Is Linda Vista Bound for New City Council District?
Plus: Great Local Deal for Taco Tuesdays, Upcoming Community Events, and Coping with the Padres
The likely redistricting fate of Linda Vista appears a bit clearer after this past Tuesday night, and the fate appears to be a mixed bag for the community’s interests. At a public Zoom meeting held on October 12, the San Diego Redistricting Commission announced the list of instructions and guidance it will be submitting to the analytics/mapping consulting firm HaystaqDNA for the initial drawing of draft city council district maps. In regard to Linda Vista, the instructions/guidance satisfies the community’s desire to remain intact in one city council district, however, it seems that Linda Vista may be destined to be moved out of District 7 and into District 2’s new boundaries.
In a spirited and informative 2 ½ hour Zoom session, the Commission presented the instructions/guidance to the public, and then listened to additional input provided by San Diego residents. In the past few weeks, the public has been invited to submit recommendations/draft maps to the commission members for their consideration. This input was used in part to help formulate the list of instructions/guidance presented at Tuesday night’s meeting. At the conclusion of this meeting, the Commission members amended a few items from the original list and then approved it for forwarding to HaystaqDNA.
According to the Commission’s instructions/guidance, the communities of Linda Vista and Clairemont would both be transferred entirely intact to District 2. The Linda Vista community has been split between District 2 and 7 since the last redistricting effort that took place in 2011, with many local residents claiming such a division significantly dilutes the community’s ability to lobby for its interests, and also claiming that Linda Vista’s interests are very different from those unique interests belonging to the beach communities that make up most of District 2. Potentially joining Clairemont in the same district has been seen as a positive for Linda Vista, since the two communities share similar interests. However, if all of Linda Vista is moved into District 2, there is the potential for Linda Vista’s interests to once again be overshadowed by beach community interests (i.e., short-term rental issues, building height restriction issues, etc.).
The 9-person San Diego Redistricting Commission has been tasked with utilizing recent U.S. Census data to come up with new district city council boundaries that reflect Census population reports (as required by City Charter). The Commission is scheduled to approve a preliminary map by November 15, collect public comments about the map, and then vote on a final map by December 15. The Commission is required to consider the following criteria when coming up with new boundaries:
“Districts must be comprised of contiguous territory and made as equal in population as shown by the Census reports, and as geographically compact as possible. It also requires that the districts shall, as far as possible, be bounded by natural boundaries, street lines, and/or City boundary lines. The Charter requires that the districts be drawn to provide fair and effective representation for all citizens of the City, including racial, ethnic, and language minorities. Additionally, to the extent possible, they preserve identifiable communities of interest.”
The list of general Citywide instructions/guidance the commission is sending to HaystaqDNA includes the following:
• Draft 2-3 maps based on the following instructions below.
• Aim for a maximum citywide deviation of 5-7%.
• Communities that were previously split in 2010 should be taken into consideration (when feasible) to reunite the community, provided that doing so isn’t in conflict with the 6 criteria.
• Consider evaluating citywide maps, and partial maps submitted by the public with significant public comment for how the maps meet the criteria.
• Try to keep community planning groups intact, especially if the community is currently updating or recently had their update approved.
• The Commission must follow federal and state laws regarding voting rights, and within those constraints consider communities of interest, neighborhoods, compactness, etc.
Instructions specifically pertaining to District 2 (which included a reference to Linda Vista) are as follows:
• Try to maintain 2 coastal districts
• Attempt to reunite Clairemont into one Council district (currently in District 2 and District 6).
• Attempt to reunite Linda Vista into one Council district (currently in District 2 and District 7).
• Consider adding Mission Hills to District 2.
• Consider adding Old Town to District 2.
Other significant instructions/guidance provided by the Commission included recognizing a strong LBGT presence in District 3; transferring UCSD/University City to District 6; trying to maintain District 6 as a district with a strong Asian American Pacific Islander presence; trying to maintain Districts 8 and 9 with significant LatinX populations.
Public organizations/individuals also submitted their suggested maps. For example, the above map was designed by groups focused on empowerment of certain ethnic/racial groups in districts 3, 4, 8 and 9.
The next special meeting of the Redistricting Commission is scheduled for October 21 at 6:00 pm. For more information on the Commission and the redistricting effort, please click here.
Inflation Busting Taco Tuesday Special at Los Panchos
If you are like us, and eat out fairly regularly, you have probably noticed that menu prices have skyrocketed in recent months. Restaurants not only have fewer waitstaff, but they seem to have raised the prices in order to compensate for the big losses they suffered throughout the pandemic when many were closed for indoor seating or completely closed. Additionally, inflation in general seems to be rearing its ugly head throughout the economy; just look at the rising car, energy and housing prices.
In spite of these inflationary times, one tradition we have tried to maintain is Taco Tuesday. Tacos still seem to be somewhat of a bargain – unless you lean toward lobster or shrimp tacos, which tend to be a little pricier.
Accordingly, in the face of these rising prices, we want to tell you about what we believe is the best inflation-busting bargain around, a business we have mentioned before in this newsletter—Los Panchos Taco Shop.
Los Panchos is located at the Las Cumbres Square shopping center (at the corner of Via Las Cumbres and Friars Road). On Taco Tuesday, you can purchase mini-street tacos there for about $1.35 each. The best part is that they come with shredded cabbage, pico, and sauce, thereby giving you your veggies as well as your protein. They even throw in some free chips. When you go there to pick up your order, they sometimes give you a sample of their soup, so it is a win-win-win. With three tacos for Steve and two for myself, our bill is about $6.25. Not bad for dinner. Or lunch even. We always get the fish tacos, but they also have others such as beef and pork. They also go well with margaritas or beer.
So, we recommend that when your wallet is getting thin on a Tuesday, give Los Panchos a try. With the constant threat of inflation, we can’t guarantee these prices will always be available, so don’t waste any time. Phone in your order at 619-272-0626.
Upcoming Community Events
SD Loyal Soccer: The Loyal takes on New Mexico United on October 17 at 3:00 pm at USD’s Torero Stadium. It’s YMCA Day at the game. For every $20 ticket purchased, the San Diego Loyal will give $5 to the YMCA. Tickets can be purchased here.
Linda Vista Town Council: The LVTC will hold its monthly general meeting (on Zoom) on October 20 at 6 pm. In order to ensure a timely start, the opportunity to log on to the meeting will be available beginning at 5:45 pm. District 7 Councilmember Raul Campillo will be the guest speaker. All Linda Vista residents are invited. The Zoom address is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89697538858
Halloween Movie in the Park: The Linda Vista Recreation Center will sponsor a showing of The Nightmare Before Christmas on October 23 at 5:30 pm. See the below poster for more details. A costume contest will also be conducted!
Kearny High Football: The Komets will play their next home game against Clairemont High on October 29 at 7:00pm.
USD Football: The Toreros will play their next home game against Valparaiso University on October 30 at 1:00pm.
Commentary
How to Cope with the SD Padres’ Disappointing Season?
Who are the saddest people in Linda Vista? The answer is quite obvious… the SD Padres fans residing in Linda Vista. We are currently suffering great sadness.
As everyone knows, the SD Padres began the season with high hopes. People were talking division championship, NL championship, and even a possible World Series championship. But then something happened. The Padres turned rotten. And we ended up suffering through another in a long line of losing seasons.
How can LV Padres fans be expected to live with such a pathetic situation?
Relying on a combination of Hollywood cinema and French philosophy, I have outlined below three possible approaches that can either help us accept the Padres’ plight (Approaches #1 and 3), or motivate the Padres and their fans to take drastic action in preparation for next year (Approach # 2). Read ahead and see what you think.
# 1 The Casablanca Approach: We all remember that famous last scene in the classic movie Casablanca—the one that takes place on the airport tarmac, in which Humphrey Bogart must say goodbye to his true love Ingrid Bergman. In consoling a tearful Bergman, Humphrey Bogart’s character says to her “We’ll always have Paris”, a reference to an earlier interlude of time they enjoyed together in the City of Lights before the war rudely interrupted their budding romance. In the same vein, Padres fans can draw consolation from this season by reminding themselves that “We’ll always have May.” That’s the month of the 2021 season in which the Padres last found themselves in first place. In case you forgot, the Padres and their fans were enjoying La Vida Loca on May 30—the team was a ½ game ahead of everyone else in the Western Division standings. Those were good times. The future looked bright. Unfortunately, from that day on the Padres experienced a downward slide, first gradually, and then eventually at a very rapid pace. In light of what occurred, I suggest we forget everything after May 30 and fall back on remembering those earlier good times, because no matter the dismal final season outcome “We’ll always have May.”
# 2 The Lord of the Rings Approach: In the movie Lord of the Rings, Frodo Baggins must go on a quest to destroy the One Ring and thereby assure the destruction of its maker, the Dark Lord Sauron. The Padres must follow Frodo’s lead by destroying the SD Padres Swag Chain. Though intended to help celebrate homeruns and big plays, I believe there is something evil about the SD Padres Swag Chain. The Swag Chain, introduced to the team by Manny Machado, and designed by Machado’s NYC-based jeweler, proved popular amongst fans but, in reality, it has been nothing but trouble for the team. When the Swag Chain first made its appearance on May 22, the Padres were in first place in the Western Division and enjoyed a .630 winning percentage. The next day their winning percentage climbed to .638. Sadly, it was all downhill after that. Some people blame injuries. Other people point to an ineffective manager. But one could easily correlate the bad season to the mysterious appearance of the Swag Chain. Thus, the Swag Chain and all the fan-owned duplicates must be destroyed before the start of the next season!
# 3 The Myth of Sisyphus Approach: In his book The Myth of Sisyphus, the great French philosopher Albert Camus wrote about the mythical Greek figure who was punished for all eternity to roll a rock up a mountain only to have it roll back down to the bottom when he reached the top. Camus uses this myth to explain “the absurd life.” According to Camus, “Sisyphus is the ideal absurd hero, and his punishment is representative of the human condition.” Sisyphus “must struggle perpetually and without hope of success,” like most people in our world (and very much like Padres fans). In explaining the absurd life, Camus claims there is a fundamental conflict between what people want from the universe (whether it be meaning, order, reason, or a Padres World Series victory) and what people find in the universe (formless chaos or another Padres sub-.500 season). Camus cautions that we will never find in life itself the meaning that we want to find. Now, that doesn’t sound like very good news for Padres fans—after all, who wants to believe that being a Padres fan means leading an absurd, hopeless life? However, Camus points out that when Sisyphus eventually accepts the hopelessness of his fate, he is able to enjoy a degree of contentment. In the same manner, it could be said that once Padres fans accept that their team is hopeless and will never again win a division title, much less a World Series, they can then derive a degree of contentment from every season, no matter how bad the outcome. Yes, this deep, philosophical approach might be hard to understand. On the other hand, if there’s one thing we all understand it’s that the French know absolutely nothing about baseball, so there is a good possibility this philosophical approach might be considered totally whack and not at all applicable to the typical Padres fans.
Remember, Padres fans, as the saying goes, there’s always next year (unless, of course, you are absurdist, in which case the Padres are hopeless, and we just have to contentedly live with that fact).
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