There’s a lot coming up that we’re planning on keeping an eye on this week. Grab some cafecito because here’s what you need to know.
San Diego’s Trash Fee
On Monday, San Diego’s City Council will vote on how much the city should charge single-family homeowners for trash collection.
After some initial pushback over the fee officials were considering, city officials are instead proposing a fee of about $47. It could be lower for households with smaller trash containers.
We’ll have an update for you in the Morning Report.
Meanwhile: Voice of San Diego intern Alina Ajaz reports that the city will also roll out new bins with tags that allow the city to record when a bin has been collected by a garbage truck.
The Future of H Barracks
Our Lisa Halverstadt revealed this week that H Barracks is facing yet another obstacle.
Reminder: The city is working on opening a safe parking lot at the former public safety training hub near the San Diego airport. The location will eventually be used for the city’s Pure Water processing site.
The developer of Liberty Station, who filed a lawsuit against the city over the project in September, is now asking a judge to stop the project from moving forward while the legal fight continues. McMillin-NTC’s lawsuit argues that the city didn’t get the proper permits, among other issues.
Mayor Todd Gloria told Halverstadt that he’s confident the city will prevail — among other spicy comments. You can read the full story here.
A judge will weigh in on the injunction request at the end of this month. We’ll keep you updated.
Battle of the South Bay Mayors
It’s looking like Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre and Chula Vista Mayor John McCann will face off in a battle for a seat on the County Board of Supervisors.
What’s at stake: As our Jim Hinch has reported the winner of the special election will determine who controls the Board. Will it be Democrats or Republicans? The answer to that question will determine the county’s direction and priorities moving forward.
If you need a refresher on each candidates’ priorities, Hinch did in-depth interviews with both. You can read those here.
What do you want to know about the race? How can we help you learn more about the candidates? Are you a resident of District 1, what would you like to see from your next representative? I’d love to hear all about it. Send me a note at andrea.lopez@voiceofsandiego.org.
More South County news: Hinch told the story of how one school district leader and its teachers union have shaped the district. Read the story here.
Cheers!
If you haven’t heard, we’re celebrating Voice of San Diego’s 20th anniversary. And while our organization isn’t old enough for a cold one, many of us are.
In honor of our anniversary, we collaborated with the cool kids at 3 Punk Ales Brewing Company to launch a special Voice of San Diego beer. We’re having a launch party on Thursday, April 24. You can find more details about the event here.
See you there!
WHY DOES MY CITY HATE ME ??
First let me say that as a 4th gen native, I have been mostly delighted by the progress made in San Diego over the last 30 years or so. From downtown redevelopment to the voters wisdom in selling the old stadium site to SDSU to trolley expansions, to a new main library, mostly we’ve gotten right or at least mostly right.
During this time I have worked tirelessly to get more progressives elected in San Diego even though some of my heroes in city politics were of the Republican persuasion. Now, with a lock on the governance of the city my Democrats, as it turns out, hate me.
As a single-family homeowner, my city is about to level what will likely be an ever-increasing trash pick-up fee where none has existed for over 100 years. The gratis service to single family homeowners used to represent the City’s nod to homeowners whose landscaping beautified vast parts of this desert we live in and to me seemed fair comp for all the oxygen my lot generates over and above what the native coastal scrub spits out. Add this insult to the total abandonment of zoning regulations and common sense around the “ADU’s for ALL” blight and maybe you’ll get my picture. Rapacious water/sewer rates, and abject failure on creating a public utility from the Sempra cash machine, plus zero solutions on Asbestos Tower and unsheltered San Diegans who need roofs and opportunities. Don’t forget the city’s $250 million budget shortfall while we learn that the new second-in-command of the City Attorney’s office is on a fourth month, round the world cruise and calling it “work from home.” Our new city attorney approved this $300k-earning lawyer’s cruise-based office with the good news being that the employee is question is earning vacation time while aboard ship. Hard to say whether this is a serious case of tone-deafness or chutzpah.
Fair enough that many of these problems are holdovers from previous Mayors and run amok city managers, however, meaningful progress is how I measure leadership and let’s just say, I find my self searching for improvements with a mircroscope rather than a yardstick.