Morning Report: SDSU Students Are Paying More for Less Parking

San Diego State University / Photo by Adriana Heldiz

A new state audit of the California State University system reveals that administrators had been stockpiling cash while publicly arguing in favor of a tuition hike. SDSU had by far the biggest surplus of any campus — more than $456 million.

That’s a big deal. But as Megan Wood reports, the audit also examined parking programs on various campuses and found something interesting.

Over the past decade, while student parking rates at SDSU increased by nearly 29 percent, the availability of parking for SDSU students actually went down. In the meantime, the college sits on a surplus of $28 million in unused parking revenue that can be spent on facility maintenance, parking construction and alternative transportation.

The university does have one new parking structure, the audit notes, but it’s not intended for students. Yet student parking permit fees are being used to pay for $900,000 in annual debt payments on a bond used to finance the construction costs of the structure.

SDSU determined several years ago that parking facilities were the most expensive way to accommodate its commuters. In a written response to the state audit, the college noted that it’s seen a reduced reliance on cars for transportation, specifically pointing to trolley and bus access on campus.

Politics Roundup

There was another long and contentious debate in the California Legislature over SB 276, a bill inspired by VOSD reporting that seeks to curb illegitimate medical vaccine exemptions. Bob Sears, a doctor who’s written a number of exemptions for San Diego Unified students, testified against it.
San Diego County Republican Party chairman Tony Krvaric issued a full-throated statement in support of President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign, but he and other GOP operatives were not always fans. In the summer of 2016 — remember those days? — consultants and elected officials complained that Trump was damaging the moderate San Diego Republican brand.
Darrell Issa is considering another run for Congress in another district — possibly Duncan Hunter’s, the Hill reports. Things aren’t looking great for Hunter now that his wife intends to testify against him in a federal trial later this year. In the meantime, Issa’s nomination to the US Trade and Development Agency has stalled.

Big Brother at the Border

The documents released following a cyberattack offer a rare view of the U.S. surveillance state that federal officials deploy for the constant monitoring of legal immigration, the Washington Post reports. With the help of private companies, the government has plans to expand its use of license plate readers and facial-recognition cameras at border crossings.

In a letter to DHS leaders, one U.S. senator said the data breach — which exposed the faces and license plates of thousands of U.S. travelers — reveals the risks of a digital dragnet that can put people in harm’s way.

In May, San Francisco became the only city in the nation to bar police and other agencies from using the technology. California is considering a similar ban because of state laws protecting the right to anonymity in public and because of the potential real-world effect of relying on algorithms that could falsely identify innocent people, primarily women and minorities.

In Other News

Soccer star Landon Donovan and the founder of the Sacramento Republic Football Club came into the podcast studio to explain why they want to bring a new team to San Diego. Donovan was one of the forces behind the now defunct SoccerCity plan. His new proposal does not require public money or land.
A Del Mar executive pleaded guilty to fraud conspiracy for bribing his children’s way into USC as athletes on paper. The Los Angeles Times has more details on how Toby MacFarlane’s daughter evaded detection for a time.
In response to Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez’s bill limiting who can be considered an independent contractor, Uber and Lyft are attempting to do something unusual for them: compromise. (Los Angeles Times)
Behind closed doors, the San Diego City Council agreed to give $350,000 to a recreation worker who filed a lawsuit claiming she was sexually assaulted and then lost a promotion. (Union-Tribune)

Correction

Friday’s Sacramento Report incorrectly referred described housing financing programs being proposed by the state treasurer. They are tax credit programs.

The Morning Report was written by Jesse Marx, and edited by Sara Libby