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| Convention Center Drama |
| The Convention Center is No. 11 of Scott Lewis’ 12 stories you should follow in 2012. City leaders are methodically cobbling together a plan to fund a $520 million expansion of the downtown Convention Center. But four big obstacles stand in their way: |
| I. The Chargers: The football team has quieted on a proposal to combine an expansion of the Convention Center with a new football stadium. But its supporters have not. |
| II. The Law: Not only the Chargers but the hotel workers union claim the proposed hotel-room tax hike for the expanded Convention Center is illegal. They say it requires a vote of the people like any tax hike. |
| III. Labor: Not only the hotel workers but other unions are worried about hotel owners wresting control of operations of the Convention Center away from the publicly owned agency that currently controls it. |
| IV. The Coastal Commission: If labor and others can’t leverage their power on the City Council, will the Coastal Commission find itself heavily lobbied on an already controversial coastal development? |