Mike Aguirre Has Hired His Brother at City Attorney's Office; Flak Expected
City Attorney Mike Aguirre has hired his brother, Gary Aguirre, at the city attorney's office, insiders confirm privately. His brother will be in the criminal division. I could not reach Mike Aguirre last night or this morning (Aug. 21). Gary …
If You Get Pitch from L.A. Company called Property Tax Reassessment, Call the D.A.
People in San Diego County and throughout the state are getting a dubious pitch from a company called Property Tax Reassessment. For a fee of $171, it says it will help you get a reduction in property taxes if the …
Novatel Stock Down 24.3 Percent as Wireless Company Foresees Rough Times
Stock of San Diego's Novatel Wireless, broadband access equipment provider, has plunged 24.3 percent today (Aug. 20) following a weak earnings projection and analyst downgrades. The company expects to be barely profitable in the second quarter, down from a profit …
Maritime Terminals Create Good Jobs, Says Research Institute; Idea to "Double-Deck" 10th Ave. Terminal Would Hurt Economy
The two maritime terminals operated by the Port have an estimated annual economic impact between $1.7 billion and $1.8 billion, says the San Diego Institute for Policy Research. The terminals provide 19,298 jobs that on average pay 28 percent more …
Amylin Strock Plunges 13 Percent As Deaths Reported in Use of its Diabetes Drug
Stock of Amylin Pharmaceuticals plummeted 13 percent today (Aug, 18) to $29.76 as the Food and Drug Administration said it is seeking a stronger warning for the company's Byetta diabetes drug. Last year, the drug accounted for 80 percent of …
San Diego Continues Losing Jobs; Unemployment Rate in July Was 6.4 Percent, Above Nation's 6.0 Percent
San Diego County continues to lose jobs, according to the report for July issued today (Aug. 15) by the state's Employment Development Department. Nonfarm employment declined by 9,100 between June and July of this year. The county lost 4,600 jobs …
Bad News for Copley, Good for KUSI: Cox Selling Austin, Other Papers Amid Gloomier Newspaper Environment
Cox Enterprises has put the Austin American-Statesman up for sale, along with ten papers in smaller cities such as Waco. That will leave Cox with only three papers, including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Austin is generally considered a market quite similar …
Co-Counsel in District Attorney's Pension Conflict of Interest Case Takes Job with Superior Court
Will La Fond, who has been co-counsel with Steve Robinson on the district attorney's conflict of interest case against six former City employees and labor leaders, has taken a new job coordinating research lawyers in Superior Court. Deputy District Attorney …
U-T Continues To Overstate Its Circulation Publicly, but a Potential Buyer Won't Be Fooled
On April 28 of this year, the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the official statistics-keeper on newspaper circulation, reported that the Union-Tribune's Monday-Friday circulation was 288,669 for the first six months of 2008. The U-T told its employees recently that June …
Recession Hitting San Diego's Superrich; Some Socialites Wearing the Same Gown Twice; Jewel Ball Doesn't Sell Out
The bear market and economic downturn are taking their toll on San Diego's Beautiful People, reports Margo Schwab, who covers the social scene through "The Social Diary.com." Says Schwab, "Events that always sell out are not. Auction items are less …
Wealthy Local Citizens Discuss Buying U-T, Combining It with KUSI-TV, Possibly Having 24-Hour News Program
A group of wealthy local citizens has approached the Union-Tribune about buying the newspaper, I have confirmed. Michael McKinnon, who along with two sons owns 82.5 percent of the station and its parent, McKinnon Broadcasting, is a major member of …
Mission Hills Nation's 5th Most Overpriced Neighborhood, Says Forbes.com
San Diego's Mission Hills is the country's fifth most overpriced area, according to the new Forbes.com article, "America's Most Overpriced Zip Codes." To be ranked as excessively priced, homebuyers must pay the highest prices relative to what they could pay …
Moores's JMI Knocks Condos Out of Austin Project, Citing San Diego Failures
John Moores's JMI Realty has reduced the size of a planned Austin, Texas building, Hotel Van Zandt, to 16 stories from 29, according to the Austin Business Journal. JMI has scrapped plans for 55 condos in the building that were …
Biogen Idec, Elan Report Tysabri Brain Disease Cases; Stocks Plunge in After-Hour Trading
Biogen Idec and Elan today (July 31) notified regulators of two confirmed cases of a potentially deadly brain disease among patients being treated with the companies' multiple sclerosis (MS) drug, Tysabri. Biogen, based in Cambridge, Mass., several years ago bought …
Bond Law Firm Settles City Attorney's Suit for $2.875 Million
City Attorney Mike Aguirre revealed today (July 29) that the law firm of Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe agreed to pay $2.875 million to settle a pension-related suit filed earlier by the City. Five service-providing firms have now settled pension cases …
San Diego Home Prices Now Back to October '03 Levels. Prices Decline in May, but at Slower Pace
San Diego existing family home prices were down 1.4 percent in May from April, according to the Case-Shiller home price indices released today (July 29) by Standard & Poor's. Only four of 20 major metro areas did worse: Phoenix (down …
Westfield Exec Took Fifth Last Friday. Will Shopping Center Developer Take San Diego to Cleaners?
Last Friday (July 25), Peter Lowy, LA-based head of U.S. operations for Australia's Westfield shopping center empire, took the fifth amendment before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Earlier this month, the subcommittee had issued a report charging that Peter …
Money Flows Out of Brandes's Investment Firm, As Stock Portfolio Fails To Perform
In the second half of last year, the San Diego money management firm of Brandes Investment Partners had $125 billion under management. According to the firm's website, that total was down to $86.4 billion at midyear 2008. The institutional/private client …
A.H. Belo, Initially Considered Candidate To Buy Copley, Reports Big Loss, Layoffs
When Copley Press announced last week it was putting itself up for sale, some analysts thought a logical buyer would be Dallas-based A.H. Belo. The company owns the Dallas Morning News and the Riverside Press-Enterprise, among other newspaper assets. Analysts …
The Question on Nancy Graham: Why Was She Hired in the First Place?
Nancy Graham, who recently resigned as head of Centre City Development Corp., has left the state, supposedly to be with her ill mother. The city attorney's office has been investigating her for a month, and now CCDC will hold its …