Twenty years ago today — well 20 years ago yesterday — Voice of San Diego went live with its first story. It was a long piece about the corruption, culture and lies that had led the city to financial chaos and scandal.
Now, 20 years later, the city faces a massive deficit.
We didn’t fix it … sorry.
It’s been quite a run, though. To mark 20 years since the first visitor came to the website, I wrote up four lessons we learned in that time.
We used to hear rumors of our demise and questions about whether the organization was sustainable. We don’t get that question anymore. But there are still some really good questions about this organization and where it’s going and we hope to answer a few of them this year.
— Scott Lewis, CEO and editor in chief, Voice of San Diego
The First of 20 Big Stories to Remember
When Voice of San Diego started 20 years ago, we had plenty of ambition and willing mentors. One of our earliest and most influential stories gave us two things that were even more valuable.
Patience and the nation’s attention.
In 2006, we published an initial investigation into the Southeastern Economic Development Corp., an agency tasked with subsidizing construction in an underserved part of the city. Our first story, about officials buying and selling properties for their own benefit, made less of an impression than we’d hoped.
But the story did prompt more sources to reach out. So, we kept digging. Two years later, we published what remains our most impactful story, about how agency president Carolyn Y. Smith had enriched herself and a deputy with tens of thousands of dollars meant to serve a vulnerable community.
Smith ultimately pleaded guilty to embezzlement. And The New York Times published a front-page story about Voice and its impact.
The lesson we learned – follow the money and don’t give up – is one that still inspires us today.
Read the story of our impact here.
Mayor Gloria’s Mega Shelter Is Dead
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria’s controversial plan to turn a Middletown warehouse into a 1,000-bed shelter campus is officially off.
Gloria acknowledged Friday after months of trying to keep the Kettner Boulevard and Vine Street shelter proposal alive that the Hope @ Vine project could “no longer advance.”
Our Lisa Halverstadt reports that Gloria’s team is now eyeing other potential shelter sites including the City Operations Building downtown, the old Central Library in East Village and a private property on Second Avenue. City staff are set to brief the City Council on those other options during a Monday afternoon meeting.
How Hope @ Vine fell apart: The failure of a proposed city sales-tax hike in November, a massive city budget deficit for the upcoming year and likely, less than favorable feedback from the City Council during a December closed-session briefing, translated into the death of the pricey shelter plan.
Sacramento Report: In the Shadow of the War with Trump
This year’s legislative session in the state Capitol is off to a slower start than usual. Our Deborah Sullivan wondered why. Turns out one reason is something any news junkie can identify with: The chaotic rollout of the second Trump administration is monopolizing the time and energy of California politicians.
On Monday, the legislature passed a $50 billion spending package that included $25 million to fight Trump’s policies in court and another $25 million to assist immigrants facing deportation. “Californians are being threatened by an out-of-control administration that doesn’t care about the Constitution and thinks there are no limits to its power,” Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas said in a statement.
California Senate Republicans protested that it was foolish to spend “$25 million waging legal warfare against the newly elected president, while we simultaneously beg for his assistance with wildfire recovery.”
Meanwhile, State Attorney General Rob Bonta teamed up with other state attorneys general to block Trump’s attempted federal spending freeze, demand answers about FBI director nominee Kash Patel’s plans to purge the FBI and protest Elon Musk’s access to sensitive financial information of millions of Americans.
With a Feb. 21 deadline to submit legislation approaching, lawmakers likely will get down to work in coming weeks. A few proposals from our local San Diego delegation already stand out, including a bill from State Sen. Steve Padilla to protect children from chatbots, a proposal to boost wetlands from Assemblymember Tasha Boerner and legislation from Assemblymember Laurie Davies that would allow a victim of sexual assault to ask a court to test a defendant for various sexually-transmitted diseases.
Read the Sacramento Report here.
VOSD Podcast: The Sheriff Takes Our Questions
This week on the VOSD Podcast, San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez sat down with hosts Scott Lewis, Andrea Lopez-Villafaña and Jakob McWhinney.
We asked the sheriff all about the jail death crisis that’s taken the lives of so many and local law enforcement’s relationship with immigration agencies.
Listen to the full episode here.
Introducing Dear VOSD: We’re launching a new podcast segment, and we need your help. Dear VOSD will be a place where all of your most burning questions about San Diego will be answered by our team of all-star reporters.
Wondering how some obscure civic organization works? Don’t know exactly what your rights as a tenant are? Can’t understand why we still have such an old, ugly flag? (We’re right there with you.) Have it all figured out and just want to leave a comment? That’s cool too.
Leave us a voicemail at (619) 800-4669 and you may just hear us answer your question on a coming podcast episode.
In Other News
- San Diego County sued the parent companies of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat last month, alleging they create a public nuisance by designing addictive platforms that damage young people’s mental health. (KPBS)
- San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl indicated his department would not adopt restrictive pursuit policies that had been recommended after multiple police chases resulted in fatalities. Wahl said the restrictions “could negatively impact public safety.” (Union-Tribune)
- The 137-year-old Hotel Del Coronado on Feb. 15 will unveil 82 refurbished guest rooms as part of an ongoing half-billion-dollar renovation project. The historic hotel’s 367 guestrooms have been closed for more than a year during the project. (Union-Tribune)
The Morning Report was written by Scott Lewis, Jim Hinch and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña. It was edited by Scott Lewis.
“San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl indicated his department would not adopt restrictive pursuit policies that had been recommended…”
what’s it called when police are uncontrolled by civilian agencies? that’s right — a police state.