South County Democrats are increasingly willing to go against environmentalists, writes our Jim Hinch.
Hinch points to a handful of South Bay leaders who have supported a range of policies, from dialing back the state’s landmark Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, to loosening emission regulations and taking on the state’s powerful Coastal Commission.
The sea change in the South Bay shows how Democratic politicians are now being forced to choose between competing priorities: protecting the environment and stemming the state’s cost-of-living crisis.
Lawmakers in the South Bay — from Assemblymembers David Alvarez and LaShae Sharp-Collins to others — are starting to choose their constituents’ wallets.
“I come from an environmental justice community where we suffer from some of the highest levels of asthma and hospitalization rates suffering from air quality issues,” Alvarez said. “[But] people in communities I represent want to see housing opportunities for their kids…They say, ‘Where are my kids going to live?’”
How Much to Park at Balboa Park
Balboa Park on March 24, 2025. / Ariana Drehsler for Voice of San Diego
Mayor Todd Gloria has released new details on the city’s plan to charge Balboa Park visitors for parking.
Here’s what we know about the proposal:
- The city would install parking meters on the following streets: Balboa Drive, Presidents Way, Quince Drive, Village Place, Juniper Street, Park Boulevard, El Prado, and Sixth Avenue. The rate for these would be $2.50 an hour.
- A fee would also apply to the park’s 12 off-street lots. The proposal mentions a fee tier system. (Details on the tier system are still TBD.)
- San Diego residents would be eligible for a 50 percent discount off the highest-tier rate. The city plans to create an “account-based” permit.
- The city is working on a separate solution for park employees and volunteers.
The City Council will hear the proposal at the end of July. If approved, the meters could be installed in fall 2025.
North County Report: Del Mar Wants Its Zoning Power Back
People walk near the ocean in Del Mar on Jan. 2, 2024. / Photo by Ariana Drehsler
Del Mar has joined the North County cities of Encinitas, Oceanside and San Marcos in endorsing a plan to bring land-use and zoning control back to cities, reports our Tigist Layne.
The four cities have endorsed a ballot measure called Our Neighborhood Voices which would change the state constitution by giving cities, rather than the state, the ultimate authority on where and how much housing can be built.
“The mayor and I truly believe in affordable housing,” one councilmember said. “We’re advocates for that, but we’re also advocates of having accurate numbers and being able to maintain some of the things that are unique to this area… and that’s our community character, and I think that’s under assault as well.”
Read the full North County Report here.
Carl DeMaio speaks at a Recall Newsom event in Escondido on Sept. 14, 2021. / Photo by Adriana Heldiz
Republican Assemblymember Carl DeMaio is once again promoting a proposed statewide ballot initiative, despite his habit of not submitting any signatures to have them actually qualify for the ballot.
On Tuesday, DeMaio launched a new effort to get a statewide voter ID ballot initiative on the ballot in 2026. It would require the state to verify proof of citizenship when a person registers to vote, and voters would have to provide identification at the polls.
It’s identical to a ballot initiative DeMaio promoted in 2023 and another one in 2021, but DeMaio submitted zero signatures for those ballot initiatives to the Secretary of State, automatically disqualifying them from election ballots.
In fact, Voice of San Diego previously reported that DeMaio has promoted but failed to deliver any signatures on five total ballot measures since 2015.
DeMaio said it was part of a larger strategy to lay the groundwork for the initiative to qualify for the 2026 election ballot. Read more about that here.
In Other News
- Chula Vista’s trash strike ended Wednesday, but the walkout could be heading to Kearny Mesa, where striking Boston sanitation workers picketed outside the offices of waste hauler Republic Services. Trash service had been interrupted in Chula Vista since last week, when unionized Republic Services employees walked off the job in solidarity with workers in Boston. (NBC 7)
- TikTok brain is real and San Diego State University researchers are proving that how much time we spend on the app changes the way we consume news. (KPBS)
- A two decade fight to demolish a dilapidated commercial building in Ramona has been won. The main street eyesore is scheduled to see its last day July 23. (Union-Tribune)
The Morning Report was written by Will Huntsberry, Mariana Martínez Barba, Tigist Layne, Jim Hinch and Tessa Balc. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña.