|
Terrific! There is more to read in your magazine than in most of the larger magazines and daily papers. Keep up the excellent start. The city needs you and the Met. Louis M. Wolfsheimer Terrific news! But are you going to be able to control Woody Lockwood? His copy can get awfully racy. Jim Frampton NOT MUCH REMARKABLE Your first issue had a critical profile of one of San Diego’s most dynamic entrepreneurs. You dubbed him "controversial" for actually trying to do something to save tax dollars during his tenure on the San Diego Convention Center Board of Directors. Your next issue had a glowing profile on an arts bureaucrat, who apparently is going to save San Diego from something I can’t quite figure out. So the scorecard after two issues: San Diego apparently needs more arts bureaucrats and fewer entrepreneurs. Does it ever bother you when people talk about dull, unimaginative, plodders ruining the world not through malice, but through lack of imagination that they might be talking about people like you? Other than that, not really much remarkable about the paper. Cait Rose Finley Publisher's Note: We’ve stroked entrepreneurs John Moores, Duane and Ted Roth, Kevin Rickler, Greg Hunter, Sid and Lee Bass, David Dunn, Don Hacker, David Cohn, Frank Wolden and others in the last two issues and reported on Bill Evans' controversially successful term on the Convention Center Corp. with a conclusion from Brian Selzer that Evans deserves to be "president for life." We profiled Catherine Sass, who's trying to assure the installation of good public art on port tidelands. Forgive her for breathing. Somebody just the other day was trying to tell me there's no competition any more to our Union-Tribune in San Diego. Then you go and do this, even persuade my old Tribune sage Ralph Bennett to stir himself. Good luck. The more the merrier for San Diego. Neil Morgan Congratulations and best wishes. The first issue looks terrific. I suppose this means that you are no longer available to help The San Diego/Tijuana Economic Review become a world-renowned journal. I don’t accept that, but I fear I may have no choice. Charles Nathanson Congratulations on assuming command. With you at the helm, success is guaranteed. I miss your not being at the Transcript, and, believe me, your absence shows. Every best wish and success. H. Cushman Dow The Pressure's On Rosie Wiseman Congratulations on becoming the new publisher for the San Diego Metropolitan Magazine. Under your stewardship and with your incredible journalistic skills and knowledge, I am convinced this will be one of San Diego’s finest publications. Best wishes on your continued success. Gregory J. Smith I’m looking forward to working with you and providing lots of interesting tidbits and story ideas for the new Metropolitan. What a great small business story to convince the SBA that news has value and is a business! Donna Smith I wanted to congratulate you on your new position as publisher of the San Diego Metropolitan Magazine. You are certainly very well qualified and it could not have happened to a more deserving person. Just remember, we are expecting big things from San Diego’s "newborn publisher." Ronald P. Bird Nice IID water piece. I think it’s the most comprehensive coverage of the proposal to date — especially the Bass brothers angle. Interesting quote that you got from IID's Cox that the Bass brothers came to the water authority offering to sell water. That was surprising to us here in public affairs. Thrill a minute with the water transfer. I do love it. Honest. Sure beats Nelson!! Maurice Luque Water Wars Revisited However, I need to clarify two points. One regards participants in the transfer negotiations ("The Essential Primer for the Water Wars of '96"): Any decision to transfer water from the Imperial Valley to San Diego County will be made by the directors of IID and the Water Authority as representatives of their respective communities. No private parties are involved in the decision-making process. As Gary Shaw notes in his "From the Publisher" column, Imperial Valley landowners are not able to sell the water they buy from IID to anyone. This is because IID holds all the water rights in the Imperial Valley in trust for the landowners. The second point concerns the cost of San Diego County's imported water. The article on this topic ("San Diego Gets Soaked, But Consider Peoria") adds three numbers together: $306, the price the Authority would pay for an acre-foot of transfer water in 2008; plus the $75 we might pay to the Metropolitan Water District to transport that acre-foot through the Colorado River Aqueduct; plus another $500, which the writer estimates to be the annual cost per local household for a new pipeline to deliver transfer water from the Colorado River to San Diego County. There are two problems with this equation. First, we only need one means to transport transfer water and we would prefer to use the Colorado River Aqueduct since it already is in place and has idle delivery capacity. If we are able to arrange this, we won’t also have a bill for a new pipeline. Second, I don’t know where the writer got the $500 figure. It didn’t come from any Water Authority calculations, as we aren’t that far along in our analysis. Any study of how a new pipeline would affect local water rates will be very complicated, as cost estimates for a new aqueduct vary with prevailing interest rates, financing strategies, possible private sector participation and the potential for funding support from the federal government and/or Mexico. Mark Watton Publisher's Note: The $500 per household was our estimate of the annual cost of building and financing over 30 years a pipeline from the Imperial Valley to San Diego, a figure that is probably on the high side and indeed should not be added to a $75 transport fee to MWD. The estimate illustrates that even if San Diego takes the most expensive (and presumably most reliable) course of action, San Diego consumers' water costs still would be similar to the cost of water in the nation's priciest cities, Pittsburgh, Nashville and Peoria, rather than out of sight. As chairman of the San Diego Economic Development Corp., I would like to thank you for investing in San Diego’s most efficient, result-producing, business support organization. By investing in TEAM San Diego and the Economic Development Corp., you are actively supporting our region's current and future economic success. My corporation has been a TEAM San Diego investor since its inception, and having benefitted immensely from the services provided by EDC, I can attest to the invaluable support your investment allows it to provide. Don M. Ings Congratulations on the Metropolitan. What a shot in the arm for the city. Nikki Clay Your September issue is first-class and the articles very interesting. Congratulations. Frank J. St. Amour, CLU, ChFC Congratulations and best wishes for every success. I’m sure the Metropolitan will be much more absorbing than in the past; and, there's no doubt in my mind that the competition is going to get a run for its money. I can’t wait for the next edition. Michael J. Stepner Bugged By Avocados Mr. Osio is quick to dismiss as non-threatening the array of economically damaging fruit flies and weevils that are prevalent south of the border. In Mr. Osio's view, if importation of Mexican avocados lowers the price of all avocados for U.S. consumers, it must be good. What he neglects to mention is that the state of California and the federal government have spent over $400 million on fruit fly eradication efforts in recent years. If USDA's plan is approved, the real cost of a Mexican avocado will be more than its price at the checkstand. The hidden cost of pest eradication which U.S. taxpayers will bear is as easy to overlook as the insect larvae inside the fruit. The cost to agriculture — in the form of embargoes and lost markets — is higher still. If Mr. Osio believes that a quarantine in Ventura County does not affect taxpayers and farmers in San Diego County, he is sorely mistaken. Although renowned scientists from Harvard University, Cornell University, the University of California, a host of other public institutions, and even those within the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) own Agricultural Research Service have been critical of the importation plan, Mr. Osio deduces that the problem is inconsequential based solely on the apparent health of Mexico's avocado groves. He fails to recognize, however, that the Mexican government and the citizens it represents are far less committed to food quality and safety than their counterparts in the U.S. The widespread application of dangerous pesticides and consumer acceptance of pest-ridden fruit is not tolerated, for good reason, in our country. Mr. Osio's expertise in international trade is cast in an interesting light when he expounds on smuggling, using it first to suggest that transshipment of Mexican avocados within the U.S. would not occur and alternately, if it did occur, no harm would come of it. Perhaps Mr. Osio should ask the San Diego Agricultural Commissioner about the events which led to the quarantine in National City less than one year ago. To defend the integrity of a restricted shipping area in the northeastern U.S. (part of USDA's proposal; in itself, an admission that Mexican avocados will harbor pests) by comparing it to movement of fruit across an international border is ludicrous indeed. As any trucker knows, USDA lacks any ability to monitor the free and unregulated interstate movement of agricultural commodities. In short, Mr. Osio's case for Mexican avocados is as full of holes as USDA's ill-conceived and scientifically unsupported importation plan. Until USDA gives more than just lip service to science and devises a way to keep Mexican avocado pests in Mexico, the California avocado industry will continue to expose the facts for all to see. And, by the way, Mr. Osio, it is our own Department of Agriculture, not the California Avocado Commission, which has kept from public view the Mexican field reports which show high levels of pest infestation. Tom Bellamore Congratulations for a well-written and sparkling publication. I wish you and the Metropolitan all the luck and success that both deserve. Donald A. Innis I read about your purchasing the Metropolitan, and I am really stoked! Congratulations and good luck — your plans sound great. G. Cole Davis Your new publication looks great and you should be proud of your hard work. Jeff Marston Congratulations on your purchase of the Metropolitan. You’re bringing along an excellent team of writers/reporters and significant experience. I wish you much success. Tammy Smith Congratulations on your new venture. I know with you at the helm it will be a success. Gayle Feallock It is wonderful to have the two of you back covering our city and county as only you can — many, many congratulations! This must be like the proverbial dream come true for journalists — not to mention an incredibly exciting opportunity. Only yesterday, I was going back over my purloined copy of the 1994 "Soaring Dimensions" and wishing for coverage of San Diego as it was then. Robin Maydeck Devine And Dandy The first issue was fabulous. I read every page except for the auto pieces, including the ads, and found it fascinating. You'll have to work hard to beat this issue. One of the stories — on Bill Evans — reminds me how old I’m getting. I knew his dad and grandpa Roy Ledford Sr., whose money built the Bahia and Catamaran. Kudos to the editor who put "The Brotherly Alliance " label on the Roth brothers yarn — and six lashes for not spelling out what the acronym AHA represents! Although I'd really like to keep it, I’m passing my copy on to Buck Foss, an old oil firm exec here in Devine, who, because he's on some University of Houston sports committee, thinks he helps run the athletics program there and considers John Moores to be "Mr. San Diego" and the best export Texas has ever made to California. Buck will enjoy the "Batting Cleanup" story by Ron Donaho very much. You asked for suggestions, and I’m sure you'll receive a few thousand. I'd love to see you do a few overview pieces on city and county government and on future planning for the Convention Center area and for a new city library. I hope you will continue running Woody's "Skeleton's Closet" pieces, since most of the newer kids around town haven't had the pleasure of reading him. Bill Burris I wish you all the best with your new undertaking. Judge Larry Stirling Where have I been? Just woke up to the fact that you were involved in a new venture. It really looks swell. As I read the Catherine Sass article, I was reminded of the quotation of then (yes, it was a decade ago) Port Commissioner Dan Larsen (and my good friend for 30 years). Dan, after growing weary in the debate over all kinds of weird stuff, said, "Can’t we just have a man on a horse?" I hope Ms. Sass has the foresight to include representatives of the business community to be involved in the public art selection process. Speaking of public art, have you seen the mural in the tunnel at the Old Town Trolley Station? It is dynamite. Anyway, congratulations. My subscription and check are enclosed. Harold Kvaas Congratulations on your new involvement with the San Diego Metropolitan Magazine. You are ideally suited to lead this publication into a new era. Best wishes for every success, and be sure to let me know how we can be of assistance. Ron A. Phillips Your first issue of Metropolitan looks great. Congratulations on your new publication. Leslie Mogul Congratulations! The October issue of San Diego Metropolitan just arrived this morning, and it is simply outstanding! You deserve a great deal of credit for the magazine's style, the stable of writers you've assembled, and the quality of its content. Amazingly, I haven't found a typo yet, either! San Diego Metropolitan is an outstanding accomplishment. I hope it grows and grows, and that you get a full measure for bringing it to life. May the magazine and you both flourish. Ray T. Blair, Jr. Nena and I have been enjoying your magazine very much. Byron Sansom I just picked up the October issue of the SD Metro. Kudos on the nice job. The publication has never looked better. I especially liked "Food, Booze & Beds." (Where have I heard that column title before?) Keep up the good work. I can’t wait until the November issue. Kim Merrill A big congrats on your acquisition of the Metropolitan. I have no doubt that the publication will prosper with respect (and advertisers) with an old pro like you at the helm. Jon Bailey Guard that body Golding spent $1.5 million on bodyguards. (She thinks she's a movie star?) The money for the convention, money to sports —Murphy Stadium is a joke — on poor taxpayers! Bring gain to San Diegans? Nonsense! A few low-paying jobs and corporate hotel owners, who mostly don’t even live here, get the dollars and kick in campaign funds for Susan Golding. For low-income, fixed-income people there is no miniscule tax — and that is who suffers. My family and friends are not Libertarian anarchists nor hooligans. We’re business people, artists, brokers, etc. But $1.5 million for bodyguards, $4,500 to a woman's shelter? Who pays her gas, insurance, etc.? We’re not stupid, nor snobs. D. Smith I was delighted to hear that you have taken the helm at San Diego Metropolitan Magazine. I read the September issue and was impressed with the publication's new direction and focus. Your publisher's note was inspirational. I’m sure Metropolitan's readers will share your enthusiasm. Salvatore Giametta Correspondence may be sent to the San Diego Metropolitan, 656 Fifth Ave., Suite M, San Diego, CA 92101. Or e-mail us at info@sandiegometro.com |
