Last week, residents learned the explicit details of a scandal involving one of their elected officials, County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher.
Just days after Fletcher announced he was abandoning his campaign for state Senate and checking into a treatment program for trauma and alcohol abuse, Grecia Figueroa, a former MTS employee and news reporter, accused Fletcher and MTS of sexual harassment, failure to prevent sexual harassment and retaliation, sexual assault and whistleblower retaliation.
A lawsuit containing details of Fletcher’s alleged advances and screenshots of his Instagram messages to Figueroa began circulating online.
It’s safe to assume that ended Fletcher’s political career. He announced his resignation.
But the trouble at MTS is just beginning.
MTS issued a statement saying Figueroa had been fired because of her work performance, which raises many questions. To answer them, MTS promised an investigation, which our Andrew Keatts revealed isn’t really an investigation.
Scott Lewis explains why even if Fletcher is done, big questions remain and the scandal is only beginning at MTS.
- San Diego Councilman Stephen Whitburn, the acting chair at MTS, told us Monday that the agency has scheduled a closed session meeting for Thursday morning to discuss the allegations against Fletcher.
Related: Over the weekend, Lorena Gonzalez tweeted a photo of herself enjoying some bubbly with her daughter and then added, “Sorry, I’m not sorry. #Beyonce” That tweet has now been deleted.
The song mentioned in the tweet was “Sorry” from Beyonce’s 2016 Lemonade album. The singer’s husband, Jay-Z, told New York Times Magazine that the album touched on difficult moments in their marriage.
Border Report: A City Crumbling Like Mazapan
We’ve had our fair share of infrastructure troubles with all the rain we’ve gotten this year, but nothing like our neighbors to the south.
Voice contributor Sandra Dibble writes that Tijuana is literally crumbling. The city’s mayor joked on social media about how the people in Tijuana live in a Mazapan, a popular peanut candy that falls apart to the touch.
But behind the humor are serious concerns about landslides in the city, and a poor permitting system that allowed developers to build apartments in landslide prone areas. Dibble gets into what officials say they plan to do about the issue in the latest Border Report.
A Point on Inspiration Point
In February, our Lisa Halverstadt got a scoop that a San Diego councilman was eyeing a parking lot in Balboa Park as a potential site for a safe camping lot. While that moves along, institutions at the park are already opposing it.
They are worried about a safe campground at Inspiration Point, or the “front door” of Balboa Park, as they called it, creating an unwelcoming environment for guests, volunteers, staff and school children who visit the park every day.
We had a reader comment on our story about what this proposal means for parking given that the city of San Diego painted curbs on Park Boulevard red. The city told CBS 8 that Inspiration Point is a lot where people could still find parking and a free tram ride to the museums. The reader asked how that would work and if Inspiration Point really is an option for visitors to park if the city is also considering using it as a safe campground.
Over the weekend, our co-managing editor spent several minutes circling the park’s full lots, not her idea, until eventually driving to Inspiration Point. It only took a second to find parking and there were still dozens of open spaces toward the end.
Read Halverstadt’s story here.
In Other News
- A state ballot initiative announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom last month may shake up the mental health system statewide, Cal Matters reports. Newsom proposed diverting funds from existing mental health dollars toward housing people on the street who are mentally ill. The idea is backed by several lawmakers, but mental health workers on the ground are concerned about the impact it will have on their work. (Cal Matters)
- Ocean Beach residents shared their support for the Ocean Beach Pier Renewal Project over the weekend. The project calls for the replacement or major restoration of the pier, which has been battered by storms over the years. The project would cost upward of $40 million. (CBS 8)
- New masking guidance from the state health department took effect yesterday allowing hospitals, nursing homes and detention facilities to stop requiring masks in most routine situations. (Union-Tribune)
- San Diego’s ban on styrofoam products went into effect over the weekend after years of delay. (KPBS)
The Morning Report was written by Tigist Layne and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.