In recent months, FieldTurf USA has continued to replace and repair deteriorated fields across San Diego Unified.
Emails obtained by VOSD’s Ashly McGlone show that the company replaced Madison High School’s turf field free of charge in June and dumped gallons glue on fields at University City High, San Diego High and Morse High earlier this year to make them stronger. Some of the fields experiencing problems have already been replaced before.
This story may sound familiar.
Most of the fields were highlighted in McGlone’s investigation into FieldTurf failures. For example, she reported last year that San Diego and Morse high schools saw their 2009 fields fall apart by 2014, even though the fields — which cost $607,000 and $449,000, respectively — were guaranteed to last eight years under warranty with normal use.
Despite the problems, FieldTurf is still the only turf installed at schools throughout the district. Between 2006 to 2016, the district paid FieldTurf USA more than $15 million
A San Diego Unified spokeswoman told McGlone district officials are still satisfied with FieldTurf’s products.
Water Ethics Office Becomes a Tool in Fight it Was Supposed to End
In 1999, the state Legislature made the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California create an ethics office after the agency was caught up in a ethically questionable public relations campaign to stop the San Diego County Water Authority from buying water from someone else.
But instead of being an asset that helps the two agencies keep the peace, the office became “another tool in the fight,” writes VOSD’s Ry Rivard.
Now, Rivard reports, Metropolitan’s ethics officer is out after she appeared to not side with Metropolitan in two recent investigations. The two investigations both had to do with San Diego Water Authority.
The first looked into whether a Water Authority representative leaked an internal Metropolitan document and the second said that Metropolitan’ former chief operating officer has deliberately misled the board about a water recycling project in Los Angeles that San Diego opposes.
Culture Report: KAABOO’s Got More Than Music
In this week’s Culture Report, VOSD’s Kinsee Morlan writes about how the visual arts portion of KAABOO has been quietly thriving in the shadows of the music festival.
The event includes a mix of live murals and public art installations, plus a contemporary art fair.
“From Sept. 15-17, big-name visual artists like Brazilian duo Bicicleta sem Freio and Los Angeles artist Erin Yoshi will be at KAABOO alongside the likes of Weezer and Alanis Morissette,” Morlan writes.
Also in this week’s arts and culture news, San Diego International Airport’s new piece of public art has a high-tech touch and the women behind the Old Globe are being recognized at a new exhibit at the Women’s Museum of California.
Opinion: More Granny Flats Isn’t Right for College Area
In an op-ed, College Area resident Ann Cottrell writes that while granny flats are an important piece of solving San Diego’s housing woes, they aren’t a good fit for her neighborhood.
“I’m not opposed to granny flats in the College Area, but communities like ours that are already impacted by extra density in single-family neighborhoods need some variation in the new policy for protection.” Cottrell writes.
The College Area is plagued with “mini-dorm” landlords who already push the limits to maximize the number of allowable bedrooms in a house, she writes.
Quick News Hits
• An earthquake threat posed by San Diego’s Rose Canyon fault could kill 2,000 and result in $40 billion worth of property damage. (Union-Tribune)
• The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to create a $25 million affordable housing trust that would allow the county to directly invest in low-income housing. (City News Service)
• A judge ordered Rep. Darrell Issa to pay Doug Applegate, his opponent in 2016, $45,000 in legal expenses Applegate accrued during a defamation lawsuit. (Union-Tribune)
• The toll of Hepatitis A in San Diego continues to rise, reaching 16 deaths and 421 people sick. (10News)
• UC San Diego was ranked the ninth best public school in the country by U.S. News and World Report. (Union-Tribune)
• Oh hey, someone else has discovered the Valle de Guadalupe … again. (Sunset Magazine)