We’re now a few days away from Politifest 2023. It’s happening Oct. 6-7, first with a stop in Imperial Beach and then the full day at the University of San Diego. Click here for more details.
Our staff is focused on that this week. It’s a good week for shenanigans. If you have something shady in mind, we’ll be a bit distracted until Sunday when we’ll have a mountain of insights and quotes to sift through.
Saturday will be a day all about water and housing, two of California’s biggest challenges. Scott Lewis in the latest Politics Report explains why he’s excited. He started covering water and housing 20 years ago when he first moved to San Diego. Read his Politics Report here.
Here’s are some panels he’s excited about:
- Lewis will moderate a panel about the 20th anniversary of the Quantification Settlement Agreement. He will be joined by representatives from the Metropolitan Water District, the San Diego County Water Authority, the Imperial Irrigation District and an expert on the Salton Sea.
- For the real water nerds we have the “Cost of Water Smackdown” between Nick Serrano, vice chair of San Diego County Water Authority board and Jack Bebee, general manager, Fallbrook Public Utilities District.
- Plus! We have arranged a special live podcast conversation between our old pal Liam Dillon, now with the Los Angels Times, and Attorney General Rob Bonta. how They will get into how far Bonta is willing to go to enforce the state’s laws about cities meeting housing targets. You won’t want to miss it.
- There’s so much more: We have Dr. Margot Kushel coming from UC San Francisco. She has overseen the most extensive research yet on who actually are the people living with homelessness and what are they dealing with. We have a panel with people who are homeless or were. We will have a county supervisor debate and a debate about SB 10 and similar measures designed to allow more housing in neighborhoods cities tried to reserve for single-family homes.
We could go on and on. This will be a great experience.
New Youth Soccer Academy Has a Location
San Diego’s Major League Soccer plans to build a $150 million training complex on the Sycuan Reservation, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. The team will lease the 28-acre site from the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, one of its key owners.
The key feature will be a youth academy and they will convert a hotel into dormitories to train promising young athletes in the same sort of setting European clubs have for decades.
What they are saying: Team CEO Tom Penn told the U-T that it’s an important project. “Playing in Snapdragon (Stadium) is one thing, but this is the day-to-day home of our football operation and it means so much to us,” he told the paper.
Penn spoke with Voice contributor Beau Lynott about his big dreams for a soccer campus back in June. Read the full interview here.
What about the name? The club still doesn’t have a name. Given that the Sycuan tribe has a major ownership stake in a men’s processional team, our Scott Lewis asked the chairman of the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation “whether they would consider leaning into that heritage and express it in the name or promotion of the team.”His answer was no.
Penn told us it would be either San Diego Football Club or Football Club San Diego.
VOSD Podcast: RIP Driving Fee
This week, hosts Scott Lewis, Andrea Lopez-Villafaña and Jakob McWhinney discuss the final demise of the driving fee. Almost no local elected officials still supported charging drivers, someday, for every mile that they drive. It was envisioned as an idea, still illegal for now, to augment and replace the gas tax as electric vehicles take over.
Two years ago, the San Diego Association of Governments put it in the 40-year plan for transportation in the region and immediately regretted it.
It was part of the plan not just to pay for things but also to discourage driving and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But it was so politically, as soon as it appeared, even its ostensible supporters ran away from it.
Since then, it as remained the most popular target of local conservatives.
Now, with the SANDAG officially deciding not to include it in future plans, it’s as dead as it can be.
The podcast hosts held a service for its death. It’s a welcome experience for both those who mourn its passing and mourn its usefulness as a wedge issue.
On top of that, the crew also gets into college rankings. McWhinney wrote about changes to one ranking system and questions how much people should care.
It’s a good discussion, listen to the full episode here.
In Other News
- In the latest Cup of Chisme, our managing editor follow up on how Barrio Logan community members and activists have responded to San Diego Police officers arresting two teens at Chicano park. Read the newsletter here.
- San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria named former sheriff Bill Gore to the San Diego Ethics Commission. The City Council still has to approve the appointment. (Union-Tribune)
- The federal government is offering disaster loans to residents and businesses affected by Tropical Storm Hilary. (NBC 7)
- Last Thursday, work started on a future park in Fallbrook, which residents can expect to include a skatepark, nature trails and a native garden. The park is set to open in Spring 2025. (Times of San Diego)
- Through recently acquired grant money, the city of Encinitas and Vista have entered an agreement to share a new homeless shelter. (Fox5)
- US Sen. Dianne Feinstein for California, the oldest sitting senator and longest serving woman in the senate passed away this past Friday. (NBC 7)
The Morning Report was written by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña and Hannah Ramirez.
Will you record and make available the Politifest panel discussions? I’m very proud of Voice of San Diego for putting something like this together, but I am out of town on Saturday.