Consultants find that city officials held back a glaring report detailing the city's failing finances to clear the way for municipal bond sales for a new downtown baseball stadium.
"In a hurry to get shovels back at work on the Padres' new ballpark, San Diego officials buried a heap of bad financial news that would have imperiled the project in 2002.
A report that year on city finances by politically connected San Diegans was toned down and delayed – until 13 days after the city's ballpark bond offering closed – for fear that 'disclosure of the truth would derail' the sale."
"Petco Park cost $474 million to build, with the Padres paying $173.2 million. The remaining $300.8 million was funded by the city and the Centre City Development Corp., San Diego's downtown redevelopment arm."
FULL STORY: Ballpark built despite city's fiscal ills
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
New Park Opens in the Santa Clarita Valley
The City of Santa Clarita just celebrated the grand opening of its 38th park, the 10.5-acre Skyline Ranch Park.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
How Urban Form Impacts Housing Affordability
The way we design cities affects housing costs differently than you might think.
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