Wednesday - Quick Hits

Peace activist Cindy Sheehan to speak at CSUSM on Thursday. NCTimes

District-3 candidate John Hartley explains his arrest in campaign mailer. UT

With pay raise vote, council also increased their pensions. UT

Council decides not to hire special prosecutor to look into Sunroad Building, instead kicks the can over the the ethics commission. UT

Witnesses testified for the prosecution in the Castaneda perjury trial. UT

Sign of worsening budget crisis, school districts considering closing schools in an attempt to save money. UT

Friday - Quick Hits

City of San Diego credit rating improves from negative to positive. UT

District-3 candidate John Hartley arrested on indecent exposure charge. UT

City Attorney Mike Aguirre notifies SDG&E that they might violate their franchise agreement with city. UT

Camping fees for the Cleveland National Forest may rise. UT

Judge orders county to rewrite rules on county medical program for the poor. UT

City of Chula Vista to consider mandatory green building standards for new homes and business. UT

Largest hotel on West Coast proposed for East Village. UT

Novel concept, improving mass transit to airport. UT

District 3: Race Update

Last night the Chicano Democratic Association in a close vote endorsed Todd Gloria over Stephen Whitburn for next year's Council District 3 race. The endorsement is another sign that most of the momentum in the race seems to be going in Todd Gloria's direction. And it is hard not to think that Stephen Whitburn's campaign has stalled a bit, especially considering that a few weeks ago he replaced his campaign manager. It is going to be interesting to see how this race continues to unfold in the coming months.

D3 a Two Man Race?

Interesting happenings in the San Diego District 3 Council race. It seems John Hartley has decided to take on Todd Gloria as if this is a two man race. Hartley fired off a letter to Gloria, as reported in VOSD, condemning The Center for holding their dinner at a non-union hotel. The stunt served two purposes. First, a clear message to the unions that Hartley will be more of an advocate for their issues than Gloria. Second, that Hartley sees this as a contest between the two. Insiders have been saying Hartley's only shot to win this is in the primary, with low GLBT turnout. Those chances get better if he can snag a labor endorsement. But what does this mean for the flailing campaign of Stephen Whitburn? Did he peek too soon and rely too heavily on the (now controversial) Donna Frye endorsement? Is this really down to battle between Gloria and Hartley?