Despite fears of last-minute Republican pushback, Congress agreed to send more money to fix a broken wastewater treatment plant in San Diego along the U.S.-Mexico border.
What went down: There was some speculation from San Diego Democrats that Republican Rep. Darrell Issa would woo his GOP counterparts into stalling the funding if he wasn’t satisfied with explanations about why the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment plant had fallen into such disrepair. Our MacKenzie Elmer wrote about some of their angst here.
But the $103 million increase to the International Boundary and Water Commission’s budget – the federal agency that manages the plant and other water infrastructure at the border – passed both houses in the $1.2 trillion government spending bill early Saturday morning.
That amount doesn’t cover the total need at the plant. But it’ll help make emergency repairs and get it up and running enough to begin work to expand its capacity.
Background: Voice of San Diego first broke the news that the South Bay plant – which treats sewage from the city of Tijuana so it doesn’t spill into San Diego – had fallen into disrepair and couldn’t treat the sewage that it discharges into the ocean to Clean Water Act standards. The revelation threatened to stall a bold and expensive plan to double the South Bay plant’s treatment capacity and prevent polluted beach closures in San Diego.
What We Can Learn from Edison Elementary
Despite being a school with high levels of poverty, Edison Elementary’s students have consistently exceeded expectations. In fact, out of 700 schools in the county, the school scored the highest in Voice of San Diego’s income vs. test score metric.
Typically, poverty can be severely damaging to the success of students in schools, so Edison Elementary’s ability to overcome that is something that deserved a closer look.
Our Jakob McWhinney spoke to three education experts to better understand how the school was able to achieve what, at times, can seem impossible for schools in similar economic circumstances.
These experts explained how it starts with the school’s leadership and teaching staff, includes a lot of trial and error and relies on the understanding that it’s going to take a while.
A Neighborhood Living in the Shadow of an Assassination
It has been 30 years since the assassination of Mexican presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio, but the neighborhood where it happened still lives in the shadow of that history.
Voice contributor Sandra Dibble visited Lomas Taurinas on Saturday for a 30th anniversary event. She couldn’t help but notice that while the Tijuana neighborhood of Lomas Taurinas is known across the country, it’s an area that has largely remained a backwater.
While the area has seen some progress, she writes: “In Lomas Taurinas you can hear dogs bark, roosters crow, and birds chirp. But the tranquility is deceiving: Residents will tell you that Lomas Taurinas suffers from violence and drug addiction, like scores of other low-income neighborhoods across Tijuana.”
Still in the news: Mexico’s media remains focused on the assassination and new developments in the investigation unfold. Dibble spoke with residents who were there that day.
County Hotel Program for Flood Victims Needs a Lot of Work
San Diego’s flood victims are experiencing ongoing confusion and anxiety over the county’s hotel program, the Union-Tribune reported Sunday.
Some background: Two months ago, historic flooding damaged hundreds of homes in San Diego, displacing thousands of residents.
County officials have set up hotel voucher programs for individuals and families who are now homeless as they wait for their homes to be repaired and rebuilt. There are currently 846 households staying at 65 local hotels.
It could take months before most of these residents are able to move back into their homes or find other accommodations. On top of that, residents told the U-T that poor communication from the county and its partners have them constantly worried about how long they will be allowed to stay in their hotels.
Earlier this month, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved nearly $10 million in funding to extend the program into May. But it’s unclear what will happen to residents who will need more time after the May deadline.
Read our coverage of the region’s flood response here and here.
Related: The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and FEMA announced Monday that hours are changing for the San Diego County disaster recovery centers. Beginning March 31, the centers will no longer be open Sundays and Mondays.
In Other News
- The executive officer of the county Citizens’ Law Enforcement Review Board officially resigned last week. On his way out, Paul Parker is urging county officials to give the review board more authority and take the board’s recommendations more seriously. (Union-Tribune)
- It’s been one year since the criminal investigation into the 101 Ash St. scandal concluded and civil litigation was settled, but taxpayers are still on the hook for thousands of dollars a day in maintenance, legal fees and bond payments for the now vacant building. (Union-Tribune) Related: Voice of San Diego’s Lisa Halverstadt has been covering the 101 Ash St. scandal since 2020. Read her coverage here.
- There are already signs of another superbloom in California this year with wildflowers springing up alongside San Diego’s freeways. But the flowers aren’t random; they are actually part of a decades-old federal program to seed wildflowers along America’s interstates. (KPBS)
- Passenger rail service between Orange County and San Diego resumed Monday after two months of closures. (KPBS)
The Morning Report was written by MacKenzie Elmer, Tigist Layne, Andrea Lopez-Villafaña and Lisa Halverstadt. It was edited by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.