It was no doubt a tough job, but somebody at the Port of San Diego apparently had to do it. In this case, somebody was district board member Lee Burdick, who recently quit the port …

Lobbyists for Sempra Energy were kept busy during the last quarter of 2012, arranging a mass handout of political largesse to San Diego city council and mayoral candidates. Under the city’s ethics ordinance, the maximum …

Wade Sanders, the Navy veteran who served with U.S. Senator John Kerry during the Vietnam War and later played a prominent role in Kerry’s failed presidential campaign, has finally been disbarred from the practice of …

Some longtime San Diego lobbyists and Republican political players are picking up major change from the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority in the form of a lucrative “public outreach” contract ­— which during a …

Sodium-free milk of politics Poseidon Resources, the desalination outfit that finally got a contract from the San Diego County Water Authority last year, spent heavily on local political campaigns, according to its recent disclosure filing. …

Speaking of David Alvarez, his ex-boss in the office of former South Bay Democratic state senator Denise Ducheny is raking in some big bucks from border-related city-hall lobbying of her former employee. Falcon Strategies, L.L.C., …

It hasn’t taken very long for freshman Democratic congressman Juan Vargas to hit the Washington fundraising circuit. According to a recent online invite from the Juan Vargas for Congress Committee, posted by the Sunlight Foundation’s …

After a grueling election year, things are settling back to normal at San Diego’s city hall, with favors and freebies the coin of the city’s political realm, and elected officials scrambling to be the first …

Bob Filner and San Diego’s Democratic city-council majority have a lot of problems to solve — including global warming, in the opinion of one well-connected nonprofit. According to a recent lobbyist disclosure filing by the …

Last week, new Democratic mayor Bob Filner gave his first State of the City Speech. Before he took the microphone at the Balboa Theatre, the mayor was preceded by Nathan Fletcher, former GOP assemblyman-turned-independent who …

Now that the new downtown library is almost finished and preparing to open in July, moving day is just around the corner. This being the city, of course, a contractor is required. Based on a …

United States Attorney Laura Duffy, who has been waging a lengthy war against medical marijuana in San Diego — along with the city’s current mayor — is calling for reinforcements. During last year’s campaign, the …

Newly installed Democratic congressman Scott Peters is already entangled in some nagging post-election financial disclosure questions, courtesy of the Federal Election Commission. In a letter to Peters campaign treasurer Nancy Haley, dated January 4, the …

The nation’s TV and radio stations use the public airways — which are licensed by the Federal Communications Commission — to make a lot of money. The stations are required to file a quarterly “Issues …

Investigative Newsource, San Diego’s smallest nonprofit online-news operation, managed to grow its cash a bit in 2011, according to an annual charitable disclosure report filed in August with the Internal Revenue Service and recently posted …

San Diego mayor Bob Filner makes an annual salary of $100,464, and city council members are each paid $75,386. Their relatively modest remuneration is unlikely to increase soon, but municipal leaders have discovered another, not-often-discussed …

Another piece of unfinished business for new San Diego mayor Bob Filner: deciding what kind of expensive new-fangled solar-powered, radio-controlled parking meters to buy. “The City still has approximately 4,700 single space parking meters that …

Tale of a stealthy super PAC. During the days leading up to last month’s election, a mail piece was dispatched to voters in San Diego’s third county supervisorial district, where Republican Steve Danon was facing …

La Jolla millionaire R.B. “Buzz” Woolley, the charter-school advocate and founder of the Voice of San Diego online news site, didn’t exactly have a great political year. The labor-union foe and hotel investor was one …

It’s December, what better time to be looking for a gift-raiser? San Diego State University is in the market for one. “The primary responsibility for this position is to raise major gifts for the College …

Former San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders left office last week in a familiar way, reporting the gift of a free Chargers ticket he made to a fellow pol. The final disclosed recipient of Sanders’s largesse: …

No one’s naming names, but somebody over at San Diego city hall wanted to be video star. Before the recording began, however, an opinion from City Attorney Jan Goldsmith was sought. “Does a member of …

National drone watchdogs have been having trouble getting details about San Diego County’s plans, if any, for robotic aerial intelligence gathering. But county documents confirm that Sheriff Bill Gore is eager to proceed with at …

As the sheriff shops for high-tech spy gear, the county is looking to farm out its “response services to hazardous materials incidents,” according to a November 8 request for information from would-be contractors. “There are …

For the not so princely pay of $17.67 an hour, graduate students at San Diego State University are being offered the opportunity to work for Uncle Sam’s top-secret military dolphin program, according to a recent …

San Diego State University president Elliot Hirshman’s $400,000 salary came in for a lot of criticism when it was announced earlier this year. Even Democratic governor Jerry Brown got into the act, telling university trustees …

While election fights raged this past summer, some California pols who were safely ensconced in their seats or faced easy ballot battles partook of some heaping hospitality from the Barona Band of Mission Indians, operator …

The local branch of Service Employees International Union, the giant public employees union, has been in the market for a new employee. “We’re looking for a Political Organizer to work in our San Diego office …

Though the Obama administration’s second-term housecleaning begins soon, one controversial San Diegan is given good odds to hang around another four years in one capacity or another. Alan Bersin, currently assistant secretary of international affairs …

The bayside Point Loma mansion lavishly remodeled by Mavourneen O’Connor, the secretive twin sister of onetime San Diego mayor Maureen O’Connor, is up for sale for a cool $6,825,000. “195 feet of prestigious water frontage …

Lame-duck San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders has backed off plans to expand the City’s controversial red-light camera enforcement program, leaving that decision to mayor-elect Bob Filner, according to a recent report in U-T San Diego. …

Commercial local media outlets are increasingly forced by the economy and the disruptive impact of the internet on reading, viewing, and listening habits to cut staff, but San Diego State’s taxpayer-backed KPBS public broadcasting operation …

It’s Chargers football season, time once again for San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders to quietly give close friends and political allies free tickets to premier seats at Qualcomm Stadium. For the October 15 game with …

Money may be tight, but San Diego’s mayor and city council have no shortage of ways to spend tax dollars, according to a list of top contracts posted online by the City’s purchasing department. The …

It was billed as the U.S.-Mexico Border Mayors Association’s third annual “Binational Summit,” an “opportunity for mayors from across the border to…collaborate on topics that affect border communities of Mexico and the United States, and …

How much should a police flashlight cost? San Diego sheriff Bill Gore is looking for a deal to buy a total of 1800 Bayco TAC330B “nightstick tactical lights,” which retail for about $40, over three …

Related to the presidential candidate by blood and religion; each traveling separate roads. On a sultry day in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in July 1846, 496 Mormon men, accompanied by many wives, children, and at least …

As the election approaches, joblessness continues to bedevil America, but in San Diego an impressive number of lobbying gigs are up for grabs. Rady Children’s Hospital is currently on the prowl for a new vice …

San Diego State University is looking to close a slightly different kind of deal than that of the political variety. With Democratic governor Jerry Brown warning of severe cuts to taxpayer-subsidized education unless voters approve …

The San Diego Association of Realtors has traveled a long and bumpy lobbying road. Last December, it agreed to pay a $500 fine to settle charges brought by the City’s Ethics Commission that it chronically …

These days, it seems any self-respecting superrich neighborhood needs its own political action committee to watch over business in Sacramento. One example is “Residents for a Secure Future, Sponsored by the Rancho Santa Fe Association.” …

Times seem to be getting better for the City of San Diego, judging from a recent “request for quotation” for the cost of presenting free movies in local parks. According to the document, the expense …

A lot of top lobbyists, registered to do business at San Diego’s city hall, spent a busy summer shuffling their client lists around. The biggest and most intriguing of the changes, local political insiders say, …

Once upon a time, John Spelich was the king of San Diego PR. Today he’s in a war with Google, fighting on behalf of one of China’s biggest internet companies over the future of the …

It hasn’t given away any money yet, but a federal political action committee set up by the new owners of SeaWorld has been raking in a lot of cash from park employees. The SeaWorld Parks …

San Diego County is looking for a few 2013 “Ford Fusion ‘S’ I-4 Sedans” — 14 to start with and more to come, according to a recent request for bids by the fleet management division. …

How much does it cost to get a permit to demolish or remodel a house in La Jolla? Plenty, to judge from a recent second-quarter disclosure filed by Peterson and Price, the longtime law and …

Proposition 30, the ballot measure backed by Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown to raise California taxes, is getting a significant financial lift from tax-exempt foundations that were set up to benefit and perform services for the …

Qualcomm vice chairman Steve Altman has kicked in for the cause of San Diego State University basketball by picking up a travel tab for head coach Steve Fisher. According to an undated disclosure statement posted …

Irwin Jacobs goes Republican hunting Who are San Diego’s heaviest super PAC hitters this election season? Of course, first place must go to Qualcomm founder and La Jolla billionaire Irwin Jacobs, with his cool $2 …