Trump’s top Colorado River official visited San Diego Wednesday and offered a novel proposal: Line the coastline with desal plants.
The proposal isn’t necessarily out of line with what some Democrats have said. Gov. Gavin Newsom has told other governors that expanding desalination could help relieve pressure on the Colorado River.
But that’s not at all the stance of environmentalists, who say desal is harmful, energy intensive and costly.
That didn’t stop Trump’s man, Scott Cameron, from praising the possibility. (Cameron is acting commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation.)
“Imagine a future where a string of six, or even a dozen desalination facilities are operating along the California coast providing ample amounts of beautiful, clean, clear, fresh water,” Cameron said.
As our MacKenzie Elmer reports, Cameron was in town to sign an agreement with other state officials that could eventually allow San Diego to sell water to other states — something that’s never been done before.
Superintendent is Out at Einstein Academies
David Sciarretta, the superintendent of Albert Einstein Academies, has officially resigned.
At an emergency meeting Wednesday afternoon, the charter school’s Board President Maria Ortega announced that trustees had voted unanimously to accept Sciarretta’s resignation and enter into a settlement agreement. Exactly what’s being settled is unclear.
The resignation caps more than a year of controversy for the charter school that’s included charter violations, abrupt firings, allegations of misuse of district funds, multiple investigations and more.
“This had to happen for the school to move forward and it’s been very frustrating to the school community that board haven’t acted more forcefully,” said Einstein parent Sabrina Bochen.
The Divide on Measure A
The second homes tax may not be officially cooked just yet, but there are some clear trends in the early vote dumps.
Particularly interesting is the differing voting patterns between heavily Democratic neighborhoods, which was pointed out by political consultant (and Voice contributor) Mason Herron on X. Neighborhoods in more working-class parts of the city, like Encanto and Chollas Park, voted down the proposal. Meanwhile, more progressive and wealthy areas, like Hillcrest and North Park, supported it.
In other words, some of San Diego’s poorest and most diverse communities chose not to support another tax, even if it may not have applied to them. It’s likely no coincidence that some of those communities were devastated by flooding two and a half years ago which soured residents’ trust in city leaders.
As it stands, only City Council Districts 3 and 9 – which cover downtown and an area east of downtown — backed the measure. Even then, the margin was thin. Literally everywhere else seems to have panned it.
North County Report: About Those Election Results
Primary Election day has come and gone, and in some North County races, early results have already started solidifying who will face off in November.
Our Tigist Layne broke down the preliminary results of some of the top races impacting North County and beyond. Here’s a sneak peek.
District 5 County Supervisor: Ah yes, the race that turned into a messy power struggle between the region’s Republicans. San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones has so far done very well, likely locking in her place in the General Election — probably much to the delight of Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, who endorsed her. Democrat Kyle Krahel is slightly leading over Republican Vista Mayor John Franklin in the battle to see who will face off against Jones in November.
48th Congressional District: This race is key to determining which party will control the House of Representatives. Termed-out County Supervisor Jim Desmond, a Republican, has taken an early lead. Of the many Democrats in the race, San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert, led the pack and will face Desmond in November.
Read the North County Report here.
In Other News
- As KPBS first reported, a nonprofit in Imperial Valley got some $6 million in tax breaks related to an immigrant detention facility it owns and leases. State Senator Steve Padilla of San Diego has now introduced a bill that would stop nonprofits from getting tax breaks related to detention centers they may own or operate.
- Oceanside Unified is renaming its Cesar Chavez Middle School, after the late activist was accused of sexual abuse. The new name, Senda Middle School, translates in Spanish to “path” or “journey.” (Union-Tribune)
- Scotland incoming: San Diego FC hired a new technical director, Chris Docherty, from the Scottish Football Association to head up the San Diego team. (Union-Tribune)
The Morning Report was written by Tigist Layne, Jakob McWhinney, Mariana Martínez Barba and Will Huntsberry. It was edited by Will Huntsberry.