San Diego County’s finally got a new top bureaucrat, and she needs to fill lots of other open county leadership positions.
County supervisors appointed Ebony Shelton earlier this summer to serve as the county’s new chief administrative officer after a rocky selection process. Now, our Lisa Halverstadt reports, she needs to hire about 10 other major top county leaders, including four deputy CAOs to oversee the county’s four governmental branches and a new public health officer.
A county spokesperson said the wave of openings shouldn’t be seen as alarming as the county left many posts open as it prepared to hire a new CAO.
But the openings also represent a big turning point and uncertainty for the county.
The big question: Will the new hires move the county in the more labor-friendly, progressive direction that Democrats and union leaders have rallied for since the board shifted from its longtime Republican majority into a Democratic one?
The Cops Are Not Happy About What Their Would-Be Boss Said
Larry Turner, a San Diego police officer running for mayor, sat down with our Scott Lewis last week for a special episode of the VOSD Podcast. Turner shared his ideas for how the city can address policing issues and its budget deficit. (Listen to the episode here.)
Some of his comments rubbed other cops the wrong way.
Lewis writes that the San Diego Police Officers Association wasn’t too happy about what Turner had to say. They disagreed with comments he made regarding pay, pensions and why cops shouldn’t respond to some calls for service.
Also, Turner shared that San Diego’s new police chief was a vaccine objector. Lewis couldn’t get an answer from Chief Scott Wahl.
Read more in the Politics Report.
Back to Our Regular Programing…
Aside from the special episode, our VOSD Podcast hosts used our regular show to talk sports.
The Padres made franchise history with their latest winning streak and VOSD Podcast host Scott Lewis can’t wait to tell the crew about it.
Also on the show: A scathing investigation into how San Diego Unified has handled sexual misconduct and abuse allegations. And what we learned after investigating a local foster care charity.
Listen to the full episode here or wherever you get your pods.
Bluff Collapses Aren’t San Diego’s Railway Only Problem
The state and federal government plan to spend billions to fix the coastal railway, which has been closed by landslides and bluff collapses several times in recent years.
But while we wait for that to happen, our Capitol reporter Deborah Brennan wanted to know just how well it works now. Last week, she rode from Oceanside to downtown San Diego and found that geologic failures aren’t the only problems with the rail lines.
She experienced a number of glitches that set her ride back hours, ranging from an inability to buy tickets to poor train platform signage. Most of all there’s just not enough staff there to make sure passengers get the service they need.
Readers have expressed strong opinions about the trains, with some saying they look forward to improvements, and others saying the state should scrap the coastal rail line and spend the money on other transit projects.
Read the Sacramento Report here.
In Other News
- Need a quick news round up? Our managing editor has your back. Here are the stories you need to read to start your week. Read Cup of Chisme here.
- The Port of San Diego has cleared an encampment at Cesar Chavez Park in Barrio Logan where dozens of asylum seekers have been staying for the past months. (Union-Tribune) As Voice contributor Kate Morrissey reported last week, many of the families who stayed at the park said they didn’t have other options.
- Visitors and employees of San Diego County jails should prepare for heightened security screenings. The new protocol will involve X-ray machines, drug-sniffing dogs, and metal detectors, precautions aimed at reducing drug-related inmate deaths. (Union-Tribune)
- Marine biologists are checking on the eelgrass at Batiquitos Lagoon as part of efforts to protect the area’s habitat before a $165.6 million rail project kicks off. SANDAG is planning to replace an old bridge with a new, wider one that will allow more trains to pass through while also improving the lagoon’s water flow. (KPBS)
- San Diego is ramping up its affordable housing game, with 27 new projects and over 2,800 homes approved in the past 18 months—most of them near transit. (Times of San Diego)
The Morning Report was written by Lisa Halverstadt, Deborah Brennan, Andrea Lopez-Villafaña and Emily Ito. It was edited by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.