Off Mic

Street View: Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind

Dec. 14, 2009: By Wendy Fry

“You stand here on the street corner,” Mama Rita informed me. “Then, here come the cops and they tell you to move four blocks that way. You move four blocks that way and here come the schools telling you to move four blocks that-a-way. Where are we supposed to go?" Read more →

Street View: Living Homeless For The Weekend

Dec. 7, 2009: By Wendy Fry

This weekend I lived on the streets. I lived outside the San Diego winter homeless shelter and I ate, slept, cried, peed, learned, laughed, panhandled and listened to the street all weekend long. Read more →

Public Pension Debate Heats Up

March 24, 2009: By Off Mic

Pensions are a touchy subject these days, mainly because anyone with a 401(k)-type plan is dealing with the shock of opening statements that show in black and white just how much their hard-earned savings have shrunk. Read more →

Failing Cities: The Next Big Story?

March 9, 2009: By Off Mic

The more I report on the state of our cities for the Read more →

The True Cost of Health Care

Feb. 21, 2009: By Off Mic

What I'm about to tell you, I've told very few people. It's about my mother and the Canadian health care system. She died last summer. It was an excruciating four days in the hospital. Read more →

City Reserves: A Bit of Back Story

Feb. 6, 2009: By Off Mic

I posed what I thought were fairly straightforward questions: & What is your general fund? What is your reserve fund? And therefore: your reserves are equal to what percent of your general fund? Read more →

Who Cares About the City Budget?

Feb. 5, 2009: By Off Mic

I don't know about you, but I find it hard to digest and remember information when it's just a fact standing on its own. For example, the City of La Mesa's reserve fund is five percent of its operating budget. So what? Is that good or bad? Read more →