Free Republic

Project Could Land City In Another Investigation Developer Gets Barrio Logan Land For $100 http://www.10news.com/news/7064349/detail.html SAN DIEGO -- A planned retail center in San Diego's Barrio Logan was suppose to revitalize the entire area, but the city's redevelopment agency, developer and politicians never got anything done. Now, the lack of progress could land the city in another federal investigation.A memo from the city's redevelopment agency estimated if it had been built, the Mercado Project could have generated $307 million in revenues for the city over 40 years. Instead, the empty 6.5-acre lot is a haven for the homeless.

Employees in the city of San Diego's treasurer's office – ground zero in federal investigations of city finances – destroyed numerous records last month, prompting a warning from City Manager Lamont Ewell yesterday. The destruction of records was revealed yesterday by City Attorney Michael Aguirre, who said he learned from an unnamed city employee Thursday night that about 20 people in the treasurer's Financing Services division dumped whole files into recycle bins and erased e-mails. The news spurred a terse e-mail from Ewell to "all city employees," warning against the destruction of documents that might be sought by federal investigators...

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Federal prosecutors have subpoenaed records from 12 current and former San Diego city officials in a criminal investigation of the city's pension fund and financial disclosures, documents released Wednesday show. The U.S. Justice Department asked for a trove of documents on pension underfunding and possible conflicts of interest on the pension board. The demand for e-mails, phone logs, minutes of board meetings, contracts and other records extends back to 1996, the year that the city decided to cut contributions to its pension plan and, at the same time, increase retirement benefits. The disclosures come less than...

The hearing is just about the start. John Howard's case will be heard by the 4th Circuit to determine if there should be a new election, if Donna Frye's write-in candidacy was invalid and other related issues.