High-End Fletcher Blog Wins D.C. Praise
We'll have to wait until the end of the month for year-end disclosures to find out how much it's costing to run and from where the money came to pay for it, but for now, at least, San Diego GOP …
GOP's Garrick Funds Own Campaign with $100,000
Republican Assemblyman Martin Garrick, ramping up for a state senate bid, has given himself a tidy year-ending gift in the form of a $100,000 personal contribution to his campaign fund, Garrick for Senate 2014. According to a December 31 filing …
Obama Gives Bersin New Homeland Security Job
San Diego's Alan Bersin, who quit his post as Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection just before his so-called recess appointment ran out at the end of the year, has been given a new job in the Obama Administration. At …
Copley Goes for Romney; Burnham and Spanos Pick Perry
As noted here in September, new San Diego Union-Tribune owner Doug Manchester is backing the GOP presidential cause of Mitt Romney, owner of the beachfront La Jolla house where Democratic ex-mayor Maureen O'Connor once lived. So is former U-T proprietor …
Maienschein Lends His Campaign $50,000 on Christmas Eve
Former San Diego city councilman Brian Maienschein gave himself a Christmas Eve gift in the form of an interest-free $50,000 personal loan to his campaign for state Assembly, according to a December 27 disclosure filing with Cailfornia's Secretary of State. …
UCSD Physicians Slow to Adopt iPads, Report Says
According to a report on the website of Kaiser Health News, less than ten percent of UC San Diego Health System physicians are using iPads. The device has been hailed by some as a breakthrough in patient care, offering everything …
Video Conferencing Could Replace San Diego-Sacramento Travel
Bad news for San Diego hotels and restaurants: a government report suggests its workers spend less time here. Travel between San Diego and Sacramento by employees of the U.S. Department of Interior has gotten so costly that the department's office …
Cost of Police Mobile Command Vehicle Grows
Bids are in to build a new high-tech "Mobile Command Vehicle" for San Diego police, and the tab is considerably more than the $250,000 estimate orginally posted on the city's procurement website last month. As we reported in November, the …
Alan Bersin's "Our Border" Site Goes Offline
In the wake of the departure of San Diego's Alan Bersin from his job as U.S. Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, one of his favorite projects at the federal agency has suddenly disappeared from the web. Visitors to "Our …
San Diego Realtors Slapped for Repeated Lobbying Law Violations
The San Diego Association of Realtors has agreed to pay $500 to settle charges it violated the city's lobbying law by repeatedly failing to file quarterly disclosure reports on time. According to a December 15 stipulation agreement posted online by …
Wine Tasting with Filner, Issa plays Tagg for Holiday Fundraising
Democratic congressman Bob Filner, running for mayor of San Diego, has been relatively scarce of late around Capitol corridors, so much so that he's failed to give a dime from his small congressional campaign war chest to the Democratic Congressional …
Bob Filner Dunned by Nancy Pelosi
Leaders of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, facing a hostile electoral climate in many parts of the country and chronically hard-pressed for cash, are turning up the heat on incumbent members who haven't coughed up for the cause. According to …
Audit Finds Lapses, Double Payment in County Asset Handling
An examination by chief of audits James L. Pelletier of San Diego county's fixed assets has turned up a host of major flaws, including failure to adequately account for the fate of property marked for disposal, failing to document assets …
Is San Diego County's Pension Fund Too Transparent?
The San Diego County Employees Retirement Association is knee-deep in controversy, fending off allegations by whistleblower Jeffrey Baker, a former staffer who has alleged he was wrongly terminated after going public with fears that the agency was taking risks with …
Pondering the Fate of Alan Bersin and Obama's Border Policy
A post today on Security Debrief, a website produced by Adfero Group and the George Washington University Homeland Security Policy Institute, points out that "barring an unanticipated miracle" the appointment of Point Loma's Alan Bersin as commissioner of Customs and …
Junior Seau to Promote NFL in L.A.
Chargers fans sifting the tea leaves for hints about whether the team will soon be moving north may want to head to downtown Los Angeles this Sunday for a visit with Junior Seau. The Chargers ex-linebacker--who in February 1997 called …
Jerry Sanders Seeking New Arts Advisor
San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders is in the market for someone to tell him how to draw up a new city arts policy and find ways to spend arts funds collected from developers by the city, according to a request …
Chargers' Fabiani Joins Cancer Company Board
Add yet one more lucrative gig to the resume of Chargers special counsel and La Jollan Mark Fabiani, who has handled the personal travails of everyone from Al Gore and Bill Clinton to cyclist Lance Armstrong and rocker Madonna. Besides …
Union-Tribune Headquarters Sale Valued at $42.5 Million
How much did developer and now media mogul Douglas Manchester pay for the San Diego Union-Tribune? He's keeping details secret, but a deed and trust deed filed as security for a mortgage -- along with leasing agreement related documents recorded …
Sales VP Mark Ficarra Out at Union-Tribune
Los Angeles blogger Matthew Fleischer, who writes "FishbowlLA" at MediaBistro.com, has posted a memo from new Union-Tribune chief operating officer Mike Hodges regarding the departure of Mark Ficarra, former Torrance Daily Breeze publisher and current VP of sales and marketing …