These were the most popular Voice of San Diego stories for the week of Oct. 27-Nov. 3.
1. Suicide Prevention Walk Organizers Tell Gun Control Advocates to Keep Away
A suicide prevention walk in San Diego Saturday will feature pamphlets with gun safety tips co-created by a gun lobbying group, but gun-control advocates will not be allowed to distribute materials. (Ashly McGlone)
2. Homeless Camps Along the San Diego River Surge Amid Downtown Enforcement Push
This month, the San Diego River Park Foundation found 101 homeless camps in Mission Valley, the stretch of river nearest to downtown. Last October, it counted just 56 camps in Mission Valley. (Ry Rivard)
3. A Teenager Sued SDPD, and Was Documented as a Gang Member Soon After
Jamie Wilson, the parent of a 17-year-old at the center of a lawsuit challenging SDPD’s DNA collection policies, questions the department’s decision to document her son as a gang member shortly after the suit was filed. She says her son is not a gang member and has no criminal record. (Kelly Davis)
4. 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)
5. San Diego Unified Principals Are Bearing the Brunt of Budget Cuts
The results of a new survey of principals, vice principals and central office managers across the district paint a picture of schools in chaos. Clerical positions have gone vacant. The district slashed custodial staff. It is not resolving tech problems at schools. All those stresses are falling on school principals. (Mario Koran)
6. San Diego’s Fiery Vacation Rental Debate Scalds Councilman Chris Ward
Very few issues have provoked the primal passions of San Diego’s neighborhood activists like the threat that their homes will be surrounded by what they call mini-hotels. Now the anti-vacation rental crowd has settled on one prime target: Councilman Chris Ward. (Scott Lewis)
7. City Attorney Says Obscure Recreation Councils Are Collecting and Spending the City’s Money
For nearly 40 years, San Diego has empowered independent groups known as recreation councils to run programs, collect revenue and pay for some improvements at the city’s parks and recreation centers. City Attorney Mara Elliott has now decided that is inappropriate. (Andrew Keatts)
8. The Definitive FAQ on San Diego’s Vacation Rental Saga
For more than two years, homeowners and vacation rental operators have decried the lack of clear rules surrounding vacation rentals. Just when it looked like a plan to govern them might be close to the finish line, it got pulled at the last minute. Here’s the latest on the existing rules, the debate over how to regulate them and what’s coming next. (Lisa Halverstadt)
9. City Attorney: I Wasn’t Trying to Stall Vacation Rental Action
A bombshell memo issued by City Attorney Mara Elliott’s office last week put the kibosh on a Monday vote on long-awaited vacation rental regulations. She argues that wasn’t her intent. (Lisa Halverstadt)
10. I Made it in San Diego: After Battling for Her Life, She Built a Successful Battling Business
In a new episode of I Made it in San Diego, Voice of San Diego’s podcast about the stories behind the region’s businesses and the people who made them what they are, Scott Lewis talks to Diana Ocampo about the battles she’s faced and the businesses she’s built, then lost, then built again. (Kinsee Morlan)