Tag: public policy

Photo by Joe WilcoxNov 17, 20249:11 pm

Thirsty?

As the November 5th Presidential election approached, I focused on preparing for emergencies—such as protests or infrastructure attacks, regardless the winner (or loser). I stocked up medical supplies and took trauma training for massive bleeding incidents. My wife and I majorly topped off food and water supplies, while I purchased some additional items, particularly for dealing with power outages.

Water bothered me most. What if some crazy person poisoned the water supply, or there was unexpected contamination incident—such as agricultural or industrial runoff or more Mexican spillage. Yikes, cyberattack? The solution that made most sense: Water-filtration system, for purifying the liquid from almost any source.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 15, 202411:02 pm

San Diego is Scary Now

Seventeen years ago today, the Wilcox family relocated to San Diego from the Washington, DC-metro area. We came to care for my father-in-law, who would live another decade and pass away—age 95—in his own bed. He likely would have gone sooner and/or been confined to a nursing home otherwise.

My wife and I should have fled Communist California—and the slave mentality induced here—in 2017, soon after her dad died. But ongoing concerns about our only child kept us here longer. Our daughter’s brain injury, in March 2023, justified the financial hardship of staying. She survived—something unlikely had we, from a long distance, taken doctors’ advice to end life support rather than by being present choose to continue it.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 13, 20247:55 pm

To Think You Worry About Illegal Alien Criminals

The sign in the Featured Image speaks for itself: There are other risks around the canyons of San Diego—perhaps more worrisome than foreign troublemakers hiding in them and coming out to assault, rob, or murder the locales. My SoCal county is one of the throughways by which illegals cross into the United States, and they are frequent enough topic on the local news or social media to scare some residents.

But coyotes—and I don’t mean smugglers sneaking immigrants across the border—present problems you might not consider. Sure, residents should keep cats and smaller dogs inside, but these coyotes could carry dynamite or drop anvils from hot-air balloons. Drones are a pitting nuisance, by comparison.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 26, 20249:09 pm

Say Goodbye to Your Garage Parking Space

When we relocated to San Diego nearly 17 years ago, most home garage renovations were illegal—meaning they had been done without proper permits, if any. The stated interior size revealed all: A 600-square-foot cottage would be obviously larger, because of the undocumented, unsanctioned expansion.

Oh, and the buyer inherited any liability. Imagine one consequence, where the city, county, or state issued fines or demanded the whole, ah, illegal project be torn out. For the short time my wife and I considered buying a home here, we stayed clear of such properties.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 10, 202410:15 pm

The Sleeper

I rarely photograph San Diego homeless, as a silent sign of respect. But, today, one gentlemen so surprised me that I felt compelled to take the shot—well, several. Walking East on Meade Ave., I saw him sleeping on the sidewalk across the way, where Mission cuts diagonally—think 45 degrees—from the intersection at Park Blvd.

The sleep mask is what intrigued me. He looked so unusually comfortable, lying on the cement, which was surprising, too. Foot and vehicular traffic is fairly brisk, and noisy, on a Friday afternoon; then there is the bus stop—a couple meters away, at most. Yet he looked so serene and lay motionless, but in an open space where homeless are otherwise uncommon.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 1, 20249:43 pm

You’re Going the Wrong Way

Strange: I have walked through this intersection countless times over the years and only today recognized the anomalous road sign(s). In the Featured Image, bikers are given distances to destinations that are behind them—meaning where they came from. In the companion capture, of the sign on the other side of the roundabout, information is accurate for everyone riding East towards Normal Heights.

Ah, yeah. Maybe you are unfamiliar with the area and turned onto Meade from a perpendicular street a few blocks away. Based on the first sign, you would be mislead to think that you’re eight-tenths of a mile (1.29 kilometers) from University Heights. The Meade-Utah traffic circle is often nasty with cars, so a biker paying attention to incoming vehicles could easily miss the second sign.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 30, 20249:16 pm

She Sits Still

Words that describe San Diego: Character, personality, variety. The Featured Image and companions are examples. This charming display is more elaborate and expansive than the photos reveal. The property sits at Howard and Hamilton in North Park.

But change is afoot. Recent public policy push to add more residences—by way of so-called Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) and high-rises, often where were single-family homes—transforms the look and feel of many neighborhoods. BLVD North Park and Winslow are examples of the new architectural artifices.

Living by Joe WilcoxFeb 27, 202410:02 pm

Feel Free to Park Overnight

As part of the settlement of a class-action lawsuit, San Diego will no longer enforce overnight parking laws that restrict where some vehicles can park. The prohibition has burdened people sleeping in RVs and vans, particularly, with costly tickets or tows.

Section 86.0139 of the San Diego Municipal Code states: “It is unlawful for any person to park or leave standing upon any public street, park road, or parking lot, any oversized vehicle, non-motorized vehicle, or recreational vehicle between the hours of 2:00 am and 6:00 am”.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 1, 202410:06 pm

California Contraband

Time is way overdue for me to return to a topic started Dec. 23, 2021, when ordering lightbulbs. The Philips LEDs could not be shipped to California by Amazon. Apparently some bulbs are state sanctioned, while others are considered to be hazardous to human health (what isn’t in the Golden State) and thus prohibited.

I eventually found approved Philips LEDs and ordered two variations from separate sellers. Opening the boxes, the 14-watters stated that they were “certified to California Title 20”. As for the others, please take a close look at the Featured Image: “Not for sale in California”. Yikes! I was an unintentional lawbreaker.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 26, 202410:36 pm

I Stand with Texas

The Featured Image might seem to you an odd choice for this post’s title but I must disagree. Suddenly, on my walks, I see many more American flags displayed—and in places that are new to my eyes, like this one outside a North Park market. Makes me wonder: Are some San Diegans quietly, but affirmatively, expressing their patriotic support for Texas’ standoff with the Federal government?

Under a program called “Operation Lone Star“, Texas seeks to “hold the line to defend the Southern border”. Bolstering that effort, Governor Greg Abbott has mobilized state national guard units as part of a vanguard laying razor wire and blocking U.S. Border Patrol agents from processing immigrants. A Supreme Court ruling favors Federal efforts to cut (and remove) the razor wire. Abbott and his attorney general are defiant.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 3, 20249:28 pm

Waiter @Work

I can’t recall the last time my wife and I ate out at a restaurant—or even fast food. Cost is one of the major reasons, and that is about to increase with the new $20/hour minimum wage that goes into effect (appropriately) on April Fools Day. Oh, you got to love California.

Some Pizza Hut franchises won’t wait for that momentous event; two of them are laying off more than 1,200 in-house delivery drivers. Ouch. Our family eats what it cooks, except for the occasional Pizza Hut pie—and always by take away.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 13, 20239:54 pm

Finally, Somebody Uses the Bike Lanes

Dec. 9, 2023, as I stopped to photograph someone’s life belongings heaped onto four shopping carts, suddenly, and rapidly, riders roared by along University Ave. in Hillcrest. San Diego’s panache for tearing up parking spaces and replacing them with kilometers-upon-kilometers of bike lanes is controversial among businesses and many residents but unapologetic policy public.

On any normal day, bikers are few, and their numbers are next to meaningless compared to the volume of buses, cars, SUVs, and trucks, among other vehicles. So I was rather surprised seeing such mass of riders, who vastly spilled out of the bike lane into traffic.