At the grand opening of a new school in Logan Heights, San Diego Unified officials spoke plainly to the community: we haven’t held our end of the bargain. They recognized then that the district had long underinvested in the community’s schools, but no more, they said.
They had just delivered a shiny, expensive new school with a lot of promises.
Less than two years later, the community feels shortchanged by the district. Community members held a meeting a week ago to detail their frustrations with how the district has rolled out the school. Education reporter Jakob McWhinney watched as parents listed their grievances.
“What’s the use of having a beautiful, expensive building if there are no resources for what’s going on inside?” one parent asked.
Ballot Measure Battles
We’ve been writing a lot about three proposed statewide propositions that could change everything we know about passing taxes.
They’ve caused our editor much angst, but we tried to simplify what each proposes to do here.
Our Deborah Brennan set out to unpeel how two of those tax props would battle if they both pass. One would raise the threshold for passing local taxes. The other says any measure needs to meet the threshold it’s trying to set.
Each side has different takes on what would happen if they both get the votes, but one thing is clear, it’s going to get messy and the sides will likely battle it out in court.
Read the Sacramento Report here.
Politics Report: The Arena Buzz
We pulled this section from the Politics Report. To get the newsletter directly in your inbox, become a Voice member today and subscribe.
The San Diego City Council’s initial endorsement of the idea to create an Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District around the new Midway redevelopment project has triggered a kind of panic among some boosters of San Diego State University.
It could mean the beginning of the end of a hope that a new arena could arise at SDSU’s Mission Valley site. And the worry is spilling out into the public.
“SDSU Hides Proposal for Free Sports Arena in Mission Valley” was the headline La Prensa blasted out last week. The story put a few more details into a two-year-old story the Union-Tribune’s Jenn Van Grove first broke. In short, stadium developer Oak View Group had offered the university a deal in which it would build an arena at the site for no cost (other than the land SDSU bought and now has set aside for an Innovation District).
The vision would have the new arena take the place of Viejas Arena, which is on campus. That could then become student housing or other uses and the new arena would not be needed in Midway.
Jack McGrory, a trustee with the California State University system and a founding father of the SDSU Mission Valley development, acknowledged that worries flared this month.
“Everyone is concerned about the bait and switch going on with the Midway Rising group and they’re concerned they’re not going to build an arena so the pressure would fall on SDSU to do it in Mission Valley,” McGrory told me. But, crucially, he also clarified he supported the arena plans for Midway and not Mission Valley.
The Politics Report unpacks what’s really going on and why SDSU isn’t interested in getting the job. Read the Politics Report here.
VOSD Podcast: On the latest episode, our crew gets into the Padres. No, not game stats. They walk us through the concessions scandal we revealed last year about a fake charity and labor issues. We asked the Padres and the team’s concessionaire what changes they’ve implemented. They wouldn’t say.
Also on the pod, we get into the latest update on the lawsuit against former supervisor Nathan Fletcher and what’s going on at a Logan Heights school. Listen to the full episode here.
Note from our producer Nate John: We’ve got a new theme song. I like it a lot. I think it’s an upbeat, classic yet progressive vibe that inspires bonhomie. I hope you like it, too. I know it can take some time to adjust. It’s gonna be OK.
In Other News
- Chula Vista fired its deputy city manager last December. The Union-Tribune reports now that the same former employee is suing the city over an unpaid severance package.
- SANDAG proposes a $1.3 billion budget for the next year. The Union-Tribune has more on the agency’s plans for big projects if the budget is passed on May 10.
- Meanwhile: An internal investigation has found that SANDAG has taken significant revenue losses due to a broken toll-taking system. Federal investigators are reviewing the agency’s practices, the Union-Tribune reports.
- The city of San Diego’s updated sidewalk vending ordinance is now in effect and police have begun enforcement. (NBC 7)
- Wondering if you missed an important Voice story last week? Don’t worry. Our managing editor has everything you need to know to start your week. Read Cup of Chisme here.
The Morning Report was written by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña and Juan Estrada. It was edited by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.