This section has been updated.
The city’s budget process was downright tumultuous this year. Now the dust has settled and you may be wondering: Where’d everything land in the end? What got funded – and what didn’t?
Our Mariana Martínez Barba and Bella Ross have you covered.
Among the highlights: Two councilmembers helped cut a deal to restore most arts and culture funding slashed in Mayor Todd Gloria’s initial budget. Some libraries and recreation centers will remain open more than expected. Some public restrooms will be closed but others at local beaches will keep flushing on.
Todd’s take: The mayor made it clear that he disagreed with the Council’s changes to his proposed budget, but he signed it anyway.
BTW: Andrew Bowen, our friend over at KPBS, and city Independent Budget Analyst Charles Modica took to Reddit on Thursday to answer questions about bike lanes, the possibility of a city-owned utility, the city’s budget deficit and more.
Users had thoughtful questions about the city’s unfunded infrastructure needs, pension payments and the structural budget deficit.
Correction: A previous version of this post incorrectly stated that a proposal to take one of the mayor’s deputy chief operating officers and promote them to a chief operating officer made it into the final budget. It did not.
South County Report: South Bay Election Rundown
It’s now been 10 days since Primary Election Day and our Jim Hinch is taking stock of South County election results.
In this week’s South County Report, Hinch notes that residents remained friendly to local government veterans and less tied to political parties. Exhibit A: Republican Chula Vista Mayor John McCann pulled in 56 percent of the vote, leaving Democrat Francisco Tamayo, a Chula Vista school board official, to hope a blue wave improves his chances in November. Hinch also zeroed in on results in Imperial Beach, National City and City Council District 8.
Read the South County Report here.
Today in Weird, Very Random San Diego Sports History
On this day in 1970, Pittsburgh Pirate Dock Ellis pitched a no-hitter against the Padres. What’s made it the stuff of sport history, you ask? Ellis claimed he was high on LSD for the feat – and only remembered parts of the game.
“I was psyched. I had a feeling of euphoria. I was zeroed in on the [catcher’s] glove, but I didn’t hit the glove too much,” Ellis recalled in 1984, according to The Guardian. “I remember hitting a couple of batters, and the bases were loaded two or three times. The ball was small sometimes, the ball was large sometimes, sometimes I saw the catcher, sometimes I didn’t.”
Craving more on this topic? Here’s an animated version of the tale.
In Other News
- Gov. Gavin Newsom says $46 million is headed to San Diego to help address the Tijuana River sewage crisis. (Times of San Diego)
- Firefighters and crime lab techs in El Cajon are opposing proposed cuts to balance the East County city’s budget. (Union-Tribune)
- Advocates have sued San Diego police over allegations that the agency is mislabeling complaints to avoid scrutiny from the independent Commission on Police Practices. (Times of San Diego)
- A Superior Court judge dismissed a contentious defamation case between two candidates in a 2024 San Dieguito Union High School District board race. (Union-Tribune)
- Ever wanted to see inside that castle-like Mormon temple along Interstate 5 in La Jolla? Starting next week, it’s hosting its first open house since 1993. (NBC 7 San Diego)
The Morning Report was written by Lisa Halverstadt. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña.
more about the game:
Pirates won 2-0. it was recorded as a no-hit, eight-walk, victory over the Padres. Reporters at the game said they didn’t believe the claim, but Dock swore it was true. (btw, Dock was his real first name.)