Morning Report: Big Payout Coming for Ex-County Counsel

The top county lawyer who abruptly retired last week is heading out the door with a big payout.

Our Lisa Halverstadt revealed that former County Counsel Claudia Silva, whose departure was announced after a hastily scheduled performance review, signed a deal calling for her to receive at least a $535,000 severance this month.

Documents released to Voice of San Diego after a records request show Silva will also maintain county-backed health insurance coverage for 18 months and receive separate lump sums for unused vacation and sick time. 

Worth Noting: Silva’s separation agreement comes with more lucrative terms than the contract she signed when she was appointed the county’s top lawyer in 2022.

Reminder: Silva’s sudden departure followed the swearing-in of South Bay Supervisor Paloma Aguirre, which ushered in a Democratic majority on the Board of Supervisors – and coincides with some big legal challenges at the county.

Read the full story here.

LaCava: Plan to End SeaWorld’s Fireworks Is ‘Complex’

After some nesting birds nearby died last year following back-to-back pyrotechnics for the Fourth of July, the most powerful person on the San Diego City Council said SeaWorld’s nightly summertime fireworks have got to go.

Almost a year later and Mission Bay is still booming night after night.

So what’s going on? San Diego City Council President Joe LaCava’s office told our MacKenzie Elmer that it’s complicated.

It involves cracking open SeaWorld’s lease and working with the city’s planning commission on changes to the SeaWorld Masterplan Amendment, a long-term planning document for the park which leases city property in Mission Bay. 

There’s a whole section describing fireworks displays at SeaWorld as an “integral part of the park’s evening experience.” 

The City Council is waiting on the Planning Commission to take up SeaWorld’s planning amendment, according to LaCava’s staff. Richard Berg, a city spokesman said the Planning Commission will take that amendment up this fall.

Read more here. 

Progress Report: How School Districts Combat Enrollment Decline

Flashy new facilities. Revamp programming. 

That’s how San Diego Unified’s leaders plan to combat what seems like an unstoppable fall in student enrollment fueled by an overall drop in birth rates and high cost of living in San Diego County. 

School Board Trustees hope investments in shiny, new facilities and delivering on demands from parents for things like Montessori principled, project-based learning elements in early childcare centers will lure families to stay put and enroll their spawn. 

Our Jakob McWhinney unpacks the problem and proposed solutions in his latest Progress Report. 

South County Report: Imperial Beach’s New Market 

Residents of Imperial Beach have been without a major grocery store for 10 years. 

That could change this fall. For his latest South County Report newsletter, reporter Jim Hinch features the effort to open a 6,000-square-foot grocery store that’s community-owned and operated. 

“The only reason I leave town is to get food,” one resident told Hinch.”Now I’ll be able to ride my bike here.” 

Read the South County Report here.

In Other News 

• The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that a federal judge this week berated the county for failing to preserve surveillance footage tied to a 2022 in-custody death, deeming its actions as “shocking in the height of negligence.”
• The U-T also revealed that the county in late June cancelled two contracts with a nonprofit that distributed opioid reversal spray and provided drug testing services – and that the District Attorney’s Office is now investigating the agency. 
• Recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (known as DACA) will lose health insurance through Covered California at the end of August due to a federal rule change. The state recommends those recipients to explore options through Medi-Cal, employer-based insurance or direct purchase to prevent gaps in care. (Fox 5)
• OMG U GUYZ. Finally, the new roadway entrance to San Diego International Airport to the new Terminal 1 opens on Friday. Terminal 1 opens in late September. (NBC 7)
• Opinion: A teacher with more than 25 years of experience makes the case for restorative justice and dispels common misconceptions in a new op-ed. 

The Morning Report was written by MacKenzie Elmer and Lisa Halverstadt. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña. 

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