Rady Children\u2019s Gender Transition Clinic Goes Underground<\/strong><\/p>\n Hospitals nationwide are shutting down their transgender medicine programs amid threats from the Trump administration.<\/p>\n Rady Children\u2019s Hospital San Diego is continuing to provide gender transition care to children but is staying quiet about it.<\/p>\n Voice of San Diego contributor Randy Dotinga writes that the children\u2019s hospital has shut down its clinic website and that its spokesperson refused to confirm that the clinic still exists.<\/p>\n Rady\u2019s moves to go underground come as hospitals face a series of tough choices. A Trump administration order \u2013 now on pause \u2013 suggested the federal government could pull Medicaid funding from hospitals that provide pediatric transgender care. Meanwhile, California Attorney General Rob Bonta threatened to take a Los Angeles hospital to court if it axed its program. Advocates are also divided on what hospitals should do.<\/p>\n Read the full story.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Encinitas City Councilmember Says He\u2019s \u2018Not Guilty\u2019\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Just one day after his criminal arraignment, Encinitas Councilmember Luke Shaffer had a message for his constituents: He is not guilty.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI do not believe these charges are warranted, and I\u2019m not guilty of the accusations that have been presented to the public,\u201d Shaffer said during a Wednesday City Council meeting. He added that the \u201cfalse accusations\u201d will not distract him from his work.\u00a0<\/p>\n We were the first to report<\/a> the District Attorney\u2019s office filed charges against Shaffer, including one charge of felony assault and two misdemeanors.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n Prosecutors allege that Shaffer got into a dispute with an Encinitas resident over trash bins that were blocking a parking spot the councilmember wanted. Deputy District Attorney Chandell Boyce said Shaffer backed his truck into the resident\u2019s outstretched palms, crushing one of his recycle bins in the process. Shaffer also allegedly told the resident that he\u2019d never get a permit from the city again.<\/p>\n The public reacts: <\/strong>Several public speakers addressed the Council, with one resident asking Shaffer to recuse himself from all votes until the matter makes its way through the courts. Other residents urged the public to let the legal process play out before assuming Shaffer is guilty.<\/p>\n South County Report: Smaller South Bay News Updates<\/strong><\/p>\n Every week, local governments get things done \u2013 and most of them don\u2019t make the news.<\/p>\n For this week\u2019s South County Report, our Jim Hinch rounded up smaller South Bay news developments.<\/p>\n Among them: a new animal services contract for Imperial Beach, a new student union at Southwestern College and e-bike information sessions in Chula Vista.<\/p>\n Read the full South County Report.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n AI Podcast plug\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n We\u2019ve written about how educators and local institutions are grappling with artificial intelligence.\u00a0<\/p>\n We\u2019re considering what to do about it too. Should Voice journalists be using AI to help with data-crunching or other tasks? If we do, how should we disclose that to you, lovely reader?<\/p>\n The Voice team decided to take our conversation public so you can hear what we\u2019re considering and weigh in.\u00a0<\/p>\n Listen to our special podcast episode.\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n San Diego Is Breaking Up with a Longtime Bae<\/strong><\/p>\n Is the city of San Diego finally ready to sever ties with a defining piece of cultural iconography that\u2019s uprooting our natural landscape? It seems like it.<\/p>\n We\u2019re talking about the Mexican fan palm. The non-native plant that maintains a death grip on Southern California\u2019s ecological landscape.<\/p>\n In this past year, we\u2019ve seen multiple canyon fires, propelled by these pesky out-of-towners. But within weeks of being burnt to a crisp, they seem to be doing just fine, resprouting green leaves. Our intern, Tessa Balc, has the scoop on why they regenerate so fast, what that means for your backyard and what the city is doing about it.<\/p>\n Check it out on our socials.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Politifest: How Do We Get the City We Want?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The city of San Diego is working through a massive structural deficit and huge gap between how much money the city has put aside for infrastructure maintenance and improvement and how much it needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Parks are falling apart, city residents routinely complain about streets and thousands of people remain homeless on the streets. What do we need to do to make San Diego a city people are proud of?<\/p>\n We\u2019ll explore visions for a San Diego of the future at Politifest 2025 with San Diego City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera<\/strong> and Aimee Faucett<\/strong>, former Mayor Kevin Faulconer\u2019s chief of staff.\u00a0<\/p>\n Get your tickets<\/strong><\/a> today.<\/strong><\/p>\n In Other News\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The Morning Report was written by Lisa Halverstadt, Tigist Layne and Tessa Balc. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafa\u00f1a.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Rady-Childrens-Hospital_0002-1024x683.jpg\")
Rady Children\u2019s Hospital in Kearny Mesa on Sept. 8, 2025. \/ Ariana Drehsler for Voice of San Diego<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Luke-Shaffer_0003-1024x683.jpg\")
Defense attorney Isaac Blumberg and Encinitas Councilmember Luke Shaffer during his arraignment at Superior Court North County Division in Vista on Sept. 9, 2025. \/ Ariana Drehsler for Voice of San Diego<\/p>\n\n