Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Close to Home — What it’s like on the street where you live
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
Names of $100,000 City Retiree Club
When I was in High School in the early 1970s I had a friend whose father was either a captain or assistant chief in the San Diego Fire Department. I know the father made at least assistant chief because I saw his name in the paper from time to time. There were six children in the family. My friend and three of his brothers were hired as firefighters by the San Diego Fire Department. His two sisters wound up with positons at fire departments outside of San Diego.— February 13, 2009 10:34 p.m.
Pension Deficit $2 Billion, Funded Ratio 66.3 Percent
I wonder how much money Jan Goldsmith is siphoning from the taxpayer. He's likely receiving taxpayer funded retirement pay from his stints as Poway Mayor, State Assemblyman, Superior Court Judge, and now he's working on a fourth pension as City Attorney. He will likely go for the gold and take a seat in Congress so he can rape the taxpayer for a fifth pension. Bill Kolender may hold the record for government pensions. He's likely receiving taxpayer funded pensions from his stints as San Diego Police Chief, California Youth Authority Head, and his Federal law enforcement position. When he retires as Sheriff he will collect a fourth taxpayer-funded pension from the County. Bill is also likely collecting social security and a pension from his years at Copley Press. Legislative action needs to be taken to limit the pension benefits of serial pensioners like Goldsmith and Kolender before they and others like them bankrupt us.— February 12, 2009 8:20 p.m.
It Looks Like Copley Press Was Spending Money on Acquisitions When It Should Have Been Spending on Technology
The Reader should dig out that article it published 20 or more years ago about Michael Copley and post it on the website.— February 11, 2009 8:47 p.m.
Pension Deficit $2 Billion, Funded Ratio 66.3 Percent
I wonder how much retirement pay Murphy gets from the state for being a former judge. He's probably raking in at least $175,000 per year in total city and state retirement benefits.— February 11, 2009 8:42 p.m.
It Looks Like Copley Press Was Spending Money on Acquisitions When It Should Have Been Spending on Technology
Helen Copley may have set up a trust to manage the newspaper after her death. Helen may have selected a trustee to manage the trust assets, including the U-T, according to her written instructions. She may be running what's left of the empire from the grave. David may have rights to any trust income, but he may not have any say in how the U-T is run, or who runs it. We also do not know whether Michael Copley has an ownership interest in U-T, or the size of that interest. Is there a trust? Does the trust provide that income from the trust will go to Michael upon David's passing? Would Helen leave her estate outright, with no strings attached, to a son with major health problems and no known heirs? Will Michael inherit the empire upon David's passing? We will likely never know the answers to any of these questions.— February 10, 2009 9:46 p.m.
Here Are the Banks Using Your Tax Money for Pro Sports Naming Rights Scam
I wonder whether Don would comment on the Denise Carabet situation. It looked for a time that she was going to replace him as business columnist at the U-T.— February 9, 2009 9:22 p.m.
List of Madoff Investors Now Public. Some San Diegans Tell Their Tales of Woe
As for people who pulled out their money being forced to give it to others who lost theirs-sorry, that is not going to happen. These people were not the ones pulling this scam and there is no legal precedent for the claim you made-it will never happen. ====================== I'm sorry, but your analysis is wrong. Innocent investors in frauds who receive monies in excess of their investments can be forced under the law to return the excess cash. The cash is then redistributed to other investors who lost their all or part of their investments. This is routine in frauds like this one where there were no profits or earnings. As Don stated, the issue is how far back the bankruptcy court can reach to collect, not whether it can collect.— February 6, 2009 5:52 p.m.
List of Madoff Investors Now Public. Some San Diegans Tell Their Tales of Woe
Maybe Don should google the Slatkin case and locate an attorney who was involved with the case and find out how the bankruptcy court collects from investors who cashed out, and how far back the court can go. He could do what he does best, refine complex legal concepts into a brief article the average reader can grasp. I am sure there are many San Diegans who are not on the list who may have to return money they received from Madoff.— February 6, 2009 5:35 p.m.
List of Madoff Investors Now Public. Some San Diegans Tell Their Tales of Woe
The claimed $50 billion in losses is sheer fantasy. The actual losses are not even a fraction of that amount. Madoff in essence ripped off one group of investors and transferred the money to another group of investors. For example, say Bruno Veeblefetzer invested $10 million with Madoff in 2000 and earned $15 million in profits through 2006. If Veeblefetzer closed his account on 1/1/2007 and withdrew $25 million ($10 million investment plus profits of $15 million), he's going to have to pay the bankruptcy trustee $15 million since the money was stolen from other investors. The $15 million will be distributed to bag holders who didn't get out before the collapse. When this deal is over there will be considerably more than $95 million to pay off defrauded investors. The money will come primarily from investors who either (1) closed their accounts and withdrew the cash, or (2) withdrew cash from their accounts in excess of their investments. There is going to be tons of money to pay off defrauded investors who lost everything.— February 6, 2009 5:09 p.m.
Why All the Smiles and Hellos?
Bankers Hill is infested with crime. People say hello to you because they think you are either a tweaker(meth user), or a criminal. They say hello to let you know your presence in the neightborhood in known, and that your face will be remembered in case you decide to commit a crime. You should be insulted by their greetings.— February 6, 2009 10:25 a.m.