“A board member and funder is Kleiner Perkins billionaire John Doerr, whose climate action plan calls for getting rid of gas cooking,” the Wall Street Journal noted in a January opinion piece.

Un-retired slasher

Tom Karlo, who retired as chief of San Diego State University’s KPBS public broadcasting operation in 2020, received $172,206 in annual state pension benefits last year, according to the website TransparentCalifornia.com. “Karlo said he has been enjoying life, splitting relaxing time between homes in San Diego and Lake Tahoe and spending time with grandchildren and Julie, his wife of nearly 50 years,” since retiring, per a September 18 Times of San Diego account. But as of August 16, Karlo is again associated with the state university system, this time as interim general manager of Sacramento State University-underwritten public broadcaster Capital Public Radio, salary unannounced.

You know what’s music to Tom Karlo’s ears? Financial stability!

Weeks after getting the gig, Karlo dumped 12 percent of financially troubled CapRadio’s staff and canceled four music programs. “It was a hard decision, but I think it will actually increase our audience and hopefully increase membership,” Karlo said in a CapRadio September 1 blog post. “It’s not to say that the music stuff wasn’t very valuable for us. It is. But you know, our anchor store — what really makes CapRadio — is our news and public affairs and information service.”

Fired Music Director Nick Brunner called the layoffs “devastating,” adding that “he wasn’t able to say goodbye to local musicians, industry insiders, or listeners and was supposed to represent the station at the upcoming Sacramento Pop Fest,” per the item. “Now that dries up immediately, thanks to this incredibly poorly thought out, reprehensible action on behalf of Tom Karlo and the CapRadio board,” Brunner was quoted as saying. As for the argument that radio music shows aren’t needed in the smartphone age, Brunner said, “It’s looked at as completely disposable because of internet streaming services that have come up. But it’s very, very different and people know that. And it’s a shame.”...

As the Union-Tribune continues to shrink, another taxpayer-subsidized reporting post has cropped up in San Diego. Writer Macy Meinhardt will work at the Voice & Viewpoint for two years under the UC Berkeley-run California News Fellows program. “My early reporting experiences illuminated journalism’s power and exposed me to different cultures, identities, and politics,” says Meinhardt on the program’s website. “Curiosity, fearlessness, and compassion define my work. I look forward to growing as a reporter during this fellowship. In my free time, I love to explore nature, dance, yoga, and travel. I am excited to make the beautiful and eclectic city of San Diego my home away from my original hometown of Houston, Texas.” Last year, the California legislature appropriated $25 million to fund the grants.

Not cooking with gas

August was vacation season for Congress, so it was the perfect time for mega-millionaire Democrat Scott Peters and wife Lynn Gorguze to take off on a free trip to Norway, courtesy of the non-profit Aspen Institute, according to a September 14 disclosure filing with the Clerk of the House. The excursion began August 22 and ran through September 1, though the first four days of the journey were made at “Personal Expense,” per the filing. Peters and Gorguze each got $8883 in free travel, $280 in gratis meals, and $692 worth of meeting rooms and AV costs, the filing shows.

Scott Peters knows that gas stoves may be bad, but jets to Norway are good!

Free accommodations for both totaled $1075, including $215 a night at Oslo’s Grand Hotel because it had “required technology and meeting space. Security a key factor.” Says Fodors.com: “This grand dame with a mansard roof and Beaux Arts entrance is the choice of visiting heads of state, rock musicians, and Nobel Peace Prize winners. All the rooms have a regal touch, with the Mikado Suite — done up in cream, lilac, and red tones — being particularly palatial and plush. There are several different dining options, two bars, and a see-and-be-seen lobby.”

The junket to Oslo and Bergen to attend a conference called Energy Security & The New Energy Economy: Overcoming Challenges and Bottlenecks, was “related to [Peters’s] work on the House Energy and Commerce Committee,” says the filing. Helping to pick up the tab, the disclosure shows, was a non-profit called Climate Imperative. “A board member and funder is Kleiner Perkins billionaire John Doerr, whose climate action plan calls for getting rid of gas cooking,” the Wall Street Journal noted in a January opinion piece. Climate Imperative, according to the account, “has granted money to the Rocky Mountain Institute, which has long advocated ‘retrofitting’ existing homes to be ‘all-electric.’”

Another co-sponsor of the trip was the non-profit Breakthrough Energy Foundation, linked to Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates-founded Breakthrough Energy Group. He was asked by the BBC in a January interview whether his travel on a fleet of carbon-spewing private jets was a contradiction of his anti-climate change mantra. His reply: “I spend billions of dollars on... climate innovation. So, you know, should I stay at home and not come to Kenya and learn about farming and malaria?” Gates went on to say he was “comfortable with the idea that, not only am I not part of the problem by paying for the offsets, but also through the billions that my Breakthrough Energy Group is spending, that I’m part of the solution.”

The itinerary for the conference Peters attended includes a pitch for so-called carbon management by Dr. Julio Friedmann, “His work concerns how to reduce and remove carbon dioxide from the air and oceans through investment, science, and business. Dr. Friedmann will outline the topic of carbon management for the conference participants, contextualize the planned site visits, facilitate dialogues about the role of carbon management in climate change policy, and address associated policy questions.”

Friedmann is listed as Chief Scientist and Chief Carbon Wrangler for an outfit called Carbon Direct. The Gates-led Breakthrough Energy Ventures has put money into a similar venture called Verdox, Inc...

Latest to donate to San Diego state senate Democrat Toni Atkins’s campaign for lieutenant governor in 2026 is Airbnb, Inc., with $5500 on September 19. Other recent contributions include $5500 from casino operator Redding Rancheria on September 14, $9,100 from BNSF railroad on September 7, and $5000 from United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 135 PAC the same day.

— Matt Potter (@sdmattpotter)

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