On this episode of the VOSD Podcast, host Scott Lewis sits down with Michael Zucchet, general manager of the San Diego Municipal Employees Association.

They get into pension underfunding and the failed 2024 sales tax measure. (Oh yeah, this is a very nerdy episode.) They also unpack a heated debate over whether San Diego’s workforce is bloated — as some critics claim — or stretched thin by hundreds of new parks and services added since 2015.

Also on the show: They also get into labor costs and pensions, a trash-bin “lid lifter” mandate and questions over the Port Commission’s handling of Harbor Island.

0:00 Intro
1:10 The City's Pension Underfunding History
5:25 Revenue Measures: Trash Fee & Hotel Tax
7:57 Sales Tax Attempts & the 2024 Measure
11:25 Debating the City's Workforce Size
15:50 Budget Cuts in the "Era of Austerity"
24:15 Clarifying What Layoffs Really Mean
27:20 The City's Reactive Budget Cycle
30:31 New Revenue Ideas & Rollout Growing Pains
35:46 Labor Costs, Pensions & Wages
43:58 The "Lid Lifters" Trash Bin Controversy
47:10 New Parks Without New Staff
50:24 Port Commission & Harbor Island
52:58 Closing & Credits

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On this bonus episode of the VOSD Podcast, the crew sits down with Prebys Foundation CEO Grant Oliphant. They discuss efforts to revitalize downtown's Civic Center, including a planned partnership between the city of San Diego, San Diego Community College District, and possibly, the San Diego Unified School District.

Also on the show: The crumbling state of City Hall and a nod to Balboa Park needing similar attention.

0:00 Intro & Guest Welcome
4:41 History of Redevelopment Attempts
14:08 Three Moves: Experts, Buildings, Vision
15:21 San Diego Unified Declines to Join the JPA
21:59 What Is a JPA? (Explainer)
26:48 The Vision for the Civic Center
34:23 Callback: Joe LaCava's Hot Take
41:43 City Hall's Physical Dysfunction
44:05 Grant's Hot Take: Balboa Park & a Treasures Tax
47:07 Closing & Sign-Off

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The Voice of San Diego crew sits down with City Council President Joe LaCava to unpack a controversial Sacramento maneuver reviving the Midway Rising development, revisit the Mission Bay bathroom closures and who's really to blame for the budget fallout, and dig into La Jolla's secession talk. The conversation closes on lighter fare — SeaWorld's fireworks-to-drone-show transition and the escalating conflict between beachgoers and La Jolla's growing sea lion colony.

0:00 Welcome & Guest Intro: Council President Joe LaCava
0:45 Midway Rising & the SB 344 "Gut and Amend"
8:35 City Council's Land Use Process & Timeline
15:39 Traffic Concerns in OB and Point Loma
16:47 Mission Bay Bathrooms: The Follow-Up
24:23 Who's to Blame for the Budget Cuts?
29:34 La Jolla Secession Talk
33:00 District 2 Election
35:13 State Mandates & Budget Pressure
36:44 SeaWorld: Fireworks vs. Drone Shows
39:37 Sea Lions and the La Jolla Cove Closure

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Mayor Todd Gloria announced this week that San Diego is reopening the 13 Mission Bay Park restrooms it shut down last month in budget cuts, after a public poop photo helped force the reversal — reportedly for around $200,000.

Also this week: Marvel's Gaslamp Quarter sign fine, Comic-Con's extension through 2030, the back-to-school heat debate, untrained special-needs substitutes, and Sacramento's missing votes.

0:00 Mission Bay Bathrooms Reopen
10:33 Marvel's Gaslamp Quarter Sign Fine
21:29 Back-to-School: Why So Early and So Hot?
25:24 Special Needs Students Getting Untrained Substitutes
34:06 "No Vote Recorded"

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Del Mar's city council cut its summer recess short this week for an emergency meeting — and came out of it asking for criminal investigations into California Attorney General Rob Bonta and a Del Mar Fairgrounds board member.

At the center of it all is Seaside Ridge, a 249-unit housing project proposed for Del Mar's North Bluff. A resident's letter raised questions about ties between the fairgrounds board member and a string of warning letters Bonta sent pressuring Del Mar to approve it — and despite formally referring the matter for investigation, city officials insist they're not accusing anyone of wrongdoing.

Also on the show: A downtown gas station sidestepped pedestrian-safety rules with the help of a $15,000 lobbyist, the city closed public restrooms in Mission Bay while funding new playgrounds nearby, and we debuted our first-ever Summer playlist.

0:00 The Great Encinitas Parking Panic
5:10 Mission Bay's New Playgrounds, Closed Bathrooms
6:17 How San Diego Funds Mission Bay
10:46 No More Driveways on Market Street
11:59 A Gas Station With Seven Driveways
17:34 The $15K Lobbyist Who Changed the Vote
21:08 How City Lobbying Actually Works
28:51 Del Mar Demands an Investigation
38:02 Debuting Our Summer Playlist

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Forget the birds and other environmental impacts, are taller buildings messing with lunar cycles?

On this week’s show, our hosts explain how a proposed bill would stop building height from being treated as a significant environmental impact under state law.

State Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson spoke about SB 958 at a committee hearing in June and explained how environmental laws have sometimes been used to slow housing projects. She cited Midway Rising and litigation that has stood in the project’s way.

“Despite years of analysis and multiple EIRs, the most recent ruling from the California's fourth district court of appeal determined that environmental review when related to building height needed to include aspects that were not typically analyzed, including impacts on airflow, atmospheric conditions, lunar cycles, and wildlife attraction,” she said.

Lunar cycles? Co-host Scott Lewis explains what’s at stake and why we’re going to keep talking about SB 958.

Also on the show: The state is moving forward with a mesh barrier to deter suicides on the Coronado Bridge. They also plan to install AI cameras.

00:00:00 - The Padres Poncho Debate  
00:04:15 - Politicians Performing: Bill Wells' Band & Scott Peters' Pull-Ups  
00:08:47 - Mission Bay Restroom Closures & El Niño Budgeting  00:18:47 - SB 958, Midway Rising, and Lunar Cycles  
00:26:28 - Politifest 2026 Announcement  
00:28:03 - Coronado Bridge Suicide Prevention & AI Cameras  
00:37:16 - Sea Lions in La Jolla & The Viral Kicking Video

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On the latest episode, our hosts tackle everything from Comic-Con building wraps to California’s housing crisis.

First up! A proposal to give Chula Vista City Council members raises crashed and burned following public outcry and quid pro quo allegations from the mayor.

Then: While special education enrollment numbers explode everywhere, a school district in Del Mar is seeing a 43 percent drop. Jakob McWhinney explains the trend.

Finally, Will Huntsberry joins the show to explain why it takes years and a lot of money to build affordable housing. Plus, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to streamline affordable housing funding.

00:00:00 - Salad Scares, Cold Shrimp, & Comic-Con Building Wraps
00:09:13 - Chula Vista's Failed Charter Reform & Cardenas Rumors
00:25:12 - PoliticsFest, Mailbag, & Set Updates
00:28:18 - Del Mar’s Unprecedented Special Education Drop
00:41:04 - Fixing the High Cost of California Affordable Housing

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There's nothing worse than needing a restroom and not being able to find one. San Diego just made it a lot harder to find one. 

On this edition of the podcast, Scott Lewis was back and wanted to share his thoughts on how bad the cities decision is to close down public restrooms. The crew also discussed why public restrooms are so important with the recent outbreak of Cyclospora across the country. 

Finally, we talk about a rushed charter reform effort in Chula Vista backed by a major labor union. The proposed measure would extend council term limits and increase council members' salaries to $110,000, all with minimal public input.

• 00:00 - Intro: Cyclospora & Explosive Diarrhea  
• 03:20 - Meet the Team & The Parking Ticket  
• 04:26 - The Truth About the Lettuce Parasite 
• 07:55 - The Public Restroom Crisis & Mission Bay  
• 15:10 - The Voice of San Diego Summer Playlist  
• 22:25 - Politifest Announcement & Donor Shoutouts  
• 24:40 - County Contracting Embezzlement Scandal  
• 30:45 - Chula Vista's Rushed Charter Reform  
• 39:10 - Outro & Credits  

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When the world gives you solar panels, you must use them. But not if the power companies have anything to say about it.

Environment reporter MacKenzie Elmer drops in to discuss SB 868, a bill that would legalize easy, plug-in balcony solar panels for renters and condo owners. Local utility companies like SDG&E are pushing back, citing worker safety concerns regarding power "back-feeding" into lines, despite zero documented injuries on record.

• 00:00 - Intro & Mexico's Soccer Loss
• 07:35 - Measure C & Homelessness Funding
• 17:42 - San Diego Unified's $3.5B School Bond
• 33:00 - Plug-In Solar Panels & Utility Pushback
• 44:42 - Politifest Announcement
• 48:20 - Listener Shoutouts & Kelly Davis Tribute

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The federal government has made some big promises but can it deliver?

On the latest episode of the VOSD Podcast, co-host Jakob McWhinney reveals that San Diego schools are experiencing a boom in special education enrollment.

At the same time, there are fewer kids enrolled at local schools today than 10 years ago. That means many schools are seeing a drop in funding. Those two trends are putting a lot of pressure on schools, McWhinney explains.

The feds at some point promised to help schools with the cost of special education, but some wonder if that will ever happen.

Also on the show: Seventy-five years ago, the feds admitted that the jetties they built for a military base were contributing to Oceanside’s disappearing beaches.

Now, for the first time in a long time, they seem to be moving forward with a plan to restore sand to the city's beaches. North County reporter Tigist Layne joins us on the show to explain. 

 

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