These were the most popular Voice of San Diego stories for the week of Aug. 25-Sept. 1.
1. The State Supreme Court Just Changed Everything We Knew About Local Tax Hikes
Many of the local tax increases people have talked about in San Diego just got a lot easier to pass if they’re proposed by a citizens’ group instead of local government. (Scott Lewis)
2. I Made it in San Diego: The Fitness Franchise That Started it All
One fitness franchise helped pave the way for businesses like OrangeTheory and Barry’s Bootcamp, and it started with a woman teaching classes out of rec centers in Oceanside. (Sara Libby)
3. A Pipe Dream to Bring Colorado River Water to San Diego Re-Emerges
In the latest sign of how far local officials might go to become water independent, Water Authority board leaders are asking the agency to study a plan to build a multibillion-dollar pipeline to the Colorado River. (Ry Rivard)
4. Officials Fumbled With Permits, Pilot Project as Deadly Hepatitis Outbreak Surged
In the two months since officials decided to set up hand-washing stations to help combat a deadly hepatitis A outbreak, the county has deployed just two stations – and they’re both miles away from the downtown streets that are essentially ground zero of the outbreak. (Lisa Halverstadt)
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)
6. Desal Plant Is Producing Less Water Than Promised
Over the last year, the privately owned plant failed to deliver nearly a fifth of the water the San Diego County Water Authority ordered from it. (Ry Rivard)
7. Call it the Anti-Drought: Water Officials Hope to Drive Up Water Usage
As recently as the first months of this year, Californians were asked to conserve water. Well, they did. And they still are. Now, that’s a problem.(Ry Rivard)
8. Fact Check: How Strictly Does Bry’s Plan Limit Short-Term Vacation Rentals?
Short-term rental platforms Airbnb and HomeAway claim Councilwoman Barbara Bry’s proposed vacation-rental regulations would hamstring rental operators in the city. (Lisa Halverstadt)
9. Short-Term Rental Proposal Limits Homeowners’ Ability to Use Their Biggest Asset
The new regulatory framework for short-term vacation rentals should drive economic development, support local families and protect neighborhood quality of life. (Christopher Lehane)
10. Energy Choice Might Come Down to Which Entity People Hate Less – Government or SDG&E
The San Diego City Council is expected to decide early next year whether the city should part ways with San Diego Gas & Electric. Expect a massive airing of civic grievances in which both sides argue the other isn’t suited to provide the city’s power. (Ry Rivard)