These were the most popular Voice of San Diego stories for the week of Oct. 20-27.
1. Opinion: I’m Homeless. There’s Nowhere for Me to Go.
When I first became homeless, the sidewalks weren’t so heavily monitored. Fast-forward three years, and now homeless people are constantly being told to move almost every single time they sit down. It wears down one’s patience, happiness and quality of life. (Ginger Stamper)
2.Homeless Enforcement Explodes Amid Hep A Response
As San Diego has upped its response to a deadly hepatitis A outbreak, it also significantly ramped up arrests of homeless San Diegans most vulnerable to the disease. Those who’ve been arrested say their lives have been rocked by the enforcement. (Lisa Halverstadt)
3. Poway Unified Officials Might Have Stumbled Upon New Financial Crimes
District officials recently found documents showing $149,495 paid to a special retirement fund for 15 employees. What they can’t find is board approval for the payments. They’ve turned the materials over to the district attorney’s office. (Ashly McGlone)
4. San Diego’s Been Losing a Century-Long Battle Against Poop
The hepatitis A outbreak has renewed interest in the bacteria-filled San Diego River. The county has called downtown a “fecally contaminated environment.” A congressman has sounded the alarm about local waterways. And an image problem has arisen again, like in the 1980s when there so much sewage running into Mission Bay its beaches were closed a quarter of the time. (Ry Rivard)
5. When Border Patrol Can Pull You Over
Patrolling the area closest to the U.S.-Mexico border may be what first comes to mind when you think of Border Patrol, but it’s only one piece of the agency’s enforcement efforts. (Mario Koran)
6. MTS’s Effort to Tame the Chaos at the Border Has Become a Mess of Its Own
The effort to create a comfortable, organized bus terminal amid the chaos at the U.S.-Mexico border is not going well. On top of unexpected expenses and the terminal’s shortcomings, MTS is locked in a bitter dispute with the owner of the property next to the terminal. A judge tentatively sided with the property owner last week. (Andrew Keatts)
7. Parents, Principals Say Staffing Is Alarmingly Low in Special Ed Classes
Administrators say they are stressed and strained by a shortage of staff. The district has used interns to teach some special education classes and even asked parents to help fill aide positions. District officials say they’ve done everything they can to ensure the cuts and other shifts don’t impact services to students. (Maya Srikrishnan)
San Diego is looking a lot like The Bad Place. (Sara Libby)
9. Opinion: The Homelessness Crisis Needs an Owner
This is not someone else’s failure; it is ours. It is not someone else’s problem to solve. It is time for leadership, not excuses. (John H. Horst)
10. SDG&E, Environmentalists Are at Opposite Poles on One Fire Prevention Method
As one piece of its fire prevention efforts, SDG&E has begun replacing wooden utility poles in the backcountry with steel ones, which don’t burn. On top of concerns about costs and impact on the forest, environmentalists also wonder: If wooden poles don’t start fires, what’s the point? (Ry Rivard)