Citizen pot bustI thought about the spring day my two hiking buddies and I were off-trail, crashing through dense thickets of tangled brush. It was growing dark, and the three of us had gotten separated. …
October 29, 2023
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Stories by Matt Potter
Not so innocent off trail in Cuyamaca
Kicked out of the U.S., kidneapped in TJ
I live in Tijuana, SmugglersvilleI was hobbling back from the store with a liter of milk, when I saw three young men sitting on the steps in front of a house in my Tijuana neighborhood. …
October 28, 2023
Netflix founder Reed Hastings, Toni Atkins, and Utah's Powder Mountain
Inspecting a gift horse’s mouthA number of questionable self-contributions to UCSD have been targeted for audit by the school’s Audit & Management Advisory Services. A June 16 report covers cash donations from UCSD faculty members, …
October 25, 2023
Union-Tribune printing moves from L.A. to Riverside
Fox newsMediaNews Group, the famously staff-slashing publishing outfit that took over the Union-Tribune from Los Angeles pharmaceutical billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong in July, is gradually putting its own people in charge of the San Diego daily. …
October 18, 2023
Stick figures of men and a tall sailing ship – close to the Mexican border
Pictographs of Cabrillo's San Salvador east of Jacumba"There’s some petroglyphs over in Pinto Canyon," Frank said as he passed me on the trail. Frank Johnson, a handsome 75-year-old man, with flowing white hair and a superb …
October 15, 2023
San Diego's coinshooters, prospectors, relic hunters
San Diego treasure hunters, not as nerdy as you think.“Start over there, where the sand is shiny.” For wet-sand hunting, Russ recommends the area of the beach kept perpetually wet by the tide, so that’s …
October 14, 2023
High Tech High can't shake the Covid absenteeism
Agenda unsettingHave San Diego Republicans abandoned any serious attempt to unseat incumbent Democratic mayor Todd Gloria? Such a surrender could be indicated by the October 3 filing of a campaign committee calling itself the San …
October 11, 2023
Why would Todd Gloria stoop to the Democratic Central Committee?
Dining on the P-cardSan Diego County’s so-called P-Card program has been riddled with abuse, mismanagement, and improper spending, according to a report recently posted online by county auditors. “Out of 274,272 P-Card transactions made during …
October 4, 2023
The most important woman
The woman we never forgetBy Abe Opincar, Amy Gerstler, Barbarella Fokos, Deirdre Lickona, Ernie Grimm, Geoff Bouvier, Jeannette DeWyze, Jeff Smith, Jennifer Ball, Jim Morris, Laura McNeal, Mary Grimm, Matthew Lickona, Patrick Daugherty, RF Jurjevics, …
September 30, 2023
Scott Peters visits Norway, thanks to anti-gas stove John Doerr
Un-retired slasherTom Karlo, who retired as chief of San Diego State University’s KPBS public broadcasting operation in 2020, received $172,206 in annual state pension benefits last year, according to the website TransparentCalifornia.com. “Karlo said he …
September 27, 2023
Chris Cate – magnet for political fines
Voice of CateA self-styled “affordable housing” championing organization has agreed to pay a $1000 fine levied by the San Diego City Ethics Commission for repeatedly failing to report campaign contributions it made, including $25,000 to …
September 20, 2023
Unlike U-T sellers, Penn newspaper shareholders don't like Alden
Pennsylvania newspaper sale contrasts with San Diego'sThe San Diego Union-Tribune, sold to Alden Global Capital by L.A. billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong on July 10, is no longer the most recent addition to Alden’s tattered collection of …
September 13, 2023
30 tugs do the pulling in San Diego Bay
Tugboats of San Diego Bay“We got a call from a friend with the Navy on a Saturday morning before Easter, and he said, ‘How fast can you get to Camp Pendleton?’ We said we could …
September 11, 2023
Bin Laden brother runs tulip business from San Diego
Did Bin Laden's Brother Live a Secret Life in San Diego?What was Binladen, now 35, heir to a multibillion-dollar Middle Eastern fortune based on construction and Saudi oil, doing in San Diego? And why would …
September 10, 2023
Viejas rewards Brian Maienschein with money for state AG race
Torch passingThe journalism power-shift away from the once-influential San Diego Union-Tribune — of late handed off to Florida-based vulture investing outfit Alden Global Capital by LA Times billionaire owner Patrick Soon-Shiong on unrevealed terms — …
September 6, 2023
Reader writers' dads
29 Reader writers on their fathersBy Abe Opincar, Anne Albright, August Kleinzahler, Bill Manson, Deirdre Lickona, Duncan Shepherd, Eleanor Widmer, Ernie Grimm, Jangchup Phelgyal, Jeanne Schinto, Jeannette DeWyze, Jeff Smith, Jennifer Ball, Jim Eichel, John …
September 3, 2023
San Diego's rare fruit and vegetable growers
• Stephen Facciola's edible worldHe and Caplan started to swap names, to compare notes on big players in the exotic fruits and vegetables community. (“I’m sure you’re acquainted with Paul Thomas in …
September 2, 2023
Gloria not exactly tied up in knots by FPPC
Gloria’s fat funding loopholeSan Diego mayor Todd Gloria won’t have to recuse himself from vetoing any city council actions involving his bevy of campaign contributors, but he does have to disclose that he got their …
August 30, 2023
Sad story of Andrew Cunanan and even sadder, his mom
The murderous saga of Andrew CunananWhen Vulgar Favors, Maureen Orth's book about the murderous saga of Andrew Cunanan, hit the best-seller lists last month, a national audience was offered a sinister portrait of San Diego, …
August 28, 2023
General Grant's heirs made mark on San Diego
San Diego's least-remembered great man – U.S. Grant Jr. On a Sunday in September of 1929, 15 members of San Diego’s elite gathered to carry the coffin of an old friend. Among the pallbearers were …
August 26, 2023
FAA nixes Michael Steel's seaplane for small rudder crack
Rudder and stickA San Diego aviator whose company made the seaplane featured in Kevin Costner’s movie Waterworld has lost his appeal to the National Transportation Safety Board of an administrative judge’s ruling in June 2022 …
August 23, 2023
The Fletchers leave a cautionary tale about alcohol
What happened? A pioneer family's tragedy There was nothing to do but walk back to the house. Eric and his wife walked 10 yards, 20 yards, 30. The sky was still pink in the west. …
August 21, 2023
Fled my father in La Jolla
La Jolla 1962 Dressed in long trousers and boat shoes and a white Lacoste tennis shirt, I accompanied Toby across Vista del Mar and Neptune Place to the Pump House and down concrete steps to …
August 19, 2023
San Diego Union-Tribune to move printing to Riverside
Press lineTrue to their word, billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong and vulture investor fund Alden Global Capital, operating under the name MediaNews Group, appear to be proceeding with their previously announced plans to print Soon-Shiong’s Los Angeles Times …
August 16, 2023
Peter Jensen, the bridge-lover
Bridges of San Diego County I drive the roads of San Diego County with an agenda: You don’t know when you might spot another canyon dancer, a concrete Nureyev. I hike gorges and find them …
August 12, 2023
Helicopter landings at Brown Field and Aguascalientes – any connection?
Borderline helloBy coincidence or not, the May 22 hard landing of a U.S. Homeland Security helicopter at Brown Field Municipal Airport — an event which is currently under investigation by the National Transportation Board — …
August 9, 2023
Surveillance cameras slide from one San Diego mayor to another
Gloria’s glorious spy machineSan Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, up for reelection next year, is doubling down on the city’s burgeoning array of surveillance tools, acting in cahoots with his all-fellow-Democrat city council. “I’ve spoken out …
August 2, 2023
They make I-15 wider at Miramar Way
Like your road widened, Mister? In the pre-dawn gloaming, the roadbuilding machines are just black shapes lined up beside the southbound lanes of Interstate 15. From the overpass at Miramar Way, only the light from …
July 31, 2023
Alden Global to shift Union Tribune back to the right
Fear and loathing at SDSU San Diego State University — back among the ranks of the Mountain West college athletic conference last week after agreeing to fork over legal fees resulting from a brief showdown …
July 26, 2023
Dead dolphin off La Jolla Cove
Every dive around San Diego yields discovery One of the oddest of these noises, an irregular bumping sound heard frequently in the rocks and ridges off the beaches from the La Jolla Caves south to …
July 23, 2023
Rancho Santa Fe: elevator from the 12-car garage
Sequester yourself in the Secret Ranch Welcome to “The Secret Ranch,” a 12-acre estate with more than 12,400 square feet of living space under roof located in the exclusive Covenant of Rancho Santa Fe. “This …
July 22, 2023
Alden to stem U-T liberal Democrat crusades
U-T’s culture wars The long-predicted sale of the Union-Tribune by Los Angeles billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong to vulture fund Alden Global Capital heralds an almost certain change to the once-mighty San Diego paper, including no more …
July 19, 2023
San Diego cops start campaign against Monica Steppe
Cops step out San Diego cops are readying a barrage of TV spots and digital attacks against their Democratic city council nemesis Monica Montgomery Steppe, who is currently running to fill Nathan Fletcher’s vacated seat …
July 12, 2023
The quiet disappearance of Lonnie Eldridge
Raiding accounts The acting replacement for ex-San Diego County Counsel Lonnie Eldridge, who mysteriously exited his post almost a year ago after only twelve months on the job, has been called out by county chief …
July 5, 2023
While Faulconer broods, Coronado mayor could take on Lawson-Remer
Kevin F. gets religion While ex-San Diego Republican mayor Kevin Faulconer continues to brood about whether to run next year against his Democratic successor Todd Gloria, or for the District 3 San Diego County Supervisor …
June 28, 2023
L.A. Times defends its use of AI
LAT’s “disinformation” machine? A wave of sudden layoffs at the Los Angeles Times that sent ripples of fear through the San Diego Union-Tribune — which shares the same owner, LA biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong — …
June 21, 2023
Dems save Josh Newman – Newman saves Sempra
Slapfisted Democrats State Senate Democrat Josh Newman, recalled from office in June 2018 thanks to big money raised by San Diego Republican politico and radio star Carl DeMaio, has picked up a free meal worth …
June 14, 2023
San Diego got a lot of DNA from border crossers, but complaints persist
DNA’s TJ terror Border Patrol units in San Diego and El Centro rank high on the list of entities that collected the most DNA samples from detainees last year, with San Diego gathering 44,757 and …
June 7, 2023
Even Fox feeds Toni Atkins cash machine
Toni and Rupert’s political romance Controversial right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson is out of a job, and Fox News is poorer by $787.5 million, thanks to its settlement with Dominion Voting Systems over defamation charges arising …
May 31, 2023
The Cold War and the Bali Hai
Shelter Island’s Bali Hai was never some little grog shop “Special Tables for Spies, Espionage Agents to View the U.S. Fleet — Binoculars furnished to U.S. Citizens only,” said a 1950s advertisement for the restaurant. …
May 27, 2023
Sara Jacobs learns about hunger at 5-star hotels in Kenya and Somalia
Sara’s care package It was off to Kenya for a week starting April 8 for House Democrat Sara Jacobs, who hasn’t been wasting any time catching up with her predecessor Susan Davis in the free …
May 24, 2023
La Mesa's Colin Parent and Chula Vista's John McCann exploit behest law
Pot and trash talking La Mesa Vice Mayor Colin Parent, CEO of self-styled pro-transit nonprofit Circulate San Diego, has of late been under the microscope for soliciting $700,000 over the past five years for Circulate …
May 17, 2023
USS San Diego among many eyeballed for lax fire safety
Fire in the hold A report to Congress by the United States Government Accountability Office in the wake of the July 2020 fire that devastated the USS Bonhomme Richard has found that when it comes …
May 10, 2023
Preuss School students tell whole story about riding the trolley
Preuss’s trolley travails UCSD’s PR honchos are well-known for frequently touting the university’s charter prep school. “The Preuss School is located on the UC San Diego campus and is led by an alumna of the …
May 3, 2023
All the Dylan Mulvaney San Diego connections
Cookies and beer Controversial Budweiser-pitching transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney is deeply rooted in San Diego’s Republican old-boy network, reports Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post. “Her grandfather, James Mulvaney Sr., who died at age 87 …
April 26, 2023
San Diego fat cats want UCSD's Pradeep Khosla to stay – why?
Pradeep’s rise A shadowy network of unidentified fat cats has come up with $13 million to fund the $500,000-a-year raise awarded to UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep Khosla by the University of California’s regents on …
April 19, 2023
Where will the Nathan Fletcher money go?
Sempra’s choice Now that Democrat Nathan Fletcher is resigning as a San Diego County supervisor due to the region’s latest elected official sex scandal, what will become of the million dollars or so amassed from …
April 12, 2023
Key Todd Gloria backer Gil Cabrera gets hand slapped
Getting Gil’s goat A political committee run by the chair of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority Gil Cabrera, which emailed a hit piece attacking ex-Assembly Democrat Lori Saldana last year during her bid …
April 5, 2023
Sara Jacobs aide reaches out to conservative World Vision
Saving Sara House Democrat Sara Jacobs, facing a possibly tough reelection challenge from conservative Republican Mayor Bill Wells of El Cajon, has dispatched one of her assistants to a conference at United Nations Headquarters in …
March 29, 2023
Pechanga Arena face profiling – doing police work for them
Police profiling Just as San Diego cops have begun a public relations push to install video spy cams on more city streetlights, word comes that the building formerly known as the San Diego Sports Arena, …
March 22, 2023