As we enter the final stretch of our quest to understand the nuts and bolts of the stadium saga, we have a couple round ups for you.
Liam Dillon pulls together the biggest blunders made by city officials negotiated.
“The city has fumbled the ball again and again, leading to millions of dollars in losses and debt, a decrepit stadium and the team threatening to walk away before the lease runs out,” Dillon writes. The worst blunder of them all? Probably the infamous ticket guarantee, where the city agreed to use taxpayer money to buy up lots of unsold Charger tickets. By the time we dropped that idea, the price tag for San Diegans was $36 million.
• If the controversy surrounding the new stadium effort seems like a 3-D chess game, that’s because of how many facets there are to a big negotiation like this. Lisa Halverstadt decided it was time to create a definitive source for answers to all your questions about the stadium. If you’re wondering, for example, what the rules are for moving an NFL team, We have you covered. Wondering how many Super Bowls a new stadium might be good for? “A new stadium would probably get San Diego at least one Super Bowl but additional ones aren’t guaranteed,” Halverstadt writes.
• On Thursday, the city of Carson announced a signature campaign in favor of building a stadium in that city has been successful, NBC 7 reports. The issue may now be put to Carson’s voters, or the Carson City Council may simply approve the project outright.
• The LA Times reported the Chargers and Raiders joined Carson officials in LA to talk stadium shop, along with that guy who wore the half Chargers, half Raiders jersey (he’s the new mayor of Carson).
The Learning Curve: Wardrobe Edition
In his most recent installment of The Learning Curve, Mario Koran takes on a question about school life that you either loved or hated: school uniforms. Uniforms are known to come in handy in schools where gang problems are abundant, but uniforms have become more prevalent beyond gang-plagued schools. “Stats show a growing number of traditional public schools are buying into the idea” of uniforms, Koran writes. One big problem, Koran reports: public schools aren’t allowed to punish kids who don’t wear prescribed uniforms. Districts “can’t penalize or discriminate against a student who doesn’t wear one,” Koran notes.
Mayor’s Private Charity: San Diego Explained
Mayor Faulconer is fond of mentioning “One San Diego,” a non-profit he started to raise money for community causes like libraries and college prep centers. Faulconer’s non-profit is raising money to support the community Faulconer is the chief executive over. And we aren’t sure who is giving money to the charity, or why, since the charity doesn’t have to disclose that information. The thick veil covering the thin line between the mayor and his non-profit prompted Liam Dillon and NBC 7’s Catherine Garcia to dig deeper in our most recent San Diego Explained.
Civic San Diego Behind The Scenes
Former Councilor Donna Frye wrote in to throw the spotlight on Civic San Diego and what she says are some concerning activities coming from the city-owned non-profit responsible for development and permitting. One of Civic’s board members has filed a lawsuit to clarify “potential conflicts of interest” and two of Civic’s executives have recently resigned without explanation. “It can’t be a good sign,” Frye writes. “It’s time for San Diegans to start paying much closer attention to Civic.”
Meanwhile, the San Diego Reader reports that Civic San Diego is lobbying city leaders, asking them to reject any efforts that might result in more oversight of Civic.
Big Water Wasters Are a Big Secret
If you want to know who the biggest water-wasters are during this period of extreme drought, you’ll just have to use your imagination. That’s because a 1997 California law exempted water use records from being subject to the California Public Records Act, which guarantees openness in government records. The Center for Investigative Reporting explains the law was passed to shield wealthy tech executives in Silicon Valley from criticism for their extreme water use.
• NPR took a local ride with hometown water watchdogs San Diego Coastkeeper to find out what the city of San Diego is doing to enforce new water rules. Enforcement efforts are non-existent, according to Coastkeeper.
Trade: Cash For Jobs
California, so often accused of being hostile to business, announced a big round of tax breaks for California companies on Thursday. A bunch of San Diego companies are getting tax breaks in exchange for making big investments in expansion and hiring, the U-T reports. Among them are a smattering of San Diego’s bread and butter industries: a brewery, a biopharmeceutical company, and a health food company.
News Nibbles
• KPBS takes a trip east of San Diego to the famous Slab City, known as the “last free place in America,” to check out the land underneath the squatters that California wants to sell.
• City officials are wrestling with the question of how much money they should be giving to subsidize the San Diego Zoo. (NBC 7)
• The San Diego Ethics Commission handed down fines to the naughty political candidates of yore on Thursday. (U-T)
• There seems to be some upheaval going on in the staff of County Supervisor Dave Roberts, according to NBC 7. Logan Jenkins has more.
• The California State Senator who proposed a law mandating all cyclists wear a helmet has given up on the idea for now. (CapRadio)
• There you were, lying on a Del Mar beach minding your own business, when a huge Marine helicopter landed next to you. (Business Insider)
• Then you looked up and famous singer Kenny Logins was there making “Danger Zone” jokes. It was a weird day. (NBC 7)
Seth Hall is a local writer and technologist. You can email him at voice@s3th.com or follow him on Twitter: @loteck.