Two days after southeastern San Diego communities were devastated by severe flooding on Jan. 22, city of San Diego officials asked the county to set up an assistance center for victims.
The county’s response? First, the city needs to make a formal request for resources through the county’s emergency portal system. Second, it’s up to the city to set up the center and the county could offer support. The county opened a center in an unincorporated area in the meantime. When the city finally made a formal request on Jan. 30, government officials continued to engage in prolonged discussions about who was responsible for setting up assistance centers, according to letters obtained by Voice of San Diego.
Who stepped up? Local nonprofits — lacking disaster response training — ended up being the ones who set up a victim assistance center at the Jackie Robinson Family YMCA. The organizations provided vital services like food delivery, mold remediation and damage assessments.
Our Will Huntsberry writes, “The city and county’s bureaucratic showdown ultimately cost the flood survivors of Shelltown, Mountain View and Southcrest precious weeks. On Feb. 5, two weeks to the day after the catastrophic floods, an assistance center finally opened at Mountain View Community Center.”
One Election Update
We’re getting closer to seeing which candidates are heading to the General Election. We’ll have more updates for you tomorrow, but here’s what has changed since we were last in your inbox.
The race for the 75th: Republican Carl DeMaio has been leading the race for the 75th Assembly District for several days now. But the big change here is that Republican Andrew Hayes has moved up to second. He gained more than 3,850 votes over the weekend. Our Tigist Layne wrote about what we can expect if these two face off in November. Read her story here.
The Politics Report gets into some of the election winners in the latest post. Scott Lewis provides some analysis on the races and results. Plus, we have some observations about that Housing Commission audit.
Read the Politics Report here.
More politics: The VOSD Podcast crew discuss the Primary results. They share their takeaways and vibes on the results. Listen to the full episode here.
Who Is More Tough on Guns?
Our Deborah Brennan writes in the latest Sacramento Report that the two candidates for San Diego city attorney are sparring on gun control.
Note: they are both heading to the November election, but here’s a taste of what’s to come.
Days before the primary, Assemblymember Brian Maienschein announced a pair of gun control bills. Deputy City Attorney Heather Ferbert’s campaign turned around and blasted her opponent for voting against a 2014 state bill authorizing gun violence restraining orders. Meanwhile, he has taken steps to burnish his law and order credentials, Brennan writes.
Read the Sacramento Report here.
In Other News
- The Union-Tribune reports that nearly 27 percent of San Diego Gas and Electric customers are one month behind on their bills.
- Just a week since 10 people were hospitalized after falling from the U.S.-Mexico border wall, eight more hospitalized on Saturday. (NBC 7)
- A new homeless shelter has opened in Vista. (Fox 5)
- Cup of Chisme: Still hungry for more news? Start your week with all the best Voice stories. Our editor rounded them up for you here.
The Morning Report was written by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.