These were the most popular Voice of San Diego stories for the week of Mar. 4-Mar. 10.
1. Immigration From Mexico Could Soon Plummet — Even Without a Border Wall
Research from two UC San Diego economists shows that the economic forces that push and pull people across borders are changing such that the border wall could be a moot barrier before it is even finished. (Kyle D. Navis)
2. ‘My Job Is Not to Help Them’: Business Districts Increasingly Target Homelessness
In the absence of city or regional plans to address the growing homelessness crisis, business districts are stepping up with their own initiatives. Some groups have taken steps that do more to displace homeless folks than help them get off the street. (Lisa Halverstadt)
3. Three Big Outstanding Questions on San Diego Unified’s Budget Cuts
What does a $6 million cut to “Property” or a $1.5 million cut to “Civic Center” entail? On those and a number of other issues, parents, community members and even employees are struggling to understand what the cuts mean. (Ashly McGlone)
4. Documents Raise Major Questions About School District’s Quality Assurance Office
San Diego Unified’s Quality Assurance Office was supposed to be a hub of accountability where parents, students and employees could get their complaints heard and investigated. But hundreds of pages of testimony from one of multiple lawsuits involving the office show decisions about student safety were made without crucial information, and other troubling issues. (Ashly McGlone)
5. How SoccerCity Dies
Soon, signature-gatherers will get to work on behalf of the plan to build an MLS stadium and development on the Qualcomm Stadium site. If the City Council green-lights the project, you can likely expect to see a new round of signature-gatherers in town, this time as part of an effort to kill the plan by forcing it to the ballot. (Scott Lewis)
6. The 7 Types of Fake News
They’re not all fake, and they’re not all news. But these are the categories that the various stories derided as fake tend to fall in. (Scott Lewis)
7. Why High Home Prices Don’t Necessarily Mean High Home Payments
While San Diego homes are unusually expensive, low rates have been keeping a lid on monthly mortgage payments. But low rates don’t assure high home prices — the two have actually had a very inconsistent relationship in the past. (Rich Toscano)
8. SANDAG Sat for a Year on News That Transnet’s Price Tag Rose by $8 Billion
For more than a year, SANDAG did not disclose an $8.4 billion cost increase facing the projects included in TransNet, its tax-funded transportation infrastructure program. Together with a forecasting error the agency also failed to disclose, the problems mean TransNet is $17.5 billion short. (Andrew Keatts)
9. In San Diego, Anti-Growth Sentiment Comes From the Right
Polling shows 2016 voters opposed residential development – especially Republican voters. (Maya Srikrishnan)
10. Culturecast: Revisiting Balboa Park’s ‘Fruit Loop’
The latest episode of Culturecast visits a public art series called Parkeology, whose latest installment revisits Balboa Park’s gay cruising culture. (Kinsee Morlan)