Good morning from Hillcrest.
- We’ll lead off with a U-T weekender on spending in San Diego’s government. The paper reports that spending grew by $101 million in 10 departments since July 2005. The Mayor’s Office replies that most of the increases were out of its control.
- Lots of news about the recall campaign in Oceanside against City Councilman Jerry Kern. The city’s Mayor Jim Wood made his support of the recall official, though his campaign contributions already indicated his stance. The U-T opines that if Kern loses, the control of the city will shift to labor unions. Another Oceanside councilman might be on his way out, too. The North County Times reports that Councilman Rocky Chavez is the front runner for a state Veteran’s Affairs position.
- More progress in talks over the fate of the last untouched Mexican land grant in San Diego area. The owner of the 22,000-acre Rancho Guejito in North County wants to build up to 10,000 homes in the area and open a large part to the public.
- On the opinion front, the U-T says “yes” to desalination and a court ruling against counting overtime pay in pension benefits. Columnist Michael Stetz says “no” to fire pits.
- Some final quick hits. I report on the familiar face of the new boss of San Diego’s white-collar union and wrap up some Chargers stadium coverage. Since historic home preservation continues to be in the news, here’s a piece about Coronado homeowners needing to do an environmental study before tearing a historic home down.
Last, we have our weekly “Public Comment” feature that previews the San Diego City Council meeting.