Since her election to the San Diego City Council in 2018, District 8 Councilmember Vivian Moreno has earned a reputation as a centrist in a city that, in recent years, has tacked left.
Now, Moreno seeks to bring what she describes as her brand of pragmatic, “change”-oriented politics to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. She is one of four candidates running to replace recently departed District 1 Supervisor Nora Vargas, who resigned unexpectedly last month for mostly unexplained reasons. (The other candidates in the race are Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre, Chula Vista City Councilmember Carolina Chavez and Chula Vista Mayor John McCann.)
In an in-depth interview with our South County reporter, Jim Hinch, Moreno pointed to numerous accomplishments during her tenure on the San Diego City Council, including improvements to transit, construction of new housing and overhauls of long-neglected parks in her South San Diego district.
Moreno said that, if elected, she would ask “hardline questions” and press for action on a range of issues she said county government had moved too slowly to address, especially homelessness and behavioral health.
In a sign of the new direction Moreno would bring to the Board, she was unequivocal in her opposition to one of Vargas’ signature achievements, a controversial sanctuary policy enacted late last year that limits county government’s assistance to federal immigration authorities.
“I wouldn’t support that policy,” Moreno said. “We need to make sure we give [law enforcement] as much deference as possible.”
Cost of Fire Losses Could be Felt Statewide
Staggering losses from the Los Angeles wildfires could end up raising insurance rates for homeowners throughout California, even those with private insurance.
As our Deborah Sullivan explains, that’s because California’s high risk insurance pool, a public insurer of last resort called the FAIR plan, doesn’t have nearly enough assets to cover what fire officials estimate could be up $30 billion in losses.
The FAIR plan, Sullivan reports, has just $200 million in cash on hand and $2.5 billion in reinsurance coverage.
State regulators could force private insurers to make up the difference, costing policy holders up to $3,700, according to one estimate.
Read the Sacramento Report here.
To Appoint or Elect? That is the Question in Poway
Poway leaders are divided over a seemingly straightforward decision: Whether to appoint a replacement for a soon-to-depart City Councilmember or schedule a special election to fill the seat.
The Council recently made a provisional decision to appoint a replacement for Councilmember Brian Pepin, who resigned in November to devote more time to his political consulting business.
But not everyone is happy with the decision. Residents who spoke at a recent City Council meeting urged Councilmembers to reconsider while there’s still time to schedule an election.
Our North County reporter, Tigist Layne, has all the details.
More news in Poway: A brush fire in Poway prompted officials to breifly issue an evacuation order for some residents. Fire crews stopped the fire from speading in the afternoon. (Union-Tribune)
Nearly 1,000 San Diego Unified Employees Took Early Retirement Deal
Facing a projected $176 million deficit, and without the kinds of reserve funds that bailed them out last year, San Diego Unified leaders had some tough decisions to make. That’s why in November, officials announced they were offering special benefits to any employees willing to retire early The plan offered eligible staff an additional 70 percent of their annual salary paid out over five years.
Officials projected around 755 employees would take up the offer. Instead, 965 employees opted in.
“The increased number of retirees provides us an opportunity to work with site administrators to assess the way we have been doing things and reimagine our staffing approach to better serve our students and families,” Superintendent Fabiola Bagula said.
The high uptake is good news for district officials looking for places to make cuts, as many of the employees eligible to retire are likely near the top of the salary scale. The flipside of the high uptake, however, is that it means officials may end up having to hire new employees to replace ones they lost.
Exactly what all this means for the deficit picture is still unclear, but in December, officials announced they’d brought the shortfall down to $112 million. The jury’s also still out on whether the retirements will allow officials to avoid potential layoffs, as Trustees Cody Petterson and Shana Hazan claimed during a recent interview on the Voice of San Diego podcast.
National City Council to Review San Diego Shelter Plan
The city of San Diego and its housing agency are ramping up new shelter options to respond to the loss of hundreds of beds. One new option hasn’t materialized yet.
The city’s plan to reserve 37 beds at the Rescue Mission’s South County Lighthouse shelter still needs to clear the National City Council. The San Diego Housing Commission’s plan to use its funds to secure shelter in an area overseen by another city’s housing agency triggered a National City vote now set for Tuesday.
If the City Council signs off, San Diego’s housing agency said it could start moving homeless San Diegans into the Rescue Mission’s National City shelter by the end of January or early February.
For now, the Rescue Mission shelter has capacity to serve 125 homeless residents from South County. The Housing Commission contract will provide funding to fill all of its 162 beds.
National City staff are recommending that the City Council give its seal of approval so the shelter can serve more homeless residents.
National City Mayor Ron Morrison, who has argued that much of National City’s homeless population comes from the city of San Diego, said he expects at least a few questions about the arrangement. But as of Friday, he expected he’d vote to allow the plan to proceed.
VOSD Podcast: 2025 Broke City Energy
On the latest episode of the VOSD Podcast our hosts pull some of the best clips from Mayor Todd Gloria’s State of the City address.
The city is dealing with a big budget deficit and steep cuts are coming, Gloria said. Our hosts unpack everything you need to know about the mayor’s address to the city.
Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.
More on the State of the City: Our editor Scott Lewis explains what the mayor’s message says about the city’s direction going forward. Read the Politics Report here. The newsletter is for members only.
In Other News
- For the second month in a row, the Regional Task Force on Homelessness reported that the number of newly housed San Diegans outpaced the number of newly homeless residents. The positive shift follows more than two years of rising homelessness.
- Enrollment at the University of California, San Diego rose by 1,880 students this academic year, more than twice the growth at any other UC campus. If current trends continue, UCSD could reach 50,000 students as early as 2030. (Union-Tribune)
- San Diego State University plans to build seven new dormitory towers adjacent to its main campus in Mission Valley, part of an ongoing effort to reduce the school’s carbon footprint by enabling more students to live on campus instead of commuting. The new dorms could house up to 5,170 students. (KPBS)
- Results unveiled last week of a federal survey of residents near the Tijuana River found that the river’s ongoing sewage crisis had worsened residents’ lives and caused them to question the safety of their tap water. County health officials said the sewage crisis does not affect tap water supplies, which remain safe. (Union-Tribune)
The Morning Report was written by Jim Hinch, Jakob McWhinney and Lisa Halverstadt. It was edited by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.
“Universal transitional kindergarten students at *Clairmont* Canyons Academy on Feb. 7, 2023.”
jeez, can’t you guys even spell Clairemont correctly?
“San Diego State University plans to build seven new dormitory towers adjacent to its main campus in Mission Valley.”
what?!?! SDSU moved their main campus and i didn’t even know it!!