Let’s talk about the elephant in the room that NO ONE is talking about! Many of you ask daily, “Why does San Diego have to pay for the EIR when this expense is normally paid by private businesses?” Many of you may be right for businesses looking to purchase land that is not the site of a major toxic oil spill.
You know those big, rusty, white oil tanks that have been adjacent to Jack Murphy… er, Qualcomm Stadium forever? Guess what? They leaked! They didn’t just leak either… they gushed freely for decades. They were actually built in to the ground with no shielding; so gas, oil, etc. just seeped freely in to our region’s largest aquifer.
Did the city sue Big Oil? Of course they did, but Big Oil passed the buck back and forth until the courts finally said they were tasked with the cleaning bill and had to have it cleaned up by 2013. Guess what? Kinder Morgan who owns the site now decided to go back to court on this where San Diego just won an appeal a few months ago to keep the $300,000,000 clean-up law suit alive.
So at the end of the day, there could be a sizable clean up effort and cost in order to utilize the Mission Valley site for anything at all. Do you really think a private company is going to spend $2.1M on a site that is attached to a $300,000,000 clean-up price tag? No, that’s the city’s responsibility and unfortunately ours as tax payers as well.
Change.org has helped many causes, both small and large. Scott & BR are Great Friends, San Diego staples, and part of our community. They bring sanity to insane Chargers seasons year after year. They organized countless charity events and spoke the truth.
The problem is, “Scott’s Totts” was part of a hilarious comedy sketch from The Office and Reggie’s Kids actually got stiffed on their $10,000 scholarships.
“Hey Mr. Scott, What you gonna do?
What you gonna do? Make our dreams come true!
Hey Mr. Scott, What you gonna do?
What you gonna do? Make our dreams come true!
You came into our lives and made a promise, that made us honest.
Made us realize, we don’t need to compromise, cause we could have it all.
Cause you made it possible, for us to achieve the improbable.
Hey Hey Hey Hey!
Hey Mr. Scott, What you gonna do?
What you gonna do? Make our dreams come true!
Hey Mr. Scott, What you gonna do?
What you gonna do? Make our dreams come true!”
“SAN DIEGO — San Diego native Reggie Bush is one of many NFL stars playing in this year’s Super Bowl, but the New Orleans Saints running back is at the center of a college scholarship issue with his name attached.Bush graduated from Helix High School in 2003 and had a Heisman Trophy-winning career at the University of Southern California. After college, he was drafted by the Saints in 2006 and signed a $26 million guaranteed contract.However, two local families are wondering what happened with the money that was supposed to go to a scholarship Bush lent his name to.
In March 2007, Helix High School seniors Brandon Fountain and Matt Cobb were presented a $10,000 scholarship from Bush to use for college.”I think it’s always been in my heart, just a desire to be able to come back and give back to the high school I grew up in,” Bush said in 2007.Fountain said, “I was real excited to meet Reggie Bush.”Fountain attends Cuyamaca College, and Cobb entered San Diego State University. Each received a $2,500 installment on their scholarships in their freshman year. Both ran into problems the following year when trying to contact the scholarship’s trustee, Jerry Michaels.”Mr. Michaels never responded. A couple of weeks later, he (Brandon) sent a second e-mail and still no response,” said Fountain’s father, Bruce.It was the same story for Cobb, and after weeks of wondering they received an answer they were not expecting.”That’s when we were told he was out of funds and due to the economy he didn’t have the money,” said Cobb.10News contacted Michaels, who lives in Los Angeles. He said the scholarship program was set up years ago and Bush’s people contacted him in an effort to get involved. Michaels said Bush’s people promised to contribute to the funds but never followed through. The existing scholarship was funded by previous investments in the stock market, and those stocks did not do well.While Bush posed with them at Helix High and was credited for “giving back” to his former school, Fountain and Cobb were left with an empty promise and a scholarship with Bush’s name and without his assistance.10News’ Steve Atkinson asked, “So the only person who gets hurt in this is?””The kids,” said Bruce Fountain.10News contacted the San Diego Foundation, which as funded more than $15 million in scholarships for local students, to find out if the Bush scholarship is common practice. They said they only receive direct funds from donors, which is never a risky investment.”We work with our donors to make sure the money they are promising students is in the bank before we ever begin talking about awarding a scholarship,” said Arzo Mansury of the San Diego Foundation.10News tried numerous times to contact Bush’s representatives regarding this story, but phone calls have not been returned.In addition to Bush’s NFL salary, he earns nearly $5 million a year in endorsements.”
As a USC Alum, I am very disappointed to hear about this and hope Reggie does the right thing! Of course, he did try to lateral the ball on the 4 yard line in the Rose Bowl… so who knows!
I will admit that you cannot evaluate your draft pick the first year, but all three linebackers that came out of USC last year are reeking havoc in the NFL. Rey Maualuga was considered and nominated for the September NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month, Clay Matthews was the NFC Defensive player of the week. Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week. Cushing also earned the the AFC Defensive Rookie of the month honors in November.
The Chargers did not have a chance to get Cushing, but Rey and Clay are AWESOME! The Chargers have flat out dropped the ball in recent drafts and you have to wonder what they are thinking sometimes and if they are thinking. A.G. Spanos went to USC, so you have to wonder what their aversion is to drafting from the powerhouse school up the freeway. This is not the first time the Chargers have passed up on dominant Trojans, but let’s hope it was the last time.
I for one just do not understand how you pass up the BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER in college football when you have a chance to get him. Furthermore, I don’t understand how you pass up a player like Clay Matthews with his pedigree and knowledge of the game. Clay Matthews’ brother Bruce Matthews, who also played at USC, and father Clay Matthews, Sr. were also NFL players. Two of his sons joined the football team at USC, while another joined the football team at the University of Oregon: Kyle Matthews was a safety at USC (2000-03) and Clay Matthews III played linebacker and defensive end at USC (2004-2008). After graduation, he was drafted by the Green Bay Packers. Casey Matthews currently plays linebacker at UO (2007- ).[1]
The Chargers are on a roll and there’s no doubt about it. That doesn’t mean I like watching AWESOME players on other teams that we could’ve had and need!
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room that NO ONE is talking about! Many of you ask daily, “Why does San Diego have to pay for the EIR when this expense is normally paid by private businesses?” Many of you may be right for businesses looking to purchase land that is not the site of a major toxic oil spill.
San Diego Sportswire 