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Since 2009, San Diego Unified has spent $107 million on stadiums and athletic facilities.
But as VOSD’s Mario Koran reports (with help from three others), Room 1005 at Hoover High has a crack in the wall that lets in water during rains.
“We usually just stick a broom through it and catch the water in a bucket,” said Michael Shefcik, Hoover’s head custodian. “It’s OK – until the next time it rains. Then we go out and do it again.”
Despite passage of two bodacious bonds — $2.1 billion in 2008 and $2.8 billion in 2012 — dozens of “site modernizations” are waiting. But state-of-the-art football stadiums across the district are not.
Former Trustee Scott Barnett, a big proponent of the bonds, says: “The things that people want to prioritize aren’t always the things we need to prioritize. It’s about what the parents want and what the politicians want.”
VOSD Podcast: Todd Gloria’s Next Steps
Editor-in-Chief Scott Lewis puts Todd Gloria on the hot seat in a wide-ranging special podcast conversation with the former iMayor. He was asked about his decision not to run against Kevin Faulconer and sounded surprisingly pessimistic about the odds of a major infrastructure bond going on the November 2016 ballot. He’s running for Assembly and, at nearly 37, has plenty of time left.
Explaining San Diego: Civic SD Role Growing
Still unclear on Civic San Diego? Redevelop your understanding by viewing this video by Voice’s Andrew Keatts and NBC 7’s Catherine Garcia. You’ll see it’s not that unfamiliar at all — having morphed from San Diego’s old urban renewal agency. But it has new roles.
Quick News Hits: SDG&E Takes Foot Off Gas
• SDG&E is delaying plans for the Carlsbad Energy Center, a natural gas-powered plant. Other proposals with a greener footprint are being considered. (U-T)
• San Diego Unified and the teachers union have reached a tentative three-year deal: a 5 percent raise over two years and lowering some class sizes. (U-T)
• Speaking of former SDUSD trustee Barnett, he has a new job: executive at Barnhart Land Development Inc. He’ll advise on school district land use, infrastructure and development. (LinkedIn)
• An SDPD officer’s body camera was off when he fatally shot a man behind a Midway District adult bookstore. (U-T)
• A Rancho Santa Fe golf club is irrigating greens and fairways with recycled water now, not like in the past when it was almost all potable water. (KPBS)
SDSU Deploys ‘Crisis Team’ for Strapped Students
Wish you had this when you were living off macaroni and cheese in college? San Diego State has launched an Economic Crisis Response Team to “better assist students who are facing an unexpected economic crisis.”
Faculty, staff and students are on the team, developing a plan to help SDSU students at risk of being homeless or hungry, Times of San Diego reports.
“We have always supported students in need, but a formalized process to assist students in these types of situations has never been in place,” said Christy Samarkos, associate vice president for campus life.
This idea has legs. Father Joe could use some help.
Ken Stone, a freelance writer and contributor to Times of San Diego, used to subsist on beans and peanut butter.