The Morning Report
Get the news and information you need to take on the day.
Monday will be a big day for City Hall politicos.
Three new City Council members will be sworn in, a new city attorney will take the reins and the City Council will select its next leader.
There’s been much behind-the-scenes jockeying over who will become the next City Council president, a decision that will shape the City Council’s agenda.
In this week’s VOSD podcast, Andrew Keatts and Scott Lewis walk us through the coming battle between two Democrats, Councilman David Alvarez and Councilwoman Myrtle Cole, and the division Monday’s vote has wrought.
Cole’s camp says she’d partner with Republican Mayor Kevin Faulconer to get things done at City Hall while Alvarez is pledging a year of progressive action on the city’s Climate Action Plan, homelessness and affordable housing issues.
The latter issue has caught the attention of a prominent group of community leaders lining up behind a new project they’re dubbing Housing You Matters. Mary Lydon, former executive director of the local Urban Land Institute chapter, joined Keatts and Lewis this week to talk about the group’s goals.
• Progressive groups are calling for the next City Council president to adopt a bold vision and solutions.
Diana Ross of Mid-City Community Advocacy Network, community leader Joe LaCava and Climate Action Plan evangelist Nicole Capretz laid out what they’d like to see the city prioritize over the next two years in a new op-ed.
• The San Diego-Union Tribune’s been profiling the city’s political newcomers.
In the latest installment, incoming District 9 Councilwoman Georgette Gomez says she’ll apply lessons from years of work as a community activist to her new gig.
Soon-to-be City Attorney Mara Elliott plans to stick with predecessor Jan Goldsmith’s approach in several areas but she’s also pledging to prioritize wage law enforcement and implementation of the city’s Climate Action Plan.
You can check out the U-T’s stories on City Councilwoman-elect Barbara Bry here and Councilman-elect Chris Ward here.
Sacramento Report: Sac’s Back in Business
State lawmakers kicked off a new session this week and newly minted state Sen. Toni Atkins immediately got down to business with a new housing bill.
In this week’s Sacramento Report, Maya Srikrishnan explains Atkins’ attempt to revive (and rejigger) her previously failed Assembly bill and why she was determined to introduce it immediately.
Sara Libby also rounds up the details on other new bills, California Dems’ anti-Trump offensive and former state Sen. Marty Block’s new appointment.
News Nuggets
• The city reports it’s now exceeding a national standard for 911 call responses months after a tragedy in Mira Mesa exposed a wait time crisis. (KPBS)
• The new 22-story downtown courthouse will open months later than planned. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Two groups that campaigned against a ballot measure that would have OK’d the controversial Lilac Hills Ranch project now face fines for failing to disclose their contributions. (inewsource)
• About 75 percent of California’s registered voters showed up at the polls last month. (Associated Press)
The Week’s Top Stories
These were the most popular Voice of San Diego stories for the week of Dec. 3-Dec. 9. Click here to see the full top 10.
1. Unions Split: Inside the Fight for Control of the City Council
The behind-the-scenes vote wrangling between Councilman David Alvarez and Councilwoman Myrtle Cole to become the next Council president is turning into a proxy war between two powerful progressive interests in City Hall. (Andrew Keatts)
2. City Ignores Its Own Development Rules, Five Architects Overwhelmingly Benefit
Several architects who shouldn’t have qualified for a program that fast-tracks development projects benefited anyway, including some with ties to Mayor Kevin Faulconer. (Andrew Keatts)
3. San Diego’s Homeless Senior Population Has More Than Doubled
The number of adults over 55 living on streets countywide more than doubled from 2015 to 2016 – and the problem is only expected to get worse. Experts emphasize both the moral and systemic costs likely to come with that uptick. (Lisa Halverstadt)
4. Downtown Hoteliers Fear Homelessness Could Hurt Business
Downtown hoteliers worry growing street homelessness could hamper local tourism, and they’ve taken their message to the mayor. (Lisa Halverstadt)
5. Opinion: Millennials Are Demanding Better Transit, and We Should Give it to Them
Millennials want to live in urban, mixed-use environments that are built around biking, walking, transit, shared rides and plenty of social encounters. And our regional plans just don’t do enough for this rising generation. (Alan Hoffman)