There has been some debate over the mayor's proposed use of an 11 million dollar budget surplus.

San Diego Mayor Bob Filner wants to use part of an $11 million budget surplus for the operations and monitoring of the seal camera in La Jolla.

While it may fascinate a few, others are concerned the mayor may be missing the big picture.

Property tax collections are up and government rent is down. Those factors combined amount to an $11 million windfall but what's a city to do?

“Redeveloping our waterfront I think there is a lot that can be done there,” said Downtown resident Lyla Altevers.

Mayor Filner wants to throw money at police, fire and rescue, and streets but also $50,000 for seal watching.

“It puts us on the map both for international research and for tourism,” Mayor Filner said.

Another $50,000 for public toilets and maintenance would be spent on the city’s homeless.

“This is a basic human need for basic human dignity,” Mayor Filner said.

“We do need to keep our city clean. I think that's a better use than say monitoring the seals,” Altevers said.

The mayor is committing $600,000 to keep open year-round the veterans’ homeless shelter and another $50,000 for the check-in center.

Even he admits it's not the solution to the San Diego’s transient problems.

The Mayor said his proposals will show taxpayers a far more responsive government. He'll need a city council resolution to pass them.

The city’s budget deadline is July 1.
 

Plans for a downtown "Arts and Entertainment District" north of Broadway drew fire at City Hall during a council committee hearing Wednesday.

Critics warned it could create a garish ‘Times Square West’.

The concept’s backers insist it would be a low-keyed, far cry from the schlocky commercialism of New York's Times Square -- a money-maker needing no taxpayer dollars.

But opponents doubt what they see as a devil in the details can be exorcised.

"The city has made findings that billboards are a traffic hazard and an aesthetic harm,” says attorney Pamela Lawton Wilson, director of the civic preservation group Scenic San Diego. “So how can the city justify its sign ordinance everywhere else in the city, and yet somehow say ‘Here it's okay to have a traffic hazard and ugly signs’?"

Promoters of the arts and entertainment district are seeking a relaxation of restrictions in the city's sign ordinance to allow big-screen, LED displays and other commercial presentations along 65 blocks in downtown’s so-called “Core Area”, north of Broadway

"This area is definitely blighted; there's a homeless population,” says Janelle Riella, spokeswoman for the Downtown San Diego Partnership, which would be the proposed district’s nonprofit operator and disburse a share of proceeds to homeless causes.

“There's not a lot of people walking the streets … they don't activate the area, use the restaurants or shop at the retailers,” Riella explained in an interview Wednesday with NBC 7. “That's what we're trying to increase. Gaslamp was the same way several decades ago, and this is what we want to create for the area."

As an example of urban re-vitalization, district backers point to Denver's four-year-old Theater District, where they say retailers and restaurateurs have seen increased patronage.

"Ideally, it builds up the tax base,” says David Ehrlich, executor director of the Denver Theater District, who’s advancing the proposal along with San Diego public relations consultant Jeff Marston. “What we're looking at is a true public-private partnership where private entities -- media companies -- are taking on the expense, but they're sharing the revenue for the opportunity to participate."

But Scenic San Diego and other civic preservationists here in San Diego fear it'll bring excessive visual blight, undermine the sign ordinance in other areas, and not deliver economic benefits 'as advertised'.

"Their own sign plan identifies at least 78 locations for these signs -- some 14 stories tall, entire city blocks,” Wilson noted in an NBC 7 interview Wednesday. “How does putting up advertising create economic activity except for outdoor advertisers and the property owners that have signs on them? To me, it's like saying if you add more commercials, more people will watch TV."

After hearing presentations and public testimony for nearly two hours Wednesday afternoon, the City Council's Land Use & Housing Committee members had more questions and concerns than the district's proponents had answers.

They recommended that the plans be run past the city attorney's office and community groups, refined, and brought back later.

Says Marston, who plans a more extensive campaign of community outreach and education: “What we’re hearing in the push-back is a lot of misinformation. And we clear that up and people go, ‘Oh’. And that’s going to be our goal in the coming months.”

As San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council Secretary Lorena Gonzalez surges to a landslide win in the race to fill the vacant 80th Assembly District, two top labor leaders confirm her successor, San Diego schools trustee Richard Barrera, as being tapped to fill her spot representing more than 200,000 union workers.

The official executive board vote is Wednesday night, the two labor officials said. The process is not just a formality with delegates also voting, one of them warned. But, Barrera has been widely visible at union rallys and events since Gonzalez officially announced her candidacy to represent the South County district that includes parts of southern San Diego, Chula Vista and National City and San Ysidro.

Gonzalez secured a sweeping 44-point lead against former Chula Vista City Councilman and fellow Democrat Steve Castaneda, avoiding a runoff in the special election.

"It doesn't get much better than this," she said via text message.

Gonzalez, a Sherman Heights resident, attorney, and single mother of two, had more than 72 percent of the vote as of 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday night.

With early returns expected to hold, Gonzalez will replace Sen. Ben Hueso, D-San Diego, who won a special election in March to fill the vacated seat of Congressman Juan Vargas. Vargas went to Congress earlier this year when former Democratic Rep. Bob Filner was elected as mayor of San Diego.

Gonzalez first became Secretary-Treasurer and CEO of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council in 2008 after serving as the organization's political director. The umbrella coalition represents 135 local labor unions.

Favored as her replacement on the Labor Council, Barrera was first elected to the San Diego Unified School Board in 2008 in an unchallenged election after his predecessor, Luis Acle, failed to gather enough valid signatures on a petition to qualify for the ballot in the June 2008 primary election.

He has served as a San Diego regional organizer for both the United Domestic Workers and United Healthcare Workers.

"We're all proud of Lorena and the work she will continue to do for working families throughout California," Barrera said Tuesday night.

His likely move to the region's top labor leader opens the question of whether he will continue serving on the school board, and if a special election will be held to replace him.

President Barack Obama is delivering a statement on the growing IRS scandal.

Upset by a line of questioning, US Attorney General Eric Holder tells Rep. Darrell Issa that his conduct as a member of Congress is "unacceptable and shameful."

Holder was grilled Wednesday on several scandals rocking the Obama administration, including the targeting of conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service, the secret gathering of telephone records at The Associated Press and any missteps in sharing intelligence information prior to the bombings in Boston.

At one point, Holder had a sharp exchange with local Rep. Issa (R) the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform.

The video clip below shows what happened after Issa requested the full content of emails from Obama's nominee for Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez.

Republicans have said that Perez acted inappropriately during his time at the Justice Department.

When Issa suggested the AG's office didn't want Congress to see the content of the emails, Holder criticized the Congressional leader saying the comment "...is inappropriate and too consistent with the way in which you conduct yourself as a member of Congress."

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The parody video is a tradition of sorts for the San Diego County Taxpayers Association Goldens - formerly known as the Golden Watchdog Awards.

You may remember in May 2011, the association produced a four-part "Hangover" remake. Or perhaps you don't remember.

Last night’s event was no exception with videos from two Hollywood blockbusters “Les Miserables” and “West Side Story.”

Mayor Bob Filner and City Attorney Jan Goldsmith, well their masks really, portrayed the feuding Sharks and Jets - one like a “bat out of hell”, the other one “ready to mix.” 

Then, in the vein of "Vive la resistance," there was City Council President Todd Gloria who took the lead in the Les Mis parody. The clip includes an unusually animated Chief William Lansdowne as “Javert” and Carl DeMaio as “Eponine.”

The City Council may not be buying it.

But Mayor Bob Filner isn't about to stop selling the idea that the city attorney's budget needs trimming.

In a monthly, on-the-record ‘availability’ with the news media during the noon hour Thursday, Filner rejected criticism that political spite is behind his call for a 3 percent cut in Jan Goldsmith's office spending as of July 1st.

Filner said his concern is fiscal accountability – and that he stands by his recommendation for reductions that would eliminate 13 positions from the city attorney’s staff.

He then challenged the glowing assessment Goldsmith gave the City Council Wednesday about his office's performance.

"All I've seen in recent months since I've been there are losses in court -- in fact, lectures from the judge on how incompetent the representation has been," the mayor told reporters. "I haven't seen the kind of high-quality efficiency that's being claimed.”

Filner broke his media silence about last month’s accusations by Goldsmith's executive assistant, Andrew Jones, that Filner told him to "go sit in the back of the room" during a closed-door session with the City Council -- a remark Jones felt had racial implications.

The mayor denied saying that, insisting he said, quote: "Sit down until you're recognized ..." – meaning, before taking the microphone.

Filner also dismissed Goldsmith's apparent concerns that Filner's legal adviser, attorney Lee Burdick, has been practicing law in technical violation of the City Charter.

He said the city attorney “makes too many mistakes” to trust his opinion alone: "He's interfering in the policy-making of the city, rather than being the legal adviser to the city … I think he's overstepped the line."

Goldsmith did not immediately reply to NBC 7’s request for a response to Filner's remarks, perhaps deciding not to dignify them with a response.

He told the Council Wednesday that he believes his relationship with the mayor could still "evolve" into something workable.
 

A bitter budget struggle between San Diego's top two elected officials came before the City Council late Wednesday afternoon.

Mayor Bob Filner is proposing a 3 percent spending cut for the office of City Attorney Jan Goldsmith -- $1.4 million out the current fiscal year’s total of $44 million, the equivalent of 13 full-time positions.

The mayor says that would bring the office more in line with reductions other city departments have endured in recent years.

Fiscal logic aside, it's widely seen as political a shot across his rival's bow.

In presenting his own budget proposal for the new fiscal year beginning in July, Goldsmith touted his staff’s savings and efficiencies while handling a larger caseload and more oversight responsibilities -- while reducing the use of costly outside attorneys.

He offered a subtle allusion to the political atmosphere that often envelops City Hall.

"Some of the city's worst historical failures in governance occurred due to poor legal work arising out of pressures of a political environment,” Goldsmith told the Council. "We run our office like a private law firm. We do our best to shield our lawyers from outside political and media pressures. And I absorb them. Lucky me."

Meantime, while his budget is in Filner’s crosshairs, Goldsmith is investigating Filner's legal adviser, Lee Burdick, in connection with public statements he suspects may violate Charter prohibitions against the practice of law by city employees other than his deputies.

But on Wednesday, he expressed optimism that the mayor’s relationship with his office and the Council could “evolve” into something more cooperative than it has been.

Veteran political observers have their doubts about a permanent reconciliation between Goldsmith and Filner.

"Both sides have leverage; both sides have animosity,” says Voice of San Diego columnist Scott Lewis.

Calling the balance of power between two officials elected by a citywide constituency “adversarial and problematic," Lewis adds this about the mayor’s approach to governance: “He's always gotten what he wants out of conflict, and then resolution that comes out of it. And so, if you're uncomfortable with that, then you're uncomfortable with our mayor."

More budget deliberations lie ahead before the Council weighs in later this month.

But judging from the tenor of Q&A at Wednesday’s hearing, Filner's challenge to Goldsmith's budget figures to meet serious resistance.
 

Mark Zuckerberg has clicked "Like" on the Keystone XL Pipeline — and now his timeline is going to be chock-full of angry.

The Facebook founder and CEO recently started a political advocacy group called FWD.us — and the group is running a series of television ads in support of the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

His PAC was created to support immigration reform, but it is also going to support such things as drilling. There are those in Congress who support immigration reform, but who also support drilling, and some say that the PAC funding might be a means to an end.

Feared and loathed by environmentalists, the pipeline would open up Canadian tar sands for oil and gas exploration.

Activists in the San Francisco Bay Area say they are "angered and mystified" over Zuck's turn for the pipe, and a group of about 50 protested Wednesday at Facebook's world headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. The protest was timed just before the company released its first-quarter earnings. . Wednesday is also "May Day," a day where many took up immigrants' rights and a path to citizenship as the key causes of the day.

The protesters questioned why Zuckerberg would "spend millions in support" of the pipeline, "among the dirtiest projects on Earth."

And they created an online petition to stop "running ads supporting fossil fuels" which as of Wednesday afternoon had collected more than 18,000 signatures.

Zuckerberg did not come outside the building when the protect occurred about noon, nor did he issue any statement on his Facebook news website.

Supporters, however, point out that that building the pipeline means thousands of jobs.

FWD.us's ads feature Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) bashing President Barack Obama for not being supportive-enough of the pipe.

Credo Mobile, the socially-active mobile carrier, says that Facebook has refused to run its ads that blast the pipeline and FWD.us's support for it.

Even though experts say Zuckerberg's primary directive in effecting change in social policy is immigration reform, some are not going to agree with using the pipeline ads as "cover" for that change.

"But invariably there is going to be people who don’t understand and the inevitable result is going to be this type of press fire," Dan Schnur, a political science professor at the University of Southern California, told the Los Angeles Times.

Ironically, the Zuckerberg critics have a Facebook page dedicated to their cause.

The embattled former superintendent of the San Ysidro School District says he will return the money from his severance deal to the school district if he is found guilty of any crime.

Former Superintendent Manuel Paul, who worked for the district for 38 years, is being given a deal to leave as the schools chief. The move comes after allegations of wrong-doing and criminal charges from a San Diego County Grand Jury.

Details of the total severance deal remain unclear, but one part is contained in the superintendent's contract - a year's salary or $186,000. But, there's a caveat: Paul will pay back the money if he's convicted of a crime.

Paul is one of 15 South County school officials and contractors snagged in a public corruption case. He's pleaded "not guilty" to perjury charges, and for accepting a gift from a single source over the legal limit.

Plus, in a deposition for a lawsuit, he testified that he accepted $2,500 in cash from a contractor in the parking lot of a South Bay steakhouse. He said the money was for campaign signs, but changes in campaign documentation after the admission raise further questions about the transaction.

He told NBC7's Education Reporter Rory Devine today that he is confident he will be exonerated of any wrong-doing.

A furious community issued recall notices to three board members who accepted Paul's resignation. Trustee Jean Romero, who was issued a recall notice, told us today that the board made the most fiscally responsible decision possible given the circumstances.

"There is no cause proven yet that Mr. Paul did anything wrong," Romero said. "We had to abide by his contract and by the Ed Code that says we have to pay at least one year of his salary. Had we not complied with that contract, he could come back and sue us for many of thousands of dollars more, and it would cost us legal fees and everything else."

Meantime, the district has shut off the superintendent's district email account after concerns were raised by teachers that he was still using it to direct staff after his March 18 resignation letter.

Paul says he was responding to teachers who were asking him questions and that technically he is still the superintendent until June 30.

It's a given that another Democrat will represent 80th Assembly District residents in Sacramento, starting late next month.

The mystery is how much competition the supposed underdog will give the favorite in the special election race.

"I think that we have a good opportunity to win,” said Steve Castaneda, who has served two, four-year terms, each as a city councilman and planning commissioner in Chula Vista-- the population hub of the South County-centric district.

“I think what voters are telling us at the door and on the phone is that there's a real choice here," Castaneda added during an interview Thursday, following his third campaign forum appearance with rival Lorena Gonzalez, the region’s top labor leader.

"It's all going to be who turns out to vote because this is going to be a very small electorate and it's unfortunate. But that's just the way things are in these special elections," Castaneda said.

Most of the campaign money, in the quarter-million dollar-plus range, is being spent on behalf of Gonzalez– the oddsmakers’ favorite.

She professes not to be taking her advantage in funding and major endorsements for granted.

"Obviously a lot of polls have come out, and I think I'm ahead in all of them,” Gonzalez said in the aftermath of Thursday’s forum, sponsored by Southwestern College.

“But what this is about is voters who are excited, who are ready to go, ready to back up a legislator who wants to make sure that the 80th Assembly District doesn't mean we're last," Gonzalez said.

The office became vacant last month after Democrat Ben Hueso was elected to fill the vacancy in the 40th State Senate District. Democrat Juan Vargas left that post to fill San Diego Mayor Bob Filner's former 51st District Congressional seat.

No Republican or Independent entered the race.

But while the 80th is a stronghold for the Democrats, their voter registration total is exceeded by that of Republicans and Independents combined.

Castaneda points out that Gonzalez has only lived in the 80th district for a year.

She points out that he's late to the party-- the Democratic Party, that is.

"What Mr. Castaneda won't tell you is, he was a registered Republican four years ago,” Gonzalez observed during the candidates’ forum. “So he'll go to Republicans and tell them that. And now he's a Democrat, and he'll tell them that. But the truth is, I have been very clear about my values since the time I signed up to vote."

Later, in a his post-forum remarks, Castaneda offered this response: “"I've been a Democrat for a number of years. Anybody that's followed how I've voted understands I'm a fiscal conservative. I always have been. And like I've said before, labels really aren't anything…the (Republican) party left me.”

As for their relative strengths in seeking the office?

"Other than the rhetoric, look at our track records,” Castaneda suggested. “Look at what we've done in terms of fixing government and being accountable. Not just an advocate or organizer, but somebody that's been up there on the dais and cast votes and had to make policy decisions."

Replied Gonzalez: "Well, I think counting votes is the easy part. Obviously the tough part is organizing a community in order to enact change. And once you're in Sacramento, it's getting those other legislators to decide that what we want here in the South Bay is what they should want as well.”

Political observers note that historically, voter registration and turnout in the 80th have been low.

With just two Democrats in the race, how could the ballots break?

"The one that is closer to the middle, I think, is the one that's going to get the Republican and the independent-- or unaffiliated– vote,” said Southwestern College political science professor Phil Saenz, who moderated the forum.

“While the Democrats do have a stronghold here, there's more voters who are not registered Democrat. So it all depends on the voter turnout," Saenz said.

Mail ballots in the race began circulating this week, and the polls open May 21st.

Two would-be candidates-- neither with 'household names'-- are trying to qualify for write-in status.

A San Diego Superior Court judge shot down a motion filed on behalf of the San Ysidro school district requesting a protective order on materials and documents from a deposition in an $18 million lawsuit.

Judge Steven Denton ruled Thursday morning that the district was seeking to seal documents related to discovery materials that are not currently records of the court. 

"Sealing only pertains to records of the court," Denton explained to the district's legal counsel Arthur Palkowitz. "I am not authorized to issue an order preventing counsel from discussing the case with anyone they want." 

In a motion filed yesterday, Palkowitz asked the court to seal a transcript and a video from a deposition taken April 17. The video features former San Ysidro Superintendent Manuel Paul invoking his constitutional right against self-incrimination (or "pleading the fifth") and declining to answer any questions.

In the approximately 26 minute video, the former superintendent, who is facing criminal charges, answered the same way 41 times: 

"On the advice of my attorney, I assert my Fifth Amendment privilege and respectfully decline to answer." 

Palkowitz mentioned in the courtroom Thursday a concern about Paul's constitutional rights, but didn't specify which rights were being impacted by a public review of the documents. Judge Denton raised questions about why the district's taxpayer-funded attorney was in court arguing on behalf of the constitutional rights of a former party to the lawsuit and a former superintendent of the district.

"Right now, his status in this case is as a dismissed party and he's being represented by the same counsel as is representing the district," the judge said.

In court papers, Palkowitz wrote that the deposition material "contains sensitive information that should not be openly disseminated to the public by plaintiff's to gain an advantage in litigation." 

The lawsuit stems from the district's cancellation of a services contract with Eco Business Alliance to install solar power systems at district campuses. Because no solar panels were ever installed, no district funds were ever spent on the endeavor.

In a prior deposition, Paul said under oath that he accepted $2,500 in cash from a different, unrelated contractor in the parking lot of a Chula Vista steak house. He said the money was for campaign signs for a San Ysidro board member. 

That admission has become the subject of a federal investigation. Paul was also among 15 South County school officials and contractors who have pleaded "not guilty" on corruption charges. He is facing charges of perjury and accepting gifts over the legal limit.

Paul has declined to comment on the court proceedings and lawsuit, but a person who has worked with the former superintendent for 25 years believes Paul will eventually be absolved of wrong-doing.

Chairman of the San Ysidro Planning Group Michael Freedman has this to say about Paul:

"With regard to the allegations: I, personally, believe that Mr. Paul is a person of high moral character, proven by his 38 years of service in the San Ysidro School District and in the community of San Ysidro," Freedman wrote via email. "In my opinion, he will be absolved of all the counts. I do not believe there has been any wrong-doing on his part. Taking custody of a political donation and volunteering to use it to have yard signs printed isn’t a crime.  It might not be smart, but that doesn’t rise to the level of criminal intent."

A letter addressed to a U.S. senator from Mississippi tested positive for the dangerous poison ricin, the FBI said Tuesday.

U.S. Capitol Police, which is partnering with the FBI in this investigation, said an envelope containing a white granular substance was intercepted about 11 a.m. Tuesday.

The FBI Field Office in Baltimore said the first test in the field was preliminary. The letter must now be sent for further testing.

 The letter was addressed to Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss. It was intercepted at the Landover, Md., mail facility and did not reach the Capitol.

Wicker's office has informed the senator's close associates of the tainted letters, a source close to Wicker tells NBC News. The office also is telling associates that no one at the post office was exposed to the substance.

"This matter is part of an ongoing investigation by the United States Capitol Police and FBI," said a statement issued by Wicker. "I want to thank our law enforcement officials for their hard work and diligence in keeping those of us who work in the Capitol complex safe."

The letter's appearance "wouldn't raise suspicion," the Senate sergeant at arms said. It was postmarked Memphis, Tenn.

Mail to Senate offices is suspended likely until the end of the week, according to Sens. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and Angus King, I-Maine. House leadership said there has been no change in their mail service.

"It was caught at the screening facility,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. “That's why we have the offsite screening facility for mail. And the tests came back positive. And they are shutting down the post offices temporarily to make sure they get everything squared away and we are notifying our state offices what to look for."

McCaskill suggested that officials identified a person of interest.

"Evidently this person, the person that is a suspect, writes to a lot of members," she said.

The off-site screening facility used to review all mail sent to Congress is temporarily shut down while a search is under way for the possibility of any other tainted letters. They are reviewing mail postmarked Memphis.

Ricin is far less dangerous than the anthrax that was found in letters sent in 2001, officials said.