In Chula Vista, everyone seems to have a theory about the unexplained departure of the city’s veteran police chief. No one seems to know what really happened.
Our South County reporter, Jim Hinch, dug into the story and discovered a tale more complicated and stranger than anyone knew.
Roxana Kennedy served more than three decades as a Chula Vista cop, rising to become the city’s first female lieutenant, captain and chief.
In January, she went on medical leave and months later filed multiple claims and a lawsuit against the city.
She accused city leaders – in particular, Latino members of the City Council – of conspiring to force her out so they could hire a younger, Latino chief.
A lot happened before Kennedy filed that lawsuit.
There was a holiday party at which Kennedy stuffed dollar bills into the pants of a dancing police officer. An email from a woman deep in Kennedy’s past. Months’ worth of finger-pointing, public outrage and workplace accusations.
Both Kennedy and city officials have made few public comments, leaving residents searching for answers and wondering what the future holds for their city’s police department.
No, the Governor Did Not Just Give $46 Million to the Tijuana River
Gov. Gavin Newsom dropped a confusing press release Thursday that made it seem like the Tijuana River sewage crisis was getting $46 million in state funding.
Media outlets nationwide jumped on the news. Except that wasn’t the case at all.
Newsom was merely announcing that the State Water Resources Control Board was now accepting applications for a piece of a $46 million pot designated to help clean up contaminated cross-border rivers. The Tijuana River isn’t the only cross-border river with a problem.
The New River flows into the United States from the Mexicali Valley and empties agricultural runoff, industrial and urban waste into the land-locked and highly polluted Salton Sea in Imperial Valley. It arguably suffered contamination just as long if not longer than the Tijuana River.
But Newsom’s press release prominently highlighted the Tijuana River in a jab at President Donald Trump’s administration.
La Jolla Secession Votes Could Be on Same Ballot
A group of La Jollans trying to take the neighborhood independent are exploring areas of state and local law that haven’t been tested. They are toying with a theory that they can secede with just a vote of La Jollans.
Officials at the agency in charge of this process aren’t so sure about that. But they did acknowledge something we hadn’t known before: If there are two votes – one of just La Jollans and one for the city as a whole – they could occur on the same ballot and likely would be on the 2028 ballot.
There would even be a slate of La Jolla City Council candidates.
We have more in this week’s Politics Report for Voice of San Diego members. Also, we have some takeaways from the vote count that seems to be finally, mostly complete.
Voice members can read the Politics Report here.
VOSD Podcast: Your favorite podcast crew took the show on the road and hosted a live recording at Soda Bar with special guest City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera. They asked him some tough questions, but he had one of his own. Listen to the episode here.
Sacramento Report: Senate Seat Stakes
Two San Diego races in coastal and inland North County could test whether Republicans hold on to their small foothold in the state Legislature.
First, Democrats are competing to swap termed-out Republican Sen. Brian Jones with Mara Elliott, San Diego’s former city attorney. Elliott will face Kristie Bruce-Lane, a two-time Republican Assembly candidate backed by Assemblymember Carl DeMaio.
If we learned anything from the primary, DeMaio picks mostly succeeded.
Second, and further up the coast, Democrats are on defense. Encinitas Democratic Sen. Catherine Blakespear will face Republican Laura Bassett, a county civil service commissioner who is endorsed by the California GOP in Senate District 38.
Meanwhile, as ballot counts were mostly finalized, officials say a new state law meant to speed up the process hasn’t done much.
Read the Sacramento Report here.
From the Department of Good Intentions
Two legislators are working to strip yet another building of its ties to Cesar Chavez.
U.S. Senator Alex Padilla and Rep. Juan Vargas introduced a bill last week to rename the “Cesar E. Chavez Post Office” on 2777 Logan Ave. after a World War II veteran and Latino educator and civil rights activist, Armando Rodriguez.
“His legacy has left an indelible mark on San Diego and it’s only right that we recognize his contributions as a Latino civil rights advocate,” Padilla said in a press release. “Renaming this post office ensures his legacy remains a part of American history for future generations.”
The only problem? The post office is slated to close soon. (Workers there believe it will happen next month.) A spokesperson with USPS said a search for “alternate quarters” for the station has begun.
Read more about it in the latest Cup of Chisme.
Testing Software Used by Local Districts Accused of Improper Data Sharing
Two Southern California parents have filed a lawsuit against edtech firm Curriculum Associates alleging the company’s popular educational assessment tool collects and shares student data to third parties without parent consent.
The tool, i-Ready, is used by districts across the country, including San Diego Unified, to track student learning. The district has relied on the software since at least 2020 and in 2023 signed a 5-year, $1.1 million contract to continue to utilize the program.
This is just the latest instance of pushback against the program. Last month, NBC reported that many parents, students and teachers alike had soured on the application, which can feature repetitive animated interludes in its educational lessons. Some skeptics of the program’s efficacy have even labeled it “digital snake oil.”
In Other News
- Correction: The budget story we published Thursday and included in Friday’s Morning Report 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. And a deal to spare arts funding was done with the Prebys Foundation not the county. We also added additional information about the trash fee, shelter beds and cuts to the fire department. Read the correction here.
- The National City Council on Tuesday is set to hire former Banning City Manager Doug Schultze as the city’s next top manager, following a year-long search. Councilmembers say they hope Schultze, a veteran city official who has worked in municipal government for more than three decades, can bring stability to a City Hall marked by turnover in recent years.
- The iconic Little Italy neighborhood side straddling India Street will come down for repairs after a Waste Management truck allegedly struck the sign. (inewsource)
- An El Niño developing in the tropical Pacific Ocean is slated to bring significant impacts, like a really rainy winter, in San Diego. (Fox 5)
- A proposal by San Diego lawmaker Tasha Boerner to majorly change the California Public Utilities Commission (which regulates investor-owned utilities like San Diego Gas and Electric) was put on hold by Boerner herself following complaints from various interest groups that the bill would erode the commission’s oversight authority. (Union-Tribune)
- The Washington Post editorial board published an opinion piece supporting the development of desalination plants and San Diego’s efforts to sell water from its plant in Carlsbad as a good solution to solving the West’s drought.
Sounds like quite a chaotic exit for the police chief. I wonder what the community’s reaction will be to this news.