Entries
Mercenary Firm Blackwater, Which Gave Up On Attempt to Get Potrero Training Camp in March, Now Has Shooting Range Near Border
Blackwater Worldwide, the mercenary firm that has stirred up so much controversy in Iraq, now plans to open what appears to be a shooting range at 7685 Siempre Viva Road, about a block from the border. I was not able …
Amylin Shares Plunge 10.28 Percent; Diabetes Drug Byetta Comes Up Short
Stock of biotech Amylin Pharmaceuticals plummeted 10.28 percent today (April 21) as the company reported weak sales of its franchise diabetes drug Byetta. In its first quarter, the company lost $68.8 million or 51 cents a share, compared with a …
Sanders Official Who Was Fired for Challenging Unethical Practices Files Wrongful Termination Suit
Rick Reynolds, former assistant chief operating officer for the City, was fired last October for challenging practices of Fred Sainz, Mayor Jerry Sanders's spinmeister. On April 15, Reynolds filed suit against the City for wrongful termination. The depositions in this …
Three Former City Officials Charged by SEC with Fraud Are Receiving Generous City Pensions
Three of the five former City employees charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with issuing false and misleading financial statements in bond offerings are now receiving juicy pensions from the City, according to City Attorney Mike Aguirre, who …
City Chastened: New Proposed 2009 Budget Warns Investors Not To Use It in Making Decisions
The Securities and Exchange Commission's April 7 fraud charges against five former City bureaucrats for filing false and misleading statements in bond offerings seem to have sobered up San Diego government. In the introduction to the just-released proposed 2009 budget …
Sanders Wants City To Pay Union President's Salary During Bargaining; Aguirre Says It's Against the Charter
On April 10, City Attorney Mike Aguirre wrote to the mayor and council, saying that in closed-door meetings that did not include a representative of his office, Mayor Jerry Sanders said that beginning in January, the president of the Police …
Union-Tribune's Internet Radio Will Be Off the Air Soon, Say Industry Pros and Newspaper Staffers
The Union-Tribune's stab at Internet radio, called SignOn Radio, will be ending this month. It had been launched last October. Some staffers were told yesterday (Monday, April 7), but the company has made no public announcement. The radio industry is …
SEC Charges Five Former City Officials with Fraud for Roles in False Municipal Bond Filings
The Securities & Exchange Commission today (April 7) charged five former City officials with securities fraud for aiding in the concealment of negative information in municipal bond offerings. Charged were these former officials: Michael Uberuaga, city manager; Edward Ryan, auditor …
Another La Jolla Ponzi Scheme: This One Engineered by an Attorney Now Headed to Prison
Former La Jolla attorney Cameron Campbell was sentenced today (Friday, April 4) to 63 months in prison for his role in wooing investors into a $4.5 million scam called The Brixon Group Ltd. Federal Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz ordered Campbell …
California Is in Such a Financial Quagmire That There Could Be Municipal Bankruptcies
Laffer Associates, the economics firm run by supply side economist Arthur Laffer, says in a new report that California faces a massive budget deficit through fiscal years 2008-2009. The deficit could be $16 billion. "Thanks to stagnating/declining revenues and out-of-control …
Does Your Broker Claim the Real Estate Devastation Is Almost Over? Statistics Say It May Be Half Over
The real estate downturn is nowhere near over, say savvy economists and followers of the industry. And San Diego's plight is among the nation's worst. According to Case-Shiller data, San Diego prices are plunging at a 31.5 percent annual rate …
Ten Trillion Reasons Why Federal Reserve May Have Bailed Out Bear Stearns
Here's a bombshell from the March 22 edition of The Economist magazine: "With positions in credit-default and interest rate swaps worth a notional $10 trillion, the idea of [Bear Stearns's] sudden collapse was chilling -- and nobody wanted to put …
David Perez Loved His Katrina Publicity, but Has Quietly Left Company in Tatters
In September of 2005, San Diegan David Perez got glowing national publicity for rounding up airplanes to fly victims of Katrina to safety. However, as the Reader pointed out at the time, there were some mice in Perez's basement: he …
Jenny Craig Sent Out Tainted Meat from Chino Slaughterhouse, but Notification Inadequate
San Diego-based weight loss specialty firm Jenny Craig sent its customers Salisbury steak and meatloaf meals made with beef from Chino's Westlands/Hallmark, the slaughterhouse whose abuse of crippled cows, caught on a hidden camera, created a stir and led to …
Fed Completely Ignored Moral Hazard in Bailing Out Bear Stearns. Were the Fed's Moves Legal?
Over the weekend, the Federal Reserve committed $30 billion to facilitate the takeover of ailing Wall Street firm Bear Stearns by JP Morgan Chase. On Friday, the Fed had provided a bailout to Bear through Morgan. The Fed has utterly …
Stunner: JP Morgan Buys Bear Stearns for $2 a Share. Earlier in Last Year, It Sold for $159. Federal Reserve To Subsidize Purchase
Wall Street's JP Morgan agreed to buy ailing brokerage Bear Stearns for $2 a share Sunday. That comes to $236.2 million. Bear has a new building worth at least $1 billion. Assuming that building is part of the deal, JP …
Fear That Bear Stearns May Not Be Able To Honor Credit Default Swaps May Be Reason for Federal Reserve Bailout
On Friday (March 14), the Federal Reserve arranged a bailout of Wall Street's Bear Stearns. Immediately, I suspected that other financial institutions are wary that Bear can't make good on credit default swaps, complex derivatives in which one party agrees …
Peters Hustles to Hustings; Long-Delayed 2005 Audit Delayed Again
The City's 2005 certified financial audit has been delayed for a long time. The mayor's office says it's an urgent matter. On Tuesday, it was to be considered by council. But Mayor Jerry Sanders's toady, Council President Scott Peters, had …
Why Financial Reform of Near-Bankrupt City May Be Impossible: Aguirre Jeered Yesterday by Business, Labor Moochers
The City of San Diego is bleeding financially because of corporate welfare mendicants who suck money out of the coffers, and City workers who enjoy excessive salaries and benefits. The treatment given City Attorney Mike Aguirre, who is trying to …
Typically, U-T Editorial Touts Sanders; But Account Differs Sharply from U-T News Story. Paper Refuses Comment
On March 9, the Union-Tribune wrote an editorial that, as usual, lauded Mayor Jerry Sanders. "Reform at last," gushed the editorial, praising Sanders's new plan for purportedly fixing the pension system. "Taxpayers would save $25 million the first year," effervesced …