Wartime messiah Ex-House Republican Darrell Issa, seeking this fall to reclaim a congressional seat in a new district, has a potent political weapon in his arsenal called the Issa Family Foundation, which he runs with …

As the worldwide coronavirus crisis rages on, San Diego's tourist economy has cratered, bringing down with it a small army of maids, bartenders, drivers, and service workers cast out of their jobs for an indefinite …

Adam Parfrey goes to the San Diego Zoo It is not generally appreciated that famous publisher Adam Parfrey once lived just off Lincoln Boulevard, a dismal stretch of gasoline-alley slightly east of Venice, California, and …

Fake news filter Aethlon Medical Inc., a San Diego biotech star of the 2014 Ebola virus scare, is in hot water with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission over what the firm calls the Hemopurifier. …

Walter Mencken [descending stairs]: Oh, hello! Welcome to my humble abode, situated in the renovated bomb shelter on the estate of Mt. Helix’s famous Grindle House. (As ever, don’t try to find it on Google …

San Diego House Democrat Susan Davis, once the queen of congressional travel freebies thanks to special interests, has been dumping personal travel-related assets of late, gaining the notice of the Washington press corps. "Previously unreported …

Cartel tunnels to Otay Mesa are infrastructural marvels The amount of warehouse space in Otay Mesa has nearly quadrupled since the mid-’90s, and the expansion has been almost as frenetic in Garita de Otay. Forklifts, …

Voluntary leave-takings The other shoe remains to fall in what local media watchers are calling the great Union-Tribune buyout of 2020. The story starts on February 20 with reports by CNN that Los Angeles Times …

Udo was gone Despite the occasional car and North County bus whizzing by, they rode in perfect harmony, each rider knowing when it was time to pick up the pace or leapfrog to the front. …

What is Urban Associates, Inc., and why has it so far spent $50,000 on a rough-and-tumble bid to elect Senate Democrat Ben Hueso to the San Diego County board of supervisors? An elaborate trail of …

Sierra Club’s top enemy Developer Newland Sierra lost the campaign for Measure B, its ballot battle against the high-end Golden Door spa over a massive residential project in North County in last week’s election. The …

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney roots deep and wide in San Diego It is Matt Romney who takes public credit for calling his part of the Romney clan to San Diego County. “My wife and I …

Dad was a bum Mike Elliott’s father disappeared when he was 13 years old. Not disappeared as in vanished mysteriously. Disappeared as in left and never came back. Some 27 years later, on a rainy …

When San Diego's hotel lobby, backed by a host of out-of-town operators, began its quest for an expanded downtown convention center via a 2018 tax hike initiative, some local political professionals were skeptical. Their doubts …

Fractured ethics With official data showing a continuing slide in the enforcement of conflict-of-interest and campaign spending laws by the city’s ethics commission, the group’s soon-to-retire executive director Stacey Fulhorst is spinning hard. “In terms …

A San Diego Charger football game is one thing, fandom is something elseSilva's powder blue coffin was trimmed with gold — Charger colors. His body was dressed in a jersey honoring his favorite player, Lance …

Behesting, the practice by elected officials of raising money for charitable, governmental, and semi-political causes by soliciting special interest donors for the cash, has burgeoned over the past decade as a major tool of influence …

Nathan’s change of heart While the high-profile races of California’s March primary in San Diego are already awash with special interest cash, some smaller contests are picking up sizable contributions here. County supervisor Nathan Fletcher, …

Tijuana is the first stop to suicide Faye Girsh, vice president of the Hemlock Society of San Diego, knows that Exit International has been publicizing the Mexico option for its members. “But we do not …

Yet another torrent of special interest money, produced by unions and corporations lobbying the California legislature, is making its way to San Diego on behalf of Assembly Democrat Todd Gloria, seeking to replace termed-out Republican …

Salvation Mountain The Slabs are Slab City, three miles east of Niland, between the sultry Salton Sea and the Chocolate Mountains. Years ago the concrete slabs supported the barracks of Camp Dunlap, where General George …

Facing Facebook While tourist industry advocates of San Diego’s Measure C, the proposition to hike hotel taxes for expansion of the convention center and homeless relief, inch towards a multi-million-dollar funding goal, Michael McConnell is …

Gloria’s staff fly for free Assemblyman Todd Gloria’s 2020 reelection fund, which drew a lawsuit from a critic who pointed out that the Democrat was running for San Diego mayor, not the Assembly, has quietly …

An audit by the Pentagon's Office of Inspector General has concluded that the Navy's Arleigh-Burke class of destroyers, including two San Diego-based warships, has been unprepared for battle due in part to repeated training lapses …

How San Diegans reacted to 9-11 “Where were you when the World Trade Center was hit?” “At home.” “And you happened to have the TV on?” “No, my little sister called. She woke me up …

Old California politicians never die; they just set up ballot measure committees and start raising more campaign cash from special interests. Such appears to be the story of termed-out San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer, who …

Cheap enough for Facebook Backers of San Diego Republican mayor Kevin Faulconer’s proposed hotel tax hike to expand the downtown convention center and pay for homeless relief programs are courting Democrats on Facebook. “Democrats, labor …

San Diego Republican Mayor Kevin Faulconer and his strange bedfellows in the form of big labor Democrats appear to be counting on more than a few left-right jabs from out of town to put their …

Are donations of the past about to haunt the final months of termed-out San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer in the form of a confrontation between would-be city ambulance providers? Eager for political advancement despite years …

Rancho Peñasquitos boys, charged with hate crime The teenagers shot at Roman from the Subaru with the BB gun during three or four passes. They took turns shooting at him as they drove by, but …

Was Jesse Ventura a SEAL or a UDT guy? Well, I thought, Jesse certainly looks and sounds like many SEALs I’d known during my 16 years in the Teams. But I’d never known or even …

Family fat cats Political bloodlines run deep in San Diego, as evidenced by an emailed fundraising pitch by congressman Juan Vargas on behalf of supervisorial hopeful Terra Lawson-Remer. “I am excited to invite you to …

Childhood's End: Dr. Spock at 94 53-year-old Morgan, Dr. Spock’s second wife, has been relentless and inventive in her search for ways to keep her husband youthful and healthy. For his 75th birthday, for example, …

Turn out the lights. The latest matrimonial party is over for ex-Union-Tribune owner and would-be ambassador to the Bahamas Douglas Manchester. The million-dollar-plus Trump donor, called out by the Washington Post last year for having …

City corruption running rampant Water is no longer free for an unnamed San Diego business following an investigation by interim city auditor Kyle Elser. “An allegation that the City has provided water to a non-residential …

Proprietors of a right-leaning San Diego cable news operation that has the eyes of President Donald Trump may be about to cash out in a big way, thanks to a takeover attempt by a group …

Mafia in San Diego before World War II (first in series of six stories) “The raids, all made with search warrants, started soon after noon and were not completed until early evening. All of the …

Too poor to pass? With just two months left until California primary election day on March 3, fundraisers for San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer’s convention center expansion and homeless tax boost still have plenty of …

A little bit east of Eden When I was living in Los Angeles years ago, a door-to-door solicitor pitching San Diego vacations and tours showed me a brochure of local attractions. Included on the list …

A tsunami of political TV spots may be about to hit San Diego airwaves, thanks to Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg and House hopeful Sara Jacobs, granddaughter of Bloomberg's longtime friend and associate Irwin Jacobs. …

Faulconer’s unpublic records acts The city of San Diego’s handling of public records requests submitted during the reign of termed-out mayor Kevin Faulconer has been woefully deficient, a December 13 report by interim city auditor …

The battle to determine who will rule San Diego's establishment news roost is on between KPBS, owned and operated by San Diego State University, and the non-profit Voice of San Diego news and opinion website. …

Satan chasers San Diego has many experts in the field of Satanism who say the county is a hotbed of Satanic activity. The hidden canyons of the back country, Ramona, Santee, Escondido, even Oceanside, are …

SDSU’s cellular super soak There will be state-of-the-art Internet at San Diego State’s new stadium, but don’t expect it to come cheap. SDSU, which is in the end-stages of wrapping up a lucrative deal with …

DeMaio’s prenuptial agreement Is it helpful to know the ropes around the House of Representatives to avoid disclosing your assets and income until the very last minute? Such seems the case with Darrell Issa, the …

A flack from San Diego's political past has popped up on the list of maximum-dollar campaign contributors to Assembly Democrat Todd Gloria, currently running to succeed termed-out Republican mayor Kevin Faulconer in next year's March …

San Diego Polo Club site developed by Heaven's Gate Exclusiveness breeds itself, so it’s little wonder that when the San Diego Polo Club in Rancho Santa Fe needed a Web page designed, they turned to …

Ku Klux Klan 's John Metzger talks of hate and tears "My father was in the Crusaders, a national organization that was pretty powerful in San Diego, which was part Christian Identity. It’s a church …

Million-dollar lawyering Attorney Cory Briggs, a perennial target of local developers who is taking on San Diego city attorney Mara Elliott in next year’s primary, owns at least a $2 million interest in rental property …

As local utility rates soared, the rush to dump San Diego Gas & Electric as the area's sole energy distributor grew into a political frenzy, capped by the October 2018 acquiescence of San Diego mayor …