They might just be the most powerful government agency in San Diego that you hear little about: The commissioners of the Port of San Diego control 2,500 acres of prime waterfront real estate and wrestle with the interests of five member cities and just about every interest group under the San Diego sun.
Guess what? This group of appointed bigwigs is about to get a lot shoved on to its plate — the region’s major development projects, including the Convention Center, a football stadium and the development of Chula Vista’s waterfront — just as a new slate of fresh faces takes power and its long-time dealmaker, Steve Cushman, sees his rare third term coming to an end.
In other news:
- Leading cyber sleuth and UCSD professor Stefan Savage says we’re way behind in the way we combat cybercrime. Instead of treating the crime rings for what they are — sophisticated and organized syndicates — he says we’re stuck thinking that they’re still just a bunch of hackers hanging out in their basements.
- Our photographer Sam Hodgson is sophisticated and organized. And he’s using his powers for good: Hodgson has another of his slick slideshows up from the Chargers’ victory over the Miami Dolphins.
- Off the field, Escondido is quickly heating up as a potential spot for a new Chargers stadium. The North County Times reports that the team is to meet Monday with one of the at least three developers who are said to have an interest in the project.
The team needs a development partner to help shoulder the risk and contribute revenue to make the deal pencil out. The kind of stadium the team wants just doesn’t bring in enough revenue to be feasible on its own — it needs the help of public subsidies, accompanying development, or both.
- Elsewhere, the District Attorney’s Office has cleared three sheriff’s deputies “in the death of an Oceanside man who slipped into a coma and died after a stun gun was used to restrain him,” according to the NCT. Mendoza’s death was the first after the department began using Tasers.
The Union-Tribune had a classic slice of San Diego history over the weekend: The Port of San Diego honored the tuna cannery workers who helped found the neighborhoods of Barrio Logan and Logan Heights, and the newspaper told the tale through one worker.
And the U-T’s Dean Calbreath says the state’s business climate isn’t to blame for SAIC’s moving its headquarters from San Diego to Virginia. The real question, he says, is why it took them so long, considering so much of their business is in Washington, D.C.
- Maybe Gary Kreep should move his operations to D.C. The North County attorney who’s long represented conservative causes is behind a 28-minute infomercial questioning whether President Obama was born in the United States. The liberal blog Talking Points Memo confirms that the ad has run in Lubbock, Texas, and Kreep reportedly says it will air elsewhere over the next few weeks. The OC Weekly has a bit more about Kreep’s role in the so-called “birther” movement, which is going through some infighting.