The Escondido City Council voted four to one June 30 to approve a set of staff recommendations that move the Marriott hotel project forward. Included was a $10.7 million subsidy.  The vote sets in motion a series of events that will probably allow the project to be built, unless there are problems on the developer’s [...]

The North County Times has advised delaying for more study any decision on the proposed downtown Marriott hotel. The unsigned editorial cites “considerable risk” in projected income and recommends “the deal should be delayed for additional study.” An article by NCT reporter David Garrick reviews the projections in more detail. Council members have approved a [...]

Logan Jenkins, columnist for the San Diego Union-Tribune, has written a column about the “fine line” that Escondido Police and agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) must walk as they work together. He points out that while police work to build trust, ICE agents succeed on fear. He concludes his column by [...]

A paper by the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank, cites demographic voting and population trends to conclude that voting by Democratic groups is increasing, while voting by conservative groups is decreasing, in state after state. This, coupled with the growth of ethnic minority groups and the trend of young people toward more [...]

The New York Times Political Memo connected the dots to observe that the economy is recovering faster in some key parts of the country where Democrats need help to hold on to seats in Congress, such as Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. It’s still an uphill fight, but jobs and spending trends are helping. Read [...]

Democrats in the California Legislature have countered Gov. Schwarzenegger’s budget proposal with two of their own. The Democratic versions balance spending cuts with new revenues. The Schwarzenegger proposal proposed only cuts to balance the budget. (See earlier post.) Read a story comparing the Senate, Assembly and Governor’s proposals in Calbuzz (June 25, 2010).

After a long selection process, EDC members will consider several final phrases as candidates for the Club’s new ‘tagline’ — the few words often used with the Club name to help clarify its goals and purpose. Thanks to the members who submitted dozens of suggestions in the first phase of the project. A committee (Olga [...]

There’s been a major gap in the information available about the proposal to build, and subsidize, a downtown Marriott hotel — how the residents of Escondido feel about the project. Now some tantalizing bits of information are emerging that provide clues. In early June, the Escondido Chamber of Citizens, in cooperation with the Escondido Firefighters [...]