Public officials are talking about serious reductions in public safety funding this year, which is a shift from previous budget discussions. You can read more about some of the potential cuts in my story today.
Mayor Jerry Sanders last month asked the public safety departments to submit budget-cut proposals that total $107 million, or about one-fifth of the city's total spending on police, fire and rescue services. Sanders is now considering those proposals, which includes eliminating about 400 vacant positions from the departments.
For some perspective, $107 million is about one-tenth of the city's total operating budget. Officials are talking about public safety cutbacks because it’s simply the largest pool of money. About half of the city's operating budget goes to the Police Department and the Fire-Rescue Department every year.
I mentioned in my story that police officials have been less forthcoming than fire officials when talking about potential budget cuts. Alan Arrollado, secretary treasurer for the local firefighter's union, said he expects to see significant cuts.
"I'm almost positive there's going to be less fire engines responding to emergencies starting Jan. 1," Arrollado said. "We understand the difficult position that [policymakers are] in."
In response to my questions about potential cuts, the police union sent me a statement from October. The statement was a response to the city's new five-year financial forecast.
"The San Diego Police Officers Association fully appreciates the difficult financial choices confronting the mayor and City Council. This budget shortfall will test their past promises to the citizens of San Diego that they will always make public safety their top budget priority."
The Sheriff's Department reported a significant drop in the number of hate crime incidents in 2008, which I reported in the blog Monday. Department spokeswoman Jan Caldwell got back to me today about the statistical trend. This is Caldwell's written explanation:
Awareness, prosecutions and a cohesive law enforcement team in San Diego may partially explain this decrease.
Awareness within the department, I believe, has also helped make a difference. The San Diego Sheriff’s Department has provided and continues to present hate crime training in both academy and in-service settings and we participate in the Hate Crimes Coalition.
You might have noticed a number of maritime smuggling arrests in recent weeks.
On Friday, I met with Lauren Mack, spokesperson for the local U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, to get an update on the situation. Maritime smuggling pales in comparison to smuggling activities by land, but it’s still a growing trend. Mack said there were 230 arrests in the 2008 fiscal year and 430 in fiscal year 2009, which ended June 30.
Mack said the region has seen an increased number of incidents in October and November due to more fog cover. Most of the arrests happened at docks and beaches in the northern half of the county. Mack said the smugglers are landing further north these days, but that pattern could shift with more attention by law enforcement.
Will Carless, my predecessor on the public safety beat, wrote about this shift in illegal immigration tactics back in 2007.
The San Diego Sheriff's Department reported significantly fewer incidents of hate crime in 2008 than previous years, according to an annual report released Friday by the California Attorney General.
In 2007, the Sheriff's Department has reported 23 hate crime incidents per year. In 2008, the department reported just eight -- a 65 percent year-over-year drop. I put a call into the Sheriff's Department to get the official take on possible reasons for the big drop. I'll post as soon as I hear from them.
Countywide, law enforcement authorities have reported about 120 hate crime incidents per year since 2005. In 2008, they reported 124. San Diego and Oceanside, which have historically reported the most incidents, reported little change in 2008.
Chula Vista, however, reported more incidents compared to previous years. The city reported two incidents in 2006, two in 2007 and 13 in 2008.
Check out the Attorney General's entire report -- a 62-page document full of trend information -- by clicking here.
The operation has been repeated by countless robbers at gas stations, jewelry stores and banks: A gunman walks to the counter and demands money, goods or both.
But now it's happening at pharmacies.
Derek Denega walked into a North Park pharmacy in May and demanded the store's supply of OxyContin, a powerful pain killer. He showed a pellet gun, grabbed the pills and left.
Denega, 26, was arrested for that incident, and was accused of holding up the same pharmacy three times. In September he pleaded guilty to two of the three alleged holdups.
Prosecutors say Denega was the first case of someone using armed robbery to get prescription drugs from a San Diego pharmacy. They expect to see more. The crime has sprouted in eastern states this decade when prescription drug abuse increases. Now authorities say the problem is migrating west.
Last week I wrote about the myriad of ways addicts get their hands on OxyContin. But this new trend is especially troubling to police.
"That's clearly something that we're concerned about, an increase in armed robberies," DEA spokeswoman Amy Roderick said. "This starts to become the next phase when the addicts and potentially the dealers ... they can make so much money that they look at committing armed robberies."
The estimated street value of OxyContin can range between $30 and $80 per pill, which can be more expensive than heroin. Authorities have reported at least two incidents of robbers demanding OxyContin at San Diego pharmacies since Denega's case, and both incidents are still under investigation. CrimeStoppers is asking for help on the latest incident.
In Denega's case, court records show he suffered from drug addiction problems in the past, including cocaine. The records make Denega sound more like an addict than a dealer looking to restock the OxyContin inventory.
Two treatment centers filed letters with the court and one said an examination "shows evidence to warrant classifying the client as having a high probability of a severe substance abuse/dependence disorder." He might have "particular difficulty recognizing the full impact of the substance misuse on his life."
Denega is scheduled to be sentenced by a judge Dec. 3. He faces up to seven years in prison and a $20,000 fine.
We've heard that city officials are looking at "everything" to close the $179 million budget gap. On Thursday, Fire Chief Javier Mainer gave us a few details today through an interview with KPBS.
The mayor asked Mainar to cut $34.7 million from Fire-Rescue Department's budget. Mainer did not reveal any of his recommendations to the mayor Thursday, but he residents could see fewer engines at some fire stations and fewer lifeguard services.
Here's one excerpt from a transcript of the interview posted online:
MAUREEN CAVANAUGH (host): Now when you say cutting units, do you mean closing fire stations?
MAINAR: Well, we don’t yet -- we certainly are in the plan and those are some of the proposals that are in that $34 million menu of possible choices that the mayor and council can enact. That possibility does exist this time around. We do have some fire stations that have multiple units operating out of them. You may see closures of some of those units within a single fire station. ... And the same is true of the beach. We have some staffing we’re going to have to cutback in our beach coverage with the lifeguards and in some cases you may see beach closures as a result of this.
Three men were accused of kidnapping a Palomar College student in May 2008, getting her drunk and raping her. They pleaded guilty to lesser charges and walked free after serving eight months in jail.
Channel 8 reported another piece of the story Wednesday. The case's original prosecutor is under disciplinary investigation for withholding evidence. The rape victim's mother said the botched case led to the reduced charges for her daughter's attackers.
Here's an excerpt from the online transcript:
"Covering up for the department, covering up for the D.A. was their priority, not the case, not my daughter and not my family," Tammie Heintzman said.
Kate Flaherty, (the new prosecutor who arranged the plea deals), countered, "There was concern that we could end up with acquittals across the board. And if that had happened the mother's present unhappiness would be nothing compared to how she would have felt after that."
Heintzman's unhappiness is now compounded by the fact that shortly after the three defendants walked away from jail her daughter ran away from home.
"I think she felt raped again, not just by the defendants but by what she called 'the good guys,' " Heintzman concluded.
I'm beginning to work on a story about San Diego's response to a deteriorating infrastructure. I would like to hear from residents about their experiences in the city.
I am particularly interested in hearing from people who have formally complained to the city about a broken street light, dangerous pothole or other infrastructure issue. Did you call the city, send a letter or use the online request form? Also, explain why the fix was needed and how the city responded.
Being a crisis negotiator for San Diego Police sounds like a dangerous job, but Rick Carlson said his tenure was no more risky than being a traffic cop or homicide detective. That being said, Carlson did have his share of dicey situations.
I interviewed Carlson, a retired police officer, as part of my article Sunday about how police handle suicide threats from the edge of a bridge.
Carlson and Wayne Spees, an active crisis negotiator with San Diego Police, said there are some guidelines to reducing the risk. Police and paramedics approach people cautiously. Suicidal people can be a risk to passing motorists, pedestrians, emergency crews and of course, themselves. Some people want to be shot by police and are willing to attack an officer.
"That puts everybody in a huge at-risk situation. Here you got a person who's already willing to give their life, and they would also be willing to take your life," Carlson said. "Those are the scary ones."
My article focused bridge jumpers in response to a few recent incidents. Police said they stay at a distance from the potential jumpers for safety reasons. First, jumpers might attempt to take an officer with them over the side. And second, the officer might instinctively grab jumpers and end up falling over the side, too. Carlson told me about one of his calls to the Coronado Bridge.
"I pulled up to the Coronado Bridge and there was a man sitting on the bridge, a construction worker -- a really strong, muscular guy. Another police officer pulled up from another agency and he told the guy, 'Get off the bridge right now.' The guy said, 'OK, we'll both go.' "
Carlson said the construction worker grabbed the other police officer's arm and tried pulling him over the edge. Carlson and the officer wrestled with the man to stay alive and eventually restrained him.
Police ask that people keep their distance from any person who is threatening to commit suicide and call 911.
The monthly cycling event in San Diego called Critical Mass is scheduled -- sort of -- for Friday. No one actually schedules the event, but it's become tradition for hundreds of residents. A cyclist herd rides through the city on the last Friday of every month without regard for its traffic laws or motorists. I reported last month's event and how police accompany the group.
The bicyclist herd moves with no specific leadership and its course changes every month. It starts at the large fountain in Balboa Park after dusk. It travels more than 20 miles, usually, riding through the downtown at some point.
I won't be covering this month's event, but I'd love to know how it goes. I would like to hear from all perspectives -- bicyclists, law enforcement, motorists, etc. Send an e-mail about your experience to keegan.kyle@voiceofsandiego.org. I hope to write a short blog post about reader responses next week.
San Diego's City Auditor issued a scathing report Monday on how the city's Street Division tracks its changes to infrastructure.
Here's an excerpt from the audit:
During our audit we found that almost half (48 percent) of the street condition information maintained by the Department of General Services’ Street Division (Street Division) is outdated because streets were not assessed during the 2007 assessment survey; henceforth limiting the quality and functionality of the information for management purposes. Moreover, Street Division staff did not update street condition information into its management information system upon the completion of street improvement activities. Consequently, in our opinion, the Street Division cannot produce accurate and reliable street condition information for planning, control, and reporting purposes.
In addition, we found that the Street Division does not have a set of formalized written policies and procedures for the identification and prioritization of street maintenance projects. Without the adherence to written policies and procedures for these processes it is difficult for City management to ensure that resources are effectively prioritized and distributed throughout the City.
How has the city maintained your street? E-mail me with some specific examples of how the Street Division has performed: keegan.kyle@voiceofsandiego.org
The San Diego Police Officers Association has expressed concern about the city's level of police staffing for some time and even started posting the number of vacancies on its website. In September, the police union reported that the department was 262 officers below its budgeted staffing levels.
On Thursday, the U-T reported a memo from the Mayor's Office about the number of vacancies across all city departments. That memo shows police have about 320 vacancies.
The number of vacant positions could be critical as city officials try to close a $179 million budget deficit this fall. Numerous officials have talked about cutting vacant positions and even additional job losses. How many vacant positions could be cut without impacting the livelihood of current employees?
Brian Marvel, director of the Police Officers Association, sent me this statement in an e-mail today about the city's new memo:
"I am not sure how they came up with that number. Even if you add in the civilians, it only equals 276 as of today, October 22, 2009. ... Twenty officers have left since July 1, 2009."
I also contacted Rachel Laing, spokeswoman for the mayor, who suggested a couple possible reasons for the disparity. The mayor's number includes vacant civilian and sworn officer positions as of September 18. Some may have been filled since, but this would "probably only account for handful of positions."
Laing also said the city's payroll system counts any position as "vacant" if that position is not filled by a permanent employee. Some vacant positions might be currently occupied by temporary of provisional employees. That definition of "vacant" might be different than the Police Officers Association. I haven't heard back from Marvel, but I'll keep you posted on this confusion.
San Diego Gas & Electric is meeting with a select group of government and business leaders this morning to set up a framework for discussing fire prevention efforts and the rejected shut-off plan.
The group won't vote on any proposals that impact San Diego residents today, but its discussion could play a role in future proposals. The group's opinions and activities could weigh heavily on the California Public Utilities Commission if SDG&E decides to again propose the shut-off plan next year.
These are a few questions facing the stakeholders group today: Which mediation service will lead future discussions? Who will be included in those meetings? Will those meetings be open or closed to the public? What is the group's final goal?
Today's 10 a.m. meeting may be more animated than last week and I'll be tweeting periodically. You can follow me @keegankyle. I contacted County Supervisor Diane Jacob, a vocal opponent of the shut-off plan, before the meeting to get her prediction on the morning's discussion. This is what she said via e-mail:
Friday will be entirely procedural. The stakeholders will discuss and, hopefully, decide on one of two options to facilitate future meetings. There are pros and cons of both options. As a guiding principle, I very strongly feel that the process needs to be open to the public. Because all residents have a stake in a better fire protection plan, the process really needs to be an open one.
The City Council unanimously approved Javier Mainar to be San Diego's new fire chief today. He was sworn in at the council's meeting this afternoon and replaces retiring Fire Chief Tracy Jarman.
There was little doubt that council would approve Mayor Jerry Sanders’ nomination of Mainar. Even before the council's vote, Mainar himself hinted that his approval was in the bag.
"I will have some remarks following the swearing in," Mainar told the council. "I just wanted to thank all of you at this point for your tremendous support."
The council laughed with Mainar about the verbal slip and approved his nomination after a round of glowing remarks. After being sworn in, Mainar apologized for getting ahead of the procedure.
"I'm sorry for being so presumptuous earlier, but it seems like I called that one right so I'm OK," Mainar said.
About 45 people sat down with San Diego Gas & Electric today to hash out a plan to discuss fire safety and the company's rejected shut-off plan. They didn't get very far.
The group largely represented the most vocal opponents of the shut-off plan -- people from county government, schools, water districts and cable companies -- but it included some supporters like Augie Ghio, fire chief of the San Miguel Consolidated Fire Protection District and president of the San Diego County Fire Chiefs Association.
I didn't stay for the entire meeting but caught up with SDG&E spokeswoman Jennifer Ramp afterwards. Ramp said the group decided to schedule a second meeting in one week, because some stakeholders wanted to talk with their coworkers before making a decision.
SDG&E hoped the group would vote on one of three services that would mediate a regional discussion on fire safety, and more specifically the shut-off plan, which the California Public Utilities Commission rejected last month. In rejecting the plan, the commission directed SDG&E to organize collaborative meetings with community stakeholders to debate future options.
On Friday, the group heard proposals from three mediation services and more description of how the process would work. The group narrowed the pool to a statewide service from the CPUC and a national service from Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service, Ramp said. No other options for mediation were introduced.
I'll keep following the shut-off plan debate and let you know where the decision goes next week. It's unlikely any mediation would allow the shut-off plan to be implemented this fire season as some stakeholders have talked about months of discussion.
The People's Reporter this week got into an interesting exercise tracking down the members of Marti Emerald's mysterious advisory committee.
Today, I got a chance to talk to Emerald herself.
She said she cited the group in her endorsement of a new downtown library and City Hall because its support for the capital projects "surprised" her.
Meanwhile, the existence of the committee itself surprised some of her constituents had never heard of the "District 7 Advisory Council."
Emerald told me the advisory group is composed of 20 to 34 individuals who meet with her on a quarterly basis about neighborhood issues. She created a list of people interested in joining the group while on the campaign trail, and current participants received membership by responding to an invitational letter after the election.
She first met with the group over the summer. Emerald scrolled through the membership list with me and said some of the people are interested in the environment, youth organizations, community planning, schools, medicine, media and real estate.
"This is kind of informal, a kitchen cabinet. They kind of just talk about issues that are important to them," Emerald said. "I don't want to get myself cut off from the community."
Emerald said the group decided to hold a second meeting with the Mayor's Office to talk about proposals to build a new City Hall and downtown library. She expected the citizens might oppose the projects like some polls have showed, but they voiced "overwhelming" support.
"This was an issue that was of some importance, and I was kind of surprised. It wasn't unanimous, but it was so overwhelming … so I wrote about it," Emerald said.
Some of our readers have criticized the councilwoman's decision to cite a relatively small group of citizens as a key factor behind her decision-making.
"Wouldn't it have been better if additional community members had some input into this endorsement process rather than having just the folks on the list making the decision in secret?" said John Pilch, president of the San Carlos Community Council, in an e-mail.
Emerald said her endorsement does not disregard the work of other community organizations and committees. Residents can also contact her office about joining the Advisory Council, but Emerald said she doesn't want the group to become large and lose focus.
"Everyone brings a little something to the group," Emerald said. "This is just a little more independent and across the entire district."
Councilwoman Marti Emerald made an unusual reference to an "Advisory Council" on Monday in her support of a new downtown library and City Hall. Readers asked me to find out who sits on the council. We couldn't get them right away, as Emerald's office said city attorneys needed to review the list.
Today we got the answer.
The councilwoman's office sent me a statement and a list of names. In her statement Monday, Emerald said 20 people advised her on the library and city hall decision. Today's list includes 34 names. There are 10 people from 92120, nine from 92115, eight from 92119 and seven from 92124.
The statement from Emerald's office:
One of Councilmember Marti Emerald’s campaign promises was to put together an advisory council; a group of community members who expressed a desire to be involved but who don’t have the time to commit to attending monthly meetings.
This committee doesn’t duplicate the exceptional work done by the many Community Planning Groups and Community/Town Councils from District 7 that meet once a month. This Advisory Council meets quarterly and discusses one or two current events and concerns important to the District.
This is a list of those who, during the campaign, asked to be included on the advisory council:
(name, zip code) Mr. James Brodfuehrer, 92126 Ms. Connie Wood, 92124 Ms. Roberta Froome, 92124 Ms. Maggie Brasch, 92124 Mr. Gary Knight, 92124 Ms. Dana Brown, 92124 Mr. David Taylor, 92124 Ms. Carol Mundell, 92124 Ms. Barbara Edgington, 92119 Ms. Nancy Rideout, 92119 Ms. Celeste Teipel, 92119 Ms. Ann Marie Spaulding, 92119 Ms. Carolyn Balkwell, 92119 Mr. Mike Minter, 92119 Ms. Jennifer Spencer, 92119 Mr. Howard Oleff, 92120 Ms. Barbara Cleves Anderson, 92119 Ms. Claudia Fisketti, 92120 Mrs. Selma Ben-Yehuda, 92120 Mr. Amnon Ben-Yehuda, 92120 Ms. Diane Coombs, 92120 Ms. Alia Khouri, 92120 Ms. Karen Owen, 92120 Ms. Sue Finch, 92120 Ms. Carol Shear, 92120 Mr. Chuck Latimer, 92120 Ms. Barbara Filner, 92115 Mr. B.J. Nystrom, 92115 Ms. Teri Nystrom, 92115 Ms. Verna Knowles, 92115 Ms. Renata Miller Zaks, 92115 Ms. Martha Spinler, 92115 Mrs. Sandy Weber, 92115 Ms. Pat Coffey, 92115 Mr. Chris Erickson, 92115
I talked with Geni Cavitt, the councilwoman's communications director, about the list and their response to my People's Reporterrequest yesterday. Cavitt said the office wanted to run some of the statement's phrasing by city attorneys before releasing it to the public. The office had no intention of appearing secretive, Cavitt said.
Before receiving the list, I called Terry Francke, general counsel for Californians Aware, an open government advocacy group. Some readers have questioned whether the Emerald's group would violate the state's open meeting laws. Francke said the meetings are legal because the group would be considered a political organization and not a governmental body.
"It doesn't come up often because the practice itself is unusual or it hasn't become controversial," said Francke. "What may be strange is the candor with which this official refers to the group."
I attended the first half of a meeting between San Diego Gas & Electric and "stakeholders" of San Diego's protection from wildfires this morning.
SDG&E was directed to organize the meeting by state officials after they rejected the utility's proposed shut-off plan one month ago. Stakeholders at the meeting today include some of the most vocal opponents of the shut-off plan (schools, water districts and telecommunication companies).
The purpose of the meeting was to choose a mediation process to discuss the region's fire safety efforts and the utility's most controversial proposal, the shut-off plan. The utility brought three mediation services forward and the group is scheduled to discuss them until 1:30 p.m. I'm contacting people later in the day to see what the group decided.
The stakeholders could choose to use the mediation services of the California Public Utilities Commission or one of two private services. In any case, the stakeholders have the ability to frame what questions will be addressed in mediation and the group’s conduct in those discussions. SDG&E staff said the company would likely pay for the mediation service. Other mediation options (including payment for the services) could also be discussed by the group.
I stuck around to hear about the first option, a mediation service offered by the CPUC. A neutral staffer would be assigned to mediate the dispute and could become available for meetings in San Diego. The mediations are generally confidential -- not to be discussed with the public, media or the CPUC -- but some county staff at the meeting expressed concern with that limitation.
From the beginning, some stakeholders expressed doubt that a resolution could be reached. One member asked the coordinator of CPUC's mediation service to address whether no resolution would just be a waste of everyone's time.
"Each group is going to walk away with a clearer (picture of) objectives, desires -- the things they must have, the things that are important to you," administrative law judge Jean Vieth said via telephone. "I can't tell you [alternative dispute resolution] will work. No one can."
I'm scheduled to talk with a few people later today about what the group decided. I'll write another blog post in the afternoon to let you know where the group is headed and how that might impact the proposed shut-off plan.
Last post for the day from The People's Reporter: A couple readers e-mailed me this morning about an unusual reference by Councilwoman Marti Emerald on Monday to her "Citizens Advisory Council."
None of the readers who contacted me -- people who are generally involved with local politics -- remember Emerald having such a group of citizens to help her make policy decisions in the past. In a statement Monday, Emerald said the group of 20 citizens "overwhelmingly" supported plans for a new downtown library and City Hall. The group meets with Emerald on a quarterly basis.
"Participants comprise a diverse cross-section of the district and serve as an additional set of eyes and ears in the neighborhoods of District-7," Emerald said in the statement.
A few questions from readers (and me): Who are these citizens? Who do they represent? Why do they deserve more access and influence to Emerald than any other citizen? What are their interests?
I called Emerald's office before noon and explained that I was working on a People's Reporter assignment. I also sent an e-mail asking about the Citizens Advisory Council to Geni Cavitt, the councilwoman's director of communications.
Later in the day, an Emerald staffer said city attorneys were reviewing my request. My messages have not been returned since.
We will continue to follow this assignment until we get some better answers.
One of our readers visited the San Diego State area recently and got a parking ticket. He didn't see any of the special street parking signs, but eventually found one and captured the photograph below. I checked out the validity (it's not a Photoshop project) through Google Maps.
Here's the question:
I wonder if the owner of this house gets compensation from the city or part of my parking fine as rent for the use of their front yard. After all, if the city put a sign in my front yard without my permission, I would take it down unless they paid me for the use. Does this homeowner get paid and if not, why is that sign still in their yard?
Here's the answer:
Residents do not get a portion of the profits from parking tickets issued outside their homes, police and street division officials said. The city also doesn't pay homeowners for having a "no parking" sign on their lawn. In this case, the sign exists within a small border area that's privately owned but may be used by public entities, even utility or cable companies. In other cases, the city may be required to ask permission before placing a sign on private property.
Whether it's watching wildfire protection, looking out for crime trends or camping out at the courthouse, Keegan Kyle is on the beat and keeping an eye on public safety in San Diego.
E-MAIL POST
I wonder if the owner of this house gets compensation from the city or part of my parking fine as rent for the use of their front yard. After all, if the city put a sign in my front yard without my permission, I would take it down unless they paid me for the use. Does this homeowner get paid and if not, why is that sign still in their yard?
Whether it's watching wildfire protection, looking out for crime trends or camping out at the courthouse, Keegan Kyle is on the beat and keeping an eye on public safety in San Diego.
