A company that has recently been sued for allegedly violating the Clean Water Act recently won a no-bid contract to continue operating a vital wastewater treatment plant on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Veolia has been operating the plant for years. The U.S. government initially opened a public bidding process for other companies to offer their services to run the plant. But then U.S. officials cancelled that bidding process and awarded a new no-bid contract to Veolia — at twice the annual cost of its previous contract.
Veolia representatives said there are perfectly good reasons for that: The Trump administration has asked them to increase sewage treatment by 40 percent and other costs to operate their business have risen substantially.
But lawyers suing the company say the contract stinks, reports our MacKenzie Elmer.
“We believe very strongly Veolia has done a crap job,” said one lawyer. “It seems like a terrible business decision [to rehire Veolia.]”
Also: Two leaders on either side of the contract — one at Veolia and one with the federal government — previously worked together at the Environmental Protection Agency. A spokesperson said their relationship is “professional and collegial.”
A New Spin on Radicalization
Amy Reichert, a local woman with a private investigator license who styles herself as an independent researcher, has dived into the middle of the mosque shooting story.
Reichert claims she interviewed the mother of one of the alleged shooters last year.
Here’s the twist: Reichert implies heavily that the boy may have become radicalized because he was forced to take an ethnic studies class.
In an interview with One America News, Reichert said the boy was of mixed ethnicity and felt he was being “painted as a victim” by the curriculum.
An OAN host then attempts to define ethnic studies and how it affected the boy. “[It’s] where they say anybody of color is a victim and White folks are all the oppressors. And he was torn because he’s half and half.”
Ethnic studies is a mandated part of the high school curriculum in California.
Reichert herself dislikes being called a conservative. But it’s easy to see the wheels of conservative media turning in real time on this story: Teaching children ethnic studies leads to violence and radicalization. Reichert, despite what she claims, is on the bus.
South County Report: Campaign Season Hits a New Low
San Diego’s border region has a reputation for dirty politics.
But even veterans of the region’s political scene said they were appalled by what they called one candidate’s recent attempt to fat-shame her opponent.
Angelica Martinez, a Republican seeking to unseat Chula Vista City Councilmember Jose Preciado, did not respond to questions about an attack ad that features a years-old photo of Preciado from a time when he weighed more than 600 pounds.
Preciado, a Democrat who said he has struggled with his weight for years, recently shed many of the excess pounds and no longer resembles the photo Martinez used.
“Is a disagreement on a policy matter so much that I have to be… belittled?” he said.
Also: National City eyes cuts to close a $16 million deficit. And the Chula Vista Elementary School District agreed to pay a former principal $3.3 million to settle a workplace lawsuit that alleged the district hired a private investigator to tail the principal, then retaliated against her after she took a leave of absence for carpal tunnel surgery.
Read the South County Report here.
Take on May Gray in Style
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Comfy and easy to style, these cozy layers are a great way to show your support for independent local journalism. Shop the collection today.
In Other News
- North County residents: Prepare to see a lot more American Airlines flights coming in and out of McClellan-Palomar Airport following a Wednesday county board vote. (Union-Tribune)
- 10 News reported that the San Diego Police Department’s northern division didn’t have minimum staffing on the day of the Clairemont mosque shooting and that one of the suspects had prior contact with Chula Vista police.
- A Chula Vista cop pleaded not guilty to vehicular manslaughter after allegedly running a red light while on duty and hitting and killing someone on a motorcycle. (NBC 7)
The Morning Report was written by Will Huntsberry, Jim Hinch and Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña. It was edited by Will Huntsberry and Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña.