These were the most popular Voice of San Diego stories for the week of Jan. 12-19.
1. I Made It in San Diego: Moving Doesn’t Have to Be Terrible
Mike Glanz, the founder and CEO of the online moving marketplace HireAHelper, on how and why he helped disrupt the multibillion-dollar moving industry. (Kinsee Morlan)
2. New Year, New Cuts Contemplated at San Diego Unified
Officials at San Diego Unified School District are once again facing a budget shortfall. They’ve asked parents to identify which potential cuts they can live with as part of this year’s attempt to balance the budget. (Ashly McGlone)
3. Opinion: Lifeguards and Firefighters Have Different Jobs and Talents; Let’s Keep It That Way
Further integrating the two groups of first responders, as San Diego Fire Chief Brian Fennessy has proposed, would put the public safety at risk and waste taxpayer dollars. (Chris Brewster)
4. An Annotated Copy of Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s 2018 State of the City Speech
We’ve reproduced Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s State of the City speech and annotated his comments with context and links to help you better understand what the mayor said — and what he left out. (Lisa Halverstadt)
5. Politics Report: What the Mayor Didn’t Say in His Big Speech
Nary a word on the search for the next police chief. The scrum to replace a longtime congressman. And Nathan Fletcher sits for a lot of questions. (Scott Lewis)
6. How a Company Built the Only Immigrant Detention Center Able to Expand in California
Three years since it opened, the Otay Mesa Detention Center is now nearly at capacity with immigrant detainees. It’s the only privately owned detention facility in California able to expand. And expand it will as a major uptick of detentions is expected to continue. (Maya Srikrishnan)
7. New Convention Center Measure Could Accommodate Union Backed Bayfront Hotel
Convention Center backers have long pushed for a waterfront expansion but the latest measure, for which they’re now gathering signatures, allows them to pursue backup plans – including one they’ve never envisioned. Hotel workers say they will not support the old plans. (Lisa Halverstadt)
8. The Learning Curve: San Diego Unified Democrats Kill Election Reforms — for Now
Gov. Jerry Brown wants to finish funding the Local Control Funding Formula two years ahead of schedule, a new study suggests charter schools are siphoning resources, and more in our biweekly roundup of education news. (Mario Koran)
9. Sign of the Times: Progressive Gomez Takes Over at Stodgy MTS
MTS selected a new board chair Thursday: San Diego City Councilwoman Georgette Gomez. She made her way in San Diego politics as an outsider and environmental advocate who was positioned against the city’s pro-business establishment, and now she’ll head one of the region’s most powerful agencies. (Andrew Keatts)
10. The Voice of Border Patrol Agents Tries to Keep His Head Straight as the World Changes
Chris Harris encapsulates a host of contradictions. When the union representing Border Patrol agents, which he helps lead, endorsed now President Trump, Harris had misgivings. He’s married to a woman whose parents came to the country illegally, meaning they broke the same laws he’s now responsible for enforcing. Now he’s trying to join with environmentalists to clean up a sewage problem poisoning his colleagues. (Mario Koran)