Morning Report: Land Seizures Possible for Lilac Hills

A project that envisions building 1,700 homes in the rural parts of Valley Center may have to force itself onto other people’s property in order to get built.

Andrew Keatts and Maya Srikrishnan report the developer of Lilac Hills would be required to widen some roads in order to pass muster. The developer, Accretive Investments, say it’s exploring other options, but people are worried that use of eminent domain, where private landowners are forced by the government to sell their property for public benefit, could be where the project is heading.

“Our proposal does not require eminent domain,” Accretive Investments executive John Rilling wrote. One problem: The only other option is for the county to grant Accretive an exception to the road rules, which it says it won’t do.

• John Horst, president of the Mira Mesa Community Planning group, is looking for community leaders who will recognize that developing into rural areas like Lilac Hills isn’t always the best idea. “At some point development has to proceed up instead of out,” Horst writes in an op-ed. He thinks the solution is more community involvement to hold leaders accountable for following the general plans and community development plans that are already established.

• One team at UCSD wants to be able to predict the impact to public health caused by large development projects, KQED reports. The Lilac Hills development effort is one example in the story. The team thinks we should be able to predict, “like the weather,” the impact to public health from that project.

What We Learned This Summer

Just as parents were able to take a breath from all the planning required for their children during summer break, school is on the verge of being back in session. Mario Koran looks back at the education questions he’s tackled this summer through his education column The Learning Curve.

Sometimes the bully in the classroom is the teacher, Koran writes, and there are some big problems with unfairness in how schools are funded. If your blood pressure is sagging, you can revisit the debate over vaccinating kids to quickly solve that problem. And if your child is just starting preschool, we’ve recently had your questions covered.

Slow-Rolled Stadium: San Diego Explained

The drama over the Chargers, the NFL and new stadiums in Los Angeles just recently blew up in San Diego, but the issue has been simmering for a very long time. Liam Dillon notes the NFL has had its eye specifically on the city of Carson for the last 15 years in our most recent San Diego Explained.

• Top lawyers for the cities of San Diego and Carson are verbally sparring over the stadium that Carson officials hope to build there. San Diego City Attorney Jan Goldsmith called the Carson stadium project review a “pamphlet.” (L.A. Times)

• The teams looking to relocate to Carson say they will have “no problem” finding temporary places to play in the Los Angeles area if they’re approved to make the move. (L.A. Times)

Restoring Sanity to School Discipline

Misbehaving students of yesteryears may have had their punishment doled out from teachers or school administrators. These days, the police, criminal courts and jails are just as likely to be involved in the classroom antics and offenses of students.

But a new effort called “restorative justice” aims to confront students who are involved in offensive behavior by avoiding prosecution and bringing them face-to-face with their victims and other stakeholders. Schools and law enforcement are finding the new approach to be effective, according to KPBS.

Indeed, Mario Koran wrote last year about how San Diego Unified has been rethinking its discipline policies and moving toward restorative justice, particularly after a team of Harvard researchers studied the district and issued recommendations.

Wildfire Panic Unwarranted

A look at fire data by BuzzFeed News finds that this year’s fire season is not that unusual.

While climate change will increase fire risk, Bill Patzert, a climatologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, said another major problem is that fires are not being allowed to run their course, which increases risks of future fires.

“If I was to rank what’s the biggest danger that we face from fires, I’d put people first, forest management second, and climate change third. This Smokey the Bear bullshit where you put out every fire is not helpful,” Patzert said.

News Nibbles

• State Sen. Joel Anderson hasn’t raised much money since a big donation from the county Republican Party earlier this year in his bid to unseat County Supervisor Diane Jacobs. He’ll probably have to depend on “independent expenditure committees” that can spend unlimited money to support him indirectly. (inewsource)

• A program in Barrio Logan that starts focusing on college preparation for immigrant kids as early as the third grade is trying to cope with its popularity and success. (KPBS)

• The city of San Diego and the Port are suing chemical giant Monsanto over polluted water in San Diego Bay. (NBC 7)

• Get ready to be searched next time you go to the movies. (NBC 7) But some people wonder if the theaters aren’t just frisking you for forbidden snacks. (L.A. Times)

• Millions of dollars were “wasted” in the 2014 52nd Congressional District election due to advertising to people who couldn’t even vote on that specific election. (50StatesOfWaste.com)

• Fed up with the price of textbooks, one enterprising San Diegan has started an online market place for students of specific colleges to swap books. (Times of San Diego)

Inspiring Women Who Pushed Limits

The New York Times compiled a list of important female figures who have pressed through the boundaries of male-dominated military culture. That includes the first women to graduate from the Army’s Ranger school recently, as well as the first female carrier-based fighter pilot, Lt. Kara S. Hultgreen, who died in the ocean waters off of San Diego after an engine failure in 1994.

Seth Hall is a local writer and technologist. You can email him at voice@s3th.com or follow him on Twitter: @loteck.