County Seeks Juice for Next Blackout

If nothing else, the timing is interesting. On Thursday, September 8, the great blackout of 2011 swept San Diego County and beyond. The next day, the County’s Department of General Services issued a timely “request for quotation” regarding a few pieces of new equipment: one “Portable 35kva emergency generator, or, county approved equal” and two “Portable140kva emergency generators, or, county approved equal”… San Diego city councilman Todd Gloria had a busy first half of the year raising money for his 2012 reelection bid. According to his campaign financial disclosure report filed in July, Democrat Gloria took in $47,034 in cash and $1000 in in-kind contributions and paid out just $2529.72, leaving him with $44,504.28 in the bank. Contributors included Allied Waste’s James Ambroso ($300) and Neil R. Mohr ($300); Allied parent Republic Services Inc. general manager Fred Ashford ($250); EDCO Waste president Steve South ($500); Atlas Hotels owner and staunch Republican C. Terry Brown ($500); Evans Hotels chief financial officer Robert Gleason ($500); car dealer Steve Cushman ($500); Stephen Haase, of developer Baldwin & Sons ($500); and Democratic state bullet train boardmember and ex-congresswoman Lynn Schenk ($500).