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
Qualcomm puts big bucks in offshore havens to avoid U.S. taxes
Added $2.9 billion to stash last year -- 22nd among U.S. companies
Qualcomm in the past year added $2.9 billion to its stash of profits shifted to foreign tax havens, according to Citizens for Tax Justice, which points out that in most cases, companies earn the money in the United States but …
Filner seeks "change agent" in new chief operating officer, recruiting brochure says
No salary set for key management position; document says San Diego mayor is "similar to the Governor or the President"
San Diego's Democratic mayor Bob Filner has been busy lately handling everything from seal kicking to a lawsuit filed by the city's GOP hotel moguls in an attempt to get him to sign a funding contract negotiated by Republican ex-mayor …
Repeat felon gets 3 years California State prison
Most recently admitted kidnap while out on probation
Late last month, an admitted kidnapper was sent to State prison for three years. This sentence included time for four other cases the busy felon had accumulated since 2010. Most recently, Gregory Leon Spatcher, 32, admitted felony kidnap in a …
Big Texas money enters San Diego's fourth district city council fray
Austin real estate executive and African safari goer who handles luxury San Diego holdings becomes third major donor to Williams' cause
It's not quite the Rick Perry campaign, but a big-time Texas real estate maven has just kicked in $6750 to that well-heeled independent expenditure committee backing Republican-turned-Democrat Bruce Williams for the fourth district city council seat. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/22/42413/ Brenda Tworoger of …
SD unemployment rises in January as jobs decline
Not surprisingly, retail jobs account for one-third of job loss
The San Diego County unemployment rate was 8.6% in January, up from a revised 8.2% in December and below the 9.5% of a year earlier. The county lost 22,000 jobs between December and January, 7,500 of which were in retailing, …
Trials and tribulations: State wants to charge $10 fee for public to view court files
New proposal is included in a bill from the Judicial Branch
A recent proposal from California's Judicial Branch gives a whole new meaning to the term 'trials and tribulations'. In this case, the tribulations do not come at the expense of defendants or the accused but on journalists and members of …
More than 200,000 travelers expected in Baja California for Easter
Annual tourists expected to continue in large numbers for Semana Santa
The state of Baja California expects up to a quarter million travelers to visit tourists destinations during Easter week, which is known as Semana Santa in Mexico. According to Juan Tintos Funcke, head of the Ministry of Tourism, the state …
New York Times cites LPL's regulatory problems
Brokerage sells high-commission non-traded REITs, among other things
San Diego-based LPL Financial has grown into the nation's fourth largest brokerage firm with 13,300 brokers, 6,500 offices and 4.3 million customers -- but "a growing list of problems with regulators," notes the New York Times in a story this …
Papa Doug's son says he is for same-sex marriage
Says his father now regrets the funds he provided to Prop. 8
The Austin Chronicle, in an article that was picked up here, confused Douglas F. "Papa Doug" Manchester, founder of Manchester Financial Group, with his son, Douglas W. Manchester, president of the Manchester Texas Financial Group. The young Manchester emailed the …
Quail Brush, Pio Pico turned down, but....
Door seems to open for SDGE to try again for new plants
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), meeting today (March 21), turned down Quail Brush and Pio Pico power plants that San Diego Gas & Electric (SDGE) has been pushing for. San Diegans have expressed strong opposition to both plants, and …
Tentatively, judge sides with Filner in TMD dispute
Oral arguments to be heard Friday
Superior Court Judge Timothy Taylor today (March 21) turned down the request of the Tourism Marketing District (TMD) to force Mayor Bob Filner to sign an operating agreement that would provide $30 million annually for tourism promotion from a 2% …
Mother kills two young daughters, then self, in Rosarito
Daughters 7 and 9 gagged then hung
Playas de Rosarito police discovered two young girls murdered in their home in the evening of Wednesday, March 20th. The victims, 7 and 9 year old sisters, were found gagged with tape and hung by rope. The 45 year old …
U.S. Border Patrol is still thinking about it
Two off-duty agents survived a public fight and then trial for battery
This morning, March 21, 2013, the United States Border Patrol stated: “Agent Helwig and Agent Torello are on administrative duties pending an internal investigation.” This appears to be the same status they have had since June of 2012. Ten months …
Big labor spends $75,000 for Democrat in fourth district council race
Campaign committee run by San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council lays out more than $75,000 for cause of Myrtle Cole, according to filing
With the special election for city council in San Diego's fourth city council district already shaping up as a classic money battle between labor unions and the city's well-heeled real estate and development interests, San Diego Works!, an independent expenditure …
San Diego home values, rents keep rising sharply
County rents 4th highest among major metro areas
Is the housing bubble reinflating? With the Federal Reserve continuing to create money at a frenetic pace, one has to wonder. In February, U.S. home values rose 5.8%. Among the largest 30 markets, San Diego was 8th in year-over-year advance, …
Business owners in Alpine sue SDG&E over impacts from Sunrise Powerlink
Construction impacts caused many businesses to lose major cash and even forced some to close.
SDG&E's newly built Sunrise Powerlink is the tie that binds the power grids in Imperial Valley and San Diego County. For businesses located on Alpine Boulevard in the unincorporated community of Alpine, the line also cut off access to local …