Bound to Be Big in '12: Stories to Watch

We've already taken a look back at the . Now what do we expect to make headlines in 2012?

Some of the "Bound to Be Big" stories are leftovers from 2011 that appear to still have lots of steam. But some are just getting underway.

Let's take a look at a few of the topics we anticipate covering often in the coming year:

• The Year of the Politician: It's a major election year—and not just because President Barack Obama is facing off against a Republican slate determined to unseat him. Locals have a lot at stake here, too. Rancho Bernardo's representatives—Carl DeMaio at the city council level, and Nathan Fletcher in the state assembly—are both vying for a chance to be San Diego's next mayor. How will their campaigns affect their duties in their current jobs? And what will it mean for San Diego if one of them wins? DeMaio has focused on pension reform (one of the top 10 stories of 2011) while Fletcher has spoken out about the need for increased use of technology for job creation and efficiencies. The other two major candidates—District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and Rep. Bob Filner (D)—are making their voices heard, too, with Dumanis landing several major endorsements. Stay tuned to our column to see how everything plays out.

• Gonna Need More Than Lunch Money: Let's start with the good news because there's only a little bit: Poway Unified School District officials don't anticipate having to make any additional cuts this school year, even if the worst case scenario of drastic state education cuts—"trigger cuts"—come through. But that's just this school year. Come fall 2012, the district could be in trouble with its once abundant reserves quickly drying up and negotiations with employee unions on the agenda. The most recent round of negotiations produced an imbalance between union groups, with classified employees (such as office clerks) avoiding a year of salary cuts that the other unions previously agreed to because their own negotiations were still underway. How will that affect negotiations this time? Will the unions continue to be willing to shorten the school year with rollback days that also cut into their pay?

• One Group, Two Groups—or No Groups At All? The Rancho Bernardo Planning Board wants to take control of the Maintenance and Assessment District Committee from the RB Community Council. City officials recently said this change is not as simple as the request letter the board sent in; there will need to be a community vote. While the matter involves the welcome sign (which may finally come to fruition in 2012), the struggle appears to some to be more about power in the community: who gets the final say. The welcome sign's completion has been delayed because the two groups must decide on one design and so far have been unable to do so. There also have been unofficial talks of combining the board and council into one group, as both suffer from low voter turnout and meeting participation.

Other topics:

• The Fight to Bring Back Redevelopment Agencies (See: )

• Soitec Could Bring More Than 1,000 Jobs to San Diego (See: )
• Pension Reform Measure Could Shift New Employees into 401(k) Plans (See: )