Relocation notice!
Effective October 17, 2013, News Ticker has moved out of the blogs and into the News & Stories section.
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Entries
Border Patrol agents to remain on duty despite government shutdown
Most CBP employees considered essential
The vast majority of U.S. customs officials are expected to remain on duty throughout the United States government shutdown. According to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials, 52,673 of the 59,561 CBP employees will remain on duty. The 88 percent …
Suspected sexual predator arrested
Evidence gathered from cell phones seized in 2012 prostitution raid
A 70-year-old man was arrested near La Jolla Tuesday (October 1) as part of a prostitution sting operation dating back to June of 2012. Last year, Michael Lustig was arrested in an Encinitas hotel sting aimed at catching “johns” soliciting …
More mobster friend Molasky money for San Diego GOP
Las Vegas developer, investigative focus of Iowa Republican senator in San Diego FBI building Chinese money intrigue, forks over for Faulconer and the GOP
A partnership linked to Las Vegas developer Irwin Molasky, friend and longtime business associate of late mobster Moe Dalitz and a focus of inquiries by Iowa GOP Sen. Charles Grassley over whistle-blower alleged irregularities in the financing of San Diego's …
Food Truck Fight. Group of food truck operators criticize Interim Mayor Todd Gloria and the City for ramped up enforcement
Interim Mayor Gloria's Office says issue will be heard in the coming months by the Land Use and Housing Committee
Food truck owners in San Diego are serving up some criticism for Interim Mayor Todd Gloria. In the latest newsletter from www.sdfoodtrucks.com, the mobile food contingent slams Gloria's recent decision to ramp up enforcement against food truck owners who park …
Peters, DeMaio posturing around government shutdown
Election remains more than a year out
Lest any constituents of California’s 52nd Congressional district forget that there’s an election just 13 months away, Scott Peters, the sitting Democrat, and Carl DeMaio, who’s been building his candidacy virtually since losing the mayoral race in 2012, have issued …
Sanders, Issa pump H-1B program
Qualcomm will love it but domestic engineers will not
In an article in the Washington DC publication The Hill, North County Congressman Darrell Issa and former San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, now head of the local Chamber of Commerce, give hoorays for the H-1B program, by which foreign residents …
State officials, local politicos roll out Covered California state health care exchange
Despite the federal government shutdown triggered by an argument over funding for the Affordable Care Act, popularly dubbed Obamacare, California is moving forward this morning with the launch of Covered California, the new statewide insurance exchange called for under the …
San Diego pols got lots of Del Mar fair freebies
Political party class uses public clout to obtain and distribute free admissions to fair and rock concerts
It's an annual ritual of summer, the running of San Diego officials, both elected and non-elected, out to the county fair in Del Mar for a slew of free admissions and related gratuities, courtesy of the state's 22nd District Agricultural …
Poverty level likely higher than official Census estimates
Study shows cost-of-living-adjusted rate would be 50% higher than official San Diego estimates
New data from the Public Policy Institute of California suggests that 8.1 million Californians, or 22 percent of the state’s population, lives in poverty. These numbers contrast the official U.S. Census Bureau numbers, which put statewide poverty levels at just …
Family of man shot by Encinitas neighbor seek millions in damages
Civil suits filed against Michael Vilkin in San Diego Superior Court
John C. Upton Senior is requesting $5 million in general damages and $1 million in special damages and “reserves the right to seek $10 million in punitive damages,” according to papers filed last week, in a suit against the man …
Mastermind of $100 million mortgage scam gets 8 years
Her former boyfriend got less than half that Friday
Former San Diegan Mary Armstrong, mastermind of a $100 million mortgage scam that generated almost $15 million in kickbacks, was sentenced today (Sept. 30) to 100 months in prison. Her former boyfriend, William Fountain, Friday got 42 months. Armstrong, Fountain, …
Shutdown will hit San Diego, already belted by sequestration
Military, including contracting, is 22% of local economy
The presence of the military and aerospace/defense contracting add up to 22% of the San Diego economy, says Kelly Cunningham, economist for the National University System Institute for Policy Research. If the government shuts down tonight -- as seems quite …
Ship builders unite against Barrio Logan's Community Plan Update; hire lobbying firm Southwest Strategies for help at City Hall
BAE Systems, NASSCO, and Continental Maritime San Diego among the companies to join in opposition against the newly amended update.
Ships are starting to hit the plan in Barrio Logan. A group of ship repair companies have united and hired a lobbyist to start pounding the pavement at City Hall in hopes of getting a more industry-friendly update to the …
Chula Vista from boom to bust to boom
Forbes calls Chula Vista "Second Fastest-Growing City Since Recession;" Growth Oversight Commission's report on fire, libraries, police and traffic
The Millenia project in Chula Vista broke ground September 26 only a short time after Forbes magazine called the city the second fastest-growing in the United States. The Forbes article looked at cities with a population of 200,000 or more …
Predator drone maker and pot foe throws down for San Diego GOP
Uranium miner General Atomics, maker of deadly drones and other high-tech battle gear, joins the war for San Diego mayor
U-T San Diego publisher Douglas Manchester, the well-heeled Republican hotel magnate and associate of the conservative Koch brothers, has just received some more big time conservative reinforcement in his mayoral proxy war with San Diego's richest man, billionaire Obama Democrat …
Dragon Rojo roars no more
Landmark Tijuana cantina closes doors in Zona Norte.
Historic Tijuana cantina Dragon Rojo closes its mural-incrusted doors on Monday, September 30. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru4aGSzYw9E Originally opened in 1977, The Red Dragon is located just west of the tacky arch/clock monument on Revolucion, where the jubilant abandon of Plaza Santa Cecilia …
Unions have given $560,000 in nine days to pro-David Alvarez committee
Most will be spent on polling and television ad buys; ads began airing this weekend.
Update: The Working Families for a Better San Diego added $22,000 to their television ad budget. San Diego's unions are united behind councilmember David Alvarez and are putting up major cash as a sign of their support. In the past …
Coastal Commission staff says "No" on convention center expansion
The commission considers the matter Oct. 10
In a 24-page report, the staff of the California Coastal Commission recommended a "No" vote on the planned $520 million convention center expansion. The commission will take up the matter at a meeting Oct. 10. " The [proposal] will result …
GOP fat cats set to party hearty at Manchester resort this weekend
Exclusive California Republican Leadership fund kicks off high-end cash raising event with Friday golf tournament and lavish party closed to media at publishing magnate's Grand del Mar
U-T San Diego publisher Douglas Manchester, known for his extravagant party giving, is playing host to California Republican Party officials, lawmakers, and their monied financial backers this weekend at his sprawling Grand del Mar resort in the northern reaches of …