Usually, La Jolla cupcake owner Michelle Ciccarelli Lerach spends her time turning little baked goods into big delights. But this year she has a new mission: passing Proposition 37, which would require some genetically modified food to be labeled.
“To me it’s unthinkable that we don’t have the fundamental right to know what’s in the food we buy,” she tells us.
She’s given $25,000 to the campaign for the proposition. But opponents warn of loopholes and “a brand new category of shakedown lawsuits against grocers and farmers.”
Check our story for details about both sides and a look at the local companies that are spending money both pro and con.
Polls Bring Bad Tidings for Local Dems
A pair of surveys — here and here — commissioned by the U-T and the University of San Diego finds that former Councilman Scott Peters and Rep. Bob Filner, both Democrats, are significantly behind their races for Congress and mayor of San Diego, respectively.
The polls adjusted their results to reflect party registration in the county. Statistics guru Nate Silver of the New York Times recently wrote about this kind of approach: “pollsters, at least if they are following the industry’s standard guidelines, do not choose how many Democrats, Republicans or independent voters to put into their samples.”
Files Track Boy Scout Abuse Cases
The until-now-hidden sexual-abuse files of the Boy Scouts of Americas “show that San Diego County was not spared the repeated sexual abuse of scouts by leaders,” the U-T reports.
However, the newspaper finds that “the organization appeared to take prompt action to expel volunteers from the organization once they became aware of allegations.”
The national “perversion files” of the Boy Scouts were released publicly as part of litigation in Oregon regarding former scouts who say they were abused.
Here Comes Trouble
U-T publisher Doug Manchester told KPBS last week he’d like to buy the LA Times’ parent, the Tribune Company, which also owns newspapers in Chicago and elsewhere.
But the LA Times, reporting on itself, says other potential buyers are in the mix, including media mogul Rupert Murdoch and a greeting card executive who recently bought the Orange County Register (keeping it out of Manchester’s hands) and has devoted himself to supporting its print edition and hiring hordes of journalists.
If Manchester does buy the Tribune Company, he’ll be the premier media player in Southern California. He’ll also find himself in charge of two major TV stations owned by Tribune — KSWB/Fox 5 here in San Diego and L.A.’s KTLA-TV/Channel 5.
• The Huffington Post is reporting that Murdoch’s team is denying that it’s in discussions to purchase the Tribune Company.
• In a story titled “San Diego media baron trumpets conservative causes,” the AP profiles the two men in charge of the U-T.
CEO John Lynch tells the AP that the paper is pro-business, pro-family and pro-military, and “anybody who isn’t shouldn’t be living here.”
The story also notes that Manchester helped fund the documentary “2016: Obama’s America,” which has become a hit among conservatives.
Quick News Hits
• The U-T has published the last part of a mammoth two-part series examining the decline and tragic fall of football star Junior Seau.
• The Chargers are in, um, a “sticky situation.” (NBC San Diego)
• The local bank robber alleged to be the “Chubby Bandit” is in custody, the U-T reports.
As we explained in a story last year, the FBI thinks up nicknames for bank robbers — like Go Green Bandit (he used a bicycle), Mr. Magoo Bandit, and Ho-Hum Bandit — to help the public recognize them.
It sounds like the suspect in this case could use a shake for lunch and a sensible dinner. Does Jenny Craig make prison calls?
Please contact Randy Dotinga directly at randydotinga@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter: twitter.com/rdotinga.