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I on San Diego

POLITICS AS USUAL: In the midst of the Republican National Convention, John McCain swept into San Diego on a fund-raising foray and swept up more than a million bucks at The Grand Del Mar. With actor Jon Voight at his elbow, and Secret Service security ultra-tight, McCain posed for photos with contributors who paid $10,000 for the VIP reception. The $1,000-a-ticket crowd got an abbreviated stump speech. Multimillionaire hotelman Sam Hardage and Mayor Jerry Sanders were among the McCain supporters, as was La Jolla’s Matt Romney, son of Mitt ... Two days later, at La Valencia hotel, Mitt Romney (a new La Jolla homeowner) held a reception for local supporters of his failed presidential bid and urged them to ante up for McCain. Among the guests: Meg Whitman, eBay founder, McCain adviser and a potential candidate for California governor in 2010. Romney hosted the reception on a day when he was still considered a favorite to win McCain’s nod for vice president. The next day, McCain picked Sarah Palin.

LIKE NO BUSINESS: Jersey Boys, the musical phenomenon based on the exploits of The Four Seasons rock group, has had an incredible run since it came out of La Jolla Playhouse four years ago. And it’s amassed several fortunes in Broadway box-office revenue. But whose money is it? That’s the question in a lawsuit filed against the surviving Four Seasons members, the producers of Jersey Boys and director Des McAnuff, among others. The claim is that the musical’s libretto was based, in part, on an unpublished autobiography of Four Seasons member Tommy DeVito, who licensed it to the production. But the plaintiff says DeVito didn’t own the rights. The book, she says, was cowritten by her late husband, and the manuscript was copyrighted as a joint work. After her husband’s death, she claims, DeVito reregistered the manuscript under his name alone. If she prevails, she could be rolling in dough for years to come. She’s not only seeking money but a declaration the producers and creators have no rights to license Jersey Boys to others — including potential movie producers.

LIKE MORE BUSINESS: Tobacco Road, the seldomstaged, Depression-era play that ran for almost eight years on Broadway, arrived at La Jolla Playhouse this month, just in time for the recession. But it’s traveled a long road of economic swings and changing social mores since its opening 75 years ago. In 1934, the city of Chicago declared Tobacco Road obscene and shut it down ... And there is life after Motown. The First Wives Club — A New Musical, the world-premiere play based on the hit book and movie, opens next summer at the Old Globe with a score by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland. Their credentials: hit songs for the ’60s legends Martha and the Vandellas, The Miracles, Marvin Gay, The Four Tops and The Supremes.

SAN DIEGO SHUFFLE: Mark Sauer, the longtime San Diego Union-Tribune reporter and contributing writer at San Diego Magazine, has retired his press pass. For now. He’s signed on with San Diego Councilwoman Donna Frye as a council representative ... Investor/banker Tom Stickel, the man behind the throne in Jerry Sanders’ ascent to the San Diego mayor’s office, wants to be mayor, too. On a somewhat smaller scale. Stickel has launched the kickoff of his own campaign for mayor of Coronado. And yes, he has Sanders’ endorsement ... San Diego’s Jamie Chung has returned to the world of TV this fall. Chung, a member of the 2004 cast of MTV’s Real World, and a costar of I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, has a starring role in the new CBS series Samurai Girl ... Loews Coronado Bay Resort has won a spot on Travel + Leisure’s survey of “The 50 Best Family Resorts of 2008.”

FOR SPORT: Forbes is out with a list of “America’s Worst Cities to Be a Sports Fan,” and it isn’t pretty here. Only Miami beat out San Diego for the booby prize. Basing its rankings on “lousy teams” and “high ticket prices,” Forbes makes San Diego second worst, at $300 a game for a family of four and a combined winning percentage for the Chargers and Padres of just over 40 percent. Yes, Chargers fans, the Pads did drag us down. Best deal? Detroit. But then you’d have to live there.

OUTSIDE IN: City Attorney Mike Aguirre, facing a tough reelection vote next month, doesn’t get much slack from the San Diego media. But then the local press gets to view him up close and personal. On the other hand, The Wall Street Journal, published 3,000 miles away, gave him a virtual endorsement last month. In an editorial that reads a lot like an Aguirre press release, the WSJ got some of the facts wrong, but it left no question where it stands on the local pension morass and the election: “Taxpayers ... need a rabble-rouser like Mr. Aguirre willing to stand up to union interests. The San Diego attorney [is] setting off an alarm that voters across America need to hear.”

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