San Diego’s got some swagger in Sacramento lately.
With Toni Atkins leading the Assembly, and lots of looming state decisions that will be a big deal in San Diego (Prop. 30 money and teacher tenure come to mind), we’re pumped to unveil our new Sacramento Report, the first installment of which kicked off Friday.
Want to know which local legislators passed the most bills this session? Our new contributor Brian Joseph has you covered (careful, though – he also explains why that’s not necessarily the best metric by which to judge a lawmaker).
We’re Losing People, Not Businesses
Lisa Halverstadt has been digging into the city’s business climate, and what threats might keep it from growing.
One thing she’s discovered that cuts against the common narrative: Businesses leaving the area isn’t as big a deal as you might think.
One type of departure that does matter, though: Working adults. And they’re leaving San Diego and California faster than ever, Halverstadt writes: “A diaspora of native Californians and onetime residents is a trend that, whether it continues or not, could have an impact on the region’s ability to support a wide range of industries and workers and offer a window into the state’s biggest economic challenges.”
Does Not Compute
It turns out, getting tapped to sit on the county pension board doesn’t make you automatically fluent in complicated financial jargon.
Ari Bloomekatz wrote a great roundup from this week’s SDCERA meeting of all the times board members begged financial advisers to explain their risky new investment strategy in terms regular humans could understand.
A highlight reel of those pleas: “We need to be very clear,” “just talk in plain English,” “if you could bring it down to our level, and members of the audience level as we go along,” “in plain English, dumb it down, whatever you want to say.”
Bipartisan Isn’t an Insult
In a new op-ed, Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson – two political heavyweights who led a bipartisan group on how to cut the national debt – stick up for Rep. Scott Peters.
Peters has been targeted by Republican group Crossroads GPS over his support for the Simpson-Bowles plan. “We need more members of Congress like Peters who are willing to move beyond rigid ideological positions and work toward bipartisan solutions,” Simpson and Bowles write.
• Meanwhile, Peters’ opponent, Carl DeMaio, is getting some major financial support from “big names in the GOP gay rights movement,” reports KPBS.
What We Learned This Week
• San Diego’s rule about businesses in homes doesn’t amount to a startup ban.
• Putting more emergency responders in a neighborhood improves emergency response.
• A few products made or grown in San Diego suck a whole lot of water.
• Politicians like to take vows of poverty.
• The city is courting a few key industries it wants to help grow.
Quick News Hits
• The Times of San Diego notes WD-40 has acquired businesses and assets in the United Kingdom, and wonders whether the San Diego company is about to jump on the tax inversion bandwagon. (We got a neat history of WD-40 at our Meeting of the Minds event in March. Keep an eye out for the details of our next one coming up in October.)
• The number of suicides in San Diego County jumped a whopping 20 percent in the last six years. (County News Center)
• It’s an epic duel for the title of Most Adorable Photo Op. In one corner: Rady’s Children Hospital kids hanging out with the Stanley Cup. In the other: A puppy helping his cheetah friend recover from surgery at the Safari Park. The winner: ALL OF US. (NBC San Diego)
Quote of the Week
“The point is smart people do dumb things all the time. Just because the train has left the station doesn’t mean we can’t come back and revisit this”– SDCERA board member Samantha Begovich, on reconsidering the county pension board’s investment strategy.