Morning Report: County Wants El Cajon to Reverse Crisis Call Policy

Months ago, El Cajon police stopped automatically responding to mental health crisis calls when there isn’t a crime or apparent danger to others.

County officials and county-contracted civilian teams that also respond to crisis calls have been frustrated by the policy shift ever since.

Now, as our Lisa Halverstadt reports, the county is imploring the city to shift back to responding to “all high-risk mental health crises.”  

In a letter sent to the city last week, a top county bureaucrat argued the El Cajon policy has “created significant gaps in our behavioral health response system” that are affecting people in crisis and county teams that rely on police.

Not interested: El Cajon’s police chief says he isn’t budging on the decision spurred by concerns about liability for police officers and what he described as years of community pushback against police responses to crisis calls.

Read the full story here. 

Too Much Poo! District Closes Park to Public in PB

San Diego Unified alerted the city of San Diego this week that it would no longer allow the public to use the joint-use park it shares with the city at Crown Point Junior Music Academy. 

Why? Because dog owners have allowed their pooches to trash the field with dangerous holes and excrement. 

It won’t be the last: School district officials have lost their patience with dog owners.

““Primarily because of student safety, cleanliness or hygiene, we have many areas throughout the district where kids are uncomfortable using their fields,” Naji said. 

What’s going on: The city and school district have celebrated dozens of joint-use agreements throughout San Diego that have allowed the public to use school parks when students are gone. It was an easy way for the city to increase access to parks. 

But the parks are now mostly fenced in, which makes them attractive to dog owners who treat them like off-leash parks. Now the district will introduce a stoplight-like system warning the public if the school park is in danger of being cut off to them.

Read the full story here.

National City Residents Come Out Against Fuel Depot

For all the talk of political apathy these days, our Jim Hinch is encountering the opposite in National City.

In his latest South County Report, Hinch broke down a debate over a proposed fuel depot that drew dozens of residents, community leaders and activists to City Hall this week.

The city’s planning commission voted down the proposal but as Hinch notes, the fate of the project expected to draw more rail cars and big rigs to the city will ultimately be decided by the City Council.

Read the full South County Report.

In Other News

• The Union-Tribune revealed a Sheriff’s Department lieutenant remains at the agency despite two sexual harassment suits that cost the county nearly $500,000 in settlements.
• KPBS obtained an audio message sent by a top county Animal Services official declaring that a Carlsbad shelter overseen by the county wasn’t euthanizing enough dogs.
• Years ago, the city of San Diego barred renting out new accessory dwelling units for fewer than 30 days but an inewsource and KPBS analysis found nearly 175 other ADU properties that have a short-term rental license.  
• Speaking of ADUs: CBS 8 reports on a lawsuit seeking to halt a city ADU program that has spurred controversy.
• The Union-Tribune reports that the San Diego City Council will decide later this month whether to increase pet adoption fees in the city – and that spikes are likely coming soon elsewhere in the region too.
• The Oceanside City Council earlier this week advanced a resolution to protect migrant families, CBS 8 reports.
• inewsource broke down how a disagreement between two labor unions led the city to abandon the results of competitive bidding process for a security contract to instead go with a two-year no bid contract. 

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

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