Morning Report: Proposed San Diego Surf Permits Ruffle Wetsuits

A lot of San Diego kids don’t make it to the beach very often. 

Nonprofits with missions to serve those children worry the San Diego City Council may make their work impossible. 

City staff proposed a permit system that would require groups that teach water-based activities like surfing and kayaking on city beaches to get insurance and safety certifications. The system would protect the city from liability and protect public beachgoers, staff said at a City Council meeting. 

Nonprofits like Paddle for Peace told councilmembers the system threatens their very existence. 

The California Coastal Commission doesn’t like the proposed permits either. Its executive director criticized the city for failing to get enough input from the public, and warned that it violated a new state law. 

Read the full story here. 

Private Schools Are Not Causing Public Enrollment Decline

Some of our readers blamed San Diego’s student enrollment slippage on homeschooling. 

But our Jakob McWhinney dug into the numbers and says: It ain’t so.

The number of kids attending private school remained mostly flat since 2014. And the share of those kids being homeschooled is miniscule, McWhinney reports in his latest story.

The state is probably undercounting homeschoolers, though. Virtual instruction exploded in recent years as well as the number of charter schools which offer what is essentially a homeschooling experience. 

Two virtual homeschool charters enroll about 12,500 students in San Diego County – about 14 percent of county charter school students overall. 

McWhinney unpacks more data in the full story.

Chula Vista City Hall’s New Top Boss 

The Chula Vista City Council has picked a new city manager. 

Tiffany Allen, currently the assistant city manager, will replace Maria Kachadoorian in October. Kachadoorian is retiring from the city’s top bureaucratic position. 

Our Jim Hinch spoke to Allen about her vision for the city. She views it as, “growth, with respect.” She’s not planning on a profound transformation but wants the city to become the best version of what it already is. 

Read the South County Report here. 

Politifest: What to do About Street Homelessness? 

San Diego’s homelessness crisis has raged on for years. Our Lisa Halverstadt will talk about potential solutions during our Solutions Showdown at Politifest on Oct. 4. She will be joined by Dr. Margot Kushel, Iain De Jong, and Retired Marine Colonel Patrick “Paddy” Gough. 

Hear their proposals and cast your vote for the best path forward for our region.  

Click here to buy your tickets today. 

In Other News 

• NBC 7 reported that the city of San Diego paid $37,000 for a fact-finding investigation into SDPD Chief Scott Wahl earlier this year. SDPD said, of the heavily redacted invoices obtained through a public records request, that investigations like these aren’t uncommon. 
• Well, the showdown we’ve all been waiting for and the one that movie “Civil War” predicted, is on – Texas versus California. Newsom announced plans to counter Texas’ redistricting effort, calling for a special election Nov. 4. (KPBS)
• After the cost of estimated repairs doubled and the county water authority announced it would no longer partly pay for the fix, San Diego is looking to abandon plans to rebuild the Lake Hodges Dam. (Union-Tribune)
• Pimento, Piquín or Piquito – what do all these words have in common? If you guessed potential names for the first prehensile-tailed porcupine born at the San Diego Zoo, you are on point. Whether or not you knew that though, the Zoo wants your two cents on what the little guy’s name should be. (CBS 8)

The Morning Report was written by MacKenzie Elmer, Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña and Tessa Balc. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña and Scott Lewis.  

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