The red-headed step fee

Amid dwindling funding for affordable housing, local source remains a political quagmire

“Linkage fee” might be a yawner of a name, but in its 20-year history, the development-impact fee has pumped $52 million into the city’s affordable-housing trust fund.

Special education: An examination of the FBI Citizens' Academy

Is the San Diego field office's program an example of good community outreach or plain old cronyism?

Even as San Diego’s FBI doubled the size of the Citizens' Academy program in 2011—from about 30 to 60 attendees—religious and ethnic groups have largely been ignored in order to serve business, military and political interests.

County misreports data about sexual violence in juvenile jails

Probation Department has opened six investigations into alleged staff misconduct since 2008

Social scientists and prisoner advocates say that sexual violence in juvenile jails is among the most challenging issues to research. It's even more difficult to quantify when authorities fail to report allegations of sexual abuse accurately, or at all.

Bond watchdogs howling over how school board pays its advisor

Consultant stands to gain financially by convincing SDUSD to sell more bonds

Mark Young is supposed to help San Diego Unified reduce debt costs and risks, according to a contract signed with the school district in 2009. But Young also had a financial stake in that decision.

DeAnn Salcido retains her 'honor'

"Retired" Judge returns to the legal scene after a reality TV scandal

Salcido accepted judicial censure for 39 allegations of misconduct and resigned from the bench. However, she didn’t relinquish her "Judge" title, and she’s using it—with the qualification that she’s retired—on her new business cards.

The Watch List

19 people whose movements we'll be tracking in 2012

While other local media outlets like to slather prominent citizens with a layer of sticky-sweet prose and then throw a big party where everyone pats each other on the back, we’re providing a different service. We’ve compiled a list of folks whose presence in 2012 should fill you with a sense of dread or, at least, guarded concern. Do keep an eye out for these mischievous characters. And if you’re on the list, it’s best to take it with a sense of humor.

Community Law Project takes a holistic approach to solving problems

Cal Western’s Downtown clinic integrates legal aid with healthcare and focuses on listening

On Monday evenings, the lobby of Downtown’s First Lutheran Church is the place to bring your problems. Divided into thirds, the room becomes part legal clinic, part doctor’s office and part waiting room, where folks thumb through paperwork, step around kids coloring or playing pat-a-cake on the floor and listen for their name to be called.

The 2011 wrap-up crossword

A year's worth of San Diego news packed into one puzzle

1. After Arnie left office, it came out that he had a “_______” with his former maid.

4. Local school-board member who proposed cutting teacher salaries and raising taxes to save schools from insolvency.

Jim Holman's quest to amend California's abortion law

What are the Reader editor’s repeat ballot measures really about?

Does San Diego Reader publisher Jim Holman really want parental-notification made law in California? Opponents believe his real goal is to drain Planned Parenthood’s resources.

What Santa's bringing California inmates for Christmas

Prisoners can order everything from watches to Xbox games through 200-page catalog

Some prisoners can order everything from watches to Xbox games through 200-page catalog

Roach's violation and a Rostra hack

CityBeat grades the campaign trail

If the San Diego Press Club wants to maintain credibility, then it must be more selective when bestowing its annual media awards.

Judicial candidates tap coworkers for money, plus a Frenchie fundraises in SD

CityBeat grades the campaign trail

Here’s how not to inspire faith in a balanced judicial system: Run for judge and accept a ton of money from your prosecutor buddies.

DeMaio dotes on Prop. 8 supporters

CityBeat grades the campaign trail

San Diego City Councilmember Carl DeMaio’s pretty much running two campaigns: one for mayor of San Diego and one to support a pension-reform ballot measure. So, maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise to see this tweet from The Caster Group last week

Mayoral candidates at the State of the City and Lincoln Club FTW

CityBeat grades the campaign trail

The latest installment of CityBeat's election column, Turds & Blossoms, wherein we rate campaigns and candidates and award them turds or blossoms for their latest foibles and triumphs. This week we cover the Mayor's State of the City Address and the Lincoln Club's debate live stream.

AZ Secretary of State rejects San Diego presidential candidates

Only one San Diegan, green candidate Kent Mesplay, will be on the Arizona primary ballot

It’s easy to laugh at Republican presidential candidate John Huntsman for failing to get on the Arizona ballot, but we’re shoveling shit all over ourselves, too, for similarly screwing up our efforts to recruit candidates for the Arizona primary.

The U-T's connections to Carl DeMaio and the Lincoln Club

CityBeat grades Steve Breen's fundraiser appearance and DeMaio's calendar holes

Not to keep harping on the Lincoln Club of San Diego County’s lame winter fund-raiser, “Occupy Christmas,” but—OK, we’re just going to keep harping.

The Lincoln Club's unfunny Occupy Christmas spoof

CityBeat grades a conservative group's fundraising videos

The video, which was leaked this week, is not only spectacularly unfunny, but also nearly incoherent. The old-timey newsreel features the elves marching in solidarity with the “Commercialize Christmas” movement.

Bilbray's debate proposal, Secretary of State fumbles and Project White House

CityBeat grades the Congressional race, Cal-Access, plus a little self-promotion

Rep. Brian Bilbray beat his challengers to the punch, the California Secretary of State’s campaign-finance database crashed and an invitation to get drunk and run for president.

Peters underestimates Occupy and how to run for president

CityBeat grades Congressional candidate Scott Peters’ statement on the port shutdown and Tucson Weekly’s ‘Project White House’

Peters expressed sympathy for the protesters, but he was dismissive of the idea of a demonstration at the port. Peters said he’d checked and he was fairly certain there would be no protest. Boy, was he wrong.

Carl DeMaio's campaign supporters back Civic Center carts

CityBeat grades DeMaio's publicity stunt and Bonnie Dumanis' questionable endorsement

We award both turds and blossoms to Carl DeMaio for his benefit for the businesses hurt by Occupy San Diego—but Bonnie Dumanis only gets turds for her latest endorsement.