City Councilman Kevin Falconer called for public hearings yesterday to placate the City’s hotel industry, which is growing increasingly panicky over Mayor Bob Filner’s refusal to release funding generated by a hotel room surcharge of 2 percent to finance the city's Tourism Authority.
“Jobs”, “Police”, “Potholes” whined Falconer, desperate for a buzzword that would play well in the evening’s TV newscasts.
From this morning’s UT-San Diego:
"Every day that goes by San Diego is losing potential tourism tax revenue that we can use to fill potholes and hire more police officers," Faulconer said in an interview. "Shutting off those funds will hurt one of our most important industries and cost us jobs. I want to ensure that all of the council and the public know the cost of the mayor’s inaction. There’s no excuse for this inaction."
No excuse, Kevin? Really? How about the probability that the two per cent tax funding this program will be declared illegal? INSIDE: San Onofre Saga Continues, Senator McGrumpy on Hagel and a Headline You Won't Believe...