Gene Bell, president of the Union-Tribune, sent a memo Wednesday in which, typical of the newspaper, the bombshell was concealed in Little Mary Sunshine prose. Bell told certain employees November 28 that the paper is making changes that are designed …

People are paying around $1,000 to get a test that will give a glimpse of their genome -- whether they are prone to cancer, Alzheimer's, etc. San Diego's Illumina is one of the companies providing smart chips for these tests, …

Overstock.com has made headlines by charging in a lawsuit that a hedge fund and a research firm conspired to drive down Overstock's shares. The research firm is Gradient Analytics, whose cofounder and research head, Donn Vickrey, works from Carlsbad and …

The deal has been slip-sliding, but some county leaders still want the Port and the City of Chula Vista to subsidize, massively, a waterfront hotel for Gaylord Entertainment. But Scott Barnett of TaxpayersAdvocate.org, following up on a study he did …

Three environmental groups have filed to block the city council's approval last month of a $5 million design of a road through Rose Canyon Open Space Park. Friends of Rose Canyon, the San Diego Audubon Society, and Endangered Habitats League …

John Kern, former chief of staff to former Mayor Dick Murphy, was not among the ex-City employees who were compensated above Internal Revenue Service limits, as reported earlier on this blog. My apologies. Best, Don Bauder

San Diego's Jack in the Box fast food chain is gobbling up the industry. In its most recent yearly financial report, Jack reported that same store sales, or sales in outlets open at least a year, rose 6.1 percent over …

The city attorney's office has learned the identities of some of the former City of San Diego officials who were cut in on $8.2 million of questionable pension benefits shelled out by the pension fund. The $8.2 million exceeded Internal …

The financially-ailing City of San Diego has been hanging its hat on tapping into the municipal bond market once long-delayed audited financial statements are completed. But the muni bond market is being hit by the mortgage crisis. Muni bond insurers …

The board of the San Diego City Employees' Retirement System (SDCERS) yesterday voted to have taxpayers pick up the $146 million tab for purchase of service credits that City workers purchased cheaply prior to 2003. City Attorney Mike Aguirre says …

City Attorney Mike Aguirre today (Thursday, Nov. 15) rescinded a request he had made under the California Public Records Act for local public broadcasting station, KPBS, to provide information on its programming policies. He had spoken with a First Amendment …

Back to business as usual.The long-delayed and recently-released 2005 City financial statement contains misstatements about the $8.2 million in benefits that exceed Internal Revenue Service limits, but went to 102 retirees anyway. The 2005 financial statement does not disclose the …

John Moores, majority owner of the Padres, resigned today (November 12) from the University of California Board of Regents "effective immediately," according to a press release. A resignation "effective immediately" is not normal protocol for a regent. The governor will …

At least 102 City retirees have been paid a total of $8.2 million in excess of Internal Revenue Service limits,according to City Attorney Mike Aguirre, quoting an August 22 letter from the City's pension system actuary. Aguirre plans to release …

Marcus Stern, the Washington, D.C. reporter for Copley News Service who broke the Pulitzer Prize-winning story on Duke Cunningham's corruption, is leaving Copley at the end of the year, according to several very knowledgeable inside sources. Also leaving is Gordon …

The City Courtesans -- er, City Council -- prostituted themselves to the real estate industry again today (Nov. 6) under the guise of providing affordable housing. Councilmember Donna Frye, the only member to vote against the density bonus measure, argued …

Yesterday, this blog reported the rumor that Richard Haas, who heads such critical areas as water, wastewater, general and environmental services, and capital projects, was one of a long line of Mayor Jerry Sanders' staffers to leave. Today (Tuesday) the …

According to a rumor racing around City Hall, Richard Haas, who heads public works, has resigned. I cannot yet get anyone to confirm it officially, and have not been able to get directly to Haas. If the rumor is not …

Official statistics from the Audit Bureau of Circulations released Monday morning show the Union-Tribune's average daily circulation plummeting 8.53 percent to 278,379 for the six months ended September 30, compared with the previous six-month period. Only one paper in the …

Here's the least surprising political endorsement of the year: the Associated Builders and Contractors of San Diego have endorsed Mayor Jerry Sanders in the 2008 race. This is like ventriloquist Edgar Bergen calling his dummy, Mortimer Snerd, the most dynamic …

Arthur Levitt, former head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Mike Aguirre, San Diego city attorney, have not kissed and made up, exactly. But they are agreeing on a key issue: the SEC should hold the politicians and bureaucrats …

Union-Tribune daily circulation is plunging at more than three times the rate of other metropolitan daily papers, according to Editor & Publisher, the media trade magazine, which was apparently leaked advance information on the official Audit Bureau of Circulation numbers, …