The Morning Report
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It was a packed house at Whistle Stop Bar this week. The homey “Greater Golden Hill” establishment has long been the heart of our live podcasts and this was our first show back since the pandemic — in front of a sold out crowd.
VOSD Podcast hosts Scott Lewis, Andrew Keatts and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña discussed the latest in the homelessness crisis. San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria says he changed his mind about safe camping sites as new homelessness records are broken each month. In this show, our hosts review the new approach.
Special guest, National City Councilman Marcus Bush, joined the unhoused convo as he reports National City is dealing with it much like any other local municipality. He says Gloria’s argument that San Diego is doing more than its fare share for the region is legit — and we all need to come at this conversation with “humanity,” he said.
Also a board member of the Metropolitan Transit System — now caught up in the Nathan Fletcher scandal — Bush spoke plainly about the agency. It’s “old school and insular,” he said, acknowledging that MTS staff were aware of key details about the lawsuit filed against MTS and Fletcher by a former employee who alleged sexual harassment and sexual assault while Bush learned most from the media. “And that’s a problem.”
We also reviewed with Bush the repeal of the National City low rider ordinance, the fast infection rate of political power and more. He’s most of the first half of the show.
On the second half, we got into some bangin’ soccer news.
San Diego Loyal Soccer Club President Ricardo Campos made his VOSD Pod debut during an awkward week.
An upcoming announcement was announced this week: Representatives from SDSU (whose Snapdragon Stadium could host a new team), investment partners and Major League Soccer officials are set to meet soon in San Diego. We expect an MLS team to get planted here.
San Diego Loyal, which sprouted in 2020, is a lower-division team. Campos said during the show they’ve been trying to build a soccer club that’s part of the community.
Meanwhile, the aforementioned investment partners with gobs of money may swoop in and add a third team to town. (San Diego Wave, the women’s major league team, has quickly become a hot brand and continues to beat its own attendance records.)
But Campos said the it’s not a competitive vibe. “The more the better,” he said, arguing more teams fuel more passion for the sport.
To round it off, Lewis asked, “Is there any chance the Loyal is part of the announcement [about the MLS team] that’s coming next week?”
“We need two parties to be willing to work together,” Campos said. “And our door is open.”
