An illegal Avengers advertisement installed over the Gaslamp marquee during this year’s Comic-Con has come back to haunt a local business leader.
A new letter from the city alleges that Michael Trimble, executive director of the Gaslamp Quarter Association, may have unilaterally approved and accepted $10,000 for the illegal advertisement.
“GQA strongly disputes the allegations contained in the City’s letter and believes the letter includes significant factual inaccuracies and mischaracterizations,” Trimble wrote in an email to Voice of San Diego. He has until Oct. 9 to formally respond to the city.
If the allegations turn out to be true, the city said it would have grounds to terminate its contract with the association, which receives public funds to run Gaslamp’s business improvement district.
ICYMI: This Avengers activation was slammed with a staggering $160,000 in fines this summer, which is tens of thousands of dollars more than the 11 other agencies the city cited.
The Trash Screw-Up Isn’t Going Away
The city of San Diego sent incorrect billing information to the county tax collector’s office, which led to roughly 87,700 customers getting charged too much or too little for trash collection.
In the latest Politics Report, editor Will Huntsberry writes that an employee transferring data made the error. The city is working with the county on a fix, but it’s likely going to take time and money to make things right.
Customers who were overcharged will get a new property tax bill. But the city will need to find a way to collect from those who were undercharged.
The Politics Report has more on what’s next and how many residents were affected in each City Council district. We opened the Politics Report to all readers. You can read it here.
More on trash: Residents were already mad at the city for underestimating how much the new trash fee might be, and the use of property tax bills to collect it.
Lots of people are blaming the mayor. And councilmembers are questioning his leadership. Our podcast hosts explain the screw-up in the latest episode.
Sacramento Report: Dead Bill Is Not a Total Loss
Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill proposed by state Sen. Catherine Blakespear that would have reversed environmental exemptions provided to certain industrial facilities last year.
The bill failed at an inconvenient time since Sen. Blakespear is running for re-election.
But the loss could still give Blakespear something to campaign on. She can point to the bill as an example of her effort to protect communities and the environment, experts told our Nadia Lathan.
Read the Sacramento Report here.
Will Dems on Board of Supes Win Super Majority?
County Supervisor Jim Desmond is termed out and is now in the race to maintain Republican control of the 48th Congressional district.
Democrats could gain a supermajority on the board should their party’s candidate win the District 5 race. Kyle Krahel, former chair of the county Democratic party, is facing off against Republican Rebecca Jones, mayor of San Marcos.
Our Tigist Layne will host a conversation with Krahel at our North County Politifest event on Friday, Oct. 2.
Get your tickets now and read more about the race here.
In Other News
- More than 4,000 volunteers removed an estimated 103,688 pounds of litter at 92 sites across San Diego County during the annual Coastal Cleanup Day. (Fox 5)
- San Diego County launched an online El Niño information hub to help residents prepare. The website can be found here. (KPBS)
- A statewide measure on the November ballot could make it harder to raise taxes through citizen-led initiatives if voters pass it. (Union-Tribune)
The Morning Report was written by Bella Ross, MacKenzie Elmer and Naomi Granata. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña.