Water upgrade project begun on Harbor Drive The city’s Engineering and Capital Projects Department has commenced a project designed to improve part of the Downtown water infrastructure and minimize future water-related disruptions. The two sections of the project run along North Harbor Drive from West Laurel Street South and from Seaport Village north to F Street; and on North Harbor Drive south of San Diego International Airport to Lee Court. The project will replace approximately 18,000 feet of 16-inch cast-iron water mains with plastic pipe. The existing mains were installed in about 1950. All work south of Ash Street is set to be completed by September. The estimated project construction cost is nearly $6 million and is included as part of the Public Utilities Department’s ongoing capital improvement projects. Hotel Indigo opening ahead of schedule Downtown’s only new hotel opening for 2009 is set about a month ahead of schedule. And you and your pet will be pretty happy about that. Hotel Indigo, originally slated to open in August, will launch July 15, complete with a commitment to all things green. The venue supports EarthShare, a nationwide network of environmental and conservation organizations. The company has stated its commitment to the environment through implementation of sustainable building practices and hotel operating procedures. The 210-room hotel is also the city’s first green-certifiable hotel as defined by the United States Green Building Council. The hotel also allows service dogs and pets free of charge. The Hotel Indigo chain operates 27 venues in the U.S. and Mexico. The San Diego hotel is at 935 Island Ave. Further information is available at (619) 727-4000. Taxpayers unit lauds good, chides the baddies The San Diego County Taxpayers Association (SDCTA), a nonprofit organization that monitors government spending, held its 14th annual Golden Watchdog & Golden Fleece Awards Dinner Wednesday, May 13. The event commemorates the best (watchdogs) and chastises the worst (fleeces) uses of local taxpayer dollars. “This is the optimal time for ‘right-sizing’ government and implementing desperately needed reform,” said Lani Lutar, president and CEO of SDCTA. Golden Watchdog recipients included the city of San Diego for its efforts at pension reform and tough cuts to compensation. Another Watchdog award went to the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) for safeguarding several capital improvement projects. Golden Fleeces were bestowed on the San Diego County Employees Retirement Association for costly hedge fund investments and the city of La Mesa for a taxpayer-funded mailer campaign to persuade voters to increase taxes. In the traditional spirit of self-deprecating humor, this year’s program featured film skits with Mayor Jerry Sanders selling off corporate city sponsorships (Spam Diego) and Police Chief William Lansdowne handing out water violation tickets to children and marine animals as he patrolled SeaWorld. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has ruled that a helicopter pilot who was videotaped receiving oral sex from a woman as he flew her around San Diego acted so recklessly that his license must be revoked. The actions of David Martz were so dangerous, the NTSB concluded in a written ruling, that they put everyone on his craft and on the ground below him in danger. The pilot was videotaped receiving oral sex from a Swedish pornography figure. The agency’s ruling upholds previous actions revoking Martz’s pilot’s license by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). An FAA official said Martz can appeal the NTSB decision in federal court or he can wait and apply to have his license reinstated in one year. The incident occurred in 2005, but action wasn’t taken until earlier this year after the video surfaced on the Internet. In rejecting his appeal, the NTSB said both Martz and the woman unfastened their safety restraints during the flight and that her body blocked his access to controls vital to operating the aircraft in an emergency. When questioned about the incident, Martz, 52, was reportedly quoted by a San Diego radio station as saying, “That’s how we roll, and it’s no big deal.”