San Diego’s vacation rentals have long been stuck in a gray zone: The city attorney has said they’re illegal, but the city’s not doing anything to crack down on them either.
That could soon change.
On the podcast, hosts Scott Lewis and Jesse Marx talk about the mayor’s big vacation rental move this week.
The City Council has struggled to reach consensus when it comes to regulating the home-sharing industry. But on Thursday Mayor Kevin Faulconer finally proposed a policy framework. The City Council is scheduled to weigh in on the plan July 16.
In the second half of the show, UC San Diego professor Thomas Marcotte talks with Marx about his cannabis research, including a study looking at the effects of marijuana on driving.
Also on the podcast: Sergey Kagermázov, an investigative journalist from Saint Petersburg, Russia, who’s hanging out with the VOSD crew for a few weeks, makes a cameo to talk about the stark differences between reporting in Russia and the United States. Plus: the case of a Chula Vista High School teacher whose behavior toward female students was found to be “severe and pervasive” and the departure deal that allowed him to continue to teach elsewhere; and a new teachers union at one of San Diego’s most prestigious charter schools.
Hero of the Week
Mayor Kevin Faulconer is the hero this week. He took charge of the vacation rental debacle and has also been playing more of a leadership role at the SANDAG board meetings.
Goat of the Week
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is the goat. In the lead-up to the primary, the group ran attack ads against Assemblyman Rocky Chavez, who was running for Congress, knocking him for his votes on bipartisan efforts like the state budget and last year’s cap-and-trade bill. Basically, Democrats attacked Chavez, a Republican, for helping Democrats, potentially discouraging future bipartisanship efforts.
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