Toll Brothers, Brookfield, Monarch vie for Sports Arena property

Border body snooping

Mexican border crossers afoot at inspection gates in San Ysidro, Tecate, and Nogales, Arizona, will soon be the first guinea pigs in a test of the federal government’s latest high-tech snooping technology. “The Pedestrian Detection-at-Range System uses body heat and video cameras that capture video and is able to display both video and still images taken from the video,” according to an October 5 Privacy Impact Assessment Update from the Department of Homeland Security.

A “technical demonstration” of the new system “will occur for an initial 30-day timeframe within the San Diego Field Office and Tucson Field Office areas of responsibility.” Not to worry, the government’s privacy review maintains. “This system uses the human body’s heat as a backdrop to indicate thermal temperature differences that may indicate potential objects on the exterior of the body. The system is passive, meaning that it does not emit energy like x-ray or other radio frequency waves and cannot see objects concealed inside the body. The technology is safe for everyone.”

According to the document, “The thermal sensors are designed to detect temperature differences, not display images with intimate details of the person, and obscure gender, age, ethnicity, or race.” Assures the assessment: “It is not the intent of Customs and Border Protection to subject pedestrians to unwarranted scrutiny.” Further, “signs will be posted in English and Spanish to inform pedestrians of the scanning operations and afford them an opportunity to opt-out of the scanning process for alternative traffic flow and processing. Factsheets will be available in English and Spanish upon request.”

On the other hand, “Pedestrians who opt out will not be exempted from other ongoing processes such as baggage inspection, roving canine operations, or personal search, if authorized. The opt-out process may vary by location based on local standard operating procedures and facility layouts.” Costs and other details of the trial were not disclosed.

As for the risk that “videos will be misinterpreted and improperly used to the detriment of affected pedestrians,” the report says that “prior to using the Pedestrian Detection-at-Range system, all Customs and Border Protection officers will complete training on how to read and interpret the photographic and thermal videos. Positive videos are merely indicative of the possibility of the presence of weapons, dangerous objects, or contraband and are not the sole basis of an adverse action against a pedestrian.”

Sports Arena gamblers

As two high-profile developers battling against each other in public over who will get the lucrative deal from San Diego city hall to redevelop the Sports Arena, a much quieter local effort to get the real estate is mustering in La Jolla.

According to a lobbyist registration statement filed October 4, Monarch Acquisition Company LLC, with a lobbyist listed as Sarah Kruer Jager, is seeking approval of a lease for the coveted Midway area property. The two putative frontrunners, Toll Brothers and Brookfield Properties, and their related partners, are already making waves in the Union-Tribune, with lavish promises of low-income housing, sprawling parks, and sports arenas.

Monarch has yet to be heard from. But the company, founded by developer and senior partner Patrick Kruer, has years of San Diego political connections. Kruer Jager, a partner in the firm, is the daughter of Pat and ex-wife, former city councilwoman Barbara Bry, currently running for county assessor. Monarch co-founder and fellow developer Rodney Stone is similarly well-placed, and like Kruer has long given big to politicos.

Besides millions of dollars in real estate, the group has dabbled in gambling with an operation called Stones Gambling Hall in Citrus Heights near Sacramento. Another holding is Seven Mile Casino in Chula Vista. Ryan Stone, son of Rodney and a Monarch executive, told the Union-Tribune about the gambling business this past June. “We see the California card room industry as a space that is ripe for revitalization,” he was quoted as saying. “We’ve taken antiquated businesses and reimagined them into an upscale business experience for the local community.”

October givers

The 2020 reelection committee of Assembly Democrat Lorena Gonzalez, who emerged cancer-free from a double mastectomy last month, picked up $1000 from the Democratic Party of Orange County on October 19, disclosure filings show. The Peace Officers Research Association of California’s political action committee kicked in $9700 for the Gonzalez 2022 reelection committee on October 13. Meanwhile, health insurance giant Blue Shield of California came up with $5000 on October 19 for Senate pro tem Toni Atkins’s 2026 bid for California Lieutenant Governor.

— Matt Potter (@sdmattpotter)

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