On April 24, 2014, a Hispanic female exotic dancer walked across the neon-lit room inside Cheetahs Gentlemen’s Club dressed in black lingerie. According to an undercover officer from the San Diego Police Department’s vice unit …
June 3, 2015
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Stories by Dorian Hargrove
How much San Diego cops spend on lap dances
Hillcrest loves them some cars
The business owners and small group of residents who opposed turning University Avenue into a more pedestrian-friendly street appear to have won over planners of the San Diego Association of Governments. During a June 5 …
June 2, 2015
A mugshot is what they seek
Over the course of several years, San Diego city attorney Jan Goldsmith has accused environmental lawyer Cory Briggs of filing frivolous lawsuits and of conflicts of interest involving his wife's former employer. Now, attorneys for …
June 2, 2015
Church in limbo
On May 28, the San Diego Christian Worship Center in Kearny Mesa filed a lawsuit against the city over zoning changes that will force the church to move from its location east of Interstate 15 …
June 1, 2015
Tased into submission and amputations
Attorneys for a man who suffered permanent brain damage after being repeatedly stunned by a sheriff deputy's taser are suing the County of San Diego, two deputies, and sheriff William Gore for failing to properly …
May 26, 2015
Four hours to find the shutoff valve?!
It took four hours for City of San Diego Public Utilities Department workers to respond to a water-line break at a La Jolla business in September 2014. During that four-hour window, amid numerous calls and …
May 22, 2015
What will One Paseo look like?
After six years of fighting, some residents of Carmel Valley got what they wanted on May 21: a scaled-down version of Los Angeles–based Kilroy Realty's mixed-use project, One Paseo. Moments before a city-council hearing to …
May 21, 2015
A drummer's dance with Mr. Booze
When Dave Madden, drummer for indie-pop group Kingdom of Lights, sprung back to life after his heart stopped beating from organ failure, a priest was reading him his last rites. It was then that Madden …
May 20, 2015
No more playtime for Pepper
A Lemon Grove man is suing the City of San Diego and its police department for the shooting death of his dog, Pepper, a 14-year-old shepherd mix, in July 2014. Kenneth Stetler filed the complaint …
May 19, 2015
Carmel Valley residents displeased with limbo
At a May 18 hearing, San Diego's city councilmembers postponed a decision on whether to rescind their approval of Kilroy Realty's 1.45-million-square-foot mixed-use project, One Paseo, or send it to the ballot at taxpayer cost. …
May 18, 2015
Who's frivolous?
In a May 15 ruling, San Diego Superior Court judge Joel Wohlfeil denied a motion from the City of San Diego to impose sanctions on environmental attorney Cory Briggs for filing a frivolous action accusing …
May 15, 2015
Plastic-bag ban a no-brainer
The proposal to ban plastic bags in the City of San Diego is moving forward but not before the city conducts an environmental impact report. According to a city notice, San Diego's Planning Department is …
May 15, 2015
Plummer, rhymes with...
A few years have passed since the one-time drummer for Black Heart Procession and Modest Mouse, and current drummer of the Shins and Cold War Kids, Joe Plummer, considered San Diego his part-time home. Despite …
May 13, 2015
Plans on community plan updates soon to come
On May 13, city planners will update a city-council committee on the long-delayed Community Plan Updates. The gist: the 12 communities’ plans slated for revision in 2008 will have to wait longer than expected. Over …
May 12, 2015
SDSU ham-hands itself a lawsuit
A former San Diego State University student who was accused — charges were later dismissed — of sexual assault on a student in December of last year plans to take legal action against San Diego …
May 11, 2015
Floodgates at fire department remain closed
A San Diego firefighter who has accused the department of racial discrimination and harassment has filed a new complaint against the city and department for refusing to provide testing materials for a captain's exam that …
May 8, 2015
Reader writers tell stories about Mom
Wonder and Hope — Mom always convinced me it would be an adventure. By Ian Anderson The Animal Keeper— Animals spoke to my mother “in a language only she understood.” By Whitney Butler La Gringa …
May 6, 2015
Open-door Airbnb in Burlingame
Rachel Smith purchased her Burlingame home in 2007 after receiving an inheritance. The 70-year-old retired high school teacher fell in love with the five-bedroom three-bath, 2996-square-foot historical Craftsman home built in 1912. It was more …
May 6, 2015
We Complain. She Listens.
My mom walks funny. It’s not a physical problem. It’s a mindset. There’s pride in her steps. She walks strongly. She walks as if she is the first line of defense in case of ambush. …
May 6, 2015
Squee! Like a hog at the trough
Call it a tax, a surcharge, or "utility user taxes," it doesn't matter: the 3 percent electricity tax and .03 percent gas tax that San Diego Gas and Electric collects from customers and later remits …
May 5, 2015
City attorney and council call it a surcharge
The City of San Diego is asking the California Supreme Court to overturn an appellate court ruling that found a 1 percent utility surcharge paid for by Santa Barbara residents was in fact a tax. …
May 4, 2015
Brains…if only the city had brains
The City of San Diego failed to protect motorists and the hundreds of wannabe zombies during last year's Zombie Walk. The city also failed to obtain the permits required for any parade or procession with …
April 30, 2015
It's Kilroy, from L.A. We're suing again.
The cost incurred by the City of San Diego over the proposed mixed-use development in Carmel Valley, One Paseo, is increasing. The city has been slapped with a third lawsuit over the now-overturned development. On …
April 28, 2015
Park of dreams remains that way
Residents of Ocean View Hills, a residential community east of Otay Mesa in South San Diego, have been waiting for a park to be built for 13 years. A site has been selected on Del …
April 27, 2015
Two lawyers walk into a swamp...
Adding Sarichia Cacciatore's name to the list of members of San Diegans for Open Government available for depositions in the lawsuit over the hotel tax was a costly error by the group's attorney — and …
April 23, 2015
Not high but dry in Oceanside
Eighteen members of a medical marijuana collective are suing San Diego County and the sheriff's department for false arrest and for conducting an illegal search and seizure of marijuana plants in September of 2014. The …
April 21, 2015
Going off the rails on a gravy train?
For years, the San Diego County Office of Education, the agency responsible for overseeing and allocating funding for 35 school districts in San Diego County, has turned to legal firm Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz …
April 20, 2015
Bicycle trap
On Tuesday, April 21, San Diego city councilmembers are expected to approve a settlement offer in the amount of $225,000 to a cyclist who sued over the city's inadequate and defective bike lanes. The lawsuit, …
April 18, 2015
What kind of racket is Civic San Diego?
The Downtown San Diego Partnership, a nonprofit business-minded organization, is stepping up its defense of Civic San Diego, the private nonprofit in charge of permitting in select neighborhoods and handling redevelopment functions throughout the city. …
April 16, 2015
Hillcrest Business Association awards contracts to its own president
Business leader Johnathan Hale has no comment about the no-bid contracts for his business.
April 15, 2015
Charger Girls finally have something to celebrate
On April 8, the state Assembly's Committee on Labor and Employment moved forward a bill authored by San Diego's former labor leader and current assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez that requires sports teams to pay fair wages …
April 14, 2015
More money for city attorney's attorneys
San Diego city councilmembers voted in closed session on March 24 to appeal a judge's decision ordering city attorney Jan Goldsmith to turn over 25,000 pages of city emails sent from his private account. Recipients …
April 11, 2015
Hot and bothered at San Diego State
San Diego State University is under scrutiny for its handling of a sexual assault investigation. In a lawsuit filed on April 8 in San Diego Superior Court, a now-expelled student is suing the college for …
April 9, 2015
Shoegazi
Set in Italy, the romance-horror flick Spring was scored by Jimmy LaValle (the Album Leaf), and half a dozen tracks he chose were from San Diego’s melancholic indie-folkies Manuok. Scott Mercado, the creative force behind …
April 8, 2015
Too late for the baby who died
The intersection of Catalina Boulevard and Cañon Street has been on the City's radar for a number of years, documents obtained through a public records request show. Seven-month-old Juniper Aavang died and her father John …
April 6, 2015
Nah, don't want to spend it on low-income housing
The city can no longer stash more than $12 million in former redevelopment money intended for building low- and moderate-income housing, says a January 20 letter from California's Department of Finance. On April 6, the …
April 3, 2015
Jacked by the Box
North Park residents are appealing a decision from Superior Court judge Robert Prager to dismiss the lawsuit they filed over the massive overhaul of a Jack in the Box restaurant in North Park. The basis …
April 2, 2015
Pup killer
A San Marcos family whose pit bull puppy was shot and killed by a sheriff's deputy during an unannounced and non-warranted visit to the home is suing the county and the deputies for unlawful search …
March 31, 2015
Um, your agenda is showing
Suzanne Coe, president of the Kearny Mesa strip joint known as Cheetahs, claims the San Diego Police Department's vice unit revoked the club's entertainment permit in retaliation against her and her club after her manager …
March 26, 2015
Sanders, Gonzalez, in a back room, together
Settlement negotiations in a lawsuit over project labor agreements in San Diego appear to be dead, according to a newly filed court document filed by workers advocacy group Coalition for Fair Employment in Construction. On …
March 26, 2015
Nine-piece puzzle
Trent Hancock’s 13 years as a musician have been filled with moving parts — bandmates, bands, cities, and scenes. After a two-year stint pursuing a solo career in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, Hancock has returned …
March 25, 2015
Pedestrian-unfriendly in Hillcrest?
A plan to install dedicated bicycle lanes to Uptown communities of Mission Hills, Hillcrest, and Bankers Hill and close University Avenue to traffic in an attempt to make Uptown more pedestrian-friendly has divided the community …
March 23, 2015
Damn, Jan, you're in a jam
By one attorney's account, the city attorney’s office has spent eight times the amount that the city could have settled a sexual harassment complaint for. The statement is found in a February 27 court document …
March 19, 2015
The car must know something
On March 16, attorneys for the City of San Diego filed a petition with the court to obtain data from 47-year-old David Hoban's vehicle computer system. Hoban’s SUV struck seven-month old Juniper Aavang and her …
March 17, 2015
Monsanto: Pay for damaging San Diego
The City of San Diego and San Diego Unified Port District want chemical agricultural giant Monsanto to pay for its role in polluting San Diego's bay and tidelands with polychlorinated biphenyls, commonly known as PCBs. …
March 16, 2015
Still, fewer pages than Hillary
Making the distinction between personal and public emails has been difficult for San Diego city attorney Jan Goldsmith. In recent years Goldsmith has admitted to his use of private email accounts to conduct city business. …
March 15, 2015
City attorney slickness no match for First Amendment
A last ditch effort by the Tourism Marketing District to get a lawsuit dismissed for a lack of standing looks as if it will be shot down in court, further jeopardizing hundreds of millions of …
March 12, 2015
Chug, chug, chug, shhhh...
Donald Stoecklein, president and former lead counsel for the troubled binational railroad known as the Desert Line, has run into trouble in the form of the Securities and Exchange Commission. On March 11, the Securities …
March 11, 2015
Not in my backyard canyon
Residents of Kensington and Talmadge are asking the City of San Diego to clear out illegal encampments along Aldine Drive. In recent years the canyons along Aldine Drive near Fairmount Avenue have provided temporary dwelling …
March 10, 2015
Of leather kilts and opposing bulwarks
Human rights activists and gay and lesbian advocacy groups are urging appellate court judges to overturn a previous court's decision to dismiss a discrimination lawsuit brought by Will Walters, a gay man who was arrested …
March 7, 2015