Back from Vacation

Time to do a little catch-up:

Dateline, Oceanside: At Mayor Jim Wood's apparent insistence, George Barrante and local nut Lawson Chadwick were both thrown off their respective commissions -- Barrante from the Planning Commission, and Chadwick from the Police & Fire Commission. Lest we forget, Chadwick was the one who accused Oceanside Police of giving traffic tickets to Wood's political enemies (an investigation turned up no evidence to support such an accusation). Taking over on the planning commission is local nut Lawson's wife, Nancy Chadwick, who began her tenure in a positive fashion by lending her vote to bring upscale alcohol retailer Beverages & More to the Fire Mountain shopping center.

Dateline, Vista: Vista's Assistant City Manager, Rick Dudley, is poised to jump ship to the City of Poway; that is, if they bother hiring him. Dudley was quoted as saying, "I think it's inappropriate to speculate on the list of candidates this early in the process. There are fewer important decisions (than selecting a city manager) that a city council can make, because the manager has a direct impact on the community. That person carries out the council's directions either effectively or ineffectively, and I don't want to do anything that might compromise that process." I guess "No comment" didn't quite cut it. To quote The Bard, "Brevity is...wit," and Mr. Dudley would do well to remember that, because right now he appears quite witless.

Dateline, Whinytown (population: Mark Belgen): An aide to Bill Morrow accused a UC professor of kicking him in the shin while visiting a Minuteman encampment. The alleged incident caused no injury, but the aide, Mark Belgen, decided to press charges when he learned a week later that it might possibly be construed as assault. Belgen needed no medical treatment, though apparently he was taken away by the waaaaaaahmbulance.