Voice of San Diego

Internal County Review of Contractor Debacle Spotlights Oversight Shortcomings A county review of the nonprofit caught up in criminal misappropriation scandal uncovered a slew of issues, including issues with county oversight.

A San Diego County review of the nonprofit caught up in criminal misappropriation scandal uncovered a slew of issues, including with county oversight. Here's my story on the probe the county only released after @voiceofsandiego.org threatened to sue for it.

Can San Diego Drivers Get Ticketed for Parking at a Broken Meter? City staff say you will not be cited if none of the payment methods are working, but your safest bet is to find another spot.

What are you supposed to do when a parking meter is broken?

We asked the city.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/03/10/c...

Border Report: Tijuana Women March for Gender Justice The annual demonstration 8M on March 8, International Women's Day, brought together women of all ages in Tijuana.

Women marched across Tijuana this weekend to bring attention to the disproportionate killing of women in Mexico.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/03/09/b...

Sacramento Report: Assemblymember Takes Over Education Committee Assemblymember Darshana Patel on her new role as chair of the powerful Assembly Education Committee.

The powerful Assembly Education Committee has a new chair as the state navigates a new era of education governance.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/03/06/s...

Opinion: Good Government Happens in the Sunshine Supervisor Joel Anderson is proposing new guidelines to make ad hoc subcommittees more open to the public.

As the role of subcommittees in shaping local policy grows, consistent transparency guidelines are needed, Supervisor Joel Anderson explains in a new op-ed.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/03/09/g...

County Supervisor Wants to Shine Spotlight on Secret Subcommittees For months, two Democratic county supervisors have met behind the scenes to discuss ways the county can respond to the fiscal challenges it predicts ahead.   A Republican supervisor wants to […]

Two Democratic supervisors have been meeting behind the scenes to discuss the county’s fiscal troubles.

A Republican supervisor wants to make those talks public.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/03/09/c...

Cup of Chisme: The Best Schools in San Diego? When I first started working here, someone told me Voice of San Diego was like a prickly cactus. It’s nice to look at but no one wants to get too […]

Last week, Voice of San Diego took a brief break from hard news to give kudos to local schools that are employing novel solutions to big problems.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/03/08/c...

Members Only Access Thank you for your interest in Voice of San Diego. You’re trying to access information that is available only to our members.  If you would like to receive access to […]

Member Exclusive: Here’s a play-by-play of last week’s Republican Party drama leading up to Rep. Darrell Issa’s decision to back down from his re-election bid.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/03/07/p...

Cops Crack Down on RV Living A lawsuit had prevented enforcement of the oversized vehicle ordinance. But cops have issued 3,000 tickets in the last several months.

San Diego Police have dramatically ramped up their efforts to crack down on people living out of RVs on city streets.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/03/06/c...

Nonprofit Deploying Overdose Reversal Drug for County Didn’t Pay Subcontractors, Staff for Months The former county contractor at the center of a misappropriation scandal stopped paying subcontractors and staff months before its former chief operating officer was hit with criminal charges.

Numerous local nonprofits and staffers that worked with the Harm Reduction Coalition say they went unpaid for months.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/03/06/n...

Fallbrook Union Fills Both Minds and Bellies, Defies Statistics Voice of San Diego is awarding Fallbrook Union Elementary School District with the ‘Dedicated District’ award.

Wrap-around services are key to the academic success of students in this North County school district.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/03/05/f...

College Preparatory Middle School Is Thriving in the Face of Adversity Voice of San Diego is awarding College Preparatory Middle School with the “Top Performing Middle School” award.

Leaders at San Diego County’s top-performing middle school say their aggressive approach to pandemic learning aided their students’ success.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/03/05/c...

South County Report: The Rehabilitation of Francisco Tamayo The school district trustee is running for Chula Vista mayor. Just a year ago, he was ‘nearing pariah status’ among fellow Dems. What changed?

Despite his troubled record, Chula Vista Democrats are rallying behind local school district trustee Francisco Tamayo’s mayoral bid.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/03/05/s...

What We Can Learn from a School Educating the Kids of Service Members Voice of San Diego is awarding San Onofre Elementary School with the ‘Top Performing Elementary School’ award.

How can educators accommodate the transient lifestyles of kids in military families?

This San Onofre school may have cracked the code.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/03/05/w...

Edison Elementary Continues to Defy the Odds Voice of San Diego recognizes Edison Elementary School as the best performing San Diego County school with a disproportionate percentage of English learners.

Edison Elementary in City Heights has figured out the secret sauce for catering to English-language learners.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/03/03/e...

Is Helix the Best High School in San Diego County? Helix High School students perform remarkably on basically every academic indicator – and have for years. What’s behind their success?

Helix Charter High School is excelling in basically every academic metric.

What’s their secret?
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/03/05/i...

The Learning Curve: Teachers Union Elections Heat Up As layoffs of classified staff roil the district, San Diego Unified’s teachers union elections are getting tense.

Hundreds of non-teaching San Diego Unified employees are on the chopping block as the district attempts to navigate a $49 million budget shortfall.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/03/04/t...

Mission Bay School Flipped the Script on Test Scores Out of all the schools in San Diego County, since 2021, Mission Bay High School has improved the most on our income vs. test score metric.

In just a few years, Mission Bay High School’s test scores did a 180.

How’d they do it?
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/03/04/m...

The Race to Lead San Diego County’s Second Largest City Just Got a Lot More Interesting Chula Vista Elementary School District Trustee Francisco Tamayo announced this week he is running to unseat Chula Vista Mayor John McCann. The move represents an effort by Democrats to reclaim…

Can the newset candidate in Chula Vista’s mayoral race turn around the Democrats’ softening hold on South County politics?
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/03/03/t...

Environment Report: A Conversation with San Diego’s ‘Bird Wizard’ The Natural History Museum’s newly-retired curator of birds and mammals on a lifetime of telling stories through winged creatures.

Your AI-powered birdsong app is probably getting in wrong, said local “bird wizard” Phil Unitt.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/03/02/e...

About that Fake Public Commenter at City Council The perfect villain turned up at a San Diego City Council committee meeting last week. Turns out, he wasn't real.

An insensitive comment decrying renters stirred up outrage online last week following a San Diego City Council committee hearing.

Turns out, it was a bit.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/03/03/a...

Sacramento Report: Another Rail Corridor Nothingburger The most recent legislative effort to address LOSSAN is coming up short.

An anticipated state report on how to address issues along Southern California’s main rail corridor has yet to manifest.

It was due last month.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/02/27/s...

Seniors Stay Longer at Homeless Shelters Than Others On average, seniors stay longer at homeless shelters than younger San Diegans. They have few housing options and work propsects.

At one downtown homeless shelter, the average length of a senior’s stay is almost two years.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/03/02/s...

Seniors Stay Longer at Homeless Shelters Than Others On average, seniors stay longer at homeless shelters than younger San Diegans. They have few housing options and work propsects.

Important story by my @voiceofsandiego.org colleague Mariana Martínez Barba: Homeless seniors are spending longer at city shelters than younger San Diegans. voiceofsandiego.org/2026/03/02/s...

Judge Orders Children's Hospital to Extend Trans Patient Care Gender-transition care must be provided at least through April 27.

A Superior Court judge ordered Rady Children’s Hospital to further extend its care offerings for transgender children through at least April amid federal threats.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/02/27/j...

South County Report: Controversy Over Chula Vista Chief Continues The controversy over Chula Vista Police Chief Roxana Kennedy shows no sign of abating.  Compounding the problem: There isn’t even agreement that Kennedy’s status at the police department is a…

Controversy continues to swirl around Chula Vista's police chief amid rumors city leaders are conspiring to oust her.

City leaders say the rumors "are entirely false.”
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/02/26/s...

Mexican Farmers Gave Up Water to Protect the Colorado River. They Claim Payment Is Still Due Mexicali farmers say they are still owed money as part of an international agreement in which they agreed to not use Colorado River water.

Mexicali farmers are protesting again, saying they haven’t been paid for the land they pulled out of production to help save the Colorado River.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/02/27/m...

Escondido Leaders Keep ICE Contract in Place Despite public outcry, Escondido leaders kept a federal contract that many residents fear could return the city to a divisive era.

Despite public outcry, Escondido leaders voted to keep a federal contract with ICE.

Many residents fear it could return the city to a divisive era.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/02/26/e...

North County Report: Saying Goodbye to a Beloved Strip Mall Carlsbad says goodbye to a local landmark. Plus, Escondido leaders are talking about that ICE contract tonight.

This week in North County: Carlsbad waves goodbye to a beloved strip mall, and Escondido officials face backlash over a contract with ICE.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/02/25/n...

San Ysidro Schools Gave Raises Despite Stern Budget Warning Education officials warned leaders of the San Ysidro School District that raises risked putting the district in jeopardy.The district approved the raises anyway. Leaders now are scrambling to avert…

San Ysidro School District was going broke. Trustees voted to give employees raises anyway.

Now the district is on the verge of insolvency.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/02/26/s...