Facing at least two challengers in next year's rapidly approaching March primary, San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott has put former Union-Tribune reporter Lisa Petrillo on the city payroll as the office's assistant for "community …
Non-freedom of speech The surprise death of Union-Tribune biotech writer Bradley Fikes, at 62, brought forth a sentimental obituary in the paper, which labeled the scribe “part Dr. Dolittle, part Inspector Gadget,” and “a walking …
With the final year of Kevin Faulconer's term dawning, the revolving door at the San Diego mayor's office continues to twirl. As previously noted, six-figure public relations guru Greg Block, who most famously grappled with …
The revolving door turns Another staffer for mayor Kevin Faulconer has quit the city to join the ever-growing special interest circuit of government persuaders. Felipe Monroig, who was the Republican mayor’s deputy chief of staff …
As the termed-out administration of San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer continues to grapple with the explosion of so-called e-scooters, another kind of e-mobility device likely to hit congested city streets is spending big to assure …
Death of good taste The November 12 passing of Gerald Hirshberg at the age of 80 of glioblastoma has rekindled memories of the days when San Diego’s cultural aspirations, at least in tony La Jolla …
Add another name to the growing roster of ex-staffers for termed-out San Diego Republican mayor Kevin Faulconer ahead of next year's November election, widely expected to result in a top-to-bottom political house cleaning by whoever …
San Diego city council candidate Kelvin Barrios, a former aide to city councilwoman Georgette Gomez, vacating her District 9 seat in a bid to replace fellow Democrat Susan Davis in Congress, is being hit with …
Honey, I shrunk the subscriber goals As advertising and circulation falls at the San Diego Union-Tribune year over year, Norman Pearlstine, executive editor of the U-T’s parent Los Angeles Times, is less optimistic than his …
What is the city of San Diego up to with its controversial installation of 4200 streetlights that spy, reported here in February? Although the city council has yet to take up questions of privacy regarding …
Are reparations due to those most impacted by police busts back in the day when marijuana was illegal? Such is the question pending before the Economic Development and Intergovernmental Relations Committee of San Diego's city …
Pay for praise San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer is gassing up his One San Diego charity operation, thanks to a $5000 contribution on September 27 from New York recycled methane maven and city lessee Mark …
It was January 1975, and San Diego was making big news in the New York Times, as violence from a notorious polygamous cult spilled into the county from Baja California. "A search centered on San …
Non-transparent travel Jamie Hamrick, the fast-traveling senior investment officer of the San Diego City Employees Retirement System, hasn’t been as swift in filing so-called behesting reports revealing to the public who paid for all those …
Add another campaign cash disgorgement to the pile of payouts made since last year’s revelation that private prison giant Geo Group was a donor to San Diego GOP mayor Kevin Faulconer, Assembly Democrat Todd Gloria, …
High school hijinks An October 11 Union-Tribune op-ed by San Diego Unified school board trustee Richard Barrera argues for keeping San Diego High School in Balboa Park, citing voter approval in 2016 of a measure …
Members of the wealthy Jacobs family, heirs to the Qualcomm fortune created by billionaire patriarch Irwin Jacobs, are chipping in big for the 53rd District House race of his granddaughter Sara, fresh filings with the …
Matt Potter has been a staff writer and editor at the Reader since 1989. He reports on politics and local institutions such as the Union-Tribune, UCSD, SDSU, and the City and County of San Diego. …
Blind eye to fentanyl Back in July, U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer proclaimed that San Diego was facing a desperate public safety crisis caused by the proliferation of the synthetic opioid known as fentanyl. “That heroin, …
The traditionally Republican bastion known as the Lincoln Club of San Diego County, which has long denied being partisan, now can boast of a flesh-and-blood independent among the raft of GOP candidates it has boosted …
Sara’s PAC blow-up When 75-year-old Democrat Susan Davis announced she was finally going to give up her seat in Congress, House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith was quick to dispatch a press release of praise. …
Hueso’s county payday California Senate Democrat Ben Hueso, off and running for the First District county supervisorial seat currently held by termed-out Republican Greg Cox, is tapping controversial out-of-state cash for his bid. Hueso, a …
Can San Diego State University be taken at its word? Not necessarily, judging by a September 13 report by California State University vice-chancellor and chief audit officer Larry Mandel. The audit dings SDSU – currently …
Miscreants of influence Morgan Dene Oliver, who sparked a months-long scandal when he hosted a secretive January 2016 luncheon with backers of SoccerCity and San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer, has a new position of influence. …
As San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer tours California in search of good ink and his next elective office, he's dipped into his mayoral campaign fund to pay for some personal baggage at home. Weeks after …
Former Union-Tribune owner Douglas Manchester, his appointment by Republican President Donald Trump to be ambassador to the Bahamas stalled for over two years in a GOP Senate, has been promoting his charitable good work on …
The auditors are still out San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer, a veteran of the public relations business, put a few good ones over on out-of-town media members covering the California Republican Party’s annual convention in …
Suspicious circumstances involving a multi-million-dollar, no-bid data processing contract awarded by the administration of lame-duck mayor Kevin Faulconer without city council approval has drawn scrutiny from interim city auditor Kyle Elser. A September 11 audit …
Boobs of influence Will San Diego’s lame-duck Republican mayor Kevin Faulconer try to block the hijacking of his charity’s name by backers of his would-be Democratic successor Todd Gloria? That’s just one of many questions …
With the abrupt retirement of House Democrat Susan Davis, followed shortly afterwards by the declaration of Sara Jacobs as a candidate in California's 53rd district, eyes are turning to her billionaire grandfather for clues to …
Throne of the Vulcans San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer, fresh from being slapped with a $4000 fine over his failure to disclose a $10,000 behest to his One San Diego charity fund, has revealed a …
Political fate and coincidence sometimes meet in mysterious ways, as witnessed in the uncanny timing of the July 24 death of George Mitrovich at 84, followed soon after by the troubles of Gina Champion-Cain. Like …
Both sides now A key lobbyist for Campland, LLC, the bayside resort which convinced the city council to renew its controversial sweetheart lease on city-owned Mission Bay land in June, is raising money for both …
As horses have dropped dead at California tracks, some state politicos have been professing public concern regarding racing's public relations nightmare, including state Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins. Atkins showed up at Del Mar …
Immigrant’s plea With talks for a labor agreement between the Los Angeles Times and its reporters’ union lagging, the journalists are beseeching Times readers to get in touch with the super-rich man in charge to …
Round one of a high-dollar lobbying war over who will control what was formerly known as the San Diego Sports Arena – for now named Pechanga – has concluded, with the win going to some …
Intrigue surrounding the June 24 city council vote for Campland, LLC's five-year sweetheart leasehold extension for choice Mission Bay frontage has deepened with a $4000 fine levied against Kevin Faulconer by the city's ethics commission …
Two San Diego city council members exploring ways to tap the city's $12 million annual marijuana tax haul are likely out of the money, based on a July 31 memo from City Attorney Mara Elliott. …
Granny power While one candidate takes maternity leave from the campaign trail, the San Diego Democratic Party has set up a so-called independent committee to take on incumbent Kristin Gaspar in next year’s race for …
No trolley in my backyard A group of neighborhood conservationists in University City are hoping to put the brakes on a plan to extend trolley service from downtown San Diego's Santa Fe Depot to a …
The word that California governor Gavin Newsom has endorsed Assemblyman Todd Gloria for San Diego mayor has cemented the reputation of Irwin Jacobs as the city's top political moneyman and would-be city hall kingmaker. Backstage …
Mara’s marred Morgan Dene money San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott, a Democrat, has been raking in super-sized campaign contributions from some of Republican Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s most stalwart backers, including one mixed up in …
Sloppy supervision, a muted alarm, and lack of training led to the suffocation death of a severely paralyzed patient at San Diego's Veterans Administration hospital last year when an alarm failed to sound after a …
Assembly Democrat Todd Gloria, running to replace termed-out Republican Kevin Faulconer for San Diego mayor next year, has plenty of support among his legislative colleagues, judging by the ex-city councilman's campaign finance report filed with …
Costly mayoral affair The revelation that top members of San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s official taxpayer-paid staff have been taking out-of-town trips to boost his quest for higher office hasn’t surprised city hall insiders, who …
As the tenure of lame-duck San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer ticks down, city executive ranks have been thinning, spelling difficulties for key services. Most famous on the list of unfilled Faulconer appointments is the position …
LA versus SD On July 16 the Union-Tribune, owned by Los Angeles billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, ran a half-page advertisement touting the merits of Soon-Shiong’s NantEnergy. “NantEnergy offers innovative Energy Storage Solutions that deliver healthy outcomes …
Customs and Border Patrol officials are playing fast and loose with storage of the deadly synthetic opioid known as fentanyl, risking the health and lives of employees as the government grapples with a burgeoning load …
Lame-duck San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer, his dreams of higher office in 2018 shattered by the flight of the Chargers and the city's tardy response to a homeless Hepatitis B breakout, sought to salvage a …
Short-termers’ trashy haul Online vacation rentals of less than a month, already at the center of a popular storm regarding traffic, noise, and zoning, now have another challenge to contend with. “Our investigation determined that …