be subsidized by federal funds. For Cricket Communications, the cut-rate cell phone carrier, he pitched a "wireless communications build plan." Then there's Kennedy Associates, whom he has represented in efforts to get a "Hyatt Regency Islandia lease extension" on city-owned Mission Bay waterfront. Downtown's W Hotel, on the other hand, needed Benedetto's services to clear up some "operational issues with fire marshal and vice fire marshal" that the hotel apparently had. For that service he reports he was paid between $5000 and $25,000.

Over at Southwest Strategies, the big lobbying company founded by onetime Evening Tribune reporter Al Ziegaus, former city council staffer Clint Carney worked for Australian-based Westfield Corporation to get city approval for renovations of UTC and lobbied on behalf of a "potential city contract" for AmericanMedical Response, an ambulance outfit. He also spent time trying to combat the city's so-called big box ordinance banning his client, Wal-Mart Stores, from future expansion.

On the other side of that issue was Arturo Castanares, former chief of staff to ex-Democratic state senator Steve Peace, who represented the Joint Labor Management Committee, a union-backed group that succeeded in getting the Wal-Mart restrictions passed. His only other client was JMI Realty, owned by John Moores, who owns the Padres and has a sizable stake in big downtown real estate developments.

Latham & Watkins lawyer Allen Haynie worked for Home Depot to nail down a "potential new store" and Rock Church to obtain "land use entitlements" for a new house of worship. His clients included developers Corky McMillin Companies; International Gateway