Manchester Vs. The Port of San Diego: U-T San Diego owner Doug Manchester and his partner John Lynch have spent years cultivating political and business relationships in San Diego in hopes of achieving the construction of a new football stadium on the 10th Ave. Marine Terminal downtown, land currently under the aegis of the Unified Port of San Diego.
KPBS and I-Newsource found that Manchester stands to benefit financially from his stock holdings if the stadium is built on Port land. And an e-mail from John Lynch to Port Commissioner Scott Peters noted that the U-T would have no choice but to work toward disbanding the Port in the face of continued opposition to the stadium plan.
The U-T has editorialized that the terminal is underutilized and underdeveloped and Lynch has called “…the Port one of the greatest scandals of our lifetime.”
KPBS and I-Newsource have determined that cargo tons going through the port have dropped by about a million since 2006. The question now is how much traction will the Manchester-Lynch plan receive after the mayoral election and all the seats on the City Council are decided?
San Diego Mayor's Race: The news this week is endorsements. Both Mayor Jerry Sanders, a Republican, and Democratic philanthropist Irwin Jacobs have endorsed Carl DeMaio for mayor.
To make the endorsement, Sanders had to overcome his well-known dislike of the city councilmember, but said he believed that DeMaio would continue Sanders’ policies and initiatives.
In response, Bob Filner announced the support of several prominent women in San Diego politics: state legislators Toni Atkins and Christine Kehoe, City Councilmember Marty Emerald and former state legislator Dede Alpert, among them.
In addition, Filner called on Carl DeMaio, Doug Manchester and John Lynch to disclose all e-mail communications and all meetings between the trio about the 10th Ave. Marine Terminal. Also, a poll this week conducted by 10News and SurveyUSA had Filner ahead of DeMaio by 12 points.
Baby, You Can Drive My Car: This year, drastic cuts to nearly every corner of the San Diego County superior court system have been made to make up a $33 million budget shortfall. Nearly every corner.
Even as courtrooms have closed, workers are fired, and litigants are forced to pay for transcripts, San Diego judges have retained a $1 million annual vehicle allowance for judges and administrators.
Vehicle stipends are not offered in Los Angeles, Orange, Alameda, Riverside, Sacramento, San Francisco and Ventura Counties, among others. No judge or administrator would talk about this perk on the record, and legal associations were similarly reluctant.
