Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Balboa Park garage – after all the money – seems dead

Faulconer ready to bolt to Dems?

Mock-up aerial view of Balboa Park project site with subterranean parking garage
Mock-up aerial view of Balboa Park project site with subterranean parking garage

Jacobs’s latest stand

The ultimate tab for taxpayers of the now-aborted secret deal between Qualcomm billionaire Irwin Jacobs and Republican mayor Kevin Faulconer to bulldoze a mammoth parking garage into the heart of Balboa Park remains unknown. Jacobs has pledged to someday resume his asphalt onslaught, terminated last week in the wake of soaring construction bids, though he’s never publicly committed to spending his own cash on the project. Few insiders think the controversial makeover will ever regain footing in light of other municipal capital improvement projects — including the mayor’s toilet-to-tap sewage recycling scheme — already over original estimates by billions of dollars per a February 12 report in the Voice of San Diego.

Irwin Jacobs is smiling, despite not getting his Balboa Park parking garage, because he’s still super rich.

Whether the city council will ask to review any of the taxpayer-paid development costs of the now defunct project remains to be seen. On the other hand, the 2017 IRS disclosure report by the non-profit group set up by Jacobs to push the undertaking through city hall reveals that $512, 264 was paid to the KCM Group for “construction services,” along with $174,108 to Seltzer, Caplan for legal services, and $100,410 to the Innovative Design Group, also for construction services. The top three tax-exempt income sources were listed as the Legler Benbough Foundation ($507,000); the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego ($254,000); and the San Diego Foundation ($150,000). Besides chairman Jacobs, the non-profit’s board of directors included La Jolla financier Ted Gildred, who died last month at 83, retired Sempra executive Jesse Knight, Jr., and Morgan Dene Oliver, whose behind-the-scenes 2016 machinations with the mayor on behalf of the subsequently failed SoccerCity ballot initiative drew barbs from Faulconer critics.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Los Angeles Times editor Norman Pearlstine admits, “our legacy print business remains in secular decline.”

Secular decline

They’re celebrating in Los Angeles over the latest additions to the staff of the Times, thanks to subsidies by the paper’s current owner, billionaire physician Patrick Soon-Shiong. “We’ve moved quickly to strengthen our daily newsgathering operation and restore many of the signature pieces of journalism that distinguish The Times from other great publications,” wrote executive editor Norman Pearlstine in a February 11 memo to employees heralding another bevy of new high-powered hires, including 1999 Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Read, the paper’s new Seattle correspondent. “Our editorial staff, though still significantly smaller than we were three years ago, has grown by more than 25% since Patrick acquired The Times in June.”

Down in San Diego, the Union-Tribune, also a Soon-Shiong property, continues on a slower track, with the latest announced recruit being a topics editor for the paper’s Accountability & Watchdog Team. “Supervise two investigative reporters, one data specialist, and beat reporters for education, military, government, and politics,” said a help-wanted notice for the spot. The winner: Denise Smith Amos, who as a reporter for the Florida Times-Union got the 2017 Best Beat-reporting Minority Issues prize from the Florida Pro chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. “My stories resonate with readers,” says Amos on her website. “With resolve, I dig into public documents and databases to help readers understand what it means when education becomes a big business.”

She replaces Ricky Young, an Orange County transplant kicked upstairs to digital editor. How long Amos will have to show her stuff remains a question in light of another theme of Pearlstine’s L.A. Times memo. “We recognize that our legacy print business remains in secular decline, and the recent round of layoffs announced by some of the most prominent digital media companies, suggests that many of the new businesses they — and we — are developing while promising, aren’t yet profitable.”

One recent Times job opening exists in San Diego at glossy Pacific Magazine, per a help-wanted notice on the paper’s website. “The PACIFIC writer covers all facets of the lifestyle and entertainment industry, including food, drink, dating, arts, and culture, music, health and fitness, nightlife, and cannabis. We are looking for someone who has his/her finger on the pulse of what’s going on around San Diego.”

Brian Maienschein

No Jack Kennedy

San Diego’s GOP mayor Faulconer, who some speculate will be the next Republican to turn Democrat following in the footsteps of county supervisor Nathan Fletcher and state Assemblyman Brian Maienschein has been out flogging his pro-immigration message. “This is just one example of the positive impact immigrants can have on our city and nation,” Faulconer writes in an Instagram post hyping his speech before a roomful of green-jacketed men and a priest. “Irish heritage and culture is kept alive through the many gatherings, educational offerings and community contributions led by the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick.” Last August, the mayor, once considered the GOP’s front-runner for governor, gave a “New California Republicans” speech in San Francisco, touting ties to Mexico and his actions against climate change, which garnered little enthusiasm from his fellow partisans.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Colorado governor Polis’ days in La Jolla canyons

Why Kamala might not run for Calif. governor
Next Article

Mang Tomas, banana ketchup barred in San Diego

What will happen to Filipino Christmas here?
Mock-up aerial view of Balboa Park project site with subterranean parking garage
Mock-up aerial view of Balboa Park project site with subterranean parking garage

Jacobs’s latest stand

The ultimate tab for taxpayers of the now-aborted secret deal between Qualcomm billionaire Irwin Jacobs and Republican mayor Kevin Faulconer to bulldoze a mammoth parking garage into the heart of Balboa Park remains unknown. Jacobs has pledged to someday resume his asphalt onslaught, terminated last week in the wake of soaring construction bids, though he’s never publicly committed to spending his own cash on the project. Few insiders think the controversial makeover will ever regain footing in light of other municipal capital improvement projects — including the mayor’s toilet-to-tap sewage recycling scheme — already over original estimates by billions of dollars per a February 12 report in the Voice of San Diego.

Irwin Jacobs is smiling, despite not getting his Balboa Park parking garage, because he’s still super rich.

Whether the city council will ask to review any of the taxpayer-paid development costs of the now defunct project remains to be seen. On the other hand, the 2017 IRS disclosure report by the non-profit group set up by Jacobs to push the undertaking through city hall reveals that $512, 264 was paid to the KCM Group for “construction services,” along with $174,108 to Seltzer, Caplan for legal services, and $100,410 to the Innovative Design Group, also for construction services. The top three tax-exempt income sources were listed as the Legler Benbough Foundation ($507,000); the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego ($254,000); and the San Diego Foundation ($150,000). Besides chairman Jacobs, the non-profit’s board of directors included La Jolla financier Ted Gildred, who died last month at 83, retired Sempra executive Jesse Knight, Jr., and Morgan Dene Oliver, whose behind-the-scenes 2016 machinations with the mayor on behalf of the subsequently failed SoccerCity ballot initiative drew barbs from Faulconer critics.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Los Angeles Times editor Norman Pearlstine admits, “our legacy print business remains in secular decline.”

Secular decline

They’re celebrating in Los Angeles over the latest additions to the staff of the Times, thanks to subsidies by the paper’s current owner, billionaire physician Patrick Soon-Shiong. “We’ve moved quickly to strengthen our daily newsgathering operation and restore many of the signature pieces of journalism that distinguish The Times from other great publications,” wrote executive editor Norman Pearlstine in a February 11 memo to employees heralding another bevy of new high-powered hires, including 1999 Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Read, the paper’s new Seattle correspondent. “Our editorial staff, though still significantly smaller than we were three years ago, has grown by more than 25% since Patrick acquired The Times in June.”

Down in San Diego, the Union-Tribune, also a Soon-Shiong property, continues on a slower track, with the latest announced recruit being a topics editor for the paper’s Accountability & Watchdog Team. “Supervise two investigative reporters, one data specialist, and beat reporters for education, military, government, and politics,” said a help-wanted notice for the spot. The winner: Denise Smith Amos, who as a reporter for the Florida Times-Union got the 2017 Best Beat-reporting Minority Issues prize from the Florida Pro chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. “My stories resonate with readers,” says Amos on her website. “With resolve, I dig into public documents and databases to help readers understand what it means when education becomes a big business.”

She replaces Ricky Young, an Orange County transplant kicked upstairs to digital editor. How long Amos will have to show her stuff remains a question in light of another theme of Pearlstine’s L.A. Times memo. “We recognize that our legacy print business remains in secular decline, and the recent round of layoffs announced by some of the most prominent digital media companies, suggests that many of the new businesses they — and we — are developing while promising, aren’t yet profitable.”

One recent Times job opening exists in San Diego at glossy Pacific Magazine, per a help-wanted notice on the paper’s website. “The PACIFIC writer covers all facets of the lifestyle and entertainment industry, including food, drink, dating, arts, and culture, music, health and fitness, nightlife, and cannabis. We are looking for someone who has his/her finger on the pulse of what’s going on around San Diego.”

Brian Maienschein

No Jack Kennedy

San Diego’s GOP mayor Faulconer, who some speculate will be the next Republican to turn Democrat following in the footsteps of county supervisor Nathan Fletcher and state Assemblyman Brian Maienschein has been out flogging his pro-immigration message. “This is just one example of the positive impact immigrants can have on our city and nation,” Faulconer writes in an Instagram post hyping his speech before a roomful of green-jacketed men and a priest. “Irish heritage and culture is kept alive through the many gatherings, educational offerings and community contributions led by the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick.” Last August, the mayor, once considered the GOP’s front-runner for governor, gave a “New California Republicans” speech in San Francisco, touting ties to Mexico and his actions against climate change, which garnered little enthusiasm from his fellow partisans.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Colorado governor Polis’ days in La Jolla canyons

Why Kamala might not run for Calif. governor
Next Article

Pedicab drivers in downtown San Diego miss the music

New rules have led to 50% drop in business
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader