Long before a criminal misappropriation scandal engulfed a former county contractor, the nonprofit struggled to pay its bills.
Nonprofits that partnered with the Harm Reduction Coalition of San Diego on its county contract to deploy an overdose reversal drug eventually ended up going unpaid for months. Former Harm Reduction Coalition staffers also went without pay.
Lisa Halverstadt traced the financial challenges back to August 2024, when a nearly $50,000 check to pay one of its three nonprofit partners bounced. Harm Reduction Coalition workers’ checks also often had issues with their paychecks.
The problems only escalated from there – and the county repeatedly pointed subcontractors and now-former employees back to the Harm Reduction Coalition when they raised concerns.
Refresher: District Attorney Summer Stephan’s office last month charged former Harm Reduction Coalition Chief Operating Officer Amy Knox with several felony counts. Stephan’s office alleges she had spent at least $210,000 in public funds on everything from plastic surgeries to purebred dogs.
County Supe Wants to Shine Spotlight on Secret Subcommittees
For months, two Democratic county supervisors have met behind the scenes to discuss ways the county can respond to upcoming fiscal challenges.
Republican Supervisor Joel Anderson wants to change county rules to make those discussions public. Read more about his proposal here.
Background: The sustainable fiscal planning subcommittee made up of board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer and Vice Chair Monica Montgomery Steppe hasn’t posted agendas or minutes from its meetings. Yet its proposals have resulted in multiple board items and bidding processes, including a controversial one that was abruptly cancelled early this year.
We requested agendas and minutes for ad-hoc subcommittee meetings plus records on one of the bidding processes it triggered, but the county has yet to provide that information.
Related: In an op-ed for Voice of San Diego, Anderson made the case for why government needs to happen in the sunshine. Read his argument here.
Politics Report: Issa Out
This section has been updated to correct that Desmond is running to represent the 48th Congressional District.
Rep. Darrell Issa is not running for Congress. He’s going to do something else.
County Supervisor Jim Desmond is picking up the Republican baton and entering the race to represent the 48th Congressional District. The Politics Report writes that Desmond is probably a better candidate than Issa. He’s not as closely tied to the president and has a connection to the district. He’ll also likely have a lot of resources at his disposal.
The Politics Report explains what this means for the race.
Plus: The city may be in big trouble with flood victims.
Read the Politics Report here.
Sacramento Report: Patel Takes Over Education Committee
North County Assemblymember Darshana Patel is the new chair of the Assembly Education Committee.
Patel’s role comes at a key moment where she wants to “create more efficiency and accountability.”
Our Nadia Lathan examines Patel’s priorities to support students with disabilities and how she plans to scrutinize budgets.
In other Sacramento news, calls from Democratic Party leaders for low-polling candidates to drop out of the Governor’s race mostly failed.
Read the Sacramento Report Here.
VOSD Podcast: School Board Members Aren’t Worried
In late 2024, San Diego Unified School District trustees Shana Hazan and Cody Petterson came on the podcast. They returned this week for a deep discussion on the budget problems the district faces, the plan to turn district land into homes and the school enrollment crisis.
Hazan insisted it’s not a crisis.
In Other News
- A tax to fund infrastructure and other needs in Balboa Park will wait until 2028. Andy Kopp who is driving the potential measure writes in an opinion piece how the measure will fund the decades long deferred maintenance backlog. (Times of San Diego)
- A new transitional program for women experiencing homelessness is coming to North County. The housing program for women between the ages of 18 and 21 will be connected to services like vocational training and permanent housing assistance. (KPBS)
- This week in her Cup of Chisme newsletter, Andrea Sanchez Villafaña writes about how, after eight editions of the Parents Guide to San Diego Schools, the annual publication has blossomed. For the first time this year, we awarded the best schools in the county based on our income vs. test score metric during the inaugural Acorn Awards. (Voice of San Diego)
The Morning Report was written by Mariana Martínez Barba and Lisa Halverstadt. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña and Scott Lewis.
Did you find any specific browser quirks while planning? I always end up stuck in tabs trying to compare venues.