Staff Blog Entries

Great Outdoors: Mural lobbyist joins big billboard graphics fray

Partially completed Blue Moon mural on side of downtown bar building complies with city code and is protected by the First Amendment, proprietor maintains

2013 seems to be shaping up as San Diego's year of the great billboard battle, as noted here earlier this ...

Much-hyped Venter Big Oil algae deal heads back to drawing board

UCSD alumnus and self-styled emperor of the worlds genomes recasts not so miraculous $300 million deal with ExxonMobil for genetically engineering fuel from algae, reports MIT Tech Review

As first reported here in November 2008, La Jolla's Craig Venter, the self-styled human genome king, had grand plans for ...

$37 million school bond deal to finance Manchester's sale of North County Times building

Escondido's Classical Academy High School charter up for approval of big loan in form of "pass through" conduit bonds

Republican U-T publisher Douglas Manchester's deal to sell the former campus of the North County Times in Escondido for a ...

Manchester divorce: is second try the charm?

Legally separated more than three years, GOP real estate developer, hotel magnate, and U-T San Diego owner Doug Manchester files for divorce against estranged wife

He tied the knot back in January 1965, got sued for divorce in June 2009, and was proclaimed legally separated ...

Rancho Guejito served with cleanup order

Controversial developer, backer of county GOP and downtown San Diego lobbying group, must comply by November, state agency says

Giant North County developer Rancho Guejito Corporation has been hit by a Cleanup and Abatement Order issued by the state's ...

Drawings depicting posh stadium for La Jolla billionaire family's NBA team released

Basketball's Kings franchise, long a popular venue for lobbyists’ wining and dining of California politicos, to get luxurious new home, per drawings released today by Sacramento mayor

As reported earlier today, members of La Jolla's billionaire Jacobs family are said by the Sacramento Bee to be among ...

Qualcomm’s Jacobs family to sink big money into Sacramento NBA team, paper reports

Kings reportedly will stay in state capital, courtesy of taxpayer arena subsidy

For years, Irwin Jacobs and his family have done a lot of political business in Sacramento - example number one ...

Amidst intrigue, San Diego GOP sets early endorsements for 2014 races

Political land rush for wide-open Sixth District and other seats virtually guarantees huge special interest spending binge in 2014

With the direct-mail big money brawl between two Democrats in San Diego's Fourth District still raging, county Republicans are already ...

Bob Filner raises big political cash from NFL owner

Recent donations to new Filner fund show Democratic mayor already building war chest observers say could counter wealthy GOP hotel magnates

As reported here in February, in the midst of a legal attack by the city's top three hotel moguls to ...

Bill Gore files to re-up as sheriff next year

County's lawman-in-chief is veteran fundraiser from tribal casinos, prison vendor, hotel mogul, and very old boys network

San Diego county Sheriff and ex-FBI man Bill Gore has filed a statement of intention to run for re-election next ...

Downtown lobbyists' laugh fest backed by controversial North County developer

Bipartisan cast of local politicos perform for influence peddlers' group on video, minus real Filner and Goldsmith

Rancho Guejito Corp., enmeshed in a web of controversy over efforts to develop a big chunk of the 23,000 acres ...

U-T Manchester's foundation gives out of town

Newspaper and real estate magnate's charitable report valued 1.2 million Nextwave shares at $169,487

Mega-millionaire U-T publisher and hotel and real estate mogul Douglas Manchester also controls a relatively small non-profit foundation, which he ...

Congresswoman stays at the Taj on free junket to Bangalore

Top traveled San Diego representative and husband hit the road again, racking up $17,096 in travel tab paid for by corporation-backed think tank

San Diego Democratic congresswoman Susan Davis, who last summer was ranked by a database maintained by Washington-based Legistorm.com as the ...

Fletcher may be a Democrat, but Qualcomm PAC still gives big to GOP

Mitch McConnell, Kelly Ayotte among other politicians of Grand Old Party denounced by ex-Republican assemblyman getting Qualcomm cash

Ex-Republican state assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, who proclaimed himself an independent during his ill-fated mayoral race last year only to turn ...

No April Fools Joke: Fletcher Joins Democrats

Ex-GOP assemblyman who turned "independent" in midst of losing campaign for mayor backed by Qualcomm execs now says he's a Democrat

This past April Fools day, some wag posted an item on the Internet saying that ex-Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, who began ...

Teachers union takes on GOP Lincoln Club in San Diego city council race

Political committee sanctioned by ethics commission for Filner mailing violations posts independent expenditures for Cole, against Crenshaw

If the race to occupy San Diego city council's fourth district seat wasn't rich enough already, a campaign committee run ...

Hughes family forked over for Democrat in days before Filner deal

Rancho Santa Fe real estate man doing volunteer lease work for mayor gives big debt paying cash to city council Democrat Lightner

Rancho Santa Fe's Jason Hughes made headlines on April 10 when San Diego mayor Bob Filner posted a news release ...

Downtown lobbyist fundraiser raked in $9,000 for Filner, filing shows

Firm of mayoral political guru Tom Shepard, whose lobbying boutique represents SDG&E, reports final take from January office bash

On the evening of January 23, a variety of high-end vehicles arrived at the downtown offices of Public Policy Strategies, ...

Did Sanders violate "cooling off" ban on Filner Mexico trip?

2010 letter of advice to ex-mayor's aide outlines year-long prohibition on ex-staff contacts with current city officials

Back in December 2010, when Kris Michell - then chief of staff to San Diego Republican mayor Jerry Sanders - ...

UCSD exec, ex-politician each receiving annual $5,000 from La Jolla non-profit

Associate vice chancellor for extended studies and public programs joins ex-state senator on two boards of non-profits promoting charter schools and online news

Two La Jolla-based nonprofit corporations at the heart of San Diego’s great debate over public versus charter schools have been ...