Escondido Council Candidate Smells Brown Act Violation
Attorney Janathan Allen, wife of Escondido council candidate Richard Barron, sent a letter today (Oct. 30) to Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler, complaining that the council may have violated the Brown Act, which favors public accessibility to political meetings. Barron today …
Would Spelling Lessons Affect the Library?
One John McAllister, president of Friends of the San Diego Library, is sending out scare messages to San Diegans, warning, "Library services will be threatened if Proposition D fails." McAllister's second sentence reads, "The proposition calls for a temporary sales …
September Lead Indicators of San Diego Economy Fall
The lead indicators of the San Diego economy, compiled by economist Alan Gin of the University of San Diego, fell in September to 109.9 from August's and July's 110. They had risen every month from the 100.7 of March 2009 …
SEC: One Touchdown, One Fumble
The Securities and Exchange Commission, the agency that is being closely watched because of its egregious failures such as turning a blind eye to the Madoff Ponzi scheme, has recently done one laudable job and muffed another in San Diego. …
San Diego Home Prices Drop in August
Home values in San Diego County dropped 0.6% in August from July, according to Case-Shiller data coming out this morning (Oct. 26) from Standard & Poor's. July values had risen 0.7% from June. Fifteen of the 20 major metropolitan areas …
Union-Tribune Circulation Continues Falling; North County Times Edges Up
Union-Tribune circulation fell for the six months ended Sept. 30, according to data released this morning (Oct. 25) by the Audit Bureau of Circulations. North County Times was one of the few papers going up. According to Dow Jones, average …
Coronado Lawyer Shaber Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion
Coronado attorney Craig Shaber on Thursday (Oct. 21) pleaded guilty to tax evasion in 2000. According to the indictment and related documents, between 1999 and 2002, Shaber and accountant Steven Wright fraudulently acquired numerous shell companies, installed nominee officers, and …
Public Unions Funding Almost Two-Thirds of Yes on D Campaign, Says Aguirre
Police and fire unions, the Municipal Employee Association and the Labor Council have paid $276,000 of the $419,000 spent on the Yes on D committee, says former City Attorney Mike Aguirre, an opponent of the measure. Among private sector donors …
Three-Year SD Consumer Spending Drop Worst Since Great Depression
Taxable retail sales, a measure of consumer spending, plunged 17.4% the past four years, the greatest decrease since the Great Depression, says Kelly Cunningham, economist for the National University System Institute for Policy Research. However, consumer spending in the rest …
September SD Unemployment Stays at 10.6%
San Diego County's unemployment rate was 10.6% in September, unchanged from August's revised level. Government gained 2,100 jobs from August, but leisure and hospitality, which had shown some strength in recent months, lost 1,300. Some of San Diego's main industries …
Sanders's "Frighten 'Em" Prop. D Scam
Mayor Jerry Sanders is trotting out City officials to scare San Diegans into voting for Prop. D. He is having eight so-called town hall meetings to talk about proposed slashes in the City's budget. But the meetings are clearly blood-curdling …
Mayor a No-Show at Second Community Forum
Mayor Jerry Sanders promised to hold eight community forums to explain the budget cuts that will have to be made. Last night (Oct. 18) he made the first one in University City, but he was a no-show tonight (Oct. 19) …
Judge Permits Channel 10 to Use Videotape of Sanders Deposition in Kessler Case
Superior Court Judge John S. Meyer today (Oct. 19) turned down the City's attempt to block an open records request by Channel 10. The judge will permit the TV station to use the videotape of the deposition of Mayor Jerry …
Vexatious Litigant Loses Appeal
James M. Kinder made money suing under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act those who called his voicemail. Since the late 1970s, he had been involved in more than 600 lawsuits in superior and small claims court -- overwhelmingly as the …
Gay & Lesbian Times Definitely Dead
"I can assure you that Gay & Lesbian Times is dead," says Nicole Murray-Ramirez, who has been a San Diego columnist since 1973, including many years with the Gay & Lesbian Times. "One of the writers is looking at starting …
A Family (Genovese) Affair?
This morning (Oct. 15), Superior Court Judge John S. Meyer will give his final judgment on the City of San Diego's attempt to have the Kessler vs. City of San Diego case thrown out. Yesterday in a tentative ruling, the …
Tentative Ruling: Judge Won't Throw Out Kessler Suit
In a tentative ruling this afternoon (Oct. 14), Superior Court Judge John S. Meyer turned down the City of San Diego's attempt to have the Kessler vs. San Diego suit thrown out, or at least parts of it thrown out. …
State Universities Getting Fat on Potentially Biased Oil Research Contracts
The Center for American Progress, a Washington, D.C.-based progressive think tank, released today (Oct. 14) a study concluding that major California universities are raking in money doing less-than-objective research for big oil companies. In ten years, major California universities have …
For-Profit College Stocks, Including Bridgepoint, Walloped
Stock of San Diego's Bridgepoint Education, San Diego's highly controversial for-profit, online university, is down 13.24% this morning (Oct. 14) as a negative forecast from the industry's Mr. Big, Apollo Group, reverberated around the whole sector. Apollo, which runs the …
City Wants Kessler Suit Thrown Out
At 10 a.m. Friday, Superior Court Judge John S. Meyer will hear a request by the City of San Diego to have the Kessler vs. San Diego suit thrown out. Scott Kessler was fired by the City after giving information …
Joan Sutherland, Who Helped Build San Diego Opera, Dead at 83
Soprano Joan Sutherland, known as the best opera singer of her time, and perhaps the greatest soprano of the 20th century, died yesterday (Oct. 10) at age 83 at her home in Geneva. She and her husband, conductor Richard Bonynge, …
Gay & Lesbian Times Doesn't Make It to Print This Week
Gay & Lesbian Times, which is under investigation by the district attorney's office, did not make it into print this week (Oct. 7 edition). The online edition did not come out, either. Owner Mike Portantino is ailing. According to one …
Last -Minute Legislature Deal Boosts Chances of Massive Chargers Subsidy
The Union-Tribune reports this morning (Oct. 9) that the state's budget agreement yesterday may clear the way for the Chargers getting a massive subsidy for a downtown stadium from the insolvent City of San Diego. Previously, the deal would have …
Vassallo, Back in San Diego, Shows Up in Court
Alfred Louis "Bobby" Vassallo showed up yesterday (Oct. 7) for a hearing on whether he should be held in contempt of court. He had no lawyer. Vassallo claimed he didn't understand why the Securities and Exchange Commission is pursuing him. …
Lend a Hand to Wall Street. Get Laid Off
The unemployment data released this morning (Oct. 8) are dismal, but the stock market is up, as many expected. That's because the Federal Reserve has said it will keep money flowing and interest rates declining as long as unemployment remains …
San Diegans Sparse in Forbes 400 List
The list of the 400 richest Americans, recently published by Forbes Magazine, is light on San Diegans this year. Money manager Charles Brandes at $1.5 billion is number 269. Irwin Jacobs, co-founder of Qualcomm, is number 365 at $1.1 billion. …