Bob Filner Sentenced
The soap opera that could be titled "Bob Filner, Disgraced Mayor of San Diego," came to a dramatic end in a San Diego court this week.
The mayor, who pleaded guilty in October to one felony charge of false imprisonment and two misdemeanor counts of battery, was sentenced to 90 days of home confinement in the company of a GPS ankle bracelet, three years probation, a reduced city pension and a $1,500 fine.
From the initial accusation to Filner's resignation on Aug. 30, the process took just six weeks. Published reports of court documents have detailed Filner’s current medications, which include anti-depressants and other mood-altering drugs, as well as the fact that congressional doctors had prescribed counseling and medication to stabilize his mood and safeguard his mental health when he lived in Washington, D.C.
Both the meds and counseling sessions were disrupted when he moved to San Diego to run for mayor.
Owner/Operator Of Revenge Porn Website Busted
Enterprising San Diegan Kevin Bollaert owned and operated ugotposted.com, a website allowing users (often vindictive ex-boyfriends) to anonymously post nude photos of women without their consent and along with their names, ages and Facebook profiles.
He became the first person in the state to be busted for crimes related to having such a website, and the site itself was shut down. California recently passed a law criminalizing such businesses as “revenge porn” this year, but Bollaert was charged instead with extortion, conspiracy and identity theft.
To get the photos removed from his site, the victims had to pay up to $350 through another website allegedly owned and operated by Bollaert.
Some in California have criticized the state's revenge porn law as weak or even unnecessary. Others have pointed out the fact that there are obvious First Amendment issues.
In North County, The Car Is Still King
San Diego County Supervisor Dave Roberts convened the North County Transportation Business Summit this week because at the last transportation meeting he attended, he noted that "people complained that basically the car was the primary way to get around North County."
There's one COASTER, one SPRINTER and a few bus lines. That's it.
This wasn't news to the business leaders who attended the summit, but this time, the emphasis was on the effects of car culture on public health.
From obesity to asthma to inactivity, the public costs are great. Nick Maccione, director of San Diego County's Health and Human Services Department, said that poor public health eats up 18 percent of the region's gross domestic product and costs $4 billion in direct expenditures.
