With $6 Million Gift, David Copley Endows UCLA Center for Costume Design
Union-Tribune publisher David Copley, who just recently took his $33 million yacht to the Cannes film festival, and had his adventures written up in his own paper, continues on his extravagant ways. Copley has given $6 million to the University …
SeaWorld Could Be Sold: InBev Officially Bids $65 a Share for Anheuser-Busch, Which Turns Down Bid
Belgian brewer InBev today (June 26) officially bid $46 billion or $65 a share for St. Louis brewer Anheuser-Busch. The U.S. brewer flatly turned down the offer. Analysts believe Anheuser's non-beer assets, such as three SeaWorlds and a fourth planned …
Stocks Slaughtered, Now Near Official Bear Market; Oil Almost Hits $140, Dollar Drops
The stock market got eviscerated yesterday, as oil briefly topped $140 a barrel before closing up $5.09 at $139.64. The dollar's weakness exacerbated oil's rise. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 3 percent, down 358.41 to 11,453.42. The …
San Diegans Installing Big Fuel Tanks, Filling Up in Mexico, Where Prices Cheaper. Mexicans Displeased
San Diegans are buying big fuel tanks and loading up on cheaper Mexican gas, reports the Wall Street Journal on its front page today (June 24). Americans are getting gas in Tijuana for $2.50 a gallon -- a bargain as …
San Diego 13th Largest Tech Employer; Tech Jobs Pay More Than Double Average Private Sector Wage
AeA, formerly the American Electronics Association, today (June 24) released a study, "Cybercities 2008: An Overview of the High-Technology Industry in the Nation's Top 60 Cities." The data were for 2006. San Diego was the 13th largest cybercity, employing 106,400, …
Unrelenting Swoon: San Diego Home Prices Now Back to Levels of Fall of 2003
The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes through April, released today (June 24), show that prices of existing family homes throughout the nation continue to plunge. For 20 major cities, they have dropped a collective 15.3 percent from a year …
UNUM Group To Pay $5.5 Million for Making Under-the-Table Fee Payments to Unidentified Agent
UNUM Group, a Chattanooga-based insurance company with a spotty record, will pay $5.5 million to the U.S. government for failing to report special fees it was paying to a San Diego insurance broker in a group insurance plan. The Employee …
County Unemployment Rate Surges in May Although Jobs Rise for Month
The county unemployment rate rose to 5.5 percent in May from a revised 5.1 percent in April, although the number of employed persons rose by 3,100 over the month, according to the state's Employment Development Department. This seeming anomaly often …
After the Glow, the Bad News: Tiger Is Out for Season
San Diego got everything it wished for at the U.S. Open last week. Tiger Woods was in the tournament all the way, including a final 18-hole playoff that went 19 holes on Monday. Sunday's TV audience was the highest overnight …
Brandes Gets Mug in Newspaper, but Moneywise Gets Mugged by Newspapers
Charles Brandes, the billionaire San Diego money manager, loves to be photographed in the newspapers with his lovely new bride, Tanya. In the Union-Tribune June 8, Charles and Tanya were pictured in a Burl Stiff column about David Copley's friends …
Vinson & Elkins Agrees To Pay $4.35 Million in Malpractice Suit
One of the biggest lies told by critics of City Attorney Mike Aguirre is that his lawsuits are draining City coffers. Today (June 13), the law firm of Vinson & Elkins agreed to pay $4.35 million to settle a malpractice …
Realtors Hold Post-Election Fundraiser To Help Mayor Sanders Pay Back His Debt
The real estate industry keeps lining Mayor Jerry Sanders's pocket -- a perfect arrangement, since he is in their pockets. The government affairs committee of Commercial REALTORS Association of San Diego and the CCIM San Diego Chapter have joined with …
Yes We Cannes! The Yacht That Tells a Lacht -- Everything, Actually -- About Copley Newspapers
There is a great Mel Brooks satire about the French Revolution. Count de Monet (pronounced Count da Money) rushes up to King Louis and screams, "Your majesty, your majesty, the peasants are revolting!!" Replies Louis, "That's right. They stink on …
Michael Ellis, a Founder of Metabolife, Gets Six Months in Custody for Lying to FDA
Michael Ellis, one of the founders of Metabolife, today (June 9) was sentenced to six months in custody for lying to the Food and Drug Administration. In 1998 and 1999, Ellis and Metabolife sent letters to the FDA stating that …
Class Action Lawyer Lerach Seeks Prison Treatment for Alcoholism
San Diego's Bill Lerach, once the most feared class action lawyer in the U.S., has filed papers seeking prison treatment for alcholism, according to a story in the New York Sun June 6. "Lerach has suffered for years with severe …
City Auditor Says Blackwater Didn't Misrepresent Self, but Criticizes City Procedures
The day after a federal judge decided that the City can't black controversial mercenary firm Blackwater Worldwide from opening its shooting gallery near the border, a City auditing team released a study saying that Blackwater had not misrepresented itself when …
Federal Judge Says Blackwater Can Go Ahead with Shooting Range; City Attorney Protests Decision
As widely predicted, U.S. District Judge Marilyn Huff today (June 4) granted military mercenary firm Blackwater Worldwide a temporary restraining order that enjoins the City from refusing to allow the controversial firm to occupy a shooting range training facility near …
Grand Jury Tells CCDC To Stop Claiming It Funds Redevelopment Projects
The 2007/2008 San Diego County Grand Jury today (June 2) recommended to Centre City Development Corp. (CCDC) that it stop claiming that it funds redevelopment projects. It should state that it is an agent for the City Redevelopment Agency. City …