Morning Report: The Skinny on the Councilmember Charged with Assault
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Late last month, North County reporter Tigist Layne revealed that Encinitas Councilmember Luke Shaffer had been charged with a felony assault and two misdemeanors.
With Shaffer set to be arraigned on Tuesday, Layne kicked out a primer on the first-term councilmember.
Shaffer, a former Marine, was born and raised in Encinitas. He’s a political independent. While Shaffer campaigned partly on crime reduction and infrastructure improvements, he was part of a slate of candidates who took advantage of local backlash against housing construction.
He promised he’d help lead the city’s fight against state housing requirements and work to restore local control. Since winning his seat, he has spoken in stark terms about the state’s attempts to force housing-hostile enclaves like Encinitas to build more.
Shaffer’s attorney Isaac Blumberg sent Voice of San Diego a statement late Monday.
“It is outrageous that the District Attorney would elevate a parking dispute into a felony assault case,” he said. “These charges are a drastic overreach, and we are confident that when the facts are presented, Councilmember Shaffer will be fully vindicated.”
The Zoo has Entered the Paid Parking Chat
As part of the city’s larger effort to charge for parking in Balboa Park, the San Diego City Council on Monday voted to allow the zoo to charge varied parking rates at its lot.
“The Zoo has had the ability to charge parking for many years, but has chosen not to,” said Adam Day from the Board of Trustees of the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.
We still don’t know how much the zoo plans to charge and how it will split the money with the city. A spokesperson for Mayor Todd Gloria said that’s still under negotiation.
Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera said he would like to see an even split and for the zoo to prioritize giving residents a discount.
Timing is key: The city will begin charging for parking in Balboa Park on Oct. 1. If the city and zoo don’t move fast enough, the zoo’s lots could fill with people looking to avoid parking at paid lots. But there’s also another reason to move quickly.
“As the council is aware the FY 2026 Adopted Budget includes a total of $15.5 million of parking revenue that is expected to be generated from Balboa Park,” said Baku Patel with the Independent Budget Analyst’s Office.
He added, “Given the budget’s reliance on revenue from parking at the zoo it is necessary that a revenue sharing agreement between the zoo and the city be adopted in the current fiscal year.”
County Flips Its Politics at LAFCO
Democrats flipped two seats on the eight-member board in charge of making and breaking San Diego’s boundaries, setting up the board for a lot of potential tie votes.
The San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO, is now split evenly between liberal and conservative members just as it’s about to take on two supremely hot topics in local politics: La Jolla’s secession from San Diego and an audit of the San Diego County Water Authority. If a commission vote ends in a tie, the issue fails.
The newly-minted San Diego County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre joined LAFCO, this summer. County Supervisor Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer appointed her, ousting Republican and former LAFCO Chair Jim Desmond.
LAFCO Vice Chair Baron Willis appointed union labor powerhouse Brigette Browning, secretary-treasurer of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, to the public seat on the commission held by former Republican San Diego City Councilman Henry Mathis’. She previously served as an alternate.
Desmond’s departure meant the chair of LAFCO was up for grabs. San Diego City Councilman Stephen Whitburn took that over and it will be interesting to see how he votes on two major issues.
Got A Solution to TJ River Pollution? Hit up Environment Reporter MacKenzie Elmer. She’s looking for someone with a good idea on how to solve the Tijuana River sewage crisis to present and debate at Politifest 2025. Email her at: mackenzie@voiceofsandiego.com by Sept. 12.
Border Report: The Push to Provide Unaccompanied Kids Legal Representation
San Diego County has for years provided free attorneys to immigrants detained at the Otay Mesa Detention Center or in an alternative ICE program. Now, Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer is pushing a proposal to expand those services to unaccompanied minors.
The board will vote today on the change, which because of unspent funding from previous years, wouldn’t cost any additional money. Lawson-Remer estimates the expansion could provide legal services to about 300 children.
The move comes as the Trump administration has begun to cut funding
As it stands, the government is not required to provide representation to children in immigration court. And while Congress has long appropriated funds to provide children with lawyers, the Trump administration has tried to cut that funding.
Song of the Week
Chloe Lou, “Dreams in Disaster”: Chloe Lou has the kind of voice that floats over you in waves. Full, deep and dynamic. On the indie pop gem “Dreams in Disaster,” her silky croon is accented by a driving bassline and gentle keyboard tinkling and wiry guitar flourishes. This is daydream music.
Like what you hear? Check out Chloe Lou at Kensington Club on Friday, Sept. 13.
Do you have a “Song of the Week” suggestion? Shoot us an email and a sentence or two about why you’ve been bumping this song lately. Friendly reminder: all songs should be by local artists. The Song of the Week pick will appear every other Tuesday from now on.
In Other News
- How’s this for a plan to address the housing crisis: The city wants to buy rent-restricted apartments to preserve the low-rent units. (Union-Tribune)
- A fire in Lakeside burned several buildings and forced evacuations on Monday. (Union-Tribune)
- Oceanside’s City Council approved a tenant protection package, but stripped out some measures, like a citywide rent control policy. (KPBS)
- County Supervisors will on Tuesday begin discussion of a proposed ordinance that would give the region’s Citizens’ Law Enforcement Review Board authority over local jails’ health care providers. If passed, it would be the first such ordinance in the country. (Union-Tribune)
The Morning Report was written by Jakob McWhinney, Mariana Martínez Barba and MacKenzie Elmer. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña and Scott Lewis.
The post Morning Report: The Skinny on the Councilmember Charged with Assault appeared first on Voice of San Diego.
