Two years ago, a powerful Democratic political consultant named Jesus Cardenas abruptly vanished from public life.
He pleaded guilty to two felony fraud counts, shuttered his political consulting business and became a pariah among the Democratic power brokers who once clamored for his services.
Now his name is surfacing again.
Starting late last year, a prominent labor union made a series of payments totalling $18,000 to a digital marketing firm that operates out of Cardenas’ Chula Vista house and lists as its CEO as Cardenas’ wife, Jessica Garcia.
The payments were for a variety of political and marketing services, including creating a social media and text messaging strategy for the unsuccessful San Diego City Council campaign of Josh Coyne.
Cardenas acknowledged that the marketing company, Morena Media, operates out of his home and is run by his wife.
But he denied that he is staging a political comeback or acting as a shadow operator of the company. He said the company is his wife’s alone.
“My conviction had nothing to do with political work and I’m extremely sorry for what I did,” he said. “I don’t have a formal role in the Democratic Party.”
Wealthier Districts Seeing Less Special Ed Growth
Our Jakob McWhinney has discovered a fascinating local and statewide trend: Wealthier school districts that fund themselves have not had the same explosion in special education students as other districts in recent years.
Basic aid districts, as they are called, fund their own public schools, because they receive so much money in local property taxes. They receive more than they’d otherwise get from the state (which is where the majority of districts get the majority of their money) and so it works out better for them to fund themselves.
In other words, these areas are pretty wealthy.
And somehow, they aren’t experiencing the same trend in unbridled special education growth as other districts. McWhinney admits that he hasn’t figured out why.
Del Mar Union, which McWhinney wrote about earlier this week, is the stand out case. Del Mar’s special education numbers have decreased more than any other district in the entire state with more than 100 special needs students.
Parents and advocates say Del Mar treats special education families with outright hostility and that may be the reason for the decline there. Del Mar officials deny that characterization.
Basic aid districts have different financial incentives than regular districts. The pot of money they get doesn’t change size with the student population, as it does in other districts, where money is attached to enrollment. In other words, the less students, the more money they have per pupil.
Read the full Learning Curve here.
Found in the Scroll: Tasteful Nudis
A Santa Cruz-based photographer who goes by the handle “Tasteful Nudis” cruised down to San Diego recently and posted some amazing pictures on Reddit of some weird and wonderful creatures in our city.
Tasteful Nudis — who photographs nudibranchs and other creatures — went tidepooling and had what sounds like a productive day.
A rundown:
“Was bitten by California Moray Eel. Blood sacrifice to tidepool gods complete.”
“Probably spent more time at red lights than in the tidepools.”
And the point of the trip: “8 new species of nudibranch observed!”
Nudibranchs are a kind of sea slugs, but don’t let that put you off. Nudibranchs are remarkable creatures, and lovely to behold.
Tasteful Nudis Instagram page is pretty incredible and includes everything thing from barn owls to nudibranchs.
In Other News
- Comic-Con, San Diego’s annual nerdcore festival, is here to stay for another four years. Organizers inked a deal with city officials to remain in San Diego through 2030. The deal includes discounted room rates at 60 hotels in and around downtown San Diego. (Union-Tribune)
- Firefighters on Wednesday battled a 35-acre wildfire near Rainbow. As of Wednesday afternoon, the fire was 5 percent contained and forward movement had stopped. Authorities issued evacuation orders for homes near the area. (KPBS)
- San Diego Christian College, a small, 50-year-old college in Santee, has vacated its lease and moved out of its former location. But no one seems to know why or whether the college is offering classes somewhere else. (inewsource)
- La Mesa is now, apparently, “the Amsterdam of San Diego.” Times of San Diego explains how the city became a weed mecca.
- Times of San Diego also breaks down how Donald Trump’s recent decision not to renew the United States-Mexico Trade Agreement he negotiated during his first term in office deals a setback to efforts to clean up the sewage-plagued Tijuana River. (Times of San Diego)
- Lemon Grove extended the contract of interim City Manager Tony Winney for another six months while the city continues a nationwide search to replace former City Manager Lydia Romero, who left the city earlier this year. (Union-Tribune)
The Morning Report was written by Jim Hinch and Will Huntsberry. It was edited by Will Huntsberry.
