Morning Report: How Much Can We Prevent Homelessness?
For most of the past few years, the number of newly homeless San Diegans has outpaced the number of newly housed residents. Could San Diego fully reverse that trend and […] The post Morning Report: How Much Can We Prevent Homelessness? appeared first on Voice of San Diego.
EM - News Moderator 
For most of the past few years, the number of newly homeless San Diegans has outpaced the number of newly housed residents. Could San Diego fully reverse that trend and prevent homelessness altogether?
Our Lisa Halverstadt’s conclusion: The region can turn the dial by scaling up prevention programs, but it can’t fully stem the flow of newly homeless San Diegans without much more dramatic federal and housing policy shifts.
As part of our series looking ahead at San Diego’s next 20 years as Voice of San Diego celebrates its 20th anniversary, Halverstadt asked experts to weigh in on what’s possible with homelessness prevention.
They suggested increased financial support for prevention programs coupled with deeper analyses using tools like artificial intelligence to better target and tailor resources could give the region’s existing homelessness prevention efforts a major shot in the arm over the next 20 years.
Read the full story here. And read more stories in the series here.
To Compost or Not to Compost: The Pizza Box
After Tuesday’s article about trash contamination in the compost at the Miramar Greenery published, readers gave us an earful about an image of a pizza box among a pile of compost.
Everyone thought pizza boxes were organic waste and could go back to the Earth as compost via the green bin. Cardboard is a heavy paper product so it is, technically, made of organic materials that will turn into compost.
But whether you can put it in your green bin is largely dependent on who picks up your trash.
Learning Curve: High-Performing Districts Losing Students Too
Our education reporter Jakob McWhinney has reported several stories on San Diego’s massive enrollment declines. And those stories have led to a cottage industry of people coming up with theories about why it’s happening.
In his newest Learning Curve, he examines two of the theories.
Theory one: Students are going to private school and home school. That’s happening, Jakob found, but it doesn’t come close to explaining the overall numbers.
Theory two: Students are leaving to go to higher-performing districts. Jakob did some rough calculations and that also doesn’t appear at first glance to be quite right.
Read the full Learning Curve here. And subscribe for free here.
The New Homes Being Built Near Freeways
Roughly 20 percent of new homes in San Diego were built within one thousand feet of a freeway, according to a new analysis by KPBS.
This comes with health risks. One study found that roadway pollution increases “the risk of multiple health conditions, including cardiovascular, respiratory and reproductive conditions for people who live within 500 to 600 feet of a freeway,” KPBS reports.
The new story is part of our series In Whose Backyard. Voice partnered with KPBS to analyze six years worth of local housing data. We’ve written nearly a dozen stories so far on everything from Poway’s single-family-zoning paradise to which cities aren’t meeting their housing goals. Check out the full series here.
Check out the most recent story here.
In Other News
- North County’s first shelter for homeless young adults has opened its doors in Vista. Already, 15 of the home’s 16 spots have been filled. (Union-Tribune)
- The renters are rising up. Dozens of National City residents took to the streets Tuesday to rally for a lower rent cap and to put protections in place against tenant harassment. (CBS 8)
- After more than 30 years of sitting (not-so) pretty, a settlement has ordered that something be done about the California Theatre. The site’s bankrupt owner must either demolish or sell the property by the end of 2026. (Union-Tribune)
- Local authorities managed to bury a dead whale in the sand, only hours after it washed ashore at Playas de Tijuana. Locals and marine activists are raising alarm after officials in both the United States and Mexico have made note of the rising number of beached whales. (NBC 7)
- Opinion: The CEO of Interfaith Community Services and the mayor of Escondido lay out how they found common ground to better serve their homeless neighbors.
The Morning Report was written by Lisa Halverstadt, MacKenzie Elmer, Will Huntsberry and Tessa Balc. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña.
The post Morning Report: How Much Can We Prevent Homelessness? appeared first on Voice of San Diego.
