Two men, who previously worked for a group posing as a softball charity in Petco Park, have started their own volunteer group to work concession stands. The only problem: It’s unclear what charitable work the group actually does.
Fans at a recent San Diego Padres playoff game versus the Atlanta Braves might have noticed a group of young people in pink t-shirts serving hot dogs and beer at a food stand in section 135 of Petco Park. That was Greek Life Aid.
Some stands in Petco are staffed by paid employees. Others are staffed by charities. In exchange for running the stand, charities get to keep roughly 10 percent of the stand’s revenue to use for charitable purposes. Greek Life Aid claims to support students with its revenue.
But no local public college has heard of the charity, reports our Will Huntsberry. The founders of Greek Life Aid previously worked for Chula Vista Fast Pitch, a group that raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars while pretending to be a charity at Petco, as we reported last year. Soon after Chula Vista Fast Pitch went down, Greek Life Aid started up.
Huntsberry managed to talk to Greek Life Aid’s founders at their stand in Petco Park. They promised to provide him with full documentation of their charitable giving. Then they ghosted him.
Read the latest story in our concessions investigation here.
State Firefighters Weigh In Against DeMaio Assembly Campaign
State Assembly candidate Carl DeMaio can add another enemy to the long list of California politicians and organizations who have turned against the polarizing Republican.
An organization representing state firefighters has raised more than $1.7 million to defeat DeMaio’s bid to represent the 75th Assembly district in northeastern San Diego County. Even more notable: Much of the money comes from business entities, including DoorDash and a state apartment owners association, once allied with DeMaio in previous election cycles.
Firefighters and police officers haven’t forgotten that, while serving on the San Diego City Council, DeMaio pledged to balance the city’s budget by cutting benefits for public safety employees. DeMaio “can’t be trusted,” the head of the state firefighters’ union told Voice of San Diego.
“We’re not surprised the political establishment in Sacramento is spending millions on false ads to defeat Carl DeMaio,” a DeMaio spokesperson said.
Also in Sacramento news: Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have enabled community colleges to award four-year nursing degrees, a long-sought goal. Public and private four-year universities opposed the bill, saying it would duplicate existing programs.
Read the Sacramento Report here.
The Other Assembly Race
Speaking of state Assembly races, this week another race caught our editor’s eye. The race to rep the 79th District is getting spicy. That’s the battle between Democrats LaShae Sharp-Collins and Colin Parent.
Scott Lewis explains why this race is heating up and why Sharp-Collins is getting attacked for … playing poker? Read about it in the Politics Report here.
The Politics Report is available exclusively to Voice of San Diego members. To get access, become a member here and subscribe to the weekly politics newsletter.
VOSD Podcast: On the latest episode, our hosts dissect some wild campaign mailers and political stunts. It’s officially silly season, and we are here for it. Plus, our hosts unpack the newspaper endorsement that isn’t really a newspaper endorsement. Listen to the full episode here.
In Other News
- The federal agency responsible for treating cross-border sewage in the Tijuana River Valley awarded a $1.9 million contract last week to a Texas-based environmental company that will seek to determine where pollution in the river comes from and how far it extends into the ocean.
- Up to 125,000 Anthem Blue Cross health insurance customers could find themselves paying more for medical care at Scripps Health hospitals and outpatient centers if the hospital chain and insurer are unable to broker a reimbursement deal by the end of the year. (Union-Tribune)
- A recent Redfin real estate analysis named San Diego the fifth-most expensive market for first-time homebuyers. Six San Diego zip codes already had the dubious distinction of ranking among the priciest in America in another recent survey. (Axios San Diego)
- San Diego debuted its first-ever electric-powered fire truck last week at a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the opening of a new Torrey Pines fire station. The $2.1 million red truck looks just like the city’s other fire trucks, except for an 18-inch EV battery box in the center of the apparatus. (Union-Tribune)
The Morning Report was written by Jim Hinch, Will Huntsberry and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña. It was edited by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.