Trash hauling lobbyistWith a tumultuous election year drawing to a close, the revolving doors at San Diego City Hall have gone into overtime as old staffers depart for greener lobbying fields, and new ones arrive …

A Calexico detention center run for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement by a controversial Utah contractor has received a blistering review from the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General, which found that inmates …

A torrent of October campaign cash accompanying San Diego Gas & Electric's sole bid to remain the city's exclusive gas and electricity supplier for the next two decades is likely to carry the day for …

Al Qaeda Effect Le Travel Store sells luggage, travel equipment, and books from its Gaslamp Quarter store on Fourth Avenue. Owner Joan Keller believes the 9/11 attack nearly destroyed the travel industry. "It was immediately …

It's been no secret among inside political observers that the big gorilla of the San Diego's election season this year was a so-called independent expenditure committee calling itself Neighbors for Housing Solutions Supporting Todd Gloria …

Who is the Union-Tribune's new owner? Almost 60 years ago, Tom Joubran immigrated to the United States from the town of Nazareth, once part of Palestine, and began a new life in the suburbs of …

Biden’s bundlers San Diego has four names on the Joe Biden presidential campaign’s list of big-money bundlers, those who gathered a total of $100,000 or more in cash contributions from friends and associates and now …

Those looking forward to the end of the era of Republicans Jerry Sanders and Kevin Faulconer, whose lack of transparency is widely seen as responsible for a broad range of municipal malfeasance, from streetlight spycams …

Stacey Fulhorst, the recently retired Executive Director of the city's ethics commission, ended her seventeen-year tenure in office with a whimper in the form of a $500 settlement with city council candidate Noli Zosa, a …

Growing heights of influence Southwest Strategies, the connected San Diego lobbying shop that frequently showers political money on candidates of all stripes, was paid $17,000 for its influence-peddling on behalf of ASM Global, per a …

A unit of the Toronto investment behemoth that bankrolled the demise of San Diego's Midway area height limit in the form of this month's successful Measure E is falling short on mortgage payments to retire …

My Gender Is Bunny Cárdenas is spending more than 15 consecutive days living in Second Life. “My contract with myself was to be in Second Life for 365 hours [wearing the headset], except when I …

Rady’s budget wreck Taxpayer-financed revelry among UCSD employees is way down in the wake of covid-19 restrictions, but university auditors have been discovering a host of irregularities regarding travel, food, and entertainment binges of previous …

While city council Democrats are bickering in public over which of them will become the next council president, a quieter transition is about to occur regarding who will run the city under the stewardship of …

Lakeside's Big Man There are roughly six million boys between the ages of 16 and 18 living in the United States. There are approximately 26,400 high schools and close to that number of starting centers …

The wife of one of Donald Trump's most stalwart California backers is channeling last-minute cash into a so-called independent expenditure committee aiding state senate Democrat Ben Hueso's bid for San Diego county supervisor. Susana Chandi, …

Doped-up donor An ex-San Diego Chargers defensive tackle with a history of doping has given $1000 to San Diego city councilwoman Barbara Bry’s mayoral campaign. Corey Liuget, a 2011 first-round Chargers pick, is currently on …

A secretive, Canada-based global development giant, backed by cash from Qatar among other shadowy investors, is the primary backer of San Diego's Measure E, a proposal on next month's ballot to lift building height limits …

Otay Dreams Before 50,000 homes. In 1954 I sat on the school bus every day next to my best friend, Mark Robson. The ride home from Montgomery Elementary School in Otay was a straight shot …

Sexual grappling After Peter Selis, brother of wealthy apartment complex heiress Andrea Lee Posnock, went on an April 2017 killing spree at the Posnock-owned La Jolla Crossroads units where he lived, the super-rich housing family …

Sempra Energy, whose San Diego Gas & Electric subsidiary is battling the likes of Omaha billionaire Warren Buffett to keep its long-held power monopoly here, is setting new records for feathering political nests. At the …

Trigger Happy or Just Plain Happy? Who is David Medina? Dressed neatly in a white oxford cloth shirt with a blue pullover sweater, David Medina, a.k.a. “Happy,” pursed his lips and appeared to listen closely …

In February of 2007, Herb Klein, the Union-Tribune's retired editor-in-chief and longtime aide to Richard Nixon, sat down in San Diego for one last oral history for the Nixon presidential library. Klein would die at …

Suicidal hilarity A $1.3 million, state-funded, online suicide prevention program commissioned by the San Diego County Office of Education and promoted by the Union-Tribune is too expensive for most California school districts, says an audit …

Mommy, why are they shooting at us again? The Tijuana state of mind known as “the psychosis.” “I don’t take my kids to the park anymore on Sundays,” says Luís, a young Tijuana father of …

Street neighbor in the East Village Kazakhstan national can’t get her daughter back Yes, I was on the street, but I was home-schooling my daughter. By John Brizzolara, July 26, 2013 | Read full article …

Proponents of Measure A to boost San Diego property taxes for a bevy of subsidized housing efforts have found the fight tough going. The latest blow came October 1 with a Union-Tribune editorial condemning the …

An avalanche of trash and pollutants is threatening San Diego streets and watersheds during the waning days of Mayor Kevin Faulconer's tenure for reasons including chronic street sweeping negligence, per a report by interim city …

Gonzalez tithes to Dems With election day fast approaching, last-minute special interest money has been flowing into local legislators’ campaign funds and officeholder accounts. On September 14, according to disclosure filings with the California Secretary …

A searing review by California State Auditor Elaine Howle has blasted admission practices at the University of California's top campuses, including UCSD, saying they "unfairly admitted 64 applicants based on their personal or family connections …

The Inzunza principle The San Diego mayoral campaign of Assembly Democrat Todd Gloria has picked up cash from a close associate of two former aides to Democratic South Bay congressman Juan Vargas. Casey Haeling, a …

A controversial Los Angeles legislator turned lobbyist is among the latest big donors to Assembly Democrat Todd Gloria's bid to become San Diego mayor, city campaign finance records show. Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, an Assembly Democrat who …

Leavin' On a Jet Plane Tax dollars fund airport blitzkrieg. The stealth campaign that spends your money to buy your vote. CEO Thella Bowens proudly pointed to the poll's key finding: that public support for …

Third Spud from the Sun: Cameron Crowe Then and Now “A couple things about Cameron set him down a peg from even the rank and file of ’zine greenhorn dust-suckers. He for all intents & …

An official behind San Diego's stealthy streetlight spy program can't become the permanent head of San Diego Community Power because she's had a crucial role in negotiating terms of a deal setting up the newly …

President Nathan County supervisor Nathan Fletcher continues to leverage the covid-19 crisis to benefit his campaign fundraising for a 2022 reelection bid. “Nathan’s campaign has been building momentum every day this year, we cannot let …

In the rough-and-tumble battle to decide Los Angeles County's top prosecutor, San Diego's District Attorney and her minions are backing the campaign of incumbent Jackie Lacey. Meanwhile, ex-L.A. cop and best-selling crime writer Joseph Wambaugh …

Who is the Union-Tribune's new owner? Almost 60 years ago, Tom Joubran immigrated to the United States from the town of Nazareth, once part of Palestine, and began a new life in the suburbs of …

San Diego border Patrol agents improperly deployed high-powered "acoustic devices" during confrontations with migrants at the San Ysidro border two years ago, says a newly released audit by the federal Department of Homeland Security's Inspector …

John Moores’ hidden hand How much would a brand-new Midway sports arena cost San Diego taxpayers? The answer hasn’t yet been made public, but leaks and news releases emerging from city hall indicate a closed-door …

She told me my arm was gone. We argued about that for five minutes. I mean, I could feel it. When I was in school, I was given two pieces of information about the brain …

Democratic state senate leader Toni Atkins, a shoo-in for reelection this coming November, nevertheless raised $1.2 million in campaign cash between January 2, 2019, and June 30 of this year, according to online state disclosure …

Boss Tweed and San Diego politics Democrat Terra Lawson-Remer is far out in front of Republican incumbent Kristin Gaspar in the fundraising battle between the two campaigns for San Diego county supervisor. According to disclosure …

More palm greasers’ help wanted Faced with a housing meltdown aggravated by Covid-19, the San Diego Housing Commission is preparing to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars not on new residential units but to retain …

How much of a hit has the coronavirus pandemic inflicted on San Diego political fundraising? Based on a comparison of first-half 2020 campaign contributions versus the 2016 take, a sizable but not overwhelming one, partially …

The failed campaign for this year's Measure C posted the city's biggest cash haul during the first half of this year. The measure would have hiked the tax on hotel stays in the city of …

Lakeside's Big Man There are roughly six million boys between the ages of 16 and 18 living in the United States. There are approximately 26,400 high schools and close to that number of starting centers …

Cisterra’s cash A political action committee attached to the Downtown San Diego Partnership, a non-profit group ostensibly devoted to improving life and business in the center city, served as a conduit for lobbyists’ money funneled …

When Nathan Fletcher was running for county supervisor in 2018, his wife Assembly Democrat Lorena Gonzalez, routed hundreds of thousands of dollars she obtained from Sacramento special interests, including big oil and a private prison …

Finding Stacey’s fix San Diego’s super-secretive ethics commission continues to soldier on through the COVID-19 epidemic with another penny-ante fine against a failed city council candidate levied at the end of an online meeting. On …