Scam Diego Entries for April, 2009

Subscribe

Who's Lurking Behind That Petition?

Call it non-disclosure politics. Chula Vista Citizens For Jobs And Fair Competition and its parent, the Associated Builders And Contractors ...

Tom Hayden vs. La Jolla's Institute of the Americas

Former Democratic state senator and 1960s radical Tom Hayden is still on the warpath against the evils of capitalism. Lately ...

Union-Tribune Circulation Drops 9.53 points

Monday through Friday average circulation numbers for the San Diego Union-Tribune have dropped 9.53 percent for the six months ending ...

The San Diego Pot and Coke Connection at work

With the convention business squeezed by recession, ever wonder who’s filling all those airline seats to San Diego? Likely suspects: ...

George Munger and the Golden Girl: Memories of J. David Dominelli's Ponzi Scheme

Wednesday's death of restaurateur George Munger at age 69 has brought back memories of his link to J. David Dominelli, ...

New Padres ownership raises conflict of interest questions for a CCDC board member

As we reported last month, new Padres owner Jeff Moorad has yet to tell the city all the namesof his ...

Got Questions? Twitter the Guv today

Got questions for Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger? Unless you're a lobbyist like Bob White or the other well-heeled influence peddlers of ...

NBC News shuts down Sacramento bureau

With the Union-Tribune sale pending, locals are worried about losing the paper's Sacramento bureau, which could be folded to reduce ...

Norv Turner's dinner in Los Angeles

Chargers coach Norv Turner has been spotted in Los Angeles, pitching the team to 40 to 50 would-be season ticket ...

Stamper stumps for pot

Ex-San Diego assistant chief of police Norm Stamper, who lost out to Jerry Sanders for the job of top chief ...

Public retirement fund chiefs got huge bonuses

The Sacramento Bee breaks the word today that California's two biggest public employee pension funds awarded millions of dollars in ...

Bersin Undercover

Ex-San Diego schools chief and former U.S. Attorney Alan Bersin, who never seemed to be much of a fan of ...

Bauder Gone Until May 10; Rose, Potter Take Over

Beginning tomorrow (April 20) at noon, I will be traveling until mid-day May 10. I will be incommunicado -- no ...

Copley Pension System Solid, Strategy Intelligently Conservative

Copley Press (Union-Tribune) employees and retirees got good news Friday: the pension plan is in sound shape, and is following ...

USD's Partnoy Has Winning Book on Ponzi Schemer Ivar Kreuger

University of San Diego law professor Frank Partnoy is out with his third book on financial flimflammery -- this one ...

San Diego Unemployment Soars to 9.3%. County Loses 44,600 Jobs over Year

The San Diego County unemployment rate zoomed to 9.3% in March, up from a revised 8.9% in February, and far ...

Pension Pros Warn That Hocus-Pocus Could Be Used to Lower Annual Payment to System

Mayor Jerry Sanders has named three new members of the San Diego City Employees' Retirement System. Three veterans are stepping ...

Icahn, Other Big Shareholders Want Amylin's Chairman Cook to Step Down

Billionaire corporate raider Carl Icahn today (April 15) called for the chairman of biotech Amylin Pharmaceuticals to step down. Icahn ...

SDCERS Board Member Who Spoke Up, Pressed for Full Disclosure, Jettisoned by Mayor

William J. (Bill) Sheffler, the board member of the San Diego City Employees' Retirement System who pressed the staff and ...

Brandes Extremely Bullish. But Is That Comforting?

Brandes Investment Partners in its first quarter message to investors says it is "unflinchingly enthusiastic about the values we are ...

Charlotte Russe Is One Bright Spot among Nation's Ailing Retailers

Stock of Charlotte Russe, which sells fashion merchandise to women in their teens and early 20s, is up 14.63% this ...

City's Pension Fund Returns Compare Poorly with Those of Peers

The San Diego City Employees' Retirement System may get away with telling the Union-Tribune that it is doing relatively well, ...

Two Dozen Charged with Operating Largest Real Estate Scam in Local History

The U.S. attorney's office today (April 7) unsealed an indictment charging 24 individuals with running a mortgage fraud scheme involving ...

Entrepreneur Who Bribed SPAWAR Employee Gets Two Years

Pamela Banks, who paid off a SPAWAR (Space and Naval Warfare Systems) employee or his spouse between $70,000 and $120,000 ...

Pay Drops for 200 Chief Executives -- but Not the Two in San Diego

The Sunday (April 5) New York Times lists compensation for 200 chief executive officers in 2008. Their median pay went ...

Recent Good News Really Isn't So Great, Say Two Pros

The stock market has moved up 20.35 percent in the last four weeks -- the biggest percentage gain since 1933. ...

Overwhelming Majority of Lifeguards Want to Leave MEA, Join Teamsters

More than 70 percent of lifeguards have signed a petition to leave the Municipal Employees Union and affiliate with the ...

Total Bailout Bill to Date: $12.8 Trillion

The U.S. government and the central bank, the Federal Reserve, have spent, lent or committed $12.8 trillion to battling the ...