The former nonprofit executive ensnared in a county contracting scandal is now facing three new felony charges.
Ex-Harm Reduction Coalition Chief Operating Officer Amy Knox has pleaded not guilty to all charges which now include allegations that she submitted a falsified $105,000 invoice to the county, filed fraudulent tax returns and stole two trips meant to be auctioned off to support another nonprofit. She had previously been hit with six felony charges.
Knox’s Monday arraignment in San Diego Superior Court followed her release from county jail late last week.
Our Lisa Halverstadt has more details on the new allegations against Knox, how the county and another contractor now pulled into the scandal are reacting and on the release conditions Knox is facing after her two-month jail stint.
Border Report: Deaths of Mexicans in U.S. Detention Centers Are On the Rise
Mexican officials are calling on consulate staff to inspect U.S. detention centers as in-custody deaths continue to rise.
At least 50 people have died while in custody at U.S. detention centers during the Trump administration so far, and at least 14 of those people were from Mexico, according to ICE.
Now, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is instructing consulate staff to increase oversight at U.S. detention centers including through daily visits to detention sites. A San Diego consulate staffer told Voice contributor Kate Morrisey that these daily visits are already happening.
Consulate staff conducts roughly 40 to 50 interviews a day at Border Patrol stations, as well as six to 10 interviews at ICE detention centers, one official said.
Rebels Prevail in San Diego Unified Union Election
San Diego Unified teachers union President Kyle Weinberg has lost his bid for a third term atop the influential San Diego Education Association.
Weinberg was defeated by current SDEA Vice President Monique Barrett, who received about 57 percent of the votes. His ally, Lincoln teacher Kiki Ochoa, also lost his bid for vice president to East Village Middle College teacher Matthew Schneck, a Barrett ally.
The upset came after a messy election period, during which long-brewing tensions burst into the open — and at a time of significant budget cuts. The union’s governing board passed a resolution of no confidence in Weinberg last month for allegedly acting without board approval and undermining the board’s authority.
Barrett and Schneck say they want to foster greater communication and transparency.
“We want to mend our relationships with [other unions] and maintain real solidarity,” Schneck said. “We can’t do our work in the classroom without them, and we’re never bargaining without them again.”
Despite the turmoil, teachers did well under Weinberg. The union secured big raises year after year, fought off layoffs and notched victories on programs like community schools and workforce housing.
“I’m very proud of all the organizing work we’ve done to move toward being a fighting social justice union,” Weinberg said. “I’m going to support the new SDEA leadership team in continuing that trajectory.”
Fairgrounds CEO Out, Just as New Lawsuit Drops
The timing is conspicuous.
Just days after the Del Mar Fairgrounds fired its CEO Carlene Moore, a former employee hit the agency with a lawsuit, our Tigist Layne has learned.
Last Tuesday, the board which oversees the Del Mar Fairgrounds, abruptly fired Moore in a closed session board meeting — and it’s still unclear why.
Two days later, a former employee filed a lawsuit against the Fairgrounds and placed Moore at the center of the complaint.
The former employee, Brad Oates, alleges that he faced age discrimination and wrongful termination. Specifically, he alleges that Moore passed him over for a job in which he had a decade of experience because he was “too old,” instead choosing to hire her own nephew for the role.
It’s not the first lawsuit the Fairgrounds has faced in the past several years.
State DAs Org Opposes County Charter Reform
Today county Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer will ask her colleagues to place a raft of proposed county governance reforms on the November ballot. The California District Attorneys Association isn’t cheering her on.
An attorney representing the organization sent a letter to Lawson-Remer arguing the measure’s proposal to apply three four-year term limits to sheriffs and district attorneys along with supervisors could legally sink the measure.
“Unfortunately, the voters of San Diego County have no legal power to adopt such a conditional provision and thus, a court would be authorized to remove the whole proposed charter amendment from the ballot,” attorney Thomas W. Hiltachk wrote.
Related: Lawson-Remer’s office has added a severability clause to the proposal, meaning if any provision of the measure is ruled invalid, other parts can take effect.
In Other News
- Balboa Park leaders say paid parking has caused an almost 34 percent drop in visits to the park’s museums and other venues and a $5 million decrease in revenue year-over-year. But city officials say parking revenue has been increasing since January. (Union-Tribune)
- Oceanside officials have kicked off plans to repair the burnt Oceanside Municipal Pier, with construction expected to begin in April 2027. (Union-Tribune)
- An El Centro resident is facing felony charges for allegedly making online threats to the developer of a controversial AI data complex moving forward in Imperial Valley. (KPBS)
- Want more information about Measure A, the “Non-primary Homes Tax?” KPBS has a breakdown of how Measure A would work if approved by voters this June, and what the revenue from the tax would fund. (KPBS)
The Morning Report was written by Lisa Halverstadt, Tigist Layne, Jakob McWhinney and Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña. It was edited by Will Huntsberry.