Parents at Correia Middle School in Point Loma have been disturbed for weeks since the school sent out a voicemail cryptically saying an “incident” occurred at the school.
After a flurry of speculation, the story took shape: Students reported a boy brought a gun to school and brandished it. Parents wanted action. Meetings happened. TV cameras showed up. But police officers who investigated the incident never found a gun.
Then more came out: Girls at the school said the student had sexually harassed them too. District officials investigated that claim and found enough evidence to substantiate it.
All this came at a time when San Diego Unified is trying to balance progressive discipline policies with parents’ demands that the boy be expelled.
District officials, however, decided the incidents that took place did not warrant an expulsion. Many parents were incensed.
Background: In 2020, San Diego Unified passed a new restorative justice policy to guide its disciplinary practices in part to address long-standing disparities in punishment and to keep students out of a cycle of punitive action that permanently inhibits their education. Some parents say that policy has moved too far.
Jakob McWhinney reported the full story with comments from the superintendent of the district. Read it here.
North County Report: Business Owners Versus a Soup Kitchen
Brother Benno’s, a soup kitchen in Oceanside, has been helping homeless people since the early 1980’s. But neighboring business owners are frustrated.
They say the soup kitchen has attracted homeless people to their industrial park and refuse to leave, causing damage, sleeping in doorways and otherwise making the area suffer.
Now, Oceanside has made multiple costly demands of the homeless charity – and it’s unclear if Brother Benno’s will be able to continue to shoulder the cost, our Tigist Layne reports.
Because Brother Benno’s has a conditional use permit to operate, Oceanside has forced it to provide security and sanitation services in the industrial park, where it’s located. That’s costing the charity more than $200,000 per year.
Read the rest of Tigist’s North County Report newsletter here. Sign up here to get all her newsletters here.
A Cop Is Running for Mayor, Touting Law and Order
Larry Turner, a former Marine and current city police officer, announced he is running for San Diego mayor, as the San Diego Sun reported. Turner’s campaign will focus on homelessness and restoring law and order, he said.
Turner supports the controversial Sunbreak Ranch proposal that would send all homeless people with nowhere to go to a single camp on a piece of desert land in Miramar, the Sun reported.
Back in June, KUSI interviewed Turner, as he and other officers supervised a street cleaning at a homeless encampment.
“It’s not something that we would not let stand in another country, but yet it’s happening here,” he said.
Hear from the Biggest Players in Western Water Politics
Water politics are poppin’ off lately. Local water agencies are fighting publicly, rates are soaring and crushing residents, and everyone is stressed about the future of the Colorado River. If you’re worried about keeping up with all of this, don’t worry, we got you.
We’re bringing you some of the biggest players in water politics at this year’s Politifest on Oct. 7 at the University of San Diego. It might seem nerdy, but this region doesn’t exist without water. We will help you connect the dots about what’s at stake and who is making all the decisions.
Check out our stellar line up here. Get your tickets here.
Song of the Week
You don’t always see drummers as bandleaders, but if any local drummer has the clout to lead it may be Chris Prescott. He’s sat behind the kit for an array of boundary-crossing legends like Pinback, Fishwife and No Knife. His project, Montalban Quintet seamlessly mixes a wide array of influences, from jazzy horns to experimental compositional elements to post-punky textures.
Here’s my pick: Montalban Quintet, “Abajo Del Mar”
Unlike much of the band’s moody meanderings, this song is propulsive and upbeat. There’s a playful confidence to the horns that channels just a touch of the metropolitan swagger of George Gershwin’s masterpiece “Rhapsody in Blue,” and brings me back to my teen years of playing “SimCity” instead of doing my algebra homework.
Like what you hear? Catch Montalban Quintet at the Adams Avenue Street Fair on Sunday.
Do you have a “Song of the Week” suggestion? Shoot us an email and a sentence or two about why you’ve been bumping this song lately. Friendly reminder: all songs should be by local artists!
In Other News
- The Union-Tribune broke the news that proponents of a 2020 hotel-tax measure, the city and two groups that opposed Measure C in court are now asking the state Supreme Court to weigh in on whether it passed with a simple majority. You can catch up on the case here.
- Aid groups are struggling to keep up with the influx of migrants in San Diego and other border communities. Feds are dropping off migrants at transit centers and processing those who have shown up in Jacumba. Read the story here. (Union-Tribune)
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service awarded the city of San Diego $10 million to plant trees. (NBC 7)
The Morning Report was written by Will Huntsberry, Andrea Lopez-Villafaña, Jakob McWhinney and Lisa Halverstadt. It was edited by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.