Quiet Zone receives loud support

It’s not just you: many downtown residents have noticed an increasing number of loud train horns passing through downtown in the middle of the night. In an effort to accelerate the adoption of a downtown “Quiet Zone” that has been in the works by the Centre City Development Corporation (CCDC) in response to the enforced insomnia, several downtown residents have started www. sleeplessinsandiego.info. It features information on who to contact, how to properly record and report incidents and has room for comments.

“We’re just acting as a conduit to provide people with an opportunity to send their information on through to the CCDC, the DOT (Department of Transportation), et cetera, and providing with as much information as possible, all in one spot,” said Patrick T. McArron, founder of the Web site.

According to residents, while nighttime train and trolley whistles have become an unavoidable annoyance, the noise has gotten much worse in recent weeks.

“What they suspect changed was that one of the engineers was getting a bit careless with their horn,” McArron said.

From San Diego Downtown News July 11, 2006.

Triple ploy

Here we go again with Doug Manchester, San Diego’s most controversial and litigious waterfront-hotel developer, the robber baron of public coastal connections. Today, by a quirk of fate, Manchester holds in his golden palm the future of not just one prime redevelopment mega-project, but three, worth hundreds of millions of dollars and spread over some 35 acres. All are slated for the downtown bay front, and their design, financing and implementation is intertwined, or should be.

Make that, must be integrated and complementary, but this can only be accomplished if San Diegans demand it through a renewed and reinvigorated alliance among our representatives: the city and its downtown redevelopment arm, Centre City Development Corp., San Diego County, the San Diego Unified Port District and the Navy.

Manchester, developer of local waterfront-luxury hotels, single-handedly inspired the fighting words “walling off the bay” with his high-rise Hyatt and Marriott hotels next to the equally problematic San Diego Convention Center, all of which block access to San Diego Bay.

Graphic: Whither the waterfront?

California protects coastal access as everyone’s sacred right, but Manchester turns his properties into a privileged domain for upscale guests. Since the early 1980s, he has wielded unreasonable power in government development circles, sometimes making financial threats, other times using bait-and-switch designs that keep his architects busy and critics at bay.

From San Diego Union Tribune July 23, 2006

Rule #1 by Phil Town

From Publishers Weekly
For amateur investors who admire the incredible returns produced by Benjamin Graham–Warren Buffett–style value investing but can’t figure out how to replicate these billionaires’ methods at home, Town’s investment guide is manna from heaven. A former river-rafting guide, Town learned how to calculate such crucial numbers as Return on Investment Capital and Equity Growth Rate from “Wolf,” a wealthy rafter whom Town saved from a rapid in 1980. Under Wolf’s tutelage, Town learned how to turn $1,000 into $1 million in five years, but the selection of lucrative stocks took weeks of library research. In this engaging and accessible book, Town shows readers how to replicate that sort of exhaustive market research on the Internet—and shorten the research time to just a few hours per stock. Fans of The Intelligent Investor will recognize that Town’s Rule #1 formula—”1) Find a wonderful business, 2) Know what it’s worth as a business, 3) Buy it at 50 percent off, 4) Repeat until very rich”—is a variation of Benjamin Graham’s investment philosophy. (Graham and Buffett are cited heavily throughout the book.) But Town’s ability to break down that philosophy into a detailed, step-by-step program that can be understood by any reader with basic math skills is unique. His chummy, reassuring tone (“If you’re finding yourself already a bit overwhelmed, take a deep breath”) will leave readers feeling empowered and ready to manage their money themselves.

I’ve recently finished this book and recommend it for my friends, family and clients who wish to further their investment education.

The Mane Attraction

The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club (DMTC) launches the 2006 racing season next Wednesday, July 19, and a lot more than small jockeys in loud shirts is in store for the thousands that will pass through the gates for the 43-day run of the races.

“It’s not just horse racing. People come for the scene,” said Craig Dado, vice president of marketing for the DMTC. “Where else do you hear guys say, ‘Hey, let’s go find some girls at the track’?”

Dado said that five years ago, the DMTC made a conscious effort to reinvent the track’s image and reach out to a younger demographic. By including headliner concerts and events geared toward 20- and 30-somethings, the Del Mar track is bucking the trend of declining attendance, and growing in a business that is generally shrinking. Attendance at Del Mar is up 20 percent in the past five years since the campaign began, Dado said.

The most popular promotional attraction is the “Four O’Clock Fridays” concert series that brings thousands of music fans to the track to see performances by a number of big-name acts.

Scheduled to play this year are The Flaming Lips (July 21), The Violent Femmes (July 28), Common Sense (Aug. 4), Pinback (Aug. 11), Alice in Chains (Aug. 18), Matt Costa (Aug. 25) and Louis XIV (Sept. 1) The concerts are free with admission.

Two additional Saturday concerts, Billy Idol (Aug. 12) and Jimmy Eat World (Aug. 26), will be held in conjunction with microbrewery festivals.

The infusion of young patrons is boosting revenue for the DMTC. Dado said that betting is up 10 percent on Fridays, and attributes it not necessarily to the younger attendees coming for the concerts, but to the big race players who like the feel of a younger vibe in the crowd and bet more on these days.

This season, as always, opens with the trademark “One and Only Truly Fabulous Hats Contest.” Winners with the most glamorous and outrageous hats can win cash prizes in addition to this year’s grand prize, a Hot Spring Envoy Spa.

Smoking on the Beach Ban

By a vote of 8-0, the San Diego City Council outlawed smoking at all city beaches and parks. This will take effect on Wednesday, August 9th.

Smoking on the beach will now be a misdemeanor offense punishable by a maximum six months in jail and/or a $1,000 fine. Violations could also be prosecuted as an infraction with no jail time and a $250 fine at the first offense.

The measure was presented by District 7 Councilman Jim Madaffer, who said the cost of the ordinance would be no more than $30,000. The cost of 1,000 signs would be approximately $15,000 to $20,000, he said. Less expensive stick-on signs would be placed on beach trash containers.