Editorial sex talk A Pulitzer Prize to the Union-Tribune recognizing the newspaper’s long string of exposes regarding ex-Sheriff Bill Gore’s jail deaths debacle wasn’t to be. But a controversial former editorial chief at The Evening …

Landlords’ April 26 giving spree As post-pandemic controversy over eviction law still swirls in Sacramento, a political fund benefiting San Diego Democrat Toni Atkins, the state Senate’s Pro Tem, received a hefty contribution of $50,000 …

Will an abrupt cool-down of L.A.'s red hot studio-building boom save the print version of the San Diego Union-Tribune from premature demise? Such are the peculiarities of the once-staid newspaper business in the online age. …

Border mortalities stable but rescues up Droves of undocumented immigrants may be dying as they try to make their way north in the deserts and mountains east of San Diego. But, per a team of …

Gay pride, marathon experience better for Balboa Park? After getting by as a car-confined, drive-by-only event for the past two years, Balboa Park’s traditional December Nights celebration is anticipating a full-scale reopening in 2022. But …

Juan’s easy path to power After years of coasting through easy re-election battles, House Democrat Juan Vargas — running in California’s newly redrawn 52nd District and facing a challenger from his party’s left — is …

The Navy is keeping sloppy track of its errant shipbuilding and repair contractors – including San Diego's National Steel and Shipbuilding subsidiary of General Dynamics – causing massive cost overruns and chronically crippled vessels, says …

Anti-cop ice cream What’s for dessert? San Diego politics, judging by a March 30 $1800 contribution by ice cream kingpin Ben Cohen of Williston, Vermont, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s. The out-of-town cash went to …

Vegas lawyer and a super gift giver SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment, currently welshing on paying $10 million in back rent to the city, last year came up with a free ticket worth $80 for Ninth …

With much of San Diego media quiet on the costly Democrat-on-Democrat battle to fill the Assembly seat of departed Democrat Lorena Gonzalez we noted here last week, the Sacramento-based CalMatters online nonprofit is filling the …

How San Diego lost its pueblo land Five years after the two lone bidders won the La Jolla Shores acreage, General Atomic was able to pick up similarly desirable property on Torrey Pines Mesa for …

Russia's invasion of Ukraine, ongoing battles with homelessness, last year's January 6 Capitol Hill riot, and a host of festering budget issues confront the United States Congress. Perhaps it's no wonder first-term House Democrat Sara …

Dem-on-Dem race gets expensive Serious special interest money continues to pour into the Democrat-on-Democrat 80th District special election race to replace resigned Assembly Democrat Lorena Gonzalez on April 5. Georgette Gomez, an ex-member of the …

Toni’s kidney cash With another bitter initiative battle over the regulation of kidney dialysis coming up soon, the so-called ballot measure committee of state Senate Democratic honcho Toni Atkins picked up a hefty $62,000 from …

It’s March, the long-traditional time for an annual accounting of the previous year’s gift receipts by California legislators. Assembly Republican Marie Waldron of Escondido indulged her passion for golf courtesy of the Association of California …

Pradeep’s new palace Will UCSD Chancellor Pradeep Khosla have better luck the second time around building his botched behemoth Triton Pavilion, a pricey new office and alumni complex with posh space for university executives that …

Growing, growing, gone (part of 1977 in review) Hahn's December announcement that Buffums and Montgomery Ward were interested in the downtown shopping center seemed, in the minds of many, to be closely linked to Hahn’s …

Special election shuffle Fundraising in the April 5 special election battle to replace Democrat Lorena Gonzalez, who earlier this year quit her seat in the state Assembly, is underway, with ex-city councilman and mayoral candidate …

A newly released audit report blasts a now-retired warden of San Ysidro's Donovan state prison and higher-ups at the California Department of Corrections for abusing disabled inmates and then stalling an investigation of alleged misdeeds. …

Sempra’s Peace piece When the city council voted 6-3 to approve a new decade-long power-providing franchise agreement with San Diego Gas & Electric back in June, Mayor Todd Gloria promised to study the idea of …

When 19-year-old San Diego State University student Dylan Hernandez died falling out of bed after a night of drinking back in November of 2019, the school promised yet again to deal with its long-running intoxication …

Biden’s free bollards and chains The state of Texas, reportedly gaining population at the expense of California, has received another gift by way of the Golden State: a February 15 Texas Tribune dispatch reports that …

Well over a year since the election of Todd Gloria along with a new city council controlled by Democrats, the Democratic mayor may finally be on the verge of picking a permanent chief operating officer. …

Suicide by Navy Crew shortages, limited training, and exhaustion at the nation’s Naval bases — including San Diego’s — are responsible for both a service-wide maintenance meltdown and a mental health crisis, and at least …

The condition of the City of San Diego's Department of Real Estate and Airport Management, known as DREAM for short, is more of a nightmare when it comes to handling the city's giant portfolio of …

Todd’s costly homeless binge Citizens wanting to know how San Diego mayor Todd Gloria will handle the homeless may find some of the answers in the pages of a potentially costly request for proposals put …

Release of a state audit substantiating years of Union-Tribune reporting on county jail deaths during the rule of Republican Sheriff Bill Gore has insiders talking up the possibility of a last Pulitzer Prize for the …

UCSD’s uncontrolled substances An audit completed last fall but just recently released to the public following a request to the university under the California Public Records Act calls out UCSD Health for being out of …

Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is ditching its once-vaunted entry into the wild world of cyber currency, unloading the mystically named Diem Association to a subsidiary of a small La Jolla bank. The heavily touted …

Hit piece late fees In what appears to be a much-belated post-election payoff, two Los Angeles-area Democrats forced from office amid sexual harassment scandals came up with big money in 2021 for a 2020 campaign …

Bushwhacked We look at a Wieghorst painting called Spring Rain, a dark, impressionistic work, one of about a dozen Wieghorsts on the walls. Thackeray can remember when Wieghorst painted it. “It was raining cats and …

Dia de los politicos Facing a big-money 2022 reelection challenge from termed-out state senator Ben Hueso, Board of Equalization member Mike Schaefer, a fellow Democrat, has taken to the Union-Tribune’s paid obituary section to tout …

As the failing bluffs at Del Mar play havoc with passenger and freight rail service, officials of taxpayer-subsidized Amtrak, otherwise known as the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, have been chronic no-shows at discussions to fix …

Lorena’s new gig Outflanked by ex-Assemblymember (and now California Secretary of State) Shirley Weber and her Assemblywoman daughter Akilah Weber, and fresh from a double mastectomy for breast cancer, Lorena Gonzalez abruptly vacated her state …

Merry, merry payoffs Chris Cate, San Diego’s only Republican city council member, got $5000 for his well-publicized annual Christmas Tree giveaway from city vendor CGI Technologies and Solutions, Inc. On November 3, CGI issued a …

Battle-weary posh He didn’t get combat pay, but House Republican Darrell Issa, widely regarded as the wealthiest member of Congress, took off for Beirut last month on a trip entirely paid for by the American …

Mac “The Communists in San Diego had a little cell that was trying to take over the Journal. A general called me up one day; ‘Do you realize you have three Communists in your editorial …

KPBS’s public money windfall The finances of the KPBS public broadcasting stations, which are owned and operated by taxpayer-financed San Diego State University, have bounced back a bit from the darkest days of 2020’s Covid-19 …

My Own True Story One morning, Hercules had left for work around 6:30 and I was still asleep, there was a knock on the door. I opened the door only about a half an inch. …

After a blitz of allegations about loose ethics and possible crimes, Kelvin Barrios was forced in November of 2020 to abandon his campaign to fill the Ninth District city council seat of Georgette Gomez, his …

Radical, Whole-Wheat Architecture He describes Dryden, who died in 1946, as “flamboyant, quixotic,” and “a personality who ranged from high to low.” He says, “He also describes this scene: “His family said he made and …

UCSD’s new ethics gumshoe Faced with a growing number of critical audits, UCSD’s Office of Ethics & Compliance is seeking a senior investigator to help root out fraud, corruption, and all-around bad ethics at the …

Escape from the Chicks and Beer Image “Monday night the actual rush starts, but we can’t give out bids on Monday. That gives everyone a chance to get around and see where they want to …

Before her December 9 sentencing to six weeks in federal prison and a year of home confinement, along with a $250,000 fine and 500 hours of community service, lawyers for ex-KFMB TV and radio owner …

SDG&E’s sitting ducks The first annual Safety Culture Assessment of San Diego Gas & Electric by the state’s Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety is out, giving the local utility generally high marks, with a significant …

Roommates from Hell I walked outside to the storage door. I pushed on the door and opened it. I saw the rope around John’s neck and John’s face looking at me. I screamed and ran …

Audit hotspot UCSD is again suffering an auditor’s unflattering scrutiny. This time, it’s State Auditor Elaine Howle, who has released a report accusing the school of failing to apply for millions of dollars of minority …

UCSD faculty’s hooky play A September 21 report by UCSD’s Audit & Management Advisory Services has some words of tough love for errant faculty members discovered to be taking too many paid vacations and not …

Juan Vargas, holy man Yet another member of San Diego’s delegation to the House of Representatives has reemerged on the free international travel circuit in the wake of waning covid-19 worries. A freshly filed disclosure …

It's not quite Cupertino South, but San Diego and its environs have been invaded by a raft of Apple Inc. employees in aid of the iPhone giant's ongoing efforts to wean itself from powerful homegrown …