Staffers for the city of San Diego may soon have to face one of the most arduous ordeals known to man: moving. The city is in the process of finalizing plans to relocate hundreds of employees in the development services department from the nearly half-century-old City Operations Building in the municipal core to new offices in Mission Valley.
But the move may end up being a relief for city workers. The operations building they currently report to has racked up more than $45 million in deferred maintenance, according to a report from 2022.
Still, the new digs won’t come cheap. The proposed move would cost the city nearly $21 million collectively, the Union-Tribune reports. About 550 of the more than 700 impacted employees would be moved to a Mission Valley building owned by H.G. Fenton, while another 200 or so would be housed at office space near the Santa Fe Depot in downtown San Diego. That sum also doesn’t include the estimated $2.5 million in moving expenses, the majority of which will go to new furniture at the Mission Valley location.
If the City Council approves the moves, both leases would begin in June.
Related: City workers were supposed to have been out of the municipal core buildings years ago. In December of 2019, the city began to move all of its city workers into 101 Ash. But asbestos, and years of roiling scandal, put the kibosh on that move early on.
Maps troll? Voice resident social media influencer Bella Ross was exploring on Apple Maps and noticed that the infamous 101 Ash building next to our office shows up as “San Diego City Hall.” Is it a troll or wishful thinking?
More Deaths at the Border
While the drowning of migrants in places like the Mediterranean has made news for years, deaths during attempted border crossings in California, and America more broadly, have largely been the result of things like falls from high border walls.
But as the death toll of migrants trying to enter America through Mexico rises, KPBS reports that lifeguards on both sides of the border have been confronted with an increase in the number of drownings.
Lifeguards in Tijuana saw just 12 drownings in 2020 and 2021 but those numbers shot up to 100 in 2022 and 2023. Even though the wall only extends 200 feet into the ocean, strong currents, razor wire and artificial whirlpools and rip currents created by the wall’s metal posts make trying to swim around a potentially deadly task. Cuts and scrapes are also prone to infection given the near-constant pollution in Mexico’s waters. The fact that many attempting to cross are carrying heavy backpacks makes the swim even more fraught.
But more systemic challenges also contribute to the grim toll. Lifeguards on the Tijuana side of the border are wary of being perceived as trying to help those trying to swim across, and many attempting to make the trek wave off their help altogether. It’s a dark reality that reflects the desperation of migrants.
Song of the Week
The Loons, “Blue Ether”: The Loons haven’t changed much in the nearly three decades they’ve been putting out music. That’s not a dig, what they have is a solid formula that will probably last another 30 years. “Blue Ether,” finds The Loons doing what they do best, infusing The Kinks-esque 60s revivalism into driving garage rock structures accented by lead singer Mike Stax’s sneering vocals.
It’s hard not to get excited by a sound so classic that’s executed well. It’s a vibe that’s easy to imitate, but not as easy to make it sound genuine. Luckily for us, The Loons have never had that problem.
Read more about the song of the week here.
Like what you hear? Check out The Loons at Tower Bar on Saturday, March 30.
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
- As you drive down many of San Diego’s highways, you’re likely to see splashes of colorful wildflowers. Turns out, those wildflowers aren’t so wild. Many are actually what’s left of a federal program meant to plant flowers across the nation’s highways. (KPBS)
- The number of people in California’s jails has decreased by thousands in recent years. But the number of people dying in them has increased, and San Diego is no exception. (KPBS)
- San Diego last week released a draft of Blueprint SD, a plan developed with modeling software that shows which neighborhoods need to increase density to meet the city’s climate and housing goals. (KPBS)
- Overall crime in San Diego decreased by about three percent in 2023, the second year in a row there was a decrease. (Union-Tribune)
The Morning Report was written by Jakob McWhinney. It was edited by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña and Scott Lewis.