Cuts to public safety. Fewer library hours. Dirtier parks, dirtier beaches, and parking meters that don’t shut off at 6 p.m.
None of these prospects will thrill San Diegans. But they all seem possible. And they could spell trouble for as many as four City Council members who will could before voters next June.
It’ll be a delicate dance for these politicians as they face residents who seem certain to be miffed. In our story, we examine the challenges they’ll face and explain why at least three of them may actually escape a ballot-box wrecking ball.
In other news:
- San Diego schools expect to hack $147 million to $203 million from their budget next year. A new internal report makes a few suggestions. Among them, we report: “Eliminate the school district program on preventing dropouts. Shut down departments that administer programs for gifted and talented students, curriculum, community relations, race relations and adult education. And stop giving students tests that aren’t required under No Child Left Behind.”
It didn’t take long for parents of “gifted and talented” kids to sound the alarm.
- If it’s still around in 2017, Qualcomm Stadium will turn 50 years old. (Anyone know how old that is in stadium years?) It’s anyone’s guess whether we’ll have a new stadium by that time.
So whether it’s Qualcomm, Wonder Bread Stadium or some other new idea, the city of San Diego is moving forward with its bid to host some of the World Cup matches in either 2018 or 2022. (That is, if the United States wins its bid to be a host country.)
- In brief: San Diego’s downtown redevelopment agency is poised to join the hunt for a new football stadium: Its board will consider hiring a consulting firm to examine a site and conduct other research at a cost of $160,000. We examine the problem of armed robbers targeting pharmacies in search of prescription drugs. The number of reported hate crimes is way down in the portion of the county covered by the Sheriff’s Department. And our Photo of the Day deserves a Pink Floyd soundtrack.
- And we’ve got more education news: A San Diego teacher is $25,000 richer thanks to being honored by what’s known as “the Oscars of teaching.” Speaking of money, San Diego schools think they’re $1 million more in the hole than they thought in this school year’s budget.
Elsewhere:
- “Joseph O’Connor was an Irish man with a Nevada business wanted by Interpol for selling ships to drug traffickers out of Spain,” reports the Las Vegas Sun. So how did he finally get nabbed? Because, reports the paper, he was caught dumping a whole bunch of junk into the San Diego Harbor. He’s not, however, going to prison.
- This could be awkward: 10News says a man facing prosecution in a case involving medical marijuana got it from a dispensary whose customers include a local deputy district attorney. The prosecutor could be called to testify.
- A Fallbrook-based marine scientist is under fire over the technique he uses to tag great white sharks, reports San Francisco’s KGO-TV.
- American Airlines flight attendants will hold a simulated strike tomorrow in San Diego and elsewhere to protest sluggish contract negotiations.
A simulated strike? They’d better be careful or they might get a simulated raise.