About David Ross
Departing Chamber CEO Johnston made her mark
Friday night the Escondido Chamber of Commerce said goodbye to Rorie Johnston, who as CEO led the business organization through an eventful six and a half years. An era where the Chamber modernized its procedures and smoothed out some of its operations. For someone who has been as effective a leader as Johnston, it is remarkable that this job was […]
City staff suggests ½ cent sales tax hike to stop “budget gap”
At the June 12 Escondido city council meeting a report by the staff on the proposed operating budget for FY 2019-2020 pointed out that over the next 18 years the city faces a $176 million budget gap. The much more detailed staff report than in previous years reflected the desire of the new city council that took office in January, […]
“The Producers”: another Moonlight triumph
Several days after watching the Moonlight Amphitheatre’s opening night performance of “The Producers,” the main theme song from the production, the tune “Springtime for Hitler” is still inhabiting my head. But not in a bad way. “The Producers” plays now through June 29. The show was great, of course. How could it not be? Especially since the director, Larry Raben—who […]
The New York Times’s cowardly decision
The New York Times has decided to stop running political cartoons. There is a columnist whose podcast I listen to from time to time named Andrew Klavan who refers to the Old Gray Lady as “a former newspaper.” Given this decision by what once was without doubt the greatest newspaper in the world to run away from political cartooning, he […]
When the ‘wrong people’ win elections: A tale of two nations (and maybe more)
Someday I would like to see the origins and results of “Russiagate” covered with the same hagiographic devotion as the origins and results of Watergate were in the celebrated 1970s movie “All the President’s Men;” which was the mother’s milk on which many infant journalists suckled in the years following the 1970s. Of course, Watergate became the touchstone upon which […]
Stalking the wild punctuation error
Welcome to Dave Ross’s Wild Punctuation Planet, where we travel the seven continents—but mainly in North County—looking for strange and exotic forms of punctuation that seem to spring fully formed out of some weird dimension where normal rules of grammar do not apply. It is unknown whether these peculiar forms of punctuation are caused by exposure to radiation or merely […]
Escondido group learns about the battle to preserve vote integrity
The Escondido Republican Club (TERC) at their monthly lunch meeting at Cocina del Charro hosted Ruth Weiss of the Election Integrity Project. The Election Integrity Project is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)3 that was founded in California more than nine years ago. “I can’t come to you wearing a partisan hat, but I can give you enough information to do what […]
Council approves controversial sewer flow agreement
The Escondido City Council, over the protests of the Rincon water district and several residents of neighboring Eden Valley, May 15 approved a sewer flow agreement to serve the Valiano project in the unincorporated area adjacent to the city. The city has its eye on a bright glistening plum: a multi-million dollar 5.5 MG (million-gallon) emergency wet weather recycled water […]
Keeping up with Jones: The senator opens a new office in Escondido
Recently, newly installed State Senator Brian Jones of the 28th District opened a small satellite office in the Escondido Chamber of Commerce building. I dropped by to take a photo of him and his staff and to talk about the bills he is pushing—and the politics of the area and state. The new office is located at 720 N. Broadway, […]
City, Rincon water dispute could be long, litigious
A dispute over which agency should serve the sewer needs of the Valiano Project, which is outside of the Escondido city limits, but within its Sphere of Influence, but also within the boundaries of the Rincon Del Diablo Municipal Water District, appears as though it will go forward—and Rincon’s general manager is predicting that it could be a long and […]