HOT TOPIC
The issue:
Local social media went nuts when radio deejay Kevin Klein tweeted a promotional pic for his new show on 97.3FM that included a photo of the Coronado Bridge and the caption “JUMP*” in large font and “*to a new morning show” in smaller font. The tweet and pic drew criticism from Padres fans (97.3 is the official station of the Padres), as well as people who felt the pic made light of the issue of suicide.
What people are saying:
“I won’t dignify it by retweeting it, but it’s shameful for anyone to make light of suicide the way 97.3 has with its Kevin Klein ads. The ads should be taken down, Klein taken off the air and the Padres should break their contract to make a statement. Disgusting.”
—The Lightning Round podcast, via Twitter
“Kevin Klein should also have to make a public apology.”
—Director of Communications for San Diego Tourism Authority Candice Eley, via Twitter, after the Padres issued an apology on behalf of Entercom, the owners of the radio station
“It’s sad when a radio guy who begged for a job at our new station, but didn’t get it because he’s a ‘lazy bore’ now tried to get us fired before we even go on the air by tattling on us with his troll bots. I wouldn’t want to have to go up against us either. Sweet dreams.”
—Kevin Klein, via Twitter
Our take:
Are you not entertained?! Yes, on the same day the Union-Tribune ran a front-page story on the unveiling of Coronado Bridge suicide prevention prototypes, everyone was entirely too focused on calling out some dumb bro shock jock for being, well, shocking. After continuing to ridicule people on Twitter and claiming the bridge pic was part of a larger marketing campaign that included pics of other iconic San Diego locations, Klein eventually bowed to public and corporate pressure and issued a regret-by-numbers apology letter. Said Klein: “I’ve failed at making a good first impression, but I hope that you will give me another chance to provide entertainment and good natured laughs when I go on the air on Thursday morning.” Way to get that plug for the show in there, Kev. And while Klein certainly deserved to get dragged, where does that leave us? He succeeded in promoting his new show and the Coronado Bridge prototypes story fell by the wayside, as the U-T devoted almost the entire day tweeting out the latest developments in what we can only describe as San Diego’s imbecilic version of Bridgegate. We feel dirty just from having to rehash all of it here.
HAM OF THE WEEK
In case you haven’t heard, former DA Bonnie Dumanis received illegal campaign contributions from a Mexican businessman several years ago. Dumanis quickly returned the $1,400 given to her re-election campaign in 2014. However, that wasn’t the case with the $13,250 contributed to her failed 2012 mayoral run.
She said she wanted to wait until the cases settled before donating the money to charity. Then Dumanis said she’d reopen her campaign committee to pay out the city treasury instead, for the sake of transparency. The final sentencing occurred last month. Instead of making that payment to the city treasury as promised, Dumanis coughed up receipts totaling $10,000 in charity donations, but only after the U-T pestered her with emails. Then, she dug up another $5,000 donation receipt after they questioned the math. Slow clap.
CUTE OF THE WEEK
On Friday, the Chula Vista Police Department said goodbye to its four-legged partner, Griffen, a 7-year-old Belgian Malinois who died of an undisclosed medical condition. Griffen often worked night shifts with his handler, Officer Chancellor. “It is hard to overstate the bond that a K-9 and his handler have when working long hours in dangerous situations. CVPD’s law enforcement family extends deepest sympathies to his partner officer,” CVPD stated. CVPD later tweeted this photo of Chancellor and Griffen that had us crying at our desks.
NEWSY BITS
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