The Morning Report
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The plan to turn an abandoned indoor skydiving facility in East Village into a place where homeless residents can be connected to services has been plagued with controversy and delays from the outset, but the facility could finally open later this fall, reports VOSD’s Lisa Halverstadt.
“Family Health Centers CEO Fran Butler-Cohen said she is hopeful the building will open in October as planned despite a series of setbacks, namely more recent process issues with construction bids, which have stalled the project since the City Council voted to approve a contract with the nonprofit last November,” Halverstadt writes.
The building requires significant changes and updates in order to go from catering to thrill-seekers to some of the city’s most vulnerable residents.
The nonprofit running the effort recently signed a contract for work expected to cost more than $400,000 – about $100,000 more than the city initially approved.
The group said it’s hiring outreach workers and taking steps to also help homeless residents wherever they’re at throughout the city, so that they’re not forced to come to the East Village location.
Schools Tied to Massive Charter Scandal Will Close
Back in May, San Diego prosecutors dropped a bomb of an indictment alleging the operators of a large charter school network had bilked the state out of $80 million. The superintendent of the Dehesa School District was also charged in connection with the scandal.
Now, that network, which is being operated by a court-appointed receiver, has decided to close all of its schools in California, Will Huntsberry reports.
For a refresher on how the alleged scam actually worked (there are actual suitcases stuffed with cash involved!), check out Huntsberry’s definitive narrative.
Students, Workers Are Enduring Excruciating Border Waits
One grad student got in line to cross into the United States at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry last week around 3:15 a.m. She didn’t make it into the country until around 7 a.m.
Another waited in line for six hours over the weekend.
A group of friends returning from a music festival in Mexico waited an astounding 18.5 hours over two days to get back into the country.
In the latest Border Report, Maya Srikrishnan talked with folks who cross the border regularly about the surging wait times for vehicle crossings despite new investments in upgrading local ports of entry.
One said the wait times haven’t been this bad since the aftermath of 9/11, when officials massively cracked down on border crossings.
“For some of the people in my group, it was their first time having been to Mexico,” one student told her. “It was like seeing politics at the border in real life.”
In Other News
- Rep. Scott Peters expanded in a Twitter thread on why he opposes the Green New Deal. Meanwhile, as the U-T reported, La Jolla Democrat Nancy Casady is launching a challenge to Peters based on his opposition to the plan.
- The San Diego Seniors Community Foundation released a report Monday sounding the alarm that the county’s senior centers might not be prepared for how much the region’s senior population is set to grow over the next decade. (City News Service)
- VOSD’s Will Huntsberry appeared on KPBS’s “Midday” to discuss ongoing unrest among students and parents in the Sweetwater Union High School District over budget cuts.
The Morning Report was written by Sara Libby, and edited by Scott Lewis.