The film industry attracts some interesting opportunists that can play on the excitement most people experience when they think of Hollywood and film production. Fortunately, we don't experience so much of it here in San Diego, even though we are the second production center to Los Angeles in California. Although sometimes these opportunists are unethical, they can pass on being legal and thus miss the "scamogram" test. The more production that is attracted to an area, the more inspiration for these people to work their ideas for profit and there is also a natural cover for them with so much production filming. With so many people focused on the busy production, they can slide along undetected.

Right now I'm using three computers -- a MacBook, a desktop iMac with a 24-inch monitor and a Lenovo X300 ThinkPad PC.

It is not a mystery why so many well-connected people want City Attorney Michael Aguirre out of office. And the fact that people at City Hall, the downtown power establishment and the Union-Tribune want him out of office is a sign he is doing the job well.

A new report this morning from Foreclosures.com says that foreclosure filings in California fell in April by 17.58 percent, which works out to 13.9 filings per 1,000 households. That compares favorably to Nevada where the ratio is 31.5 per 1,000 and Arizona with 28.7 per 1,000. "The sky isn't falling, and the bottom of the housing market is in sight," says Alexis McGee, president of the Internet foreclosure tracking service.

In what would eventually be viewed a colossal, massively expensive mistake, The Union Tribune editorial board endorsed Michael Aguirre for city attorney of San Diego on October 3, 2004.

As reported by columnist Sharon Nelton in a recent issue of Family Business Magazine, over the last century, the average American's life span has increased by almost 30 years.

For years, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has mailed out fliers soliciting donations because its Holy Grail, the 1978 Proposition 13 limit on property taxes, was allegedly under fire. Those claims have usually been alarmist fantasy, as no one seriously threatened to raise taxes on residential property above the current levels, commonly based on 1 percent of the most recent purchase price for any property.

Conflict of interest is front-page news. Are you comfortable with how you are managing this potential problem at your workplace?

Before the heat turns up on city elections is a good time to review Jerry Sanders' record for city administration reform. Elected in 2005 to fill the gap left by a mayor who resigned under a city fiscal crisis, what has the new "strong" mayor accomplished?

A sales principle that leads to wealth: It's all about them.

To paraphrase an old adage, ignorance of blog law is no excuse.

Short of which contestants are being voted off "American Idol" each week, the most pressing domestic issue in the news these days is the distressed condition of the real estate and mortgage markets.

Frustrated by the influx of undisciplined workers, more and more managers these days are abdicating their responsibility for addressing poor performance and correcting inappropriate behaviors. Opting instead to report either them to the HR department or simply ignore them in the mistaken belief, they'll get the message and leave.

The U.S. Army's Soldier's Creed, adopted in 2003, include these words, "I will never leave a fallen comrade." All branches of the military have lived, and sometimes died, by what these words mean even before formally adopted.

Are you ready for hope and change? Barack Obama better hope his bitter half has a change of attitude if she expects to assume the title of first lady in November. She's been likened to John F. Kennedy's wife, what with her chic suits and pearls and perfectly coiffed helmet hair. But when she opens her mouth, Michelle O is less Jackie O and more Wendy W -- as in Wendy Whiner, the constantly kvetching "Saturday Night Live" character from the early 1980s.

A great many Democrats are increasingly worried that by the time their party gets to its national convention this August in Denver the level of ill-will between the Clinton and Obama camps will be so toxic the nomination may not be worth accepting -- whomever wins.

I'd like to suggest Earth Day be called Oceans and Earth Day from here on out. Is that cheesy?

Not even one week in to its worldwide release, and "Grand Theft Auto IV" (GTA IV) has already managed to gain the ire of everyone from MADD, to police and feminist groups, in spite of shattering sales records in the United Kingdom and giving the Hollywood release of "Iron Man" a run for its money.

Many lawyers pick juries the same way case after case. They use seating charts and little yellow Post-it notes, and as the potential jurors go down the list of routine questions and provide information, they furiously cram as much handwriting as they can fit on the note in order to remember what they said.

I recently wrote a newsletter about a temporary condition in my eyes that made me appreciate people with disabilities.

The federal government has recently implemented new rules that are directed at preventing identity theft and these regulations may affect your business if you issue credit to consumers.

Sounds like an elementary school yard riddle, doesn't it? If you're a board member, you'll immediately know the answer. Being the board chair is, like Caesar would put it, being first among equals.

Calling them "unrecognized investment gains" the Board of the San Diego County Employees Retirement system (SDCERA) has declined to include a whopping $905,200,000, around 10 percent of overall assets, when calculating SDCERA's all-important funded ratio.

Recently, an array of statistics and policy actions were reported that failed to satisfy the gloom and doomers. Economic statistics, while weak, are generally not falling off a cliff, and continue to support my view that we can avoid an economy wide recession.