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All former Mayor Jerry Sanders had to do was meet with labor unions before leading the effort to reform city employee pensions at the ballot box. He didn't. And now, six years later, the California Supreme Court . He had an obligation as the city’s top manager to first "meet and confer" with unions about the reforms before leading efforts to put a citizens’ initiative on the 2012 ballot. He wasn't required to do anything the unions suggested, but as the city's chief labor negotiator, he was supposed to at least hear what they had to say. On this week's podcast, Andrew Keatts, Sara Libby and Scott Lewis talk about the new pension ruling and the complex mess it leaves in its wake. Also on the podcast: the San Diego Airport Authority made a surprise move this week and  with Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez by joining a lawsuit filed by two rental car companies challenging the legality of a fee charged by the Port of San Diego to fund a new parking garage in Chula Vista, President Donald Trump's former press secretary Sean Spicer's weird  and more.   And don't miss this: In this week, Lewis interviewed Mayor Kevin Faulconer about the vacation rental crackdown, homelessness and other big issues. (That interview happened before the big pension ruling, so Faulconer escaped any questioning on it.) Hero of the Week California State Parks is the hero. Lewis has been doing a lot of complaining on the podcast and elsewhere about . The online system launched last summer and was introduced as a way to make booking campsites at California State Parks much easier. Lewis had some issues with the new system, so he . The state organization has responded to the criticism by making some changes to the reservation process. Goat of the Week This one goes to National City Councilman Jerry Cano. The Union-Tribune editorial board is after Cano indicated to investigators that he fabricated sexual harassment allegations against his colleague, Councilwoman Mona Rios. Cano's accusation of inappropriate touching by Rios came soon after the councilwoman called for an independent investigation into code enforcement issues at Cano’s home. Call Voice of San Diego at 619-354-1085 and leave a message with your comment or question. We may end up using your voicemail in a future show.

Mayor Kevin Faulconer joined Voice of San Diego's Scott Lewis in a special episode of the VOSD Podcast to talk about how the new vacation rental regulations will play out, and other big issues.

Union-Tribune reporter Morgan Cook joins hosts Andrew Keatts and Sara Libby to talk about a disturbing case of sexual abuse inside the county's foster care system. Also on the podcast: about a hotel pool being open to the public, and of omitting from court docs whether a defendant being charged with entering the country illegally has actually asked for asylum.

Chaos in San Diego courts caused by the Trump administration's immigration policies. A dramatic shift in who can rent out homes to vacationers. A potential 2020 ballot measure to raise sales taxes for transit. Plus: lead in school water and doing away with stamps on mail-in ballots. This week, we tackled all those topics and more, and we did it in front of a packed house at the Whistle Stop Bar in South Park. Hosts Andrew Keatts, Scott Lewis and Sara Libby were joined by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez and Mark Cafferty, CEO of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, in a special live edition of the podcast. Gonzalez, whose bill requiring mail ballots to come with pre-paid postage was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown the day of the podcast taping, made a bit of news by in 2022. She also had some fiery commentary on Mayor Kevin Faulconer's tenure, and why she to the Democratic Party in hopes of boosting her husband Nathan Fletcher's bid for county supervisor. Cafferty talked about the role transportation, education and the border play in San Diego's economy. He said crucial to ensuring the region's economic growth is building a better public transit system, getting more people to care about the quality of public education and embracing San Diego's proximity to Mexico as an asset. A few audience members even make a cameo in Not San Diego, a news quiz in which the podcast panel asked people to identify the statements that are not true about San Diego and California politics right now. True: There is a state ballot measure cleared for signature-gathering that would make California its own country. (This is different from the Three Californias measure that got tossed this week.) Fake: San Diego is considering a subway system. (It is, however, contemplating an old-timey streetcar near the beaches.) Call Voice of San Diego at 619-354-1085 and leave a message with your comment or question. We may end up using your voicemail in a future show.

At first glance, California schools seem to be doing well. The state plans to through 2022, giving school districts with higher numbers of low-income students, English-learners, foster youth and homeless children more money and control over...

Beginning last summer, hundreds of water customers started seeing unexpected spikes in their water bills. Many of them contacted the city and media outlets to complain. How the city's water department has responded to those customers' concerns, and what might be behind those unusually big bills is the subject of . On this week's podcast, Voice of San Diego's Ry Rivard joins hosts Andrew Keatts, Sara Libby and Scott Lewis to talk about what he learned through an analysis of water department billing records and a look at the new smart water meters the city is using. While the cause of many of the water bill spikes still remains murky, what's become clear is that the city water department has  and resisted public records requests and transparency, especially when it comes to the smart meter program. The San Diego water department's handling of the issues stands in stark contrast to how Padre Dam Municipal Water District, which serves some East County communities, has dealt with problems with its smart meters. "In remarkable contrast to the opacity of the city [of San Diego's] water department, when we called them and said, 'Hey, looks like you've been having problems with these smart meters,' the general manager there said, 'Yeah, we can talk to you about it,'" Rivard said. Audits of the water department are currently underway. Also on the podcast: Monica Montgomery's , the symbiotic  and Lewis' fleeting . Hero of the Week Barry Jameson is our hero this week. Jameson, an inmate at Richard J. Donovan State Prison when he first filed a civil suit 16 years ago, will finally get his day in court. As reported by the Union-Tribune's Greg Moran, the state Supreme Court by saying poor litigants can't be forced to pay for their own court reporters. Goat of the Week The San Dieguito High School District is the goat. The school district is , and, amid the financial struggles, officials there are also dealing with transparency issues.

SANDAG meetings have been . San Marcos Mayor Jim Desmond, who sits on the transportation agency's board, talks to VOSD's Andrew Keatts about the issues fueling the flames. Historically, the regional transportation agency's board meetings have been mostly drama-free. But then , and along with other reforms, SANDAG board members can now call for a vote weighted by population, which gives the representatives from the two biggest cities in the county the power to overrule decisions. Desmond doesn't like that change. "Smaller cities lost their voice," he said. "Due to the new weighted vote, the city of Chula Vista and the city of San Diego have the full reign of the decision-making at this point in time. And it's frustrating." Desmond, who's also running for the District 5 county supervisor seat, also talks about successful affordable housing efforts in San Marcos and explains why he's opposed to  through eminent domain. Also on the podcast: Sara Libby discusses the bills by local lawmakers that she's keeping an eye on as they move through the Legislature; Keatts and Libby weigh in on Mayor Kevin Faulconer's ; and they talk through the races that are piquing their interest in the November election. Hero of the Week Wendi Winters is our hero. Winters was one of  in a recent shooting. The longtime journalist , possibly saving others. Goat of the Week The San Diego Unified School District is the goat, again. During last year's budget crisis, district leaders said would save the district money. Now the school district is , but district officials say they won't ever be able to produce the numbers that actually show whether the retirement incentives delivered on that promise. Call Voice of San Diego at 619-354-1085 and leave a message with your comment or question. We may end up using your voicemail in a future show.

The new $3.5 billion school bond being floated by San Diego Unified should give San Diegans a sense of déjà vu. In this week's podcast, Andrew Keatts, Scott Lewis and Sara Libby talk about how many of the projects being proposed in the new bond are  passed by voters in 2008 and 2012. Projects promised in those two past ballot measures,  and replacing , ended up taking a back seat to things like new classroom technology and athletic fields. In a Board of Trustees hearing this week, school district officials dug back up many of those same old facility needs in its new pitch for why they say the $3.5 billion bond is necessary. Also on the podcast: the from the new city-funded short-term rental study; a discussion of the ; and why – despite a  to put a measure on the ballot that would raise hotel taxes to fund an expansion of the Convention Center, homeless services and road repairs – the campaign behind it maintains that everything is perfectly fine. Hero of the Week The city of San Diego, Convention Center Corp., the Port of San Diego and Comic-Con International are our heroes this week. We applaud their decision to between First Avenue and Park Boulevard to make way for the huge Comic-Con crowd. Goat of the Week Former Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman is the goat. Last year, she warned the San Diego City Council not to expand the number of marijuana licenses, but the crime stats from existing dispensaries she cited . Call Voice of San Diego at 619-354-1085 and leave a message with your comment or question. We may end up using your voicemail in a future show.

The Trump administration's policy of separating families at the border, and the ensuing confusion over its decision to temporarily walk back some of those policies, has dominated the news. On the latest podcast, hosts Scott Lewis and Sara Libby talk with Voice of San Diego border reporter Maya Srikrishnan about , how the family separations that followed played out and what to expect now that Trump to temporarily keep immigrant families together. Alan Bersin, former border czar and U.S. attorney, also joins the conversation. He talks about a possible policy fix that would allow South Americans seeking asylum in the United States to more easily make their claims in their home countries or in Mexico. Also on the podcast: SANDAG's so it can build its new headquarters; Registrar of Voters Michael Vu's determination that there were that would force all county elections to go to November runoffs; and how Maureen Stapleton, the longtime leader of the San Diego County Water Authority,  but also inflamed .

After-school programs are crucial for many families. From the time school gets out around 2 or 3 p.m. to the time most parents get off work at 5 or 6 p.m., after-school program providers offer kids expanded academics and enrichment activities like...