The Morning Report
Get the news and information you need to take on the day.
A very small turnout is likely in the District 4 City Council race, which is heading to a runoff. The two candidates have very few differences on policy. Both are Democrats.
But labor and business groups have turned it into a classic brawl and spending totals are starting to climb. And they’re likely to play a decisive role, writes Liam Dillon.
The piece provoked a heated discussion online. A friend of Dwayne Crenshaw posted that there’s only one side being bought.
Labor leaders, who are backing Myrtle Cole, pushed hard, too. Here’s Lorena Gonzalez, who disputed the point that labor is an outside group not already involved in District 4. And here’s her deputy Lucas O’Connor, who says Crenshaw shares the values of the conservative Lincoln Club.
Sports Report: Quite a Draft for the Chargers So Far
Our latest Sports Report is posted. It went out hours before the news that the Chargers had selected Manti Te’o, whose success as a Notre Dame linebacker has been overshadowed by the bizarre story of his fake girlfriend.
What We Learned This Week
Marijuana Confusion Runs High: This week’s City Council meeting in which members discussed medical marijuana access, and an raid on a local facility, only made the whole pot picture hazier. Here’s how I summed it up: “It’s legal but it’s not. We want to provide access to it, but we don’t. You can give it out compassionately and not for profit but actually you can’t.”
The City Is Pumping Money Into Temporary Shelters: An interesting dichotomy has emerged in the city’s approach to funding homelessness projects: It’s spending more and more on temporary shelters like the winter tents, even as permanent structures like a section of the Connections facility struggles to find year-round funding.
Recalls Are Long, Expensive and Messy: There’s been a lot of casual whispering about a possible recall effort around town, and our events manager Zack Warma offered a look at what the process entails that might give pause to the rumor mill. Such an effort is an enormous, costly undertaking that would grind city government to a halt.
Schools Should Tread Lightly on Bond Spending:: A lawsuit over how San Diego Unified spent some bond money from Proposition S might serve as a cautionary tale as the district moves forward with its Proposition Z projects.
Land Use Shapes Our Beer Scene: Want to hang out and drink some local beers without driving to Mira Mesa? It all comes down to land-use policies, notes Andrew Keatts. One option: The city could introduce microbrewery-specific land use designations.
Your Voices on Voice
Dagny Salas has our top comments of the week and the first one is about beer and land use.
• Our last entry in The Big Read, a sort of book club reviewing Fahrenheit 451, actor Walter Ritter explains why he reads out loud.
San Dijuana Olympics?
The chatter peaked again about a possible bid from Tijuana and San Diego for the 2024 Olympics. It always seems to do this on a Friday.
The Los Angeles Times broadcast that Tijuana/San Diego was one of 10 metro areas in talks with the U.S. Olympic Committee.
If sentiment on Twitter is any indication, getting the public on board is going to be a tough slog. But since when has Twitter ever hurt anything?
Quick News Hits
• Washington Post columnist George F. Will writes about a UC San Diego professor’s “unprecedented” effort to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to repudiate a 1940s decision that upheld the president’s power to detain certain racial groups in concentration camps.
• The city of San Diego will consider a ban on the retail sale of dogs, cats and rabbits.
Quote of the Week
“I’m not trying to make money. To say we’re not a not for profit is ludicrous. We have never hidden anything,” medical marijuana dispensary operator Ken Cole to me, after told of federal agents’ contention that they raided his store because he was making a profit.
I’m Scott Lewis, the CEO of Voice of San Diego. Please contact me if you’d like at scott.lewis@voiceofsandiego.org or 619.325.0527 and follow me on Twitter (it’s a blast!):
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