Morning Report: The Mom Not Letting Anything to Chance in School Board Race

Shana Hazan, candidate for the SDUSD’s District B board seat has swept the endorsement world, garnering one from nearly every local institution and Democratic official of note. She’s also cleaned up in the fundraising world, raising as much as both candidates for the District C board seat combined, and nearly $100,000 more than her general election opponent, former educator and principal Godwin Higa.

Hazan’s background in the nonprofit world and brief stints in education, public relations and journalism seem to have perfectly prepared her to step into the political limelight, even as she says she’s uncomfortable with it. 

Jakob McWhinney writes that her talking points are delivered with ease, and her campaign materials are glossy. She deeply understands the political nature of board positions and takes the need to build alliances to accomplish her goals seriously.

She seems to have a genuine desire to improve San Diego schools, and she has a long list of carefully considered goals to back that up. They include a wider implementation of community schools strategies and bringing greater transparency to a district that’s often been criticized for its lack of it. Many of those goals were fleshed out during her time doing local and statewide policy work or getting involved with the neighborhood school her daughter attends. But in order to accomplish anything, she first needs to get elected, and it seems like she knows how to do it.

Read Hazan’s profile here. 

ICYMI: We profiled all the candidates running for school board. Read those here.

Air Pollution District, U.S. Navy Settle Over Ship Fire

The county Air Pollution Control District announced Tuesday that it has settled with the U.S. Navy over a violation notice it issued after flames engulfed USS Bonhomme Richard in July 2020, affecting air quality across the region for days.

APCD said that it reached a $150,000 settlement – the maximum allowed under state law – and plans to use $140,000 of those proceeds to bolster a program that provides air purifiers and indoor air monitoring systems to residents in some parts of Barrio Logan, Logan Heights, Sherman Heights and National City.

The settlement comes more than two years after the fire. A Navy investigation released last fall found that the ship burned for two hours before crews began battling it and criticized Navy officials for inadequate training and oversight. The Union-Tribune has reported that the San Diego-based sailor accused of sparking the fire is set to stand trial later this month.

In Other News

• The Union-Tribune reports that the air conditioning system at the downtown Superior Court wasn’t fully operating Tuesday, the latest building issue to befall the new central courthouse.
• Police announced that 11 people were arrested and 51 ticketed over the Labor Day weekend after allegedly taking over city streets, City News Service reports.
• Fox 5 San Diego reports that residents of a National City retirement home are being hit with hundreds of dollars in increased rents and food expenses, an outcome the owner blames on inflation and staffing costs.
• La Prensa reported that Chula Vista city attorney candidate Simon Silva passed away over the weekend.
• The Union-Tribune writes that an Oceanside beach got a new lease on life this week – with sand from a cemetery. 
• The Union Tribune reports that city of San Diego pulled in millions of dollars in federal funds for local projects, including $500,000 for access ramps at the long-shuttered Starlight Bowl in Balboa Park. Our Lisa Halverstadt previously recounted the history and more recent state of the Starlight Bowl, which a nonprofit Save Starlight is rallying to revitalize.

The Morning Report was written by Jakob McWhinney and Lisa Halverstadt. It was edited by Andrea Lopez-Villafana.