These were the most popular Voice of San Diego stories for the week of Sept. 26-Oct. 2.
1. How Bad Urban Design Makes San Diego Feel Unsafe
San Diego is the safest big city in the country, but it doesn’t always feel that way. Subpar urban design can make safe streets feel isolating or dangerous. (Howard Blackson)
2. District Slams Counselor and Former Principal in Document Dump
The report and dozens of messages released do not put to rest all of the questions about what happened at the School for Creative and Performing Arts. (Mario Koran)
3. District Docs: Foster Wanted a Fake College Official to Question School Counselor
School board president Marne Foster was willing to get a little creative in investigating a school counselor who wrote a college letter for her son. (Mario Koran)
4. School Board Set to Honor and Investigate Foster on the Same Night
On the same night the San Diego Unified board will discuss an investigation into Marne Foster’s action, board members will honor her with a proclamation. (Mario Koran)
5. The Other Time Marne Foster Pressed a Staffing Change
Superintendent Cindy Marten and trustee John Lee Evans both described a moment when Marne Foster pressured Marten to promote a friend. (Mario Koran)
6. San Marcos Is Quietly Schooling the County on Smart Growth
As San Diego’s urban neighborhoods struggle to build smart-growth projects the city says it needs, the North County city is thriving. (Maya Srikrishnan)
7. San Diego Explained: The Blurry Lines Between Parent and Public Official
NBC’s Monica Dean and Voice of San Diego’s Mario Koran detail the accusations against school board president Marne Foster and talk about how each incident represents a blurring of the line between parent and public official. (Kinsee Morlan)
8. San Diego, No. 2 in Homeless Vet Population, Barely Secured Any Money for Housing Homeless Vets
San Diego has the state’s second-highest number of homeless vets, yet it barely secured any money from a new program that funds veteran housing. (Maya Srikrishnan)
9. How Public Land Became a Family’s Land After a Solar Fight
A powerful family, aided by two environmental nonprofits, used an environmental law to sue over a major solar project in Imperial County. A parcel of public land was handed over to the family. After that, the family dropped its opposition and the project went forward — seemingly without any changes to make the project more environmentally friendly. (Lisa Halverstadt)
10. The Promise of Cindy Marten Faces Its Biggest Challenge
Nothing San Diego Unified Superintendent Cindy Marten does has more impact on students than decisions on who should lead district schools. (Scott Lewis)