Jefferson and the bar
Local law school last in state in students passing bar
Columnist Staci Zaretsky of the publication "Above the Law" has published a list of how the state's 21 American Bar Association-accredited law schools did in the July 2012 bar exams. In first place was Stanford, as 93.7% of its grads …
Shames sues UCAN
Co-founder of watchdog claims character assassination, says news service
The Courthouse News Service said today (Jan. 4) that Michael Shames has sued Utility Consumers' Action Network (UCAN), the organization he once headed, for a "systematic and calculated plan of character assassination and economic harassment." (I have not yet seen …
Peregrine accountant defrocked
San Diego's major accounting scam happened a decade ago
Effective Dec. 26, 2012, the California Board of Accountancy has taken the certified public accountant license of Daniel Stulac, who now lives in Racine, Wisconsin. In February of 2003, Peregrine Systems restated $509 million of revenue that it had improperly …
National unemployment rate stays at 7.8%
U.S. adds 155,000 jobs in December, slightly below November
The nation added 155,000 nonfarm jobs in December, about the same as the 161,000 gain of November, the Labor Department said today (Jan. 4). The jobless rate stayed at 7.8%, down almost a percentage point from a year ago but …
The cliff lines corporate pockets
The fiscal cliff legislation contains concealed goodies for companies
Corporations gleefully picked your pocket in the fiscal cliff legislation that finally passed both houses of Congress last night (Jan. 1). Buried in the legislation, explains Matt Stoller, fellow of the Roosevelt Institute and writer for Naked Capitalism, are some …
Will Chargers hire coach with L.A. star power?
Media speculate next team coach may have to have L.A. glamor
Yahoosports, quoting "multiple sources with an understanding of the Los Angeles and Chargers situation," says the Chargers — now that they have fired coach Norv Turner and general manager A.J. Smith — may look for a new coach that will …
Subsidized sports: Arizona asininity
Glendale, Arizona, which financed hockey team, faces higher taxes, layoffs, debt penalties
Bloomberg News reports this week on more woes of Glendale, Arizona, a city of 230,500 west of Phoenix. The city agreed to pay $308 million over the next 20 years to keep the National Hockey League's Phoenix Coyotes, which had …
Green eggs, green coal?
Dr. Seuss Enterprises dislikes name of new coal company
According to the publication "Think Progress," a new coal gasification startup may be trampling on a name developed by San Diego's beloved Dr. Seuss. A Massachusetts company has raised more than $1 million in seed capital to launch the green …
Pharmaceutical firm pays to settle kickback charges
San Diego's Victory Pharma to pay $11.4 million to settle charges of paying kickbacks to doctors
The Justice Department announced in Washington today (December 27) that San Diego-based Victory Pharma Inc. has agreed to pay $11.4 million to resolve civil and criminal liability from its marketing of pharmaceutical drugs Xodol, Fexmid, and Dolgic. The government alleged …
David Copley owned Lugosi home
Late publisher bought horror movie star's home last year; it's now on market
Last year, David Copley, former owner of the Union-Tribune, purchased the Hollywood home of Bela Lugosi, the former horror film star whose greatest hit was the title role in "Dracula" in 1931, according to the publication "Under the Hollywood Sign." …
Housing: SD beats other metro areas
Home values sink in October, but not in San Diego
Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller housing data, released this morning (Dec. 26), show housing values dipping 0.1% for the 20 major metro areas in October. San Diego, however, was up 1.3%, topping all but two of the cities. In October, San Diego …
Instagram sued
SD law firm files suit over new policy, despite backtracking
San Diego's Finkelstein & Krinsk has filed a proposed class action lawsuit in San Francisco against Instagram, which was purchased by Facebook earlier this year for $715 million. According to the publication Business Insider, the suit charges breach of contract, …
Phone full disclosure
State senate bill would require warning that consumers being ripped off
Sen. Ted W. Lieu of Torrance has introduced Senate Bill 50 that would require pay phone signage warning credit and debit card users in California that a 20-second call might cost them $20. The bill arises in part from two …
SD unemployment rate drops
County gains 7,600 jobs in month, 24,600 in year
The county's unemployment rate dropped to 8.3% in November from a revised 8.6% in October, according to the Employment Development Department. A year ago, the rate was 9.4%. Local government jobs surged 2,100 in the month, primarily from the education …
Sportin' life: how billionaire owners make out
Billionaire-dominated NFL owners have raked in $18.6 billion of taxpayer funds
Bloomberg News has an excellent story today (Dec. 20) noting that since 1992, taxpayers have committed $18.6 billion to National Football League owners in the cost of building stadiums, foregone real estate taxes and the like. There are 32 teams …
San Diego wins one
CPUC thumbs down SDGE's attempt to get customers to pay 2007 fire costs
Quick action by irate San Diegans was almost certainly a factor in today's (Dec. 20) decision by the commissioners of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to turn down San Diego Gas & Electric's attempt to get ratepayers to cough …
Outrageous scam by CPUC
Last-second maneuver by regulator may permit SDGE to pick your pocket of $1 billion
I have been reporting on financial fraud for almost 50 years and seldom if ever have I seen a scam like the one that the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) appears to be pulling on San Diego utility ratepayers. San …
Sports scam
But it's not the owner extortion racket: two indicted for defrauding fans.
The U.S. Attorney's office announced today (Dec. 19) that San Diego twins Anthony and Leopold Casias were arrested yesterday by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents for defrauding sports fans. According to documents related to indictments, the two got clients of …
Home values keep rising
San Diego tops nation in monthly, yearly gains
San Diego area home values rose 1.3% in November, topping the nation's 0.6%, according to Zillow.com figures released this morning (Dec. 19). San Diego's year over year gain of 7.3% also beat the nation's 5.2%. The median value of a …
Happy Holiday Bowl, Bridgepoint!
The Street lists "The 5 Strangest College Bowl Sponsors." One sponsors the Holiday Bowl
Wall Street publication "The Street" looks at the 5 strangest college bowl sponsors. One, of course, is San Diego's highly-controversial Bridgepoint Education, sponsor of the Holiday Bowl. The publication notes that the contestants, Baylor and UCLA, are "actual universities. They …