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Stories by Dorian Hargrove

A long-term wooing most rude

The City of Chula Vista has agreed to pay a former employee $400,000 to settle a sexual harassment claim against a current employee. According to court documents, Mariana Garcia filed to dismiss the case due …

March 8, 2018
Lemon Grove councilman accused of drunken violence

Lemon Grove city councilmember David Arambula has been accused of hitting a constituent over the head with a beer bottle in a drunken rage. On Monday, March 5, the Lemon Grove City Council is expected …

March 4, 2018
Watchtower done looking the other way?

The lawsuits over sexual molestation by Jehovah's Witness elders in San Diego are officially over. On February 18, former parishioner Osbaldo Padron, one of several children molested by former church elder Gonzalo Campos, agreed to …

Raised sidewalk + broken kneecap = $137,500

San Diego city councilmembers were expected on February 26th to give final approval for a payout over injuries caused by an uneven sidewalk. The city agreed to pay Lynn Whitehouse $137,500 to settle a complaint …

February 27, 2018
Gay-bashed on the job in Coronado

An employee for the City of Coronado says supervisors in the city's maintenance department harassed and demeaned him for being gay. Sean Ryan sued the city earlier this week after years of complaining about mistreatment …

February 23, 2018
Reason for alarm in SD crosswalks

As the number of pedestrians hit by cars on San Diego streets increases, so, too, will the number of lawsuits that the city will have to fight over dangerous roadways and inadequate crosswalks. According to …

February 22, 2018
College Area mini-dorm litigants win

The City of San Diego must pay $129,912 for its failed mini-dorm ordinance. A judge awarded attorneys' fees on February 16th to a group of landlords and students who sued the city over the 2017 …

February 16, 2018
Pride's prejudiced, says former director

San Diego Pride's former executive director is suing the organization for wrongful termination, age discrimination, and defamation of character. Stephen Whitburn, also a former city-council candidate, began working for San Diego Pride in 2013 as …

February 16, 2018
Clues in lawsuit lead to Clews the pornographer

On February 13th, a federal judge sentenced Christian Clews — a Carmel Valley rancher who pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing child pornography — to 210 months in prison. But Clews, a former member of …

February 15, 2018
Past the 560,000-gallon sewage spill tipping point

On Wednesday, February 14, members from San Diego's Regional Water Quality Control Board will discuss whether to file a lawsuit against the United States International Boundary and Water Commission, the agency responsible for overseeing water …

February 12, 2018
Pacific Beach's high crime problem

Pacific Beach continues to be one of San Diego's highest crime neighborhoods, according to new stats released by the San Diego Police Department. Public records indicate the beachside entertainment hotspot ranked in the top five …

Trip on a crack, break the city's back

Complaints over San Diego's crumbling sidewalks continue to chip away at the city's bottom line: documents obtained through public records requests show the city received more than 50 claims for damages caused by broken sidewalks …

February 11, 2018
Deputies not culpable in cellmate murder case

A county law-enforcement board has found that sheriff's deputies failed to conduct inmate counts on March 28, 2014, the night that inmate Richard Lee Dawson was allegedly murdered by his cellmate. The County Law Enforcement …

February 9, 2018
Councilman Kalasho's complaint

El Cajon City Council member Ben Kalasho is accusing the city's mayor and another colleague of discrimination and of refusing to let him put items on the agenda or talk during public events. The Reader …

February 4, 2018
Camp Pendleton baby birth case settled

The U.S. government has agreed to pay $4 million to settle a medical malpractice case that resulted in severe brain injuries of a newborn. Dinah and Alejandro Nichols received neo-natal care at Naval Hospital Camp …

February 4, 2018
Pastor accused of sexual healing

In a new lawsuit, an unidentified woman accuses pastor John Wright of the Mid City Church of the Nazarene of sexual harassment and rape. It began in 2014 when the then-20-year-old woman (referred to as …

February 1, 2018
Sandag causes my property to flood

Trolley-line travesty — adjacent property owners keep an eye on Sandag.

January 31, 2018
Balboa statue for Balboa Park unlikely

Jesus Benayas, the president of Balboa Park's House of Spain, has lobbied the Balboa Park Committee for three years to sign off on a statue of the park's namesake, Vasco Nuñez de Balboa. But judging …

January 27, 2018
Damaged sidewalks cost city big bucks last year

The City of San Diego paid out more than $5.3 million last year for injuries and property damage caused by broken sidewalks. Public records indicate there were 35 claims submitted to the city from January …

January 25, 2018
El Cajon's homeless feeding ban reconsidered

A city councilmember in El Cajon has proposed rescinding the controversial ordinance that prohibits people from giving food to the homeless in city parks. In a January 18 memo, councilmember Ben Kalasho said that as …

January 21, 2018
University of Saint Katherine coming to Chula Vista

Chula Vista will soon have the four-year university that it hoped to lure to the city, though, it wasn't likely the first choice. On Tuesday, the city council is expected to approve an agreement with …

January 20, 2018
Councilman plans for Sacramento

San Diego city councilmember Mark Kersey's state senate campaign now has the money needed to get up and running. On December 31, Kersey contributed $99,000 to the Mark Kersey for Senate 2018 committee. Kersey formed …

January 16, 2018
Jehovah's Witnesses to settle sex-abuse case

A lawsuit is now settled between a former victim of sexual abuse and Jehovah's Witnesses. According to the court's website, the case is under a "conditional settlement." The terms and conditions of the settlement are …

January 12, 2018
Rent-control guy for city council

On January 8th, rent-control advocate Rafael Bautista filed paperwork with the city to run for the District 4 council seat now occupied by Myrtle Cole. As covered by the Reader, Bautista is a real estate …

January 11, 2018
Pura Vida bracelets from El Salvador, not Costa Rica

A popular bracelet company based in San Diego which makes bracelets worn by celebrities is a fraud, says a new class action lawsuit filed in San Diego Superior Court. Pura Vida Bracelets was started by …

January 5, 2018
Sprayed and tased in Hillcrest's commercial zone

A deaf man says he was doused with pepper spray and tased for parking in a commercial loading zone in Hillcrest for two minutes. The man, Jeffrey Robinson, has since filed a claim to San …

January 4, 2018
Salk Institute vs. Women?

Top administrators at San Diego's Salk Institute have been aware that female scientists were underpaid compared to their male colleagues as well as unfairly treated. According to documents obtained by the Reader, scientist Katherine Jones, …

January 4, 2018
San Ysidro School District sued (again)

Legal problems continue to mount for the San Ysidro School District over the $400,000 severance package it gave to former superintendent Julio Fonseca earlier this year. On December 15, public watchdog group San Diegans for …

December 28, 2017
City okays USD plans to build on three sides of widow’s home

The Spanish villa that Virginia LaGuardia and her husband built in the 1970s may soon be nestled against a massive parking garage, student housing, and an administrative building that the University of San Diego intends …

December 27, 2017
Chula Vista firefighters get that overtime money

The City of Chula Vista will pay more than $1 million to settle a lawsuit filed by more then 120 city firefighters over unpaid overtime pay. The Reader obtained a proposed settlement in a case …

December 23, 2017
"Landmark" pine tree the culprit

The City of San Diego says a Pacific Beach condominium complex has some liability in the death of a local musician who was killed when a large pine tree fell on her car in January …

December 18, 2017
Deported U.S. Army vet wants in

A U.S. Army veteran who was deported to Mexico has filed a complaint against the federal government in hopes of returning to the U.S. Hector Barajas, 40, filed the complaint on December 12, and while …

December 13, 2017
Claim says deputies used excessive force

The widow of a man who was tasered to death by sheriff's deputies in May 2017 has filed a wrongful death claim against the County of San Diego. The claim is the first step before …

December 12, 2017
Whistle-blowing firefighter's case settled

The City of Chula Vista will pay a former deputy fire chief $350,000 over allegations that he was purposely passed up for promotions for blowing the whistle. Firefighter John Hess sued the city in 2014 …

December 11, 2017
Tennis pro's dad in hospital? Or jail?

A hearing date has been set in the criminal prosecution of the father of a former tennis professional who was arrested for the rape of two nine-year-old girls. Nick Philippoussis will appear on January 4 …

December 7, 2017
El Cajon pro-pot interests sue city

A group of El Cajon residents and business owners is accusing city officials of criminalizing commercial marijuana activity. El Cajon Residents for Responsible Governance filed a lawsuit in Superior Court over a newly adopted land-use …

December 5, 2017
Mini-dorms in College Area A-OK — for now

A Superior Court judge today (December 1) put a permanent stop to enforcement of the City of San Diego's mini-dorm ordinance. Judge Ronald Styn ruled that the city's Residential High Occupancy Permit, which forces landlords …

December 1, 2017
U.S. Marine arrested on child-porn charges

Additional evidence has come out in the case of a Camp Pendleton Marine who used a government computer on base to download and exchange images of child pornography. Special agent for the Naval Criminal Investigative …

December 1, 2017
Save Civita Because Sudberry Won't

A group of Mission Valley residents living in the Civita community are suing the City of San Diego for approving a plan to build a freeway connector directly through their development. The group, calling itself …

November 28, 2017
Grizzly dog's death not entirely for naught

The City of San Diego and a City Heights family whose dog was shot and killed by a San Diego police officer has agreed to settle a lawsuit over the shooting. According to court documents, …

November 23, 2017
Alleged sex, lies, and genital moles

A former union employee who says her boss Mickey Kasparian forced her into a sexual relationship has given testimony that raises doubts as to Kasparian's denial of the relationship. In December of last year, Isabel …

November 20, 2017
Error alleged in Rancho Bernardo High baseball

A Rancho Bernardo High School student is suing the school district and the school's legendary baseball coach for retaliating against him after he complained that a freshman coach sucker-punched him in the back of the …

November 13, 2017
Jehovah's Witnesses' withheld info will cost them

The clock is ticking for Jehovah's Witnesses headquarters to turn over documents detailing sexual abuse of children by kingdom elders. For each day they do not, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, Jehovah’s Witnesses’ organizational …

November 10, 2017
Killed in jail while mentally ill

A mother and father whose mentally ill son was killed in the San Diego County Central Jail by an aspiring rapper and bank robber from New Zealand has filed a claim against the county. Lyle …

November 9, 2017
Fled from cops, crashed, died, girlfriend survived

A woman who was injured during a police pursuit by San Diego police officers that resulted in her boyfriend's death has filed a claim against the city, a precursor to a lawsuit. Angelica Sanchez was …

November 7, 2017
El Cajon councilman allegedly framed by dirty tricks

New evidence links El Cajon city councilmember Ben Kalasho to false Facebook profiles used to slander his political opponents. The evidence was included in court filings in a case against Kalasho, reported by the Reader. …

November 6, 2017
Woman accuses sheriff's deputy of sexual assault

A woman is accusing a San Diego Sheriff's Deputy of sexually assaulting her in August of this year. The woman, referred to as Jane Doe, filed a claim to the County of San Diego on …

November 3, 2017
Ex-councilmember Frye sniffs conflict, sues city

In a newly filed lawsuit, former San Diego city councilmember Donna Frye says the city has paved the way for large law firms to represent the city and its opponents in court without the public's …

November 2, 2017
Coronado water-polo coach seeks appeal

An attorney for former Coronado High School water polo coach Randy Burgess filed an appeal in state court on October 30th in an attempt to overturn a judge's decision to not allow him to return …

November 2, 2017
Bicyclists vs. Civita residents re road

Circulate San Diego, a local nonprofit whose mission is to remove people from cars and increase pedestrian and transit-oriented travel, is lobbying city officials to build a controversial freeway connector through the master-planned community of …

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