A San Diego landlord who has a history of violating the housing code — his tenants complain of roaches, missing windows, broken appliances and more — got more than $507,000 in public subsidies in 2014 despite his shoddy record.
One man found roaches, a gas leak and worse in his apartment, but when the Housing Commission inspected the unit it “passed with flying colors despite failing to meet standards laid out by the federal government for Section 8 rentals,” reports Megan Burks, who’s been uncovering the city’s disastrous procedures for investigating repeat housing code violators for Voice of San Diego and KPBS.
A big part of the problem: “The San Diego Housing Commission, which administers the Section 8 program locally, doesn’t do background checks on landlords it enters into contracts with,” Burks reports.
Bolts Update: Charmageddon!
• The mayor and the chairman of the Chargers met over the weekend. No news was made.
• U-T columnist Kevin Acee was totally serious, apparently, when he tweeted this over the weekend: “It’s not hyperbole to say the #Chargers saga is developing into the biggest story in our city’s history.” Twitter denizens immediately became San Diego historians and spouted alternative big deals or simply mocked him.
• New York Times columnist Joe Nocera quotes a former CNBC reporter who lives here and is, apparently, serious: “It would be a shame if the Chargers left. What would we be left with? A losing baseball team and great weather? That’s it?”
• Keith Olbermann savaged everyone in sight over the Chargers debacle during his “World’s Worst” segment: “How much bad football do you think L.A. can even handle?”
Commentary: Delay One Paseo Vote
James LaMattery, a real estate broker, calls on the City Council to delay its scheduled vote today on the controversial One Paseo project in the Carmel Valley until it works on its blueprint for the neighborhood. “I would love to think that One Paseo, if approved in its current form, would be like Vegas — what happens there stays there. The history of building code variances proves it won’t.”
For background about the One Paseo debate, check our backgrounder and our look at how it stands on the smart growth checklist.
• The U-T editorial board thinks One Paseo is a “beautifully designed project” and should go forward.
Port’s Back up and Running
From the Wall Street Journal: “West Coast ports are finally working at full speed again — for the most part — but it will likely take months for the backlog to clear, port officials and logistics experts said.” San Diego is one of the ports that’s back online.
The L.A. Times notes that “lingering resentment and structural problems may complicate a return to normality.”
Department of ‘Oh Snap!’
“A federal lawsuit over a gun part dealer’s free speech rights on the Sheriff’s Department’s Facebook page has settled — for a mere $20 and attorney’s fees,” the U-T reports. The dealer was upset because the Sheriff’s Department deleted his comments and knocked him off its page. Eventually, the department got tired of dealing with complaints and shut the page down.
Quick News Hits: Gulled
• The biggest article on the site last week was one that got national attention: Our Feb. 9 investigation into possible SDPD misconduct in a bizarre confrontation over incorrect assumptions that two brothers were robbing a City Heights phone store.
• Local gas prices haven’t been this expensive since early December. A refinery fire in Torrance is getting the blame for cutting off supply. Still, prices are close to a dollar less per gallon than a year ago. (City News Service)
• Habemus nōmen! San Diego’s new minor-league hockey team (a farm team for the Anaheim Ducks) now has the same name as the last San Diego minor-league hockey team. And the one before that. And the one before that.
Because, as you know, “Gulls” are among the most badass animals. Don’t get between them and the trash cans in your high-school quad!
It could be worse. Other American Hockey League team names include — not making this up — the Checkers (Charlotte), the Monsters (Lake Erie) and the Barons (Oklahoma City). Our Gulls will peck any of them, or at least scarf up any leftover popcorn at the Sports Arena.