City Lights
In his 56 years, James T. Waring has worn many hats: real estate developer, attorney, high-tech investor, environmentalist, and close advisor to a Las Vegas mobster's wealthy daughter. Waring was also involved with the late …
Duke's donations Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham, who pled guilty last year to accepting $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors, has been using campaign money to pay for the pricey legal talents of the Washington …
In the Old West, nimble-fingered gamblers -- often called bunco steerers -- would ride into town and set up rigged games of chance. After fleecing locals, they would vamoose, often pursued by a posse swinging …
Greg Cook, a ham radio enthusiast who runs his own computer networking business, places the police scanner on the table next to my coffee cup. "If I leave it on while we talk," he tells …
Sewer story With San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders talking up the possibility of fee increases to pay for water and sewer projects, engineering and construction firms that stand to gain contracts worth millions and perhaps …
The public thinks of pro sports as a game -- an athletic contest. The billionaire pro sports owners consider it a game too -- a high-stakes poker game, with the mainstream media helping the team …
The Tijuana River has always been a problem for its namesake city. With a watershed covering hundreds of square miles in California and Baja, the normally creek-sized river transmogrifies into an aquatic monster after heavy …
Fast livers San Diego sheriff Bill Kolender has finally coughed up the money his campaign committee owed the state after prosecutors revealed last year that a well-heeled drinking buddy laundered cash contributions through his employees …
San Diego's saplings creaked and twisted in some howling winds last year. These sons of sturdy patriarchs may not have balmy weather this year, either. Last year, Paul Jacobs took control of a magnificent fief: …
In early October a woman phoned Ryan Hill at Don Carlos Taco Shop on La Jolla's Pearl Street to complain about his signs. They're illegal, and besides that, she ranted, "They are ugly, gaudy, and …
Missing links First the good news: KPBS, the local public broadcasting organization owned and operated by San Diego State University, is reporting total revenues of $25,131,533 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2005. Now …
Ethicists often examine the "do" contract -- "you do me and I'll do you." The advertising salesman sells an ad to a company, and lo and behold, the paper's business page shortly carries a puff …
You've worked hard, you've succeeded in your profession, you've gotten rich. And now you want a car that says those things to the people you blow past on the freeway. A Cadillac or even a …
Scandal city It might not be up to the level of Washington's Abramoff scandal, but the California Fair Political Practices Commission has filed a flurry of sanctions against San Diegans. First up is Ace Parking …
In corporate slang, the garment industry is lovingly called "the rag trade." But in recent years, the rag trade has been ragged: people at all income levels haven't been spending as much of their disposable …
Bankers' millions San Diego mayoral honcho Ronne Froman, an ex-admiral, has filed her first statement of economic interests as required by state law. It reveals she is a director of La Jolla's 1st Pacific Bank, …