Monday, reporters pored over a couple pages of handwritten notes from Lee Burdick, now Mayor Bob Filner’s chief of staff, from meetings in June where a sexual harassment allegation was discussed. Burdick handed them over after a standoff with the city attorney’s office over their release as public records. (The U-T has more details.)
The notes refer to someone named “Gittleman” who was in some key meetings in June. Who’s that? We found out. He’s Justin Gittelman, a La Jolla-based management consultant who’s been hired for $25,000 in city funds to provide professional, staff and organizational development to the mayor’s office and coach Filner himself.
Gittleman isn’t talking. But Vince Hall, the mayor’s former chief of staff, told us that the consultant’s been trying to help Filner with his infamous abusive bullying of those who work for him. (One of Burdick’s handwritten notes appears to hint at the bullying issue: “Yell @ VH, no one else.” VH is almost certainly Vince Hall.)
• Filner may be in therapy this week, but his deposition with the city attorney’s office is still scheduled for Friday, one of the city’s attorneys told me via Twitter.
• Our Scott Lewis went on KPBS to review Politifest and talk about what stood out for him.
• Yesterday we omitted a link to our round-up of Bill Fulton’s conversation with Lewis at Politifest. The new planning director explained why he has decided to stick with the city amid the scandal.
• Check out photos from last weekend’s Politifest, including shots of just about every VOSD staffer plus attendees and speakers.
• National news headlines mostly went with some phrasing of the fact that Filner entered rehab. The LA Times’ Robin Abcarian tried to figure out what could be going on in a two-week program like what he might be in.
Mayor’s Dream Team Still Trying
Work in the mayor’s office continues in some areas, including innovation. Two professors are continuing to set up the city’s new Incubator for Civic Imagination, which is expected to improve the way the city plans for the future of neighborhoods and engages residents.
We talked to the professors and gained insight into their plans for what’s been called the mayor’s think tank.
Fact Check: Women-Dominated Economic Team?
Mark Cafferty, CEO of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp., made a startling remark in a commentary published in our pages last week: “I cannot allow any women on the team at the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp. to engage with the mayor — a serious problem, since nearly 70 percent of our team is female.”
We took a second to verify his 70 percent claim. It is correct, Fact Check finds.
Quick News Hits
• President Obama will be at Camp Pendleton tomorrow. Get details here.
• A memorial service is scheduled Friday for local technology leader Duane Roth, founder of Alliance Pharmaceutical Corp. and CEO of the Connect organization, 10News reports.
• Yesterday we linked to the Boston Herald story about U-T San Diego CEO John Lynch’s claim that he and Doug Manchester were prepared to offer a lot more for the Boston Globe than it was sold for. KPBS checked with a finance guy to see if this might enrage shareholders of The New York Times Company, the owners of the Globe. It likely won’t.
• “San Diego’s ambulance provider has filed for bankruptcy less than six weeks after receiving a no-bid contract extension from city leaders,” the U-T reports.
• Going, going… gone. VOSD sports blogger John Gennaro says the suspension of shortstop Everth Cabrera just about spells the end of any hope for the Padres this season.
• San Diego appears on Entrepreneur magazine’s list of the “10 cities out of the largest 50 in America where somebody born in the poorest fifth of the income distribution has the best chance to make it to the top fifth.”
Unfortunately, there’s nothing in the report about whether any San Diegans other than me always fail to pronounce “entrepreneur” correctly. C’est la vie.
Randy Dotinga is a freelance contributor to Voice of San Diego and vice president of the American Society of Journalists & Authors. Please contact him directly at randydotinga@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter: twitter.com/rdotinga.
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