Date: October 15, 2002	Contact: Darren Pudgil
	tel: (619) 531-5544

ROBERTS RINGS CLOSING BELL AT THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE
Stocks Rocket 378 Points - Best Day on Wall Street in Over a Year

NEW YORK - In an extremely rare occurrence for a
government entity, San Diego County Board of Supervisors'
Chairman Ron Roberts and County Chief Financial Officer
Bill Kelly were invited by the New York Stock Exchange to ring
the closing bell on Wall Street today.

The occasion? Today marked the first day that County of San Diego
public income notes (PINES) were listed on the NYSE. These notes
are traded like preferred stock. The goal is to use the proceeds from
the sale to fund the County's retirement fund obligations.

Only two other governmental entities - the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development - have appeared on the Exchange.

The San Diego sunshine must have been shining brightly on Wall Street, as stocks soared 378 points - the largest one-day gain since September 2001 and its seventh-biggest point gain ever, hitting 8,255.68. Winners outnumbered
losers by 3-to-1.

"What can I say," joked Roberts. "San Diego must have the midas touch." Roberts added that NYSE Chairman Richard Grasso invited Roberts and Kelley to come back and ring the bell anytime.

The County's Wall Street venture is quite interesting given the unique financing structure that is used - making a taxable municipal bond look like equity and listing the security on the NYSE. This structured product is a long-term 30-year fixed coupon bond that is issued in $25 denominations. They are taxable, rather than tax-exempt, because the proceeds of the bond issue become assets of the pension fund, which are then invested in a mix of
equity and fixed income investments.

The County's symbol is CLD.