Hot time in the old vice district this Wednesday
Free vibrators to be given out at Stingaree hot spot
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, pimps and prostitutes prowled San Diego's Stingaree district south of Broadway, roughly bounded by 1st and 5th Streets, and Market and K. This Wednesday, March 27, more modern forms of pleasures of …
Qualcomm puts big bucks in offshore havens to avoid U.S. taxes
Added $2.9 billion to stash last year -- 22nd among U.S. companies
Qualcomm in the past year added $2.9 billion to its stash of profits shifted to foreign tax havens, according to Citizens for Tax Justice, which points out that in most cases, companies earn the money in the United States but …
SD unemployment rises in January as jobs decline
Not surprisingly, retail jobs account for one-third of job loss
The San Diego County unemployment rate was 8.6% in January, up from a revised 8.2% in December and below the 9.5% of a year earlier. The county lost 22,000 jobs between December and January, 7,500 of which were in retailing, …
New York Times cites LPL's regulatory problems
Brokerage sells high-commission non-traded REITs, among other things
San Diego-based LPL Financial has grown into the nation's fourth largest brokerage firm with 13,300 brokers, 6,500 offices and 4.3 million customers -- but "a growing list of problems with regulators," notes the New York Times in a story this …
Papa Doug's son says he is for same-sex marriage
Says his father now regrets the funds he provided to Prop. 8
The Austin Chronicle, in an article that was picked up here, confused Douglas F. "Papa Doug" Manchester, founder of Manchester Financial Group, with his son, Douglas W. Manchester, president of the Manchester Texas Financial Group. The young Manchester emailed the …
Quail Brush, Pio Pico turned down, but....
Door seems to open for SDGE to try again for new plants
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), meeting today (March 21), turned down Quail Brush and Pio Pico power plants that San Diego Gas & Electric (SDGE) has been pushing for. San Diegans have expressed strong opposition to both plants, and …
Tentatively, judge sides with Filner in TMD dispute
Oral arguments to be heard Friday
Superior Court Judge Timothy Taylor today (March 21) turned down the request of the Tourism Marketing District (TMD) to force Mayor Bob Filner to sign an operating agreement that would provide $30 million annually for tourism promotion from a 2% …
San Diego home values, rents keep rising sharply
County rents 4th highest among major metro areas
Is the housing bubble reinflating? With the Federal Reserve continuing to create money at a frenetic pace, one has to wonder. In February, U.S. home values rose 5.8%. Among the largest 30 markets, San Diego was 8th in year-over-year advance, …
Appellate court refuses to stop closed CPUC meeting
Utilities commission can go ahead with closed conclave tomorrow at Scripps Seaside Forum
The Fourth District Court of Appeal today (March 19) denied a bid by San Diegan Masada Disenhouse to block a meeting tomorrow of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) at Scripps Seaside Forum. The CPUC will be discussing cleantech. Disenhouse …
Print media, TV news hit hard last year, says Pew study
Digital news audience surges, but news media not cashing in
The news industry is "more undermanned and unprepared to uncover stories, dig deep into emerging ones or to question information put into its hands," says Pew Research in its "State of the News Media 2013," published today (March 18). In …
Neurologists recommend stricter concussion guidelines
One risk factor is presence of gene that often leads to Alzheimer's disease
The American Academy of Neurology, meeting today (March 18) in San Diego, issued new guidelines for dealing with athletes' concussions. More than one million athletes experience a concussion each year in the United States; the risks are greatest in football …
Will Chargers leave for LA? Which newspaper d'ya read?
LA Times, U-T, Denver Post have different views on what Anschutz doing
Denver multi-billionaire Philip Anschutz on Thursday decided not to sell his Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG). The bids were too low. Anschutz also fired AEG chief executive Tim Leiweke, who has been dealing with the National Football League, LA politicians, state …
Payment for Illumina's patent suit loss one of nation's largest
However, investors don't seem to be worried about $96 million judgment
On Thursday (March 14) a jury in Tacoma, Washington found that local biotech Illumina, maker of genetic analysis equipment, infringed the patent of Washington-based Syntrix Biosystems on synthetic matrix and array technology. The Washington company's law firm believes it could …
Caterer sentenced for tax evasion
Peltier to pay restitution, serve home incarceration and detention
Robert Peltier, one of two principal owners of Ranch Catering, was ordered to pay $222,822 in restitution today (March 15) for tax evasion in operation of his business. Federal Judge Janis L. Sammartino also sentenced him to serve six months …
Institutions not propelling SD home sales
But big buyers pushing L.A., Vegas, Phoenix, Sacramento sales
Here's good news for the San Diego economy. For the year ended December of 2012, large institutional buyers accounted for only 9% of county home sales, according to Radar Logic Research. By contrast Phoenix (19%), Las Vegas (19%), Sacramento (14%) …
Two local lawyers charged in pump and dump fraud scheme
Carrillo, Huettel fraudulently helped Canadian touts, says SEC
San Diego attorneys Luis J. Carrillo and Wade Huettel, along with their firm, Carrillo Huettel LLP, have been charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with complicity in a pump and dump fraud scheme that allowed a group of …
Remember Blackwater? Documents reveal it was a CIA extension
Tiny town of Potrero fought Blackwater and county bureaucracy -- and won
Back in 2007, the little town San Diego County town of Potrero, right near Tecate and 45 miles from the City of San Diego, took on mercenary firm Blackwater USA, which wanted to build an 824-acre training facility only three …
Archbishop of Buenos Aires named Pope
Jorge Mario Bergoglio chooses name "Francis"
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, has been named Pope. The white smoke appeared in Rome at 11:06 a.m. West Coast time, and the new Pope appeared a little more than an hour later.
Will Koch brothers help Papa Doug buy LA Times or parent Tribune Co.?
Rumors racing; Manchester, Kochs would probably return Times to bad old days
Today (March 12), rumors are flying on the web that the arch-conservative, multi-billionaire Koch brothers, Charles and David, may financially help Papa Doug Manchester buy the Los Angeles Times or its parent, the Tribune Co., which recently emerged from a …
Bridgepoint Education revenue, profits fall
But company's profits top Wall Street expectations; stock rises
Controversial Bridgepoint Education, the for-profit university operation that is being probed by government bodies and is having trouble with accreditors, suffered a fourth quarter drop of 30 percent in net income, as enrollment dropped about the same percentage. For the …