The International Boundary and Water Commission has for years been on the receiving end of crap – both literally and figuratively. Local residents and politicians have complained about the underfunded agency charged with maintaining the ailing sewage treatment plant along the Tijuana River.
But unlike previous agency leaders, President Joe Biden’s appointee to run the agency, Maria-Elena Giner, has impressed San Diego County politicians and related officials of all stripes. Giner, they say, ushered in greater transparency, urgency and access within an agency tasked with addressing one of the region’s most pressing and intractable crises.
Now, with an election approaching that may result in a new IBWC head, they’re hoping she remains.
Related: The IBWC re-announced its plans to fix and expand the broken treatment plant in San Diego during a press conference Tuesday. The total project is supposed to cost $600 million (at least) but Congress so far only has around $410 million to do the work. That doesn’t include operating and maintaining the new massive poo diverter.
South County Report: National City Council Candidates Dish at Forum
Next week, National City residents will be casting their votes for two of the city’s three council member seats. The incumbents, Marcus Bush and Jose Rodriguez, joined challengers Randi Castle-Salgado and Daniel Perez at a forum Monday evening.
The top issues: The city is facing a looming budget deficit and residents are worried about increasing rent costs, writes South County reporter Jim Hinch.
While all candidates agreed on the need to increase disaster preparedness following the devastating floods in January, there were sharp divisions on issues like how to provide more affordable housing and recently created expense accounts for council members. Incumbents Bush and Rodriguez advocated for adopting rent control laws, while the challengers Castle-Salgado and Perez, both realtors, cautioned against the move.
Also in the South Bay, why a City Council candidate in Chula Vista is upset about mailers. Read the South County Report here.
County: We’ve Got Less Land Use Jurisdiction Than Voice Said
We reported yesterday that the county wouldn’t release data needed to analyze whether a controversial policy meant to minimize driving and greenhouse gas emissions has slowed homebuilding in unincorporated areas.
County spokesperson Donna Durckel responded to the story with a correction request about a passage wrongly noting that the county oversees what developers can build in nearly 3,600 miles outside incorporated cities.
“This is not accurate,” Durckel wrote in a Tuesday email. “The County only has jurisdiction over about 772,000 acres in the unincorporated area. The rest of the land is federal, state or tribal. Moving forward in articles about the County’s housing regulations, please use that number so the public understands the actual sphere of influence the County has over land use.”
Noted.
Song of the Week
Saffron, “Ellen (All Alone)”: There’s a sublime and delicate serenity to “Ellen (All Alone),” that channels shades of The Velvet Underground’s stunning 1969 track “Jesus.” It’s the kind of tune you play, float away during and then need to play again. Singers Ali Mehraban Ramirez and Galia Shakked’s whispered vocals float above a restrained, circular picking pattern, all of it perpetually at risk of being swallowed by an ocean of 4-track fuzz. Read more about the Song of the Week here.
Like what you hear? Check out some of the other releases from Mehraban Ramirez’s homespun record label Matraca Tapes or buy copies from local risograph printer and studio BAB & Friends.
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 city of San Diego wants to give Balboa Park visitors more food options by revamping the vacant Village Grill restaurant. (Times of San Diego)
- San Diego State University is investigating if a photo shared on social media of a White man dressed as Sean “Diddy” Combs using blackface is a student at the university. (NBC 7)
- The Union-Tribune dug into how schools are handling introducing AI tools in the classroom.
- Twenty-seven percent of voters in San Diego County have already voted. (Axios San Diego)
The Morning Report was written by Jakob McWhinney, MacKenzie Elmer and Lisa Halverstadt. It was edited by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.