Tom Blair: Michael Jackson’s diminished family affairs…

Tom Blair is an SDNN columnist.

IT’S ALL RELATIVE: When Michael Jackson died Thursday, at 50, of an apparent prescription drug overdose, news commentators made much of the pop legend’s crumbling financial affairs. Although Jackson was living in a rented mansion in Los Angeles’ exclusive Holmby Hills neighborhood-at $100,000 a month — various sources put his debt at something over half a billion dollars. But then, even debt is relative. Michael’s brother Marlon, a member of the original Jackson Five, moved into a modest downtown San Diego condo in the 1990s. In 2003, San Diego Magazine reported he was hoping to get his Major Broadcasting Network, aimed at blacks, picked up by cable in San Diego. Marlon’s two daughters were attending Point Loma Nazarene University, among the country’s more expensive private colleges. But then things apparently began to deteriorate. Last year, a New York Post story maintained Michael Jackson purposely kept his family broke. The once mighty Jacksons, the story said, were “barely scraping by.” That would include Marlon, who, the Post said, was stocking shelves at a Vons supermarket in San Diego and had “moved into an extended-stay hotel.”

HANDICAPPING: Although Charger Kassim Osgood would rather be playing more wide receiver and less special teams, he’s optimistic about the upcoming football season. On Thursday, in a motivational meeting with employees of a local publishing company, he talked about the dicey contract negotiations between the NFL and the players’ union. “We don’t need that distraction,” he said. “We need a collective bargaining agreement.” But still, he said, “I truly believe we can go 16-0 this season and win the Super Bowl.” And what about his chronically under-performing alma mater, San Diego State, and its chances for the new football season under a new head coach? “The Aztecs will finish no worse than .500. Their defense will keep them in games, and their offense will step up,” Osgood said.

More from Tom: Just make yourselves at home… | The frosting on the cupcake… | Waiting for the Second Act… |  Opinion

SO I HEAR: The San Diego City Council voted Thursday to join other major California cities in urging the repeal of the federal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy toward gays in the military. The vote was unanimous, with Tony Young, who supported the repeal in committee, absent . . . Longtime San Diego arts leader Victoria Hamilton was honored last week with the Selina Roberts Ottum Award for arts leadership by Americans for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. Hamilton’s been executive director of San Diego’s Commission for Arts and Culture for more than two decades . . . Tim Allen and company are expected to be in San Diego this summer for filming on a new movie comedy, Amigos.

STAYING POWER: Tom Karlo, the recently appointed general manager at KPBS, has taken over one of the most successful public television stations in the country. But then he’s contributed to that success, and he’s been preparing for this. Karlo came to San Diego nearly 40 years ago to attend San Diego State University. He met his wife at SDSU, took a job at the station as an intern, moved into a permanent position, moved up to associate general manager in 1992, and took over as GM in February. All without ever leaving the university campus . . . Dwight Cook, a North County physician who hung out his shingle a half-century ago, retired Saturday — the last of three founders of Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas to close his practice. In 1963, Cook, along with doctors Charlie Clark and Ron Summers, spearheaded construction of what was then Encinitas Hospital, which became a Scripps hospital in 1978. After 50 years, Cook has cared for tens of thousands of North County patients, some spanning four generations of the same family. Time for the rocker? No way. He says he’ll be pursuing some tennis, deep-sea and fly fishing, and backpacking. He’s 81.

Got ideas for Tom? You can reach him at TBlair.sdnn@gmail.com and BlairColumn@sandiegomagazine.com or (619) 564-3200.

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This entry was posted on Monday, June 29th, 2009 at 6:44 am and is filed under Columns, Lifestyle. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.