Entries
Countrywide Stock Zooms 55 Percent on Rumor B of A Will Buy It
Stock of Countrywide Financial, the nation's largest mortgage operation, shot up 55 percent today (Jan.10) to almost $8 a share on the Wall St. Journal's report that Bank of America is negotiating to buy the ailing company. Earlier in the …
Symphony's $120 Million Gift Hasn't Made It Flush
Portfolio.com,, put out by Conde Nast, has published an article noting that the San Diego Symphony's $120 million gift has been a hindrance in some respects. Qualcomm chairman Irwin Jacobs and his wife Joan made the pledge in 2001, four …
Website Slams Mozilo Appearance, Noting Stock Sales Before Crash
A website, disinvitemozilo.com, is criticizing the upcoming appearance of Angelo R. Mozilo, CEO of Countrywide Financial, at the USD real estate conference Jan. 22. Details of the conference are in the post below. Says the website, "Mozilo rakes it in, …
Countrywide's Mozilo To Keynote USD Real Estate Conference
The Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate at the University of San Diego has snatched a speaker who should jam 'em in at the center's twelfth annual real estate conference Jan. 22 at the San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina. That …
Religious Scammer Gets 25 Years, Told To Cough Up $43 Million
John Harrell, who once claimed to control a trillion dollar trust, today (Jan. 8), was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his masterminding of a religious scam. He was told to forfeit $2.4 million and pay $40.6 million in …
City Employees To Hold Anti-Aguirre Rally at Democratic Meeting
City of San Diego employees, retirees, and their families plan to rally against City Attorney Mike Aguirre at the County Democratic Central Committee meeting Tuesday evening, Jan. 8, at the State of California Building on Front Street. The employees will …
U-T Axes 14 in Pressroom Without Buyouts
Last Friday (Jan. 4), the Union-Tribune laid off 14 employees in the pressroom. That's out of a total of about 100, according to George Huber, secretary-treasurer of the union local, an affiliate of the Teamsters. Employees had wanted to get …
Wall Street Journal Blasts San Diego in Municipal Bond Editorial
In an editorial Dec. 31, the Wall Street Journal excoriated "shady accounting in the public sector," and cited San Diego as an example. The editorial asked multi-billionaire Warren Buffett to tell governments to insist on honest accounting, now that Buffett's …
29 Newspeople, Some of Paper's Best, Take U-T Buyout
According to a reliable source, 29 people in the Union-Tribune newsroom took the voluntary buyout abruptly offered by the company Dec. 3. The U-T wanted 43 out; if that's still the plan, 14 people will get the involuntary boot, probably …
Sanders's Ethics Chief Voted for Benefits IRS Found"Failures"
Mayor Jerry Sanders keeps talking about his commitment to pension reform, but actions by underlings belie his promises. For example, the Internal Revenue Service recently concluded that one of many failures by the City pension system was its granting of …
Copley Selling Casa del Zorro in Borrego, Wants Sale by End of Year
Copley Press is selling Casa del Zorro, its resort facility in Borrego Springs, confirms Judy Meier, top executive of the Borrego Sun, a Copley-owned newspaper. She was referred to me by Hal Fuson, the company chief operating officer. The buyer …
SDCERS Does Mea Culpa Over 14 IRS Violations, but DROP and Purchase of Service Credits Still Not Before the Agency
The San Diego City Employees' Retirement System (SDCERS) today (Dec. 21) admitted to multiple violations in a settlement with the Internal Revenue System (IRS). However, the federal tax agency did not rule on the controversial DROP and Purchase of Service …
Does U-T Know $128,000 from $20 Million? Obviously Not
The husband says to his wife, "Darling, to hang this picture, I want to put in this screw. You could help by bringing me the screw driver." The yellow rag newspaper reports, "The husband shouted at his wife, 'Screw you.'" …
Is Bell Retiring from U-T? Rumor Makes Sense
The Union-Tribune is a chaotic place now. Involuntary layoffs loom as others who took the voluntary package are packing to depart before yearend. One rumor zooming around the newsroom makes sense: that Gene Bell, president of the Union-Tribune, is retiring. …
Attorney General Says No Criminal Charges Should Be Filed in Long-Running Billing Practices
The attorney general's office said December 12 that no criminal charges should be filed over longstanding billing practices in the city attorney's office. In 2004, a then-deputy city attorney charged that certain agencies of San Diego government were being charged …
New Study Shows Topside Inequities in City Bureaucrat Retirements
The city attorney's office released a draft version today (Dec. 14) outlining the full burden of the pension deficits facing San Diego taxpayers. The study shows that 417 current retirees have present value pension benefits of a million dollars or …
Goldstone To Reopen 2005 Certified Audit
Jay M. Goldstone, the City's chief operating officer and head bean counter, on Thursday relented and said he would reopen the 2005 City audit and clearly state how much in illegal benefits the pension system had paid out in excess …
SDCERS' Independent Fiduciary Counsel Resigns
Harvey L. Leiderman and his San Francisco-based law firm, ReedSmith, have resigned as independent fiduciary counsel to the San Diego City Employees' Retirement System. "I am not at liberty to disclose the reason we voluntarily resigned," says Leiderman. "It's important …
Former Charger Pleads Guilty To Making False Loan Applications, Evading Taxes
Former San Diego Charger Benjamin Leon Coleman (Ben Coleman), 36, pleaded guilty today (Dec. 13) to submitting phony loan applications, using a false social security number, identity theft, and tax evasion. The U.S. Attorney's office prosecuted the case. Between mid-2005 …
Will Baseball's Bottom Line Suffer from Substance Revelations? No
The reports on widespread usage of performance enhancing substances in pro baseball came out today (Dec. 13). Several former Padres are mentioned, including Benito Santiago,Gary Sheffield, Ron Villone, Kevin Brown and the late Ken Caminiti. (The players' alleged offenses did …