Nearly two months after its passage, the impacts of Proposition 36 are already being felt in San Diego County.
According to Sheriff Kelly Martinez, nearly 400 people have been booked in San Diego County jails on Proposition 36-related crimes. Of those people, about 115 remain in Sheriff’s custody. All of these arrests would not have happened had Proposition 36 failed.
And that’s likely just the beginning, Martinez said.
“We anticipate that number will increase over the next year because people are not going to be as likely to plea to crimes where they might have before because the ramifications [are] much more important,” Martinez said during a recent interview on the VOSD podcast. “Same with some misdemeanor offenses that if people plea to … will be stackable as a felony.”
Proposition 36 refresher: Voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 36 in November, which promised to crack down on retail theft and hard drug sales by rolling back major parts of 2014’s Proposition 47. In the decade since its passage, critics of Proposition 47 blamed the measure for rising homelessness and the perception that crime had increased.
That earlier ballot measure downgraded some drug and theft crimes to reduce populations at California’s overcrowded prisons. Proposition 36 institutes tougher penalties for the sale of drugs like fentanyl, allows prosecutors to stack multiple smaller thefts that total more than $950 and charge offenders with felonies and even creates court-ordered treatment programs for people convicted of drug offenses.
Sheriff’s take: Even as she warned that the county’s jails are badly overcrowded and in disrepair, Martinez said she supported Proposition 36 based on her hope that it’ll deter people from committing the kinds of crimes that are now subject to stricter punishments and that it will encourage more people to enter rehab. Martinez also thinks Proposition 36 has changed the sense of futility some business owners and law enforcement officers felt prior to its passage.
“There was clearly a sense of frustration by law enforcement when they went to a shop owner who had been the victim of another retail theft and hadn’t been reporting because they didn’t see a point,” Martinez said.
While those thefts were still misdemeanor crimes before the passage of Proposition 36, they weren’t ones that led to people’s arrests. That often meant those charged never showed up to court.
“Now they’re coming to jail and now they’re being given court dates and at least they’ll at least have to appear and we’ll see what happens from there,” Martinez said.
Coming soon: Stay tuned for the full conversation with Sheriff Martinez on the VOSD Podcast. We’ll drop that episode later this week.
National City Development Drama
National City’s planning commission recently rejected a proposal that would have transformed a vacant lot into a gas station, car wash, convenience store, drive-thru restaurant and apartment building.
Opponents of the project argued the proposal was too big and convoluted. While they celebrated the commission’s decision, the story isn’t over.
South County Reporter Jim Hinch reports a woman has filed a lawsuit against the city for failing to produce communications between the developer and mayor’s assistant.
The lawsuit alleges the developer “provided personal financial favors” to Josie Flores-Clark, assistant to Mayor Ron Morrison. Flores-Clark did not respond to a request for comment.
Morrison denied the allegations and told Hinch, “This thing has turned out to be the biggest soap opera I have ever seen in my life.”
More South County news: Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre, who is running for County Supervisor, addressed her constituents last week about the state of the city.
Hinch writes that the “city’s laid back, diverse, scrappy spirit was on full display.” He has what you need to know about what the mayor had to say in the latest South County Report.
Read the South County Report here.
City Council Backs New Real Estate Rules Under Shadow of 101 Ash Debacle
The San Diego City Council approved policy changes earlier this week to try to avoid another expensive and embarrassing real estate debacle.
The unanimous Monday vote came more than three years after a scathing city audit recommended tweaks to prevent issues that haunted city acquisitions including the 101 Ash St. office tower and an indoor skydiving center turned homeless service hub.
The Union-Tribune reports that the new rules call for the city to perform independent appraisals before buying or leasing a property, something the city didn’t do before it leased 101 Ash or bought the East Village skydiving center.
City contractors or advisers who provide “significant input” on city real estate deals also must sign a city contract and in some cases file economic interest statements, two changes that follow the 2021 revelation that an ex-city landlord paid then-city adviser Jason Hughes $9.4 million for his work on two city lease deals including 101 Ash.
Also on the list of new rules: City staff must get an independent building condition assessment, present a proposed deal to a City Council committee and complete a due-diligence checklist before asking the full City Council to approve a deal.
Song of the Week
Phil Geraldi, “Veil of Misty Tears”: This is the most straightforward song you’ll find on “Steele, ND.” Yes, there’s the crackling static lurking on the edges of the languid acoustic guitar picking. Yes, even the guitars are made warbly, almost as if they are played from a decades-old cassette tape.
But listening to this more standard composition is far from the mind-bending sonic experience induced by listening to much of the rest of the release. So, give this a try. If you dig it, play the EP from the beginning. Heck, play the whole release even if you don’t. A little bit of dissonance ain’t gonna’ kill you. Read more about the Song of the Week here.
Like what you hear? Catch Phil Geraldi live at Crescent House on Wednesday, Feb. 5.
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 Others News
- The San Diego City Council on Monday passed an ordinance aimed at preserving affordable housing. The ordinance forces owners selling properties with deed restrictions that require rents to be affordable to first offer them up to buyers who maintain and build affordable housing. (KPBS)
- A developer who purchased an empty office building in Sorrento Valley will demolish the building and create housing in its place. (Union-Tribune)
- During last month’s Petco Park rodeo, a horse died after taking part in an event. Now, San Diego Humane Society officials have announced they’re investigating the death. (City News Service)
- San Diego biotech firm Illumina was added to an “unreliable entity list,” by Chinese government officials as the country retaliates against President Donald Trump’s tariffs. (Fierce Biotech)
The Morning Report was written by Jakob McWhinney and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña. It was edited by Scott Lewis.
Can we add a plaque to 101 ash and the sky diving center to memorialize Kevin Faucloners legacy?