Morning Report: San Diego’s Eastern Border War
EM - News Moderator 
There are few local beefs more universal than San Diegans’ collective resentment of tourists from Arizona – or, as locals refer to them, the dreaded Zonie. They flood in every year when summer turns their hometowns of Phoenix and Flagstaff and Tucson into air fryers.
For decades, tourists from Arizona have been something of a citywide punching bag. But is the Zonie-hate really all about Zonies? In the latest installment in our Beef Week series, reporter Jakob McWhinney argues not really.
As San Diego’s price tag continues to rise, locals’ “performative disdain for Zonies feels less a product of actual disdain for Zonies, and more like a latent fear that our love affair with this city is an unrequited one,” McWhinney writes.
Got some beef? Is there a local rivalry, feud or battle that’s captivated you? Send McWhinney an email with a couple of sentences laying it all out. You can reach him at Jakob@VOSD.org.
Border Report: The Unseen Costs of Immigration Arrests
When Ana and Nick, immigrants from Croatia, attended a check-in appointment with ICE in October, they thought nothing was out of the ordinary. In fact, Nick was only attending his wife’s appointment as moral support. Then they were detained and spent 40 hours in temporary cells in the basement of downtown’s federal building.
By the time their attorney had secured their release through a successful writ of habeas corpus, the couple had spent five weeks in the Otay Mesa Detention Center. During that period, they say they lost their jobs, apartment and even their car.
Now, even after being released from their unlawful detention, Nick has decided to return to his home country for fear of further persecution. He’s one of a growing group of immigrants to do so.
“It’s very hard to express my disappointment with this country in words. It’s monumental, my disappointment,” Nick said.
Is Issa Out?
Last month, Rep. Darrell Issa wrote on X that he was “not quitting on California.”
The Republican was reacting to Californians voting in favor of redrawing political boundaries to give Democrats a leg up. He wrote that Proposition 50 was “the worst gerrymander in history.” The new maps changed his district to strongly favor Democrats. Still, he promised to keep fighting.
“Voters get to pick their representatives. Not the other way around,” Issa said at the time. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll continue to represent the people of California — regardless of their party or where they live.”
But maybe he is quitting? Issa is looking at a future in Texas. Punchbowl News reports that he’s considering running for a House seat currently held by a Democrat.
In Other News
- Six years after shutting down the Mission Hills library, city officials have turned the vacant branch into a for-profit bookstore and event space. (NBC 7)
- KPBS reports that the county of San Diego is auditing its Department of Animal Services to better understand its policies related to euthanasia and how staff keep records. Related: The Union-Tribune reports that the department has dealt with high employee turnover rates for years. A new director is trying to turn things around.
- City leaders in El Cajon are helping the owners of the 80-acre Parkway Plaza shopping center with their redevelopment plans. The city is focusing on getting feedback from residents on what the site could offer the community. (Union-Tribune)
- The Union-Tribune found that the city of San Diego is owed millions of dollars from unpaid parking tickets. But it’s unlikely that the city will collect.
The Morning Report was written by Jakob McWhinney and Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña.
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