Parched Arizona Eyes Mexico’s Sea

As San Diego County water officials talk to Arizona and Nevada about options to offload their excess supply and lower costs, the Grand Canyon State is also looking at options south of the border.

Our MacKenzie Elmer and Voice of San Diego contributor Vicente Calderón report that Arizona’s Water Infrastructure Financing Authority recently heard pitches from two companies suggesting that it can siphon off salt water from Mexico’s Sea of Cortez. The idea is to convert that fresh water and keep it in Mexico in exchange for the right to pull more water from the Colorado River.

The pitches come as Arizona grapples with major cuts to its Colorado River supply.

One of the companies projects it could replace a third of the water that Mexico gets from the Colorado River – or 446 million gallons daily. The other says it could produce up to 312 million gallons a day and wants to build water recycling facilities in Tijuana and Denver to help reduce their demand on the Colorado River.

Either concept would require a new international treaty.

Read the full story here.

South County Report: Political Fights Abound

Yikes. The silly season has arrived in South Bay and that’s fueling lots of battles.

In his latest South County Report, Jim Hinch chronicles multiple pre-election decisions that are sure to be spotlighted by political opponents ahead of the November election.

First up: Chula Vista mayoral candidate Francisco Tamayo’s vote – along with two other Chula Vista Elementary School District trustees – to increase board salaries by 300 percent.

Next: Chula Vista Mayor John McCann’s support of an agreement with Imperial Beach to allow homeless residents in the neighboring city to enter Chula Vista’s tiny home shelter and access its rental assistance program.

Also: former Chula Vista Mayor Mary Casillas Salas is making a surprise bid for a Southwestern College Governing Board now held by incumbent Robert Moreno. Fights have already emerged over the former mayor’s ballot description and the Democratic Party’s endorsement of Moreno.

Read the full South County Report here.

Darth Vader Faux Endorses Flock License Plate Readers

Darth Vader appeared in City Council Chambers on Wednesday to sarcastically speak in favor of the city’s use of Flock license plate readers.

“The emperor is a fan of Flock,” the unidentified costumed Darth Vader told the City Council’s Public Safety Committee. “And we must continue utilizing Flock technologies so that we can follow and surveil the rebel scum as they move from playground to playground, from playground to pool, from pool to gymnasium.”

404 Media helpfully pulled the video and provided more play-by-play of Darth Vader’s appearance.

CBS 8 separately reported on the ongoing debate over the use of license plate readers in the city and noted that the committee didn’t take any votes on the topic.

Wildlife Interlude

• You can now visit state-protected areas at the La Jolla Cove and La Jolla Shores via an underwater virtual dive.
• The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance has released thousands of endangered mountain yellow-legged frogs and tadpoles this year and Fox 5 San Diego posted some photos.

In Other News

• A county jury deadlocked 11-1 this week on murder charges against a man charged with killing his county jail cellmate. (Union-Tribune)
• Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Haden, who served twice as the acting head of federal law enforcement in San Diego, was found dead at the office late Wednesday night. The U-T reports that a source said he died by suicide in a vacant office.
• Looking for child care? A new website through the YMCA of San Diego County helps connect families to childcare providers and see whether they qualify for financial assistance. (KPBS) 
• Environmentalists and cycling advocates want to bring bike share back to San Diego with a new approach after past efforts led to bikes blocking walking paths or being vandalized and thrown into parking lots. (Union-Tribune)
• The Mission Bay bathrooms will once again be closed to the public if the City Council can’t find the funding to keep them open by the end of the year. (ABC San Diego) 
• A year ago, a police officer put a gun to the neck of a 15 year old and told him that if he moved he’d be dead, according to body camera footage obtained by NBC. Since then, the officer was promoted to police chief of the San Pasqual Tribal Police Department. (NBC San Diego) 
• An 18-month long undercover investigation revealed a Chula Vista man and Tijuana woman have been working together to illegally traffic exotic reptiles, protected under federal legislation, across both sides of the border. (Union-Tribune) 
• County supervisors voted to advance a number of “socially equitable” cannabis policies on Wednesday as part of larger efforts to address the disproportionate criminalization of marginalized and low-income individuals. More than 50 residents spoke at the meeting, most in opposition to the new policies. (ABS San Diego) 
• FDOC (first day of school) for Del Sur Elementary has been postponed again and students may be relocated as a mold situation in classrooms persists. (Union-Tribune) 

The Morning Report was written by Lisa Halverstadt and Fiona Bork. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña.