The Morning Report
Get the news and information you need to take on the day.
The attorneys for Jane Doe, a victim of a rogue San Diego cop who sexually attacked women, said they wanted more than money. They also wanted more reform in the Police Department beyond the fixes it put in place.
Well, at least they said they did. They didn’t get what they wanted. The settlement announced Thursday — $5.9 million, with about half going to lawyers — doesn’t include “additional oversight or reforms beyond what the department has already implemented, including an ongoing voluntary U.S. Department of Justice review of SDPD misconduct policies,” writes VOSD reporter Liam Dillon.
Previous lawsuits regarding the officer who attacked Jane Doe have amounted to $2.3 million.
How Craft Brewers Are Getting Even More Local
No, Belching Beaver, Twisted Manzanita, Iron Fist and Border X aren’t new bands playing at the club down the street. But they may be coming to your neighborhood just the same.
These are all breweries, and they’re all opening tasting rooms outside their main locations. It’s a big change for San Diego’s booming craft brew business and the tendency for the breweries to be stuck in less-than-convenient locations like industrial parks.
VOSD reporter Andrew Keatts explores what’s going on and finds out why the expansions are happening: “They allow the businesses to meet customers where they are, rather than relying on people coming to them.” They’re also thanks to a quirk in most alcohol licenses that let the breweries have a duplicate license for more locations.
These mini-breweries could help the craft brew industry avoid imploding amid all the hype and rapid growth. Well, that is, unless neighborhoods raise a fuss about, say, an influx of hipsters.
New Report: Schools Still Troubled by English Learners
VOSD’s Mario Koran has details about a new report that says school districts statewide are still trying to figure out how to teach kids who aren’t fluent in English: “The report recommends that the state provide up to two years of additional funds to support English learners after they’ve been reclassified, so districts will no longer have a ‘perverse incentive’ to limit their progress.”
Remembering Disaster from Above
When a PSA jet and a small private plane collided over North Park and fell to the ground on a scorching September day in 1978, the death toll was higher than in any U.S. accident ever. It’s still the worst air disaster in California history, and an understanding of the reasons it happened changed the aviation industry.
NBC 7 has details about Thursday’s remembrance. There’s talk of a memorial at the crash site, where seven people were killed and homes burned.
The best narrative about the crash comes in a 20th anniversary story in San Diego Magazine. “It was too perfect a day,” a radio journalist recalled. “There was no way you’d expect a PSA jet to fall out of the sky. I mean, you could see forever.”
An episode of a series about airplane crashes includes a stunning look back at the experiences of journalists and a photographer who watched the accident as it happened — one of them captured now-famous photos of the plane on fire — while filming at a press event at a North Park gas station.
Another S.D. Icon ‘Stars’ on ‘South Park’
It wasn’t enough for “San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders” to appear on the caustic animated TV show “South Park” back in 2012 along with a raunchy song about a certain unfortunate but very public incident. Now, it’s time for the owner of the Chargers to be a special guest star. (Not really, of course, but in animated form and with a fake voice.)
Yes, “Alex Spanos” showed up in an episode this week that rips the NFL, its commissioner and — for good measure — crowdfunding and all the hoopla around startups. The U-T has a story about the appearance and you can watch the episode yourself, if you dare, here.
In other football news:
• Sports Illustrated figures out why a photo of two Chargers on the field against the Bills looks so darned weird.
• No surprise here: Nobody’s boycotting the NFL. (Deadspin) If you want to, though, you can try to avoid the Chargers game Sunday on TV. Yes, it’ll be televised: There won’t be a blackout. (U-T)
Quick News Hits: Bike-Share a No-Go for Poor?
• U-T columnist Logan Jenkins shares an unexpected perspective on the case of the Oceanside teacher who allegedly made inappropriate comments to students, among other things, and agreed to leave (and get no bad recommendations) after the school district paid her $92,000 to get out: “Do I understand how a teacher might joke about a robot killing students of a certain obnoxious age? You bet your Autobots I do.”
• National Journal wonders if the big bike-sharing trend is ditching the poor. We’ve wondering if that’s happening here too.
• The L.A. Times says the big wildfires in Northern California might be a “grim preview” of what’s ahead as Santa Ana season kicks in.
We’ve been lucky so far this late summer and fall on the Santa Ana front. But there are still a few weeks to go, and October is especially risky. “It’s a race we run every fall: What comes first, the rains or the Santa Anas,” a climatologist tells the paper. “The dice are loaded this year for Santa Anas … and who knows how intense or benign it will be.”
Gosh, that’s sure helpful. Remind me to not take this guy to the track!
Randy Dotinga is a freelance contributor to Voice of San Diego and president of the American Society of Journalists and Authors. Please contact him directly at randydotinga@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter: twitter.com/rdotinga.