Good morning from Hillcrest.
- We’ll lead off with Mayor Jerry Sanders’ speech today on the economy and San Diego. Details are few, but the Mayor’s Office is calling it “major” and “important.” I’ll be tweeting live at noon and likely following up later in the day.
- In other city political news, last night City Council rejected sites for a temporary winter homeless shelter, stating it wanted to consider different areas around the city rather than settle on East Village for the third straight year.
At today’s council meeting, residents of Tierrasanta plan to protest a storage facility planned for their community. It’s not the first time Tierrasantans are balking at a project in their backyard, as my colleague Adrian Florido writes.
- Former city attorney Mike Aguirre criticized Mayor Sanders’ criticism of a proposed pension increase for Metropolitan Water District employees. A vote on the plan was postponed.
- Plans for the downtown schoobrary are inching forward with a new development from the school side of the deal. Council President Ben Hueso lobbied federal officials last week in Washington D.C. to allow the city to continue operating its sewage treatment facility in Point Loma.
- And don’t forget to help us examine the staff report for the new Civic Center.
- County supervisors will debate changes to their oft-criticized community grants program this morning. The U-T’s opinion page says the changes, designed to increase transparency, do not go far enough.
- Chargers stadium talks continue to get more ink. Mayor Sanders issued another release yesterday criticizing a state legislative proposal to give an environmental break to a stadium project near Los Angeles that could lure the team away. The mayors of Oceanside and Escondido, two other possible stadium locations, are none too pleased, either. The North County Times opines that Escondido makes sense for a stadium.
- Last, Oceanside officials are considering cutting 50 employees as part of attempts to narrow the city’s budget deficit.