News Under the Radar
Peace and sanctityAn array of special interests, including pot dealers, funded the February 21 annual state of the county speech by Democratic County Supervisor Nora Vargas, newly posted disclosure filings show. Cannabis dealer March and …
Dark money assetsA $50,000 donor to the California ballot measure committee run by state Senate Democrat Toni Atkins of San Diego has been told by lawyers for the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission to stop …
Old GloriaSan Diego Democrat Todd Gloria promised a new generation at city hall when he was running for mayor four years ago. But as he approaches his reelection battle this coming November, Gloria has quietly …
It’s complicatedNorth County Republican Congressman Darrell Issa, apparently assured of reelection this fall in his safe Republican seat, has been largely flying under the national radar of late. That’s a change from his political salad …
Alden’s knock-offsWith advertising and page counts continuing to plunge, much local speculation about the San Diego Union-Tribune’s future involves questions about whether the paper’s vulture investor owner, Alden Global Capital, will soon close the print …
Big money DemocratsThe 2026 gubernatorial campaign fund of San Diego state Senate Democrat Toni Atkins picked up $5000 on April 5 from Greenwich, Connecticut resident Kaia Ferari, according to an April 8 campaign disclosure filing. …
Sniper’s watchTwo costly crowd control tools bought by local cops from a controversial San Diego-based high-tech security firm saw zero use last year, per the Annual Military Equipment Report for 2023, recently released by the …
UCSD’s simultaneous skin timeAre UCSD doctors violating university policy by conducting simultaneous operations in the institution’s array of surgical suites? “The Policy defines Overlapping Surgery as an ‘operation or procedure in which the actual operating …
Up in smoke A March 28 audit report by California State Auditor Grant Parks has found gaps in the way the city of San Diego hands out pot permits, raising the specter of incipient corruption. “Because San …
Adela’s big fat raisesSan Diego State University president Adela de la Torre is in line for a five percent salary boost this year, from $533,148 to $559,805, putting her pay at the very top of …
Travel bug bites Vargas stafferA top staffer for South Bay House Democrat Juan Vargas and two other congressional workers jetted off for free to January’s glitzy Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, courtesy of the …
Volvo politicsYet another editorial staffer has departed under Alden Global Capital, new owner of the faltering San Diego Union-Tribune. The departure edges the paper further to the right, a move celebrated in some quarters. And …
Guns awayDue to a personal conflict of interest, Carlsbad Mayor Pro Tem Dr. Priya Bhat-Patel, a high-profile North County gun control advocate, will be required to wait a few months longer to participate in efforts …
Liberal richiesThe political committee called the San Diego Labor Coalition, Sponsored by Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 89 has received another major round of developer cash for its direct mail “Democratic Choice Voter …
Moralist in disguise?Cappy McGarr, a big-spending hedge fund insider from Dallas, Texas, is among those who’ve kicked in the maximum $1350 for incumbent Democratic Mayor Todd Gloria’s re-election bid. (McGarr has lived part-time in La …
Touchy feelyRobert Hertzberg, an ex-state Senate Democrat from Los Angeles widely known as “Huggy Bear” because of his unwanted serial embraces of female staffers and politicos during his years in the state Capitol, gave $1000 …