{"id":160863,"date":"2025-08-20T10:31:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T10:31:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/160863\/"},"modified":"2025-08-20T10:31:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T10:31:11","slug":"morning-report-can-san-diegans-break-up-with-cars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/160863\/","title":{"rendered":"Morning Report: Can San Diegans Break Up with Cars?"},"content":{"rendered":"

San Diego, like much of Southern California, is a car city. Always has been. And there are good reasons for that. The city\u2019s public transportation options are neither quicker nor easier to access.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For our series on what\u2019s at stake for San Diego over the next 20 years, Bella Ross writes that as climate change (driven in part by, well, driving) barrels down on us, the average citizen\u2019s behavior needs to change \u2013 and fast.<\/p>\n

San Diego\u2019s leaders have a plan. It\u2019s one that prioritizes public transportation, safer infrastructure and increased walkability. But it would also require the average San Diegan to drive a whole lot less.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s part of the problem. Because when the rubber has hit the road, San Diegans, and the politicians who represent them have been entirely unwilling to commit to many of the big changes that would entail. Chiefly, getting out from behind the wheel.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But as the date gets later, and the plans get tighter, we\u2019ll all have to come to grips with just how much carrot and how much stick we\u2019re willing to accept to achieve the goals we say matter over the next 20 years. Or, you know, we can just not.<\/p>\n

Read the full story here.\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

This story is part of our new series celebrating Voice of San Diego\u2019s 20th anniversary: <\/strong>What\u2019s at stake for the region over the next two decades? Read more stories in the series here.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Dems Pick a New Chair<\/p>\n

Will Rodriguez-Kennedy will once again lead the San Diego Democratic Party after a vote of the Central Committee. He defeated Sara Ochoa by a vote 37-27. He needed 34 votes to reach the necessary threshold. <\/p>\n

Three years ago, Rodriguez-Kennedy resigned from the same job amid accusations of sexual assault he was able to move past. He said his biggest priority is to reach voters who supported former President Joe Biden in San Diego in 2020 but either did not vote or didn\u2019t vote for former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to acknowledge the reality that our party is demanding a fighter \u2014 they\u2019re demanding a party that fights for them, listens to them, and talks about the issues that address their everyday life: how to get better jobs, how to put food on the table, how to have a better quality of life, how to address the housing crisis,\u201d he said in a Q&A with us<\/a> this weekend.<\/p>\n

San Diegans Kinda Suck at Composting\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Armando Alferez, left, separates trash and other items from a pile of compost at Miramar Greenery on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. \/ Zo\u00eb Meyers for Voice of San Diego<\/p>\n

Yesterday, our environment reporter spent the morning at the dump.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Well, the city of San Diego\u2019s Miramar Greenery to be exact, to watch as a group of people handpicked trash bags, pizza boxes and other garbage from compost piles.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Turns out, San Diegans have been dumping garbage in their green bins, which are only meant for yard clippings and food waste. The city recently ran a pilot program that involved formerly homeless individuals digging through compost piles to pick out trash.<\/p>\n

Now, they will have to consider whether they need to hire people to pick trash on a regular basis.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read the full story here.\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Newly Homeless Once Again Outnumber Newly Housed<\/strong><\/p>\n

The number of newly homeless San Diegans outpaced those exiting homelessness last month.<\/p>\n

In July, the Regional Task Force on Homelessness reported<\/a> that 1,176 people became homeless for the first time and 1,079 moved into housing.<\/p>\n

Your monthly reminder: <\/strong>For most of the last few years, local efforts to house homeless residents haven\u2019t kept up with the flood<\/a> of people losing their homes. That equation must change to dramatically reduce homelessness.<\/p>\n

Song of the Week<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Sorcerer Family, \u201cHell In Mirrors\u201d<\/strong><\/a>: <\/strong>Betcha\u2019 never thought a ukulele could sound ominous before, huh? Well, just give The Sorcerer Family<\/a> a listen. Sam Lopez, formerly of the pitch-black noise project Zsa Zsa Gabor<\/a>, crafts meditative, discordant and tantalizingly mysterious tunes on a slightly fuzzy electric ukulele. His technical and unorthodox playing recalls traditional folk styles lost to the ages. And at times, it really does feel like he\u2019s prying open a secret door shrouded in mist, behind which lies some spirit whose return was long foretold, but whose power has been forgotten.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Best enjoyed by candlelight. Heck, light a dozen.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Like what you hear?<\/strong> Check out The Sorcerer Family at The Comet Theatre on Friday, Aug. 22<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Do you have a \u201cSong of the Week\u201d suggestion?<\/strong> Shoot us an email<\/a> and a sentence or two about why you\u2019ve been bumping this song lately. Friendly reminder: all songs should be by local artists.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Other News\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n