Fraud on the House A controversial radioactive waste cleanup and rainforest restoration contractor accused by the U.S. government of faking soil tests and related fraud at San Francisco’s Treasure Island Navy base has turned up …

A widely anticipated "all hands" California Times staff meeting on Thursday failed to produce any good news other than a declaration by president Chris Argentieri that the Los Angeles Times was closer to the end …

A Bakersfield-based potato magnate has kicked in $32,400 to the putative California gubernatorial campaign of ex-San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer, bringing fresh attention to domestic violence allegations bought against his partner and fellow San Joaquin …

What Happened? A Pioneer Family's TragedyWhile Beatrice and Eric were talking about packing up and going home, the phone rang. It was Dan Bridge, his father’s old friend and a childhood friend of Walter Harper. …

Should San Diegans who provide home care services to the elderly and others get at least the minimum wage? So posits an audit by California State Auditor Elaine Howle, which charges officials here with ignoring …

Schoolboy charm A 1988 graduate thought she recalled Cunanan going up to one of her male friends, grabbing one of his pectorals, and saying something like, "Oooh, very nice. You've been working out. Give me …

Bashing Michael Moore Another anti-climate change lobbying outfit has set up shop in San Diego. According to its March 1 registration with the city clerk, SanDiego350 “is an inclusive volunteer institution building a movement to …

Will a lawsuit spawned in San Diego by the wheeling and dealings of Patrick Soon-Shiong ultimately force the Los Angeles billionaire to divest himself of the San Diego Union-Tribune, as well as the L.A. Times …

How Alex Spanos Made Off with the Police Building Fund “Yeah, that’s right, they’re going to steal the money for Alex’s Chargers training field from the cops’ pueblo land fund. A big chunk of their …

One of the shortest lobbying gigs in San Diego city hall's history has ended less than two weeks after it formally began, amidst intrigue about ex-councilwoman Barbara Bry's role in one of her wealthy husband's …

A proposal to sell the Tribune Publishing chain, formerly known as Tronc, to controversial hedge fund Alden Capital Management has spawned a morass of bad online times for Patrick Soon-Shiong, owner of the Los Angeles …

When Dick Nixon Came to Town San Diego entrepreneur Arnholt Smith, one of Nixon’s earliest supporters, remembered a melancholy evening in the early ’60s when Nixon was holding a meeting and asked him to get …

A so-called data mining outfit with a specialty of busting short-term vacation rentals has retained ex-San Diego Republican city councilman Jim Madaffer to lobby the city for a contract to use its services, per a …

San Diego's so-called Climate Action Plan, frequently ballyhooed by ex-mayor Kevin Faulconer as part of his self-styled middle-of-the-road campaign to become California governor, lacks city council accountability and risks unknown expenses for taxpayers per a …

Another top California donor to last year's reelection campaign for Donald Trump is backing the California gubernatorial hopes of San Diego ex-mayor Kevin Faulconer. Probity International, a real estate development outfit run by Robert Zarnegin …

A heavily redacted report by the Inspector General's office of the U.S. Department of Defense has critical words for the Navy and the leadership of the San Diego-based USS Theodore Roosevelt, one of two warships …

A national political figure has parachuted into San Diego's decades-long big-money war over which paramedic provider should get the city's exclusive contract, virtually guaranteeing another heated round of racially charged wheeling and dealing. "San Diego …

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 …

The Cinderella story of last year's November San Diego city council runoff is that of Sean Elo-Rivera, the Ninth District candidate who beat labor candidate Kelvin Barrios, forced from the race as campaign finance chargespiled …

Ex-San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer, facing a daunting array of well-heeled Republican challengers to his bid to become governor in the face of a possible recall of Democratic incumbent Gavin Newsom, has hit the money …

Having been given new social justice marching orders, two lobbying firms for San Diego are set to be re-upped at a hefty six-figure cost to taxpayers by new Democratic Mayor Todd Gloria and his city …

Pioneer in Oceanside “In San Diego, the most important piece of architecture is, of course, the Mission San Luis Rey. But I feel strongly that this [the Oceanside museum] is the next most important piece.” …

During fall's ballot battle for Proposition 14 furnishing another $5.5 billion in state bond funding to keep the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine afloat, it seemed to many like UC San Diego Health neuroscientist Larry …

A staunch city council ally in the battle by Sempra Energy's San Diego Gas & Electric to hang onto its lucrative local electrical energy monopoly has gotten a financial boost from the utility giant in …

A raft of political professionals has found a haven at San Diego city hall from the storm of post-campaign unemployment, as documented by recent online disclosures posted by the city clerk's office. Reversing years of …

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 …

UCSD, Big Money, and the Ball Club When Gray Davis appointed Padres owner John Moores to the Board of Regents of the University of California, Dynes said, “I’m really looking forward to working with him…I’m …

His putative runway to state power shortened by an accelerating movement among California conservatives to recall Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, formerly genial Kevin Faulconer is taking off the gloves - sort of - on Twitter. …

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 …

A Calexico detention center run for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement by a controversial Utah contractor has received a blistering review from the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General, which found that inmates …

A torrent of October campaign cash accompanying San Diego Gas & Electric's sole bid to remain the city's exclusive gas and electricity supplier for the next two decades is likely to carry the day for …

Al Qaeda Effect Le Travel Store sells luggage, travel equipment, and books from its Gaslamp Quarter store on Fourth Avenue. Owner Joan Keller believes the 9/11 attack nearly destroyed the travel industry. "It was immediately …

It's been no secret among inside political observers that the big gorilla of the San Diego's election season this year was a so-called independent expenditure committee calling itself Neighbors for Housing Solutions Supporting Todd Gloria …

Who is the Union-Tribune's new owner? Almost 60 years ago, Tom Joubran immigrated to the United States from the town of Nazareth, once part of Palestine, and began a new life in the suburbs of …

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 …

Those looking forward to the end of the era of Republicans Jerry Sanders and Kevin Faulconer, whose lack of transparency is widely seen as responsible for a broad range of municipal malfeasance, from streetlight spycams …

Stacey Fulhorst, the recently retired Executive Director of the city's ethics commission, ended her seventeen-year tenure in office with a whimper in the form of a $500 settlement with city council candidate Noli Zosa, a …

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 …

A unit of the Toronto investment behemoth that bankrolled the demise of San Diego's Midway area height limit in the form of this month's successful Measure E is falling short on mortgage payments to retire …

My Gender Is Bunny Cárdenas is spending more than 15 consecutive days living in Second Life. “My contract with myself was to be in Second Life for 365 hours [wearing the headset], except when I …

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 …

While city council Democrats are bickering in public over which of them will become the next council president, a quieter transition is about to occur regarding who will run the city under the stewardship of …

Lakeside's Big Man There are roughly six million boys between the ages of 16 and 18 living in the United States. There are approximately 26,400 high schools and close to that number of starting centers …

The wife of one of Donald Trump's most stalwart California backers is channeling last-minute cash into a so-called independent expenditure committee aiding state senate Democrat Ben Hueso's bid for San Diego county supervisor. Susana Chandi, …

Doped-up donor An ex-San Diego Chargers defensive tackle with a history of doping has given $1000 to San Diego city councilwoman Barbara Bry’s mayoral campaign. Corey Liuget, a 2011 first-round Chargers pick, is currently on …

A secretive, Canada-based global development giant, backed by cash from Qatar among other shadowy investors, is the primary backer of San Diego's Measure E, a proposal on next month's ballot to lift building height limits …

Otay Dreams Before 50,000 homes. In 1954 I sat on the school bus every day next to my best friend, Mark Robson. The ride home from Montgomery Elementary School in Otay was a straight shot …

Sexual grappling After Peter Selis, brother of wealthy apartment complex heiress Andrea Lee Posnock, went on an April 2017 killing spree at the Posnock-owned La Jolla Crossroads units where he lived, the super-rich housing family …

Sempra Energy, whose San Diego Gas & Electric subsidiary is battling the likes of Omaha billionaire Warren Buffett to keep its long-held power monopoly here, is setting new records for feathering political nests. At the …

Trigger Happy or Just Plain Happy? Who is David Medina? Dressed neatly in a white oxford cloth shirt with a blue pullover sweater, David Medina, a.k.a. “Happy,” pursed his lips and appeared to listen closely …