Next week we’re bringing you a special reporting week on local rivalries.
We call it … drumroll please … Beef Week. Each day we’ll publish a new story about the biggest feuds in San Diego. Some have taken place in stuffy boardrooms, some in (and outside) of City Hall and others went down on tennis … or pickleball courts.
Beef Week stories will be rolling out here throughout the week. The best way to get the beef fresh is to subscribe to our newsletter. If you’re reading this from your inbox, yay, if not, what are you waiting for? Subscribe for free here.
Note: You won’t get a Morning Report in your inbox on Thursday or Friday.
Advocates Allege County-Funded Migrant Center Is Dropping the Ball
Last month, San Diego County awarded nonprofit SBCS $3 million to establish a Migrant Welcome Center. But KPBS reports that other nonprofit leaders have sounded the alarm about the spending of those funds, claiming more than 100 of the migrants the nonprofit was supposed to help are left sleeping at the San Diego International Airport each night.
But that’s not the only problem advocates have flagged. They also claim that some of the migrants, many of whom are headed to cities other than San Diego, have been sent to places where they have no sponsors or connections and ended up homeless or in shelters. The executive director of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center compared it to Texas Gov. Greg Abbot’s practice of shipping migrants away by bus.
The Migrant Welcome Center’s future seems murky. The county funding was meant to last three months but SBCS may burn through it in two. Supervisor Nora Vargas has said she will continue to advocate for federal funding for the center and hasn’t ruled out further county funding.
Related: A U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General report shows that more than half of migrants detained by Customs and Border Protection in San Diego were held longer than the 72-hour national standard. Of those held longer than they should have been, 150 were detained for more than 10 days.
Song of the Week
Deadbolt is a bit of an oddity. Though to some, the band’s a legend, it’s probably flown under the radar for many San Diegans. The self-proclaimed “voodoobilly” band has kicked out spooky surf rock inspired jams for over three decades. Though Deadbolt’s called itself the “scariest band in the world,” its music is less Aphex Twin and more like if The Ventures played a cover of “Monster Mash,” or “Werewolf Bar Mitzvah.” In any case, it’s a damn good time, and some of San Diego’s tiki culture, like the yearly Tiki Oasis music festival, probably owes something to the rockers’ haunted, yet tropical vibe.
Deadbolt, “Down in the Lab”: “Down in the Lab,” from the 1994 album “Shrunken Head,” showcases Deadbolt’s tried and true sound. It’s got booming, echoey vocals, reverby surf-guitar licks and no-frills drum and basslines all tied together by an unassuming lo-fi mix. There are even some bubbling sound effects thrown in for good measure. It’s not a reinvention of surf rock, but it also didn’t need to be. Deadbolt just added enough of their own stamp to keep it fun. After all, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
Like what you hear? Check out Deadbolt and Ken Club on Saturday, Nov. 28.
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 Padres have hired a new manager and instead of hiring from outside the organization, they chose to promote from within. The team on Tuesday announced they’d selected Mike Shildt, who was a player development advisor for the Pad’s. But Shildt has previous managerial experience, having won MLB’s “Manager of the Year” award in 2019 when skipper for the St. Louis Cardinals. (Union-Tribune)
- Oceanside passed an ordinance meant to regulate short-term rentals back in 2019, but residents say it needs more robust enforcement and stricter measures. (Union-Tribune)
- A county pilot program for people experiencing homelessness in East County launches this week. The program will transport people experiencing homelessness to family members anywhere in the country, so long as the family agrees to house them. (CBS 8)
The Morning Report was written by Jakob McWhinney and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña. It was edited by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.