Update: San Diego's Measure C passed, with 100% of the vote in, 63.55% to 36.45% (127,431 to 73,082 votes), out of 1,671,555 registered voters, in a reported population of approx 3,340,000 residents. Sources: Ballotpedia, sdvote.com (County of San Diego) and U.S. Census Bureau, respectively. 

On February 20th, 2020, Comic-Con Interational endorsed Measure C. San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer also endorsed the tax measure. 

Original post -------

Round One of the San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) Early Bird hotel reservations is currently in motion. If you are fortunate enough to snag a room, at very attractive Con-rates for badge-holders, well done, you!! (Note: Round One hotels are generally Shelter Island, Mission Bay, airport-close and areas outlying the San Diego Convention Ctr. However, they're all lovely hotels at bargain rates and the SDCC-provided shuttles are free and run, mostly, around the clock. Early Bird Hotel Sale Round Two usually occurs in the spring, and offers the more coveted, downtown hotels, most within walking-distance to the Convention Ctr and the historic downtown Gaslamp District.

Yet, when summer arrives, if you weren't an Early Bird, a 5-day stretch will cost you monies more likely aligned with Spacex' new satellite-distribution budget. Mind you, those last-minute hotels won't be all fabulous 5-stars within walking distance of The Con and The Gaslamp, with soothing, harbour-views and top-notch room service; some will still be Spacex budget, but will be skanky 1- and 2-stars within walking distance of Dirty Dan's and with a dumpster-view. Well, depending on how San Diego's Measure C fares in March, you might be paying extra for that dumpster- or harbour-view, or not. Either way, you'll still pay a hefty hotel-tax ... or sunshine-tax, as the more obnoxious of us San Diegans call it.

Currently, San Diego's hotel room tax is 10.5%. On the ballot, March 3rd 2020, Measure C will ask voters to boost that 10.5%: ranging from 1.25% to 3.25%, depending on how close a hotel is to the San Diego Convention Center.

So, some quick, Muppet math: If your SDCC hotel room costs $300/night, your current tax is $31.50/night. If Measure C passes, it goes into immediate effectiveness and your room will now cost extra $3.75 - $9.75/night, added to that $31.50/night fee. Thus, a $300 room could jump to a $335.25 or $341.25 room, depending on how far you are from the Convention Ctr. Ta-dahhhhh!

Tourism wonks, local pols and union folk have trumpeted a potential goldmine of tourist coins that could translate into billions of dollars for the City of San Diego and its tourism and construction industries. All monies raised are slated for San Diego Convention Center expansion and operation, homelessness reduction and road repairs; the bulk of any monies raised as a result of this new tax, 59%, is slated specifically for Conv Ctr construction and facility operation.

“We’re telling voters upfront,” explained Carol Kim, a member of the Convention Center board and the Building and Construction Trades Council, "we’re not just going to raise this tax and let anybody do what they want with it. We’re going to raise this tax and spend it specifically on three things. Three specific buckets: The convention center expansion, homelessness, streets, and roads.”

San Diego Convention Center, Photo: JSDevore
Tabula rasa: a rare, empty San Diego Convention Center. Photo: JSDevore, pre-SDCC 2016

 

It's not all flowers and sausages, though. Community advocate Donna Frye warns voters the extended hotel-tax is "a huge, ongoing tax subsidy": 42 years from date of passage, to be precise.

“What they’ve done is they’ve tried to combine it, the hotel guys have tried to combine it with homelessness and roads,” Frye said. “And make it sound like it’s really for homeless people when there is no guarantee, there is absolutely nothing in the measure that says any housing will be built for the homeless.”

Peppermint Patty, SDCC 2015. Photo: JSDevore

In fact, whilst Convention Center specs are outlined, Measure C does not outline how homelessness monies will be spent. Spending relies on the San Diego City Council to make all decisions regarding homeless services, housing or a combo thereof.

“I’ve been involved in a lot of campaigns and ballot measures,” said San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer. “I have never seen a more diverse and stronger coalition that cuts across all portions of San Diego because we need this funding source. We need a permanent source of funding for homeless services. We need to expand our convention center and the dollars this will mean for road improvement. These are the issues San Diegans care about. It’s the first time it is actually going to be on the ballot. And I think that’s why you’re seeing so much enthusiasm.”

So, if you are indeed headed to SDCC 2020, like Yours Truly, you know to bring extra, Earth monies. You always need extra, because, well, action figures, cosplay wigs, vintage lunchboxes, geek tees, pewter dragons, Star Wars gear, Hello Kitty hoodies and cocktails at Lou & Mickey's. Just be aware, your hotel bill, Early Bird or not, is likely going to be out of this world.

 

Just the facts, ma'am: 

A "yes" vote supports authorizing the city to increase the tax levied on overnight lodging guests with a tiered range from 1.25% to 3.25%, with revenue dedicated to expanding the San Diego Convention Center, improving streets and related infrastructure, and funding programs to reduce homelessness.

A "no" vote opposes authorizing the city to increase the tax levied on overnight lodging guests, thereby leaving the city's hotel tax rate at 10.5%.

Because Measure C is a dedicated tax increase, the ballot measure needs a two-thirds majority vote to pass.

 

 

 

Good grief! I hate politics! Photo: JSDevore, SDCC 2015

 

@JennyPopCom

 

 

 

Author Jennifer Susannah Devore's homage to A Christmas Story, Gaslamp Strip Club, San Diego. Photo: JSDevore

 

 

 


 

Published in Blog Archive

Ah, home for the holidays! It’s a dilly of a time to throw your hands up and be the kid again: no responsibilities, no worries, no tasks, no requirements. Just sit back on the old brocade divan and wait for Mom to bring you truffles and a cup of Privateer eggnog, your older brother to slip you a sawbuck or two (plus some extra whiskey in your nog) and for Dear Old Dad to question you about what you’re doing with your money. For my part, Dad’s been asking me the same question for decades and for decades, I’ve been giving him the same answer: “Why, it’s all in my closet, right where it belongs!”

 

Now, it’s supposed to be darn cold this Christmas in Boston. Seems like it’s always cold in Boston and that’s why I made like a baby and headed straight out of there, getting myself to sunny California. Plus, I wanted to get into moving pictures. Did some good stuff, too. Ever see Gold Diggers of 1933? Yep, that’s me in the back, the one high-kicking in the sequined bathing suit. Nice gig, but Joan Blondell stole my part. Heifer. That cement mixer couldn’t dance to save her life. I should have had the lead. That’s all right ‘cause she had to put up with that octopus director. All those hands! He had more moves than a Navy brat. I digress. Anyhoo, like a lot of you this holiday season, I’m homeward bound and it’s a big deal for me!

First, I'm leaving my haunt, which I don't do very often: The Hotel del Coronado in gorgeous, vibrant San Diego. Ever visited? Make a ressie! There's no place like The Holidays at The Del! From Thanksgiving dinner at the famous Crown Room, to Skating by the Sea and cozy fire-ring cocktails overlooking the Pacific, it's the bee's knees, kids! (Brief bio, in case you're curious: Just after I moved out here, wouldn't it figure, I died at The Del, in a dancing incident in 1934, and it was all Ida Lupino's fault. She has no natural rhythm, all flailing arms. We still don't talk. Oh, well. At least I died sporting sequins and rhinestones and some dynamite gams!)

Secondly, despite what you living folk might think, we ghosts only get a couple of times a year when we can leave our haunts. It takes bonkers amount of energy to travel; so, we save up our strength, pretty much like you save up your cabbage, and hit the astral planes. It’s exhausting and can take all day to get across this great big country. Sure, it’s easier than enduring one of your modern flights, but it’s still arduous. Mom and Dad don't like to astral project; they're used to propeller planes, from back in their flying days. (See Mom and Dad in lg pic above, w plane.) So, I don't mind making the trip.

Once the travel day is over and we’re Home Sweet Home, it’s a cozy and comfy class act with little to do except eat, drink and exchange pressies. Cocooning at home plate can be a sweet dish, but it can also come with drawbacks, like forgoing some of those modern conveniences you dig everyday … including the Internet. Wacky, right? Some of you are getting a Christmas sans Internet and don't even realize it, yet. You poor saps. Some parents and grandparents are insistent on collecting those devices or forcing you to turn them off, making certain you all visit properly, ensuring "quality family time" and conversation. Even worse, some will force family-time via Dance, Dance or Alexa-games. 

You think you have it bad, being forced to watch cable TV or compete in Dance, Dance, booze-free, with Grandmama? Try watching your parents foxtrot around the parlor. Dr. Harvey & Hildy are still listening to their old Victrola and beeswax cylinders, making me sit through verse after verse of Yale Boola!, Glow-Worm (in German!), and The Bird on Nellie’s Hat, all whilst viewing the same stereoviews I’ve seen for decades. Bonkers! Don’t worry, fair friends; there are solutions. Yes, most include gin. Ever have a Girlie Martini? No, not Dita von Teese in a giant martini glass … although, yum! A Girlie is equal parts champagne, vodka, a splash of vermouth and a maraschino cherry. Christmas is an excellent time for just such a zinger!

In the end, try to remember it’s family time. If sitting in the tiny house your nonagenarian great-uncle has lived in since the Great War, and consistently heats to eighty-eight degrees, in addition to a roaring fireplace, drives you mad, be patient. When your sister-in-law hands you an apron and expects you to help in the kitchen, even though she knows you don't ever do anything in the kitchen except craft cocktails and make espresso, be kind and oblige. When your neice's boyfriend has no problem telling everyone their political opinions are flat-wrong, just smile and pour another drink.

Ghost-families are no different than yours; they're all equally irritating and annoying ... I mean, fun and annoying. In those family moments, when you realize it's still hours before escaping into town with your beloved and a fave in-law or sibling for cocktails and revels, and you're all sitting around in sweltering silence, staring at each other and picking compulsively from bowls of stale nuts and hard candy …. well, that’s just "quality family time" and you're making someone in that room very, very happy. Drink your Girlie Martini, your Guinness, your I.P.A. or Coppola wine, suck on a pecan and appreciate it in all its absurdity. See you kittens later and enjoy those après-family gatheriings!

Happy Holidays! Abyssinia!

Enjoy craft cocktails? Peruse JennyPop's Festive Libations for The Holidays!

Follow all the holiday cheer @JennyPopCom Insta and Twitter

Published in Miss Hannah Hart

By way of introduction, I present to you the chanteuse and lyricist, Miss Jannie Funster, Yellow Rose of Texas. Jannie's tagline? Writing songs and singing for donuts and beer! How do you not like a gal like that?! Songbird Jannie brings to mind, in an instant, the bistro stylings of France's Femme Premiere, Mrs. Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, with a little Disney princess tossed in to flavour. Miss Jannie and I became aware of each other one fateful, cyberday when her blog and mine rattled sabers on the subject of Mrs. Cindy McCain. In fact, the clash was sorely mistaken; for it came to be known we both shared an opinion of Miss Cindy and it was a favorable one: It's her beer money ... don't Cindy-hate!


Serendipitously, Miss Jannie and I found each other to be weird and unorthodox free spirits and though we have differing views on music (she-Rolling Stones/Bob Dylan; me-Weezer/Marilyn Manson) and SPAM (she-likes it; me-puke) we both agree having a wine drinking-tree is a fine idea and that pets and husbands make the best friends ever. We also agree yoga and Guinness are equally good for you, museums and book stores are an excellent way to spend a day and that a random row of yellow Mini Coopers is worth stopping to take a snap.

In the last five years, Miss Jannie and I have traded blog comments and, even better, the odd, traditional correspondence via actual U.S. Snail Mail: a carefully wrapped package of beach glass from CA to TX, Christmas cards and the occasional, simple Ciao! on a hand-pressed floral note card. Amidst these, Jannie proffers poetry, songs, stories and mondo pictures at her website. Hoffenlich, I proffer the same, minus the songs, to keep her and others as amused and bemused as she does her readers and Moi-meme.

So, Miss Jannie, in your latest musical offering, you ask Where are the girls on banana seat bicycles, who used to fly down the street? The song is an evocation of pretty childhoods and summer romances, of sparkly blue seats, matching handlebar streamers and magical flights. If you're not careful, the song will bring a wee tear to your eye ... menfolk, too.

Well, it seems to me the girls are everywhere fun and free spirit is to be found, wherever a life is free of concern, but full of care. They are in Austin, San Diego and Napa: NorCal home to Miss Bonney's girl, the one with the banana seat soul whom gifted me Miss Sadie Schwinn. Though they don't allow bicycles through the hallowed gates of Disneyland, when one is there the banana seat souls cycle down every sparkling inch of Magic Kingdom paths. If you have a banana seat bicycle soul, I urge you to join the odd and fantastical Janniverse. If your soul is not of the banana seat ilk, maybe Jannie and I can help you!

Cheers and beers, Miss Jannie of Texas!!

 

More Jannie! My review of her CD I Need a Man

#summertime #songs #SPAM

Published in Blog Archive

Originally published at GoodToBeAGeek.com, by Miss Hannah Hart, ghostdame of the Hotel del Coronado, on January 13, 2K12.

Ain’t no place nobby like San Diego, babies! I knew it when I transplanted from Boston during Prohibition, Lucky Lindy knew it when he test flew the Spirit of St. Louis here before making tracks for Paris and a geeky teen named Richard Alf knew it when he convinced fellow geek Sheldon Dorf from Michigan, not to mention Ray Bradbury, that America’s Finest City could also be America’s Comic City.