Taxpayers’ fineChronically troubled Poway Unified School District, which recently took to local TV news to bemoan its increasingly strapped finances and argue for the desperate need for voters to pass new school bond debt, now …

SDSU’s un-transferredCommunity college students from San Diego and elsewhere around the state are losing out on a quality education, and much of the blame lies with California’s university system, particularly San Diego State University. So …

Detox luxeA newly released state audit report is calling out the concentration of luxury residential drug and alcohol detox centers along posh Country Rose Circle in Encinitas. “We found several small facilities with the same …

Supersized campaign cashA developer-backed independent campaign committee being used to rescue the mayoral bid of incumbent Democrat Todd Gloria is also trying to beat back a California rent control measure. The group, officially titled San …

Rincon’s splashy suicideBig time gambling interests are playing a major role in the Republican-based Lincoln Club’s hit-piece effort to take down Democratic County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer. On October 12, fresh money rolled into the club’s …

Captive lobbyingStrike at least one would-be influence peddler from the ranks of ex-government insiders who want to sell their big-money services to corporations seeking to get their way with San Diego’s Port District — at …

A spam king and his dadA widely proclaimed ex-king of spam and YouTube influencer with a big-money slot machine channel who hails from Colorado — along with a million-dollar contribution to San Diego’s longtime hit …

Summer of drugsDillon Cooke, an aide to House Democrat Scott Peters of La Jolla, picked up some free travel and a stay in San Francisco from Center Forward, a non-profit group known for pushing pro-Pharmaceutical …

U-T’s strange volleyball daysThere was a time not long ago that the Union-Tribune was the mouthpiece for San Diego professional sports. In those old days, the paper hustled mightily for the Chargers, denying for two …

Taxing charityThe well-monied effort by city hall Democrats, led by incumbent mayor Todd Gloria, to hike San Diego sales taxes picked up major cash support on September 10 in the form of $40,000 in donations …

Sports and taxesTorrents of political cash to support passage of the sales tax measure backed by San Diego mayor Todd Gloria and his fellow Democrats on the city council have begun pouring in from out …

From paper to policeIs the Union-Tribune, cast off last summer by Los Angeles billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong , about to get a long-hoped-for second life? So believe an ever-hopeful few, as the paper advertises for new …

Quid pro ArsenaultThe prospect of riches from high-end real estate continues to attract wealthy investors, who come up with major money for so-called independent political committees boosting elected officials here.For example, developers of North County’s …

I.V. hatersA new report by the California State Auditor’s office on violations of the federal Clery Act, an crime disclosure law, has singled out the Imperial Valley Community College District for failing to fully report …

Palomar’s Petco pleasuresThe people who run Palomar College have long been allies of Southern California utility giant Sempra Energy, notably around the time the San Diego-based firm became the subject of an August 17, 2023 …

Future hits and missesA battle between San Diego’s politics of the past and those of the its possible future is playing out in this year’s mayoral race. Forces for Democratic mayor Todd Gloria — backed …

Blind council Have San Diego mayor Todd Gloria and the city council been getting away with fiscal murder? So suggest two mid-July reports by City Auditor Andy Hanau accusing the council of being derelict in its …

The El Paseo messThe last living player in a 2005 backstage power struggle over future development at San Diego State University has died. As consultant to the San Diego State University Research Foundation, Fred Pierce, …

Rooms with a ConAs this year’s Comic-Con draws closer, threats that the big-bucks event could soon be moving to another city are rising as well, the sharpest via a July 10 dispatch on Forbes.com. “I …

No Great WallAfter traveling to San Diego’s troubled border region, a senior researcher for the conservative Heritage Foundation has returned to Washington, D.C. and painted a dire picture of burgeoning Chinese immigration across the border …

Old San DiegoA controversial San Diego political committee bowed out of city politics by filing its official termination statement with the city clerk’s office on June 21. New San Diego, founded and operated by Democratic …

Waste much, want moreGiven the Democrats firmly in charge of both the San Diego County Board of Supervisors and San Diego’s City Council, plus a group of well-heeled contractors and labor unions lurking in the …

Homeless tackledA non-profit foundation tied to a controversial giant San Diego-based healthcare staffing outfit has come up with $75,000 for mayor Todd Gloria’s San Diegans Together Tackling Homelessness effort, according to a February 20 behesting …

Behest chasingControversial San Diego City ambulance contractor Falck USA gave a total of $5000 on May 16 at the behest of San Diego City councilwoman Marni von Wilpert to Los Angeles-based Equality California, per a …

Pain and sufferingWith college players set to begin pulling down cash salaries and pros like Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry leading the NBA with an annual $51.9 million, it’s easy to forget that Bill …

Peace and sanctityAn array of special interests, including pot dealers, funded the February 21 annual state of the county speech by Democratic County Supervisor Nora Vargas, newly posted disclosure filings show. Cannabis dealer March and …

Dark money assetsA $50,000 donor to the California ballot measure committee run by state Senate Democrat Toni Atkins of San Diego has been told by lawyers for the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission to stop …

Old GloriaSan Diego Democrat Todd Gloria promised a new generation at city hall when he was running for mayor four years ago. But as he approaches his reelection battle this coming November, Gloria has quietly …

It’s complicatedNorth County Republican Congressman Darrell Issa, apparently assured of reelection this fall in his safe Republican seat, has been largely flying under the national radar of late. That’s a change from his political salad …

Alden’s knock-offsWith advertising and page counts continuing to plunge, much local speculation about the San Diego Union-Tribune’s future involves questions about whether the paper’s vulture investor owner, Alden Global Capital, will soon close the print …

Big money DemocratsThe 2026 gubernatorial campaign fund of San Diego state Senate Democrat Toni Atkins picked up $5000 on April 5 from Greenwich, Connecticut resident Kaia Ferari, according to an April 8 campaign disclosure filing. …

Sniper’s watchTwo costly crowd control tools bought by local cops from a controversial San Diego-based high-tech security firm saw zero use last year, per the Annual Military Equipment Report for 2023, recently released by the …

UCSD’s simultaneous skin timeAre UCSD doctors violating university policy by conducting simultaneous operations in the institution’s array of surgical suites? “The Policy defines Overlapping Surgery as an ‘operation or procedure in which the actual operating …

Adela’s big fat raisesSan Diego State University president Adela de la Torre is in line for a five percent salary boost this year, from $533,148 to $559,805, putting her pay at the very top of …

Travel bug bites Vargas stafferA top staffer for South Bay House Democrat Juan Vargas and two other congressional workers jetted off for free to January’s glitzy Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, courtesy of the …

Volvo politicsYet another editorial staffer has departed under Alden Global Capital, new owner of the faltering San Diego Union-Tribune. The departure edges the paper further to the right, a move celebrated in some quarters. And …

Guns awayDue to a personal conflict of interest, Carlsbad Mayor Pro Tem Dr. Priya Bhat-Patel, a high-profile North County gun control advocate, will be required to wait a few months longer to participate in efforts …

Liberal richiesThe political committee called the San Diego Labor Coalition, Sponsored by Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 89 has received another major round of developer cash for its direct mail “Democratic Choice Voter …

Moralist in disguise?Cappy McGarr, a big-spending hedge fund insider from Dallas, Texas, is among those who’ve kicked in the maximum $1350 for incumbent Democratic Mayor Todd Gloria’s re-election bid. (McGarr has lived part-time in La …

Touchy feelyRobert Hertzberg, an ex-state Senate Democrat from Los Angeles widely known as “Huggy Bear” because of his unwanted serial embraces of female staffers and politicos during his years in the state Capitol, gave $1000 …

Six-figure loophole?Republican County Supervisor Joel Anderson is running for reelection this year. He’s also campaigning for a seat on the Republican County Central Committee. Anderson is raising big money for the latter effort using a …

DeSantis bluesNow that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has dropped out of the Republican race for president, some wealthy San Diegans will have to write off their losses. They include General Atomics chairman and CEO Linden Blue, …

Non-Sunny scenarioCould the San Diego Union-Tribune be in play — and headed back into local hands? That’s the wishful thinking of those on both sides of the political aisle, brought on by last week’s sale …

HELIOS hits and missesCostly new high-energy laser weapons — installed and tested on San Diego-based ships — aren’t being used against deadly Houthi drones and rockets in the Red Sea, causing consternation in the Defense …

Campaign money mazeA December 27 advice letter from the California Fair Political Practices Commission has drawn back the curtain on the convoluted fundraising for GOP ex-San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer and his county supervisor race …

U-T on the cheapA year-end offer of cut-rate, online-only subscription prices has triggered another round of speculation that the once-venerable San Diego Union-Tribune may be losing its life in print. New subscribers can get the …

Fin de U-T San DiegoIt’s the end of the line for the all-Spanish weekly tabloid published by the Union-Tribune, a newspaper that’s been shrinking all over under current owner Alden Global Capital. “The last issue …

Back to the border?More than 13 months after Union-Tribune border reporter Wendy Fry departed for a new gig at non-profit CalMatters, the paper, these days operated by MediaNews Group — a chain owned by vulture …

Behesting blastsChula Vista mayor John McCann continues to collect so-called behests from the city’s developer and a related crowd, according to a series of disclosure filings with the city clerk’s office. On October 12, Vulcan …

Abe’s money clubThe Republican-leaning San Diego Lincoln Club, noted for fierce hit pieces dispatched against opponents in local elections, has a new role: drumming up developer cash for GOP ex-mayor Kevin Faulconer’s bid to knock …