Since 2023, the city has temporarily housed hundreds of homeless San Diegans in tents at the edges of Balboa Park.
The city’s safe sleeping program, as it’s called, has been controversial since the start and now is getting more scrutiny after deaths at the two sites.
Sitting councilmembers have already raised concerns and now City Council candidates are also calling for changes, reports our Mariana Martínez Barba.
Some candidates want to step up partnerships with the county and bolster services at the sites. Another wants health and safety audits, while another wants to see more pressure placed on residents to make lifestyle changes.
Martínez Barba also reports that the city aims to start providing onsite substance use treatment services at the sites.
- Related: 10 News has more details on the 21 deaths at the safe sleeping sites and the City Council discussion about them.
A San Diegan Takes the Reins at Metropolitan Water Board
A new San Diego County board chair for the Met? Believe it.
The San Diego County Water Authority had long been at war with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. The two spent years suing each other over the cost of transporting Colorado River water. Feuds also developed between the dueling water boards’ leadership. It was a classic LA versus SD story.
The two boards have recently begun to put down their swords and settled their longstanding legal fight. And now there’s more news in the reconciliation: A member of the San Diego County Water Authority has been anointed chair of Metropolitan’s board.
Marty Miller, who represents the Vista Irrigation District, became Met’s 21st board chair this week.
San Diego has long held a powerful position on Met’s board, which manages water for 19 million people across six counties.
It will be very interesting to see how Metropolitan shapes its policy, especially as the agency is one of the lead negotiators on the extremely fraught Colorado River, with San Diego interests guiding the ship.
Montgomery Steppe Pushes MTS Enforcement Reforms
Years ago, our Lisa Halverstadt revealed that unpaid Metropolitan Transit System tickets were upending low-income riders’ lives. Now the board is set to consider a new administrative process to try to lessen the burden of those tickets.
County Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe, who serves on the MTS board, had already been on a mission to minimize the impacts of then-skyrocketing enforcement on the system’s trolley lines when Halverstadt reported on them. The agency has since created a diversion program and repeatedly adjusted its enforcement approach. Montgomery Steppe hasn’t stopped advocating.
At her urging, the MTS board is set to consider a proposal Thursday to move eligible tickets out of the criminal court system — which can add significant costs — and into an administrative process. MTS would oversee penalties, which would be capped at $125 including collection and late fees.
In a statement, Montgomery Steppe said the proposal also allows people who might struggle to pay a ticket options including community service and installment payments.
“My goal since I began advocating for this change in 2019 has been to prevent a missed transit fare from becoming a financial burden that follows someone for years,” Montgomery Steppe wrote in a statement. “A $2.50 fare should not lead to hundreds or even thousands of dollars in fines and fees. This proposal would give people a more reasonable way to resolve minor violations without having to navigate the criminal court system.”
Councilmember Campbell’s Vacation Rental Communications
On Tuesday, we published City Councilmember Jennifer Campbell’s op-ed essentially subtweeting a City Council candidate to replace her who wants to overhaul vacation rental rules.
Campbell wanted Voice of San Diego readers – and clearly, fellow Democrat Nicole Crosby – to understand the complexity of brokering rental rules, including the need to deal with the state Coastal Commission.
inewsource, meanwhile, was trying to get Campbell to offer clarity on something else: when she plans to fulfill a promise to close a loophole allowing property owners to get a vacation rental license after illegally evicting residents.
For months, an inewsource reporter has been asking Campbell about her plans. Campbell finally had an answer – which she supplied to her colleagues rather than inewsource. She now plans to bring proposed changes to a City Council committee she leads on Oct. 21.
In Other News
- A City Council committee on Wednesday advanced campaign finance and ethics reforms proposals pushed by Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera, as City News Service reported. He said they are meant to address loopholes and increase accountability. Elo-Rivera’s proposal follows Airbnb’s full court press against Elo-Rivera’s second home tax pitch, documented by Voice’s Naomi Granata.
- The city is working on a new master plan for Balboa Park – and is seeking public input. (Times of San Diego)
- Escondido just put the kibosh on any data center developments in the city through August 2027. (Union-Tribune)
- The city is now citing young e-bicyclists who violate new safety rules. (10 News)
- As city councilmembers approved a new SeaWorld master plan earlier this week, they also ordered the Mission Bay theme park to wind down most of its fireworks shows. (Union-Tribune)
- Father Joe’s Villages has opened a new – but smaller – homeless day center following the closure of the Neil Good Day Center. (10 News)
The Morning Report was written by Lisa Halverstadt and MacKenzie Elmer. It was edited by Will Huntsberry.