When we first broke the story on a criminal misappropriation case involving a former executive of a county contractor, we wanted to know: Did county officials know about her past embezzlement conviction when they awarded a second contract to the nonprofit in 2024?
Turns out they did.
Our Lisa Halverstadt reveals that a whistleblower contacted the county in early 2023 to sound the alarm on Amy Knox, then a top leader at the Harm Reduction Coalition of San Diego. She had previously served prison time for embezzlement, the whistleblower warned. Knox was then overseeing the nonprofit’s finances, grants and payroll.
Soon after the whistleblower spoke with a county Health and Human Services Agency official, the county notified the Harm Reduction Coalition it was being audited. County officials later ordered improvements, but it’s unclear what they did to ensure the nonprofit made changes.
Refresher: Knox faces felony charges for allegedly spending public money on everything from plastic surgery to purebred dogs, forging an invoice to the county and submitting fraudulent tax forms.
How we got the story: Voice obtained records confirming the whistleblower report after suing the county to force its release.
Border Report: People in Mexico Keep Going Missing
A commission in Mexico is warning of an ongoing humanitarian crisis: more than 128,000 people currently missing in the country, as well as more than 70,000 unidentified bodies.
Men, women, boys and girls are disappearing for a variety of reasons including gang recruitment, human trafficking and gender-based violence. Some of the disappearances even include journalists and activists who may be targeted for their work.
The report urges Mexico’s leaders to better investigate these crimes and hold the criminals accountable, Voice contributor Kate Morrisey writes.
Data from 2023, shows that Mexico has staggeringly high impunity rates, which measure crimes without convictions. Click below to see the numbers.
Olympic-Level Walkback
For months, a developer promised his massive Imperial Valley AI data center wouldn’t touch “a single drop” of water from the drought-stricken Colorado River. This week, he filed a lawsuit against the Imperial Irrigation District seeking access to 260 million gallons of Colorado River water a year, calling it a “last resort.”
That’s about as much water as 7,300 Imperial County residents use annually, according to a report by KPBS.
In Other News
- Hundreds of court records reveal inadequate medical care at Otay Mesa Detention Center. Petitions from detainees reveal deteriorating health because of isolation, delays in medical care, missed surgeries and more. (inewsource.)
- A San Diego judge ordered the deportation of 50 people from the U.S. after they missed a mass immigration hearing on Friday. Out of 80 people scheduled for the hearing, 30 made it. The judge ordered the removal of those who did not appear. (KPBS)
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom is accusing President Trump’s Justice Department of launching a politically-motivated investigation into him and his wife, saying he believes Trump is targeting him because he’s considering running for president. (KPBS)
- NASCAR is coming to San Diego this weekend for a three-day race event at Naval Base Coronado. (Union-Tribune)
- Wondering how San Diego’s budget cuts could impact libraries and recreation centers in your area? Times of San Diego put together a list of the changes here.
The Morning Report was written by Lisa Halverstadt and Tigist Layne. It was edited by Will Huntsberry.