News Under the Radar
Virtual giving, post facto Covid-19 has proved no barrier to post-election fundraising for winning mayoral candidate Todd Gloria. Influence peddlers Stephanie Saathoff and Denise Z. Price, two Clay Company employees, threw a “virtual coffee” on …
Pentagon purge A recent move by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to sweep hundreds of members from Pentagon advisory boards is bringing new attention to one of the newly departed: David Whelan, senior vice …
Jesus is boss South Bay political powerhouse Jesus Cardenas came under fire in 2019 by then-county supervisor candidate and state senator Ben Hueso for “gaming” the San Diego Democratic Party central committee, resulting in the …
GEO riot The Western Region Detention Facility in Downtown’s aging ex-county jail is looking for a new chief of security to make “improvements in security operations without compromise to the safety and security of the …
Get it lobbied Deloitte Consulting — which won a $20 million deal to run San Diego’s Get It Done program thanks to a controversial 5-4 city council vote last year and is seeking more work …
Zero San Diego Days after departing from office, ex-San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer has shut down his One San Diego charity, widely described by political insiders as a way for lobbyists and other influence seekers …
America’s 19th rattiest city The shutdown of San Diego eateries to stem the ravages of Covid-19 may lead to at least one negative impact on health: a burgeoning rat population downtown and elsewhere. That rodents …
Trash hauling lobbyistWith a tumultuous election year drawing to a close, the revolving doors at San Diego City Hall have gone into overtime as old staffers depart for greener lobbying fields, and new ones arrive …
KPBS donor sick-out It’s been a bad year for the KPBS broadcasting stations, the public television and FM radio operation run by San Diego State University, per a newly released financial statement and report for …
Sherman’s “paid volunteer” With last week’s change of staff at San Diego’s city hall has come a torrent of leaving-office filings, shedding light on the politics and finances of a bevy of departing aides. Cheryl …
Highs and low of health tourism Hard hit by the covid-19 pandemic, the Union-Tribune is reaching out to Tijuana’s medical tourist trade for new advertising revenue in a deal with the website San Diego Red. …
Biden’s bundlers San Diego has four names on the Joe Biden presidential campaign’s list of big-money bundlers, those who gathered a total of $100,000 or more in cash contributions from friends and associates and now …
Steve Peace’s Maui Wowie The seemingly endless covid lockdown may be the order of the day for civilians, but a horde of California politicos was on the road to Maui last week, thanks to the …
Growing heights of influence Southwest Strategies, the connected San Diego lobbying shop that frequently showers political money on candidates of all stripes, was paid $17,000 for its influence-peddling on behalf of ASM Global, per a …
Rady’s budget wreck Taxpayer-financed revelry among UCSD employees is way down in the wake of covid-19 restrictions, but university auditors have been discovering a host of irregularities regarding travel, food, and entertainment binges of previous …
Faulconer’s pre-election cash As the clock ticks down on Kevin Faulconer’s last weeks in office, the San Diego mayor has adopted Fresno as his favorite new fundraising grounds. A putative candidate for governor on the …