Regional Governments

The national scandal involving ACORN, the community organizing group accused of giving advice to potential criminals, continued to heat up this week. Conservative lawmakers and pundits around the country are calling for ACORN's federal funding to be cut, and for an investigation into alleged irregularities on thousands of voter-registration cards submitted by the organization.

An Orange County Assemblyman is the latest politician to lose his career over an illicit affair. KPBS Political Correspondent Gloria Penner discusses the sex scandals of the summer and why politicians keep misbehaving.

County Supervisor Diane Jacob is commending state regulators for denying San Diego Gas and Electric’s emergency power shut-off plan.

The Southern California fall fire season has arrived with controversy. San Diego Gas and Electric is proposing to turn off power to the backcountry during high risk fire days. It’s a plan San Diego County fiercely opposes. State regulators could decide the matter this week.

San Diego Gas and Electric says it will comply with a state ruling to put its emergency shut-off plan on hold for now.

The Port of San Diego’s cargo business has lost tens of millions dollars since 1993. And the marine division has sustained larger losses than the port has admitted to the public. Critics say the port’s Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal is partly to blame for the shortfalls.

Ground was broken at Lindbergh Field on an expansion of Terminal 2 Wednesday. KPBS reporter Katie Orr says the airport’s being expanded now that it’s definitely staying near downtown San Diego.

The city of San Diego doesn’t have to worry about IOU’s. But Mayor Jerry Sanders says the state’s budget mess threatens to undo a lot of the financial improvements San Diego’s made. He says the situation in Sacramento is especially frustrating because San Diego has spent the past three years working hard to fix its financial problems.

San Diego is a popular destination for conventions. But some say the convention center here is too small. There’s talk of spending up to $1 billion to expand the facility. But critics say it’s the wrong kind of growth for San Diego.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors today appointed Undersheriff Bill Gore to serve out the remaining term of retiring Sheriff Bill Kolender.