Morning Report: Can Midway Rising Go Forward?
EM - News Moderator 
San Diegans twice voted to lift a limit on building height in the Midway neighborhood.
The courts twice threw out the vote.
Now developers of one of the biggest construction projects in the city to date say they don’t need the voters, nor the courts. Midway Rising plans to add thousands of apartments, parks and a new Sports Arena.
Their ticket to success? California’s density bonus laws, which allow developers to work around zoning regulations in exchange for rent-capping a percentage of apartments for people who earn less than median income.
Our Will Huntsberry unwraps the Midway Rising development team’s legal strategy to ensure their right to build 4,200 apartment units and a new arena.
Developers point to another project already in the works – Rose Creek Village in Pacific Beach – which the state housing department greenlighted despite San Diego’s 30-foot height limit west of Interstate 5.
New Congressional District Boundaries Are Coming
Tuesday’s special election centered on one ballot measure that drew national attention: Proposition 50.
Results: California residents voted to redraw political boundaries to create five more Democratic-leaning seats. AP News has the statewide results here.
The measure was Gov. Gavin Newsom’s response to an effort by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the Trump Administration to redraw district boundaries in Texas and add more Republican seats.
The 48th District, which includes central and eastern San Diego County and is represented by Rep. Darrell Issa, would see the biggest change. Under the new map, voter registration would strongly favor Democrats, making Issa’s 2026 re-election bid much tougher. This has already prompted several Democrats to enter the race early.
Poway Voters Give Councilmember the Boot
Residents of Poway’s District 2 voted yesterday in a special recall election to recall Councilmember Tony Blain, according to early returns Tuesday.
The election comes just days after the District Attorney charged Blain with four felonies and a misdemeanor, including perjury, bribery and destruction of public records.
Blain’s controversies began before he was elected and have continued throughout his short time in office. As our Tigist Layne previously reported, city staff have accused him of harassment, bullying and threats—allegations that led to the first two censures in Poway’s history. The city also took the unprecedented step of suing Blain earlier this year for destroying public records, marking the first time it has sued a sitting elected official.
A New County Tax Collector, Detox Beds and More
County supervisors on Tuesday voted to select a treasurer-tax collector who will serve in the post through 2026.
The Union-Tribune reports that Larry Cohen, longtime chief of staff for Democratic U.S. Rep. Juan Vargas, is set to be sworn in Nov. 18 and will serve out the rest of former Treasurer-Tax Collector Dan McAllister’s term. Cohen competed with three other finalists for the county post, including two current treasurer’s office leaders and the Carlsbad city treasurer.
The Union-Tribune noted that Cohen could end up facing Republican Supervisor Joel Anderson, who is mulling a run for the post, in next November’s election.
- Supervisors voted 4-1 to back Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe’s proposal to study whether county facilities could serve as hubs where San Diegans can access food and health care as they grapple with federal cuts.
- Supervisors voted unanimously to send a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture urging the agency to immediately dip into Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program reserves so food benefits can flow to San Diego families.
- Democratic county supervisors advanced Montgomery Steppe’s proposal to crack down on excessive rental fees after lots of debate over how it could impact mom and pop landlords and the effectiveness of such rules. Changes are likely before the proposal returns to the board.
- For years, our Lisa Halverstadt has written about a shortage of detox beds for Medi-Cal patients in the county. Supervisors voted unanimously to support a plan pushed by Supervisors Paloma Aguirre and Montgomery Steppe to begin a bidding process for 44 detox beds downtown for homeless San Diegans. Father Joe’s Villages, which recently opened a 44-bed detox facility for homeless residents, is likely to come away with a county contract.
In Other News
- The Sierra Club is suing San Diego County over its approval of a controversial housing development outside of San Marcos called Harmony Grove Village South. The environmental organization says the 453-home project was passed without adding evacuation routes for residents and first responders in the event of a wildfire. (CBS 8)
- Padres’ star pitcher Yu Darvish will miss playing next season after elbow surgery. Damnit. (MLB)
- Senator Alex Padilla announced that he will not be running for governor next year. He was never officially in the race, but there was community speculation that he was going to be a possible candidate. (CalMatters)
- The Pacific Beach Arts District is in the process of getting a new center thanks to efforts from the nonprofit group, beautifulPB. The group plans to fundraise over $400,000, so that they can transform an old library building into a community space dedicated to arts education, performances and after school programming. (Times of San Diego)
The Morning Report was written by MacKenzie Elmer, Lisa Halverstadt and Jenna Ramiscal. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña.
The post Morning Report: Can Midway Rising Go Forward? appeared first on Voice of San Diego.
