Top Stories: Sept. 28-Oct.5

These were the most popular Voice of San Diego stories for the week of Sept. 28-Oct. 5.

1. Just How Close SoccerCity and SDSU Got to a Deal and How it All Fell Apart

For a year, the mayor’s office, San Diego State University executives and FS Investors worked to put together a deal to transform the land into a joint soccer-football stadium. They came as close as it gets to an agreement, until it all fell apart. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at how that happened. Now the onetime partners are backing competing ballot measures to reimagine Mission Valley. (Scott Lewis)

2. Dog Pile: Local Agencies Blast the Airport Authority’s Plan to Redo Terminal 1

Local political leaders from across the spectrum agree the airport’s more than $2 billion plan to renovate Terminal 1 is a big regional priority that could boost the economy. Yet officials from several agencies have weighed in to express exasperation and frustration with the airport’s approach to the project. (Andrew Keatts)

3. After Budget Miscalculations, Sweetwater Must ID Millions in Cuts Within Weeks

Sweetwater Union High School District miscalculated its budget for the current school year by more than $30 million. Districts must regularly make cuts and plan for budget shortfalls in the future — but Sweetwater will have to make significant cuts to the school year that has already started. (Will Huntsberry)

4. Opinion: Prop. 10 Isn’t a Viable Solution to Our Housing Problems

If we repeal Costa-Hawkins, new housing construction could decline. More importantly, local jurisdictions will behave in their own interests, not in a coherent statewide effort. (Barbara Bry)

5. SDSU Can’t Say How it Will Pay for Everything in SDSU West Plan

If Measure G passed, SDSU expects to need $550 million to build a new stadium and begin preparing the land. SDSU officials have repeatedly promised they will not raise student tuition or fees, but they are uncertain or secretive about how exactly everything would play out. (Ry Rivard)

6. Opinion: The San Diego Airport’s Terminal 1 Plan Threatens Nearby Neighborhoods

The airport’s selfish plan to capture all the new revenue from revamping Terminal 1 while making others pay to solve related transportation problems is shameful. (Lorie Zapf)

7. Nearly One-Fourth of Funds Meant to Bankroll Affordable Housing Went to Other Causes

Developers must incorporate some low-income units into their projects or pay a fee to help build them elsewhere. A VOSD analysis of Housing Commission spending shows the fee collections have helped build units but also paid for other programs and costs that weren’t solely affordable housing. (Lisa Halverstadt)

8. Opinion: Terminal 1 Should Be Priority No. 1 for San Diego

Air travelers who are coming in ever greater numbers regardless of whether we replace Terminal 1 or not need better ways to access the airport. That includes a road allowing airport traffic to bypass Harbor Drive. (Greg Cox)

9. Lawsuit Reveals How Silent Pot Investors Can Subvert the System

One of the major selling points of Prop. 64, the state measure legalizing marijuana, was that the people running marijuana businesses would be forced into the spotlight and held accountable. A local case highlights how easily state and city protections can be dodged if the financial interests behind a marijuana business decline to reveal themselves. (Jesse Marx)

10. Border Report: How Money Laundering Works Along the Border

San Diego County’s Child Welfare Services plays a role in family separations, Haitians in Tijuana find their voice and more in our biweekly roundup of border news. (Maya Srikrishnan)