Voice of San Diego contributor Beau Lynott interviewed the CEO of the region’s new Major League Soccer team, Tom Penn. The two unpack how Penn rose from practicing criminal defense law to becoming president of the Los Angeles Football Club to landing in San Diego.
San Diego Football Club (or some jumbling of that title) will step onto the global competitive football stage and play a role in the development of youth soccer academies, considered a pipeline to in training future U.S. soccer stars.
There’s a dream to build a combined training facility for the new football club and its youth development arm in San Diego by 2025. But where?
And with all the buzz around Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi joining MLS’ Inter Miami, could San Diego land a big-name player as well?
Find out what Penn had to say here.
More Sobering Homelessness Data
It’s now been 14 months since San Diego County had a month where the number of people falling into homelessness didn’t outpace the number moving into homes.
The Regional Task Force on Homelessness reported that 1,289 San Diegans became homeless for the first time in May and 657 exited homelessness.
March 2022 marked the last month that the number of folks getting housed outpaced those becoming unhoused.
In other homelessness news:
- The controversial camping ban the City Council approved earlier this week appears likely to go into effect in late July or early August. Police have said they will first focus on cracking down on camps near schools and in parks. The Union-Tribune gathered a few more details.
- Times of San Diego reports that state Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones is a fan of the city’s new camping ban and wants to take it statewide.
- CBS 8 reports that the women staying at the old Central Library shelter have grappled with limited drinking water and electrical issues.
Coffee and All Things North County
Meet the faces behind your favorite stories. We’ll be at Coastal Roots Farm on June 21 at 9 a.m. to discuss North County reporter Tigist Layne’s latest stories.
Layne has been working hard to cover government, housing, politics and homelessness in North County, but we’d love to hear your story ideas, too. Catch up on her work here.
Enjoy a cup of coffee with our reporters and editors. Voice members can register for a free ticket. Non-members can RSVP and purchase a membership for $35. RSVP here.
In Other News
- San Diego City Council is paying an outside law firm to vet whether Assemblyman Brian Maienschein meets the legal requirements to run for San Diego city attorney in 2024. Current City Attorney Mara Elliott, who can’t run again because of term limits, prompted the council to get a second opinion on Maienschein’s credentials. (Union-Tribune)
- San Diego County Supervisors spent millions to purchase hundreds of acres of land to put into conservation on Wednesday. (Times of San Diego)
- Housing and energy prices are the main contributors to San Diego’s inflation ranking second-highest in the country after Tampa Bay, according to one economist. (NBC 7)
- In more “it’s incredibly expensive to live in San Diego” news, the cities of San Diego, Chula Vista and Carlsbad are considered among the most expensive metros in the country according to a new study. (Fox 5)
- An early arrival of the global climate phenomenon called El Niño means global temperatures on average will be warmer. And the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts 2023 could be the hottest year on record. Luckily for California, the average temperature spikes are less than a large swath of the West, South and Eastern seaboard. (Fox 5)
The Morning Report was written by MacKenzie Elmer and Lisa Halverstadt. It was edited by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.