For 15 years, the San Diego County Water Authority and LA-based Metropolitan Water District have been locked in a legal war that drove attorneys fees totaling tens of millions of dollars. Those fights have come to an end as the two agencies are set to formally announce today they have come to a settlement agreement.
Scott Lewis wrote about the dispute and settlement in the Politics Report Saturday and we’ve made that section of the Report its own story open to the public.
The dispute, in short: The Water Authority agreed to purchase water for several decades from the Imperial Irrigation District in Imperial Valley in 2003. It also invested heavily in lining the canals that bring water from the Colorado River, saving significant amounts of water that had been lost to seepage.
Much of the saved water is San Diego’s for many decades as well. But Metropolitan brings all this water to San Diego and its fluctuating costs to do that led to many years of legal battles.
The settlement, in short: Metropolitan is giving San Diego a fixed rate that will rise on a set schedule to transfer the water it bought from Imperial Valley. And, most interestingly, the settlement will allow San Diego to sell water to other Metropolitan agencies or even out of state.
Read Lewis’ initial analysis of the settlement.
Bringing the Ocean to City Heights
The nonprofit Ocean Discovery Institute was founded in 1999 with the goal of providing engaging science instruction to underserved students. In City Heights, they found a fitting home.
The organization has since developed a uniquely close relationship with San Diego Unified, so close in fact that the district put $10 million in bond funds toward the construction of the nonprofit’s Living Lab headquarters.
Thousands of Hoover High cluster students visit the facility each year to receive lessons about coastal wetlands and climate change, have hands-on experiences with animals and learn how to conduct research.
But earlier this year, the nonprofit received some distressing news: Trump’s cuts to the Americorps program would be taking a chunk out of their budget.
City Leaders Furious About Immigration Raid
Federal officers swarmed the South Park area around Buona Forchetta, a popular neighborhood restaurant, and raided the establishment, causing it to close Friday evening. The raid prompted a protest from neighbors that led to police setting off flash bangs.
The violence and surprising and public show of force and the resulting protests drew national press and condemnation from local elected leaders. The timing and location of the raid seemed intended to get attention.
On Saturday, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria issued a statement saying he was deeply upset. “What we saw undermines trust and creates fear in our community. I raised these concerns and my strong objections directly with Homeland Security Investigations leadership this morning,” he said in the written statement.
San Diego City Councilman Sean Elo-Rivera went further and called the federal agents terrorists. His comments were referenced by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, the man who drives and articulates much of the president’s approach to unauthorized immigration and the people he is rounding up and deporting.
“They are openly encouraging violence against law enforcement to aid and abet the invasion of America,” Miller wrote on X, referencing Elo-Rivera.
Elo-Rivera called Miller a fascist.
“This is how we win — not by backing down. But by standing shoulder to shoulder and calling things exactly as they are,” Elo-Rivera wrote on Instagram.
As for the restaurant: Its owners announced all their locations in San Diego and Orange Counties will be closed Monday and Tuesday. KPBS reported agents arrested several workers though its unclear still how many.
It’s going to get worse: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security last week put several jurisdictions in San Diego County on a nationwide list of so-called “sanctuary jurisdictions” that department officials claim impede federal immigration efforts. The list includes the County of San Diego, as well as the cities of San Diego, Vista, Chula Vista and Santee. (Union-Tribune)
More: Federal authorities last week detained a man at a downtown San Diego homeless shelter – the second time in two months immigration authorities detained someone at a local homeless shelter. The detentions come as immigration authorities ramp up Trump administration deportation efforts. (Union-Tribune)
San Diego Job Corps Center Announces Closure, Leaving Staff Scrambling
Students and employees of San Diego’s Job Corps center were told on Friday that the center would cease operations on June 6. The news follows the Department of Labor’s announcement Thursday that it would begin to pause operations at all facilities run by private contractors.
The program, which dates back to President Lyndon B. Johnson’s war on poverty agenda, offers low-income young people aged 16 to 24 vocational and academic training alongside support services and free housing. San Diego’s Job Corps center, located in Imperial Beach, served about 400 students.
Wendell Curtis, a career development counselor at the center, said that while there had for months been warning signs about the future of the center, the sudden announcement of its closure has been chaotic.
“There have been people crying everywhere all day,” Curtis said.
She also estimated a couple of dozen students who currently live at the center will have no place to go come its closure, so staff spent Friday calling homeless service providers searching for open space. And while Curtis acknowledged Job Corps had seen its fair share of controversy in recent years, they said it served a unique and vital purpose.
“There’s no alternative program for underserved youth to gain high school diplomas, driver’s licenses and vocational training while being provided free room and board,” Curtis said. “Some of our students are going to live in cars with their parents right back where they started.”
In Other News
- The California State Senate last week passed a bill authored by State Sen. Steve Padilla that would protect utility ratepayers from price hikes caused by power-hungry data centers. The bill, which heads to the State Assembly, would pass on the cost of building additional energy infrastructure to large power consumers.
- The San Diego Foundation last week celebrated its 50th anniversary at the Copley-Price Family YMCA in City Heights and announced it has awarded a total of $1.8 billion in grants to local non-profit organizations. (CBS8)
- Humane Society workers last week removed 41 pets from a house in Escondido, including 28 dogs, six puppies, four cats, two kittens and a chameleon. Workers declined to comment on why the animals were at the house, citing an ongoing investigation. (Fox5)
The Morning Report was written by Jim Hinch, Jakob McWhinney and Scott Lewis.
Big yes to everything you said here.