Voice of San Diego Podcast

Coming up on the show this week… We’ve got more mailers here to dissect. We’ll cut through what campaigns want voters to know and what we don’t even understand like: Why are California realtors bullying a candidate for her poker playing skills? There’s a newspaper endorsement that’s not really a newspaper endorsement … It is silly season in San Diego. To wrap it up, We’ll talk about a key school board race and the latest in the biggest race of them all – the District 3 County Supervisor contest. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Coming up on the show this week… The race between Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer and former mayor Kevin Faulconer is easily the hottest race this year. Millions are being spent on behalf of the candidate. The mailers are getting wild. We’ll get into it. Speaking of mailers, we’ve got some good ones. Plus, the latest in the city attorneys race and can a new million dollar infusion help a cop beat the incumbent mayor in the mayor’s race?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We got through Politifest. We’re going to discuss some of the many things people said and didn’t say. It was a big day for us. Also, why does Brian Maienschein, who is running for city attorney, have a campaign finance account for an attorney general race in 2030. We posted an explainer we can give you the cliff’s notes on. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A million dollars has already gone into the big county supervisors race from outside groups – most of it in support of mayor Kevin Faulconer, and if you’re in the district, you can tell from your mailbox. Usually mail waits until ballots are out. That’ll be our introduction into Politifest Week. We’ve been trying to run the show like normal while preparing for our big annual gathering. We’re going to go through some of the sessions we’re most excited to see. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why the San Diego Republican party has had it with Carl DeMaio. Nobody has been more influential than him in the party but resources are now going to flow to DeMaio’s opponent in a closely watched Assembly race. We’ll get into the beef. Also, we’ve got more details on the allegations of sexual harassment against former San Diego Unified Superintendent Lamont Jackson. New documents reveal the allegations against him from two former high-ranking district officials. And if you haven’t heard, we welcomed a new reporter this month. Jim Hinch is covering South County San Diego. He’ll join us later on the show to discuss his latest stories. All of that and more in this week's episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The city of San Diego stands to lose hundreds of shelter beds. Mayor Todd Gloria is proposing one solution: move some people from the Golden Hall shelter to the city’s safe camping sites. Feels like the city and county are going backwards on shelter. We’ll dig into it. University researchers raised an alarm about a toxic gas in the Tijuana River Valley, but the county says there’s no reason to panic right now. And moments after we published a story about battery storage fire fears, a site in Escondido went up in flames. All of that and more in this week's episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

San Diego Unified School District, the second largest district in the state, fired its superintendent. It appears trustees have already settled on his successor. We’ll talk about what she apparently doesn’t want to talk about. It’s been 10 years since California banned plastic bags at grocery and liquor stores. Now a San Diego lawmaker is trying to get the state to ban plastic bags at grocery stores. Why one of the statistics is shocking. And we’re back with one of our favorite recurring segments: Climate change promises that are fun to make but really hard to pull off. This week? Battery facilities. Recent fires have caused a panic and may lead to bans. But where else are they going to store power for when the sun doesn’t shine.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A few months ago Jakob here broke news that San Diego Unified School District had commissioned an investigation into its superintendent for alleged misconduct. Now, they’ve apparently finished that investigation. We’ll tell you what we know. For months, Nathan Fletcher’s advocates have said he was wrongly accused of assault and that soon enough, they’ll have the receipts to prove it. A new court filing last week revealed text messages his accuser sent that do not help her case at all. We’ll review. Finally, the county quietly lifted a major barrier to building housing in unincorporated areas of San Diego because of a case involving a recycling plant. We’ll explain how that happened. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mayor Todd Gloria didn't speak at this year's Democratic National Convention, but it's no secret that he's tight with Vice President Kamala Harris. The crew talks about their friendship and whether Gloria could be headed to Washington if Harris wins in November. Jakob also takes a look back at Harris' record as attorney general of California, and senior investigative reporter Will Huntsberry discusses his latest reporting on foster care charity New Alternatives.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Padres made franchise history with their latest winning streak and Scott can't wait to tell the crew about it. Also on the show this week: San Diego Unified gets slapped with significant Title IX violations, Cajon Valley School District tests a new state law and local foster care charity New Alternatives is the subject of a Voice investigation into its finances.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the mayor's employees, a city police officer, is running to try to oust him. Larry Turner, a retired Marine, wants to make big changes to the police department. He wants to reduce pensions for future city employees, including police, and perhaps use bankruptcy to get there. He opposes a new sales tax for the city, which is on the November ballot. He thinks we could reapportion the hundreds of city special project funds to close the deficit. Voice Editor-in-Chief Scott Lewis talked with Turner about how he would change city government if he were to win. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scott and the team catch up on what he missed, including a big development in the local stormwater tax which won't make it onto the November ballot. They also discuss the latest development in the city's organic waste recycling program and share some honest admissions about their own green bin behavior.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The city of San Diego is building a massive wastewater-to-drinking water recycling plant. It's going to cost billions and will require tearing up roads in the process. But after years of dumping sewage into the ocean, it may be time for a change. Plus, Lisa Halverstadt is back on the show this week with updates on county detox beds, the Hope @ Vine mega shelter and her take on Gov. Gavin Newsom's recent executive order.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Voice of San Diego's environment reporter MacKenzie Elmer joins the show to talk about a spate of recent bird deaths in the city. Advocates say fireworks are to blame. She also has the latest on the flood prevention measure that just got pulled from the November ballot. Senior investigative reporter Will Huntsberry is back again this week, this time with north county reporter Tigist Layne. They've got a two-part series out now about a youth gymnastics scandal in Santee. You can read their stories here and here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Voice of San Diego's Will Huntsberry joins the show this week to discuss his new profile on Rep. Sara Jacobs. She's defied expectations with her voting record and is poised to become very powerful in Washington. Reporter Lisa Halverstadt also comes on to give an update about the Hope @ Vine mega shelter, which is facing a crucial City Council vote on Monday.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The calls for President Biden to leave the presidential race have reached a fever pitch, and this week Rep. Scott Peters weighed in. If Biden does drop out, Bella has a prescient prediction for when he might do it. Plus, Scott points out all that we still don't know about the proposed mega shelter and Jakob makes a pitch for revamping the city of San Diego flag. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A brief history of drinking on the beach, an update on impending water rate hikes and what the Grants Pass ruling means for San Diego.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Water is about to get more expensive, but not for the reasons you might think. The region is water-rich following a record-setting rainy winter, but San Diegans still have to pay off decades-old investments provoked by drought times. That could mean big changes on your water bill starting next year. Also on the show this week: Jakob's got an update on the sexual misconduct case against a former associate principal at Hoover High School, Scott talks state tax initiatives with local implications and Bella shares field notes from a visit to the Spring Valley shelter site that just got nixed after pushback from its neighbors.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scott sits down with San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria to talk about the big issue on everyone's mind: homelessness. They also discuss a proposed 1-cent sales tax increase and why the City is cracking down on beach yoga. Subscribe to the North County report: vosd.org/northcountySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AI has arrived at San Diego high schools in the form of a grading tool called Writable. Some confused school board members aren't exactly sure how. One thing's for sure: AI is rapidly changing the way teachers teach and students learn. Also on the show today, will there ever be a perfect place for homeless shelters? The short answer is no, but the city keeps on trying. Plus, North County reporter Tigist Lane on her latest Carl DeMaio story, and reporter Jakob McWhinney has a new investigation into grades versus test scores.Subscribe to the North County report: vosd.org/northcountySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.