News | More often than not, San Diego sheriff, probation chief reject or delay oversight board recommendations By Jeff McDonald November 17, 2024 at 5:00 a.m. Over nearly five years, the Citizens' Law Enforcement Review Board issued 91 formal recommendations. Only...
SUBSCRIBER ONLY Politics | More voters, lower turnout, deeper divides: What the numbers say about San Diego County’s political preferences By Kristen Taketa November 19, 2024 at 11:29 a.m. Ballots are still being counted, but voter registration and turnout data offer clues to help...
News | Their children died in jail 5 years ago. They want county supervisors to beef up oversight. By Kelly Davis November 14, 2024 at 9:04 a.m. 'These two deaths are the tip of the iceberg of neglect, apathy, and deliberate indifference,'...
News | ‘Frustrating’ fights, ‘spurious’ denials: Oversight panel says sheriff won’t turn over death records By Kelly Davis November 11, 2024 at 7:14 a.m. It's the latest dispute between the law enforcement agency and the civilian office that monitors...
News | San Diego sheriff is raising millions from people in jail — but details are scant on revenue and spending By Jeff McDonald November 10, 2024 at 5:01 a.m. The office does not generally disclose spending details for the incarcerated persons welfare fund, which...
News | Criminal prosecutor tapped to lead San Diego ethics panel, as voters hand it more power By Jeff McDonald November 8, 2024 at 2:38 p.m. Bryn Kirvin could succeed Sharon Spivak, just after voters chose to bolster its independence by...
News | Nearly 6 years after man’s death in jail, county agrees to pay $5M just before trial By Kelly Davis November 4, 2024 at 2:27 p.m. Michael Wilson, 32, went days without the heart medication he relied on for a lifelong...
SUBSCRIBER ONLY News | Flouting IRS rules, Carlsbad church gave $1,900 to school board candidates, and also urged worshipers to donate By Kristen Taketa November 4, 2024 at 10:38 a.m. The pastor of The Mission Church also urged his congregation to vote for and financially...
News | Lawsuit says probation officers abused 16-year-old boy in juvenile detention By Kristen Taketa November 1, 2024 at 5:00 a.m. His attorney says the county failed to protect the boy from being abused by two...
News | State election regulators investigating Desmond’s work opposing Measure G By Jeff McDonald November 1, 2024 at 6:23 a.m. In a letter released Thursday, the California Fair Political Practices Commission confirmed it's moving forward...
SUBSCRIBER ONLY Two remaining bidders in race to remake 101 Ash St. each have deep political ties By Jeff McDonald October 28, 2024 at 7:27 a.m. One has contributed thousands to the mayor's re-election. The other is run by one of...
News | ‘She could have had a chance to live’: Family of woman who died in jail rallies for reform on her birthday By Kelly Davis October 27, 2024 at 1:01 p.m. Four days went by before Vianna Granillo, who would have been 28 on Saturday, was...
News | State appeals court rejects taxpayer lawsuit challenging 101 Ash St. lease By Jeff McDonald October 25, 2024 at 7:01 p.m. The judges said the issue was no longer debatable because the city had decided to...
News | A dozen years after first reports, San Diego may adopt recommendations to prevent disastrous real estate deals By Jeff McDonald October 27, 2024 at 4:22 p.m. City audits dating back to 2012 advise policy changes to prevent failures like that on...
News | ‘They took away the love of my life’: Widow sues over diabetic man’s death in San Diego jail By Kelly Davis October 24, 2024 at 6:13 p.m. Last month, the county Medical Examiner took the unusual step of ruling Keith Galen Bach’s...
News | Four years after high-profile Borrego Health raid, El Cajon contract dentist is criminally charged By Jeff McDonald October 21, 2024 at 5:23 p.m. State prosecutors filed felony Medi-Cal fraud charges against Husam Aldairi and five employees at his...
News | Taxpayer lawsuit over 101 Ash St. lease lands before state appeals court By Jeff McDonald October 19, 2024 at 5:00 a.m. 'At least let us go back and try the case,' the plaintiff's lawyer urged the...
News | NBC 7 settles lawsuit from journalist behind disputed ‘Footnote 15’ By Jeff McDonald October 18, 2024 at 3:41 p.m. Dorian Hargrove was disciplined for his reporting on the investigation into the city's deal for...
News | San Diego County probation officials withhold evidence from civilian oversight board By Jeff McDonald October 13, 2024 at 5:01 a.m. Twice officials have challenged the board’s request for documents, and without the evidence, the cases...
SUBSCRIBER ONLY News | Fixes for troubled toll road delayed months, amid SANDAG audits, federal probe and $67M write-off By Jeff McDonald October 14, 2024 at 6:45 a.m. SANDAG also voted to write off $67 million in uncollectible fees Friday, as its board...
SUBSCRIBER ONLY News | San Diego rejects local businessman’s $10M offer to buy 101 Ash, convert it to homeless housing By Jeff McDonald October 7, 2024 at 3:02 p.m. After months of negotiations with the mayor's office, the supportive housing project was passed over...
News | Who is subject to civilian oversight? Sheriff argues board lacks jurisdiction over her department By Jeff McDonald October 6, 2024 at 5:05 a.m. She said the board can only issue misconduct or other findings against individual deputies, not...
News | Sheriff introduces new jail safety efforts, and faces critics, in first oversight-board appearance and in-depth interview By Kelly Davis October 6, 2024 at 1:38 p.m. If no one else dies in San Diego jails this year, it will be the...
News | Oceanside treasurer candidate arrested, subject of emergency gun order By Jeff McDonald October 5, 2024 at 5:01 a.m. The case against Jack Fernandes, one of two people challenging incumbent Treasurer Victor Roy, remains...
Education | Another major report recommends charter school oversight reforms after A3 fraud case By Kristen Taketa October 2, 2024 at 5:01 a.m. A court-ordered task force recommended several changes for charter school audits and auditors.
News | In 5 years since investigation, little progress in stopping deaths in San Diego County jails By Jeff McDonald October 2, 2024 at 11:33 a.m. Many of the deaths have been preventable, and some are disturbingly similar, raising questions about...
SUBSCRIBER ONLY Education | San Diego teens’ scrutiny of nonprofit spurs district-wide audit of school foundations By Kristen Taketa September 30, 2024 at 6:35 a.m. 'To support the continued success of our foundations, recent questions regarding its operations must be...
SUBSCRIBER ONLY News | San Dieguito school trustee subject of state political investigation By Jeff McDonald September 28, 2024 at 12:53 p.m. That means FPPC enforcement officials completed a first-look review of the complaints and determined there...
Politics | Fletcher under investigation for paying defense lawyers with Senate campaign funds By Jeff McDonald September 24, 2024 at 9:08 p.m. Disclosures show he paid more than $500,000 in campaign funds to his legal team in...
SUBSCRIBER ONLY Education | Long before legal claims, San Diego Unified fielded at least 3 other complaints about its now-fired chief By Kristen Taketa September 23, 2024 at 12:28 p.m. The district deemed two of the complaints rumors that did not merit an investigation. A...
News | In unusual rebuke of sheriff, medical examiner rules diabetic man’s jail death a homicide by neglect By Kelly Davis September 20, 2024 at 1:07 p.m. Keith Galen Bach's insulin pump had likely been beeping nonstop for nearly 24 hours, an...
Politics | San Diego mayoral candidate Larry Turner fined $500 by ethics commission By Jeff McDonald September 17, 2024 at 4:40 p.m. According to a stipulation posted on the commission’s website, the committee controlled by Turner distributed...
SUBSCRIBER ONLY Education | Two San Diego teens investigated their high school foundation’s finances. Then one got called in to the principal. By Kristen Taketa September 20, 2024 at 9:42 a.m. The school principal and foundation blasted the report as untrue.
Politics | Federal regulators question San Diego GOP financial reports, seek new details on spending, fundraising By Jeff McDonald September 17, 2024 at 4:39 p.m. The U.S. Federal Elections Commission wants to know why local party officials reported a negative...
Politics | State elections regulators receive new complaint against DeMaio campaign for state Assembly By Jeff McDonald September 14, 2024 at 12:34 p.m. The allegations are unrelated to an FPPC investigation opened earlier this year.
Courts | Weeks after San Diego investors sue over alleged gold scam, judge orders firm into bankruptcy By Jeff McDonald September 13, 2024 at 12:58 p.m. The decision ordering Oxford Gold Group into a Chapter 7 case came after company executives...
News | Judge rejects effort to reinstate city workers’ asbestos lawsuit against San Diego By Jeff McDonald September 11, 2024 at 3:14 p.m. She said the newly submitted testimony was not different enough from evidence provided earlier to...
SUBSCRIBER ONLY Education | Understaffed and underprepared: Behind San Diego Unified’s failures on Title IX, and how it’s been working to fix them By Kristen Taketa September 10, 2024 at 12:09 p.m. Since last year, the district has reorganized its investigations office and brought in new investigators...
News | ‘So happy to be back’: After seven months in turmoil, these flood victims are finally home By Emily Alvarenga September 7, 2024 at 4:01 p.m. At least half a dozen families displaced in January are home again. But restrictions on...
San Diego County agrees to pay $1.1M to settle lawsuit over juvenile hall death By Jeff McDonald September 5, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. Negligence by county officers alleged by the boy’s family in a federal lawsuit will cost...
Lawyers for alleged gold-scam victims seek involuntary bankruptcy for firm By Jeff McDonald September 5, 2024 at 3:54 p.m. A hearing is set in October for a petition aimed at protecting Oxford Gold Group...
‘Unsanitary, unethical, unprofessional’: San Diego sheriff’s oversight board dismisses complaints due to lack of jurisdiction By Jeff McDonald September 5, 2024 at 3:19 p.m. The allegations submitted to the Citizens’ Law Enforcement Review Board, or CLERB, were summarily dismissed....
SUBSCRIBER ONLY News | Days before criminal sentencing, former Chula Vista councilwoman faces new investigation, state officials say By Jeff McDonald August 25, 2024 at 5:00 a.m. Andrea Cardenas is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday. Her brother, political consultant Jesus Cardenas,...
News | Doctor involved in Elisa Serna jail death loses medical license By Jeff McDonald August 24, 2024 at 4:34 p.m. Carol Ann Gilmore did not show up at a hearing to defend herself, the state...
News | State regulators’ fight to revoke Ash Street broker’s license delayed until February By Jeff McDonald August 22, 2024 at 6:22 p.m. Jason Hughes will have until next year to prepare his case.
Business | A San Diego couple thought they’d invested in gold. Instead, they and hundreds of others say they were scammed. By Jeff McDonald September 4, 2024 at 12:03 p.m. Their new proposed class-action lawsuit accuses a Beverly Hills company of closing its doors and...
Politics | Furor over virtual public comment highlights a quandary for San Diego — participation or efficiency? By David Garrick August 18, 2024 at 5:01 a.m. Council President Sean Elo-Rivera abandoned an effort to do away with Zoom and phone comments...
News | As cannabis license deadline looms, county applicants warned of potential scam By Jeff McDonald August 17, 2024 at 5:00 a.m. Consultants are pushing contracts that assume a huge proportion of future profits.
News | Sheriff details new enhanced jail screening to curb drug deaths. Will it be enough? By Jeff McDonald August 17, 2024 at 6:05 p.m. Advocates still hope the department will go further to protect incarcerated people, after a series...
News | Get free or reduced-fare transit? A crackdown is coming — and could be especially tough on kids By Maura Fox August 11, 2024 at 5:02 a.m. The new requirement is meant to ensure that reduced fares are available only to those...
SUBSCRIBER ONLY News | Here’s how much big legal payouts are costing San Diego — and what’s costing it the most By Jeff McDonald August 11, 2024 at 11:04 a.m. 'One of the common denominators is the lack of accountability,' says one lawyer whose clients...
News | Consumer group can intervene in insurance rate cases, after state’s unusual invitation to challenges By Jeff McDonald August 7, 2024 at 6:15 p.m. A usually routine annual certification had been delayed by regulators, in what Consumer Watchdog charged...
Politics | Weeks ahead of criminal sentencing, former Chula Vista council member admits civil violation By Tammy Murga August 7, 2024 at 7:04 p.m. Andrea Cardenas will pay a $100 fine to resolve the complaint that she violated state...
Gloria administration, predecessor approved millions in public contracts without council approval, audit finds By Jeff McDonald August 5, 2024 at 4:29 p.m. Recommendations from prior audits were never fully implemented, new report says
News | Criticized for restricting public comment, city council vows to respect the Brown Act By Jerry Wu August 4, 2024 at 10:07 a.m. It’s not the first time San Diego has faced accusations of violating public transparency laws.
News | Who’s gotten $15M in community grants since supervisors ended public approval? Here’s what our review found By Jerry Wu July 29, 2024 at 6:38 p.m. The San Diego Union-Tribune identified eight awards to seven charities that were out of compliance...
News | Corporate landlord agrees to $20M settlement of local businessman’s False Claims Act lawsuit By Jeff McDonald July 28, 2024 at 5:02 a.m. Neil Senturia, whose machine-learning program scanned thousands of building-permit records around California, will share the...
SUBSCRIBER ONLY News | Shelter lease negotiator’s dual roles raise questions about conflicts of interest By Jeff McDonald July 28, 2024 at 5:00 a.m. Cushman is a paid consultant on the mayor's controversial plan. He also serves on San...
News | Facing mounting questions and persistent opposition, Gloria delays homeless shelter plan By Jeff McDonald July 25, 2024 at 6:41 p.m. The council will consider a revised lease later this year, rather than next week, after...
News | Probation officers faulted for beating disabled boy in juvenile hall By Jeff McDonald July 14, 2024 at 5:00 a.m. Three officers used excessive force against the boy, the San Diego County Citizens’ Law Enforcement...
News | Man died in San Diego jail after deputies wrongly placed him in cell with violent offender, outside review finds By Jeff McDonald July 14, 2024 at 4:50 a.m. The first-degree murder case against the killer is scheduled for a hearing this week, with...
News | Transparency or retaliation? State insurance chief accused of targeting critic By Jeff McDonald July 14, 2024 at 5:55 p.m. The advocacy group Consumer Watchdog has yet to receive what has historically been a routine...
News | Sheriff boosts jail safety protocols but stops short of body scans for all By Jeff McDonald July 11, 2024 at 7:13 p.m. Her announcement comes after calls for routine drug screening from the county's civilian oversight board...
News | Search under way for new San Diego Ethics Commission chief By Jeff McDonald July 12, 2024 at 12:26 p.m. Sharon Spivak is leaving after 19 years of city service
News | City attorney employee says she was sexually harassed, assaulted at work By Jeff McDonald July 10, 2024 at 5:52 p.m. Her lawsuit accuses the city of hiring a former San Diego police sergeant despite a...
News | After record $15 million settlement, San Diego County still confronts a slew of other jail-death lawsuits By Jeff McDonald July 8, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. Many of the lawsuits over people's deaths in local jails accuse the Sheriff’s Department of...
News | San Diego OKs $287,500 payout to 2 people injured on damaged road, sidewalk By Jeff McDonald July 5, 2024 at 1:38 p.m. And according to city budget records, the office in charge of managing claims is growing.
News | His cancer surgery was delayed for months while he was in jail. Now he’s sued the sheriff. By Jeff McDonald July 4, 2024 at 11:26 a.m. Clarence Hightower underwent his surgery last July, days after The San Diego Union-Tribune reported on...
News | ‘We will be watching’: After historic settlement, Elisa Serna’s parents look to reform deadly jails By Jeff McDonald July 2, 2024 at 10:27 p.m. 'I don't see change,' her mother said Tuesday, just after agreeing to end a lawsuit...
News | San Diego County settles Elisa Serna jail death lawsuit for $15 million, and limited federal oversight By Jeff McDonald July 2, 2024 at 7:57 p.m. 'The dollar amount doesn’t matter,' said her mother, who plans to keep advocating for other...
News | Deputies wrongly allowed drugs into San Diego County jails, investigation finds By Jeff McDonald June 29, 2024 at 5:01 a.m. The sheriff's oversight board has sustained two more misconduct findings in recent jail deaths.
News | Man dies in San Diego jail one day after arrest, marking 6th in-custody death this year By Jeff McDonald June 27, 2024 at 4:59 p.m. The man was found dead Wednesday night on the floor of a shower inside the...
News | Days after Union-Tribune report, feds agree to pay $4,000 for damage to teen’s car By Jeff McDonald June 27, 2024 at 6:24 p.m. The owner of a Honda Civic hit by a federal employee was given no explanation...
SUBSCRIBER ONLY Energy | SDG&E agrees to pay $71,000 fine over 2021 power shutoff By Rob Nikolewski June 24, 2024 at 4:04 p.m. SDG&E agrees to pay nearly $71,000 in fines related to power shutoff during Thanksgiving 2021
How California agencies are keeping misconduct investigations secret despite transparency laws By Kristen Taketa June 23, 2024 at 6:19 a.m. School districts and other public agencies are using attorneys to conduct fact-finding investigations for misconduct...
Politics | A park, a migrant center and help for victims of violence: What’s changed in the county’s revised $8.5B budget By Emily Alvarenga June 20, 2024 at 10:10 a.m. The revised budget adds almost $46.9 million in spending, nearly all of which will go...
News | E-bike nonprofit CEO accused of faking program data, mixing public and private business By Jeff McDonald June 18, 2024 at 7:38 p.m. A former Pedal Ahead manager makes the allegations in claims filed this week with SANDAG...
News | Hundreds of vacancies at San Diego city and county boards hobble missions, delay work By Jeff McDonald June 17, 2024 at 10:19 a.m. With more than 1,800 seats and rules tailored to each of the nearly 200 bodies...
News | One San Diego teen’s fender-bender is a lesson in government accountability — and the lack of it By Jeff McDonald June 17, 2024 at 6:40 a.m. Some of the most basic tenets of American democracy are the ideas that we all...
News | In latest setback, San Diego’s utility office wrongly debits hundreds of auto-pay water customers By Jeff McDonald June 14, 2024 at 1:51 p.m. The announcement by city officials comes three weeks after a county grand jury report detailed...
News | Catholic diocese will seek bankruptcy protection from hundreds of sex-abuse claims By Jeff McDonald June 13, 2024 at 5:40 p.m. The San Diego diocese's Chapter 11 petition will be filed Monday, Cardinal Robert McElroy says
News | Poway Unified fired its superintendent for allegedly interfering in investigation related to her daughter By Kristen Taketa June 13, 2024 at 5:07 p.m. The district said it found that Marian Kim Phelps had leveraged her position to initiate...
News | Internship for daughter of San Diego mayor’s top aide raises questions about city’s nepotism policy, recruitment By Jeff McDonald June 9, 2024 at 12:01 p.m. SAN DIEGO — The daughter of the top adviser to San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria was awarded...
News | Sheriff won’t be deposed in class-action case challenging jail conditions By Jeff McDonald June 8, 2024 at 1:40 p.m. Sheriff Kelly Martinez will not have to sit for a deposition with lawyers suing her...
News | Effort to strengthen ethics panel moves toward full San Diego City Council vote By Jeff McDonald June 8, 2024 at 12:19 a.m. An effort to boost the independence and authority of the San Diego Ethics Commission is...
News | Who will lead civilian sheriff oversight? San Diego County board moves closer to finding new executive officer By Jeff McDonald June 3, 2024 at 12:01 p.m. A panel of residents from all five San Diego County supervisorial districts has been chosen...
News | San Diego County faces new lawsuit from UCSD professor in wake of Nathan Fletcher allegations By Jeff McDonald May 31, 2024 at 1:46 a.m. SAN DIEGO — The legal repercussions surrounding the sexual assault and harassment allegations against former San Diego...
News | San Diego officials misled the public on Chollas Creek flood-control work, new suit alleges By Jeff McDonald May 30, 2024 at 12:01 p.m. A new lawsuit accuses San Diego city officials of wrongly claiming in years of budget...
News | More independence, sharper teeth: Elliott’s ethics plan would overhaul how campaign, lobbying rules are enforced By Jeff McDonald May 30, 2024 at 10:14 p.m. More than two decades ago, the city of San Diego established an ethics board to...
News | San Diego’s unusual deal to settle asbestos violations? Planting thousands of trees By Jeff McDonald May 28, 2024 at 10:52 p.m. Last month, when San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria appeared at a Logan Heights park to...
News | Interim SANDAG chief executive to resign rather than return to position as deputy CEO By Jeff McDonald May 25, 2024 at 2:42 a.m. Coleen Clementson, the longtime deputy at the San Diego Association of Governments who stepped in...
News | No more tolls on SR-125? SANDAG is considering it – but making the road free would take years and cost millions By Jeff McDonald May 24, 2024 at 10:47 p.m. The San Diego Association of Governments could spend millions of dollars to do away with...
News | Jason Hughes, broker in 101 Ash St. deal, wins bid to stop his license from being revoked By Jeff McDonald May 17, 2024 at 2:20 a.m. A Superior Court judge has blocked the California Department of Real Estate from revoking the...
News | No immediate decision on whether sheriff will be compelled to testify in San Diego jails suit By Jeff McDonald May 16, 2024 at 4:05 p.m. Sheriff Kelly Martinez is not avoiding a proposed deposition in the federal lawsuit challenging her...
News | Judge dismisses lawsuit accusing San Diego officials of exposing city workers to asbestos By Jeff McDonald May 15, 2024 at 3:10 a.m. Early last year, just weeks before a jury was scheduled to decide whether the city...
News | Public school, religious instruction: Many San Diego County charter school students are also enrolling in religious programs By Kristen Taketa June 12, 2024 at 11:51 a.m. In San Diego County and across California, some K-12 school students are getting what their...
News | SANDAG, facing federal investigation, OKs $500,000 for outside lawyers to respond By Jeff McDonald May 10, 2024 at 5:44 p.m. Officials at the San Diego Association of Governments, the regional planning agency that controls a...
News | As deaths and lawsuits pile up, sheriff selects another medical provider for San Diego County jails By Jeff McDonald May 10, 2024 at 8:51 p.m. Tucked inside a lengthy declaration filed by one of the attorneys suing to impose reforms...
News | Plaintiffs challenging San Diego County jail practices want a court order to depose sheriff By Jeff McDonald May 7, 2024 at 1:27 p.m. Lawyers suing the San Diego County Sheriff's Department are asking a federal judge to compel...
News | Asbestos, city workers and high-rise renovations: Showdown looms in lawsuit that recalls 101 Ash St. By Jeff McDonald May 4, 2024 at 12:01 p.m. A downtown high-rise riddled with asbestos. Hundreds of San Diego city employees toiling away during...