News Scrapbook 1986-1988

San Diego, CA (San Diego Co.) Evening Tribune (Cir. D. 127,454)

MAR 25 19 7

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'' He raised issues that many of us didn't want to face because we all support law enforcement ... and we didn't enjoy bearing that (police) made mistakes -MikeGotcb ___________ ,,

elected official, Jl)nes recently ad- mitted there arr ,of his own dis- trict he is ~:. ,.. w _.J enter because of crime - a statement triggered part- ly by what Jones will refer to only as "some very uncomfortable settings" involving street gangs. Jones agreed to make portions of the 4th District a testing ground for an ordinance aimed at curbing the proliferation of liquor outlets, and in an earlier citywide step sponsored an ordinance making it illegal to loiter outside liquor and convenience stores with open containers of alcohol. Jones said his record of effective- ness, however, is not necessarily an incentive to remain in office another four years. "I'm 31 years old and I have years, hopefully, left to make change,'' he said. "The big question mark in my mind has been, how can I make more change in a positive way? I think that's what it's about. "To have a job just to have a job, or to have a title just to have a title, that is not fulfilling to me." And Councilman Bill Cleator, an- other colleague who urged him to consider the opportunities open to him in the business sector, said Jones has "done an outstanding job of de- veloping coalitior.s" that can fight for their concerns after he is gone. Jones, whose friends say he once considered running for mayor, does not rule out a return to politics when he completes his Harvard education. "My options later on will still be there," he said. "The only rule I set for myself was . I did not want to

become a lobbyist. I did not want to appear before my colleagues, before my friends in the state Legislature or here locally, using my influence to push a project that I may or may not believe in." "It's a tough decision not to run. To walk away from power, to walk away from a position of influence and prestige, to walk away from something that is secure as much as elective office is secure, to walk away from red-carpet treatment - that is very tough." Jones laughed as he talked about "going to the theater and having the best seats in the house - and having to go out now and wait in line" and "sitting in the football stadium and having the best seats in the house." "It's going to be different," he said. "Trading that for a pair of jeans and a sweater and a computer - and 15 hours of academic training - is a contrast, but it's a Jong-term view." And be also seems sufficiently con- fident that he will be doing the right thing for his own future. "There's a big world out there and it's easy to become consumed with what we ·do and it's easy to take myself too seriously," be said. "so I think it's good to go out there and experience another part of the world." "Life can be Jong or short. I think it's the quality of the experiences that make the difference. "If I could have another quality ex- perience like this one in another arena, I would be a very lucky pc son."

mous advic:UHriHiends and men- tors to experience a different part of " need a challenge, a constant challenge," he said in an interview. "This Job is a challenge, but what about 10 years from now? I want to prepare myself for a bigger chal- len ' As he drove one day last week through the 4th District he repre- -sents, bebmd his grammar school, alon bis newspaper route, past the ormer Exxon station where he held his first job, Jones explained that he is looking beyond City Hall ' for per- .;onal growth, for self-improvement" and because of " y d ire to be ome a better person." "In the long term, l want to have as many choices as po:;sible open to me - to live, to work and to be able to provide for my family," Jones said. Jones' departure bucks a pattern t few years in which most counci ·n1cu1n1M!nt.s ve left City ll only for o e f three reasons: pursuit of higher office, defeat at the polls or criminal prosecution. Although the formal announce- ment is next week, San Diego's politi- cal grapevine hummed with news that there was little doubt about his plans several weeks ago. Aspirants who wish to replace him already have started laying the groundwork for their campaigns. Written confirmation of his ac- ceptance at the nation's most presti- gious business school arrived late last month, Jones said. Although his plans are far from complete, Jones said his studies probably will include real estate and business operations, and he may take additional studies at the John F. Kennedy School of Gov- ernment or the Massachusetts Insti- tute of Technology. Jones earned his bachelor'.s degre.> tmro tbUJtilvern- ty of Sao Di~. majoring inecoiioln- ics. In the meantime, Jones has plenty of preparatory work to do, such as finding a school in Boston for his ia, and investigating what kind of a pension he is eligib e for as a 15-year city employee. With a timetable set to Harvard's schedule and not the city council's, Jones, deputy mayor this year, prob- ably will be unable to complete the four-year term of office that expires in December. Jones said he has considered mak- ing special trips to San Diego for any key council votes, but be readily ad- mits the idea is impractical for a sin- gle parent like himself and probably too expensive. Although he has been contemplat- ing a different kind of life for nearly two years - since the day he sized up all of his options on a piece of paper, with the choices marked "A through H or M or something" - Jones said heading east is not easy. "There are very few reasons to leave," be said. "I feel good about what I do. I love public service. I cannot imagine a greater sense of personal achievement in another oc- cupation . . . and the people of San Diego have been very supportive. I go into the office and I go into a building of friends that I have made over the last decade and a half." But many of those friends agree be is doing the right thing by getting oul Councilman Mike Gotch, expected . ,

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subdued with a choke hold. The establishment of the Citiltns' Advisory Board on Police/Communi- ty Relations and the developmes of an entirely new human-relations training program that will touch every sworn officer in the d~rt- ment were both ideas brought to the council by Jones. "He raised issues that many of us didn't want to face," Gotch said, "be- cause we all support Jaw enforce- ment ... and we didn't enjoy hearing that (police) made mistakes." The state of police relations in mi- nority communities was "a painful subject to be raised," Gotch said, "and he did it with class and dignity and without hostility." During the same period, Jones also bas sought to draw attention to the desperation and fear brought about by drug abuse and gang violence, and he led a charge during last year's budget sessions to strengthen police details for both problems. ~an a~ost unheard-of act for an

to seek a rare third term this year, said his 31-year-old colleague sought his advice and that he told Jones he should leave. "I urged him real strongly to get more of a smorgasbord view of life, rather than the sheltered life of City Hall," Gotch said. "He's had a taste of politics. It's now time to see what be can do on his own on the outside." Only a few of the community and business leaders he consulted urged Jor.:;.; to remain in the 4th District. Verna Quinn, chairman of the Southeast San Diego Development Committee, a community planning group, said that when Jones asked for her thoughts, "I said I thought we could use one more term because we have so many things in process." Quinn said she worries that Jones' successor will not be as effective as he has been. "I just feel that we need a known leader sitting in that posi- tion for a bit longer," she said. Jones' admirers credit him with achieving greater equity for the 4th District through Project First Class, a program of landscape beautifica- tion, zoning enforcement and urban design guidelines for new develop- ment funded mainly from federal block grants. A major component of the pro- gram - a Neighborhood Improve- ment Council - collapsed in what one aide said were "staff problems," and funds appropriated for landscap- ing and business improvements have not yet been used. But the program has blocked some high-density de.velopment in the 4th District and has prevented the con- struction that bas occurred from adopting the unimaginative, bar- rackslike architecture that was be- coming a standard feature in the area. Jones also has seen the earliest successes of the Southeast Economic Development Corp., the agency he helped his predecessor, Leon Wil- liams, bring into being. SEDC is mar- keting the Gateway Center project, a new industrial park and commercial center in Southeast San Diego that eventually is expected to provide more than 1,000 jobs. Jones also bas won plaudits in some corners for consistent ques- tions about the training and conduct of San Diego police officers, begin- ning with the April 1983 death of a 4th District resident who had been Grenade hurts 6 in Lisbon LISBON, Portugal (AP) - A man threw a grenade into a group in- volved ii! a heated argument on a Lisbon street, injuring six people, some of them seriously, police said. ALisbon police spokesman said in- vestigators suspected the grenade was thrown by one of those injured. No arrests have been made.

Tribune photo by Scott Lmnett

ILLIAM JONES HE DING FOR HARVARD 4th DI "lrlct councilman planning to expand horizons Jones leaving City Hall for halls ofHarvard By J ff Ri tine Tribune Stall Writer Beginning as an unpaid intern to a city council member and moving up at ag 27 to occupy the at himself, William D. Jones h spent nearly half ht life working in the same 10th-floor office of San Dt go' Caty Hall. During that time he has h lpcd create a non-profit corporation that 1s dr Ing new busin and jobs to Southeast San Otego, c led u of police rrusconduct that other council members re loath to f ce, and velo tical t:yle:pp~~~~~""""t~ ;...."i!i!m~:" ·eff'ectlve, w, m1 10 o dollars m cit, pending m h , r ct to prove 1t By h1 own drruss1on fon ft I' ge and "perks" associat- ed with the $40,000.a-year Job, Jones would be a safe bet for re- election to a ond full term thas fall if he were in the race. But he won't be. Jon has made up his mind to walk away from it all and enroll m Harvard University's business school. a possible ticket to re- cru1tm nt mto a new career as a young executive, or a first step in becomlDg an mdependent entrepreneur. Uni a ag develops, Jones said, he will formally announce his dcc1s1on Apnl 2, possibly during a speech to students at Morse High School. In optmg for an advanced degree over a comfortable position in his hometow~polillcs, Jones ,s accepting the nearly unani- P/ea e see JON11 A-8

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San Diego, CA (San Diego Co.) Evening Tribune (Cir. D. 127,454) MAR 2 5 1987

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....--- ---~ 'It (Nevada-Reno) has potential and it's a great place, but it just wasn't for me' -Hank Egan EglJf! to remain at USD By ir1 ienney Tribu.,e Sportsrwriter ..QSD basketball coach Hank Egan said today that he has withdrawn his name from consideration "'~ the vacant head coaching position at Nevada-Reno. Egan also ~id he has had no further talks with officials from Colora- do State, which also is searching for a new bead coach or any other schools. 1 Egan's ~ecision to withdraw at Nevada-Reno followed an interview Sunday with the search committee that is looking to replace former W~Jf Pack coach ~?DY Allen, who resigned earlier this month. I made the dec1s1on yesterday," said Egan, who has coached the past three seasons at USO. "I just didn't feel good about it. I went up there to hear w_hat they had to say, to find out what they were about and to let them fmd out what I was about. "I came ho'?e ~nd thought about it for a day and talked it over with :fiY partner (his wife, Judy). It has potential and it's a great place but it Just wasn't for me." ' Egan's in~erv~ew at Nevada-Reno was set up last week with Wolf Pack athletic dir~tor Chris Ault, who already bas interviewed San Jose State coach Bill Berry and USF coach Jim Brovelli among others ~gan ai.s? spoke_ with _officials from Colorado State' last week, but said at t~e time no mterv,ew was in the works.

Lemon Grove, CA (San Diego Co.) Lemon Grove Review (Cir. W. 2,884)

MAR 2 61987

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. - Watergate Conspirato i'o Lecture ;tf ySD ..John Ehrlichman, key Nixon advisor during the Wa- tc•rgate scandal. speaks at the L'niversity of _;,an Diego, Wed- nesda~Thunday April 1-2, S-11 p.m. ' Along with others charrred with ·ohstruct!ng justice. Eh t·- lic-hmnn resigned April :10, 197 3, 1$ months later-, he and three of the White Housc "plumbers" were found guilty of violatmg the <·11,il rights of n'.·· Lewis Fielding, psychia- tnst to Daniel Ellsberg. He '"'~as also convicted of taking patt in the Watergate covcr- up. The Eh1 lichman lectures are open to 1he publir. Call USI> ,it 2 (!<>-4600, ext. 431G, concem-

Oceanside, CA (San Diego Co.) Blade Tribune (Cir. D. 29,089) (Cir. S. 30,498)

2 61987

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Thursday, March 26, 1987

,;J.qss of Vista jail expansion said possible in 30 days

caparity to 542 beds The county Board of Super- v1sors has awarded the company a $21.9 million contract and has also approved a contract be- tween the county and state, which 1s providing a substantial portion of the funding Thr Phelps' bid was the lowest of live bids received by the county Thr total project is expected to cost about :30 mill10n with the state providing 66 percent of the funding. The cons.truct1on project 1s expected to create' from 100 to l!iO · s at the peak of construe-

tion. Goodman said. He added that 60 percent to 65 percent of the work will be com- pleted by subcontractors. "The vast majority of the subcontract work will be from the local community,'" he said. Local carpenters, however, have charged that the company ts currently using a high per- centage of out-of-state workers on other San Diego County pro- jects. Hensel Phelps 1s a Greeley, Colo.,-based company with a San Di<•go office Thf' company is

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now working for the state at the Olay Mesa Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility and for the University of San Diego. "l'.xooclman said his company wants to become a permanent fixture in the San Diego business community. According to Michael Wiley, a member of Vista Local 2978 of the San Diego Counsel of Carpenters, union members visited the Otay Mesa and USD construction sites and found numerous cars there with out- of-state license plates. The out-of-state workers,

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Wiley said, come from depressed economies and probably do not care if they are paid $5 Jess than the prevailing wage of $25 an hour. Local carpenters want the Vista project to create jobs for area residents, Wiley said. But Goodman countered that counting license plates at other job sites is not an accurate way to determine the number of out- o{-state workers. He added that Hensel Phelps is one of five con- tractors working on the state pri~

"It is not reality based," Goodman said of the carpenters' method. However, Wiley said the Otay construction site survey took place on a day when most of the work would have fallen under Hensel Phelps' jurisdiction. Goodman said the company's desire to establish itself in San Diego makes it good business to hire local people. The union's concern, Goodman charged, is based on Hensel Phelps not having an agreement with it.