Relocation notice!
Effective October 17, 2013, News Ticker has moved out of the blogs and into the News & Stories section.
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Entries
Ban? What Ban?
The ordinance being proposed by Imperial Beach City Manager Gary Brown doesn't ban the use of medical marijuana, it just, well, prohibits any dispensaries from distributing it. "Large-scale dispensaries are inconsistent with the City's character," reads a 617-page report to …
Former Metro VW Site Bought By Developer
A grant deed recorded on May 10, 2011, confirmed the transfer of property at 1902 Kettner Boulevard, former home of the Metro Volkswagen dealership. The new owner of record is Broadstone Little Italy LLC, who lists a mailing address in …
Loan Fraudster Gets 30 Months
Michael Trap, owner of a loan modification scheme, was sentenced to 30 months in prison today (June 10) and ordered to pay $460,249 in restitution to victims. According to the U.S. Attorney's office, Trap admitted that in 2009, he and …
Palin Email Reveals Sempra Energy Pipeline Scheme
As we first reported in September 2008, back in 2005 Sempra Energy helped enlist the backing of then-ex Wasilla, Alaska mayor Sarah Palin regarding a scheme to build a liquified natural gas pipeline from the North Slope to Valdez for …
Parking Meters May Be Coming to Bays, Beaches, and Parks
San Diego city councilmembers are searching for ways to chip away at the structural deficit. A few months back, Budget and Finance Committee chair Todd Gloria asked his colleagues to send the Independent Budget Analyst both short-term and long-term solutions …
FBI Feud Derails Border Corruption Cleanup
Mexican drug lords are corrupting U.S. border patrol and customs agents at an increasing pace while supposed watchdogs in the Department of Homeland Security and San Diego FBI officials feud with each other over how to clean up the mess. …
Water Under the Bypass Bridge
One day after Irwin Jacobs announced that he was putting a hold on the Plaza de Panama project, the Save Our Heritage Organisation couldn't hold back the excitement over the decision. "[Save Our Heritage Organisation] is grateful that the bypass …
Filner Reports $13,325 from Public Employees Retirement System
Now that Bob Filner has jumped into the San Diego mayoral race, online researchers will have a ball looking him up on the many D.C. websites dedicated to following members of Congress. One good starting point is OpenSecrets.org, which features …
Filner Is In
It's official, after weeks of speculation Congressman Bob Filner has entered the race to become San Diego's next mayor. Filner is the first high-profile Democratic candidate to announce his candidacy. He joins Republican candidates Bonnie Dumanis, Nathan Fletcher, and councilmember …
Bypassing the Bridge
Mayor Jerry Sanders and Qualcomm cofounder Irwin Jacobs appeared at a Rules Committee meeting on Wednesday in support of a proposal to remove traffic from the Plaza de Panama in Balboa Park. Both Sanders and Jacobs touted the project and …
Oprah Winfrey Picks Up Bob Filner's Freedom Riders Tab
Democratic congressman Bob Filner, who appears to be inching closer toward a mayoral run, made a splash last month when he appeared on one of Oprah Winfrey's final shows to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Riders, of which …
City Settles For $1.8 Million in Wrongful Death Case
In 1999, engineers for the City of San Diego determined that a yield-sign was needed for drivers turning left from Pacific Highway on to Cedar Street. The sign was never installed. Five years later, engineers proposed redesigning the intersection, but …
Mel Shapiro's Lawsuit Against the District Attorney's Office
Longtime civic activist, Mel Shapiro, wants to find out if any complaints have been made against government officials since District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis (left) took office in 2003. In March, Shapiro requested that the District Attorney's Special Operations Division release …
Allied Waste hikes in Oregon a harbinger?
Albany, Oregon is a long way from San Diego. But does prolonged haggling between the city council there and trash behemoth Allied Waste, which also operates here, offer a preview of what's in store if Mayor Jerry Sanders and allies …
Navy Shrink Warns of Synthetic Marijuana Horrors
It's not quite the Manchurian Candidate, but a staff psychiatrist at the Naval Medical Center here has gone public with graphic accounts of local sailors and Marines who've blown their minds on "spice," otherwise known as synthetic cannabis. Third-year resident …
WFP Securities Closes Down
WFP Securities, the San Diego County brokerage whose extremely dubious investments were featured in my April 20 column, has told the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority that it is shutting its doors, according to Investment News. WFP has $14 million in …
Uptown Partnership Stays Parked in Uptown
For years, residents of Uptown lobbied the City to reform the Uptown Partnership, the nonprofit responsible for administering the community parking district in Hillcrest, Mission Hills, Five Points, and Banker's Hill. On December 28 of last year, the city council …
Sheriff Looking To Order Some Heavy Iron
Sheriff Bill Gore has been talking up his plans for high-tech intelligence-driven crime fighting, but he's also quietly hedging his bets by looking to acquire some heavy shooting iron. The sheriff just hired Dr. Noah Fritz to be the department's …
Encinitas Fire Alarms
“Something is not quite right here in Encinitas, there seems to be a lot of collusion and misinformation within our city government," writes resident Steve Meiche in a June 2 email. Meiche, a Los Angeles firefighter and Encinitas Taxpayers Association …
May Jobs Growth Anemic, Unemployment Rate Rises
The nation created a mere 54,000 jobs in May as the unemployment rate rose to 9.1% from 9.0% in April. Economists were expecting 175,000 jobs. Stock market futures sank on the news. The average work week was unchanged from April …