These were the most popular Voice of San Diego stories for the week of Sept. 12-Sept. 18
1. School Counselor: ‘I Was Punished for Telling the Truth’ About Board President’s Son
Kim Abagat says she was suspended for writing a truthful evaluation of school board president Marne Foster’s son. (Mario Koran)
2. Father Says School Board President Wrote Claim for Damages for Their Son’s Evaluation
The father of school board president Marne Foster’s son says she was behind a claim seeking $250,000 from the district over a college evaluation letter. (Mario Koran)
3. School Board President Demanded Action of District Staff After Bad Evaluation of Son
Emails obtained by VOSD show school board president Marne Foster used her influence to meddle in day-to-day operations at her son’s school. (Mario Koran)
4. Convention Center Study Is a Double-Edged Sword for Waterfront Expansion Boosters
Officials are defending the waterfront expansion as the only feasible option in court but the new study seems to show a split expansion could work too. (Ashly McGlone)
5. Water Rates Have Soared and They’re Not Stalling
Over the past 25 years, water rates have more than doubled for most customers in San Diego County. (Ry Rivard)
6. Sheriff Launches Internal Investigation Into Hate Mail Sent to Activist Group
The IP address of a nasty note to an activist group appears to match the Sheriff’s Department (Liam Dillon)
7. Getting Creative With Public Art by Thinking Inside the Box
Painted utility boxes have recently been brought back to life in North Park, thanks to Jason Gould. (Kinsee Morlan)
8. Opinion: ‘Quiet Cartel’ of Trash Trucks Is Destroying City Streets
The city should create several commercial trash collection zones based on the most efficient routing of collection and transfer to disposal sites. (Bob Nelson)
9. SANDAG Floats Tax Hike But It’s Liberals Who Are Balking
SANDAG wants to ask county voters to approve up to a half-cent sales tax increase. Labor and progressives must sign on for the measure to have a chance. (Andrew Keatts)
10. Chula Vista to Developers: We’ll Make Waterfront Building Easy – No, Really!
Chula Vista is hoping to entice developers with something rare in California: the promise of hassle-free waterfront development. (Maya Srikrishnan)