Morning Report: San Diego’s Starring Role in the Border Wall Plans

The Washington Post reported on Monday that the Trump administration is zeroing in on Chula Vista and Imperial Beach as high-priority destinations for the new border wall and that the first $1 billion penciled in for that wall would, in part, fund more than a dozen miles of construction along the San Diego-Tijuana border.

Officials in Chula Vista and Imperial Beach told VOSD that they had no idea what the plans entailed or why their cities were on the list.

But the focus on those cities, as well as the fact that the prototypes for the wall will go up in Otay Mesa, mean San Diego is taking a starring role in efforts to build the border wall.

In a new story, Sara Libby outlines the semantics and symbolism behind the push for a wall, what we know about the existing border fence and state efforts to block the wall.

• Plans for the wall have been moving forward, but President Donald Trump suggested Monday that he might be willing to delay the fight over border wall funding until the fall, instead of shutting down the government over it this week. (The Hill)

District Bullied for Anti-Bullying Campaign

A story posted on far-right news site Breitbart on Sunday has inspired an avalanche of backlash against a San Diego Unified anti-bullying initiative meant to protect Muslim students.

The district explained the campaign at a board meeting earlier this month, detailing potential steps such as including lessons on Islam in social studies classes or including Islamic holidays on calendars to discourage teachers from scheduling events or meetings on those days.

It’s since gotten national attention.

Before and after the Brietbart story, a district spokesman told the Union-Tribune it’s heard from folks who fear the effort would be a violation of the separation of church and state.

The district says the campaign isn’t meant to favor one religion over others but rather to make the district a welcoming place for students of all religions and backgrounds.

SoccerCity Plan Moves Forward

The team behind a plan to transform the Chargers’ former Mission Valley home into a development anchored by a soccer stadium took another step toward the November ballot on Monday.

Times of San Diego reports the SoccerCity group turned in more than 100,000 signatures to the county Registrar of Voters. County workers will have 30 days to review them and decide whether there are enough to kick off a special election.

If just under 72,000 of those signatures are valid, a SoccerCity measure will appear on the November ballot – likely along with Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s proposal to hike hotel taxes to bankroll a Convention Center expansion and fund homelessness solutions and street repairs.

• Park-starved Mission Valley is set to celebrate the opening of a new park this Saturday, NBC 7 reports. The neighborhood’s long been lacking on the park front, as former VOSDer Will Carless wrote in 2007. The new park will eventually cover 14 acres and include trails, a community garden and a dog park. The SoccerCity proposal, of course, envisions more park space in the neighborhood too. Its backers have said they envision a 55-acre river park there.

News Nibbles

• The fight over city pension reform isn’t over. The Municipal Employees Association, which represents thousands of city employees, voted to appeal a ruling that OK’d a 2012 pension reform measure to the state Supreme Court. (Union-Tribune)

• A new SANDAG analysis finds violent and property crime remained low last year in San Diego County while homicides, aggravated assaults and auto thefts were on the rise. (City News Service)

• The mayor’s proposed budget aims to avoid big cuts for neighborhood services despite a bigger-than-expected pension bill. There are still some small cuts. (Union-Tribune)

• Commercial flights to Los Angeles are a thing again at the Carlsbad airport. (KPBS)