It's a small world for Doug Manchester, the former Union-Tribune owner who made a failed bid to replace San Diego's ex-Qualcomm Stadium meant to lure an NFL replacement for the Chargers back in February 2017 …

Because of the Wall Street Journal's November 13 report that federal investigators are looking into spending and fundraising issues involving president Donald Trump's inaugural committee, eyes are returning to the two San Diego major money …

Chip off the old politico San Diego city councilwoman Lorie Zapf lost her Second District seat to Jen Campbell after a bitter battle of independent expenditure committees, but Zapf’s daughter Tana kept her job with …

With sharp-elbowed maneuvering to succeed termed-out San Diego Republican mayor Kevin Faulconer growing ever more intense backstage at city hall, a congressional staffer has put in a word for her boss. "We are looking at …

One of San Diego county's most lucrative businesses is also one of its quietest, churning out politically-incorrect products that draw sparse local media coverage while playing a key role in the world munitions market and …

Rough operators Qualcomm, the home-grown tech giant known locally for take-no-prisoners political plays, is quickly getting a national reputation for dirty tricks. A November 21 report by the New York Times outlines Qualcomm’s hiring of …

San Diego's Lincoln Club, which steps forward each election time on behalf of Republican candidates by savaging their opponents with hit pieces, has shut down its latest political committee, called the Public Integrity League Opposed …

Control of Liberty Station, obtained from the city of San Diego by the Republican mega-donor McMillin family during the controversial reign of GOP mayor Susan Golding in 1999, has quietly changed hands for more than …

Party before the storm Utility giant Sempra Energy and its subsidiary San Diego Gas & Electric, enmeshed in a bevy of California controversies — including an ongoing effort to resist so-called Community Choice Aggregation in …

A sole-source contract touted by development officials for bringing new efficiency to permit processing as it breezed through city council three years ago has come a cropper, according to a November 16 report by interim …

The Navy's fleet of 51 attack submarines, a portion of which is based in San Diego, is suffering from a series of "significant maintenance delays and operating and support cost expenditures," that could jeopardize the …

e-scooter pay-off The Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University is out with a study likely to gladden the hearts of San Diego e-scooter riders, plagued by a rash of accidents and beset by …

Patrick Soon-Shiong, reputed by some to be the richest man in Los Angeles and the wealthiest physician in America, is currently worth $6.8 billion, per a real-time ranking by Forbes, which as of November 20 …

Qualcomm's co-founder, Democrat Irwin Jacobs, is famous for high-dollar political intrigue, including attempts to alter the school board, conceal campaign money, and promote a massive parking garage in Balboa Park with well-timed cash for mayor …

Anti-Trump trumped A flurry of last-minute advertising on Facebook attacking president Donald Trump wasn’t enough to get Republican Lorie Zapf re-elected last week against anti-Trump Democrat Jen Campbell. “Lorie Zapf will stand up to Trump’s …

The gloves are off at San Diego city hall as mayor Kevin Faulconer and fellow Republican Lorie Zapf discover that newly empowered Democrats are not likely to play nice, given their new House majority in …

Phil Rath, a prominent member of San Diego's well-compensated local influence peddling corps and chairman of the board of Civic San Diego, has agreed to pay a $5000 fine to settle conflict-of-interest charges brought against …

La Mesa’s foreign freebies Taking off on an all-expense paid junket to the Middle East, courtesy of a non-profit fund closely tied to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which styles itself as “America’s pro-Israel …

Ex-Padres owner John Moores, long a lurker around the margins of San Diego State University's attempts to take control of the city-owned acreage formerly known as Qualcomm Stadium, has finally outed himself. On November 2, …

Last minute money has been arriving in torrents during the final week of San Diego's Campaign '18 and is being spent in record amounts, funneled through a byzantine network of political committees that make it …

Kelley’s next stand Former Union-Tribune political cartoonist Steve Kelley, who departed the paper in the aftermath of a 2001 dispute over “butt cracks” he allegedly snuck into print, is back behind the inkwell, this time …

Republican congressman Duncan Hunter, fighting for his political life in the wake of a federal indictment for campaign finance violations, has called upon the services of a consulting firm linked to a controversial Wisconsin political …

The fundraising battle between two political committees waging a war of hit pieces against their foes in San Diego's Second District city council race currently favors the Republican incumbent, thanks to a fresh cash infusion …

Bombs away San Diego’s bigger-than-life public art world is in turmoil. A proposed million-dollar pair of oversized plastic straws designed in Los Angeles to grace the entrance of San Diego’s new toilet-to-tap water plant has …

The lobbying unit for San Diego police - pouring cash into four city council races – now has helpers in the form of Mission Valley real estate titan Thomas W. Sudberry, Jr. and Los Angeles …

Can a revived investigative reporting push be the key to saving the Union-Tribune from losing its identity, as well as its already dwindling advertising business, to its big northern sibling, the Los Angeles Times? Or …

Jerry’s female side The San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee led by Republican ex-mayor and former police chief Jerry Sanders has come up with a creative name for its latest political venture: …

As the November finish for some bitterly-fought campaigns approaches, San Diego's ethics commission has been cleaning up legal loose ends left over from June's electoral contests, with costly outcomes for two failed city council hopefuls. …

Local development giant H.G. Fenton, battling against the incursion of proposed SoccerCity into the Mission Valley real estate franchise it shares alongside burgeoning Sudberry Properties, has spent a total of $1,502,865 this year as of …

Tax dollars at play Now that termed-out San Diego county supervisor Greg Cox has become president of the National Association of Counties, insiders are on the lookout for a flood of staff junketing. The first …

With one deep-pocketed exception, local labor unions prefer city hall incumbents, whether Democrat or Republican, based on the most recent campaign expense data on file with the city clerk's office. In the hotly contested Fourth …

Though locals would be none the wiser, the Union-Tribune may soon be stripped of its best longtime talents, signaling to worried insiders that the hometown daily could be on the precipice of being subsumed into …

Leaky drones U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which surveils San Diego from the skies with costly state-of-the-art drones, is not being mindful enough of the privacy and security of the citizenry below. So concludes a …

San Diego politics, not always considered a charitable calling, has of late been the source of thousands of dollars given to some local non-profits by committees as November's election time grows near. While most campaign …

It's fall again, time for some pre-election political shenanigans from the GOP Lincoln Club. The developer-backed group, famous for its direct mail hits on local Democratic hopefuls, has returned for a round of opponent bashing, …

Payoff for play A pair of staffers for state Assembly Democrat Todd Gloria of San Diego picked up some high-dollar tickets to a glitzy Gloria Trevi and Alejandra Guzman concert at downtown Sacramento’s Golden 1 …

A Mission Valley mental health clinic treating federal prison inmates has been operating steps away from a talent school, exposing unknowing neighborhood children to the risk of contacts with sex offenders, says a recently released …

Since late August, more than $1.7 million has poured into the coffers of forces battling the takeover of city-owned Qualcomm Stadium by SoccerCity, a group of wealthy La Jolla investors who have a friend in …

Could San Diego State University, a bastion of the local business establishment that has carefully guarded its political and financial perogatives, be in for a housecleaning, courtesy of donations from conservative billionaire Charles Koch's foundation …

Corn-fueled junket The Midwest farm lobby, trying to counter Donald Trump’s threats to water down federal biofuel mandates, is spending big to make its point to the administration and the Republican Congress. As reported by …

If anyone is still around who thinks San Diego's future won't be determined by big business from afar, a new bout of behind-the-scenes boardroom jockeying by Union-Tribune and Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong may …

Agents of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement aren't getting sufficient training to handle the assaults they face along the Mexican border, including the San Diego region, which the government says …

Death of an ex-U-T journalist A former Union-Tribune reporter linked to investigative websites funded by the Koch brothers and allied conservative donors has died of unannounced causes in Houston, Texas at the age of 47. …

It cost taxpayers $92.6 million to build, but at least the San Diego County Sheriff's Department Regional Crime Laboratory — said by a recently released federal audit report to have experienced extensive security breaches at …

It's been a busy political season of beer drinking, free cocktailing and glad-handing for Sixth District San Diego city councilman Chris Cate, thanks in part to a torrent of charitable cash anted up by some …

A key lobbying arm of San Diego's business establishment has taken a direct hit from a well-connected member of its board over repeated incidents of alleged endorsement hanky-panky, possibly damaging the group's longtime ability to …

Cruel and unusual lack of showers Inadequate showering at the county jail has become a target for criticism at the Citizens’ Law Enforcement Review Board, where staff has sustained complaints that unidentified guards failed to …

Adela’s big fat salary It didn’t take long for new San Diego State University president Adela de la Torre, on the job for less than a week, to collect a tidy boost to her already …

San Diego city auditor Eduardo Luna, an eleven-year veteran of rooting out scandals at what insiders assert is an increasingly dysfunctional city hall, is heading for Beverly Hills to assume a similar role in the …

To San Diego campaign watchers, Kevin Faulconer's bid to hike taxes for expanding the city's convention center while lining the pockets of his friends in the public relations industry was an obvious non-starter, though true …