In February of 2007, Herb Klein, the Union-Tribune's retired editor-in-chief and longtime aide to Richard Nixon, sat down in San Diego for one last oral history for the Nixon presidential library. Klein would die at …

Suicidal hilarity A $1.3 million, state-funded, online suicide prevention program commissioned by the San Diego County Office of Education and promoted by the Union-Tribune is too expensive for most California school districts, says an audit …

Mommy, why are they shooting at us again? The Tijuana state of mind known as “the psychosis.” “I don’t take my kids to the park anymore on Sundays,” says Luís, a young Tijuana father of …

Street neighbor in the East Village Kazakhstan national can’t get her daughter back Yes, I was on the street, but I was home-schooling my daughter. By John Brizzolara, July 26, 2013 | Read full article …

Proponents of Measure A to boost San Diego property taxes for a bevy of subsidized housing efforts have found the fight tough going. The latest blow came October 1 with a Union-Tribune editorial condemning the …

An avalanche of trash and pollutants is threatening San Diego streets and watersheds during the waning days of Mayor Kevin Faulconer's tenure for reasons including chronic street sweeping negligence, per a report by interim city …

Gonzalez tithes to Dems With election day fast approaching, last-minute special interest money has been flowing into local legislators’ campaign funds and officeholder accounts. On September 14, according to disclosure filings with the California Secretary …

A searing review by California State Auditor Elaine Howle has blasted admission practices at the University of California's top campuses, including UCSD, saying they "unfairly admitted 64 applicants based on their personal or family connections …

The Inzunza principle The San Diego mayoral campaign of Assembly Democrat Todd Gloria has picked up cash from a close associate of two former aides to Democratic South Bay congressman Juan Vargas. Casey Haeling, a …

A controversial Los Angeles legislator turned lobbyist is among the latest big donors to Assembly Democrat Todd Gloria's bid to become San Diego mayor, city campaign finance records show. Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, an Assembly Democrat who …

Leavin' On a Jet Plane Tax dollars fund airport blitzkrieg. The stealth campaign that spends your money to buy your vote. CEO Thella Bowens proudly pointed to the poll's key finding: that public support for …

Third Spud from the Sun: Cameron Crowe Then and Now “A couple things about Cameron set him down a peg from even the rank and file of ’zine greenhorn dust-suckers. He for all intents & …

An official behind San Diego's stealthy streetlight spy program can't become the permanent head of San Diego Community Power because she's had a crucial role in negotiating terms of a deal setting up the newly …

President Nathan County supervisor Nathan Fletcher continues to leverage the covid-19 crisis to benefit his campaign fundraising for a 2022 reelection bid. “Nathan’s campaign has been building momentum every day this year, we cannot let …

In the rough-and-tumble battle to decide Los Angeles County's top prosecutor, San Diego's District Attorney and her minions are backing the campaign of incumbent Jackie Lacey. Meanwhile, ex-L.A. cop and best-selling crime writer Joseph Wambaugh …

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 …

San Diego border Patrol agents improperly deployed high-powered "acoustic devices" during confrontations with migrants at the San Ysidro border two years ago, says a newly released audit by the federal Department of Homeland Security's Inspector …

John Moores’ hidden hand How much would a brand-new Midway sports arena cost San Diego taxpayers? The answer hasn’t yet been made public, but leaks and news releases emerging from city hall indicate a closed-door …

She told me my arm was gone. We argued about that for five minutes. I mean, I could feel it. When I was in school, I was given two pieces of information about the brain …

Democratic state senate leader Toni Atkins, a shoo-in for reelection this coming November, nevertheless raised $1.2 million in campaign cash between January 2, 2019, and June 30 of this year, according to online state disclosure …

Boss Tweed and San Diego politics Democrat Terra Lawson-Remer is far out in front of Republican incumbent Kristin Gaspar in the fundraising battle between the two campaigns for San Diego county supervisor. According to disclosure …

More palm greasers’ help wanted Faced with a housing meltdown aggravated by Covid-19, the San Diego Housing Commission is preparing to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars not on new residential units but to retain …

How much of a hit has the coronavirus pandemic inflicted on San Diego political fundraising? Based on a comparison of first-half 2020 campaign contributions versus the 2016 take, a sizable but not overwhelming one, partially …

The failed campaign for this year's Measure C posted the city's biggest cash haul during the first half of this year. The measure would have hiked the tax on hotel stays in the city 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 …

Cisterra’s cash A political action committee attached to the Downtown San Diego Partnership, a non-profit group ostensibly devoted to improving life and business in the center city, served as a conduit for lobbyists’ money funneled …

When Nathan Fletcher was running for county supervisor in 2018, his wife Assembly Democrat Lorena Gonzalez, routed hundreds of thousands of dollars she obtained from Sacramento special interests, including big oil and a private prison …

Finding Stacey’s fix San Diego’s super-secretive ethics commission continues to soldier on through the COVID-19 epidemic with another penny-ante fine against a failed city council candidate levied at the end of an online meeting. On …

Just weeks after San Diego State University emerged victorious in its $82 million bid to buy the city-owned land formerly known as Qualcomm Stadium, a closed-door power struggle has caused the resignation of San Diego's …

Residential sewer customers have been subsidizing San Diego's industrial wastewater control program, boosting the financial pain of those already stressed by years of faulty water billing by derelict city officials. Such are the findings of …

Politically incorrect Republican county supervisor Dianne Jacob, ending her career later this year due to term limits, is giving away wads of cash from her well-stocked campaign fund. Jacob collected the money over the years …

Otay Dreams 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 east on Main …

A fog of intrigue has settled over San Diego city hall's muddled plans to redevelop the city-owned sports arena and surrounding real estate into a lucrative residential high-rise and pro-sports complex. It's a familiar story, …

Oceanside Laker Trump backer The COVID-19 pandemic may have cut the number of donations from San Diegans backing the reelection of president Donald Trump, but money continues to stream in. Among prominent contributors, per new …

He's said to be a friend of Mexico's president and one of the richest men in the country. He's the nephew of an ex-Tijuana mayor accused by many of being responsible for the killing of …

The sole Democrat on San Diego County's Board of Supervisors, onetime Assembly Republican Nathan Fletcher is looking to load up his county staff with social media and video makers to propel him to new political …

Liberally correct Just two days after a June 10 San Diego Reader report regarding Mercury Public Affairs and the controversial Los Angeles-based lobbying firm’s advocacy for a Tennessee ambulance company seeking a piece of San …

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 …

More Moores wheels and deals Who will be the lucky bidder to turn the run-down, city-owned San Diego Sports Arena and dilapidated environs into a glitzy and lucrative forest of new high-rises? Judging by a …

COVID-19 has finally hit KPBS – the San Diego State University-controlled and funded public broadcasting operation – where it hurts: in the payroll. Three staff layoffs, along with a fifty percent cut in the hours …

Lobbying is way up at San Diego city hall. Anti-corruption enforcement by the city's Ethics Commission is another story. Those are the principal takeaways from the commission's June 11 meeting, held via online hookup due …

Faulconer’s Sara Jacobs play Mayor Kevin Faulconer, who has raised millions of dollars of special interest money for his nonprofit One San Diego, has a new politically related beneficiary. Per a June 5 filing with …

Does the growing budget of UCSD's campus police department need a closer look? So may show a new university audit calling out officials for failing to monitor employee overtime costs adequately. The report's findings coincide …

As the role of police labor unions has come under increasing scrutiny in the wake of the death of George Floyd, the financial means by which the organizations wield power and influence comes under the …

Lobbyist chasers A big-money battle over who will be San Diego’s next ambulance and paramedic service has heated up with the hiring of downtown super-lobbyist Clay Company by Knoxville, Tennessee-based Priority Ambulance, per a May …

Surrounded by controversies – from authoring anti-gig Assembly Bill 5 to a fiery tweet attacking Tesla's Elon Musk for reopening his car factory in the face of COVID-19 restrictions – Assembly Democrat Lorena Gonzalez may …

Street neighbor in the East Village Yes, I was on the street, but I was home-schooling my daughter. By John Brizzolara, July 26, 2013 When Vietnamese people say American they always mean white I grew …

The Covid-19 pandemic has taken a bite out of San Diego's financial contribution to national politics, per the latest raw numbers posted online by the Federal Election Commission. From May 1 through May 20, those …

Richly Rath Phil Rath, the longtime Republican insider and close advisor to San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer, continues to clean up on the local lobbying circuit, according to his latest personal statement of economic interests, …

After years of inaction, it took a countrywide inner-city meltdown and the political ambitions of termed-out San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer to end the city's long-controversial carotid restraint procedure, widely known as the chokehold. "We …