What happened? A pioneer family's tragedy There was nothing to do but walk back to the house. Eric and his wife walked 10 yards, 20 yards, 30. The sky was still pink in the west. …
August 21, 2023
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Stories by Matt Potter
The Fletchers leave a cautionary tale about alcohol
Fled my father in La Jolla
La Jolla 1962 Dressed in long trousers and boat shoes and a white Lacoste tennis shirt, I accompanied Toby across Vista del Mar and Neptune Place to the Pump House and down concrete steps to …
August 19, 2023
San Diego Union-Tribune to move printing to Riverside
Press lineTrue to their word, billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong and vulture investor fund Alden Global Capital, operating under the name MediaNews Group, appear to be proceeding with their previously announced plans to print Soon-Shiong’s Los Angeles Times …
August 16, 2023
Peter Jensen, the bridge-lover
Bridges of San Diego County I drive the roads of San Diego County with an agenda: You don’t know when you might spot another canyon dancer, a concrete Nureyev. I hike gorges and find them …
August 12, 2023
Helicopter landings at Brown Field and Aguascalientes – any connection?
Borderline helloBy coincidence or not, the May 22 hard landing of a U.S. Homeland Security helicopter at Brown Field Municipal Airport — an event which is currently under investigation by the National Transportation Board — …
August 9, 2023
Surveillance cameras slide from one San Diego mayor to another
Gloria’s glorious spy machineSan Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, up for reelection next year, is doubling down on the city’s burgeoning array of surveillance tools, acting in cahoots with his all-fellow-Democrat city council. “I’ve spoken out …
August 2, 2023
They make I-15 wider at Miramar Way
Like your road widened, Mister? In the pre-dawn gloaming, the roadbuilding machines are just black shapes lined up beside the southbound lanes of Interstate 15. From the overpass at Miramar Way, only the light from …
July 31, 2023
Alden Global to shift Union Tribune back to the right
Fear and loathing at SDSU San Diego State University — back among the ranks of the Mountain West college athletic conference last week after agreeing to fork over legal fees resulting from a brief showdown …
July 26, 2023
Dead dolphin off La Jolla Cove
Every dive around San Diego yields discovery One of the oddest of these noises, an irregular bumping sound heard frequently in the rocks and ridges off the beaches from the La Jolla Caves south to …
July 23, 2023
Rancho Santa Fe: elevator from the 12-car garage
Sequester yourself in the Secret Ranch Welcome to “The Secret Ranch,” a 12-acre estate with more than 12,400 square feet of living space under roof located in the exclusive Covenant of Rancho Santa Fe. “This …
July 22, 2023
Alden to stem U-T liberal Democrat crusades
U-T’s culture wars The long-predicted sale of the Union-Tribune by Los Angeles billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong to vulture fund Alden Global Capital heralds an almost certain change to the once-mighty San Diego paper, including no more …
July 19, 2023
San Diego cops start campaign against Monica Steppe
Cops step out San Diego cops are readying a barrage of TV spots and digital attacks against their Democratic city council nemesis Monica Montgomery Steppe, who is currently running to fill Nathan Fletcher’s vacated seat …
July 12, 2023
The quiet disappearance of Lonnie Eldridge
Raiding accounts The acting replacement for ex-San Diego County Counsel Lonnie Eldridge, who mysteriously exited his post almost a year ago after only twelve months on the job, has been called out by county chief …
July 5, 2023
While Faulconer broods, Coronado mayor could take on Lawson-Remer
Kevin F. gets religion While ex-San Diego Republican mayor Kevin Faulconer continues to brood about whether to run next year against his Democratic successor Todd Gloria, or for the District 3 San Diego County Supervisor …
June 28, 2023
L.A. Times defends its use of AI
LAT’s “disinformation” machine? A wave of sudden layoffs at the Los Angeles Times that sent ripples of fear through the San Diego Union-Tribune — which shares the same owner, LA biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong — …
June 21, 2023
Dems save Josh Newman – Newman saves Sempra
Slapfisted Democrats State Senate Democrat Josh Newman, recalled from office in June 2018 thanks to big money raised by San Diego Republican politico and radio star Carl DeMaio, has picked up a free meal worth …
June 14, 2023
San Diego got a lot of DNA from border crossers, but complaints persist
DNA’s TJ terror Border Patrol units in San Diego and El Centro rank high on the list of entities that collected the most DNA samples from detainees last year, with San Diego gathering 44,757 and …
June 7, 2023
Even Fox feeds Toni Atkins cash machine
Toni and Rupert’s political romance Controversial right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson is out of a job, and Fox News is poorer by $787.5 million, thanks to its settlement with Dominion Voting Systems over defamation charges arising …
May 31, 2023
The Cold War and the Bali Hai
Shelter Island’s Bali Hai was never some little grog shop “Special Tables for Spies, Espionage Agents to View the U.S. Fleet — Binoculars furnished to U.S. Citizens only,” said a 1950s advertisement for the restaurant. …
May 27, 2023
Sara Jacobs learns about hunger at 5-star hotels in Kenya and Somalia
Sara’s care package It was off to Kenya for a week starting April 8 for House Democrat Sara Jacobs, who hasn’t been wasting any time catching up with her predecessor Susan Davis in the free …
May 24, 2023
La Mesa's Colin Parent and Chula Vista's John McCann exploit behest law
Pot and trash talking La Mesa Vice Mayor Colin Parent, CEO of self-styled pro-transit nonprofit Circulate San Diego, has of late been under the microscope for soliciting $700,000 over the past five years for Circulate …
May 17, 2023
USS San Diego among many eyeballed for lax fire safety
Fire in the hold A report to Congress by the United States Government Accountability Office in the wake of the July 2020 fire that devastated the USS Bonhomme Richard has found that when it comes …
May 10, 2023
Preuss School students tell whole story about riding the trolley
Preuss’s trolley travails UCSD’s PR honchos are well-known for frequently touting the university’s charter prep school. “The Preuss School is located on the UC San Diego campus and is led by an alumna of the …
May 3, 2023
All the Dylan Mulvaney San Diego connections
Cookies and beer Controversial Budweiser-pitching transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney is deeply rooted in San Diego’s Republican old-boy network, reports Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post. “Her grandfather, James Mulvaney Sr., who died at age 87 …
April 26, 2023
San Diego fat cats want UCSD's Pradeep Khosla to stay – why?
Pradeep’s rise A shadowy network of unidentified fat cats has come up with $13 million to fund the $500,000-a-year raise awarded to UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep Khosla by the University of California’s regents on …
April 19, 2023
Where will the Nathan Fletcher money go?
Sempra’s choice Now that Democrat Nathan Fletcher is resigning as a San Diego County supervisor due to the region’s latest elected official sex scandal, what will become of the million dollars or so amassed from …
April 12, 2023
Key Todd Gloria backer Gil Cabrera gets hand slapped
Getting Gil’s goat A political committee run by the chair of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority Gil Cabrera, which emailed a hit piece attacking ex-Assembly Democrat Lori Saldana last year during her bid …
April 5, 2023
Sara Jacobs aide reaches out to conservative World Vision
Saving Sara House Democrat Sara Jacobs, facing a possibly tough reelection challenge from conservative Republican Mayor Bill Wells of El Cajon, has dispatched one of her assistants to a conference at United Nations Headquarters in …
March 29, 2023
Pechanga Arena face profiling – doing police work for them
Police profiling Just as San Diego cops have begun a public relations push to install video spy cams on more city streetlights, word comes that the building formerly known as the San Diego Sports Arena, …
March 22, 2023
Poolside shooting near UTC involving Selis and Wilf clans
University City massacre done by developer family donor They are the crème de crème of San Diego business and political society, giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to both Democrats and Republicans, and in turn …
March 20, 2023
San Diego cops selling hidden cameras
Spy cams for free? San Diego cops installed a sweeping network of streetlight video spy cams with little public awareness until we initially broke the story here on February 20, 2019. The resultant political pushback, …
March 15, 2023
Chula Vista Mayor McCann must abstain on homeless votes
Voteless in Chula Vista Following his November 2022 victory over Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar, Republican real estate investor, manager, and longtime Chula Vista city council veteran John McCann took over as mayor of that city in …
March 8, 2023
KUSI joins Bill Walton in attacking San Diego homeless dilemma
Media shipwreck Can Downtown’s homeless woes be linked to softball lighting in Clairemont? So argues the non-profit Lucky Duck Foundation, which has bestowed its latest “Shipwreck” anti-homelessness award on the City of San Diego for …
March 1, 2023
San Diego County fleet of vehicles suffers disarray
Undercover car tags missing The County of San Diego’s management of its fleet of government vehicles by the Department of General Services has been in dangerous disarray, per a recently posted audit dated September 29, …
February 22, 2023
Turo car sharing, under fire elsewhere, greases Toni Atkins machine
Rent-a-pol Turo, Inc., a controversial peer-to-peer car-sharing company based in San Francisco, gave $7500 on January 31 to the ballot measure committee run by termed-out state Senator Toni Atkins, who is seeking to become the …
February 15, 2023
SDSU inewsource draws contrast with U-T, pulls in $500K
Old San Diego redux Competition for donor contributions between San Diego non-profit reporting outlets could be set to reach unprecedented levels, judging from a gauntlet-throwing January 31 pitch for money by the website of San …
February 8, 2023
La Jolla RU-486 mogul exposed by Mother Jones
The messy business of abortion A La Jolla biotech mogul who bankrolled RU-486, the lucrative day-after abortion drug, looms large in a new expose by Mother Jones. According to the piece, “In 1986, a North …
February 1, 2023
Will Biden lease Miramar land for homeless tent city?
Sunbreak’s second chance It didn’t take long for Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News and the New York Post to pick up on a homeless opinion piece co-authored by ex-basketball pro Bill Walton, adding to growing suspicions …
January 25, 2023
Holes in San Diego Mayor Gloria's armor
Throwing Goldstones As city hall’s controversies continue to burgeon, Democratic mayor Todd Gloria has gotten his reelection paperwork in early, in the form of a January 4 candidate intention statement filed with the city clerk’s …
January 18, 2023
Will Johnny Ek and Scott Mendel clear clouds at Specific Diagnostics?
Rainmaker’s run-in Fresh from a $1.8 billion March 2021 buyout by Roche of his previous employer, San Diego-based GenMark Diagnostics, the company’s chief financial officer Johnny Ek signed on in with Specific Diagnostics of Mountain …
January 11, 2023
The many advantages of being Nathan Fletcher
Lorena’s loot Given that traditional local news outlets suffer financial duress and the Union-Tribune is expected to go exclusively online most days of the week, the word that ex-Assembly Democrat Lorena Gonzalez has set up …
January 4, 2023
Otonomy, La Jolla ear cure stock, falls to 11 cents
La Jolla ear boxing A torrent of hype from high-flying La Jolla biotech investment outfits like Avalon Ventures continues apace, despite a growing stream of bad news for public investors. A sad case in point: …
December 28, 2022
Will Gloria hire sketchy Sloat as homeless lobbyist?
Wanted: homeless lobbyist As homeless people swamp the streets of San Diego, the city’s Housing Commission is preparing to spend big money for a Sacramento lobbyist, presumably to chase a windfall of homeless-related state taxpayer …
December 21, 2022
Hidden video cameras pervade Mexican border
Spy cams among us San Diego, a city that for years seemed unaware of the spy cams in its midst, is again being reminded of its ever-present network of surveillance devices. The first exposure came …
December 14, 2022
VA details increase in vets shooting selves
VA’s shooting suicides San Diego’s Veterans Administration Health Care system has fallen short in its efforts to deal with the growing number of loaded guns in the hands of suicidal patients, according to a newly …
December 7, 2022
UCSD hands slapped for not returning Indian relics
Buried in bureaucracy Unnamed UCSD professors have been improperly hoarding human remains and relics of Native American tribes for their personal use, says a new state audit of the University of California’s compliance with the …
November 30, 2022
Mexico fire comes up canyon to Campo
How they fought 2004 Campo fire After it crested, the fire started "running pretty hard" east along the ridgeline. "We were coming along holding it with engines," Scully says, "and we were actually being very …
November 26, 2022
L.A. angst over newspaper loss not mirrored in San Diego
Tale of two papers News that the LA Times will be shuttering its Olympic Boulevard printing plant in a little over a year has triggered an avalanche of Angeleno angst, per a November 12 account …
November 23, 2022
Ben Hueso and others get free Padres tickets from Sempra
Hueso’s Sempra home run San Diego-based power behemoth Sempra Energy spread around free tickets to local politicos this summer for the playoff-bound Padres, according to a mandated state disclosure filing. California state Senator Ben Hueso …
November 16, 2022
Times and a digital ad man from Carlsbad ad help Nika Soon-Shiong deliver L.A. parting gift
Though the future of the L.A. Times and its sister San Diego Union-Tribune remains clouded by the announced closing of its longtime printing plant, the Times and owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, along with his daughter Nika, …
November 14, 2022