Big Money Landed in UCAN Misspelled Accounts
Watchdog Utility Consumers' Action Network says it will initiate a court-supervised dissolution. This announcement followed immediately on the organization's receipt of a subpoena from the U.S. Attorney's office, demanding financial records dating back to 2004. One of the key questions …
County Proceeds With Effort To Streamline Planning Process
In an effort to expedite the planning process, County Supervisors are moving forward with recommendations from the Red Tape Reduction Task Force. Some recommendations include creating an audit committee to make sure improvements are in place, and to foster a …
Tijuana Police Respond to Concerned Residents
The Tijuana Municipal Police responded to concerns from residents of Valle de Las Palmas by arresting five suspects overnight. Municipal Police commander Richard H. Garduno stated the suspected armed robbers were arrested in the early morning hours Wednesday. Garduno said …
Community Groups Make City Budget Recommendations
The Community Budget Alliance, a coalition consisting of environmental, faith-based, labor, and community groups, has announced a list of priorities and suggestions “designed to create a fair and equitable budget for the City of San Diego.” The group released its …
UCSD Hospital Overcharged Medicare, Federal Audit Finds
Auditors for the Inspector General of the United States Department of Health and Human Services have found that the UCSD Medical Center hospital overcharged the federal Medicare program a total of more than $350,000 on 99 of 210 claims sampled …
Poll Finds Increased Support For Same-Sex Marriage
More and more Californians support gay marriage, finds the latest Field Poll. According to the poll, 59 percent of registered voters say same-sex couples should be allowed to get hitched, an eight percent climb compared to 2010. Conversely, 34 percent …
Abortion Bill Draws Mixed Reactions
California State Senator Christine Kehoe of San Diego introduced a bill last Friday that would allow nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and nurse midwives to perform early term abortions during a woman’s first trimester of pregnancy. Reaction to Senate Bill 1501 …
UCAN to Undergo Court-Supervised Reorganization
Beleaguered Utility Consumers' Action Network, the watchdog nonprofit with myriad legal problems, today (Feb. 28) posted on its website an unsigned notice indicating that it "has initiated a Superior Court-supervised reorganization" that might permit the group to address "persistent legal …
New Signage for Shelter Island
After a long wait, Shelter Island is finally getting its own entryway monument. On Friday, City Council President Pro Tem Kevin Faulconer will join Lou Smith, chairman of the Board of Port Commissioners, and San Diego Port Tenants Association president …
Sempra Still Says It's "Probable" It Will Jab Customers
Sempra Energy came out with its annual report or 10-K statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission today (Feb. 28). Although there is a battle going on with ratepayers, Sempra still says that it is probable that its San …
Is $3000-$6000 Per Year Too Much for Veteran Parking Exemption?
Tonight, the Community Planning Committee-- comprised of members from planning groups around the City, will discuss a proposal to grant free parking for veterans with special license plates such as Pearl Harbor Survivor Plates, Legion of Valor Plates, Former American …
Bob Filner Endorses Medicinal Marijuana Tax Initiative
Congressman Bob Filner is the first mayoral candidate to endorse San Diego’s Compassionate Use Dispensary Regulation and Taxation initiative. In 17-pages, the initiative outlines how to restore safe access throughout the city while keeping money away from drug dealers and …
Assemblyman Ben Hueso Not Giving Up Proposal For A State Bank
Assemblyman Ben Hueso isn't backing away from his plan to create a state bank. Hueso believes a state-run Investment Bank would make it easier to track revenues, spur economic development by providing low-cost lending to small businesses, and generate extra …
SD Home Values Down 40% from Peak
San Diego home values dropped 0.7% from November to December, according to Case-Shiller/Standard & Poor's data released this morning (Feb. 28). That was less than the 1.1% drop of the top 20 metro areas. For the year, however, San Diego's …
Ten Nabbed for Providing Alcohol to Minors
San Diego Sheriff’s Department deputies, in conjunction with state Alcoholic Beverage Control agents, conducted Minor Decoy and Shoulder Tap operations in the Vista area Friday night. Under the Minor Decoy program, an underage individual enters a state-licensed facility serving alcohol …
Santorum Super PAC Gets $50,000 from El Cajon's Caster
GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum, locked in a tight race with part-time La Jolla resident Mitt Romney in tomorrow's Michigan primary, has picked up some sizable support from El Cajon self-storage magnate Terrence R. Caster. Caster, an original backer of …
Grand Jury Demands UCAN Financial Records
Utility Consumers' Action Network (UCAN), a prominent watchdog operation, has received a subpoena to testify before a federal grand jury. In a document that I have seen, the U.S. Attorney's office wants all records relating to UCAN and a related …
Safety Report Reveals More San Onofre Violations
A Nuclear Regulatory Commission report issued February 9 but receiving little public attention since calls to light five safety incidents at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station during an inspection completed December 31, 2011. Two of the violations were identified …
La Jolla High Grad Brain-Damaged, Mother Sues UC Regents
A San Diego woman is suing the University of California regents and the Berkeley Student Cooperative, alleging that they failed to crack down on an epidemic of illegal drug use at UC Berkeley that led to her son's severe brain …
City Proposes Waiving Parking Meter Fees For Some Veterans
On Tuesday, City traffic engineer Mark Rogers will appear at the monthly meeting of the Community Planners Committee, comprised of planning representatives from around the City, to discuss a proposal that excuses "certain" veterans from having to feed parking meters. …
Local Jeweler Stumps For $100 a Plate DeMaio Dinner Party
Local jeweler Leo Hamel is promoting a $100-a-plate dinner/fundraiser for mayoral hopeful Carl DeMaio. “I tend not to get involved publicly in politics,” says an email drafted by Hamel and distributed by DeMaio’s campaign. “But with the direction the city …
Utilities Commission to Hear from San Diego Public
The California Public Utilities Commission today said that there will be an open meeting April 5 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. for San Diegans to state their opinions to commission officials about San Diego Gas & Electric's attempt to …
Southeastern San Diego Closer to Banning For-Sale Vehicles from City Streets
For more than a year, residents of Southeastern San Diego have taken issue with the number of vehicles for sale that are parked in their community. On Tuesday, their complaints will finally be answered. That day, city councilmembers will consider …
Sempra Agrees to Disclose Political Activity to New York Pension Fund
More light on the secretive political goings-on at San Diego-based utility giant Sempra Energy is about to be shed, according to an announcement today by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. Sempra, along with two other corporations based in …
Carlsbad Broker Nailed for Hyping Biotech Stock
On Jan. 31, a federal court in Illinois entered a default judgment against Daniel J. Burns of Carlsbad. He is to pay $1.1 million in disgorgement and interest. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Burns was paid for manipulating …
Is Chula Vista's Economy on the Rebound?
The recession has taken its toll on Chula Vista in more ways than a glut of foreclosures. Recently, the women's apparel store, Chico's, went out of business in Otay Ranch Town Center. Last year, Otay Ranch also lost the upscale …
Another Alleged San Diego Ponzi
The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday (Feb. 21) in federal court charged Carlsbad's Steven L. Hamilton with allegedly bilking 23 investors of $1.6 million in a series of Ponzi schemes. According to the agency, between 2007 and 2011, Hamilton told …
Sanders Shopping for Costly TV System
San Diego taxpayers who find themselves longing for a more penetrating view of Carl DeMaio's hair, a closer examination of Marti Emerald's pancake make-up, or who just want to better admire the newly svelte physique of Jerry Sanders can rest …
Tourism Picking Up, But More Slowly in SD
The hotel business is gaining momentum in California markets, according to January data from Smith Travel Research. Hotel-expert Jerry Morrison of La Jolla's Morrison & Co. notes that this January, the San Diego occupancy rate picked up 1.7% from a …
Solana Beach Moves Closer to Banning Plastic Bags
Soon shoppers in Solana Beach won't have the choice between 'paper or plastic', that is, if the city council approves the Plastic Bag Reduction Use Ordinance. On February 21, the city released the environmental documents necessary to proceed with a …
Proposal Could Limit Health Insurance Rate Hikes
A volunteer-backed citizens’ group calling itself Consumer Watchdog is pushing an initiative that would give the state insurance commissioner the power to reject excessive hikes in health care rates. Current Commissioner Dave Jones complained during a San Diego appearance last …
County Says High Price of OxyContin Is Causing Increased Heroin Use
The number of people shooting up heroin is skyrocketing in San Diego County, according to data from the County's Health and Human Services Agency. The reason for the higher numbers; the rising cost of OxyContin, which is said to have …
Manchester Gives Another $25,000 to Romney Super PAC
A firm run by U-T San Diego owner and La Jolla-based developer and hotel mogul Doug Manchester has given $25,000 to Restore Our Future, the so-called Super PAC that is backing the GOP presidential bid of part-time La Jolla resident …
Fletcher Pledges to Make Transit, Cyclist Access a Priority
San Diego mayoral candidate Nathan Fletcher met with cycling advocates on Saturday, February 18, to discuss ways the city could become more hospitable to bicycle commuters. Fletcher told Bike San Diego that he envisions changing San Diego’s motto from “America’s …
Controversial Bridgepoint, Sunroad End Lease
Two of San Diego's most controversial entities, for-profit college Bridgepoint Education and office operator Sunroad Centrum ended a lease agreement, according to a Sunroad filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday (Feb. 17). Bridgepoint, whose staggering dropout rate …
San Diego a "Strong City?"
San Diego may be be one of the next cities featured on Strong Cities | Strong State, a website “designed to communicate the importance of local government in California residents’ everyday lives.” Records show that the city sent $100,476 from …
Lemon Grove City Council Calls for Removal of Illegal Signs
Lemon Grove city councilmembers are looking to spruce up the City's commercial corridor. They plan to do so by removing all illegal signage from street poles and street corners. The initiative is one of thirteen priorities that city councilmembers identified …
UCAN Joins Fight Against Utility's Treatment of Customers
Utility Consumers' Action Network, local utility watchdog, has filed a complaint with the California Public Utilities Commission against San Diego Gas & Electric's attempt to pass uninsured costs of the 2007 wildfires and future fires to ratepayers, instead of to …
Irwin Jacobs, Sycuan, and Viejas Backing Brown Tax Hike
Democratic Governor Jerry Brown's bid to convince California voters to raise taxes in the Golden State has found three more financial angels in San Diego county. La Jolla billionaire Irwin Jacobs chipped in $5,000 on February 15, according to a …
USD Student's Police Work Leads to Recovery of Stolen Laptop
Two students at the University of San Diego were recently the victims of electronics theft, the USD Vista reports. Both students reported that their items, a digital camera and a laptop, went missing shortly after encounters with a woman described …
Sheriff's Sobriety Checkpoint Yields No DUIs, Least Revenue, Auditor Says
California's state auditor is out with a report comparing the operation of sobriety checkpoints by law enforcment agencies in five California jurisdictions, including that of San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore. "No federal or state statutes or regulations exist governing …
Mid-City Rapid Bus Project One Stop Closer to Construction
On Friday, members of San Diego Association of Governments' (SANDAG) Transportation Committee received an update on the Mid-City Rapid Bus project, a $44 million dollar project to implement rapid bus service from San Diego State University along El Cajon Boulevard …
Michael T. Pines Files Another Suit
Michael T. Pines, who as a North County lawyer advised clients to retake possession of their foreclosed homes, has filed another suit. (His license has been snatched by the state bar, but he can file his own suit.) This suit …
Two Brokers Disciplined
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority revealed in its February report that it has disciplined two San Diego County brokers. Robert John Clark of Vista was fined $25,000 and suspended 6 months for selling a private placement investment aggregating $350,000 to …
July 4th Parade in Mitt Romney's Barber Tract May Be Cancelled
For decades, the annual Independence Day parade has been a cherished tradition of La Jolla's Barber Tract, the tony oceanfront neighborhood where GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney maintains a beach house getaway. Residents decorate their historic houses in patriotic bunting, …
Expert Prediction: Foreclosures Will Slow In 2012
Real estate investors are making a big splash at foreclosure auctions in California and across the country, the website ForeclosureRadar is reporting. The Golden State had the most third-party auction sales in the nation in January, with bidders purchasing 3,964 …
Monarch School for Homeless Children to Break Ground on New Campus
Officials from San Diego's Monarch School are set to break ground on a new campus tomorrow. The K-12 school, exclusively for children and teens impacted by homelessness, has outgrown the current 10,000 square foot facility on Cedar Street. The new …
Democrats Blast SANDAG Transit Plan
The Environmental Caucus of the California Democratic Party yesterday released a resolution it reached unanimously at last weekend’s state convention condemning the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG)’s Regional Transit Plan. The group blasts SANDAG for failing to consider state …
V.A. Inspector General Says Problems at Call Center Risk Veterans’ Lives
The Inspector General of the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department has issued a report highly critical of emergency call handling by the Department of Veterans Affairs Healthcare System in San Diego. The report says 20 agents are employed by the healthcare …
Do Sempra Shareholders Need Any Further Massaging?
San Diego Gas & Electric's strategy (with the California Public Utilities Commission's surreptitious concurrence) is a classic case of an American corporation raping its customers to enrich its shareholders. You can see this from information provided by Sempra Energy, SDG&E's …
Homeless Veterans Neglected
A new study by the National University System Institute for Policy Research calculates that on any given night, 1700 to 2000 homeless veterans are on San Diego County streets or in shelters. Between 2009 and 2010, some $54 million was …
CCDC Chairman Says Fat City Not A Good Fit
CCDC chairman Kim John Kilkenny feels the 232-condo mixed-use development proposed for the corner of Hawthorn Street and Pacific Highway known as Fat City Lofts doesn't fit in to the City's General Plan. For that reason, Kilkenny shot the project …
UCSD Students Treat Haitian Earthquake Victims With Phantom Limb Pain
In 2011, a group of students from UCSD traveled to Haiti as part of the Clinton Global Initiative to treat some of the thousands of residents who experience phantom limb pain from amputations that followed the 2010 earthquake that decimated …
Redevelopment Watchdog Draws $200 Fine for Late Filing
With the demise of California redevelopment law, cities throughout the state have been forced to disband the large and complex local bureaucracies that sprung up to adminster the expensive programs. One bit of overhead came in the form of money …
Planner Loses Certification But Keeps Using It
In August 2011, the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards permanently revoked the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) certification of Martin Batstone of Wealth Advisors, Inc., but he continued to carry the CFP designation on the firm's website and through his …
Rick Perry's La Jolla Super PAC Reinvents Itself
Presidential candidates come and go, but, like corporations, political action committees have a life of their own. Take, for example, Americans for Rick Perry, the La Jolla-based independent super PAC that was making waves back in August when we reported …
Council Committee to Hear Ordinance That Would Ban Smoking in Multi-Family Housing
On Wednesday, the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee will review a proposal that would make smoking in multi-family housing units a public nuisance. The ordinance, drafted by the San Diego Non-Smoking Housing Task Force, outlaws smoking tobacco, real or …
Filner's House Campaign Committee Still in Business
Democratic congressman Bob Filner, currently a San Diego mayoral candidate, continued to collect money for his House campaign committee during the final three months of last year, according to a recently filed federal financial disclosure. There were only two big …
Democrats Release Endorsements
The final day of the California Democratic Party Convention yielded a slate of endorsements and official party positions on confirmed ballot measures. Local endorsements for the state Assembly include RJ Hernandez in the 77th district covering north inland San Diego …
Occupy Makes Democratic Convention Showing
Members of the Occupy movement had perhaps their strongest San Diego showing in recent weeks as the first Occupy SoCal Conference brought together members from various cities across the region on Saturday. Convention-goers leaving Hall C of the San Diego …
Saldaña Falls Short in Endorsement Bid
Lori Saldaña tonight fell one vote short of garnering the 60% support needed to secure official party endorsement at the California Democratic Convention tonight. Of 42 caucus votes cast, Saldaña received 25, while fellow Democrat Scott Peters received ten and …
County Says Students At Carlsbad Elementary School May Have Been Exposed To Bacterial Meningitis
Officials from the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency suspect a kindergarten student at Poinsettia Elementary School in Carlsbad may have been infected with a bacteria known to lead to cerebrospinal meningitis. Agency officials and representatives from Carlsbad …
Issa Staffers Hit the Road Courtesy of Special Interests
January was a busy month for travel by two staffers for GOP congressman Darrell Issa. On the tenth of the month, it was off to Las Vegas for Laurent Morgan Crenshaw, an Issa legislative aide, to attend the glitzy Consumer …
Judgment Finalized In Legal Battle Over Golden Hill Maintenance Assessment District
The judgment is final. Now, a group of residents in Golden Hill and South Park — who have spent more than four years fighting the formation of the Greater Golden Hill Maintenance Assessment District — can rest, knowing the district …
Home Affordability Index Up, Says Trade Group
Record-low interest rates and slumping home values have combined to push the state’s housing affordability index to a level matching record highs set in 2009, the California Association of Realtors is reporting. Fifty-five percent of Californians can afford to own …
Texas-Based Non-Profit Joins Fight To Keep Mt. Soledad Cross
The Liberty Institute, a nonprofit firm based in Dallas with the goal of "promoting Judeo-Christian" values, are taking the fight over the Mount Soledad Cross to the Supreme Court, reports the Associated Press. Besides the nonprofit, the Veterans of Foreign …
Jacobs Balboa Park Consultant Paid Lobbyist $40,000
Civitas, Inc., the consulting firm being used by Qualcomm founder Irwin Jacobs to design his controversial Balboa Park makeover, has paid $40,000 to San Diego lobbying firm MJE Marketing Services to promote the plan at city hall. Accordng to MJE's …
SD Home Values May Bottom Late This Year
San Diego is among a group of metro areas whose home values will likely hit bottom late this year, according to Zillow. Others are Dallas, Denver, Miami, New York, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Tampa, says the housing research firm. San …
SEC Settles Coal-to-Ethanol Case with Widow
Early this month, the Securities and Exchange Commission settled a case against Margaret Grey, widow of the head of La Jolla's Nova Gen, which sold stock to investors on the claim that it had rights to a technology that would …
Mayor Sanders Shows Support For Bonnie Dumanis In YouTube Video
Mayor Jerry Sanders isn't shying away from his support for Bonnie Dumanis to become San Diego's next mayor, despite a recent poll from KGTV Channel 10 that has the District Attorney in the back of the pack with 14 percent …
The City's Plan on Deferred Maintenance
According to city staff, San Diego would need to spend $478 million to smooth out streets, $185 million to repair crumbling buildings, and $235 million on storm drains; a total of $898 million to catch up on deferred maintenance. This …
Building Trades' Family Housing Corporation Re-Elects Board Members
The San Diego Building Trades Council yesterday announced the recent re-election of its Family Housing Corporation board members for 2012. Tom Lemmon, the San Diego County Building and Construction Trades Council’s Business Manager, will remain chairman. Peter Zovanyi, representing the …
Workforce Index Rises for Fifth Straight Month
The San Diego Workforce Index, published by the San Diego Workforce Partnership, rose to 86.96 in December from 86.70 in November, the fifth straight monthly gain. Indeed.com available jobs dropped and the number of first-time filers for unemployment insurance rose, …
Penny Stock Brokerage Disciplined
World Trade Financial Corp., a brokerage specializing in over-the-counter and penny stocks, has been nailed by both the Securities and Exchange Commission and independent Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. First, the regulatory authority fined the firm and fined and suspended three …
Filner Vietnam Trip Paid for by Lawyers Group
A trip last month to Vietnam by Democratic Congressman Bob Filner, running for mayor of San Diego, was paid for by the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, a so-called non-governmental organization. The group's causes include the plight of Vietnamese victims …
DeMaio, Filner Are Likely Runoff Candidates in Mayoral Race
A poll conducted by SurveyUSA shows Republican Carl DeMaio and Democrat Bob Filner in a virtual tie on top of the list of hopefuls in San Diego’s next mayoral election. Filner, who has had a notably small campaign presence aside …
County Supervisors Declare Synthetic Stimulants A Public Nuisance
County Supervisors continued their crackdown on synthetic drugs at a board meeting today. The drugs, also known as "spice" and bath salts, are now considered a public nuisance in unincorporated areas of San Diego County. The declaration is meant to …
Border Militarization Protects Defense Profits as Wars Wind Down
A mix of heavy contributions to political campaigns and the diminishing overseas military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan can largely be credited with the militarization of the United States/Mexico border, The American Independent/Texas Independent is reporting. According to the Associated …
Supervisors Say Bill Would Put Groomers on Too Short a Leash
County Supervisors agreed to oppose state legislation aimed at regulating pet grooming businesses. The legislation, introduced by state senator Juan Vargas, would impose fines on groomers who are not licensed by the state and fail to meet workplace standards. Supervisor …
Top Qualcomm Executives Give Big to Nathan Fletcher
GOP Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher appears to be the semi-official candidate of the executive class at Qualcomm, Inc., the locally-founded mobile phone giant that has been in the news of late for its controversial Snapdragon Stadium promotional gambit. According to the …
More Concerns Over San Onofre Safety
Concerns about safety and the durability of components at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station are continuing to surface as the plant approaches a full week of complete shutdown. The plant’s Unit 3 reactor was taken out of commission after a …
CPUC Sued for Allegedly Not Sharing Information
Attorney Mike Aguirre today (Feb. 6) sued the California Public Utilities Commission in Superior Court for not disclosing records pertaining to San Diego Gas & Electric's attempt to get its customers to pick up the tab for 2007 wildfire liabilities …
Medical Marijuana Inc. Reports Jump in Revenue
San Diego based Medical Marijuana Inc., which describes itself as “a publicly traded holding company which invests, develops and owns subsidiaries engaged in a number of diversified international businesses within the Medical Cannabis and Industrial Hemp Industries,” announced that its …
Chula Vista's Alleged Foreclosure Scams
Chula Vista Council member Rudy Ramirez will use his monthly public office hours to discuss "an alleged housing scam where foreclosed homes are being rented out by a company that does not own the properties." At the January 24 city …
A Guide to Ralph Inzunza's Life in Prison
Former San Diego city councilman Ralph Inzunza is finally behind bars, the only council defendant to go to prison in the city's Cheetahs strip club bribery scandal that grew out of the role of then-city attorney Casey Gwinn, son of …
Lawyer for Duke's Wife Disbarred
According to the January edition of the Calbar Journal, La Jolla's James A. Macy, the former lawyer for Duke Cunningham's wife, was disbarred Oct. 28 over matters related to his handling of her funds, as well as misappropriating funds in …
Unconditional Surrender Statue to Depart Bayfront
Unconditional Surrender, the 25-foot tall, 6000 pound sculpture depicting a World War II-era sailor kissing a nurse, will soon be removed from the downtown waterfront, reports the Port of San Diego. Owned by the Sculpture Foundation, a Santa Monica, California-based …
Residents of Allied Gardens to Discuss Upcoming Developments and Proposal to Add Parks
As the economy continues to pick up, developers are picking up the pace, submitting proposals to develop large swaths of land in San Diego. That trend is evident in Allied Gardens and along Mission Gorge Road. Because of its proximity …
Vargas Campaign Paid South Lake Tahoe Bistro, Hotel Tabs
State Sen. Juan Vargas, in the midst of a campaign to replace fellow Democrat Bob Filner in Congress, still has two years to go on his present term, so even if he loses the House race he will be able …
Steigerwalt Responds to Bar Charges
Lawyer Kerry Steigerwalt, who headed a heavily-advertised law firm that went out of business in 2010, denied this month charges filed by the State Bar of California in December. The charges were similar to those reported in a Reader column …
Researchers At San Diego Hospice Center Say Ketamine Helps Treat Depression
Doctors at the San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine are putting the "special" back in the hallucinogen known as "Special-K," or ketamine. Doctors at the hospice center are studying the use of the powerful hallucinogenic to help …
Goodell Shuts Door on NFL Teams Moving
The big controversy over the Chargers moving to Los Angeles would appear to be over. National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell said on TV last night (Thursday, Feb. 2) that the league "doesn't want to move any of our teams." …
Political Disclosure Bill Fails, Fletcher Sole Republican Supporter
Assembly Bill 1148, a proposed law that would’ve required greater disclosure regarding the financing sources of political advertising, fell two votes short of the two-thirds supermajority needed to pass the California Assembly on Tuedsay. We reported on the proposal in …
U.S. Adds 243,000 Jobs, Unemployment Drops to 8.3%
The U.S. gained 243,000 jobs in January — around double economists' expectations — as the unemployment rate dropped to 8.3%, the Labor Department said today (Feb. 3). The rate has now declined for five straight months, although that's partly because …
Gaylord Entertainment to Return to Chula Vista?
In November 2008 Gaylord Entertainment called it quits in Chula Vista. The Nashville-based company had ambitious plans for the city's bayfront which included a convention center and 1600 room hotel. A recent article in the Nashville Business Journal says Mayor …
El Centro Unemployment Remains Nation's Highest
El Centro, the Imperial County desert community east of San Diego’s Laguna Mountains, continues to be plagued by the nation’s highest unemployment rate, the Imperial Valley Press reports. 26.8 percent of El Centro residents were officially counted in unemployment statistics …
Qualcomm's Jacobs and Scott Peter's Wife Give Big to Democrats
It may be part-time home to GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney, but traditionally conservative La Jolla also has more than a few big money Democrats in residence these days. Such is revealed by the most recent federal campaign finance filings, …
Developer Responds to Proposal to Build Franklin Ridge Road Extension
Marco Sessa, Senior Vice President of Development at Sudberry Properties, says his company is not pushing for the construction for the proposed Franklin Ridge Road which will link the Civita mixed-use development in Mission Valley to Serra Mesa. And, he …
Emails Show Snapdragon Deal Left Key Financial Official in the Dark
San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders has finally released documents responding to the California public records act request we made on December 12 of last year regarding his then-incipient "Snapdragon Stadium" promotional name-change gambit. As we were first to report last …
Vargas 2010 Campaign Reports Debts of $375,784
Democratic state senator Juan Vargas, running against ex–state senator Denise Ducheny to replace Bob Filner in Congress, has continued to collect big money in its 2010 state campaign account, Juan Vargas for Senate 2010, a recent filing with the California …
Committee Requests More Information on Managed Competition
The Independent Budget Analyst wants the Mayor's office to be more forthcoming when it comes to Managed Competition. In a January 5 memo, Independent Budget Analyst Andrea Tevlin knocked the program over the lack of information provided to the City …
Suit Seeks to Block Auction of Caltrans Building in Old Town
Preservation group Save Our Heritage Organisation has filed suit in Sacrament Superior Court in order to block Caltrans from auctioning off its former Old Town office complex to the highest private bidder. The group alleges that Caltrans violated the California …
Radioactive Leak Shuts San Onofre, Critics Had Voiced Safety Concerns
Precautionary shutdown operations began last night at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station’s Unit 3 reactor due to “a possible leak in one of the unit’s steam generator tubes,” says a release from plant operator Southern California Edison. The generators siphon …
School Burglary Investigation Leads to Pot, Weapons Arrests
San Marcos Unified School District's Sheriff's School Resource Officers arrested five residents of a home on the 500 block of Charlotte Drive in San Marcos yesterday after executing a search warrant related to three recent area school burglaries. After receiving …