Entries
La Jolla 5th Most Expensive Home Market in Nation
According to a Coldwell Banker report released today (Sept. 22), La Jolla is the fifth most expensive residential real estate market in the nation. Coldwell toted up average prices for 4 bedroom, 2 bath homes in 300 markets between February …
Did Platinum Pay $30 Million for U-T, or $52 Million?
Tom Gores, head of Beverly Hills-based Platinum Equity, owner of the Union-Tribune since 2009, is getting plenty of press attention now that he appears to be in the running -- maybe at the front of the line -- to buy …
SEC Seeks Contempt Order Against Vassallo
The Securities and Exchange Commission today (Sept. 21) filed in federal court to get a civil contempt order against Alfred Louis (Bobby) Vassallo, one of San Diego's egregious characters operating in the last two decades. In the 1990s and early …
How Recession Wallops Visual Arts
The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, with facilities in La Jolla and downtown San Diego, had contributions and grants of $4.5 million in 2008, according to Internal Revenue Service records, down sharply from $9.7 million in 2007. Investment income …
As CalPERS Sank, Its Executives Raked in Bucks
As its portfolio plunged by almost one-fourth, the nation's largest public pension fund, California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) awarded its portfolio managers five- and six-figure bonuses, according to a study by the Associated Press. As returns plunged in the …
El Centro Hospital Charged with Medicare Fraud
The El Centro Regional Medical Center agreed today (Sept. 20) to pay $2.2 million to settle charges that it defrauded Medicare, according to the U.S. Justice Department. According to the government, the 165-bed acute care hospital fraudulently inflated charges to …
Gores Going Digital. Pro Basketball Next?
Beverly Hills-based Tom Gores, whose Platinum Equity private equity company owns the Union-Tribune, is on the acquisition trail in uncharacteristic areas. Platinum Equity and the Gores Group, a private equity group run by Tom's brother Alec, purchased Alliance Entertainment this …
Dodd-Frank Gives SEC Exemption from Providing Documents
San Diego attorney Gary Aguirre has an article in the September edition of "Wall Street Lawyer," a publication for securities attorneys. Aguirre describes how the Dodd-Frank Act gives the securities agency "unique FOIA [Freedom of Information Act] exemptions available only …
Arena Tanks on Bad FDA News
Stock of biotech Arena Pharmaceuticals is down 38.83% to $4.19 this morning on bad Food and Drug Administration news on the developmental weight loss drug "lorcaserin." A staff review indicated three safety issues, including valvular heart disease, neuro-psychiatric and cognitive-related …
City Wants Consultant for Managed Competition
The City of San Diego Purchasing & Contracting Department sent out a request for proposal Thursday (Sept. 9) for a consultant to assist in the City's managed competition program. Questions and comments are due Sept. 23 and the proposal closes …
NY Pension System Underfunded; State Broke
Today's (Sept. 11) New York Times has an op-ed piece that should shake up the home state. The lead paragraph states, "New York's pension system is underfunded by tens of billions of dollars and...as a result, the state is essentially …
Times Highlights Malecot Indictment
Today's (Sept. 8) New York Times has a front page article featuring Michel Malecot, the owner of Pacific Beach's French Gourmet restaurant, who was indicted in April for hiring 12 undocumented immigrants and continuing to employ them even after he …
Spanos Really Wants L.A., Says Yahoo! Sports
In a Sept. 3 article, Yahoo! Sports quotes a National Football League owner saying that Chargers's head Dean Spanos's "dream is to go to L.A., and it may happen." The writer says that a few years ago, the other NFL …
Now Venter Wants to Create Algae That Could Replace Fossil Fuels
The New York Times gives a big writeup today (Sept. 5) to the attempt by Dr. J. Craig Venter to create living creatures -- bacteria, algae, or plants -- that are designed from DNA. Venter wants these living creatures "to …
Accounting Group Disciplines Former City Auditor
Last year, the California Board of Accountancy withdrew the license of the former El Cajon-based accounting firm, Calderon Jaham & Osborn. (Sorry to be so late reporting this, but I just learned of it.) The firm had been auditor of …
Auditor Finds Flaws in Risk Management Department
A report by City Auditor Eduardo Luna says that the City of San Diego's Risk Management Department "does not analyze systematic risks or follow Enterprise Risk Management system methodologies or other enhancing practices, nor does it maintain documented processes. Furthermore, …
U.S. Jobs Report Weak, but Better Than Expected
U.S. nonfarm payrolls dropped 54,000 in August as the unemployment rate rose to 9.6% from 9.5% in July. This was fueled by more people entering the job force looking for jobs. The jobs loss was about half what economists had …
CEOs Who Chopped Most Heads Raked in Most Pay
Chief executives who slashed payrolls the most took home 42% more compensation in 2009 than the average chief executive of Standard & Poor's 500 companies, according to a new study by the Institute for Policy Studies, a liberal think tank …
Gin's Lead Indicators Rise in July
The lead indicators of the San Diego economy, compiled by economist Alan Gin of the University of San Diego, rose to 109.9 in July, up from 109.6 in June. The indicators have now moved up steadily since reaching 100.7 in …
Compared with Orange and L.A., San Diego Underspends on Firefighting
San Diego County fire agencies this year are spending $152.85 per resident on firefighting, while Orange County spends $177.98 and Los Angeles County $217.71, according to a study by W. Erik Bruvold of the National University System Institute for Policy …