At Miramar National Cemetery’s 13th annual Memorial Day ceremony, the director of San Diego State University’s Center for War and Society spoke of how he held D-Day troops in awe — citing the Americans’ “superhuman strength” at Omaha Beach.



“I’d seen combat in Iraq, but this seemed near impossible,” said the director, history professor Gregory A. Daddis.


In the audience of 400 were four World War II veterans, three of whom leave Wednesday for Normandy, France — for the 80th anniversary commemoration of D-Day.

The trip is “a form of love,” said 97-year-old Army veteran Andre Chappaz, one of the travelers.

“The people in the surrounding cities (of Normandy), they love us,” he said. He looks forward to relating to the French people.

Joining Chappaz will be Calvin Shiner, a 101-year-old Army Quartermaster Corps veteran, and Max Gurney, a 102-year-old Army veteran.

They will be awarded the French Legion of Honor.

As featured speaker, Daddis linked the fight 80 years ago to free Europe from the Nazis to President Franklin Roosevelt’s 1941 State of the Union address, known as the “Four Freedoms Speech.” 



But in a departure from traditional Memorial Day remarks, retired Col. Daddis suggested that FDR’s dream of freedom from fear has yet to be realized.



Rather just memorializing the end of WWII and “only venerating those celebrated Americans of the Greatest Generation who are here today, perhaps we should pause and ask how that conflict truly helped fulfill Roosevelt’s dream of a world in which aggression was no longer possible,” Gaddis said.



He asked: Was the United States and the larger world truly free from fear?



“Historical records suggest not so much,” Gaddis said.

• Listen: Retired Army Col. Gregory Daddis speaks at Miramar National Cemetery

He told how Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin seemed only “a new Hitler, with a better mustache.”



“Mustaches aside,” he said, “the fear was real even for the Greatest Generation fresh from winning a war in the name of democracy and freedom.”



He told how Wisconsin Sen. Joseph McCarthy by the 1950s gained national attention by “arguing the United States was engaged in a final all-out battle against its atheistic communist foe.”



Daddis, who served in the Army for 25 years and once taught at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, said McCarthy struck a chord with many Americans.



His “long preamble” served to tee up “a rather uncomfortable proposition” — that Americans have been in a state of perpetual war (including the Cold War) for more than eight decades.



”The number of soldiers needed to fight these wars has certainly varied over time as has our collective interest level,” he said. “But it seems undeniable that our modern definitions of freedom are inherently linked with words like security and defense and military readiness. And yes, war.”



Such a truth should give Americans pause, Daddis said.



“Is it possible that being in a constant state of war inhibits rather than promotes our own freedoms and the freedoms of others?” he asked. “Could it be that war is a deterrent rather than a promoter of liberty and freedom?”



He said these questions “cut to the very heart of our national identity.”



Being in a persistent state of conflict for the eight decades since 1941 “has shaped what it means to be an American,” he said.



He challenged his audience not just to honor the sacrifices of war dead “but to emulate them.”



“It takes courage to fight against fear — and not just abroad but at home,” Daddis said. “It takes courage to turn away from the partisan attacks that divide us [and] instead seek ways to unify us as Americans. 



”It takes courage, dare I say, to think about the resources we spend on maintaining if not enlarging the military-industrial complex and how those resources might be reprioritized for the good of all humanity.”

Greta Hamilton, director of Miramar and Fort Rosecrans national cemeteries, said during Sunday’s ceremony: “The cost of war is incalculable. We can never repay the families who have lost loved ones in defense of this nation.”

Recalling that more than 156,000 Allied troops executed the largest invasion in modern history on D-Day resulting in the deaths of 2,501 American troops, Hamilton said soldiers willingly stepped into harm’s way, knowing that they might not see family members again.

“We have an obligation to remember and honor every one of them,” she said. “D-Day is among the most noteworthy days of sacrifice, overcoming impossible odds, displaying steadfast devotions to a noble cause.”

Julie Duhaut-Bedos, consul general of France, told the veterans: “We will never forget your unwavering courage, which helped forge the deep and solid alliance between the United States and France that endures to this day.”

Veteran Shiner, speaking to Times of San Diego, said of D-Day: “I was so busy running … scared … working and could hardly think. The hardest was getting back alive.

“I prayed many days, many nights.”

About returning to Normandy, Shiner said: “I just can’t tell you how good it makes me feel.”

Veteran Gurney, who in 1942 took part in Operation Torch, a North African prelude to D-Day, said after the ceremony that he hopes for peace in the world.

“I believe in humanity,” he said. “You have to keep the faith.”

It’s the track and field equivalent of hope and change.

Word emerged recently that Olympic sprint legend Michael Johnson was launching a “track league” in 2025 backed by Winners Alliance to “revolutionize” the sport, with $30 million in seed money. In April came news of the 776 Invitational set for late September, a women-only meet created by Alexis Ohanian, the Reddit co-founder and husband of Serena Williams.

Both projects aim to yank American track and field out of a decades-old doldrums, where public interest has waned and crowds dwindled.

At the NBC-televised Los Angeles Grand Prix meet Saturday, for example, only half the stands were filled — a concrete stadium on only one side of the 400-meter oval. (Drake Stadium at UCLA has a seating capacity of 11,700.)

A baker’s dozen of world-class athletes had questions and concerns about the Johnson effort as they spoke with Times of San Diego.

But they were mostly excited about the 776 women’s meet (named for the founder’s investment company).

“That’s so cool,” said Sage Hurta-Klecker, 25, a former NCAA indoor mile champion. “I just hope I can put together a good enough season that [includes me] in the conversation.”

Two-time Uganda Olympian Halimah Nakaayi, 29, the 2019 world champion at 800 meters (who also won Saturday), said: “Yeah, I love to inspire women and any activity concerning women — I’m interested to take part in it.”

And Olympic sprinter Jenna Prandini, 31, told me: “What Gabby did was amazing to bring that to us. So if I had the opportunity [to compete], of course.”

Gabby is Olympic sprint medalist Gabrielle Thomas, 27, who joined Ohanian on stage in April to talk up his meet — with no venue or date announced.

(She had to educate him, however. In early chats, he reportedly asked the Harvard grad: “Can the track be laid out like an F-1 circuit, so it’s not like an oval every time?” Thomas replied: “That’s a terrible idea.”)

On Saturday, Thomas added little other information.

“I don’t know too much,” she said. “We don’t have anything set in stone right now. I know we’re targeting after the Olympics” and even after the last Diamond League meet Sept. 13-14 in Belgium.

Is she recruiting anybody for the meet?

“We want everyone to be there — everyone who wants to be there,” Thomas told me. “All the top women should be at that meet.”

Five-time NCAA champion Anna Cockrell, 26, now a professional who won the 400-meter hurdles Saturday, would like to compete there — but worries about her event being left out.

She said she’s spoken very briefly with Ohanian about the event, which could lead to a series of meets.

“From what I understand, I don’t know if there’s a hurdle race so I’m interested but if there’s no hurdles … I don’t know if I’ll be there,” she said.

Another hurdler — world-record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone — said after winning the L.A. Grand Prix 200-meter dash that the 776 meet “sounds like a really awesome amazing opportunity and I’m sure it’s going to be great.”

But she and her coach, Bobby Kersee, “haven’t thought that far ahead.”

Ohanian didn’t respond to numerous requests for comment.

Neither did former world-record holder Johnson, who declined to speak to me Saturday as he watched the meet with fellow Olympic greats in the VIP area.

But his effort to jump-start fan interest in track drew mixed reviews among world-class athletes I spoke to at UCLA.

‘”My opinion is somewhat … skeptical,” Rai Benjamin said after clocking a world-leading time in the 400 hurdles.

“I feel like we have a product that already works,” he said, fretting that the new circuit could result in a thinning of the sport’s available prize money.

For a track league to compete with the World Athletics series of professional meets called the Wanda Diamond League, he said, “You need a venue. And from what I’ve read, I don’t think they have a TV deal.”

Benjamin, 26, asked: “What’s the ROI on that for his investors and how much money can they actually flush out for this?”

His fellow long hurdler Cockrell noted “all this conversation about the WNBA and women’s basketball. I think a big difference has been you can watch it, and now we have all these people that want to watch [Caitlin Clark and the WNBA].”

But she’s among many track athletes decrying the recent announcement that FloTrack would take over U.S. broadcast rights to air foreign Diamond League meets starting in 2025 — with subscriptions costing $29.99 a month or $149.99 a year. (NBC/Peacock has rights now.)

“I’m glad that we have people wanting to invest and start these leagues,” Conckrell said. “That is a step in the right direction, but it’s … about: How do we get people to watch it?

“It’s hard to get fans who don’t know anything about the sport to pay that much to watch it. So whoever can solve that problem, you got my vote.”

Kyree King, winner of the 100 Saturday, said a project like Johnson’s is “exactly what we need. We need competition with these other meets because they just think they can do whatever they want — you know, pay whatever they want to, do whatever they want.

“There’s more competition if there’s more money over here and these fans in America deserve to have the top-of-the-line athletes come out and race in a league that they get to come to and they get to see —  not only in Eugene or in L.A. or something like that.”

King, 29, said the league needs consistent meets “so that we can create more fanfare, … create more money. We can make this sport way bigger.”

World champion Michael Norman, the San Diego-born star who won the 400 Saturday, said he needed more information about the Johnson league (with no name yet but details expected in June).

“I’ve only heard that he’s gotten some initial money for a start-up, but I want to see … the plans and the details,” he said. “Is this like a cash-grab type of scenario?”

Norman says professional track “should kind of go away from appearance fees and just make the pot bigger for winning.”

He said more top stars would be enticed to compete — with headlines following — if meets offered $60,000 first-place prizes instead of athletes “going back and forth with the meet director fighting for like $10,000 while other athletes are just struggling to get to the meet.”

World bronze medalist 400 hurdler Trevor Bassitt, 26, said he’d love to join Michael Johnson’s league.

“It seems like a great thing for the sport. … I don’t know anything. But knowing Michael Johnson, I think he knows what he’s doing — pitching to some of those high-level athletes,” he said.

Kirani James, a 31-year-old Grenadian with a set of gold, silver and bronze Olympic medals in the 400-meter dash, hopes to compete until the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

He sees positives in the Johnson league, saying more events could “uplift this sport.”

“By the end of the day, you know, the more track events we have, the better for us athletes because there’s a lot of athletes here that are talented [but] sometimes you can’t get into a Diamond League based on your rankings.

“But that doesn’t mean that you’re not worthy. They can only fill 8-9 lanes.”

Fellow Olympic champion Matt Centrowitz, 34, took third in the 1500 Saturday but plans to hang up his spikes after this season.

Would he consider hanging on another year to compete in the Michael Johnson league?

“Not so much,” Centro said. “I think it kind of compels me to maybe get involved somehow but maybe not racing.”

McLaughlin-Levrone, a two-time Olympian expected to star at the Paris Games, said a lot of things are in the works to build the sport.

“I hope that they can do that,” the 24-year-old said of the 2025 league. “I don’t know all the specifics about everything going on, but I’m sure we’ll find out more and see it unfold in the months to come.”

As expected, former San Diegan Christina Bobb pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Phoenix as she joined others at arraignment for their alleged roles in the fake-electors case.

Less expected: Bobb’s booking photo going viral.

As noted by Newsweek, the mugshot of the former lawyer for Donald Trump “made its way across social media … sparking mockery.”

The New Republic reported that Bobb, the former OAN reporter and San Diego State University MBA, “was seen smirking” in the Maricopa County courthouse.

Bobb, head of the Republican National Committee’s election integrity unit, was indicted April 24 by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes for alleged attempts to overturn results of the 2020 presidential election.

Meanwhile, Bobb tweeted alarm after a Trump motion said the FBI was authorized to use “deadly force” in the  Aug. 8, 2022, classified documents search at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

“They were prepared to kill me?! A few dozen FBI agents v. me and they were ready to kill me?!!!” she posted on X.

(In a statement, the FBI said it “followed standard protocol in this search as we do for all search warrants, which includes a standard policy statement limiting the use of deadly force. No one ordered additional steps to be taken and there was no departure from the norm in this matter.”

Also Tuesday, former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani was ordered to post a $10,000 bond in Arizona after allegedly eluding authorities’ attempts to serve him court papers accusing the former New York mayor of trying to subvert the 2020 election.

Appearing by phone at a court proceeding, Giuliani criticized what he called a “completely political case” as he pleaded not guilty to charges that he conspired to falsely claim Arizona’s electoral votes for Trump following Trump’s narrow loss to Democratic President Joe Biden.

A Maricopa County judge, Shellie Smith, ordered Giuliani to travel to Arizona within 30 days to post the bond.

Giuliani is one of 18 defendants in the case brought by Mayes, and one of 11 who made their first court appearance on Tuesday. All pleaded not guilty.

Bobb and nine other defendants were released without bond, but prosecutors sought a different arrangement for Giuliani, saying they struggled to contact him after charges were filed.

Prosecutors argued Giuliani was seeking to evade authorities, pointing to a since-deleted post on X in which Giuliani suggested prosecutors might have to drop the charges if they could not locate him.

An agent from the Arizona attorney’s general office finally served Giuliani on Friday as he was leaving his 80th birthday party in Florida.

“He has shown no intent to comply with legal process in Arizona in this case,” prosecutor Nicholas Klingerman said.

Giuliani, who does not yet have a lawyer in the case, disputed that he had “been hiding from anyone.” He said he limited access to his New York apartment over security concerns.

“I do consider this indictment a complete embarrassment to the American legal system, but I’ve shown no tendency not to comply,” Giuliani said, as the judge sought to cut him off.

Giuliani and the other defendants are facing conspiracy, fraud and forgery charges over their efforts to assemble a slate of electors from Arizona pledged to support Trump, a bid to undermine certification of the 2020 election.

Smith set an Oct. 17 trial date, just weeks before the Nov. 5 election. Trump is not charged in the Arizona case.

The New Republic said that, regarding Arizona, Giuliani has deferred to Bobb, saying she knows more about the election efforts in that state than he does.

“I used Christina Bobb to a large extent, and I’m not putting anything off on Christina. If Christina said it happened, it’s probably more accurate than if I said it happened,” Giuliani said in late April on Newsmax.

Reuters contributed to this report.

San Diego-born Michael Norman dusted a world-class field in his return to the 400-meter dash Saturday at the Los Angeles Grand Prix at UCLA. His old USC teammate Rai Benjamin — also making his season debut in his signature event — ran the fastest time in the world this season in the 400-meter hurdles.

But it was a 24-year-old hurdler running her first legal-wind 200-meter dash* since 2018 who most delighted the crowd at half-filled Drake Stadium.

Olympic and world champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, the world record holder in the one-lap hurdles, defeated a field worthy of this summer’s Paris Olympics, including Olympic bronze medalist Gabby Thomas and 2022 U.S. champion Abby Steiner, the NCAA record-holder.

McLaughlin-Levrone’s half-lap time of 22.07 seconds (into a 0.3 meters-per-second headwind) is the No. 2 mark in the world this season.

“Honestly, I would have loved to have got 21.99, but I’m really happy with that,” she said of an event she’ll likely leave behind for another year.

Her focus is on defending her Tokyo Games title in the 400-meter hurdles, and again defeating Dutch superstar Femke Bol, who also boasts scorching sprint marks.

In a nationally televised meet with sensational marks in almost all events, Benjamin, 26, appeared to have the easiest time getting to the finish line.

His world-leading hurdle mark of 46.64 — the No. 9 time in history — broke the stadium record of 47.45 by Edwin Moses in 1977. That was a global record at the time.

In the flat 400, 2022 world champion Norman, 26, clocked 44.53 a year after saying he was focusing 100% on the 100-meter dash. He turned back 2012 Olympic champion Kirani James, 31, of Grenada, who took second in 44.86. (He first broke 45 in 2011.)

In the discus, 2023 world champion Laulauga “Lagi” Tausaga of Spring Valley took fourth behind 2021 Olympic champion Valerie Allman in an event held Friday night.

Tausaga’s best throw of five was 60.83 meters (199 feet, 7 inches) as Allman had five throws good enough to win, topped by a 67.93 (222-10) in round three, beating world-leading Yaime Perez of Cuba by more than nine feet.

In the triple jump, Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts, 32, who won three NCAA titles while competing for San Diego State University, finished a silly centimeter behind Thea LaFond, 30, of Dominica, 14.37 (47-1 3/4) to 14.36 (47-1 1/2).

McLaughlin-Levrone’s dash heroics may not have been her most impressive performance Saturday. Between interviews on the field and in a nearby media area, she unpinned her race bib — and gave the sheet to a young girl in the stands.

Long after the last event, with other athletes gone, McLaughlin-Levrone posed for selfies and signed autographs — perhaps setting a stadium record for hanging out with the fans.

*An earlier version of this report incorrectly said McLaughlin-Levrone ran her first 200-meter dash since 2018. She ran a wind-aided 22.38 on May 4 at the Occidental College.

In October 2021, San Diego’s Colleen Windsor sued her former employer, the Orange County Fire Authority, alleging discrimination, retaliation and a hostile work environment.

A former KFMB-TV and radio anchor who became the fire agency’s director of communications, Windsor alleged a “pattern and practice of continued and systematic harassment.”

Once she almost found a fire station bathroom closed to her.

“The individual Defendants, and others, made clear job-wide their feeling that Windsor, a woman, should not have sought to use, or been allowed to use, ‘their’ restrooms,” the suit said.

Last July, the fire agency quietly opened its wallet to flush Windsor’s lawsuit away.

A settlement agreement obtained by Times of San Diego via the California Public Records Act says Windsor and her legal team were paid $580,000, including $58,000 for “taxable wages.”

The bulk went to a client trust account of her attorneys at Shewry & Saldaña of downtown San Diego.

Besides the Irvine-based Orange County Fire Authority, Windsor, 60, also dismissed her suit against 11 individuals with the agency.

Those defendants didn’t include Fire Chief Brian Fennessy, who came to Orange County in April 2018 after serving 2 1/2 years as chief of the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

But Fennessy was quoted in the Orange County Superior Court suit as saying: “This wouldn’t be happening to you if you weren’t a woman.”

• Related: Ex-KFMB News Anchor, SANDAG and SDG&E Veteran, Sues OC Fire Agency

Windsor spent 19 months at the OCFA as its chief spokeswoman after similar jobs with the San Diego Association of Governments, or SANDAG, and SDG&E.

Since August 2021, she’s been director of marketing and communications at the North County Transit District.

She and her lead attorney, Christopher Saldaña, didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Neither did the OCFA or its attorneys, who were asked whether any of the 11 defendants in the case were disciplined and whether the agency has changed any of its policies or training on sex harassment. The agency serves 23 cities and all unincorporated areas.

The seven-page settlement agreement has no nondisclosure agreement but contains a provision for “mutual non-disparagement.”

“PLAINTIFF and OCFA mutually agree to forbear from making, causing to be made, publishing, ratifying or endorsing any and all untruthful, malicious, disparaging or defamatory statements, allegations, comments or communications, regardless of form (whether written, oral, electronic or otherwise) and regarding each other. PLAINTIFF and OCFA mutually agree not to authorize or permit any such statements, allegations, comments or communications to be made by others on their behalf,” the settlement deal says.

After working at San Diego’s KFMB from 1994 to 2001, she became press secretary to San Diego Mayor Dick Murphy from 2001 to 2005, says her LinkedIn profile.

Saldaña sought dismissal of the case Aug. 29, 2023. Judge was David Hoffer.

In December 2021, Windsor told City News Service that harassment started a few months into her job.

“I kept thinking it will get better,” she said. “I kept thinking it will get better. I told people. I told H.R. I talked to people in executive management and nothing changed.

“It actually got worse and worse and worse and it was impacting me personally. I started having panic attacks. It’s embarrassing to talk about.”

She said that when a firefighter told her how much she was hated and how the attacks would never stop, “I knew I had to make a decision, and as much as I loved my team and loved what I was doing desperately, I was suffering mentally, physically, and I realized life is way more important than this role.”

OCFA isn’t clear of harassment accusations, however.

Two months ago, Windsor attorney Saldaña filed suit against the agency on behalf of Perla Rodriguez, a former information technology technician.

In a 17-page complaint against OCFA and two of her male bosses, Rodriguez alleges a work environment that was “hostile, intimidating, offensive, oppressive or abusive.”

“OCFA has a well-documented history of chauvinism and misogyny and has recently been the subject of several suits alleging, as here, gender discrimination,” the suit says.

Rodriguez gave two weeks’ notice of her resignation on Jan. 24, 2023, but “Defendants prematurely shut down her access to her work programs on Jan. 26, 2023.”

During her time at OCFA, Rodriguez says she witnessed two former female coworkers, [Suzanne] Clayton and Pam Jones, “suffer the same harassment and discrimination
she experienced at the hands of the Defendants.”

Jones went on stress leave in 2021 as a result of the OCFA conduct and “retired early due to the toxic environment.” Clayton retired from OCFA early, in April 2022, “due to constant discrimination and unequal treatment,” the suit says.

Windsor’s case isn’t mentioned.

Ten months ago, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes was looking into possible charges in her state’s fake-electors scheme — the effort to deny Joe Biden the presidency he won fairly.

In a story on the probe, The Washington Post cited Ashley Adams, a former federal prosecutor.

The Post’s Yvonne Wingett Sanchez wrote: “A successful case could hinge on the state of mind of the electors” and quoted Adams as saying: “You’re going to have to have some meat on the bones and show there is some evidence of intent.”

Starting this week, Adams will put that tactic to the test when she defends John Eastman, the former Orange County law professor. His arraignment is set for 9:30 a.m. Thursday in Maricopa County Superior Court, where he will plead not guilty.

Eastman is among seven of 18 defendants in the fake-electors case to reveal their lawyer. Former San Diegan Christina Bobb was the first.

Who is Adams?

She’s the founder and principal of Adams & Associates, now specializing in white-collar criminal defense cases, including fraud and government investigations, “with a proven success record.”

From June 1999 to January 2005, as an assistant U.S. attorney in Phoenix, she prosecuted False Claims Act matters including health care and defense procurement fraud and well as fee fraud in national parks and forests.

She “obtained the largest recorded settlement for the District of Arizona against Boeing/McDonnell Douglas in a False Claim Act case,” her website says.

Adams also prosecuted tax evasion and tax fraud, investment fraud and securities fraud.

Now she’s defending Eastman, allegedly a mastermind behind a fraud to prevent the peaceful transfer of power in January 2021. He faces charges of conspiracy, fraud and six counts of forgery.

According to a transcript by the far-right Gateway Pundit site quoted by the New York Sun, Eastman recently said: “I got indicted in Arizona. I had zero communications with the electors in Arizona. I had zero involvement with the election challenges in Arizona.”

Wednesday morning, Adams told Times of San Diego via email that  “evidence will show that Mr. Eastman had no communication, nor any contact with any Arizona electors.”

She noted that “every defendant has the right to an attorney, and a right to have their Constitutional and statutory rights protected.  Mr. Eastman is no different.”

She didn’t know why Eastman chose her as his Arizona counsel, but “I have practiced law for 33 years in Arizona, I have significant experience in white collar criminal defense, and I am a former AUSA.”

Updated at 11:40 a.m. May 15, 2024

Joan Jacobs was praised Monday as a woman of “grit, grace and glamour” whose “joyful generosity” — along with her Qualcomm founding husband, Irwin — made San Diego a cultural powerhouse amid her “unwavering commitment to make the world a better place.”

Even down to the color of The Rady Shell’s folding chairs.

At her celebration of life at the concert venue’s Jacobs Park, some 800 people sat on cushioned seats that were “tropical red” – a color Joan had picked out for the San Diego Symphony’s summer home.

Two dozen family members and leaders of arts, education and the Jewish community sang her praises and revealed her secrets in the venue’s first ever memorial event.

• Listen: Remarks by Irwin Jacobs, husband of 70 years to Joan Jacobs

During the pandemic, when the Jacobs Medical Center was off-limits to everyone but staff, Joan and Irwin secretly snuck into the hospital they helped build to see how a Jeff Koons art installation was going.

“I kept the secret until just now,” said Patty Maysent, CEO of UC San Diego Health.

Maysent told of Irwin Jacobs being among the first adult patients at the hospital built in 2016 (“I’m not breaking HIPAA rules,” she said, having gotten his permission.)

“There’s no hospital in the country like the Jacobs Medical Center,” she said, noting its Joan-influenced art works and “soothing wall colors.”

The Jacobses’ $100 million life-saving gift to the San Diego Symphony was called “unequaled in the annals of symphonic music.”

Martha Gilmer, the orchestra’s CEO, recalls how she shared the news of Joan’s death at a concert a week earlier at age 91. (Her family funeral was Friday.)

“The audience gasped as one,” she said. “Everyone knew the enormity of the news” and silently wished “Please say it isn’t so.”

Before Monday’s 2 1/2-hour event, which included four musical performances, Rep. Scott Peters described Joan and Irwin as “probably the biggest benefactors in San Diego since Ellen Browning Scripps.”

Said former Rep. Susan Davis (whose Congress seat is now held by Joan’s granddaughter Sara): “She was this strong woman that we all looked up to. … I always enjoyed being where she was. She kind of lit up the room.”

And state Sen. Toni Atkins, possibly the next California governor, called Joan a “true philanthropist of the old-school type — never sought fame or to be acknowledged.”

On stage, a succession of friends and relatives, ending with husband Irwin, shared stories of the family matriarch.

How she marched into Qualcomm offices one day and told Irwin’s assistant to make sure he had time for lunch.

How she broke a leg biking during a German trip but ignored the pain until she’d finished showing her friends the cultural sights.

How she picked out the land where a future Jewish Community Center would be built in La Jolla, which once barred Jews from buying homes.

How on a trip to China she insisted that a severely jet-lagged friend visit the home of a woman, where (against orders) she broached the topic of that nation’s one-child policy and later told the friend: “See, you would have missed all that.”

How she taught her sons things big and little, including (said son Paul): “Don’t bus the table until everyone was done eating.”

How “rumor had it there was no pink left in San Diego” after Grandma Joan had bought it all to celebrate the birth of her first granddaughter, Sara. (The San Diego congresswoman said her job was to make San Diego better as a result of “all the privileges I got.”)

How when Irwin was away once, she and her friends binge-watched “House of Cards” for three days, with Joan fighting for the remote.

How in one week she cut through “delays and delays and delays” to push state officials to allow the famous teetering house be placed atop UCSD’s Jacobs Hall.

How she showed up for Christmas Eve dinners with her homemade chopped chicken liver (as well as caviar).

How she provided the UCSD chancellor’s home better guest paper towels after judging the old kind “terrible,” (“We just ran out a year ago,” the audience was told.)

How, in 1966, two days after Irwin turned down an offer to set up the Engineering Department at UCSD, Joan found a home in La Jolla that prompted Irwin to ask if the job offer was still good.

And how, in December 2019, her family was told that her diagnosis of cardiac amyloidosis would be fatal in six to 12 months — but Joan held on almost five years because “she didn’t want to leave Dad alone,” said son Hal.

The last speaker was Irwin.

He told of how he and Joan, both teen sophomores, met at Cornell University in New York but she graduated two years ahead of him because he switched from a hospitality degree to a five-year engineering program (ignoring a counselor’s warning that there was “no future” in science or technology.)

Joan would graduate in 1954 — with Ruth Bader (later Ginsburg) in her Cornell senior class. She married Irwin that September.

An overcome Irwin paused only once or twice in his 20-minute remarks. But he smiled when a La Jolla Playhouse group sang the couple’s favorite song from “Jersey Boys” — “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You.”

As they sang, on a sunny day with light breezes and high clouds, a passing bird’s feather gently floated down, finally landing near the front of the audience.

“Her love knew no bounds,” said emcee Rabbi Avi Libman of Congregation Beth El. “Her legacy lives in you. Your light will forever shine in our lives”

Veteran news anchor Sandra Maas sued KUSI nearly five years ago in a milestone pay-equity case. Fourteen months ago, after a four-week trial, a San Diego jury ordered her former employer to pay Maas $1.78 million.

On May 3, Maas and her attorney Josh Gruenberg finally got their money. It took the form of a Bank of America check for $4,621,626.29, which included $2.38 million for the journalist’s legal team.

But their celebration is muted.

KUSI has appealed the outcome and Gruenberg thinks his team deserves $4 million (after applying a “multiplier” of 1.45). So he’s also petitioned the state’s 4th District Court of Appeal.

In fact, the $4.6 million check came from the Judicial Council of California on behalf of downtown Superior Court and not from KUSI’s new owners, Nexstar Media Group of Texas. (It was signed by staff accountant Mark Lewis.)

KUSI, a right-leaning independent station long owned by San Diego-based McKinnon Broadcasting, had deposited $6.33 million in a court trust account pending various rulings.

“We believe we have a significant chance of receiving a multiplier from the Court of Appeal,” Gruenberg said Tuesday.

He says KUSI’s chances of winning a reversal of the jury verdict in Judge Ronald Frazier’s court, and clawing back its payout, are “nil.”

The First Avenue-based attorney added: “We believe there’s a 99% chance that we’re going to be able to hold on to the money and recover more.”

KUSI attorney Ken Fitzgerald didn’t respond to a request for comment.

For her part, Maas is glad the wheels of justice are still moving, “albeit very slowly.”

“Five years is a big chunk of time to be fighting a court battle,” she said via email. “I’m grateful to everyone in San Diego who supported me during this hard won victory. And I will forever champion equal pay for equal work. It’s a cause I passionately believe in.”

As of Wednesday, Maas hadn’t yet deposited her share of the $4.6 million check.

“But when I do, it will live in a safe place and continue to collect interest for the next year or so until we win the appeal,” she said. “Attorney Jon Williams is my appellate lawyer who will be taking us over the finish line.”

Her plans for the money?

“No plans, but some of my favorite San Diego nonprofits — the Women’s Museum of California (I’m board president) and the San Diego History Center (I’m a board of trustee) — will benefit from this win,” Maas said.

In an order dated April 18, Judge Frazier disappointed both sides.

KUSI saw its money flow out of the court account. And Frazier disallowed Gruenberg’s 1.45 multiplier request. The judge also halted the accrual of interest on the money owed.

Maas’ defense team says it’s put in 4,088 hours of work since 2019, with hourly rates ranging from Gruenberg’s $800 (for 802 hours’ work) to paralegal Blanca Villegas’ $250 (for 318 hours).

“We were happy to receive the money,” Gruenberg said in a phone interview. “Both Sandra and I are able to pay the money back if by chance, God forbid, the [KUSI] appeal is successful, which we don’t think it will be.”

He said the money was released despite the ongoing appeals because “they know that Sandra is not going anywhere and they know that I’m not going anywhere and, you know, they could recover their money from us.”

Gruenberg says multipliers are commonly applied by other California courts in civil cases involving contingency deals — where the plaintiff doesn’t pay their lawyer until after winning a risky or novel case.

“They’re rarely granted in San Diego,” he said. “For some reason, our judiciary down here has been reluctant to award a multiplier.”

Gruenberg says he received a 1.3 multiplier several years ago, but only after the appellate court instructed the San Diego trial judge to award it.

Colleagues in his firm earn a salary, paid every two weeks, so they haven’t had to wait on a pay day, however.

But no matter what the final payout, Gruenberg vows to reward the eight other staff members involved in the case, including trial lawyers Josh Pang and Pam Vallero.

“I believe I’m a fair boss when it comes to bonuses,” he said.

Maas will have expenses, too.

Asked if she has to pay taxes on the KUSI money, she replied: “Yes, I do. There’s no escaping Uncle Sam.”

Only a month after the county’s Republican leader left her chair position, the local GOP’s full-time staffer also is headed out the door.

Jordan Gascon, executive director of the Republican Party of San Diego County, has given notice he’s leaving to take a job in the office of county recorder-clerk-assessor Jordan Marks, a fellow Republican.

In a resignation letter to new chair Corey Gustafson and the Central Committee, Gascon thanked the Republican Party and several individuals.

“Rest assured,” he wrote, “I am fully committed to ensuring a seamless transition during my remaining time at the Republican Party of San Diego County. I am dedicated to the success of the upcoming Lincoln Reagan Dinner and am more than willing to assist with the training of my replacement and team. I will work diligently to complete any outstanding projects and set the team up for continued success.”

In a separate note to me, Gascon said: “It will be a big change from campaign life, but I am very excited to serve the people of San Diego County.”

Tim Boncoskey, Marks’ chief of staff, said Wednesday that Gascon would become office manager, replacing June Rodriguez, who served for more than 30 years.

Gascon’s salary will be $110,000.

“This was a direct hire position,” Boncoskey said via email. “I conducted the interview and hired Mr. Gascon, as I do with all my direct reports.”

In a statement, Boncoskey called Gascon, 37, a “highly qualified executive level manager who shares his office’s vision of putting customers first with great customer service.”

He added:

“I’m excited to have Mr. Gascon join our team and bring his organizational management skills along with vast experience serving the County of San Diego for over 10 years as a Planning Group secretary, president of the Pine Valley Fire Safe Council, former board member of the Resource Conservation District of Greater San Diego County, and former vice chair of the Citizens’ Law Enforcement Review Board to the work our office does every day.

“In addition, Mr. Gascon’s community leadership as an advocate for the Latino community is key as our Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk office is focused on enhancing our services to the growing Latino community here in San Diego County.

“Lastly, Mr. Gascon will be working to help constituents connect with our technical team and his educational background possessing a master’s degree in diplomacy from Norwich University and bachelor’s degree of arts from San Diego State University were ideal for being able to best serve the Citizens of San Diego County at their life’s most important moments.”

Gascon held the GOP job almost eight years, according to his LinkedIn bio.

He is expected to start his permanent full-time position June 28.

In 2020, Gascon ran unsuccessfuly for the Grossmont Cuyamaca College District governing board, losing by 12 percentage points to Elena Adams.

He posted on Facebook: “Thank you for all of the support! It was a lot of fun running for office and stressing out the AFT! I might not have been elected to the board, but I’ll take this as a win. $130k spent against a first time candidate is pretty awesome.”

County Republican Chairwoman Paula Whitsell left her post in early April amid controversy over her efforts to switch party support from GOP-endorsed Assembly candidate Andrew Hayes to Carl DeMaio.

Updated at 3:53 p.m. May 8, 2024

Former San Diegan Christina Bobb is the first defendant in the Arizona fake-electors case to report a lawyer. And her defender once won at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Bobb, 41, is represented in the criminal case by Thomas Jacobs as noted in Maricopa County court records.

Thomas Frank Jacobs of Tucson, a veteran litigator, confirmed his role Tuesday night, telling Times of San Diego via email that he took Bobb as a client because “I am a criminal defense attorney with 34 years experience in Arizona trial and appellate work.  Ms. Bobb needed criminal defense services.”

He declined to say when Bobb — herself a licensed lawyer since 2008 — hired him but said he’s never worked with her before. He added:  “I am a Democrat, if that matters.”

Jacobs notes on his website that in 2008-2009, he argued and won the “landmark U.S. Supreme Court search and seizure case of Arizona v. Gant, reshaping the rules for police vehicle searches that occur every day in America.”

Bobb — the former One America News correspondent who earned an MBA at San Diego State University — is so far the only defendant to report having a lawyer.

Reps of 17 other defendants — including fellow lawyers John Eastman, Boris Epshteyn and Jenna Ellis — are listed as “To Be Determined.”

Mark Meadows, Donald Trump’s last White House chief of staff, also faces felony charges in the case.

Bobb’s arraignment, where she will plead not guilty, is May 21, Jacobs said Wednesday,

Native Tucsonan Jacobs, 58, represented Rodney Joseph Gant in the milestone Supreme Court case. Gant was arrested in Tucson on an outstanding warrant for driving with a suspended driver’s license.

“Police arrested Gant in a friend’s yard after he had parked his vehicle and was walking away,” Wikipedia summarized. “Gant and all other suspects on the scene were then secured in police patrol cars.

“After the officers searched Gant’s vehicle and found a weapon and a bag of cocaine, they also charged him with possession of a narcotic drug for sale and possession of drug paraphernalia.”

But in an April 21, 2009, decision, the high court said the arrest violated the Fourth Amendment.

“The Supreme Court held that police may search the vehicle of its recent occupant after his arrest only if it is reasonable to believe that the arrestee might access the vehicle at the time of the search or that the vehicle contains evidence of the offense of the arrest,” said oyez.org.

Jacobs, who earned his law degree in 1990, has a long history representing hundreds of indigent defendants* in federal court, accepting assigned cases under the Criminal Justice Act.

His social media footprint is small, but in a 450-word Facebook post on June 27, he roasted the Supreme Court decision reversing Roe v. Wade.

“The decision in Dobbs is hundreds of pages long, and I have not read it all,” Jacobs wrote. “Suffice to say however that I regard this as a reckless and imprudent decision overturning 50 years of precedent that afforded women a 4A protection against what will now certainly be demonstrated to be arbitrary and capricious, religious based laws seeking to force women to carry a pregnancy to term.”

He also said:

“The fallout from this decision will be decades long as Arizona is a ‘trigger law’ state, which means its medieval, anti-choice laws are already in effect.”

In a June 2021 post, Jacobs crowed: “Good news! It’s official: You can request expungement of misdemeanor or felony marijuana convictions involving smaller amounts of marijuana or paraphernalia!”

In October 21, Jacobs took part in an online survey on a single question: “Why might an innocent person choose to plead guilty to a crime they did not commit? Have you seen this occur first-hand?”

He concluded:

“I have practiced as a criminal defense attorney for over 30 years. In that time, I have seen clients plead guilty to crimes they say they did not commit. Usually, however, I will not permit this since pleading guilty requires admission of a ‘factual basis’ that supports the conclusion that the person committed the crime.

“If the client is not able to truthfully admit those facts, the guilty plea is not possible. In those instances where I have permitted clients to enter such pleas after they privately denied liability, the facts have been so overwhelming as to render the client’s story disclaiming liability incredible. Therefore, I regarded the admission as truthful.”

It’s not yet known how Bobb — hired in March by the Republican National Committee as “special counsel for election integrity” — will plead in Maricopa County.

Updated at 12:17 p.m. May 8, 2024

*An earlier version of this report incorrectly said Jacobs served as a public defender. He’s always been in private practice.