Local Unemployment Dips Moderately
The San Diego County unemployment rate for August was 10.2%, down from a revised 10.6% in July and below the 10.7% of a year ago, according to the California Employment Development Department. Nonfarm employment grew by 200 jobs from July …
State Bar Looking at Shames Again
The State Bar of California is once again looking into legal activities of Michael Shames, co-founder and head of Utility Consumers' Action Network (UCAN), a utility watchdog. As I reported earlier, the bar recently closed a probe of Shames's activities. …
Power Outage Cost Local Economy $100 Million
The National University System Institute for Policy Research estimates that the power outage of September 8 and 9 conservatively sucked $97 million to $118 million out of the local economy. The calculation is based on these estimates: length of disruption …
Coronado Hanging Death Ruled Suicide
San Diego County sheriff Bill Gore said today that the death of Rebecca Nalepa was a suicide. In July, she was found nude with a rope around her neck and her hands and feet bound at the home of Jonah …
U.S. Had Zero Job Growth in August
The U.S. economy added no jobs in August, the government announced this morning (Sept. 2). Economists had expected a gain of 53,000 jobs. The unemployment rate stayed at 9.1%. The most depressing part of the picture was, perhaps, that 42.9% …
Index Points to Little San Diego Hiring
The San Diego Workforce Index, compiled by the San Diego Workforce Partnership, declined for the second straight month in July. Local job losses, sagging consumer confidence, and a slight rise in the unemployment rate weighed heavily on the index. "I …
Goldsmith Quietly Drops DROP Appeal
On June 15, City Attorney Jan Goldsmith quietly dropped an appeal that he had filed with the 4th Appellate District of a case against allegedly excessive employee benefits that had been lost at the trial level by his predecessor, Mike …
SD Home Values Rise Slightly in June
San Diego home values rose 0.2% in June from May, according to Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller data released this morning (Aug. 30). That was less than the 1.1% average increase of the 20 major metro areas. San Diego County's values were …
Eleven Bay Area Papers Will Combine into Two
In what may be a precursor of a Southern California newspaper amalgamation, MediaNews Group announced this week that it is combining its eleven Bay Area papers into two. The Denver-based company expects to reduce its Bay Area staff by 1,500, …
U-T Wouldn't Print Issa Piece, Draws Criticism
At left: art from Poynter report On Aug. 15, the New York Times ran a long, front page story on how North County Rep. Darrell Issa continues running businesses rather than putting his money in a blind trust, as other …
How Issa Raped Small Investors
Floyd Norris has a column in today's (Aug. 19) New York Times showing how North County's Rep. Darrell Issa screwed small investors in a Vista-based company named DEI Holdings, maker of such things as vehicle security devices -- Issa's road …
SD Unemployment Rate Rises to 10.5%
San Diego County lost 6000 non-farm jobs from June to July as the unemployment rate rose to 10.5%, up from a revised 10.4% in June, according to the California Employment Development Department. The biggest decline came in government jobs, down …
Mayor Dodges Second Deposition in Kessler Case
Mayor Jerry Sanders won't be deposed a second time in the Kessler vs. City of San Diego case, according to a ruling today (Aug. 18) by Superior Court Judge John Meyer. Scott Kessler was an official who was fired by …
NY Times Probes Issa's Business Deals
The New York Times today (Aug. 15) gives more details on North County Rep. Darrell Issa's "meshing of public and private interests rarely seen in government." From the third floor of a Vista office building he runs his vast business …
Scripps Florida Stirs Hornets' Nest with New Hospital Plan
Back in 2003 and 2004, then-Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida seduced La Jolla's Scripps Research Institute into setting up an operation in Palm Beach County. The grease: $600 million in subsidies from both the state and the county. Scripps took …
Bar Closes Shames Investigation
The State Bar of California has closed an investigation of Michael Shames, head of Utility Consumers' Action Network. A whistleblower had filed a complaint with both the California Public Utilities Commission and the bar, noting that Shames calls himself an …
Platinum Equity Buys Publishing Software Maker
Platinum Equity, Beverly Hills-based private equity firm that owns the Union-Tribune, has bought Denver's Quark, a software company that revolutionized magazine and newspaper industries with page layout software for desktop computers. Under previous management, the U-T had been slow adapting …
Fed Comes to Market's Rescue
As expected (but in an unusual way), the Federal Reserve came to Wall Street's rescue today (Aug. 9). After the stock market chaos of the last several weeks, observers had expected the central bank to pump in liquidity to buoy …
San Diego Does Less Bad Than Nation in Zillow Numbers
San Diego metro area home values continue to drop, but at a slower rate than the nation's, according to numbers released today (Aug. 9) by Zillow Inc. San Diego's home values declined 0.2% from the first to second quarter; the …
SEC Enters Hard Rock Hotel Appeal
The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a friend of the court brief in favor of those suing Tarsadia Hotel, parent of Hard Rock Hotel. Tarsadia sold hotel rooms to the public. People could only occupy the rooms for 28 …