Morning Report: Convention Center Expansion Uncertain Despite Measure C Court Victory
EM - News Moderator 
Almost six years ago, proponents behind a hotel-tax hike known as Measure C promised the initiative would help fund a Convention Center expansion.
Now, fresh off a years-long court fight over whether Measure C passed, Mayor Todd Gloria and others who backed the measure aren’t promising an expansion – at least for now.
Our Mariana Martínez Barba writes that the city, Convention Center Corp. officials and others will first go back to the drawing board to assess the current facility’s needs, convention demands and what sort of expansion is feasible. After all, costs for the long-envisioned expansion have ballooned since backers estimated the cost years ago.
Actionable Solutions to Help Homeless San Diegans in Crisis
Discussions about homeless residents struggling with addiction and mental health challenges often quickly devolve into complications.
But a Politifest panel featuring three behavioral health experts focused on solutions, including many that wouldn’t be massively expensive or complicated to execute. They’d just take political will.
Our Lisa Halverstadt broke down panelists’ suggested solutions including a priority list for outreach and treatment, allowing paramedics to instigate short-term mental health evaluation holds and a drug user health hub.
Panelists Paul Armstrong of the San Diego Rescue Mission, psychiatrist Aaron Meyer who serves as the city of San Diego’s behavioral health officer and Tara Stamos-Buesig of the Harm Reduction Coalition of San Diego also agreed on the need for more person-centered approaches to serving homeless San Diegans with behavioral health challenges – and on the need for county government to step up to deliver solutions.
Speaking of behavioral health solutions: The Union-Tribune reports that the county on Thursday launched a $75 million initiative aimed at adding 3,000 new addiction and mental health workers over the next five years with the help of incentives like no-interest loans and apprenticeships.
PSA: You can check out videos and Power point slides from Politifest presenters plus interviews with Solutions Showdown winners including Meyer on our website.
South County Report: How South Bay Politicos Approached Thorny Problems
It was a tough week for South Bay politicians.
In our Jim Hinch’s last South County Report, he delivered a rundown of the big issues facing the region’s leaders and how they did – or didn’t – handle them.
Among the thorny issues: pitches to allow more dense housing in a residential neighborhood and a biofuels depot in National City, concerns about the future of the Tijuana River Valley Community Garden and a contentious debate over Chula Vista Mayor John McCann’s recent adjournment of a City Council meeting in memory of slain political activist Charlie Kirk.
Newly Homeless Outpaced Newly Housed in September
The number of people becoming homeless in San Diego County continued to outpace the number moving into homes in September. The Regional Task Force on Homelessness reports that 1,106 people became homeless for the first time and 1,032 exited homelessness.
Your monthly reminder: For most of the last few years, local efforts to house homeless residents haven’t kept up with the flood of people losing their homes. That equation must change to dramatically reduce homelessness.
In Other News
- A KPBS analysis revealed that El Cajon police automated license plate reader records were used in more than 500 immigration-related searches this year.
- A new SANDAG audit spotlighted accountability shortcomings involving the national consulting company that the transportation agency hired to oversee another contractor handling the problem-plagued state Route 125 toll road. (Union-Tribune)
- The city this week rolled out proposed historic preservation rules that aim to thread the needle and not stifle housing development. (KPBS)
- After years of discussions, the city-run Brown Field airport in Otay Mesa is finally getting an upgrade and has a new master plan. (Union-Tribune)
- MTS announced that crime on its system dropped by nearly a quarter in the first eight months of this year. (NBC 7)
The Morning Report was written by Lisa Halverstadt. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña.
The post Morning Report: Convention Center Expansion Uncertain Despite Measure C Court Victory appeared first on Voice of San Diego.
