The Morning Report
Get the news and information you need to take on the day.
The San Diego City Council is expected this summer to reconsider the fate of the Mission Hills Library. Preservationists want to preserve it while others view it as a potential site for new housing.
What this tells us: The dispute exposes a conflict within San Diego government — between efforts to save culturally significant structures on the one hand and densify communities close to major transit corridors on the other.
Jesse Marx unpacks this long-simmering debate that’ll become centerstage in a few weeks.
Change is already in the works. Mayor Todd Gloria is returning the city’s historic resources program to the Planning Department in response to criticisms from his working group that historic standards are generous and slowing the pace of middle-income housing development. Others argue that the tax breaks for historic homes are unequally distributed.
Preservationists have countered that historic structures make up a fraction of the city’s total housing supply and they’re being scapegoated for private industry’s failure to build truly affordable homes.
Read the piece in its entirety here.
Politics Report: Lots of Events for One Stadium
There’s a lot happening at Snapdragon Stadium.
The Politics Report tapped San Diego State’s Director of Athletics John David Wicker to answer a couple of questions about how that one stadium will juggle all of its teams and events. And did he really think Major League Soccer would come to town? What will the team’s name be?
He gets into that and more in the Politics Report.
Read the Politics Report here.
VOSD Podcast: In the latest episode, pod host Scott Lewis described the scene before a “resplendent” stadium, where MLS and a gaggle of bigwigs — local and global — declared that in 2025, the highest level of men’s soccer would branch out to San Diego. Plus, Lewis and co-hosts Andrea Lopez-Villafaña and Andrew Keatts review how the city arrived at this big sports moment and the players who made it happen.
Then the Andys take turns reviewing our latest stories. Listen to the episode here or wherever you get your podcasts.
In Other News
- ICYMI:This week in Cup of Chisme Voice editor Andrea Lopez-Villafaña unpacks a troubling trend about cops not responding to calls when people need help. She also rounded up her favorite stories from our reporters. Read Cup of Chisme here.
- San Diego State University’s has closed its investigation into allegations that former student and football player Matt Araiza was involved in the rape and gang rape of a high school student. (ESPN)
- The Los Angeles Times reveals that California counties set to implement a new CARE Court system to compel more people with mental illnesses into care – including San Diego County – are facing significant challenges.
The Morning Report was written by Jesse Marx, Andrea Lopez-Villafaña and Lisa Halverstadt. It was edited by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.