A major player in San Diego climate policy wants the city to bail on passing its most ambitious climate action plan yet.
Nicole Capretz, who helped craft the first Climate Action Plan in 2015, hopes the City Council Environment Committee won’t approve Mayor Todd Gloria’s CAP 2.0 which touts an ambitious goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2035. Why? She says the huge package of climate goals lacks a clear and defined timeline for completing these strategies, and importantly, how much each climate action will cost.
“We did not insist on an implementation plan for the first Climate Action Plan,” she said. “We’re not going to make that mistake again.”
But city staff argue it needs council approval of the new climate goals before it can seek out funding.
The Environment Committee meets Thursday at 4 p.m.
Click here to read the full story.
Art Installation Depicting Cops as Pigs Is Staying Up Despite Backlash
The California Center for the Arts, Escondido, announced Wednesday morning that they would not be removing, covering or editing a now controversial art installation that depicts police officers as pigs dancing on a pile of donuts.
The piece by Los Angeles-based artist Slick (aka OG Slick) has caused some outcry over the past few days from members of the public and city officials, the Union-Tribune reported.
The installation is part of the center’s group exhibition, “Street Legacy: SoCal Style Masters,” which examines different aspects of street art culture, like graffiti, lowrider culture, skateboarding and more.
Despite the backlash, some said removing or covering the installation would be a form of censorship. And other artists vowed to remove their art from the exhibit if the installation was removed.
Click here to read more about why the center is keeping the art piece.
Arizonans Coming to San Diego for Reproductive Health Care
In response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe V. Wade, San Diego and Imperial counties are bracing for an influx of women from outside California seeking abortions. The chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest told KPBS that she’s seen a 100 percent increase in bookings in the days leading up to the decision.
“Not all of them [are] from Arizona,” she clarified. “But I think it was really a wake-up call. And I think patients in Arizona weren’t really sure what they were going to do.”
There’s plenty of confusion at the moment. Earlier this year, Arizona’s governor signed a bill banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. But as the Associated Press reported Wednesday, Arizona’s attorney general is falling back on a pre-statehood law that bans all abortions and says anyone who helps a pregnant woman obtain an abortion can be sentenced to two to five years in prison.
In the meantime, California and San Diego officials have reaffirmed their support and outlined plans to increase access and enshrine “reproductive freedom” in the constitution through a ballot measure. 10News also spoke to a woman in East County, originally from Arizona, who’s opening her doors to anyone willing to travel from out of state.
Save the Date
Politifest is back for our first in-person public affairs summit since 2019! We’re excited to feature a robust schedule of debates, panels and one-on-one interviews with experts all focused on the elections and ballot initiatives San Diegans will get to decide in November.
We’ll kick off Politifest with a panel on Thursday, Oct. 6 in Chula Vista with Voice editors and podcast hosts Scott Lewis, Andrew Keatts and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña. Then, join us for the main event on Saturday, Oct. 8 at the University of San Diego. Become a member today to get a discounted ticket when they become available.
See the full lineup and more details here.
Want to host a discussion not currently on the event agenda? Submit a proposal to host a Community Conversation at Politifest here.
In Other News
- The San Diego Unified School District has two new student board members. Lea Nepomuceno, an incoming senior at Scripps Ranch High School and Matthew Quitoriano, an incoming sophomore at San Diego High School were sworn in at last night’s board of education meeting. The pair, whose terms take effect July 1, received the most votes from fellow high school students in a May election. They will succeed recent University City High School graduate Zachary Patterson, who was the first student board member in the district’s history. (KPBS)
- California’s Joint Legislative Audit Committee unanimously approved an audit into increasing rates charged by San Diego Gas & Electric. The review, requested by Assemblywoman Tasha Boerner, will also assess how the California Public Utilities Commission approves rate hikes by investor-owned utilities like SDG&E. (Union-Tribune)
- The Sheriff’s Department is implementing mandatory overtime to address staffing shortages, as overtime pay balloons. (CBS 8)
- A cannabis business tax in unincorporated areas is headed to the November ballot. (City News Service)
- U-T columnist Michael Smolens argues that the 49th Congressional District, from Del Mar to Dana Point, is the one to watch because it was solidly Republican until only a few years ago. The GOP, he writes, needs to win only five districts across the nation to flip the House.
- A federal jury convicted four of five former Navy officers charged with accepting bribes from defense contractor “Fat Leonard.” (City News Service)
The Morning Report was written by MacKenzie Elmer, Jakob McWhinney, Jesse Marx, Tigist Layne and Megan Wood. It was edited by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.