It's officially the start of San Diego’s silly season. 

Your mailboxes will start to fill up with mailers and candidates for public office will try their hardest to earn your vote. We’re here to help you make sense of their messaging and the races. 

This week's episode kicked off with the strangest kind of controversy: an AI-generated graphic that took shots at co-hosts Jakob McWhinney and Scott Lewis for something we never said on the showOur hosts walked through the whole saga including angry emails and a deleted apology.

Silly Season 

City Hall reporter Mariana Martínez Barba published a story on the San Diego City Council District 4 race between incumbent Henry Foster and challenger Martha Abraham. 

Our hosts explain how Abraham has tapped into residents’ animosity toward City Hall and the momentum she’s building in the community. Foster last week lost the endorsement of the union that represents city firefighters. 

Also, during a recent debate, District 8 candidate Gerardo Ramirez addressed an attack from his opponent Antonio Martinez about a contribution from a landowner who wants to open a landfill in Otay Mesa. Ramirez said he does not support the landfill or anything that will increase pollution in the district. 

Extra! We’re hosting a debate between Foster and Abraham, and a conversation with Antonio Martinez on Saturday, Oct. 3, at Politifest. Get your ticket here. 

The crew also has an update on the fraud charges brought against 12 individuals  accused of billing the government for daycare services that were never provided.Plus,  Jakob explains how a veteran special education teacher who was just awarded teacher of the year, lost her current job.

0:00 The "AI Slop" Meme Mishap
1:17 The NIMBY Avengers Controversy
18:31 City Council: Foster vs. Abraham in Southeastern San Diego
30:09 Another Contested Council Race Heats Up
35:26 Correction from a Previous Episode
36:01 Support the Show
36:37 Feds Charge San Diegans With Fraud
41:41 A Teacher's Position Eliminated

Follow Voice of San Diego on Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube, and read more at voiceofsandiego.org. Tickets for Politifest are up now at vosd.org/pf26.

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This week, the Voice of San Diego crew was joined by Joey Safchik, host of NBC San Diego's "Politically Speaking," and there was a lot to get through!

First, a bittersweet news update. Reporter Jakob McWhinney broke a story last week about an organization embedded in San Diego's law enforcement community that hired a controversial figure. After the outrage, the hire got rescinded. But it didn't stop there – the whole organization has since dissolved entirely. No one says you can’t redeem yourself, but in the end you have to own what got you there. 

Also on the show: Our intern Naomi Granata released an article revealing the staggering amount Airbnb spent on lobbying in San Diego, all to kill a proposed tax on vacation rentals and vacant second homes. We dug through the numbers. 

Finally, we dive into the midterm election ballot.

We covered a few races worth watching:

• 48th Congressional District: Democrat Marni Von Wilpert faces Republican Jim Desmond in one of ten House races nationally that could flip control of Congress.
• State Senate, District 40: Former City Attorney Mara Elliot and nonprofit leader Kristie Bruce-Lane, who’s backed by controversial conservative Carol DeMaio, battle it out to replace termed-out Republican Brian Jones.
• San Diego City Council, District 2: Former Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey faces off against Deputy City Attorney Nicole Crosby. Bailey just confirmed he voted for Trump in 2024. Could that have an impact on voters? 
• San Diego City Council, District 4: Incumbent Henry Foster is challenged by political outsider Martha Abraham, who's making the case that a Foster win could leave the council without a single woman.
• Prop 40:The billionaire tax — a one-time, 5 percent tax on California's billionaires to fund healthcare. This would be the first time the state has ever taxed assets, as opposed to income and property. It’s complicated and many people are split on it. 

 

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On this week's podcast episode, our hosts explain how two county supervisors are proposing the region address the Tijuana River sewage crisis.

As our MacKenzie Elmer reported, San Diego County Supervisors Paloma Aguirre and Terra-Lawson Remer think the county, and the county taxpayer, should treat the river.

We unpack their proposal on the show.

We also have updates: First up, two bills we were following related to the Midway Rising project are sitting on the governor's desk. Next, a scandal involving a former sheriff's deputy with a history of assaulting women blew up days after we reported on his new job as a chaplain. Lastly, new developments related to the Islamic Center shooting and the breakdown of the Muslim community's relationship with City Hall.

 

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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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