Mayor Todd Gloria wants you to know an important fact: He has increased shelter capacity by 70 percent.
Only, he hasn’t.
Across the airwaves and in his ballot statement, voters are blasted with the 70 percent figure. It’s a key reason, Gloria wants San Diegans to vote for him.
Our Will Huntsberry found Gloria has increased shelter capacity by roughly 32 percent. That’s not too shabby. Nor is it anywhere near 70 percent.
Huntsberry first fact checked Gloria’s 70 percent claim back in June 2023. Since Gloria started campaigning for mayor, the claim has resurfaced.
Gloria’s team comes to the 70 percent figure by picking a convenient start date several months after Gloria came into office when the number of beds was unusually low because of the pandemic.
At the beginning of the year, Gloria said he wanted to add 1,000 beds to the city’s shelter system by early 2025. With just a few months to go, there has been a net addition of just 51 beds.
The Stakes in Carlsbad
Carlsbad residents will have to weigh in on city spending and two races that could shift the political power on the City Council during this year’s election.
For her latest North County Report, Tigist Layne explains what voters need to know about Measure B and the candidates running for office in Carlsbad.
Also, she has an update on Vista’s cannabis tax revenue. As she reported in August, the city’s cannabis tax generates more than $7 million each year from cannabis businesses. Three years ago, the city decided to cap the amount that goes to the general fund so that revenue could go to special projects.
Layne explains what special projects will get those dollars.
Read the North County Report here.
In Other News
- The rodeo at Petco Park won’t benefit from hotel tax dollars this year amid an ongoing controversy about rodeos in the city. The San Diego Tourism Marketing District, which gives out hotel tax revenue, deadlocked on a request for marketing funds from the San Diego Padres for the January event. (Union-Tribune)
- Two Balboa park museums are merging by the end of 2025. The Women’s Museum of California will become a part of the San Diego History Center. (KPBS)
- The operator of the Del Mar Fairgrounds and its CEO have agreed to pay the federal government $5.6 million for obtaining Covid funding the government-owned entity was not entitled to receive. (KPBS)
- San Diego homes are priced so high that some buyers are taking a hard pass. (Union-Tribune)
The Morning Report was written by Will Huntsberry and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña. It was edited by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.