The Morning Report
Get the news and information you need to take on the day.
These were the most popular Voice of San Diego stories for the week.
1. Let the Gravity of the SANDAG Fraud Truly Sink in
The agency has finally acknowledged what we have long known and reported: That a 2016 tax increase would have, in large part, back-filled a previous tax increase and the promises it would come up short of fulfilling. (Scott Lewis)
2. Hueso, City Attorney Pushing Law to Make Enforcement of Public Records Act Far More Difficult
A bill written by Sen. Ben Hueso and sponsored by the San Diego city attorney’s office would require that members of the public take certain steps before asking a court to intervene, and would make it significantly more difficult to collect attorney’s fees from agencies found to be in violation of the law. That is often the only consequence agencies face if they fail to comply with a Public Records Act request. (Sara Libby)
3. ‘A New Day at SANDAG’ as Agency Admits it Must Cut Promised Projects
The San Diego Association of Governments admitted Friday it would not finish building everything it promised in 2004, when voters extended a sales tax to pay for highway and transit projects across the county. (Andrew Keatts)
4. Meet the Obscure School Oversight Agency Making Waves With Its Candor
The state Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, which has led the investigation of Sweetwater Union High School District’s financial crisis, has turned heads for the candor with which it has discussed the district’s mess. (Will Huntsberry)
5. The Government Has Massively Ramped Up Workplace Immigration Enforcement
The types of workplace immigration investigations that can lead to operations like the one that took place at Zion Market in Kearny Mesa earlier this month have been surging recently. (Maya Srikrishnan)
6. Labor Fights Over the City’s New Energy Agency Are Just Getting Started
Labor unions are looking to make sure their members are guaranteed work on what could be a boom in new energy projects funded by the city and other local governments. But the city attorney said the City Council can’t mandate union work, at least not yet. (Ry Rivard)
7. Water Department Gets Second Major Shakeup in a Year
At least five senior Water Department officials are out as part of another shakeup of the troubled agency. The latest changes reflect an attempt to get rid of a confusing organization chart and provide more accountability. (Ry Rivard)
8. Opinion: Hueso Bill Would All But Abolish California Citizens’ Rights to Public Documents
SB 615 would require members of the public to bear the cost of forcing the government to comply with its own transparency law. (Robert Fellner)
9. Politics Report: The Biggest Post-Election Day Shifts
Political consultant Mason Herron decided to crunch the numbers and see just how much each major race changed from Election Night to the final tally. We talked to him about the report he made public this week. Plus: The District 2 supes race could be bananas. (Scott Lewis)
10. North County Report: Encinitas Makes Its Case to Newsom
The union representing Palomar College workers invited the school to sue it, police records in Oceanside and Carlsbad are still tied up in court and more in our biweekly roundup of news from North County. (Jesse Marx)