Entries
Local Biotech Executive Lied about Test, Says SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged today (June 2) that Elizabeth A. Dragon, former senior vice president of research and development at biotech Sequenom, lied during at least three public presentations to analysts and investors. She claimed that Sequenom's …
Hewitt Leaves U.S. Attorney Office, Joins Jones Day
U.S. Attorney Karen P. Hewitt said today (June 2) that she will resign from the Department of Justice to join the San Diego office of law firm Jones Day as a partner. Jones Day, whose managing partner is based in …
Greenberg Leaves San Diego, Back on CNBC
Herb Greenberg has returned to CNBC, the business/market TV news channel, and departed North County. He is now living in Connecticut. For some time, he wrote a column for the Wall Street Journal and appeared on CNBC while living in …
City Trying to Block Deposition of Sanders
The City of San Diego has filed a protective order directing that the deposition of Mayor Jerry Sanders either not be taken or the scope of the deposition be limited. The case in question was filed by Scott Kessler, a …
SDNN Was Effervescent Until Drop Dead Day
San Diego News Network, the local online news operation that had raised $3.18 million from investors, and was talking of an expansion to 40 markets and a possible stock offering, was bullish just about to the day (May 28) when …
Letter Suggests SDNN to be Bought Out
I have received a copy of a letter allegedly sent to free lancers working for San Diego News Network yesterday (May 28) at 5:12 p.m. The letter purports to be from Nicole Rockstead, on behalf of Neil Senturia, head of …
Proposition D: How to Buy an Election
The group touting Proposition D, the so-called strong mayor initiative, have reported their donations and expenditures for the two months ended May 22. The election is June 8. The group is known as "San Diegans for Accountability at City Hall, …
SEC Charges, Forced into Open by San Diegan, Show Wall Street Corruption
The Securities and Exchange Commission today (May 27) put out a bland press release saying that Pequot Capital Management, once the largest hedge fund, and its head, Arthur Samberg, have agreed to pay $28 million to settle agency insider trading …
Lead Indicators Inch Ahead in April
The lead indicators of the San Diego economy, compiled by Alan Gin of the University of San Diego, rose moderately in April from March, rising to 109.2 from 109. The indicators have been in a fairly steady, if modest, uptrend; …
"Little Dominelli" Gets Nine Years in Slammer
Mark Todd Hauze, whose foreign currency Ponzi scheme had similarities with the J. David Dominelli scam of the 1980s, was sentenced today (May 25) to 9 years in prison and three years of supervised release. According to the U.S. attorney's …
SDNN Closes Orange County Operation
The Orange County News Network, which was to be a launching pad for a 40-city expansion of the San Diego News Network online journalism model, has closed down after only four months, according to the Orange County Business Journal. Chris …
Neurocrine Zooms as Rest of Market Wilts
Stock of biotech Neurocrine Biosciences is up 37.36% this morning in an overall market slaughter. U.S. stock are down more than 2% this morning following big selloffs in Europe and Asia. Neurocrine said a mid-stage study of its drug to …
San Diego Shines in Wobbly Case-Shiller Numbers
There are signs of weakening U.S. housing prices in the March data from Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller, but San Diego is the star. San Diego area home values rose 1.5% from February to March. That tied San Francisco for first place …
April Unemployment Dips to 10.4%
The San Diego County unemployment rate dropped to 10.4% in April from a revised 11% in March, according to the state Employment Development Department. This compared with 12.3% for California and 9.5 for the U.S. during the same period. Construction …
Graham Claims She Was "Spotless" in Florida. Hogwash!
Nancy Graham, former head of Centre City Development Corp. now under investigation by the Ethics Commission, claimed yesterday that "I had a spotless record" before coming to San Diego. The Union-Tribune printed her assertion apparently without searching the record. I …
Six Charged in Alleged $20.8 Million Mortgage Scam
Six individuals from the San Diego area have been charged by the U.S. attorney's office with wire fraud in an alleged attempt to submit fraudulent mortgage loan applications to lending institutions to induce them to make 36 loans of a …
Will L.A., Arizona Go to War?
Los Angeles and the State of Arizona are bracing for hostilities.The Los Angeles city council, with support from Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, voted to boycott Arizona and Arizona-based companies because of the state's recently-enacted SB 1070 act dealing harshly with …
Canadian Doctor Charged with Smuggling Treated Athlete in San Diego
Anthony Galea, a Canadian doctor charged in U.S. federal court Tuesday with smuggling and drug offenses, frantically traveled the U.S. last summer and injected professional athletes with human growth hormones (HGH) and other drugs, according to ESPN. Galea was charged …
Union-Tribune to Shrink Width of Paper
According to the trade publication News & Tech, "The San Diego Union-Tribune is narrowing the web width of its four Goss Metro presses from 50 inches to 44 inches -- with provision for 42-inch production." The project will be completed …
Bersin Unconvincing in Describing His Self-Confessed Goofs
The Senate Finance Committee yesterday (May 12) released a five-page document describing how San Diegan Alan Bersin, commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, tried to explain his confessed mistakes in his hiring of household help. Bersin, who was given a …