Morning Report: About Those Pure Water Costs

San Diegans haven’t had a peek behind the financial curtains of the city’s Pure Water project since 2012. Pure Water is a wastewater treatment project city officials have been pursuing for years. 

And now reporter MacKenzie Elmer has the numbers. 

On one hand, the price tag looks considerably bigger per acre-foot of water than it did back in 2012. On the other, Pure Water may be able to produce water at a slightly cheaper rate than the San Diego County Water Authority, which has been coming under fire from city leaders for its high costs and proposed rate increases. 

In 2012, city staff estimated Pure Water would be able to produce water at $1,800 an acre-foot. Now they say it will cost $3,527. Most of that increase comes from inflation, city staff say. 

“Looking at the full picture, Pure Water is winning the water cost contest by a hair here,” Elmer writes. 

Read the full story here.

Officer Robot Responding. Chula Vista Embraces AI Policing

The Chula Vista City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to spend $1 million on a suite of AI policing tools that will enable police officers to generate instantaneous police reports while they’re still at crime scenes.

The city will become the first in San Diego County to use AI in everyday police work.

Chula Vista’s new AI tools will be embedded in officers’ body-worn cameras, where they will produce real-time transcripts of police encounters and generate police reports at the touch of a button.

Chula Vista Police Chief Roxana Kennedy said the AI tools are “going to be a huge time-saver for our officers, allowing them to be out in the community.”

But civil liberties advocates say the increasing use of AI in policing raises concerns about accuracy and bias.

One district attorney, in Seattle, refuses to accept AI-generated police reports after finding that AI reports included wildly inaccurate information, such as references to officers who weren’t even at crime scenes.

Kennedy said she’s “excited” about her department’s new AI tools. “Everyone is afraid of AI,” she said. “AI is only as good as the hands that use it.”

Read more here. 

North County Report: Escondido Council Isn’t a Fan

Last week, Escondido’s Republican majority city councilmembers voted to oppose the state’s redistricting measure, Proposition 50. 

Why? Our Tigist Layne writes that councilmembers don’t like the new maps and are worried the change could cost Escondido federal dollars. Democratic Rep. Scott Peters has also been a good representative for the city, “ironically” said Mayor Dane White. 

Escondido is split between the 48th and 50th Congressional Districts. If voters approve Proposition 50 in November, portions of the districts would change as well as voter demographics. 

Layne writes that residents were not happy the Council was taking a position on the measure. She also has an update on a development in Del Mar that can’t seem to move forward. 

Read the North County Report here. 

In Other News 

• See how San Diego’s colleges stacked up in US News & World Report’s college rankings. UC San Diego ranked sixth among public schools. (Axios)
• Could San Diego State University’s men’s basketball team be too deep? Coach Brian Dutcher will have to choose his starting lineup from a glut of returning and incoming talent. “There will be guys who probably won’t get the minutes they deserve based on the depth and talent of this roster,” Dutcher said. (Union-Tribune) 
• Prepare accordingly: Northbound lanes of the 5 will be fully closed all weekend long between the 8 and Mission Bay Drive due to road work. (Caltrans)
• SDPD investigated the shooting death of a man near a smoke shop in City Heights Wednesday. (NBC 7)
• Hurricane Narda is expected to send big waves into San Diego County this weekend. In North County, waves could reach eight feet in height. (U-T) 

The Morning Report was written by Will Huntsberry and Jim Hinch. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña.