News Scrapbook 1986

San Diego, CA (San Diego Co.) San Diego Union (Cir. D. 217,089) (Cir. S. 341,840)

EB 22 198

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I IHXX Civic groups undecided over letters on J. David gifts •),-C\ 14 "I just don't know what the re- UCSD received $~80,500 in_contri- made on ~ow to respond, the spokes- never_happe~e~." By Gl'ha tuhr o sponse will be," Metzger said. "Hope- butions _from J. David, according to a woll_lan said. . _ . S~npps Chmc and Research Foun- taff Writ r fully they will understand that I'm university spokeswoman. Bill Pickett, vice president for um- dat1on and the La Jolla Museum of Civic groups facing the threat of tryi~g to discuss it with them. Of that mon_ey, $187,500 went for versity_relations at the U~iversity of Conte~porary Art repres~ntatives having to retu J. David & Co. gifts "All I ask is that we sit down and the construction of the Mandell San Diego, said USD will consult also said they have not decided how said y . terday t ey have not decided check the amounts and discuss what Weiss Center for the Performing with its attorney before deciding to respond to Metzger's letter. how to r pond to a letter from the can be done about it. The Jetter asked Arts, $70,000 toward a 50-meter what action to take. USD received Scripps received about $20,000 and bankruptcy trustee trying to recover them solely to weigh the statute of swlffirning pool, $10,000 to the Medi- about $30,000 over a four-year peri- the museum about $110,000. money for the firm' inv tor . limitations.'' cal Center Auxiliary, $8,000 for re- od, mostly to support athletic pro- The San Diego Symphony, which Repre ·entat1ve · of groups rece1v- If the organizations _ which in- search, and $5,000 for Celebrities gr~m.s. ,, _ . .. received $_180,000, ~nd tl.e San Diego ing th Jett rs that trustee Louis elude the Univers~ of San Die~o _ Cook for Cancer. . Its a real mess, Pickett said. I Opera, which received $100,000, have ctz.,er cnt on Tues

J. David Dominelli

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Paul J . Steen, general manager of KPBS-TV and KPBS-FM, said he received Metzger's letter yesterday. The money in question ranges be- tween $58,000 and $68,000 and was received in 1982 and 1983. "Most of the money we received was to underwrite programs, pro- gram projects or auctions," Steen said. "They got due value."

Dominelli, the scheme's brainchild, 1s now serving a pri. on term for tax evasion and mail fraud Metzger said h1 letters do not de- mand r turn of the money, but sim- ply ask th orgamzations to waive the tatute of lim1tatton~ o discus- ion can continue without court ac- t10n. ft

Los Angeles, CA (Los Angeles Co.) Los Angeles Times (Orange county Edition)

(Cir. D. 181 ,789) (Cir. S. 219,295)

E 24 1986

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:t~ITJATIVESj Attack by Builders ..~niu'ittm Paflt 1 • dustry Assn. roval for any deve opment m the :~ar!:if ;;,i;;g t~~c~I~easures in favor . and they would lynch 52,000-acre "urban reserve" along ' issues a person Now they get eno h the city's northern fringe des1gnat- paper acknowledges that it would people to vote to tak ug d be politically ''un eal ti " e away a .,e in the City Council's 1979 r is c. person's property rights, and they Growth Management Plan. 'Low-Prollallillty Event' do 1t," said Ferguson. "It is not In Solano County, voters nar- much different.. .." Ferguson :-rowly approved a Jum 1984, mea - Legislators a nd lhe Deukmejian said this is the first generation in ;.surf rt'Ftnctmg g; ,!\',, 1 to existing Admim str ation "are ki nd of reluc- 'the Umted States for which home • •urbar, drea~ ,ulhvugn opponents . t.ant on th at," Don Collin, a BlA ,iwnership is a largely unattainable ,...outspent. backer~ «bout IO to one lobbyiS t in Sacramento, said in an goal, and he called his measure the S l I mterV1ew. • 1m1 ar y, voters m 01 ange "American dream" bill because it is County soundl) re,Jected a 1984 Di st a st eful as such measures intended to drive down the cost of .sales tax mcrease to finance rrught be to developers, halting housing. Anti-growth measures growth-inducing transportation anti-growth initiatives altogether and enVJr_· onmental controls in gen: un . p O • d 16 ''is a low-probability event," sai·d 1 dri r vements, esp1te a to -one Col.nn era, ve up the cost of housing .,. spendmg ad\ antag~ by a pro taJ\ he said. ' campd.Jg1 bdJlkruJleo ,1 1h •J 1,, The one bill th at got through His bill would nullify any local ers .,~ " u measure mtended t 0 ordinance that hmn.s the develop- , ra 1, , 11 ,,. , •Jal< " •rooosPd 1mt1ati ve re- ment of h 1 .. o ousmg un ess 1t 1s "Qeces- unho.µJ.>.' • ·ll tn , di! ,a 1 "'t- ,i,~nned Lash-to -energy sary to a<:h1eve a vi tal and pressing Paule CarreJI l.Jl, '>h Q uuo. ,,,o. ir ::,a1. Marco~ V.dS vetoed by governmemal mterest." • .Sacr«mento lobbyis, 1,cJi<.meiian Colhn nOLea 11111 Amendment "They just wish ciuzens would But the BIA issues paper said there are ways to amend the state's Evidence Code to aid builders and others who challenge such initia- tives once they are passed. Admittedly a Difficult Test San Diego would have to prove, for example, that Proposition A was necessary to assure the "availabili- ty of adequate sanitary, sewer, water, street, parking utility and other public capital facilities ."

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-= - Developers Attack IB~~~!J!~~ SACRAMENTO-Fed up with anti-growth mea- sures like San Diego's Proposition A, developers are quietly launching an assault on the cherished initiative process that began in California 75 years ago. The builders are pushing a number of measures that would either make it easier to invalidate voter-ap- proved anti-growth measures in court or make it harder for environmentalists and other& to halt or delay developments by challenging local entities' general plans. Bill Favon Developen Assemblyman Gi1'..Fer111son (R-Newport Beach) said he had little contact with building industry lobbyists and had never even heard of the lfl:OMb- / control initiativ!? approved by 56% of San Diego's vo~ember. when he introduced what he calls his"American dream" bill last week. But the Orange County Republican, who has Jong advocated relaxing legal impediments to development. said his bill, like two other measures builders are suggesting, is designed to give developers an upper hand in court cases. In recent years, builders have fared far betler in court than they have in local elections. San Diego County voters overwhelmingly approved zsition A, considered one of the most far-reachf1! Pleue 1ee INITIATIVES, Pare 5 .

Los Angeles, CA (Los Angeles Col Times (San Diego Ed .) (Cir . D 50,010) (Cir. S 55,573) FEB 2 2 1986

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1 Arts Groups Study J. David Letter on Return of Funds

Metzger's letter waa sent to about 30 nonprofit organizations. In it, he argued that the donations were uaed by J. David (Jerry) Dominelli u a marketing tool to further his Ponzi-type scheme, in which money from new invest.on is uaed to pay off existing clients. Former J. David executive Nan- cy: Hoover a1ao participated in donating the funds to San Diego civic and cultural orgaruzations. Representatives of the La Jolla Museum of Contemporar~ whTch received $110,000 from J. DaVld. did not attend the meeting because of scheduling conflicta, according to attorney Chris Caullt- ins, volunteer president of the museum. Caulkins said the museum had received the trustee's letter, but he would not comment on what the museum's response will be. Merryman also said he would not comment on the issue. The sym- phony has more than $1 million in long-term debt and returning the funds could preeent a finandaJ hardllhip. Olher nonprofit groups face a suni.lar financial specter. "Right now nothing much is happening," Page said. "But I think it's going to be interesting before it's over." Other recipients of J. David's largess included Scnpps Clinic and Research Foundation (110,000), the University of San Diego ($30,00C), DC San Diego's Mandell Weisa Center for the Performing_ Arts ($162,500), the Del Mar Foun- dation ($19,500) and La Jolla Country Day School ($1,000).

Representatives of several area arts organizauons met Fnday to consider whelher lhey should band together to prot.ett demands by the J. David le Co. bankruptcy trustee that lhey return more than Sl million in donations given lhem by the fraud-ndden investment firm. Although no concrete decisions were made-and, indeed, some groups hadn't yet received the trustee's demand letter-the groups did agree to meet again m an attempt to collectively confront the 133\le. "We all talked, but" some groups haven't received lhe letter yet, according to attorney Vic Vila- plana, a volunteer Y1ce president of the opera. Representatives of the San Diego Opera, the San Diego Symphony and KPBS-TV :net informally both on the telephone and in Vilaplana's offices Fnday to discuss the legal and financial unphcauons of a let- ter matled Tuesday by J. David bankruptcy trustee Lows Metzger. Metzger's letter, which demanda that lhe chantable contributions be returned, 1s conSJdered the first time such a request has been made of nonprofit organizations that re- ceived fundll from a fraudulent company, according to sources fa- miliar with the case. Also partic1pallng in the mHting were attorneys William Nelson, the volunteer president of the Opera, which received $100,000 from J . David; Richard Page, rep- resenting KPBS-TV, which re- ceived $58,000, and Det Merryman, volunteer president of the sympho- ny, which rece1 ved $180,000. .,

-: stay out of land-use decisions," : • Carrell added. "That is really what : lhey are saying. It goes to the core • of democracy " • California voters ga Vt them- - •'selve~ lht right to enau ldlH at the -~ot tJoJ. m a J9Jl ,o..at, ·onst.1tu onaJ d.lnencllr,t11t ·, •.xi«.' leader, f environn,em.af coalilions thac -:1:m!t successiulJ., ioughl develop ers m elecuon ca.mpaigm, m San .Die.go and elsewhere sa) Lhe nev. auve effort by bwlders to verse 75 years of citizen- based wmak.rng and maxt couris a a)Or battleground comes as n\) nse. "It 1s to bt- expected -aiat wher e play by the rules ana go to tht le ana wm lhe.)- try to ange th: rules," Sllld Jay Powell, nservauon director for the San ·egoCounty Sien-a Club chapter Powell said voters in San Diego d elsewhere will be offended iJ ey "recogruze the builders' new tegy as an attack upon their " But he predicted that pro - velopment forces will likely ~r several bill6 besides the e, already introduced by Fergu- , hoping to enact one of them some kind of reasonabl~ com m1se. " lodeed, a Cali!~ In-

One way would be to create a burden of proof on cities that an antr-growth ordinance enacted by their voters would have no unpact on the area surrounding those c1ties or or. lhe state as a whole, the paper po1medout. Eariler this year, in a lawsuit to which the BlA was a party, an appellate court said a citizens' group in Irvine could not force an mit.Jative to block a builder-fee financing program for three pro- posed new Orange County free- ways because those roads are of "obvious statewide concern." Sierra Clull Oppoaltion Builders would like to enact a law that would make all initiatives affecting growth SUb.)eCt to a simi- lar Le!it-after the fact. · San Diego City Atty. John Witt said "it would be pretty hard" to defend Proposition A iJ lhe Legis- lature does enact such a test ''ObV1ousiy, we are going to oppose that kind of legislation," aa1d Carrell or the Sierra Club. Collm acknowledged that he held diacusgfons With legislators a1>out 1uch a bill, but eo far no one has introduced a measure. r '·Nobody stood on their chairs

Admittedly. said Ferguson, it is a difficult test intended to assure that development forces prevail. Ferguson said the idea for the measure grew out of the 1980 White House Commission on Hous- ing. He said a model for the bill was drafted last year by a University of Sa~ymposium chaired by law professorBernard Siegan. Although the measure has al- ready "startled everyone and is ~usmg an uproar," Ferguson said 1t neither takes away initiative nghts nor does it "take away a single environmental law." But Ferguson said he expects heavy opposition by the Sierra Club and other groups. Pbwell said the pro-growth ad- vocates are guilty of hypacrisy. For years, he said, the same people have been "screaming about lhe Coqta.J Comnyssion," saying lhe watchdog planning panel was usurping local control. "Now they see it going the other way - • . and they try to impose th ese lhings from the state level."