Cup of Chisme: How Much Toxic Gas Is Too Much?

Happy Sunday! I was out last week, but I’m back to catch you up on the chisme you need to know to start your week. Grab some cafecito.

Long-Term Toxic Gas Exposure

We started the week with a story by environment reporter MacKenzie Elmer on toxic gas. For the longest time, we’ve wondered how toxic the air really is near the Tijuana River Valley as a result of the sewage crisis.

We know it smells bad. But is it dangerous? Are people getting sick?

When scientists sounded alarm bells last summer about the levels of hydrogen sulfide their instruments were recording in the area, county officials were quick debunk their claims. Then-County Supervisor Nora Vargas said there was no reason for alarm, the levels are not posing a public health hazard.

Last month, Elmer set out to understand how often residents are exposed to dangerous levels of the gas. She also wanted to know what a “dangerous level” is and what would happen as a result of long-term exposure.

She analyzed data the county is collecting and found that, on average, residents are breathing levels of hydrogen sulfide that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers would cause harm in the long run to a person’s health.

“The problem here is this is not an odor,” one professor told Elmer. “This is a health risk. And there’s health effects at levels perhaps well below where people can smell it.”

Read the full story here.

Home Is on School District Property

San Diego Unified School District owns a lot of land. It also employs a lot of people who need affordable homes to continue living in our lovely, yet expensive, San Diego.

Education reporter Jakob McWhinney has been following the district’s efforts to use the land it owns to build housing for its workforce. On Wednesday, the school board was set to vote on several housing project proposals that would have added 1,500 units.

Ahead of the vote, McWhinney set out to explain how the district got into the housing game and the projects the board was going to consider. In the process of doing that, however, he learned something: The vote wasn’t a done deal.

There seemed to be a disconnect between the proposals a district committee had recommended and what some board members actually wanted to approve. That’s because there was some confusion over what the district’s primary goal of maximizing affordability actually meant.

“The question here was does ‘maximizing affordability’ mean cheaper units or more units that are still affordable to district employees,” McWhinney explained.

As he suspected, the board punted the vote to next month. But the board discussion delivered some fascinating exchanges between the board members that left one “stunned.”

McWhinney will keep following this story.

Certified San Diego Beef

ICYMI our reporters spent the first week of December breaking down the spiciest beefs in San Diego.

We looked at the longstanding beef between Arizonans and San Diegans. The never-ending feud between Chula Vista Mayor John McCann and Councilmember Michael Inzunza on matters large and small. And so much more.

If you missed any of those stories, you can read them all here.

Another special week is around the corner: As 2025 comes to an end, our reporters are pulling together stories about what we learned this year. What’s one thing you learned about San Diego this year? Send me a note at andrea.sanchez@voiceofsandiego.org.

More Chisme to Start Your Week

• Lisa Halverstadt explained how the county has figured out a way to give employees bonuses without a fourth vote on the board. Read the story here.
• MacKenzie Elmer reported that SDG&E’s largest union is upset with the power company. Read about that here.
• We at Voice of San Diego can sometimes be like the girlfriend who doesn’t forget anything. On our upcoming podcast episode, our hosts will walk you through a series of “whatever happened to…” stories. Keep an eye out for the episode in our feed.

I’m taking the week off to spend time with my family. Talk to you soon.

The post Cup of Chisme: How Much Toxic Gas Is Too Much? appeared first on Voice of San Diego.