Poway Commodities Peddler Nailed
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has revealed that federal court has instituted a consent order against Poway's Douglas Elsworth Wilson and three companies he controls, Elsworth Berg Capital Management, Elsworth Berg, and Elsworth Berg FX LLC. The court ordered …
SEC Chasing Alleged Mining Fraud Involving San Diegans
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed charges against a group of penny stock players for setting up shell companies concealed as mining companies. Tom and Elizabeth Coldicutt, veterans of the wild Vancouver penny stock scene, raked in $5 …
Ailing UCAN Asks CPUC for Survival Help
Troubled watchdog Utility Consumers' Action Network (UCAN) today (Aug. 17) asked the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for creation of an emergency fund that will effectively forward intervenor fees UCAN would eventually get for its participation in the San Diego …
SD Unemployment Rate 9.2% in July
San Diego County lost 4,400 nonfarm jobs from June to July, as the unemployment rate dipped to 9.2% from a revised 9.3% in June, according to the California Employment Development Department. The month-over-month job loss was largely seasonal. Government lost …
Qualcomm's Jacobs Saved $1.58 Million from Bush Tax Cuts
Paul Jacobs, chief executive of Qualcomm, was among the major U.S. top executives saving the most last year because of the Bush tax cuts, according to the Institute for Policy Studies. Jacobs had $34.7 million in taxable compensation last year …
Locker Room Talk May Get Her Job — but Not With Padres
Job applicant Taylor Grey Meyer's earthy retort to the Padres has gone viral on the web, and been picked up by such publications as the New York Daily News. She reportedly has a Master's degree in sports management. According to …
Three Local Lawyers Disbarred
The State Bar of California has disbarred three local attorneys, primarily for misbehavior in loan modification cases. Kent C. Wilson was disbarred for 30 cases of misrepresentation in loan modification actions. He closed his office without notifying clients who had …
Did This Guy Prepare YOUR Taxes?
Steven Martinez of Ramona, a tax preparer and former agent with the Internal Revenue Service, pleaded guilty today (Aug. 10) in federal court to charges of murder-for-hire, witness tampering that involved attempted murder, mail fraud, filing false tax returns, Social …
Blogger Still Unhappy about Voice's Handling of Muni Bond Scam
Joel Thurtell, a Michigan blogger on civic issues (joelontheroad.com), last May broke three excellent stories on a municipal bond outrage in Poway. In clearly-written blogs on May 1, May 10, and May 12, Thurtell described how Poway got seduced into …
Caterer Nailed for Tax Evasion
Robert Peltier, one of two principal owners of Ranch Catering, pleaded guilty today (Aug. 8) to tax evasion. According to the U.S. Attorney's office, in 2003 Peltier deposited proceeds from the business in accounts at two separate banks. But Peltier …
SDGE Asking for Excessive Profits, Say Ratepayer Advocates
The Division of Ratepayer Advocates, a California Public Utilities Commission operation that represents consumers, says San Diego Gas & Electric (SDGE) is asking for a vastly excessive return on equity in the utility's current rate case. SDGE wants an 11% …
Labor Index Dips in June, but Up for Year
The San Diego Workforce Index dipped slightly in June from May, to 86.0 from 86.3. Significant negative results in consumer confidence and the unemployment rate dropped the index, despite moderate improvements in total jobs available, the University of San Diego …
CPUC Head Wants Delay of San Onofre Investigation
Michael Peevey, head of the California Public Utilities Commission, recommended yesterday (Aug. 2) that the agency delay for several months an investigation into billowing costs tied to damage at the San Onofre nuclear power plant, according to the Associated Press. …
Nation Adds 163,000 Jobs in July
President Obama got unexpected good news this morning (Aug. 3): the Labor Department said the nation added 163,000 nonfarm jobs in July, the highest monthly growth since February. Economists had expected 100,000. However, the unemployment rate rose to 8.3% from …
NextWave, Manchester Investment, to be Sold to AT&T
AT&T announced today (Aug. 2) that it will acquire NextWave Wireless for about $600 million. The deal is subject to approval of the Federal Communications Commission and possibly the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission, AT&T said. "Papa Doug" Manchester, …
Psychologist, Defense Contractor Face the Music
Clinical psychologist Roberto J. Velasquez pleaded guilty today (Aug. 2) to falsifying medical reports to the federal government. According to the U.S. Attorney's office, Velasquez falsely certified that dozens of patients were disabled when they were not. He made up …
County Home Values Lag Other Metro Areas
San Diego County home values did slightly worse than the composite of 20 major metro areas in May, according to Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price data released this morning (July 31). San Diego values rose 0.9% from April, lagging the …
Senate Committee Lashes Bridgepoint Education
The U.S. Senate's Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions issued a report today (July 30) on the massive failures of for-profit universities, and San Diego's Bridgepoint Education comes out on the short end once again. (The committee had a …
Financially Ailing UCAN to Hire Auditor
This evening (July 30), the board of watchdog Utility Consumers' Action Network (UCAN) agreed to hire an accountant to prepare the books for the period July 1, 2011 through June 30 of this year. Kim Malcolm, the executive director hired …
Famed Physicist Hawking to Visit San Diego
Illustrious British physicist Stephen Hawking will visit San Diego Aug. 4 for the funeral of his close friend Dennis Avery, who recently died. Hawking, who is known for his theory that black holes in space should emit radiation, suffers from …