Signs in Crown Point protest the proliferation of short-term vacation rentals. / Photo by Dustin Michelson

This week, San Diego took an actual step toward solving the years-long political puzzle of vacation rentals.

The San Diego City Council voted 8-1 to approve a regulatory compromise put together by Council President Jen Campbell to regulate the industry.

Our inability to solve the vacation rental problem made it a “San Diego Special.” Coined by Mayor Todd Gloria before he was in charge of the city, a “San Diego Special” is a longstanding problem that hasn’t been addressed because of a lack of will and leadership.

Before we go popping bottles over fancy new rental regulations and permitting procedures, hosts Scott Lewis, Sara Libby and Andrew Keatts assess what the new rules could look like in real life and whether they may have the desired effect anytime soon.

Read more: VOSD’s Lisa Halverstadt checked on what the numbers have to tell about vacation rentals in the region.

Rape Kit Update

Following a years-long investigation, Keatts reviewed the San Diego Police Department’s history of mishandling and neglecting rape kits.

In this latest chapter, Keatts revealed that previously untested kits were coming back with DNA hits, upending the department’s narrative that the kits had no investigative value.

We Have a Date (?!)

April 12, 2021, was an important day announced last week by San Diego Unified School Board President Richard Barrera. That is the target date when students could go back to school, based on projected COVID case rates and vaccinations.

As stoked as some may have been following that news, we’ve got to keep cool. As state Assembly candidate and teacher Shane Parmley noted in VOSD’s debate this week, “nothing’s finalized,” and the conditions still need to be met. So as the date peaks its head over the horizon, classroom learning may not be as close as some may expect.

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Nate John is the digital manager at Voice of San Diego. He oversees Voice's website, newsletters, podcasts and product team. You can reach him at nate@vosd.org.

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