Morning Report: Signature Gathering Starts on County Tax
EM - News Moderator 
A coalition is pressing ahead with a proposed countywide sales-tax measure it hopes will land on the November 2026 ballot.
Our Lisa Halverstadt reports that a coalition led by leaders of the largest union of county employees, a child care advocacy group and a firefighters union on Friday submitted a proposed half-cent sales-tax hike pitch to the Registrar of Voters.
The measure would raise an estimated $360 million annually for services for families and children including health care and child care, solutions to the Tijuana sewage crisis and public safety.
The citizen-backed effort is separate from an upcoming effort by county Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer and Vice Chair Monica Montgomery Steppe to explore ways the county might bring in more revenue as it faces federal cuts. But Lawson-Remer, who called for potential revenue measures in her April State of the County address, endorsed the measure Friday.
Likely competition on the road to November 2026: A separate group that includes Laborers Local Union 89, Carpenters Union Local 619, and Rebuild SoCal are rallying behind a one-cent sales tax hike for city of San Diego for infrastructure repairs, wildfire prevention, pipe repairs for clean water and more.
Politics Report: Bailey Moves to San Diego
In his (almost) weekly newsletter on all things local politics, Scott Lewis wrote about the push for the tax increase for the county of San Diego and what will no doubt be proponents’ heavy emphasis on the money it will put toward solving the border sewage crisis.
They’re making some big promises with no plans yet on how they’ll deliver.
Also: Lewis checks in with former Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey and confirms he bought a house in Point Loma. But that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s running for office in San Diego. And Nathan Fletcher is back in the mix in local public affairs, a dispatch.
All that and more is for members in the Politics Report.
Sacramento Report: Lethal Force Reform Helped Add to Historic Settlement
In the largest settlement since the police killing of George Floyd, San Diego paid $30 million to the family of 16-year-old Konoa Wilson after he was shot and killed by a San Diego police officer.
Our Nadia Lathan reports that the lawsuit alleged police violated a key reform law authored by a San Diego lawmaker.
That law, AB 392, overhauled California’s use-of-deadly force, replacing legal precedent that allowed lethal force when “reasonable.” Instead, the law changed the standard to allow lethal force by police only “when necessary in defense of human life.”
The lawsuit alleges the San Diego police officer violated the law and committed acts of racial violence against Wilson, who was Black.
Read the Sacramento Report here.
VOSD Podcast: Shell Games
On the latest episode of the VOSD podcast, our hosts dive into a niche range of happenings across San Diego County.
They explain how the county moved money around to cover employee bonuses – a story our Lisa Halverstadt broke – a heated debate about a school foundation’s use of a high school gym, and more.
San Diego Unified also got really close to putting in motion the largest housing project ever pursued by a school district in California. The project would have used excess land to provide affordable units for educators.
It’s part of a new wave of efforts to create affordable education workforce housing on district land. But then they got cold feet.
In Other News
- A KPBS investigation earlier this year revealed a crude message from a top official at the county’s department of animal services calling for more dog euthanasias. Reporters obtained an apology letter from the official who said the recording was made without her knowledge, but their reporting reveals she sent the recording as an audio message to another person. (KPBS)
- A broken gas line has left hundreds of tenants in National City without gas service for three months. An inewsource investigation earlier this year found the building owned by a coalition of labor unions used payments by tenants to finance their political actions.(inewsource)
- Rent payments will likely go up for thousands of low-income San Diegans next year after a vote by the San Diego Housing Commission. Officials from the commission say the rent increase is the only way to offset a budget shortfall that would otherwise force some families out of Section 8 vouchers completely. (Union-Tribune)
- Directors at the Tri-City Medical Center voted to pursue a 30-year affiliation with Sharp HealthCare if voters approve the pact next year. It’s the latest move by medical providers in North County to team up with larger partners for operating and financial assistance. (Union-Tribune)
- A series of emails reveal thousands of migrants stayed at the San Diego airport during a single night. The emails written by the airport’s chief operations officer showed they were strained for resources during a surge in arrivals in early 2024. (ABC10 News San Diego)
The Morning Report was written by Lisa Halverstadt and Mariana Martínez Barba. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña and Scott Lewis.
The post Morning Report: Signature Gathering Starts on County Tax appeared first on Voice of San Diego.
