San Diego is going to lose hundreds of city-funded shelter beds by the end of the year.
While the mayor’s proposal to add 1,000 beds at one mega shelter is in limbo, the city’s homelessness point person is calling on councilmembers to suggest potential shelter sites in their districts – and she’s giving them just days to deliver those suggestions.
In a Thursday memo, the leader of the city’s Homelessness Strategies and Solutions Department asked councilmembers to list potential sites for city staff to review. Director Sarah Jarman wrote that her team is interested in privately owned sites that could be leased and properties, including underutilized city-owned ones, with capacity for 50 to 1,000 people. She also asked the city’s Office of the Independent Budget Analyst, which issued a scathing report on the proposed mega-shelter lease, to suggest one or two potential shelter sites in each district.
“Thank you in advance for your responses that will help the city address the homeless crisis and get more of our unsheltered neighbors out of unsafe encampments and on a path to permanent housing,” Jarman wrote.
Jarman wrote that she asked for responses by Friday to allow officials time to work on a short-term action plan that the City Council requested to respond to the impending loss of shelter beds. The plan is set to be reviewed by the City Council on Sept. 9. A Mayor’s Office spokesperson said Tuesday afternoon that Jarman’s team had yet to receive any formal responses from councilmembers.
Worth noting: For now, Mayor Todd Gloria’s team is also hoping to send a revised mega-shelter proposal to the City Council in September – and the owner of the Middletown warehouse remains on board. But if the lease is ultimately approved, it’ll be months before the facility can start welcoming homeless residents. City staff initially projected that the mega-shelter could open 350 of the roughly 1,000 beds it hoped to provide in June 2025 – and that was based on the assumption the mega-shelter lease got approved last month.
Related: In recent months, dozens of tents have appeared at Cesar Chavez Park in Barrio Logan. But unlike some other areas in the city, many of those living in the tents are asylum seekers, CBS 8 reports. While residents have grown frustrated, asylum seekers told the outlet they were given no guidance on where to go.
Meanwhile: Big city leaders across the state on Tuesday emphasized the need for ongoing federal and state dollars to help cities address the homelessness crisis. Their joint statement comes on the heels of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order to clear encampments on state property.
Note: The order also puts more pressure on cities to do their part and as we pointed out last month, the order doesn’t come with additional resources.
Happenings Around Balboa Park
After years of uncertainty, a nonprofit has secured the lease to an abandoned water tower at the edge of Balboa Park, which has long been the home to a beloved cultural center.
The San Diego City Council approved a 25-year lease between the city and the nonprofit, Prophet World Beat Productions. The org has operated the WorldBeat Cultural Center at the site since 1995. But as the Union-Tribune reported four years ago, negotiations for a new lease dragged on for years.
The center’s founder and executive director, Makeda Cheatom, said she never thought she’d see the day when they secured a lease. The center provides a space for art and events that celebrate African American and indigenous people in the region.
Want more? Cheatom, a legendary figure in San Diego’s reggae scene, spoke to our Jakob McWhinney for a special episode of the VOSD Podcast last year. Listen to the episode here.
San Diego Zoo Predicting Panda-monium: The Pandas have arrived. They will get their public debut starting on Thursday. The San Diego Zoo is expecting a big turnout, and city officials are warning drivers to expect increased traffic on Park Boulevard through the remainder of the month.
Song of the Week
Hey, Chels, “Burn”: The band’s latest single, “Burn,” is an infectious and unabashed mixture of indie and pop rock. Unlike Hey, Chels’ other recent single “Playin,” a mid-tempo jam propelled by a grimy bassline and accented by ghostly keyboard notes, “Burn,” is much more compact. It’s dominated by crunchy, driving guitar strums and Jacque Mendez’s magnetic vocals and at a hair longer than two minutes, it’s a delectable little bite of a song. So go ahead, play it again. No one’s judging you.
Read more about the song of the week and listen here.
Like what you hear? Check out Hey, Chels at Whistle Stop on Thursday, Aug. 8.
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.
Get Your Tickets to Politifest
Our annual public affairs summit is only a month away. Yay! Politifest is happening on Saturday, Sept. 28, at the University of San Diego.
You can get your tickets now at vosd.org/politifest. If you are a Voice of San Diego member, check your inbox for discount code.
In Other News
- State Sen. Toni Atkins raised more than $1.6 million for her gubernatorial campaign during the first reporting period. That’s $200,000 more than the next closest candidate, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis. (Times of San Diego)
- The Regional Task Force on Homelessness and nonprofit Think Dignity have created a program to acquire and store ID cards for homeless San Diegans. (KPBS)
- A tire company decided two San Diego restaurants no longer meet its exacting culinary standards. (Union-Tribune)
- A new report from the City Auditor found Mayor Todd Gloria and his staff violated city rules by altering the amounts spent on contracts without the approval of the City Council. (Union-Tribune)
- San Diego’s Commission on Police Practices recommended a suite of changes to San Diego Police Department’s policies on vehicle pursuits including limiting pursuits to incidents involving violent felonies. But the police union is pushing back on the changes. (KPBS)
The Morning Report was written by Lisa Halverstadt, Jakob McWhinney and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña. It was edited by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.