High-profile climate activists are suing the city of San Diego for approving a suburban neighborhood plan that doesn’t strike at the heart of the greatest source of emissions regionally: commuting by car.
This is the first lawsuit alleging the city isn’t making good on its neighborhood-specific climate goals. It argues San Diego shouldn’t pass neighborhood plans that don’t strive to drive down car emissions by adding substantially greener transportation options or housing in job hubs like Mira Mesa.
San Diego is supposed to reach net zero emissions by 2035, which means it’s supposed to cut as many emissions as the city generates. Fossil fuel-powered automobiles are responsible for 55 percent of the city’s planet-warming emissions.
Politics Report, Presidents Day Edition
Can you envision any San Diego leaders becoming president? For the latest Politics Report, Editor in Chief Scott Lewis quizzed several local politicos about who they think should be on the path to the presidency – and who thinks they are on the path. Also in this week’s roundup for political junkies: Details on a new poll about Mayor Todd Gloria and a nightmare political scenario for Democrats who were pleased to finally have control of the County Board of Supervisors.
VOSD Podcast: Jesse Marx and Lisa Halverstadt joined Scott Lewis to discuss Halverstadt’s story revealing skyrocketing San Diego police-response times. The pod squad also discussed a City Councilman’s planned pitch to try to address unsheltered homelessness and a small spike in hepatitis A cases that’s already impacting the unhoused population. Listen to the episode here.
In Other News
- The Union-Tribune reports that the city of Chula Vista has a history of “contentious” City Council appointments. And now, residents are arguing that the city needs a stricter vetting process for candidates who apply when a seat is vacant.
- Also in the U-T: A political consulting firm owned by Jesus Cardenas, chief of staff for San Diego City Councilman Stephen Whitburn, continued to do business through the most recent election season even though the firm had been suspended by the state since January 2022.
- Advocates of Friendship Park continue to protest the government’s plan to build fencing adjacent to the park. (KPBS)
The Morning Report was written by MacKenzie Elmer and Lisa Halverstadt. It was edited by Jesse Marx and Andrea Lopez-Villafana.