The Metropolitan Transit System released the findings of an independent investigation into allegations made by a former employee that drug the agency and its former board chair into one of San Diego’s biggest scandals.
Ex-MTS employee Grecia Figueroa last year filed a lawsuit against MTS and former County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, who served as the agency’s board chair, alleging sexual harassment, sexual assault and retaliation.
We’ve had two main questions since this scandal broke: What happened between Figueroa and Fletcher, did he assault her as she claims? And why did MTS fire her?
Last week, we reported that new legal filings by Fletcher’s legal team revealed more about the nature of their relationship.
Now the investigation report reveals almost all the documents about her performance and employment at MTS.
Turns out, the revealed performance evaluations show she exceeded job requirements for her first two years of employment at the agency but, in the third year, when her interactions with Fletcher picked up, managers warned her they’d have to see immediate improvement.
Then the human resources director told her they were “interested” in terminating her employment but wanted to negotiate a separation agreement. She refused and the scandal erupted.
Shelltown’s ‘Drain Diver’ Saves Block from the Flood
In times of disaster, like San Diego’s recent flash floods, people perform little acts of heroism everywhere. That’s what happened in the Shelltown neighborhood when a local spearfisherman donned his wetsuit to unclog the storm drain that emptied into Chollas Creek.
Jesse Preciado, 37, spent his whole life on Birch Street, and much of his adult life tending to the storm drain near his home. Chollas Creek is often filled with trash and choked with vegetation, a nuisance for those living nearby. But the creek became a life-threatening hazard Monday when an atmospheric river dropped three inches of rain across San Diego County.
Preciado and others in Southcrest expressed that they feel the city of San Diego pays little attention to their part of town. The mass property loss experienced there should have been avoided, many say, if drains were consistently cleaned and the creek consistently tended.
More Storm Updates
Days after torrential rains brought devastating floods to the community of Southcrest, the recovery is still just beginning. The streets remain caked in mud, wood and waterlogged belongings are piled high on sidewalks next to cars sitting askew.
What happened at one school: Cesar Chavez Elementary Principal Francisco Santos said the school was largely spared from the waters that ravaged the rest of the neighborhood. The roofs of some classrooms sprung leaks and the playground and field flooded, but by Thursday morning workers had already removed most of the mud the water left behind.
During the floods, he said teachers tried to shield students from what was happening and keep them calm. They tried to convey that “it’s a normal day at school, the trauma is outside the fence,” he said, motioning to the neighborhood.
Santos said they’ve compiled a list of families who have been most deeply impacted and have already collected clothes and food that they plan to distribute on Saturday.
“The community is still processing. If you drive around, you’ll still see families trying to deal with this,” Santos said.
Related: Voice contributor Robert Krier reports that another storm is on the horizon. The only question is, will it hit San Diego again? Read that story here.
Volunteers Survey Unsheltered San Diegans
Hundreds of San Diegans hit the streets on Thursday for the region’s annual homeless census.
Homeless service workers, volunteers and politicians visited encampments and ventured into parks and canyons throughout the county to survey unsheltered residents. Volunteers handed out $10 gift cards and other supplies to those they encountered.
The mandatory point-in-time count led by the Regional Task Force on Homelessness is an annual effort to learn more about the demographics and needs of the region’s unhoused population. The census is required for communities to receive federal and state homelessness funding.
The point-in-time count is broadly considered a minimum count of San Diego’s homeless population but was once considered the foremost annual data source on the problem.
In more recent years, other data points from the Task Force – including the number of people accessing homeless services and the pace of people falling into homelessness for the first time – have shed more light on the scope and nature of the region’s homelessness crisis.
The Task Force will release homeless census numbers later this year.
Related: The Union-Tribune reports that the City Council earlier this week approved a tentative legal settlement following a years-long battle over enforcement impacting homeless people living in vehicles. The settlement, reported by former U-Ter Gary Warth, calls for the city to provide more and improved places for people to legally park overnight, forgive past tickets and ensure safe parking is available before ticketing.
Attorney Ann Menasche, who for years led the legal fight, said the settlement will significantly limit ticketing of people living in vehicles and described it as a “win-win” for the city and her clients. Among the sticking points in the settlement, according to Menasche: a regularly updated city website showing where parking is available for people living in vehicles.
“If people really don’t have options, they’re not going to be ticketed or cited,” Menasche said.
In a statement shared with Voice of San Diego, City Attorney Mara Elliott clarified that the settlement won’t stop the city from enforcing violations that impact living people in vehicles altogether.
“This settlement furthers the city’s goals of providing shelter to those most in need, while securing the safety of our neighborhoods,” Elliott wrote. “The city may enforce the oversized vehicle and vehicle habitation parking bans as long as there is space available in a safe parking lot.”
In Other News
- Times of San Diego reports that train service between Oceanside and Orange County has been indefinitely halted following a landslide. The Union-Tribune reported that on Thursday, a day after the announcement, Rep. Mike Levin announced a $53.9 million federal transportation grant for rail improvements in the region.
- NBC 7 broke the news on a data breach involving names and other information about San Diego police employees.
- The Union-Tribune revealed that San Diego Port Commissioner Rafael Castellanos resigned from board on Thursday.
The Morning Report was written by Andrea Lopez-Villfaña, Scott Lewis, MacKenzie Elmer and Jakob McWhinney. It was edited by Andrea Lopez-Villfaña.
Correction: This post has been updated to correct that volunteers with the Regional Task Force on Homelessness handed unhoused residents $10 gift cards to those they encountered on Thursday. A previous version incorrectly stated that the cards were for $5.