Morning Report: ‘Time to Get It Done’ on Midway

Mayor Todd Gloria has entered the nothing-can-get-in-our-way phase of the massive plan to redevelop Midway with 4,000 new homes and a sports arena. 

That is important — because so far a lot has gotten in the way. 

Voters have twice approved a waiver to the city’s coastal height limit that would let the project move forward. Twice, lawsuits have successfully overturned the waivers. 

Now, the city is sponsoring legislation that would exempt the Midway Rising project, as it’s known, from the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA.

The mayor is going to be relentless in seeing the project through, his deputy chief of staff Nick Serrano said. 

“We’ve seen this project get stymied over and over again. Voters have weighed in. They’ve affirmed support for the vision of this property twice now,” Serrano wrote. “It’s time to get it done.”

In this week’s Politics Report, we asked all seven candidates vying for the open City Council seat that will represent Midway to weigh in on the potential CEQA exemption. 

The District 2 Council seat is interesting because the area it represents is so hard to define politically. Housing is a primary issue for voters, but housing doesn’t at all break along traditional party lines. 

Several of the candidates tried to walk a thin line on the project and the potential CEQA exemption.

Read the full Politics Report here. Warning you’ve got to be a subscriber to read the Politics Report. It’s our only content that isn’t free to all. 

• The Union-Tribune also wrote about the District 2 race. The three Democrats and a former Republican have differing ideas on their role in the community and how they would solve the budget crisis. (Union-Tribune) 

DeMaio’s Latest Attempt at Voter Restrictions

Earlier this month, Republican Carl DeMaio succeeded in what few lawmakers have been able to do: acquire the roughly 875,000 signatures necessary to put a proposal on the November ballot. 

Our Nadia Lathan breaks down how the operation got off the ground and what the ballot measure would do. If approved, the initiative would require voters to bring a government-issued ID each time they cast a ballot.

The Secretary of State and county election officials would also be required to verify voters’ registration status each time they cast a ballot. California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates it could cost tens of millions of dollars to implement. 

Read the Sacramento Report here.

Women Leading the Conversation

Thanks to all who joined us for Women Leading the Conversation last Thursday! We were so pleased to bring together a room of incredible women who are leading the way. We left the event feeling inspired and empowered to continue making San Diego the finest city possible.

A special thank you to our panelists:

• Fabiola Bagula, superintendent, San Diego Unified School District
• Maya Madsen, founder and owner, Maya’s Cookies
• Erica Pinto, chairwoman, Jamul Indian Village of California
• Angela Shafer-Payne, vice president and chief development officer, San Diego Regional Airport Authority

Thank you also to our event sponsors, Intesa and CFO Hub, for making this event possible.

In Other News

• A federal judge has allowed a lawsuit over a deadly assault in the San Diego Central Jail to move forward citing concerns over how the Sheriff’s department is housing violent inmates. The ruling comes after two inmates were killed by their cellmates in the jail. (Union-Tribune)
• President Donald Trump has opened an investigation into UC San Diego regarding how race is considered in admissions. Officials at UC San Diego said they are reviewing the notice from the Department of Justice and are committed “to fair processes in all our programs and activities.” (NBC 7 San Diego)
• Downtown parking brought in big bucks for the city on the Padres opening day. City parking meters have added $33,000 in revenue since the city implemented a $10 an hour rate in downtown meters during special events. (NBC 7 San Diego) 

The Morning Report was written by Mariana Martínez Barba and Will Huntsberry. It was edited by Will Huntsberry. 

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