A San Diego police officer was killed late Monday following a car chase in Clairemont. The driver of the car being chased was also killed and another officer was seriously injured and remains hospitalized, police officials said Tuesday.
What we know: A police officer initiated a brief pursuit of a driver who was speeding down Clairemont Mesa Boulevard. Then, an SDPD supervisor called off the chase because of the speed, officials said. Two other officers were responding to the call when the driver of the speeding car slammed into the side of their vehicle. The police officer in the driver’s seat died at the scene.
The San Diego Police Officers Association set up a fund to help the families of the two officers involved in the crash, the Union-Tribune reported.
The California Highway Patrol is investigating the crash, Police Chief Scott Wahl told reporters on Tuesday. The officer who was killed was Officer Austin Machitar, 30. He had been with the department for five and a half years.
His partner, Zach Martinez, was still in critical condition as of Tuesday evening.
Wahl said they have many questions, but it’s going to take time to reconstruct what happened.
San Diego Unified Officials Still Won’t Say Why They’re Investigating Superintendent
In May, education reporter Jakob McWhinney broke the news that San Diego Unified had hired a law firm to perform an investigation into Superintendent Lamont Jackson. More than three months later, officials still will not say why the investigation was launched.
On Tuesday, board members performed an evaluation of the superintendent during their closed session, but did not share any information about the results during the public meeting. In a statement, district spokesperson Maureen Magee wrote “There is no update on the investigation to share at this time.”
Proposed State Law Aims to Rein in Private Equity Health Deals
State lawmakers could soon pass a bill that would give the attorney general the authority to block private equity investments into health care.
The bill, sponsored by Attorney General Rob Bonta, would require private equity firms and hedge funds to receive his approval for acquisitions of most health care businesses with gross annual revenue of $25 million or more.
Private equity firms are companies that invest in businesses with the goal of making them more valuable and then selling them for a profit.
Two hospitals in San Diego County are owned by a private equity firm – Kindred Hospital and Palomar Health Rehabilitation Institute, according to a report by Axios San Diego.
Related: Palomar Health is a public health care system in North County that has recently received criticism for partnering with a private nonprofit company that now manages its top executive staff, raising concerns that the health care district is trying to restrict public access and privatize its operations.
Song of the Week
Gregory Page, “The Great Wild Beyond”: The opening track from Page’s debut album, “The Great Wild Beyond,” captures all of what makes Page such an excellent songwriter in just under four minutes. It’s a heart-on-your-sleeve track that manages to be vulnerable without crossing over into cheesy. Page’s gentle, plaintive croon is paired with a beautifully written acoustic guitar part. The whole thing feels both incredibly intimate and reflective of the wide open space of life the very best folk music invokes.
Read more about the song of the week here.
Like what you hear? Check out Gregory Page at All Things Music on Saturday, Sept. 7.
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
- The San Diego Humane Society’s Ramona Wildlife Center released nine coyote pups in the Eagle Peak Preserve near Julian on Monday. (City News Service)
- Contrary to claims by local politicians like El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells, there is no migrant crime wave. (KPBS)
- Ongoing construction and related construction mishaps have parents of students attending Oceanside’s Pablo Tac Elementary School up in arms. (KPBS)
- Residents of Imperial Valley, long a hotspot of respiratory illnesses due to hazards like dust, often turn to medical professionals in Mexico for treatment. (inewsource)
- San Diego County Supervisors on Tuesday voted to support state bills that would provide reparations payments to Black Californians. (Union-Tribune)
The Morning Report was written by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña, Tigist Layne and Jakob McWhinney. It was edited by Scott Lewis.
