and we know it.
Heidi Farkash

I-5 construction project:
Oppose ‘grotesque’ expansion of freeways

Many people are confused by projects Caltrans has completed along the I-5 corridor in San Diego and what remains. Caltrans has already completed three major projects: the widening to 23 lanes in "The Merge," the Route 56 flyover to southbound I-5, the “auxiliary” lanes between Lomas Santa Fe and Via de la Valle and the Lomas Santa Fe bridge reconstruction. Still on the agenda is the 20 mile I-5 widening project ("The Big Enchilada") from Del Mar Heights Road north to Van de Griff and the flyover from southbound I-5 to eastbound Route 56 and from westbound 56 to northbound I-.5
The Environmental Impact Report for the 20 mile widening project (first proposed in 2001) will soon be released, no sooner than March 26. This project is estimated to cost over $1 billion and take 20 years to complete. It was authorized by SANDAG using funds from the TransNet sales tax. It is said to meet future growth needs in the North County (vastly overstated by SANDAG at the time) and to "prevent gridlock." It would take the present 250,000 vehicles per day and increase that load by about 50 percent. Caltrans has not released the design, but I believe they would like to expand to 16 lanes from Del Mar Heights all the way through Solana Beach into southern Encinitas, followed by 14 lanes into Carlsbad and 12 lanes from Carlsbad to Camp Pendleton, where they expect to add 2 HOV lanes across the Marine base in the near future.
It is hard to know where to begin the objections that many of us have to both of these proposed projects, but let me try: 1) You can not escape gridlock by "pouring my concrete": just look at Los Angeles. 2) Residents living near the present freeway are assaulted by noise and air pollution that I believe violates present California and U.S. EPA limits. 3) Jack Hegenauer and the Clean and Green team of Solana Beach have made the assessment that 60 percent of the Greenhouse Gases generated in our city come from traffic on I-5, which CalTrans wants to expand by 50 percent, in violation of state law AB232. 4) Twenty years of construction in the North County will result in 20 years of gridlock: is this all for the sake of our descendants? 5) Kevin Costner had it right "If you build it, they will come!" Every freeway expansion in world history has lead to increases of traffic, leaving things no better off.
Please join with me, with members of P.L.A.G.U.E. and all clear thinking citizens in opposing this grotesque expansion of our freeways. It is time to get smarter about transportation and not rely on thinking from the 1950s.
Steve Goetsch