News Ticker Entries for December, 2011

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Convention Center Glut Billowing, Says Journal

"From Boston to Austin, politicians spend money on fancy white elephants," says the Wall Street Journal in a piece dated ...

Three Arrested at Occupy San Diego; SDPD Sgt. "Was Hearing Voices"

At around 7:30 p.m. on December 29, San Diego Police officers raided the Occupy San Diego general assembly of approximately ...

Bank of America to Stand Trial for Alleged Truth in Lending Act Violations

A San Marcos couple will get a second chance to take Bank of America’s Countrywide lending unit to task over ...

Copley Goes for Romney; Burnham and Spanos Pick Perry

As noted here in September, new San Diego Union-Tribune owner Doug Manchester is backing the GOP presidential cause of Mitt ...

Naval Hospital Sees Increased Number of Spice Users

The Associated Press reports the Pentagon is cracking down on the use of synthetic-drug Spice throughout all branches of military. ...

Local TV Station Fights Proposed FCC Disclosure Rules

Four television broadcasters, including San Diego’s KUSI, have filed a protest to a new proposed Federal Communications Commission rule that ...

Alvarez Stands Alone at City Hall in Support of Refocusing Redevelopment

The state government can order redevelopment agencies shuttered, but it cannot force them to redirect funds to cover shortfalls at ...

New State Law Prohibiting Street-Corner Sale of Puppies Goes Into Effect

Complaints about puppies being sold on street corners are being phoned in to San Diego's Department of Animal Services at ...

Supreme Court Knocks Out Redevelopment Agencies

The California Supreme Court today (Dec. 29) gave a knockout punch to redevelopment agencies in a long-awaited decision. The court ...

San Diego 9th "Drunkest City" In The Country

San Diego throws down...a whole bunch of drinks. "America's Finest City" is the 9th drunkest city in the country, according ...

Maienschein Lends His Campaign $50,000 on Christmas Eve

Former San Diego city councilman Brian Maienschein gave himself a Christmas Eve gift in the form of an interest-free $50,000 ...

Port Tenant to Install Shore Power System

The Port of San Diego, continuing its “Green Business Challenge,” has announced that tenant Flagship Cruises & Events will install ...

SD Tourism Lags Behind Other California Metros

San Diego tourism did not fare very well in November. Although there are improvements, the county lags behind other California ...

Car Seizures From Unlicensed Drivers to End Jan. 1

A new state law taking effect next Monday will ban the practice of impounding vehicles caught at sobriety checkpoints if ...

Navy Study Tests Neck Injections

Doctors at Naval Medical Center San Diego believe a shot in the neck may ease the shock from Post Traumatic ...

Mexican Cartels Recruit San Diego Teens

Mexican drug cartels are turning to San Diego’s youth to function as drug mules, the Latin American Herald Tribune is ...

Issa Gets a Pass in U-T Story on Pols' Wealth

On Dec. 27, both the Washington Post and New York Times had big takeouts on the wealth of members of ...

Mike Garcia Gets Off the Couch to Occupy San Diego

If you’ve been following Occupy San Diego at all, you’ll probably recognize Mike Garcia. The well-dressed and articulate 48-year-old drug-abuse ...

State Prisons Appear to Fall Short on Overcrowding Reduction Order

Today is the first benchmark date for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to reduce prison overcrowding as per ...

UCSD Physicians Slow to Adopt iPads, Report Says

According to a report on the website of Kaiser Health News, less than ten percent of UC San Diego Health ...

Local Suit Filed Against Jobfox Résumé Website

San Diegan Suzanne Werden has initiated a class action suit against McLean, VA-based Jobfox.com, according to a Courthouse News Service ...

San Diego Home Values Keep Falling

The nation suffered "broad-based declines" in home prices in October, according to Standard & Poor's, as it published its last ...

Video Conferencing Could Replace San Diego-Sacramento Travel

Bad news for San Diego hotels and restaurants: a government report suggests its workers spend less time here. Travel between ...

Occupy San Diego Riders Raid Malls, Port

“The concept of the bike raid is simple,” writes Nexus Watts in an Occupy San Diego Riders mall raid event ...

New Design for Wind Turbines Debuts in San Diego

San Diego Gas & Electric has installed a vertical axis wind turbine for testing at Harbor Island Park, the Port ...

San Diego Tops Nation in DUIs

San Diego leads the nation in drunken driving, according to a new report from Insurance.com. The same source also ranked ...

Cost of Police Mobile Command Vehicle Grows

Bids are in to build a new high-tech "Mobile Command Vehicle" for San Diego police, and the tab is considerably ...

Senior Citizen Patrols to Check on Homes for Holidays

Members of the Sheriff's Senior Volunteer Patrol will busy patrolling neighborhoods during the holidays checking on homes while people are ...

PG&E Ordered to Complete Seismic Studies, Same Sought for SCE/SDG&E

The California Public Utilities Commission yesterday dismissed a request from Pacific Gas & Electric to pass on its cost of ...

Estancia Hotel Warns It Could Lay Off 295

The Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa, recently bought at what was considered a low price, has told the California ...

French Gourmet Heads Get Probation, Fines

Owner Michel Malecot and manager Richard Kauffmann of the La Jolla restaurant French Gourmet were sentenced in federal court today ...

Alan Bersin's "Our Border" Site Goes Offline

In the wake of the departure of San Diego's Alan Bersin from his job as U.S. Commissioner of Customs and ...

Three More Arrested at Occupy San Diego

A police raid at Civic Center Plaza shortly after midnight this morning resulted in the arrest of three more Occupy ...

Chicago Sun-Times Bought for About $20 Million

The Chicago Sun-Times, that city's second largest newspaper with daily and Sunday circulation of around 400,000, has been sold for ...

U.S. Dentist Fears Patient Safety, Income Loss From Cross-Border Competition

American dentists are feeling pressure from their Mexican counterparts, an article in the magazine RDH, which caters to the industry, ...

Failure to Report Student-Teacher Sexual Relations Costs SD Unified $1.25 Million

The California Court of Appeals has confirmed a $1.25 million judgment against the San Diego Unified School District, a decision ...

Roger Hedgecock Criticizes Negative Ad Campaign Against Carl DeMaio

Conservative radio personality Roger Hedgecock has come out swinging against what he considers "shameless" attacks" on mayoral candidate and councilmember ...

San Diego Realtors Slapped for Repeated Lobbying Law Violations

The San Diego Association of Realtors has agreed to pay $500 to settle charges it violated the city's lobbying law ...

Fewer Parolees Returning to Prison

California’s recidivism rate (the proportion of state prisoners who return to incarceration) fell to 65 percent, the California Department of ...

Failure to Extend Payroll Tax Break, Jobless Pay Could Hurt, Says Economist

"The U.S. is in recovery, but it is relatively mild and weak, and certain things could derail the recovery," says ...

Lawsuit Filed Over Stolen "Boobies" Logo

Carlsbad-based Keep A Breast Foundation, a local award winning non-profit, filed a lawsuit today in federal court alleging trademark infringement ...

Sanders Endorses Sherman For 7th District Council Seat

Mayor Sanders officially announced his support of Scott Sherman to represent the 7th district today. The endorsement is a major ...

Wine Tasting with Filner, Issa plays Tagg for Holiday Fundraising

Democratic congressman Bob Filner, running for mayor of San Diego, has been relatively scarce of late around Capitol corridors, so ...

Anti-Smart Meter Group Touts PG&E Decision To Offer Analog Meters

San Diego Gas and Electric customers opposed to the use of smart-meters are celebrating a decision by Northern California energy ...

Tijuana Entrepreneur Creates Drug-Trafficking Inspired Clothing Line

Narcocorridos, the Mexican ballads inspired by the violent and much-glamorized lifestyles of the country’s drug trafficking cartels, have in turn ...

Man Who Sent Threats to Dumanis Released on Probation

Frankie Corleone, the man who threatened district attorney Bonnie Dumanis as well as other law enforcement officials after being convicted ...

Protesters Say Defense Bill Will Gut Bill of Rights

Members of various local progressive groups gathered this morning for a “sit-in” at the Democratic Party’s local headquarters in protest ...

Bob Filner Dunned by Nancy Pelosi

Leaders of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, facing a hostile electoral climate in many parts of the country and chronically ...

City Auditor Finds Pacific Beach Business Improvement District Failed to Comply With City Contract

Six months back, I wrote an article about the Pacific Beach Business Improvement District, managed by the Pacific Beach Community ...

DUI Checkpoints Result in 19 Arrests, 41 Impounds

The San Diego Sheriff Department has released figures concerning four DUI checkpoints it conducted over the weekend in Santee, Lemon ...

San Diegans to Save the Bill of Rights Sit-in

According to an email from San Diegans to Save the Bill of Rights: In protest of President Obama's promise to ...

Women of Occupy San Diego Bring Occu-carols to Mission Valley

“Were are a group of women who love Occupy and we’re bringing our message to the people,” says Kristen Smith, ...

Four Plead Guilty in Loan Modification Scheme

Four people who operated Oceanside's 1st American Law Center, a loan modification scheme, pleaded guilty today (Dec. 16) to charges ...

Utility Workers Across California Protest Sempra

Southern California Gas Company employees rallied across the state yesterday to protest a proposed labor agreement brought forth by the ...

US Court Rules for Iran's Defense Ministry, Against Local Firm

A decision filed yesterday in the United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, affirms a $2.8 million judgment against San ...

County Gains 8000 Jobs in Month

San Diego County gained 8000 jobs between October and November and 26,600 jobs from a year earlier, according to the ...

Audit Finds Lapses, Double Payment in County Asset Handling

An examination by chief of audits James L. Pelletier of San Diego county's fixed assets has turned up a host ...

Brown to Visit San Diego Solar Facility

Governor Jerry Brown will visit the San Diego offices of Soitec this morning, and will give a speech around 10 ...

Filner Comes Out In Support of 'Plan B' Contraceptive

Congressman and mayoral candidate Bob Filner joined 43 of his colleagues in the House of Representatives to oppose a recent ...

Do Manchester, Lynch Read Economic News?

New Union-Tribune owner Papa Doug Manchester and his chief executive, John Lynch, discussed their plans for the newspaper today (Dec. ...

Accused NorCal Marijuana Grower Linked to North Park Dispensary

A man from Concow, CA, a town of 700 residents about 90 miles northwest of Lake Tahoe, is facing trial ...

SD to Grow Slowly; Jobs Still a Problem

Kelly Cunningham, economist for the National University System Institute for Policy Research predicts that inflation-adjusted growth in San Diego in ...

Is San Diego County's Pension Fund Too Transparent?

The San Diego County Employees Retirement Association is knee-deep in controversy, fending off allegations by whistleblower Jeffrey Baker, a former ...

Shooting Call Leads Cops to Pot-Growing Operation

Around 8 p.m. last night, San Marcos sheriff’s deputies responded to a shooting during what was described as a “home ...

SD Unified Gives Locals Preference in Construction Bidding

The San Diego Unified School District agreed unanimously yesterday to extend its Project Stabilization Agreement to include all projects funded ...

Family Seeks $56 Million From Military In 2008 Jet Crash

Don Yoon, the man who lost his wife and two baby daughters as a result of a military jet crashing ...

Pondering the Fate of Alan Bersin and Obama's Border Policy

A post today on Security Debrief, a website produced by Adfero Group and the George Washington University Homeland Security Policy ...

Junior Seau to Promote NFL in L.A.

Chargers fans sifting the tea leaves for hints about whether the team will soon be moving north may want to ...

Chula Vista Takes First Step In Fight Against Spice

Elected Officials in Chula Vista took the first step in their march against psychoactive drugs on Tuesday when councilmembers and ...

San Diegan Seeks Salvation Army Bell Ringing Record

Captain Kenneth Perine will face off against 23 other Salvation Army bell-ringers nationwide when he attempts to set a world ...

November Foreclosures Drop, Illustrating Seasonal Trend

November’s foreclosure numbers are out in a new report from Foreclosure Radar, and they show a fairly typical trend: activity ...

Economic Survey Finds Plurality of Californians Supportive of Occupy

Support for the Occupy Wall Street movement remains higher than its opposition, a statewide survey that primarily focused on Californians’ ...

San Diego Ranks 38 in Best Cities for Business Study

San Diego placed 38th in a recent Marketwatch study that surveyed the best cities for business. The study looked at ...

Defense Contractor Sued Over Theft of Personal Data

Robbins Umeda LLP and Blood Hurst, & O’Reardon LLP, law firms with local offices, have filed a class action suit ...

Jerry Sanders Seeking New Arts Advisor

San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders is in the market for someone to tell him how to draw up a new ...

Chargers' Fabiani Joins Cancer Company Board

Add yet one more lucrative gig to the resume of Chargers special counsel and La Jollan Mark Fabiani, who has ...

So Who's Less Clothed?

Will X. Walters, who was arrested and jailed for public nudity at the July 16 Gay Pride event, is making ...

Chula Vista To Discuss Psychoactive Drug Ordinance

The Chula Vista city council tomorrow will discuss allowing police officers to confiscate psychoactive drugs known as Spice and Bath ...

Federal Government Sued Over 2008 Marine Corps Jet Crash

A Korean family is suing the federal government for compensation in relation to a Marine Corps jet that crashed into ...

Occupy San Diego Protester on Hunger Strike Arrested

Occupy San Diego media liason John Kenney, who is in his 33rd day of a hunger strike, was arrested at ...

How For-Profit College Lobbyists Bought Congress

The New York Times today (Dec. 10) has a story on how the for-profit college industry spent $16 million to ...

DA Rejects Sexual Assault Case Against El Cajon Police Sergeant

On August 28, the El Cajon Police Department learned it was the subject of an investigation being performed by the ...

Reaper Drones Take Flight

The U.S. Air National Guard has begun training flights on the MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle, Aviation International News reports. ...

Layoffs at Voice of San Diego

The past month has been a crazy month for San Diego media outlets. First, hotel magnate and developer Doug Manchester ...

Union-Tribune Headquarters Sale Valued at $42.5 Million

How much did developer and now media mogul Douglas Manchester pay for the San Diego Union-Tribune? He's keeping details secret, ...

Sales VP Mark Ficarra Out at Union-Tribune

Los Angeles blogger Matthew Fleischer, who writes "FishbowlLA" at MediaBistro.com, has posted a memo from new Union-Tribune chief operating officer ...

Transgender Woman Tasered by BLM Ranger

A court hearing has been set for Brooke Fantelli, a transgender woman who claims her being Tasered in the crotch ...

Sigh. Another SD Alleged Fraud

Robert L. Holloway, a San Diego investment manager, has been arrested in Salt Lake City for his alleged role in ...

Petition Drive In Opposition To SDG&E Rate Increase

As representatives from SDG&E make their rounds defending a proposal to raise rates on solar-users, environmental activists and residents are ...

Audit Finds San Diego School Inspectors Filed False Reports, Absent from Sites

A report released today by California state auditor Elaine M. Howle concludes that inspections of school construction projects for earthquake ...

Planning Commission Rejects Interim Height Ordinance

Uptown residents encountered a setback on Thursday when planning commissioners rejected a proposal to extend the Interim Height Ordinance, an ...

UCSD's Fresco Drilling Is Marketing Ploy, Italian Critics Say

A furor over whether UCSD's Center of Interdisciplinary Science for Art, Architecture and Archaeology should be boring holes in a ...

Canada's National Post Details Alleged Gaddafi Conspiracy

As pieces of the alleged plot to smuggle Libyan Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s playboy son Saadi into Mexico begin to come ...

Less Than Half of Californians are Middle Class

The middle class has shrunk to include less than half of all Californians, according to a new report from the ...

Man Suffers Burns in Ocean Beach RV Fire

An RV caught fire in Ocean Beach early this morning. The owner, asleep in the back of the motor home ...

SD October Jobs Outlook Improves

The workforce index published by the San Diego Workforce Partnership rose beyond the normal seasonal increase, according to Mark Cafferty, ...

Distributor in San Diego-St. Louis Heroin Ring Denied Appeal

Ronald E. Jones, convicted on counts of conspiracy to distribute heroin and possession with the intent to distribute, along with ...

Bilbray Wants Four Debates Before June 5 Primary; Saldaña Calls for Six.

Congressman Brian Bilbray is asking that candidates for the 52nd congressional district agree to participate in four debates, all to ...

County Supervisors Discuss Limiting Role of Community Planning Groups

County Supervisors received recommendations to streamline the land-use permitting process from the Red Tape Reduction Task Force on Wednesday. The ...

Brandes Lays Off More Than 40

Brandes Investment Partners, a large San Diego money manager, has laid off more than 40 employees, mostly in the local ...

Local Couple Sues Bank of America Over Improper Penalties

San Diegans Rick and Susan Dolfo have launched a class action suit against Bank of America, claiming breach of contract, ...

SDG&E Defends Solar Rate Hike At County Hearing

Representatives from SDG&E appeared at a county hearing on Tuesday to defend a proposal to increase solar rates for 15,000 ...

Occupy San Diego Protester Joins Hunger Strike in Response to Alleged Police Brutality

Occupy San Diego will march from the Civic Center to the San Diego Police Headquarters on Broadway Ave and 14th ...

Ricky's Army Seeks A Few Good Marrow Donors

Ricky Martinez has an army. When the nine year-old Murrieta boy was stricken with aplastic anemia, a disease that causes ...

Fire Department, Burn Institute Urge Holiday Safety

December and January are typically the busiest of the year when it comes to local fire departments responding to house ...

Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against UCSD Medical Center

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against UCSD Medical Center for discrimination against employees who are non-U.S. citizens. The ...

Moss Out of New U-T Lineup

The Union-Tribune's masthead today (Dec. 6) reveals moves the company is taking under Papa Doug Manchester, new owner. On Monday, ...

Bar Gives Shames Warning Letter

The State Bar of California has issued Michael Shames, head of Utility Consumers' Action Network (UCAN), a warning letter for ...

Patriotic Wristband Maker to Launch Veterans' Clinics

Bands For Freedom, a nonprofit manufacturer of patriotic silicone wristbands, today announced the January launch of its National Veterans Wellness ...

Battle Over Tall Buildings Continues In Uptown

Residents of Uptown are preparing up for an all too familiar fight. On Thursday, a group of Uptown denizens will ...

Records Show Local Congressmen Lobbied for Pardons

The non-profit investigative news website ProPublica.org has just posted an interesting series of records documenting how congressmen have sought pardons ...

UCSD Program Turns Pond Scum To Gasoline

This March, up to 55 students will begin attending classes at UC San Diego Extension and Mira Costa College, learning ...

Bonnie Dumanis and the Wisdom of Ladder-Climbing

Republican Bonnie Dumanis, currently trying to climb the local political ladder from her post as county District Attorney to San ...

Suicide Kit Peddler Dodged Taxes

El Cajon's Sharlotte Hydorn pleaded guilty today (Dec. 3) to not filing federal income tax returns since 2007. During the ...

USD Releases Report on Mexican Justice

The Trans-Border Institute at the University of San Diego yesterday released its November report from the Justice in Mexico Project, ...

Steve Breen and Roger Hedgecock Deck the Halls for GOP

It's the holiday season, time for politicians of good cheer throughout San Diego county to make the rounds of fundraisers ...

Lemon Grove Considers Logging on to Social Media Sites

Officials in Lemon Grove feel the days of residents visiting the City website to look for upcoming events are over. ...

Unemployment Rate Falls; Job Growth Disappointing

The U.S. created 120,000 jobs in November, a bit less than the 125,000 economists expected, the Labor Department reported today ...

Suspicious Bottle Outside Issa's Office Not a Bomb

Representative Darrell Issa’s office is reporting that it received a call threatening that “something had been left outside that would ...

SD Housing Prices High, but Market Sticky

The price of San Diego area homes was $204.02 per square foot in September, topping Las Vegas ($66.15) and Phoenix ...

Wind Triggers Power Outages in Ramona, Barona

San Diego Gas & Electric is reporting that high winds have caused power outages in the East County regions of ...

Conservative Group New Majority Endorses Fletcher

Since announcing his candidacy for mayor, Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, a Republican, has received praise from all sorts of unlikely sources. ...

Richard Russell Recovering from Hip Replacement

Richard Russell, 87, publisher of one of the longest-running investment newsletters, Dow Theory Letters, is recovering from hip replacement surgery. ...

Sheriff to Purchase and Install Surveillance Cameras Along Coast

The Sheriff's Department is in the market for some good surveillance camera equipment. On Tuesday, County Supervisors will consider allowing ...

Manchester A Step Closer to Union-Tribune Takeover

La Jollan Doug Manchester appears to be nearing his takeover of the Union-Tribune, based on an action disclosed yesterday by ...

Miramar College Completes Environmentally Friendly Police Substation/Parking Garage

San Diego Community College District yesterday celebrated the completion of a new 828-space parking garage and 5,108 square foot police ...