Two survivors of last year’s floods that inundated neighborhoods in southeastern San Diego said they were “shocked” to see their photos turn up last week in the middle of South San Diego County’s increasingly vitriolic race for County Supervisor.
“I instantly got upset, like, are you kidding me?” San Diego resident Michelle Sherman said of her reaction when she saw a photo of herself and a fellow flood survivor named Harrold Roberts plastered across an ad backing San Diego Councilmember Vivian Moreno’s campaign for a vacant seat on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.
The ad, which landed in voters’ mailboxes last week, had been paid for and sent by an independent expenditure committee funded by the San Diego Municipal Employees Association, which supports Moreno’s candidacy. “When Disaster Struck, Vivian Moreno Stood Up,” the ad says alongside photos of Moreno meeting with flood victims and addressing survivors from the back of a pickup truck.
The only problem: Sherman said no one asked her permission to appear in the ad or even let her know it was coming.
And she said she does not support Moreno’s candidacy.
“I’m not a big fan,” Sherman said, citing what she said were lapses in the city’s flood response.
Spokespeople for Moreno’s campaign and the Municipal Employees Association said they did not coordinate on the ad’s production and were not aware that Sherman objected to having her photo used. The photo had been taken by a staff member in Moreno’s office while Moreno toured flood-damaged neighborhoods in the immediate aftermath of the January 2024 storm.
Politics Report: Ex-COO Files Claim
Eric Dargan appears to be filing a lawsuit against the city of San Diego for discrimination. Mayor Todd Gloria pushed out the former chief operating officer last month amid a restructuring.
Scott Lewis writes in the Politics Report that Dargan has hired attorney Michael Conger, who long hounded the city during its pension scandal.
“The City, namely Mayor Gloria, unlawfully discriminated against Dargan based on his race by, among other things, lying to him regarding the three months severance in order to induce Dargan to leave his job in Houston, Texas, and by terminating Dargan without cause,” reads the complaint.
Also in the Politics Report: County Supervisor Joel Anderson caught our attention this week with an op-ed in Times of San Diego arguing the county shouldn’t delay what is expected to be a tough vote on its budget until the now-vacant District 1 seat is filled.
“Our constituents cannot wait until August for a fifth supervisor, and we cannot delay this vote,” Anderson wrote.
So what does that mean? Lisa Halverstadt and Lewis explain in the Politics Report. Read it here.
Sharp HealthCare Is Serious About Suing Palomar Health
Two of the largest healthcare systems in the region are feuding.
Sharp HealthCare is demanding that Palomar Health immediately repay a $25 million loan Sharp provided to Palomar in 2024, otherwise, Sharp officials have threatened to sue Palomar for allegedly breaching an exclusivity arrangement the two hospital systems established last year.
Voice of San Diego was the first to report that Sharp HealthCare sent a letter to Palomar Health’s CEO threatening litigation after Palomar recently accepted a loan from UC San Diego Health roughly a year after accepting a loan from Sharp.
Sharp alleges that Palomar violated the terms of a one-year exclusivity arrangement between the two hospital systems when Palomar borrowed from UC San Diego Health. The goal of the arrangement was to establish a “joint affiliation” together. Palomar Health, though, denies these allegations.
According to a response letter from Palomar to Sharp, the loan from UC San Diego Health came with “no strings attached” and did not violate the terms of the exclusivity arrangement.
Though Palomar’s response indicates that Palomar officials are willing to resume negotiations with Sharp, Sharp officials told the Union-Tribune that they are ceasing all discussions with Palomar and will sue if Palomar does not repay the loan.
Palomar Health is experiencing ongoing financial decline, finishing its last fiscal year at a $165 million operating loss.
VOSD Podcast: On the latest episode, our hosts break down the brewing legal battle between Palomar Health and Sharp HealthCare. Also, our hosts take a look at San Diego’s parking reforms, and the Taxpayer’s Association’s leadership shifts.
Listen to the full episode here.
Sacramento Report: Department of Education Is Dead. Now What?
Last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to shut down the federal Department of Education. Now, California leaders are scrambling to figure out what happens next.
The Department of Education oversees federal student loans and a range of programs affecting virtually every aspect of K-12 education, including education for special needs students and other vulnerable populations.
“There are just a lot of unknowns at this point,” said Chris Jonsmyr, a spokesperson for Assemblymember David Alvarez, who is trying to create a new university campus in Chula Vista.
A spokesperson for Palomar College told our Deborah Sullivan the college is “scenario planning to ensure we can mitigate any impacts to our current and future students.”
Other education advocates said they fear big funding cuts are on the horizon, as well as possible privatization of student loan programs.
California was one of several states that sued earlier this month to block the dismantling of the department. That lawsuit now has been joined by a similar lawsuit filed by a major teachers union and numerous school districts.
“Only Congress” can abolish an entire department of the U.S. government, said Jeff Freitas, president of the California Federation of Teachers. “So without that fight in Congress, really what we can do is take it to the courts or take it to the streets.”
Read the full Sacramento Report here.
In Other News
- Paul Downey, president and CEO of Serving Seniors in San Diego, argues in a Voice of San Diego 20th Anniversary opinion essay that the San Diego region needs to do more to prepare as the county’s population ages. Among critical needs, Downey argues: “age-friendly” healthcare, public transportation and affordable housing.
- And, in another 20th Anniversary essay, Saad Asad of YIMBY Dems of San Diego, proposes three solutions to the San Diego region’s affordable housing crisis: Expanded rental assistance; zoning and permitting reform; and a “self-sustaining social housing fund.”
- Vista-based soap company Dr. Bronner’s earlier this month settled a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of a former employee who died of an accidental overdose amid what the suit alleged was a culture of risky drug use at the company. (KPBS)
- A toxic algae bloom is sickening marine mammals and birds along the San Diego shoreline. (Union-Tribune)
- County water officials said last week that water rates could jump next year by as much as double-digit percentage point increases – in part, ironically, because people are using less water. (Union-Tribune)
The Morning Report was written by Jim Hinch, Tigist Layne and Alina Ajaz. It was edited by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.
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