Proponents of a citizen’s initiative to create a publicly owned electric utility via a ballot measure say it’s time to fire San Diego Gas & Electric.
The group, called Power San Diego, wants San Diego to use a public power entity for its electricity needs instead of SDG&E. They also envision a future where the city transitions to using mostly rooftop solar.
They say their plan would significantly lower electricity costs, and any profits would be reinvested in the community to build renewable energy and drive down energy prices.
They need 80,000 signatures to put the decision before voters in November. And, as our MacKenzie Elmer writes, there are a lot of things to consider when trying to “fire” a major for-profit utility company like SDG&E.
For example, it would take several billion dollars for the city of San Diego to buy SDG&E’s expensive system of poles, wires and gas lines. Is that even something the city could afford? And who would be in charge of this publicly owned utility?
Elmer put together an explainer.
Fired Up About a Labor Leader’s Comments
As she stood before a crowd of county employees, Brigette Browning, leader of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, made several remarks about San Diego County Chair Nora Vargas.
“I want to talk about our chair, the chingona, who says she’s here for workers, but she’s making backroom deals with [Jim] Desmond and [Joel] Anderson, that doesn’t seem like someone that’s supporting workers to me,” Browning said.
Background: As we reported, labor leaders are upset that their pick for the county’s next chief administration officer, Cindy Chavez, didn’t get an interview for the job. She had been offered the job last year but the county rescinded the offer after former County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher announced his abrupt resignation.
They held a rally outside the county building last week, and that’s when Browning made her comments.
She started a chant using a term in Spanish that’s slang for several things, but that in that context could translate to “you have to be kidding me.” La Prensa San Diego reported that she went on to use another slang, and mockingly refer to Nora as a chingona. That’s a term used to describe a strong and independent Latina woman.
Now, Latino community and nonprofit leaders are demanding an apology. They felt that Browning’s use of the word was to belittle and discriminate against Nora. And one group is asking for her to resign.
Browning told Voice that the Labor Council plans to issue a statement today.
Another leader weighs in: “Brigette Browning has spent her life advocating for working class Latinas, housekeepers in our hotels,” Lorena Gonzalez, the state’s top union leader, told Voice. “The Spanish she speaks was taught to her by her members and was neither racist nor offensive. Suggestions that it was unprofessional are ludicrous: it was at a labor rally! This is a ridiculous smear campaign to deflect from the fact that the county has turned their back on working class San Diegans and instead embraced a status quo of previous generations.”
Design Festival Puts Tijuana’s Creative Side Front and Center
Last week, Tijuana welcomed visitors from all over for its World Design Festival.
Voice contributor Sandra Dibble writes that the event brought out a side of Tijuana that many who haven’t crossed the border lately were surprised to see: new restaurants, design showrooms, photography and concerts.
Tijuana and San Diego share a binational recognition by the World Design Organization, a Montreal-based nonprofit that promotes design around the world. The festival was part of a series of activities for this year’s World Design Capital events.
As Dibble writes, “The festival has been the most ambitious and most visible collaborative effort since the designation started in January.”
Police Raid UC San Diego Gaza Solidarity Encampment, Arrest Protestors
Police raided and dismantled the Gaza solidarity encampment at UC San Diego on Monday, arresting dozens of protestors. The encampment was just one of a slew erected on college campuses in recent months to protest the war in Gaza.
The news: With snipers perched on rooftops overlooking the lawn outside of the library, about 200 officers clad in riot gear swept through the encampment. They arrested 64 protestors – 40 of whom were students.
The decision to break up the encampment came a day after Chancellor Pradeep Khosla issued a statement calling on participants to disperse. “The encampment poses serious safety and security hazards to those inside and outside the encampment area,” Khosla wrote.
The UCSD chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine pushed back on what it called the Chancellor’s “false narrative,” writing that the university has done nothing to protect its students from outside threats.
Rep. Sara Jacobs expressed concern about the deployment of police, writing in a post on X that “a militarized response further escalates the situation and doesn’t help keep students safe.”
Labor weighs in: The UC academic workers union has called for a strike authorization vote related to the campus protests. Union officials say that UC schools are engaging in unfair labor practices by deliberately failing to protect protestors from counter-protestors and police.
Some universities may be trying to wait out the protests, assuming they’ll lose steam when students depart for summer break. But UCSD may not be able to rely on that same release valve. The university’s quarter system means its spring classes don’t end until mid-June.
Council Majority Not Cool with Proposed Homeless, Housing Agency Cuts
A City Council majority is uncomfortable with Mayor Todd Gloria’s initial plan to balance the city’s budget in part with proposed homeless program cuts and $15 million from the city’s housing agency.
During a Monday hearing, councilmembers expressed concerns about proposed cuts to city homeless initiatives overseen by the Housing Commission. Others also had questions about Gloria’s expectation that the commission hand over funds it says it doesn’t have available.
What Gloria’s team says: Gloria’s office has said it’s working on budget revisions with a goal to preserve existing services. At Monday’s hearing, Gloria policy director Matt Yagyagan said Gloria’s office expects to find more funding for most programs councilmembers flagged before he releases his revised budget next week.
If that doesn’t happen: Housing Commission CEO Lisa Jones told councilmembers that her agency would likely recommend the elimination of some programs and a transition plan to have the city operate homeless programs her agency now oversees if forced to move forward with the allocations in Gloria’s proposed budget.
“We can’t run the programs on $27 million,” Jones said, referring to the homelessness funding her agency was proposed to receive minus the $15 million.
In Other News
- A complaint filed by dozens of San Diego workers is weeks away from trial and the allegations are strikingly similar to those made in the 101 Ash case. Workers say hundreds of employees were wrongly exposed to asbestos for months. (Union-Tribune)
- Oceanside is expected to reopen 80 percent of its pier this Friday after a fire last week destroyed two buildings and parts of the pier’s railing and deck. (Union-Tribune)
- Mexico’s historic presidential election with two female leading candidates is quickly approaching. KPBS interviewed experts in San Diego and Mexico to get a sense of how the election will impact the San Diego border region. (KPBS)
The Morning Report was written by Tigist Layne, Lisa Halverstadt, Jakob McWhinney and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña. It was edited by Scott Lewis and Will Huntsberry.