These were the most popular Voice of San Diego stories for the week of Jan. 28-Feb. 3.
1. Spanos Isn’t Selling the Chargers and the Team’s Not Moving Back
Some keep holding onto glimmers of hope that the Chargers will come back to San Diego under new ownership. But there are policies and other complicating factors in place to prevent that from happening. (Beau Lynott)
2. A High-Speed Train From San Diego to L.A. Is Possible Even Without High-Speed Rail
The stretch from Los Angeles to San Diego is one of America’s busiest travel corridors. Yet the plans for California’s high-speed rail prioritizes the route from Los Angeles to San Francisco instead. There are steps Southern California officials could take in the meantime, however, that would drastically improve rail services and encourage more people to ride. (Alon Levy)
3. The City Is on a Collision Course With Pot Delivery Services
Dozens of marijuana delivery services operate with hardly any regulation. City Council members may shut that down Tuesday when they evaluate a set of proposals on medical and recreational marijuana regulation. (Maya Srikrishnan)
4. Pot Is Legal – But in San Diego, Growing, Storing and Testing it May Not Be
Though recreational marijuana use is now legal statewide, no place in the county is considering allowing the activities involved in creating and distributing it. (Maya Srikrishnan)
5. Is San Diego a Sanctuary City and What Does That Even Mean?
There’s no one policy or criteria that makes a place a sanctuary city. Yet two executive orders signed by President Donald Trump on Wednesday — including one that would crack down on sanctuary cities — could impact the city of San Diego, the county and the state bigly. (Sara Libby)
6. Opinion: How San Diego Can Chip Away at Its Housing Deficit
But one of the biggest factors holding San Diego up is its inability to first come to terms with the region’s housing need. (Lori Holt Pfeiler and Dan Silver)
7. A New Approach on Housing: Forget Density
The new, seemingly bipartisan consensus is to largely admit defeat in neighborhood-level density fights and instead, just pass citywide policies that make it easier to build within the existing density. (Andrew Keatts)
8. San Diego Media Still Searching for the Chargers Coverage ‘Sweet Spot’
The Chargers have long been the main game in town for San Diego sports media. But with the team abandoning San Diego, how much local airtime and ink will it receive next season? No one seems to know, including the local outlets doing the covering. (Jared Whitlock)
9. Sacramento Report: Growing Calls for the State to Usurp Cities on Housing
San Diego lawmakers unveil bills to ease bureaucracy for transgendered residents, make voting by mail easier and help hungry college students. Plus: The California vs. Trump fight goes from rhetorical to real. (Voice of San Diego)
10. San Diego Unified’s Local Hiring Goals Are Falling Further Out of Reach
Under a project labor agreement the San Diego Unified School District signed in 2009, local workers would build all bond-funded projects over $1 million. But the targets set in the deal still aren’t being met, and new numbers show some targets are slipping slightly further away as more large projects are built. (Ashly McGlone)