There’s a leadership vacuum in San Diego, something that was made painfully clear this week when absolutely nothing was decided after a 10-hour City Council meeting Tuesday that was supposed to provide clarity – finally – on vacation rentals.
Hundreds of people showed up to voice their support or concerns about vacation rental regulations in San Diego. Almost everyone expected something to happen at the meeting. But in the most San Diego move ever, the City Council punted the issue yet again, leading Councilman Chris Cate to release a scorching statement afterward that read in part, “We cannot govern.”
On this week’s podcast, hosts Sara Libby and Andrew Keatts discuss Tuesday’s epic vacation rental regulation failure.
The hosts also talk about the implications the Lilac Fire should have on elected leaders’ decisions about whether to allow developers to build right at the so-called wildland-urban interface, where fire danger is highest.
Ellen Montanari joins Libby and Keatts in the second half of this week’s show to talk about how the election of President Donald Trump turned her into an activist.
Montanari has focused her attention on unseating Republican Rep. Darrell Issa from the 49th Congressional District. She has been organizing weekly rallies outside the congressman’s Vista office since last year.
“The momentum is still going,” she said. “I never would have expected this many months into the year that people would still be out in front of his office. But they are.”
Hero of the Week
We’re giving the nod this week to the new women who have come forward to talk about their experiences of unwanted touching by a now-retired teacher at La Jolla High School.
Goat of the Week
Customs and Border Protection gets the goat this week. The Union-Tribune is out with a story about a whacky $297 million hiring contract with a private company. The terms of the agreement are such that the federal agency will pay about $40,000 per new agent hired.