Rx seems to be working

Three adult Torrey pines at the Cardiff library that were declared comatose and slated for removal apparently have made a miraculous recovery following a 90-day reprieve. Cardiffian George Hahn appealed to library officials and County Supe Pam Slater-Price to let him nourish the trees with a concoction of earthworm castings, carbohydrates and sucrose for a three-month period. Latest word from qualified arborists is the trees are showing significant signs of recovering. Hahn has recommended continued medication and predicts they will pass the green test.

Car allowances

Electeds and others who receive a flat auto allowance without having to record actual miles in the performance of their duties are in a quandary over a law that sez it’s a no-no. Stipends in North County vary. In some cases, mayors get a little extra. C’bad pays $4,200 for council persons and $5,400 for its mayor; Surfside City electeds foot their own mileage costs, Flower Capital council members and mayor receive $4,200; O’side pays $4,200 and $4,800; San Marcos $3,600 for electeds including mayor; Solbeach $4,200 for both; and Vista $6,000 and $7,200. Some electeds have opted to forgo this perk.

Your tax $$$ at work

Latest state budget deficit according to the Governator’s office is about $11 bil., give or take a few million. Solbeach assemblyman Martin Garrick sez some of the dough is rightfully earmarked for essentials like education, public safety and transportation, but some items come into question like 46 grand for a party by the state lottery; $16.6 mil. to subsidize the operation of city-owned golf courses in San Fran; a $500,000 study for the University of Cal to learn what taxpayers think of it; $13 mil. for Cal Trans consultants some of who receive seven grand per day; and $320 grand for a state employee who used a state credit card to purchase a flat screen TV, iPods, a hot tub, gazebo and other essentials. The list goes on and on. And whatever happened to the Governator’s big announcement that he was eliminating a bunch of worthless committees and commissions?

Props 98 & 99

Voters are sometimes rightfully confused about the real meaning of the state propositions they are asked to vote on. Props 98 & 99 on next month’s ballot read almost the same but each has devastating results according to millions of dollars being spent in commercials to either promote or defeat them. Bottom line: Beware and if you’re not sure, you are better off to nix them both.

District attorney

double loser

DA Bonnie Dumanis suffered double whammies recently and perhaps oughta spend more time considering cases under her jurisdiction and less time running all over the place politicking. Chula Vista Councilman Steve Castaneda was cleared by a jury of six accounts of perjury. Four were thrown out by a judge. After spending two years and four months in the slammer having been convicted of poisoning her husband with arsenic, Cynthia Sommer was totally absolved of the crime recently when no poison was found in his body. In the meantime, her alleged naughty background was well-publicized. Question? What did these revelations have to do with the charges? Secondly, where do these two innocent victims go to get their reputations back?

On the ball

While some agencies are still hashing over last fall’s wildfires, the county Board of Supes is taking positive action by considering the rental of a coppla water-dropping tankers to supplement its fire suppression arsenal. Expensive? Yep. But not what the last two major fires cost in lives and property. Kudos to these electeds.

Memorial Day poppies

V.F.W. Post 5431 members and their ladies will be selling the traditional Memorial Day poppies at various commercial spots in the area. These are a likeness of poppies in a U.S. military cemetery in Flanders Field, France, where they are said to grow row on row. Proceeds benefit V.F.W. projects.

Pope’s birthday

Doug Barnhart, a member of the County Fair’s board of directors, and his wife, Nancy, were among those who sang “Happy Birthday” to Pope Benedict XVL in Washington. According to UT columnist Diane Bell, the Barnharts were invited to the White House by Prez George W.

Fun run/walk

Flower Capital city will have its fifth annual 5K mile run May 17 at Moonlight Beach starting at 8 a.m. Races are USA Track & Field-sanctioned. Baby strollers and wheelchairs OK, but nix on skateboards, roller blades or scooters. More info from Kathy Loper at (760) 633-2740 or www.KathyLoperEvents. com/coe5k.

MiraCosta College

scrubs applicants

With only two finalists from an initial field of 38 applicants for the president’s post, MiraCosta College trustees decided to start the process over. Not surprising for the minimal response given the fact the college’s dysfunctional reputation is pretty well-known in education circles.

Marathon session

The April 23 Flower Capital council session was a five-hour marathon that included a presentation on novelty lighters that look like toys; a workshop that wuzzn’t on the budget; an update on the acquisition of the boat houses given during the water board meeting that should have been presented during the council agenda; hearing from some taxpayers who had signed up to speak but didn’t becuz they had gone home; and consideration of the sign ordinance following a presentation by a well-paid attorney who sat through the first 4.5 hours of the session. It was approved as the final item on the agenda at 11 p.m. A special meeting now has been called for a Budget Workshop at 3 p.m. May 13, making it difficult for the working taxpayer to attend.

One liners

Rancho Santa Fe residents are among more than 250 Witch Creek Fire victims who have filed a suit against SDG&E for damages ... San Dieguito Heritage Museum movers and shakers are cranking up for their 20th annual deep pit barbecue June 21 ... C’bad electeds have abandoned a proposed fee increase that would have raised traffic impact fees on developers more than 200 percent.



Hasta La Vista