San Diego's vacation rentals have long been stuck in a gray zone: The city attorney has said they're illegal, but the city's not doing anything to crack down on them either. That could soon change. On the podcast, hosts Scott Lewis and Jesse Marx talk about the mayor's big vacation rental move this week. The City Council has struggled to reach consensus when it comes to regulating the home-sharing industry. But on Thursday Mayor Kevin Faulconer finally . The City Council is scheduled to weigh in on the plan July 16. In the second half of the show, UC San Diego professor  talks with Marx about his cannabis research, including . Also on the podcast: Sergey Kagermázov, an investigative journalist from Saint Petersburg, Russia, who's hanging out with the VOSD crew for a few weeks, makes a cameo to talk about the stark differences between reporting in Russia and the United States. Plus: the case of a Chula Vista High School teacher whose behavior toward female students was found to be “severe and pervasive" and the departure deal that ; and a at one of San Diego's most prestigious charter schools. Hero of the Week Mayor Kevin Faulconer is the hero this week. He took charge of the vacation rental debacle and has also been  at the SANDAG board meetings. Goat of the Week The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is the goat. In the lead-up to the primary, the group ran attack ads against Assemblyman Rocky Chavez, who was running for Congress, like the state budget and last year’s cap-and-trade bill. Basically, Democrats attacked Chavez, a Republican, for helping Democrats, potentially discouraging future bipartisanship efforts.