Jacob Piles Up Heavy Cash, Faces Only One Challenger
Longtime incumbent San Diego county supervisor Dianne Jacob, facing just one challenger in her bid for re-election this year, has built up a daunting campaign war chest, thanks to some of the county's wealthiest special interests. The situation is similar …
Transborder Report Blasts Handling of Jorge Hank Rhon Case
The Trans-Border Institute at the Univesity of San Diego has released its third annual report on the drug war in Mexico, noting that there were 50,000 organized crime murders in Mexico from 2006 through 2011. "On average, for every day …
Sanders Aide Quits to Work for Familiar Lobbying Outfit
As the final mayoral term of ex-San Diego police chief Jerry Sanders winds down, longtime staffers are making plans to head for the exits. But one of them announced yesterday she wasn't going to venture too far from the fold. …
Dumanis Shopping for Netflix-Savvy High Def TVs
San Diego county District Attorney and mayoral candidate Bonnie Dumanis has put out word that she's in the market for a few big screen "smart" TVs, equipped for interactive game playing and Netflix and Vudu video streaming. According to a …
L.A. Stadium Rivals Give Big to Labor-Backed Term Limits Changes
L.A. Live Properties, LLC, a corporation controlled by conservative billionaire Philip Anschutz, has given $100,000 to a state campaign committee calling itself "Californians for a Fresh Start, a Coalition of Businesses, Businesspersons, and Working Men and Women." Majestic Realty, the …
San Diego Card Room Battling State Gambling Enforcers
California gambling regulators have recommended denial of licenses for the owners and operators of the Palomar Card Club on El Cajon Boulevard, and the state's Gambling Control Board has voted to conduct an evidentiary hearing on the matter at a …
Audit Relates Disclosure Violations by Strong Mayor Committee
A little-noticed audit released in January by San Diego's city Ethics Commission sheds some interesting new light on the operation of the "Yes on Propositions A, B & C Committee," which funded 2008's successful campaign to change the city charter, …
Spanos Clan to Host Romney Fundraiser at Stockton Estate
GOP presidential candidate and part-time La Jolla resident Mitt Romney will be in Stockton on March 27 for a fundraiser being thrown for him at the posh estate of Chargers owner Alex Spanos, according to today's Stockton Record. There will …
Vargas Corporate Backers to be Fined for Hiding Identity
Two years ago this month we reported that political consultant Larry Remer--who once worked with Jane Fonda and her then-husband, former radical and liberal Democratic state Sen. Tom Hayden--had been employed by a political committee backed by a business lobbying …
City Invites Bids for Miramar Landfill Operation
San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders abandoned his plan to sell off the city's Miramar landfill--a move he once billed as crucial to his financial recovery plan--back in February of last year, when three firms backed out of the bidding without …
Newsom Attacks Critic of Project Backed by Wealthy Donor
Democratic California Lt. Gov Gavin Newsom has fired off a letter to San Diego architect and state Historic Preservation Officer Mildford Wayne Donaldson, criticizing Donaldson for questioning the Plaza de Panama plan, that controversial traffic and parking makeover of Balboa …
Governor Has Big Stake in Firm of Fair Board Appointee's Father
Anne Gust, former GAP executive and wife of Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, last year owned stock in San Diego-based Jack in the Box worth between $100,000 and $1 million, according to the governor's personal financial disclosure for 2011, filed yesterday …
Audit Faults San Diego Unified Schools Grant Management
An audit by the California Department of Finance has found that the San Diego Unified School District "did not adequately monitor and review subcontractor costs" regarding a grant made for the district's "Reducing DUI Among San Diego’s Latino Youth" program. …
UCSD Hospital Overcharged Medicare, Federal Audit Finds
Auditors for the Inspector General of the United States Department of Health and Human Services have found that the UCSD Medical Center hospital overcharged the federal Medicare program a total of more than $350,000 on 99 of 210 claims sampled …
Santorum Super PAC Gets $50,000 from El Cajon's Caster
GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum, locked in a tight race with part-time La Jolla resident Mitt Romney in tomorrow's Michigan primary, has picked up some sizable support from El Cajon self-storage magnate Terrence R. Caster. Caster, an original backer of …
La Jolla High Grad Brain-Damaged, Mother Sues UC Regents
A San Diego woman is suing the University of California regents and the Berkeley Student Cooperative, alleging that they failed to crack down on an epidemic of illegal drug use at UC Berkeley that led to her son's severe brain …
Sempra Agrees to Disclose Political Activity to New York Pension Fund
More light on the secretive political goings-on at San Diego-based utility giant Sempra Energy is about to be shed, according to an announcement today by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. Sempra, along with two other corporations based in …
Sanders Shopping for Costly TV System
San Diego taxpayers who find themselves longing for a more penetrating view of Carl DeMaio's hair, a closer examination of Marti Emerald's pancake make-up, or who just want to better admire the newly svelte physique of Jerry Sanders can rest …
Manchester Gives Another $25,000 to Romney Super PAC
A firm run by U-T San Diego owner and La Jolla-based developer and hotel mogul Doug Manchester has given $25,000 to Restore Our Future, the so-called Super PAC that is backing the GOP presidential bid of part-time La Jolla resident …
Irwin Jacobs, Sycuan, and Viejas Backing Brown Tax Hike
Democratic Governor Jerry Brown's bid to convince California voters to raise taxes in the Golden State has found three more financial angels in San Diego county. La Jolla billionaire Irwin Jacobs chipped in $5,000 on February 15, according to a …