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
Reporter, laid off by U-T, wins Pulitzer Prize
Story was edited by ex-U-Ter who was an editor in two previous Pulitzer winners
David Hasemyer, who was laid off by the Union-Tribune in one of its several pogroms, is one of three reporters winning the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting, according to an announcement today (April 15). The other reporters are Elizabeth …
For-profit college to pay $700,000 fine for falsifying records
United States University altered documents so students could get Pell grants
United States University has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $686,720, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. The school's former financial aid director, Christina Miller, pleaded guilty to falsifying loan applications so students could get Pell grants from the …
14 homicides in Tijuana over seven days
Violent week in Tijuana, three more killed by Monday afternoon
At least 14 homicides were recorded in Tijuana over a seven day period, ending on Sunday, April 14th, 2013. By the early hours of Sunday, Frontera had reported that 13 homicides had been counted by local authorities. Local investigators allege …
Do "speak no evil" obits inform readers?
U-T's encomium on Red Scott omitted key details
"Speak no evil of the dead," is advice that many newspapers follow in a non-paid obituary. However, many of the credible daily papers, such as the New York Times, strive to do balanced reports on the life of a person …
Eight arrested in Vista minor decoy tobacco operations
The Community Oriented Policing & Problem Solving (COPPS) division out of the Vista Sheriff’s Station over the weekend conducted a minor decoy operation in which underage customers attempted to purchase tobacco products at a total of 73 retail stores throughout …
Mayor Filner proposes cutting City Attorney budget. City Attorney responds with $2,500 gift to Republican Party
Goldsmith's latest disclosure shows a $2,500 donation to the local GOP party one day after Filner releases draft budget proposal
Mayor Bob Filner's proposal to pay for additional public services by cutting more than $1 million from City Attorney Jan Goldsmith's department isn't going over too well with the GOP faithful. The draft budget calls using one-time funds as well …
Food truck operators accuse the City of San Diego of harassment in new lawsuit
Code compliance officers now issuing citations to all food trucks, even those on private property
Code enforcement officers in San Diego have been busy serving up a wide assortment of citations to food trucks throughout the City ever since city councilmembers agreed to tighten the rules governing the operation of food trucks during a December …
Hotel moguls spent $19,000 lobbying in Filner funding war, report says
Same lobbyist used by billionaire Irwin Jacobs for failed Plaza de Panama makeover employed in battle to force mayor to sign Sanders-negotiated deal
Another major San Diego controversy has paid off big for MJE Marketing Services, Inc., the influence peddling firm that was paid in excess of $100,000 during last year's ultimately unsuccessful quest by Qualcomm billionaire Irwin Jacobs to make over Balboa …
Missing 19 year old Tijuana woman sought
Martha Lucía Cruz Macleod has been missing since March 22nd
Authorities in Tijuana are asking for help in locating a missing 19 year old woman. Martha Lucía Cruz Macleod has been missing since March 22nd, when she left Tijuana for the city of Puebla. Authorities have stated that Martha was …
Where are potential tax cheats? San Diego, perhaps
IRS data point to clusters of possible small business chiselers
The Associated Press today (April 14) has a story on where tax cheats are likely to be clustered, according to data from the National Taxpayer Advocate. It used confidential Internal Revenue Service data from 2009 tax returns to try to …
Settlement reached in City's lawsuit over downtown assessment district's errant engineer's report
Court documents show the City Attorney and SCI Consulting have come to terms in case of overcharged assessments on Property-based Improvement District
The mess over a faulty engineer's report which resulted in thousands of downtown residents being overcharged hundreds of thousands of dollars in assessments for the downtown Property-based Improvement District (PBID) is nearly over. The district provides downtown neighborhoods "enhanced" services …
Defense will begin case Monday in alleged-caregiver-abuse trial
Man accused of mistreating his patient protests that evidence was destroyed
An Escondido police investigator said a woman brought computer parts to him inside a kitchen waste bin. “The card was in pieces when it was presented to me. I believe it was in the trash can.” Detective Damon Vandervorst said …
He defrauded clients, then plotted their murders
Ramona's Steven Martinez gets almost 24 years in prison
Former Internal Revenue Service agent Steven Martinez of Ramona today (April 12) was sentenced to 286 months (almost 24 years) in prison for defrauding clients, then plotting to have four of them killed to keep them from testifying against him. …
Past and present officials from three South Bay school districts arraigned
Trial date set for alleged pay-to-play defendants.
On April 12, in the South Bay courthouse, officials and ex-officials from the South County school districts were arraigned. Despite urgings on the part of the district attorney's office for an earlier trial date, Judge Ana Espana set the trial …
Downtown lobbyist from Carlsbad seeking San Diego city council seat
Interim president and CEO of Terry Brown-backed lobbying group seeks redrawn sixth council district spot, filing says
Chris J. Cate, interim president and CEO of the San Diego County Taxpayers Association - the lobbying organization that has been a key player in the effort to force Democratic Mayor Bob Filner to sign a funding contract negotiated by …
Pendleton's "Godfather" charged with bribery
Construction supervisor Cervantes allegedly extorted bribes from contractors
Natividad Lara "Nate" Cervantes, who referred to himself as the "Godfather at Camp Pendleton," was arraigned today (April 12) on bribery charges, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. Cervantes, supervisor for construction and service contracts at Pendleton, used his position …
Del Mar prepares to enact measure to allow food trucks back into city
After a considerable delay and multiple extensions of an emergency ban on the licensing of gourmet food trucks within its city limits, Del Mar appears poised to implement regulations that would allow the trucks to roll once more by the …