Voice of San Diego's environment reporter MacKenzie Elmer joins the show to talk about a spate of recent bird deaths in the city. Advocates say fireworks are to blame. She also has the latest on the flood prevention measure that just got pulled from the November ballot. Senior investigative reporter Will Huntsberry is back again this week, this tim…

Voice of San Diego's Will Huntsberry joins the show this week to discuss his new profile on Rep. Sara Jacobs. She's defied expectations with her voting record and is poised to become very powerful in Washington. Reporter Lisa Halverstadt also comes on to give an update about the Hope @ Vine mega shelter, which is facing a crucial City Council vote …

The calls for President Biden to leave the presidential race have reached a fever pitch, and this week Rep. Scott Peters weighed in. If Biden does drop out, Bella has a prescient prediction for when he might do it. Plus, Scott points out all that we still don't know about the proposed mega shelter and Jakob makes a pitch for revamping the city of S…

A brief history of drinking on the beach, an update on impending water rate hikes and what the Grants Pass ruling means for San Diego. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.بقلم Voice of San Diego

Water is about to get more expensive, but not for the reasons you might think. The region is water-rich following a record-setting rainy winter, but San Diegans still have to pay off decades-old investments provoked by drought times. That could mean big changes on your water bill starting next year. Also on the show this week: Jakob's got an update…

Scott sits down with San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria to talk about the big issue on everyone's mind: homelessness. They also discuss a proposed 1-cent sales tax increase and why the City is cracking down on beach yoga. Subscribe to the North County report: vosd.org/northcounty See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

AI has arrived at San Diego high schools in the form of a grading tool called Writable. Some confused school board members aren't exactly sure how. One thing's for sure: AI is rapidly changing the way teachers teach and students learn. Also on the show today, will there ever be a perfect place for homeless shelters? The short answer is no, but the …

A local media outlet announced it was acquired by Arizona State University and will shift to a nonprofit business model. It's the latest in a series of moves by ASU to strengthen its presence in the San Diego area. But what does it mean for local news? Plus, big changes at the fast casual restaurant chain Rubio's, a new "power cocktail" being serve…

Reporter MacKenzie Elmer dug into the city of San Diego’s first audit of its contract with SDG&E. The big takeaway? The cost of burying powerlines has gotten way out of hand. She tells us how the city is using new leverage to try and get answers. Plus, a tribute to San Diego legend Bill Walton, the latest in the search for the next county administr…

This week, the Voice of San Diego hosts share big news on the county CAO search and the region's latest homelessness numbers. The Regional Task Force on Homelessness just dropped the data from it's annual point-in-time count, which shows the crisis is slowing down compared to last year, but remains worse than ever. Plus: Education Reporter Jakob Mc…

This week, the Voice of San Diego hosts have the latest on a couple big stories we've been following. But first we'll circle back to a topic we covered a while back — the regulation of street vendors — which is now creating problems for some yoga instructors and luxury picnic businesses that have been operating on public land. Plus: Education repor…

This week, the Voice of San Diego hosts dive into three burgeoning beefs between local politicos. The hunt for a new county CAO has become highly political, and more recently devolved into a debate over what white people are allowed to say in Spanish. Editor Scott Lewis pulls back the curtain on the backlash from some local leaders over statements …

Senior investigative reporter Lisa Halverstadt has been watching the city of San Diego's real estate deals for years. 101 Ash St. was a notorious real estate endeavor in which the the city entered a lease-to-own deal for a downtown high rise. The deal was quickly engulfed in scandal and asbestos. After years of lawsuits and a criminal investigation…

It wouldn’t be a presidential election year without a massive list of ballot measures. But a big one that would have stuck it to San Diego Gas & Electric's power supremacy was stalled — in large part because of a labor union. This week, we discuss a feud between SDG&E and public power proponents that played out in front of a San Diego City Council …

There was always a theory that if we were going to legalize cannabis, the people who used to get in trouble for selling it should get a chance to sell it again. The city of San Diego secured a grant to give people like that a leg up. But now it looks like they'll have to send the grant money back. This week, host Andrea Lopez-Villafaña shares an up…

It was a big week for things that used to be things. The Republican Party of San Diego County, once a local political juggernaut, lost its chairwoman after an internal battle over Carl DeMaio, who is running for state Assembly against Andrew Hayes. Despite DeMaio’s efforts to drag a Democrat to the runoff, he will face Hayes, a fellow Republican. T…

Tiara Gray was bright. She was artsy, well-written — an old soul in a young body, people said. She was from the Appalachian region of Maryland, a small place with few prospects for what many consider "good careers." Gray scored high on an aptitude test that caught the attention of the U.S. Navy. For Gray, like many people across the country, the mi…

For a long time, Voice has followed the tale of school in Logan Heights. The school has changed names and faces in recent years. It’s got an impressive new building. It used to be called Logan Memorial Prep, now it’s Logan Memorial Educational Campus. Logan Memorial has served generations of residents. And through that time it has modified its educ…

Three propositions on the November ballot could change everything across the state of California. This week, we discuss three props that are having direct conversations with each other. They're all about taxes — and how hard it should be for voters to pass them. The outcome of these props also impacts local measures that are moving forward to boost…

This week, the San Diego City Council voted to explore the creation of a special tax district. Some called it "a major subsidy" to a large-scale project that would redevelop Sports Arena and the surrounding area. This special tax district could generate extra funds to make the big project possible, especially for all the extra infrastructure needed…

The March Primary seemed like a boring lemon but we’re going to squeeze some juice out of it. The VOSD Podcast is not the place for your Biden-Trump angst or opinions of how "feisty" the State of the Union was. This is the place for commentary on the city attorney "vibes vote," and to drill down Council districts and mayoral candidates. This week, …

Gird your loins! It's Primary time. This week, on the last podcast before the March 5 election, we run through the ballot — from U.S. Senate to City Council. The electorate seems unenthused. Politico reports this election is on track for record-low turnout. And it kind of makes sense. California voters aren't tipping the scales on the Presidential …

Last week, senior investigative reporter Will Huntsberry reported that some residents in southeastern San Diego have lost trust in local government. Staff at the San Diego mayor’s office called that reporting “dangerous.” This week, we discuss the original story, how residents felt about the city's neglect during the January floods, and responses b…

It’s Mailer Season! And we are reaching novel levels of creativity. This week, we perform high-level media criticism — LOL — on recent political mailers and materials that employed new, subversive strategies. From County Supervisor to the San Diego Mayor's race, we have a new evolution of local politics playing out by mail. And billboard. And lawn …

A throng of VOSD Podcast nerds nestled into the Modern Times Beer + Coffee outpost in Midway this week. Our pod crew was ready to dive headfirst into big city projects, taxes and fees. But first, we brought up Voice environment reporter MacKenzie Elmer and a resident she recently profiled. During the Jan. 22 storm, Jesse Preciado dove into rising f…