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These were the most-read stories for the week of April 4-10.
1. Qualcomm VP Told San Diego Politicians Seeking Stadium Help to Pound Sand
Qualcomm’s head of facilities told a city councilman, the city attorney and others that the region’s largest company is so frustrated with the city it will never again build anything in San Diego.
2. Lessons from Nextdoor
For months, Sara Libby scanned the social-networking-for-neighbors app Nextdoor with relatively passive interest. But over the last several weeks, things started getting a little weird in South Park.
3. There’s One Thing Decision-Makers Agree on: Qualcomm’s Beyond Saving
The task force and the team have ruled out a stadium renovation. Still, at least one architect thinks a renovation is possible and says “the politics are going to upstage the economics.”
4. Bunch of Hot Air Rising About County’s Role in Stadium Plan
An announcement last week that the vote on a new stadium would be countywide was just as baseless as several other ideas floated about the county’s participation in financing a new facility for the Chargers.
5. City Promised New Money Would Pay for Ballpark; It Can’t Prove It Does
The death of redevelopment threw a wrench into a Petco Park deal that taxpayers were assured would pay for itself. The situation presents a cautionary tale for officials and taxpayers considering a new Chargers stadium.
6. A Neighborhood Builds a Neighborhood Park
A Logan Heights nonprofit and some motivated volunteers were tired of waiting on the city to improve their neighborhood, so they did it themselves.
7. Opinion: Relax, Mission Valley Can Handle All That Development
A new mixed-use development proposed as part of Councilman Scott Sherman’s plan for a stadium is an opportunity to take the city’s largest, undeveloped real estate asset and turn it into a financial boon to taxpayers.
8. A Brief History of SeaWorld’s ‘Blackfish’ Damage Control
SeaWorld’s full-fledged assault on a former trainer is just the latest move in what’s been a long, strange series of responses to the critical documentary “Blackfish.” Since the film’s debut, SeaWorld has boomeranged between writing the film off and aggressively countering its claims.
9. San Diego Unified Is Still in the Dark on Funding Field Lights With Bond Money
The district has stopped using its bond fund for all new field light projects. What’s still in dispute is whether the millions already spent on field lights at five local high schools must be repaid.
10. Podcast: What’s a Few Hundred Million Dollars Between Friends?
Consider the options: Pay upwards of $1 billion for a brand new Chargers stadium, or fix up the old one for a fraction of that cost.