These were the most popular Voice of San Diego stories for the week of May 13-May 19.
1. Lincoln High Parents Exasperated as Hunt for a Principal Drags On
San Diego Unified School District announced it was going to keep searching for a new principal for the school that has long faced leadership turmoil. (Mario Koran)
2. San Diego Unified Found Lead at a School – and Told One Parent
Last fall, months before San Diego Unified School District began testing all schools’ drinking water for lead, it did a special round of tests a Sunset View Elementary in Point Loma. The district found lead but didn’t tell parents. Rather, it told one parent – the one who’d requested a lead test. (Ry Rivard)
3. It Is Shockingly Easy to Cheat San Diego Unified’s Online Courses
Across the district, online courses are enabling thousands of students to get caught up on classes they previously failed. But students also have access to the web as they take quizzes and tests, making it possible to find answers to the exact questions that appear on tests. (Mario Koran)
4. SDSU Reveals it Doesn’t Need Qualcomm Stadium Land … Yet
We finally got the clearest view yet of what San Diego State University leaders really want out of the Qualcomm Stadium site. (Scott Lewis)
5. County Workers Union Wants Raises, Benefits and … Sweeping Public Policy Changes
The union that represents 11,000 San Diego County government employees is using labor negotiations to push a broad set of policy goals: It wants to vastly expand the county’s welfare program, reform the criminal justice system and create a countywide “sanctuary” policy for immigrants. (Ry Rivard)
6. Why Big Winter Rains Haven’t Done Much to Fill San Diego Reservoirs
When it rains big in San Diego, people always wonder why we can’t capture it. We do capture a lot of it, but it’s the first we choose to use because it’s the cheapest. (Ry Rivard)
7. Opinion: SDPD’s Retention Problem Comes From Within
If officers felt respected and honored by their leaders and the communities they serve, their jobs would be easier, making retention more feasible. That won’t happen until the culture and practices are changed within the SDPD. (Cornelius Bowser)
8. Marijuana Is Shaping Up to Be a Defining Election Issue Across the County
California voters may have spoken on recreational marijuana in November, but rather than settling the issue, that vote has set the stage for several local battles over whether to allow marijuana operations. (Jared Whitlock)
9. School District OKs More Retirement Deals Without Knowing What (If Anything) It’ll Cost
District documents show the early retirement deals for 600 non-teaching employees would cost more than $24.4 million. But those numbers include the costs to replace every retiree – something officials said the district does not plan to do. (Ashly McGlone)
10. Opposition Mounts to Mayor’s Hotel Tax Hike
Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s proposal would raise hotel taxes to fund a convention center expansion, and to fund infrastructure and homelessness solutions. The measure would require two-thirds support from voters. Last week, Brigette Browning, president of the local union of hotel, restaurant and gaming workers, said her union does not support Faulconer’s proposal — and that it might actively oppose it. (Andrew Keatts)