Kilroy’s killjoys

The foundation of J. Douglas Pardee, former chairman of the board of the big housing development outfit that bears the family name, has been spreading the wealth to San Diego State University’s public broadcasting operation. The retired builder, whose nonprofit has kicked in $10,000 to become a member of the KPBS “Producers Club,” is one of many in the developer-and-building lobby who back the TV and radio stations; they are also supported by seven-figure contributions from La Jolla Democratic billionaire Irwin Jacobs.

Meanwhile, Pardee Homes, a subsidiary of timber giant Weyerhaeuser, is lobbying hard for an array of new developments here. The firm uses the high-dollar downtown law and lobbying firm of Sheppard Mullin, which was paid $27,000 in the final three months of last year to influence the City of San Diego on behalf of development approvals for a “property known as Las Casitas in [the] Dennery Ranch Precise Plan Area of Otay Mesa.” Three registered lobbyists with the firm, John Ponder, Whitney Hodges, and Jeffrey W. Forrest, talked to a dozen or so city officials about the proposal. Those contacted included Inga Lintvedt and Debra Bevier of the city attorney’s office, and Lane McKenzie of the real estate assets office. The giant law firm’s San Diego office also fields media lawyer Guylyn Cummins, who sits on the board of a nonprofit news operation called Inewsource. The group, to which Cummins gave between $4000 and $5000, according to its website, also has a sponsor in San Diego State University, which frequently airs the group’s work on its KPBS TV outlet. … Meanwhile, also laboring in the vineyard of developer lobbying is former city councilman Tony Young, who quit his government job for what turned out to be a short-term tenure as chief of the local Red Cross. Recently, Young client Donahue Schriber struck out, losing its battle to halt competitor Kilroy from getting council approval for Carmel Valley’s controversial Paseo One. So did Sheppard Mullin, also enlisted by Donahue Schriber in its failed effort to kill the Kilroy project. Donahue Schriber owns Kilroy competitor Del Mar Highlands Town Center, which was built in a joint venture with Pardee.

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