San Diego City Councilwoman Monica Montgomery Steppe is commanding a big lead in the special election to replace Nathan Fletcher on the Board of Supervisors. Amy Reichert is also going to the November runoff election.

On the podcast, we discuss the results, the race thus far and look ahead at a weird race in a heavily Democratic district.

Also riding high: Parents, students and educators gear up for a new school year. Host Jakob McWhinney shares the big school stories he's watching.

Also riding high: UC San Diego researchers innovate in mushroom studies and more at their first psychedelics research lab.

Also riding high: Palomar Health's anxiety. After a big budget plunge last fiscal year, how will the public healthcare provider recover?

See you soon! Get your tickets for our next Brews & News live podcast at vosd.org/events

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This week, environment reporter MacKenzie Elmer explains some of the drama going down in water politics.

It all started when a couple farming communities tried to divorce the San Diego Water Authority. Now, rural districts seek to change the whole voting structure — with the help of state lawmakers.

Plus: How to be a great composter. A Southeastern San Diego nonprofit loses community support. The last week before the special election.

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Few joys in life match a breezy summer night gossiping with good friends over cold drinks. And in this first-ever “Happy Hour” special episode, that’s what we’ve got for you.

Hosts Scott Lewis and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña chat with guests Alain Stephens, reporter from The Trace, and Greg Moran, investigative reporter formerly with the The Union Tribune.

Our stories:
"Selling Sunset" star tied to landlord who tried to burn tenants out.
Secret stories of the gun industry and the U.S. government.
A short and expensive history of San Diego desalination.
How the Fat Leonard scandal that blew a hole in the U.S. Navy.

Watch out for Alain's podcast with The Weekly Briefing by The Trace: thetrace.org/newsletter

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Monday was the first day San Diego police could enforce the homeless camping ban — made to crack down on specific areas of the city where street camping has proliferated.

Voice reporter Lisa Halverstadt has been following this ban since its inception. This week she surveyed common camping areas to see how the city and police curbed campsites and affixed new warning signs. She shares all the latest details on the city's homeless efforts in the podcast.

Plus: Halverstadt broke the news that the city's largest homeless services provider — Father Joe's Villages — is in hot water.

Also this week: The worst trees in San Diego. Transpo leader Hasan Ikhrata is out. Fact check on Monica Montgomery Steppe's "defund the police" record.

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A few weeks ago, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria asked a question — daring reporters to find out, "What other jurisdictions are applying for Homekey dollars?"

"Homekey" is a state project doling out big money for new housing. Local municipalities can apply for funds to help boost permanent supportive housing projects. San Diego has applied for more than $105 million of this funding, chiefly to convert motels to permanent rooms.

And despite this crisis hampering the whole region, host Andrea Lopez-Villafaña found the city of San Diego is indeed shouldering the county's weight.

This week, we discuss Homekey, housing and homelessness — including the city of Chula Vista's approach and fact checks for common homelessness assumptions.

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"Mailers are like the core concentrate of local politics. If you boil down politics, you're left with mailer content."

This week, our hosts discuss political mailers. While mailers are objectively annoying inbox filler that most people throw, they are created by strategists who have a lot of data about who they're targeting. Therefore, in addition to the argument for or against any given candidate, the postal padding also serves as a proxy for what the experts think they know about the electorate.

In this episode, we discuss the art of mailers and what local political groups are trying to express ahead of the special election to replace Nathan Fletcher on the Board of Supervisors.

Plus: A new amendment to the lawsuit against Fletcher. More Union-Tribune staff depart. And the latest in water politics as two North County farming communities continue to try to divorce the San Diego Water Authority.

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Los Angeles' richest man, Patrick Soon-Shiong, sold the San Diego Union-Tribune and the LA Times to MediaNews Group, owned by Alden Global Capital. 

The U-T has had six owners since 2009. Soon-Shiong at the start of his tenure promised "stability." Now it seems there's anything but.

This week on the show, we discuss how the news came trickling out at the start of the week — followed quickly by staff reduction notices and buyout offers for the waning paper. We also look at the wider picture: How did newspapers get to this point? And is there a route to stability for regional journalism?

Plus: Former mayor Kevin Faulconer announced his bid for County Supervisor. The special election to replace former Supervisor Nathan Fletcher is almost here. And San Diego Unified's school board is oddly... unified.

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This week, we've got updates from the highly anticipated safe camping site put in place by the city of San Diego.

The city opened the site to provide unhoused residents a safe place to camp, made to be more attractive than sidewalks. The first of two such sites, it precedes stricter enforcement to get tents off city streets and away from sensitive areas like schools.

On the show, reporter Lisa Halverstadt details the amenities and intake numbers — and a new story about how increased homeless enforcement may affect Black San Diegans disproportionately.

Plus: A wealthy family’s 100-year-old company is blocking a permanent housing project. And San Diego Unified is facing big budget deficits.

Keep up with all our stories with the Morning Report: vosd.org/morning

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San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and other city leaders announced the opening of a safe camping site for homeless residents. It's first of two in the coming months — along with a new ban on camping, which narrowly passed the City Council last week. The ban expands current restrictions with further attention to sensitive areas such as schools and is now set to take effect in late July. Another, larger camp site is on tap for the fall.

We discuss the details of the new site as part of a robust effort by Gloria to reduce tents on the streets.

Plus: Two sales tax measures may hit the 2024 ballot. And a weird protest hits a Rancho Peñasquitos library.

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This week's co-host, Jakob McWhinney, shared in this episode a framework he often uses to consider San Diego's present state and future: "It's gonna blow."

The Padres are going to acquire huge stars and take off. San Diego's going to be a hot new music scene. Democrats are going to transform county government. The big thing is always going to happen.

McWhinney and hosts Scott Lewis and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña review this week's news with that framework in mind: SDSU, sports, homelessness, billionaire investors and more.

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