The Morning Report
Get the news and information you need to take on the day.
What sort of grand celebration is planned for Monday’s mayoral inauguration?
“Costco reception cakes, a Marine Corps quintet, borrowed plants from the Parks and Recreation Department and city staffers who moonlight as servers,” our Lisa Halverstadt reports.
It’s a ceremony befitting city that has spent the past decade fretting about its budget. The festivities are low-budget, and hopefully low-key, unlike the mayoral drama of 1905, which we revisited this week.
Race for Council President Called
City Councilman Kevin Faulconer graciously conceded in the biggest contest still lingering from the November election. No, Faulconer wasn’t running for re-election, but he was seen as the only potential challenger to Todd Gloria for the role of City Council president.
• The tweet came after current Council President Tony Young told KPBS he’d support Gloria for the role. Young is leaving his post to run the local chapter of the Red Cross.
• Our Scott Lewis pointed out earlier in the week how this was a defining opportunity for Gloria and he may become a friendly rival to the mayor. Council president is, after all, a powerful position.
• Gloria told us earlier this year his main priorities are fiscal prudence, infrastructure and Balboa Park’s 2015 celebration.
The Year in Lies
It’s no longer election season, but we still want your votes.
Lisa Halverstadt needs your help in rounding up the most surprising and revealing fact checks we’ve done this year.
What was the most shockingly true statement? The dirtiest claim? Let us know.
Green Light for Poseidon
The Western Hemisphere’s largest seawater desalination plant appears to be on its way to San Diego. The deal with Poseidon Resources was waved in by the San Diego County Water Authority on Thursday.
We outlined the four things you should knowabout the deal last week.
Exhibit A: A Broken Link
We included a broken link in Friday’s Morning Report directing you to a hilarious parody trial for grammar crimes sent in by a reader. It can be found here.
What We Learned This Week
Balboa Park Is Beloved: Our Meeting of the Minds event this week only drove home what we’ve been learning all year: This city really loves its park. Hundreds of people turned out to the San Diego Natural History Museum Wednesday night to prove as much.
See a roundup of attendees’ reactions to the presentations in real time, and take a moment to see how Sam Hodgson captured the night in photos. Beware: Dinosaurs and sharks ahead.
• Our exploration of the park isn’t quite finished. Join us today, at 3 p.m., in sharing a photo of anything in the park. Snap any photo in the park and share it on Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #BalboaParkPhoto. Or email the photos directly to Kelly Bennett. Check out this post for more details.
We want to see the many ways people enjoy the park at the exact same moment. We’ll share them on Monday. Get snapping.
The City Council Ignored the New Mayor’s First Plea: Filner had hoped that the City Council would delay its move to renew a 2 percent tax on hotel rooms that hotel owners get to control. Filner wanted the money directed away from tourism promotion and toward public safety.
The council wasn’t having it.
Meet Andy Keatts: Our newest reporter, Andy Keatts, will cover land-use decisions, which “will shape conversations about San Diego’s future the way pensions have dominated our recent past. No pressure,” he wrote in an intro post this week.
New Progressive Paradigm? Some think we’re headed toward one, writes our Scott Lewis, with the inauguration of Bob Filner, and the installation of Vince Hall as his chief of staff. Hall told Lewis in a Q-and-A that “the mayor’s staff is not a collection of people with their own agendas, it is a collection of talented professionals united around a single agenda: the mayor’s agenda.”
Quick News Hits
• Employees at San Diego Hospice received layoff notices this week. (NC Times)
• A dark bridge to Tijuana is finally getting some lights.
• Our Dagny Salas highlights comments from the last two weeks. Here’s reader Philip Franklin in response to Randy Dotina’s commentary on the death of former newspaper publisher David Copley: “However I disagree with Mr. Dotinga’s use of the word ‘Brawlers.’ Yes we are starting to see more challenging political contest were those who have long been apathetic are starting to speak out. This is democracy; not street brawling. Hopefully San Diego’s history of apathy toward politics is changing. That should be a good thing.”
Quote of the Week
“F— you, Steve”
— Jerry Sanders, recounting his favorite line as mayor during his final press conference. See more on the original quote here.
Sara Libby is VOSD’s managing editor. She oversees VOSD’s newsroom and its content. You can reach her at sara.libby@voiceofsandiego.org or 619.325.0526.
Disclosure: Voice of San Diego members and supporters may be mentioned or have a stake in the stories we cover. For a complete list of our contributors, click here.
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