VOSD: DeMaio Skipped Discussion He Now Wants

DeMaio, a committee member, might have known about the discussion had he been there. A video recording shows DeMaio chatting with colleague Lorie Zapf, and then packing up his laptop and walking out just as Alvarez was introducing the topic. You can see DeMaio in the upper left corner around the 1 hour, 13 minute mark of the tape. The discussion on the billing problems lasted 45 minutes.

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SD CityBeat: The race to replace Marti Emerald

Much has been made of the troika of Republican San Diego City Council candidates that mayoral hopeful Carl DeMaio has touted on the 2012 campaign trail as the team he needs to make comprehensive pension reform a reality.

The word “slate” has been bandied about quite a bit, apparently to the consternation of DeMaio’s political handlers at Revolvis Consulting, a firm that also happens to be running the campaigns of conservative candidates Ray Ellis in District 1, Mark Kersey in District 5 and Scott Sherman in District 7.

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SD CityBeat: Bilbray's debate proposal, Secretary of State fumbles and more Project White House

On the conservative blog SDRostra.com, political smear artist Jim Sills accused Saldaña of fearfully rejecting all broadcast debates with Bilbray. What Saldaña actually said—on Facebook—is that she’s fine with broadcasting the debates, but she “insists” that they take place in the community, with live audiences. We’ll issue Sills a crap for every $1,000 he’s been paid by the San Diego County Republican Party this year and failed to disclose in his blog posts. As of June, the tally was $3,000. We’d update the number but:

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SD Reader: The Convention Center Liars

Heywood Sanders, the ranking national expert on convention centers, discovered vast discrepancies in San Diego Convention Center numbers. Basically, what Sanders found was that in many cases when actual attendance declined from the forecast, the number of room nights cited in the report stayed the same. This means that the center has been systematically overstating hotel room nights, and therefore overstating hotel tax receipts, attendee spending, and the center’s impact on the overall San Diego economy.

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SDUT: Fletcher at bottom of CRA scorecard

The California Republican Assembly gave Fletcher a 56 percent grade for his votes on a number of bills addressing a range of issues, from taxes to gun control to business regulations.

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VOSD: Filner Ain't So Zany About the Chargers

Filner taps into something powerful with his stance: A desire for the city to have principles when it negotiates, to be able to show tangible returns on its investments that go beyond "Look, what part of being on national TV during the Super Bowl don't you like?" and "It'll create a vibrant downtown."

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VOSD: Labor Leaves Out Lightner

I asked Lorena Gonzalez, the Labor Council's head, about Lightner in the context of City Council's Democratic and Republican divide. She told me that partisanship isn't her problem. It's the Democratic Party's.

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SDUT: Hueso hurt building ship replica, but will be OK

San Diego Assemblyman Ben Hueso is home recuperating with a mouthful of stitches, chipped teeth and lots of pain after a freak accident Monday.

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KPBS: Group Pushes Reusable Bags Over Plastic In San Diego

She said Surfrider members will be handing out reusable bags Thursday afternoon at various markets in San Diego County. 

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VOSD: Forces of Right, Left Amass Against DeMaio

Now it's public.

A group that includes a prominent Republican business leader has hired investigators to detail mayoral candidate Carl DeMaio's background.

"I think there's a lot of questions about Carl's commitment to the city and his background," said Fred Maas, the developer of the large Black Mountain Ranch project in the city's northeast.

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VOSD: City Workers Re-Enter Political Fray with Filner Pick

 Only Filner opposes the DeMaio-Dumanis-Fletcher Pension Reform Package

"You could argue it's going to be used against me," Filner said of the MEA endorsement. "But look, I'm honored to be endorsed by them. I think our city employees do a great job. I think they've been subject to unjust attacks. I think if you work on their morale and their working conditions, you get better city services and a better quality of life."

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SDUT: San Diego council creates economic panel

Interesting that the UT doesn't acknowledge that Zapf and her husband also had a company, not Zapf alone.

The committee, the council’s sixth, will be chaired by Councilwoman Sherri Lightner with Councilwoman Lorie Zapf serving as vice chair. Council members Marti Emerald and Kevin Faulconer will also sit on the panel.

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