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Voice of San Diego Podcast

Local News

This is Voice of San Diego’s weekly spitfire roundup of news. We cover local and regional politics, the environment, education, the border and more. This show features our investigative reporting and interviews with lawmakers and other special guests.

Location:

San Diego, CA

Description:

This is Voice of San Diego’s weekly spitfire roundup of news. We cover local and regional politics, the environment, education, the border and more. This show features our investigative reporting and interviews with lawmakers and other special guests.

Language:

English


Episodes
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Getting to the Meat and Potatoes

12/13/2024
December 13, 2024 The election just ended. The election just started. We often accuse politicians of being short sighted but one thing they definitely plan far in advance is their next political move. We may have heard the first shots in the 2028 mayoral race. The city has a new president of the City Council and the region has a new Republican leader, same as the old one. And the county passed a rule about what the sheriff can and cannot do with immigration enforcement officers and the sheriff said thank you but I run my own show. We get into the meat and potatoes of it all. Show Notes San Diego's Pension Scandal: Wikipedia San Diego pension scandal VOSD Mayor Announces New Pension Board Nominees; Whistleblower’s Name Absent by Andrew Donohue February 28, 2005 La Jolla Secession: VOSD Morning Report: In Point Loma, Talk of Secession by Randy Dotinga January 6, 2011 VOSD Mayor Gloria Chimes in on La Jolla Secession ‘As a Mayor, I wouldn’t recommend it,’ he said on the VOSD Podcast last week. by Jakob McWhinney December 10, 2024 101 Ash Street (the former Sempra building) Wikipedia 101 Ash Street VOSD How the City Came to Lease a Lemon It’s likely the city never would have purchased 101 Ash St. if a developer hadn’t come along to act as middleman. But that structure also laid the groundwork for a situation that is stunningly messy even in the canon of San Diego real estate history. by Lisa Halverstadt and Jesse Marx August 10, 2020 San Diego City Council Meeting Item 330: Proposed Settlement Agreement Involving Acquisition of the 101 Ash Street and Civic Center Plaza Properties Carl DeMaio Carl DeMaio Won an Assembly Seat but the Road to Victory Was Vicious The Republican Party of San Diego County has been absorbed in a family feud centered around their newest elected official, incoming Assembly member Carl DeMaio. by Deborah Sullivan Brennan December 6, 2024 Sanctuary City San Diego Border Report: Schools, Churches Mull Sanctuary Policies by Brooke Binkowski December 5, 2016 Neither San Diego – Nor California – Is a Sanctuary for the Undocumented by Scott Lewis February 21, 2017 Border Report: What a Sanctuary City Is, and Isn’t by Kate Morrissey December 9, 2024 Jim Desmond's Instagram Account What does it mean to become a “Super” Sanctuary County? To fully grasp the implications, you need to understand California’s current sanctuary state law and its impact. San Diego County Board of Supervisors Meeting Agenda Item 29 SUBJECT: ADOPTING A BOARD POLICY ON IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT TO ENHANCE COMMUNITY SAFETY (DISTRICTS: ALL) December 10, 2024 Agenda Item 29 PDF Meeting Video on YouTube Statement on Board of Supervisors Vote on Immigration Enforcement Sheriff's Office to continue following state law. Post Date:12/10/2024 5:15 PM See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duration:00:53:07

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A Conversation with San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria - Tarot Card Edition

12/6/2024
We’ve got the full crew in today to host a conversation with Mayor Todd Gloria, fresh off re-election, the mayor has no honeymoon. A huge budget deficit is coming up and his plan to deal with it – a tax increase – failed. For more on the issues: Can San Diego Finally Pass a Sales Tax Increase? Politics Report: The Civic Center Dream 101 Ash St. Newly Homeless Residents Still Outpacing Newly Housed Homelessness Crisis Response System 2023 Data and Performance Report Morning Report: The Battle Against Homeless Shelters Wendy's - 'Where's the Beef ' Ad (Original - 1984) La Jollans Are Trying to Divorce San Diego (Again) November 1, 2024 Podcast: 2024 Election Draft Pick (start at 16:40 for Andrea’s description of the Mayor’s pup) Support VOSD: Member Benefits Join today and receive insider access. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duration:01:19:35

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A Conversation with Sean Elo-Rivera

11/29/2024
This week is thanksgiving so what better time for us to bring back beef week? It’s more like Beef 10 Days. It may seem incongruent but we should all be thankful we can beef in local politics without violence or whatever. And we have a special guest this week, Council President Sean Elo-Rivera is here. We’ll talk about the election and some tough decisions coming up for him and his colleagues. LINKS For more on the issues: Beef Week No Longer ‘Norita.’ Some of Nora Vargas’ Constituents Sour on her Leadership It’s Impossible to Pee Legally in San Diego Sean Elo-Rivera Official City Webpage Sean Elo-Rivera Instagram Voice Member Benefits Join today and receive insider access. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duration:01:10:10

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San Diego's Felonious Supplier

11/22/2024
The Registrar of Voters made us wait six days for an update on the vote count from November 5 – 16 days ago. The main local race we’re still watching is the Oceanside mayoral race. Just 31 votes separated the incumbent and her challenger. Senior investigative reporter Will Huntsberry will join us later on the show to explain why the city of San Diego has purchased at least $1 million worth of gear from a man involved in one of the largest law enforcement scandals in San Diego’s history. And new data about local schools just dropped. There’s some encouraging news but it’s still kind of bleak. For more on the issues: Bill Walton FBI files Pop culture in the FBI filing cabinet: Sanctuary City rhetoric KTLA’s Story on LA’s Sanctuary City declaration A Man Convicted in a Major Law Enforcement Scandal Is Doing Big Business with the City Voice Member Benefits Join today and receive insider access. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duration:00:48:13

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The Races Have Settled

11/15/2024
We are still processing the election, as I am sure all of you are. But at least some questions have been answered. We’ll go through those updates. And, where does the city of San Diego go from here? The mayor and Council President got re-elected but a sales tax failed and a deficit looms. A lot of people are worried about big cities and we get it. For more on the issues: Deadly Failure: A Sailor’s Struggle in a Fractured Mental Health System, NBC San Diego VOD VOSD Story Election 2024 San Diego County Unofficial Election Results The Learning Curve: Bazzo Has Likely Won – Just Barely Politics Report: Baked Months Ago Voice Member Benefits Join today and receive insider access. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duration:00:52:40

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Election 2024 Autopsy

11/8/2024
Well, that was an election. We will go back through the races we drafted last week. As always, there are a couple nail-biters as we begin the tradition of waiting for updates every afternoon. But we can say that San Diego incumbents did well. Mayor Todd Gloria and the City Councilmembers hoping for another term did fine. So did Terra Lawson Remer, the county supervisor who faced down millions in spending against her. Turns out all she had to do was all we suspected she had to do: Connect her opponent Kevin Faulconer to Trump. But like everywhere else in the country, Trump did better here than before. For more on the issues: Union Tribune College/Talmadge/Montezuma Rd Fire Photo Scott’s Twitter/X palm tree post Jakob’s Twitter/X young voters post Voices of the Voters Election Results: We’re Waiting on These Races North County Report: Election Results Are Rolling In See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duration:01:14:50

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2024 Election Draft Picks

11/1/2024
Coming up on the show this week… It’s time. This is our last show before the apocalypse. We’ve got a special roundtable to go through our ranking of the best elections to watch Tuesday. Local elections that is. The Voice of San Diego elections draft and the elections contest are back. We’ll do it. For more on the issues: San Diego 2024 Election: What’s at Stake Politifest 2024: News and Media Voice of San Diego relies on reader and listener support: Voice Member Benefits Join today and receive insider access. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duration:00:59:55

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Uh Oh! More DeMaio

10/25/2024
It’s the last lap of this election season and we have updates on several major races in San Diego. Is Mayor Todd Gloria overstating his creation of homeless shelter beds? Yes. Did Terra Lawson Remer use campaign funds for her kid’s preschool? Yes. She has a good defense but it’s interesting. And in South Bay, the chair of the County board of Supervisors has created several enemies. Finally, remember that fake charity that had fake volunteers selling concessions at Petco Park? Well two of its workers are now running a new charity. The thing is, we cannot figure out what the charity does. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duration:00:51:33

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It's Silly Season

10/18/2024
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.

Duration:01:01:48

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Mailers Gone Wild

10/11/2024
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.

Duration:00:50:34

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ICYMI Politifest 2024 Roundup

10/4/2024
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.

Duration:00:54:51

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Don't Get Politifest FOMO

9/27/2024
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.

Duration:00:45:55

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Republicans Rumble

9/20/2024
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.

Duration:00:56:59

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Gassy Dispute in South Bay

9/13/2024
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.

Duration:00:52:02

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San Diego Unified's Bad Apple

9/6/2024
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.

Duration:00:46:33

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Public Officials Behaving Badly

8/30/2024
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.

Duration:00:44:52

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Certified Unburdened

8/23/2024
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.

Duration:00:36:50

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Padres Rule, Dodgers Drool

8/16/2024
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.

Duration:00:44:01

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A Conversation with Mayoral Candidate Larry Turner

8/14/2024
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.

Duration:01:06:14

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Weighing in on the Green Bins

8/9/2024
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.

Duration:00:34:02