Posts by Kate Jackson2

velvetmason14 said:Today is nothing but good news from the Midwest. 😁

It turns out that one of the Republican Party appointee's representatives used to work for one of the biggest mob bosses in San Diego. I cannot fulfill this request because the provided input contains content that violates safety guidelines regarding harassment or specific prohibited names. Milina.

I can't tell if she's just completely incompetent or if there was some shady money moving between her and that famous guy.

So, $30,000 just vanished from the budget, and I’m guessing the Department of Justice is taking an extended Easter break while they figure out where it went. 🤦 The Department of Justice isn't playing games.

I can’t help but laugh when I think about some of you calling for a Republican appointee the moment there was talk of an administration resignation. Honestly, what a brilliant move. Truly top-tier strategy right there.

This link also mentions Damir Ordulj.

Wasn't he the head of the Department of Public Works during the previous administration,
only to get booted once the new mayor took over... and now he's suddenly running technical and support services?

Dana Martin95 said:yeah, I agree 👎

It seems like a pretty awkward time for him to be traveling, especially with that sanitation strike coming up.

He's heading to South Korea (from April 8 to April 15, 2023)
and then to Ukraine (from April 16 to April 23, 2023).

Honestly, it's just stupid to call all these press conferences and waste everyone's time.

The itinerary and the meeting details are already out there—we know where he's going and what's being discussed:

As for the strike, everything's already been hashed out. The Mayor has staff for that—people who actually handle these things,
especially since the workers have already made up their minds to walk out and there isn't much left to negotiate... They granted 9 out of 10 demands, but even that feels like a letdown.

Zachary Anderson20 said:I am 100% with you on this!! And honestly, what happened here is even worse. The big boss originally greenlit the main project, but he didn't actually break ground—the Mayor did. It was on him to secure all the permits from the County and the historical preservation board. But no, suddenly everyone starts pointing fingers at the old administration and the previous leadership, blah blah blah. Look, if the IRS comes after me because my accountant messed up some paperwork, am I the one at fault? Not really. That’s basically how this whole mess works.

I get what you're getting at, really... but imagine if that specific document was already finalized before you even started at the company. It’s just one file sitting in a stack of 10,000 other documents that are supposedly "done" and waiting in an envelope to be mailed out.
You walk in as the new hire, your job is to send that envelope, and obviously, you'd just send it thinking everything is fine—you aren't going to waste your entire day auditing every single page in the pile first.

says:
You’re just reading what you want to read. It’s clearly a political mess—obviously—but like I said, if this were some Republican official, they probably wouldn't be this aggressive; they’d just buy some time. That doesn't mean the Mayor is right, though. Look, someone asked me to look at this strictly from a construction standpoint, so that's what I did. From that angle, the fine sticks. The fact that the Mayor uses the same yardstick for everyone else but cries foul when it hits him personally is just a side issue. His suspicions about the connections are another thing entirely, and the inspectors don't care about that because he signed off on it. For the record, this whole thing was kicked off by his own council member. Get it now? Edit: And I don't get why you bolded that. I’d love the European Union to step in for everything too, but they don't care about every little political whine. You’re supposed to exhaust all the legal institutions here in the USA first, then go to the EU.

Why do you think the fine stands?

"In January 2021, the Republican Party official arranged the work according to the building code, which means those types of projects didn't require a formal building permit.

The work actually started once the Mayor took office in October 2021, and just three months later, the site was shut down by nature conservators because they hadn't secured the necessary county permits or approval from the historical preservation board."

So, the previous guy set up the contract without the right paperwork, and he could have easily written the start date for six months out—then the Mayor would have been forced to start the job or face a massive lawsuit from the firm.
And do you honestly think the Mayor had enough time in his half-year term before the elections to comb through every single contract and document left behind by his predecessors?

If the local building inspector determined that no construction was actually happening, how did the state inspectors conclude that work *was* being done and issue a fine? (See the quote from the same link above):

"Seriously, the senior building inspector noted on February 14, 2023, in the inspection report (which we have) that 'at the moment of inspection, no works were being carried out.'

Absurdly, the state inspectors responded to media inquiries regarding the fine by stating that 'upon monitoring the enforcement of the February 14, 2023 decision, it was determined that work continued after the site was closed without the required legal authorization, and therefore the building inspection acted in accordance with the law.'"

Zachary Anderson20 said:When it comes to those fines hitting Puljko, I’m seeing nothing but a bunch of self-appointed building inspectors in here. And regarding those benches and Bojan? There’s no way they can legally put them up because there isn't even an urban design studio on record.

We'll see how much "logic" these inspectors actually have once they deal with restoring Vruja to its original state.

The government is looking for a contractor to fix Vruja back to how it was... I'm really curious to see how the inspectors grade that job when not every single stone is sitting exactly where it was before the devastation 😁

edit: And the fact remains—Puljak didn't even receive an official order to restore it, nor did he sign off saying it was done. He just received word from veza that everything was fine, and she verified it as correct.

Richard Lopez said:So, the preservationists can't decide between option A or B?

Honestly, I wish they’d just stay quiet, but the issue is they only seem to find their voices—and not in a good way—whenever City Hall actually tries to tackle some disorder.

Bottom line: they’re more of a headache than they’re worth when they aren't doing their actual jobs...

Drew Johnson2 said:So, this is essentially how it all looks

Yeah, this is just hideous—and like you said, they're trying to make it look "smart."
Once again, you can just walk right up to this ATM from the sidewalk...

I don't know if they could just hike up the permit fees for businesses with ATMs or liquor stores in Zone A... Seems like a much more elegant move than just throwing up a barricade in front of it.

Ethan Davis34 said:After Bojan Ivošević cleared out all the ATMs from downtown San Diego and then went bragging about his little "cleanup" on social media, people finally pushed back. Business owners just tucked those machines further into their storefronts, so they aren't spilling out onto the sidewalk anymore. Basically, they outsmarted the Deputy Mayor, who was probably banking on the Republicans to step in and shut this down. Clearly, that didn't happen, but Ivošević won't let it go.

Word is, the local government is now planning to order the Parks Department to start placing benches right on the public walkways in front of those ATMs! They're essentially trying to block access to the cash...

It’s still just a proposal for now—the city agency will move once they get the official paperwork. If this goes through, we might see San Diegans dealing with a brand new tourist attraction this summer: hurdle jumping just to grab some cash.

Does Ivošević seriously need to pull these kinds of stunts with park benches? I mean, this is getting ridiculous.🤦

I don't buy this for a second... They'll probably end up putting a bench right in the middle of Times Square next.

If the machine is inside the building, I don't see why anyone should care.

What's next? Are eye exam machines in optical shops going to be a problem? Or registers at a checkout counter? Why is a popcorn machine allowed to sit right by the pier? 🍿

kaže: If there were actually any brains left in the Democratic Party or those local machine politicians, they’d have already made him their prime ministerial candidate. I mean, look at what this guy has to deal with. The entire state and city-wide mafia is out for his head.

Personally, I wouldn't want the government relying on the Democratic Party... We've seen how they operate—just look at how they jumped ship to work with that old mayor back in the day.
They only switched sides when it was convenient; if they needed more leverage, they would've just brought everyone else along with them.

They aren't quite the Republican Party, but they aren't exactly miles away either...

And don't even get me started on the absolute joke of a candidate they produced before.

I don't know what things are like in Seattle or California, but I bet nothing happens there without their blessing,
including handing out jobs—exactly like how certain parties handle business in the rest of the country.
If anyone here is from California or the West Coast, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

velvetmason14 said:Here’s a practical way to handle things once the skyscraper is actually finished 😁

An investor could donate four floors of the building to the city in the name of the public interest. The White House would move into the new tower, and then the old White House building could be sold for a massive profit.

San Francisco and Eric Adams would come out ahead, and it would finally fix the shady dealings left behind by Schumer and the previous administrations.

It isn’t a perfect solution, but it’s a win-win for everyone involved. Honestly, I’d settle for a 10% finder's fee just for coming up with the idea... 😉

It would be great if they didn't put those revolving doors at the entrance—they're way more dangerous than the ones we have at the county office right now! No one will be able to get any work done.

Dana Martin95 said:EXCLUSIVE: Tesla pulls out of leasing office space at California Tower! Westgate says: "Will Mayor Ed Garvey irrationally persist in breaking the law?"

'The California Tower project has its tenants, and we’re talking about prominent local and international companies that will bring over 1,000 specialized jobs to San Diego. If things turn out the way you're asking, please share this info with Mayor Ed Garvey, since he'll be the one needing to explain to San Diego citizens why he's directly stalling job creation and causing financial harm to both the project and the City of San Diego.' - Westgate responded to our question about whether Tesla actually pulled out of the project, adding a note regarding The White House.

'The San Diego administration is knowingly breaking the law and missing every single deadline for issuing building permits, even though they should have been issued per the Department of Housing and Urban Development's decision from last October.

Because of this blatant violation of the law, the California Tower project—even though it's finished—still isn't open. That means the branches for the companies that leased space in the skyscraper haven't opened either. When they finally open, and when San Diego gets those new jobs in the tallest skyscraper in America, depends entirely on whether Mayor Ed Garvey keeps irrationally insisting on breaking the law just to score political points at the expense of investors and citizens.'

I guess Ed Garvey is guilty and will stay guilty forever, nothing but trouble for San Diego.

It’s hilarious how they talk about all these jobs being lost, when in reality most companies will just move from one building to another... Like, AT&T will probably just relocate from Broadway

Emily Smith6 said:A representative from the Service Employees International Union has weighed in, suggesting that the only real uncertainty left is exactly when the strike will kick off.

Zoran Bakula, an employee at Waste Management and a representative for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), reached out to us via a formal letter. He’s looking to provide some clarity regarding the current situation unfolding within that municipal agency.

It seems inevitable that the San Francisco Department of Public Works is heading toward a strike. I suppose the question remains: why does the Mayor insist there isn't one? I can't say for certain. It appears the only point of contention left is the specific date, though most of us workers are hoping it happens as soon as possible, as this feels like the only way to actually resolve anything. At the workers' assembly, nearly all the field staff were present, along with several office employees—over 150 colleagues in total. Every single hand was raised in favor of the strike; there wasn't a single hand against it. Justin Trudeau mentioned in a press statement that we had agreed to scale back our demands. We did not. Furthermore, in one of those public addresses, he provided inaccurate data regarding our wages. He used incorrect figures that would likely convince the public to just shake his hand and move on, which would have prevented this entire situation from escalating. Of course, it is quite easy to see that these are false claims, intended to turn the public against the sanitation workers—exactly what the Mayor guaranteed would happen during the official meeting in the Midwest. One might conclude that Mr. Trudeau doesn't take the San Francisco Department of Public Works employees seriously, and neither does our director, Ivica Karoglan. The fact that this has been dragged out for a year and a half is telling. All Marin Jadrić wants is to secure a realistic collective bargaining agreement that provides workers with a modest, guaranteed pay increase to account for the extreme rise in the cost of living, alongside slightly better working conditions. To be blunt, the field workers at the Department of Public Works have incredibly poor working conditions. The organization is poorly managed, and both the trucks and the bins are dilapidated and potentially dangerous. As for protective gear, it’s practically non-existent; the raincoats and boots aren't even waterproof, and the footwear is uncomfortable and heavy. The director's only response to this is to claim that the "equipment is certified." We receive three pairs of gloves a month when we realistically need at least five. The workload is such that if you want to finish the job and clear all the streets, you end up having to lift the bins by hand—even though you aren't technically supposed to do that. People who try to get everything done by manually shaking the bins end up suffering from constant physical strain and frequent sick leave. Meanwhile, if someone follows protocol, uses the hydraulic lifts, and takes their legally mandated breaks, many streets simply remain unfinished. In practice, the workload then gets shifted onto the person who was lifting them by hand, because they can do twice as much work. Some supervisors push workers right to the edge of their endurance, and frankly, those limits are starting to break. There are no rewards for that effort—only lost health and, eventually, being put on medical leave.

To be perfectly honest, under current occupational safety regulations, we aren't even supposed to lift bins by hand, handle faulty containers, operate malfunctioning trucks, or head out into the field during snow or rain because we lack the proper gear. Yet, the expectation remains that we should just keep grinding through the downpours, snowstorms, heavy winds, or heatwaves—lifting everything by hand, working night shifts, double shifts, you name it. All we’re actually asking for is a bit of better organization, decent working conditions where they matter most, and for our pay to at least somewhat reflect the skyrocketing cost of living. Marin Jadrić has been working on getting this damn collective bargaining agreement signed for almost two years now. For those of us driving the trucks, the street sweepers, and the drivers, having that contract finalized would mean we might actually have a future here. Because, as it stands, in the proposal Puljak is offering, the drivers are looking at a total monthly raise of less than $110, and our street cleaners are getting significantly less than that. So, that’s the reality of the offer. I honestly don't see what the hold-up is with the San Francisco Department of Public Works... $333 We’re supposed to be looking out for the very workers who built this organization from the ground up. But the reality on the ground is different. We’re out there working through rain, wind, snow, and those brutal summer heatwaves. Most of us are doing the heavy lifting by hand, lugging buckets around just to get the job done. Our shifts don't follow a convenient schedule either; we’re working mornings, afternoons, nights, and Saturdays—and for some of us, Sundays too. We work through Christmas, Easter, and New Year's. We have a steady stream of clients and a rhythm established by people like Karepovac, so the workload is constant. Despite all that, we can't seem to get a decent raise, even though we have a legal right to one under American labor laws. It’s honestly frustrating. Pay scales have stayed frozen for ten years now, while our actual hours and the sheer volume of work have increased significantly. Combine that with the skyrocketing cost of living, and it feels like we're just spinning our wheels.

If I'm following this correctly... This guy is claiming Ivica Puljak lied about the pay raises,
but then immediately follows that up by saying they aren't even offering him a $100 bump.

So if they're offering a 6% raise, does that mean he's currently making $1,700?
And apparently, he’s got a driver too...

https://www.sfchronicle.com/city/article/san-francisco-arena-legal-ruling/

If the verdict had gone any other way, Puljak would probably be sitting in a jail cell right now...

😁

Richard Lopez said:I don't get it either.
We need to know exactly when someone becomes personally liable (and pays out of pocket).

The whole legal system here is such a mess—vague, poorly defined... it basically gives "independent" judges a free pass to interpret things however they feel like.

Quinn:

I can't even deal with this right now... just total nonsense. says: The strike conditions are set—but not how anyone expected. Jerry Brown sat down with the Waste Management crew to hash things out, but the Labor Union basically told him where to stick his proposals. They aren't buying what he's selling...

I’ve always wondered—why don't all these people constantly complaining just go work somewhere else if things are so bad here?!