The Morning Report
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This week on the podcast, we are gearing up for Politifest!
This year it’s Politifest 2020: Pick Your Future. VOSD hosts Scott Lewis and Sara Libby preview some of the most exciting panels, interviews and discussions to look forward to during the week-long virtual conference.
Some heavy hitters include: Libby’s statewide ballot measure crash course; Attorney General Xavier Bacerra’s chat about policing; the 53rd Congressional District debate and the San Diego mayoral debate.
You can get one-day passes or sign up for the whole week. Check it out at politifest.org.
The ‘Jesse Beat’
VOSD associate editor Jesse Marx unleashed a couple of fascinating stories this week about law enforcement. Advancing a big story about an arms-dealing sheriff’s captain, Marx got ahold of internal docs that showed the former Sheriff’s Department employee — Marco Garmo — got some cover from his superiors.
The report showed Garmo’s supervisor made excuses for him. Garmo hadn’t known what he was doing was illegal, the supervisor wrote, despite also noting “ignorance of the law is not an excuse.”
Plus: Marx, along with VOSD intern Kara Grant, checked in on yet another piece of surveillance equipment used by San Diego police. As it turns out, the sensors being used to detect gunshots in certain San Diego neighborhoods don’t work as well as the sensor makers said they would.
Congrats, Here’s $3.50
Finally, Libby and Lewis reviewed a follow-up story about a fee the Port of San Diego was imposing on people who rented cars at the airport.
The $3.50 “fee” turned out to work more as a tax, since it was being used to pay for a major development in Chula Vista — totally unrelated to getting that economy-sized Hertz sedan.
Now, the Port may have to pay back as much as $6.6 million. And if you paid that fee, you might get a check for $3.50. Don’t spend it all at once.