It’s a bird, it’s a plane… It’s Chula Vista’s State of the City event!
Mayor John McCann on Tuesday staged a State of the City that still has us reeling.
The event began with a Hollywood-style video starring McCann in a madcap race to get to the speech on time – culminating in him leaping out of an airplane and parachuting toward the city.
As the film ended, an actual airplane (this is not a joke) appeared overhead and a skydiver (still not a joke!) descended toward the crowd of roughly 200 residents and dignitaries gathered at the city’s Elite Athlete Training Center. The skydiver landed in a nearby field and McCann strode onto the stage in a tuxedo accompanied by theme music from Mission Impossible.
It may not shock you to learn McCann is running for re-election this year.
The event also had all the hallmarks of an average State of the City address, with its shoutouts to corporate sponsors, heartwarming personal anecdotes and an exhaustive list of civic progress. But it had so much more.
Opera baritone Manuel Vera joined McCann onstage to belt out God Bless America while McCann draped medals over the leaders of Chula Vista’s veterans organizations. (McCann is a United States Navy veteran and current reservist.)
McCann couldn’t resist a dig at his big-city counterpart, Todd Gloria. He pointed out that Chula Vista this year balanced its budget with no new taxes, no cuts in services and fully funded its reserves.
“And no parking fee increases,” McCann added, to widespread laughter.
No word on whether McCann is willing to loan his parachute to Gloria. It might come in handy this budget season.
El Cajon Sues to Overturn State Sanctuary Policies
The city of El Cajon is partnering with the conservative America First Policy Institute to sue the state over its immigration policies. The suit claims the state’s policies “induce and encourage illegal aliens to reside within [California’s] borders.”
The lawsuit, filed in San Diego County Superior Court, also says state sanctuary policies place cities in legal jeopardy by forcing them to limit cooperation with federal immigration agents.
Last year, The El Cajon City Council voted 3-2 to begin cooperating with federal immigration authorities, in defiance of state policy. The vote has led to ongoing protests.
“Sacramento has spent years telling cities like El Cajon to fall in line with sanctuary policies that put our residents at risk,” Mayor Bill Wells said on social media shortly before the lawsuit announcement. “They assumed nobody would push back. They assumed wrong.”
In a statement, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said, “El Cajon should prepare for another loss… [California’s sanctuary law] has been upheld in court again and again, and we’re prepared to defend it from a baseless attack once more.”
The Tijuana River Is Having a Political Moment
The humble and terribly polluted Tijuana River has become a must-stop destination for candidates seeking to lead California.
Xavier Becerra, the former Biden cabinet member, became the latest candidate for governor to tour the much-abused river on Wednesday at the invitation of San Diego County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre.
Becerra is the sixth candidate to visit the river this year. Aguirre has pressed each of them – successfully, so far – to promise they would declare a state of emergency at the river, if elected.
Becerra, who as California Attorney General sued the federal government in 2018 to demand action on the river, said he was prepared to declare a state of emergency. But he did hedge. He said he would do so only if he felt the state was ready to make an immediate difference.
“If you declare a state of emergency, you have to deliver,” he said.
Senator Wants to Assign Schools New Math Homework
State Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson’s out with a bold proposal: giving California kids another test.
Let’s back up a bit. Statewide, kids aren’t doing great in math. Slightly more than a third of students are meeting stade standards on tests and they still haven’t made up deep pandemic-era learning losses.
Weber Pierson is proposing a bill to create a math screener for kids in kindergarten, first and second grade that – the thinking goes – would catch kids who are struggling with math before they fall too far behind to catch up. It also would require schools to offer additional supports to kids who aren’t up to snuff in math.
But like recent efforts to revamp California’s literacy curriculum, not everyone is on board with this new proposal. California’s powerful teachers unions have already come out in opposition, making the bill’s climb a steep one.
Read the full Learning Curve here.
In Other News
- Candidates vying to replace outgoing North County Supervisor Jim Desmond showed no love this week for two top county issues: a proposed sales tax increase and an overhaul of county government that would award current supervisors another term in office. All four candidates, including Democrats, panned the measures, which are supported by the Board of Supervisors’ current Democratic majority. (Union-Tribune)
- Chula Vista is preparing to release the first of a series of bi-annual reports documenting interactions between city police officers and federal immigration agents. The reports are required as part of an immigration ordinance the City Council approved earlier this year. (KPBS)
- Y’all, maybe don’t fly drones near the airport, OK? A United Airlines pilot reported spotting one beneath his airplane as it landed Wednesday. The drone was so close, the pilot thought he hit it. Luckily, he didn’t. (Union-Tribune)
- Who’s supporting and opposing Measure A, a city of San Diego ballot measure that would tax second homes? inewsource has the details. No surprise: The California Association of Realtors is leading the charge against the measure. (inewsource)
The Morning Report was written by Jim Hinch and Jakob McWhinney. It was edited by Will Huntsberry.