‘Twas the day before the primary election.
And all through San Diego, glossy mailers kept flooding mailboxes telling voters to “read the fine print.”
No, seriously, if you haven’t voted yet, you’re likely still getting a ton of mailers. Lucky for you, our partners at KPBS put together a voter hub for all the races on your ballot.
If you’re a procrastinator or haven’t made up your mind, you can check it out here. (If you’re not sure what races you’re voting on you can enter your ZIP code.)
We’ll have a round up for you tomorrow of the races we’re watching. But if you’re into predictions, our hosts of the VOSD Podcast hosted a primary election draft episode. You can listen to it here.
Politics Report: No Love for City Hall
Our Politics Report writers got their hands on poll that shows the number of residents who feel the city of San Diego is on the wrong track has skyrocketed in the past year.
San Diegans who participated in the poll believe the top three issues are: the cost of housing, the city budget and homelessness.
You can read more about the poll in the Politics Report, if you’re a Voice of San Diego member. (Not a member yet? Join today.)
Also in the Politics Report: A campaign text message sent out made a striking claim about Richard Bailey, a candidate for City Council District 2. And the San Diego City Council has an attendance problem.
San Diego Bills that Survived Legislative Deadline
Our Sacramento Reporter, Nadia Lathan, has a rundown of important San Diego bills that survived a Friday deadline in the State Legislature.
A bill that would allow the city to build Midway Rising – a 165-foot-tall sports arena and housing complex – and circumvent zoning laws advanced through the California Senate. If bills introduced in either the Assembly or Senate don’t pass through the full chamber by Friday, those bills generally die for the session.
Lathan reports SB 958, the Midway Rising bill, cleared its latest hurdle with little discussion despite the venom the issue has sparked at home from citizens who are against the project skirting San Diego’s coastal building height limit.
Another San Diego state senator’s bill that would make it easier to commit individuals with severe mental illness into treatment also advanced. But Democrats are split on the issue.
Read the Sacramento Report here.
Fed Research Spending Hits San Diego
San Diego has received a lot less money from the major federal funder of health research, responsible for the rapid development of the Covid-19 vaccine to how DNA works.
The National Institutes of Health or the NIH is the world’s largest public funder of biomedical research. But grants to San Diego researchers have been on a steady decline since President Donald Trump took office.
Between 2021 and 2023, researchers in San Diego, lauded as a hub for biomedical research, got between about 780 and 850 grants. In 2026, researchers received 531, reports Alan Berube for Voice of San Diego.
“…down the road, those trends could have major impacts on the early-career researchers, breakthrough discoveries, and world-leading companies that shape our region’s identity, economy, and fiscal health,” Berbue writes.
In Other News
- San Diego REI workers unionized, making the store the company’s biggest union. (Union-Tribune)
- Despite making up 21 percent of California’s population, Gen Z doesn’t really vote. Almost half say the reason is they’re not well-informed, which, we think, is a highly solvable problem. (KPBS)
- A dangerous viral trend has already sent five teens and young adults to the emergency room. (Fox 5 San Diego)
The Morning Report was written by MacKenzie Elmer. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafana.
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