Good morning from Hillcrest.
- This afternoon, the Mayor’s Convention Center task force is scheduled to vote on a recommendation to expand the city’s convention center at a cost of $750 million to $1 billion. I’ll be offering live updates on Twitter from the meeting, which goes from 4 to 6 p.m. at Barrio Logan. Follow me at twitter.com/dillonliam to get regular updates.
For some background on the whole Convention Center issue read my primer, an early take on possible financing and the task force’s draft report.
Also, there were lots of Convention Center articles from over the weekend. The U-T asks the question everyone has been asking: How is the city going to pay?
Both the Reader and I have been covering the fallout from the release of the task force’s draft report. A professor quoted in the report says he was “thoroughly mischaracterized;” a Convention Center spokesman replies that the professor is a “whack job.” The Readers’ three blog posts are here, here and here.
- In other city construction news, the Centre City Development Corp. is scheduled to vote this week on spending $700,000 to prepare for negotiations with a Portland, Ore. developer on a new city hall building. The U-T notes that $100,000 previously mentioned for “public outreach” has been eliminated. City Council is expected to vote on entering a exclusive negotiating agreement with the developer sometime this month.
- Interesting news out of San Jose. The city is studying a proposal to give independent financial experts the majority of seats on its public employee pension board. San Jose’s consultant cites the restructuring of San Diego’s pension board as a “best practice.”
- Enrollment is at record highs, but remains fewer than 1,000 people in a San Diego County program designed to help “the poorest of the poor.” Critics say the county has too many barriers for people to receive assistance.
- In news from cities other than San Diego, six people have applied for a temporarily vacant city council position in Chula Vista and Port commission spot. La Mesa officials say there will be a thorough investigation after two public works employees were arrested on drug charges last week.
And the Tri-City public hospital district is saying thanks but no thanks to recommendations from a county grand jury on changes to its governance structure.