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Once the Chargers decided to leave San Diego, local sports media faced months of shock, uncertainty and debate about their business models.
We’ve been wondering if sports radio and newspapers would still treat the team like the home team.
The answer is yes, writes VOSD contributor Dallas McLaughlin. The ratings are there. No matter what people may say on social media, big groups still follow the Chargers.
“As radio and print media continue to switch up content and game plans at a breakneck pace in an effort to keep up with on-demand platforms that offer niche content, they feel a desperate need to gravitate toward what the masses ask for,” writes McLaughlin.
But what all members of the media agree upon, he writes, is that no one will be happy.
“We will have [fewer] Chargers stories than in past. But we will have them and the reason we will have them is because people read them. Maybe you don’t. But other people do. If you don’t want to read, don’t,” the editor of the San Diego Union-Tribune’s sports page Jay Posner wrote on Twitter.
New Arguments Against AB 805
In the past few weeks, new arguments have emerged from opponents of AB 805, the state bill from Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher that would overhaul the San Diego Association of Governments.
Some of the arguments stem from a recent addition to the bill that would require the agency to use a “skilled and trained” workforce for large projects, reports VOSD’s Andrew Keatts.
Some groups, like the local Associated General Contractors, think that the provision is a way to boost certain labor groups, like the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, a local union that opposed Measure A, SANDAG’s failed tax measure last November. More transit in the measure might have meant more jobs for them.
Others, like San Diego City Councilwoman Lorie Zapf, say that SANDAG’s forecasting scandal and cover-up were internal issues – that AB 805 will not solve – rather than board governance issues
“I think it’s contortionist at this point to say that AB 805 is any solution to an internal problem.” Zapf said. “Project labor agreement? Wouldn’t solve this problem. Changing the governance of this board to consolidate power to San Diego and Chula Vista? Would not solve this problem.”
Sacramento Report: Big Bill Flops
In this week’s Sacramento Report, Sara Libby gives us a rundown of three state bills that generated a lot of buzz, but ultimately fizzled.
The first is Sen. Toni Atkin and Sen. Ricardo Lara’s single-payer health care bill, which was ultimately sidelined, at least in part because details like how the state would pay for it were never clearly laid out. The second was Sen. Ben Hueso’s bill that would provide legal services for immigrants facing deportation that was held after the state’s budget process included millions to expand legal services for immigrants. Finally, Assemblywoman Shirley Weber’s teacher tenure reform bill stalled due to “outstanding policy concerns.”
VOSD Podcast: Pending Pot Policies
On this week’s podcast, hosts Scott Lewis and Keatts delve into emerging regulations for the local recreational marijuana industry – and the areas that are still filled with uncertainty and confusion.
There are still questions over the legality of some delivery services, for example.
John Hueston, from the law firm that conducted an investigation into SANDAG also joined the podcast to discuss some of the firm’s most interesting findings.
Quick News Hits
• While levels of violence in Mexico are rising, some of the country’s criminal justice reforms are in peril, write two University of San Diego professors in the Union-Tribune. As this interview we published with the friend of a slain Mexican journalist revealed, violent crimes in the country often go unpunished.
• A consultant has offered up a solution to Encinitas to help the city adopt a housing plan – something that has caused the North County Coastal City multiple legal challenges. Much to some residents’ relief, the consultant said he has a way to meet state housing targets in Encinitas while still avoiding three-story buildings. (Union-Tribune)
• SDG&E says the number of construction accidents damaging gas lines in San Diego has increased dramatically since 2010. (NBC 7)
• City Councilwoman Georgette Gomez told ThinkProgress that San Diego is being used “as ground-zero for exploration of the border” and it’s not appreciated.
• SANDAG told the Union-Tribune that departing Executive Director Gary Gallegos’ will be getting $22,000 a month for the rest of his life as a pension.
Top Stories of the Week
These were the top five most popular Voice of San Diego stories for the week of July 21-28. View the full top 10 list here.
1. San Diego DA’s Prosecution of Pot Attorney Has Sent Chills Through the Legal Community
Lawyers in San Diego and beyond worry the prosecution of a lawyer who represents a marijuana business could force a central tenet of practicing law – attorney-client privilege – to go up in smoke. (Jonah Valdez)
2. Body Cam Footage Shows SDPD Officer Gave False Testimony in Homeless Case
Body camera footage discovered by the city attorney’s office after a homeless man was convicted of an infraction shows a San Diego Police officer gave false testimony multiple times under oath. The city attorney’s office didn’t notify SDPD about the officer until contacted by Voice of San Diego. (Sara Libby)
3. Pot Entrepreneurs Want the Babies of Lemon Grove and La Mesa to Pack Their Bags
As pot entrepreneurs rush to scoop up real estate in cities with clear regulations allowing dispensaries, they’re running up against rules about how far away they must be from places like day cares and schools. Some are approaching day cares with offers of cash and other deals if they agree to move or shut down. (Kinsee Morlan)
4. Ex-Poway Superintendent Is Facing Five Felony Charges
John Collins is facing five felony charges for allegedly misusing public money while superintendent of the Poway Unified School District, according to a complaint filed by the San Diego County district attorney’s office. If convicted on all charges, Collins could spend up to seven years in prison. (Ashly McGlone)
5. School Officials Wanted Everyone But Disabled Students to Move Into Gleaming New Campus
The stark differences in facilities proposed for Earl Warren Middle School in Solana Beach felt like blatant discrimination to some parents of students in an adult transition program on campus. Many of them say the problems extend beyond just buildings. (Maya Srikrishnan)