Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

San Diego port commission gives $250K to GOP convention after Gerald Parsky plea

Lavish parties for Susan Golding, boat trips for visiting tobacco lobbyists

The Republican chief of staff of the congressional Joint Taxation committee is drawing heat for traveling so much on somebody else's tab. Kenneth Kies, a former tax lobbyist, accepted 46 free trips from private groups between January 1, 1996, and April 14 of this year at a total cost of nearly $65,000, according to a survey by the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call. Included in the tally was La Jolla, where he participated in the Salk Institute's annual seminar to wine and dine powerful politicians who have a say in how much federal research money the nonprofit institute rakes in. Salk paid a total of $6500 for the five-day trip, Roll Call reports. While in town, Kies also gave a speech to New York University's Institute on Federal Taxation, also junketing here. That appearance was worth another $2150. Kies was accompanied by his wife, tax lobbyist Kathleen Kies, but he says he has recused himself from working on any tax bills she has an interest in, so there was no conflict.

Just like Mike

Sponsored
Sponsored

Attorney Michael Aguirre has San Diego port commissioners in a bit of a bind. Last August, the commissioners voted to give $250,000 to the Republican convention, on condition that the GOP provide a full accounting of the money spent. The gift came at the last minute, after GOP host committee honcho Gerald Parsky told the port board that the committee was going way over budget and needed cash in a hurry. In the end, the convention cost more than $30 million, an embarrassing new record, with money being spent on everything from lavish parties for Susan Golding to boat trips for visiting tobacco lobbyists. Somehow, though, the port district never got its accounting of where its own contribution went, a shortfall Aguirre discovered last week when he asked to see the paperwork on the deal and port officials told him there wasn't any. It's illegal for the port to just hand out cash; Aguirre says he'll investigate further.

Brave new pants

Latest invention from researchers at Point Loma's Naval Command, Control and Ocean Surveillance Center: "smart pants" for marines. The polyester trousers, outfitted with fiber-optic cables connecting fabric-embedded sensors to a tiny remote transmitter, are supposed to tell headquarters when a marine is shot down during battle ... Five U.S. sailors from San Diego are in the Ural Mountains this week. The sailors are joining with five U.S. soldiers to compete with the Russians in a scouting and weapons firing competition, according to Tass, the Russian news service.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Aaron Bleiweiss: has guitar, has traveled

Seattle native takes Twists and Turns to assemble local all-stars
Next Article

San Diego Holiday Experiences

As soon as Halloween is over, it's Christmas time in my mind

The Republican chief of staff of the congressional Joint Taxation committee is drawing heat for traveling so much on somebody else's tab. Kenneth Kies, a former tax lobbyist, accepted 46 free trips from private groups between January 1, 1996, and April 14 of this year at a total cost of nearly $65,000, according to a survey by the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call. Included in the tally was La Jolla, where he participated in the Salk Institute's annual seminar to wine and dine powerful politicians who have a say in how much federal research money the nonprofit institute rakes in. Salk paid a total of $6500 for the five-day trip, Roll Call reports. While in town, Kies also gave a speech to New York University's Institute on Federal Taxation, also junketing here. That appearance was worth another $2150. Kies was accompanied by his wife, tax lobbyist Kathleen Kies, but he says he has recused himself from working on any tax bills she has an interest in, so there was no conflict.

Just like Mike

Sponsored
Sponsored

Attorney Michael Aguirre has San Diego port commissioners in a bit of a bind. Last August, the commissioners voted to give $250,000 to the Republican convention, on condition that the GOP provide a full accounting of the money spent. The gift came at the last minute, after GOP host committee honcho Gerald Parsky told the port board that the committee was going way over budget and needed cash in a hurry. In the end, the convention cost more than $30 million, an embarrassing new record, with money being spent on everything from lavish parties for Susan Golding to boat trips for visiting tobacco lobbyists. Somehow, though, the port district never got its accounting of where its own contribution went, a shortfall Aguirre discovered last week when he asked to see the paperwork on the deal and port officials told him there wasn't any. It's illegal for the port to just hand out cash; Aguirre says he'll investigate further.

Brave new pants

Latest invention from researchers at Point Loma's Naval Command, Control and Ocean Surveillance Center: "smart pants" for marines. The polyester trousers, outfitted with fiber-optic cables connecting fabric-embedded sensors to a tiny remote transmitter, are supposed to tell headquarters when a marine is shot down during battle ... Five U.S. sailors from San Diego are in the Ural Mountains this week. The sailors are joining with five U.S. soldiers to compete with the Russians in a scouting and weapons firing competition, according to Tass, the Russian news service.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

City Lights: Journey Through Light & Sound, Hotel Holiday Tea Service

Events December 7-December 11, 2024
Next Article

Elevated ice crystals lead to solar halos, Cottonwoods still showing their tawny foliage

New moon brings high tides this weekend
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader