San Diego, CA
Analysis: Will Grammy Awards strike right or wrong note in fire-wracked Los Angeles?
The show will go on for the 2025 Grammy Awards in fire-ravaged Los Angeles, where Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar are among the top nominees. But should it?
There are no easy answers to this question. The issues it brings up have been increasingly pondered since the Jan. 13 announcement that the 67th edition of the Grammys will take place as scheduled on Sunday, Feb. 2 — and that the telecast is being revamped to raise funds for wildfire relief efforts and pay tribute to first responders.
That is a noble goal for the Recording Academy — under whose auspices the music industry’s most diverse and prestigious annual awards fete is held — following the unimaginably horrific destruction its host city has suffered this month.
But how challenging will it be to celebrate what has long been billed as “music’s biggest night” and to honor musicians at a time when so many in Los Angeles now find themselves struggling, homeless, bereft, or some combination of all three?
And how open to celebrating will Beyoncé, Swift and the other presumed winners be, let alone the untold number of Los Angeles area music-industry professionals who suddenly find themselves unemployed because the recording studios, music venues and other places of work have been shuttered or destroyed?
The possible answers are difficult to quantify — and have stoked speculation and controversy — as multiple fires continue to burn in and near Los Angeles County, while much needed rainfall is possible this weekend.
In a Jan. 15 statement, Recording Academy CEO/President Harvey Mason Jr. acknowledged the gravity of the situation so many in and around Los Angeles are facing. The same statement announced that all but a handful of the academy’s annual Grammy week events are being canceled this year.
‘The power of music’
“We understand how devastating this past week has been on this city and its people,” said Mason, who has been a powerful agent of positive change at the academy.
“This is our home, it’s home to thousands of music professionals, and many of us have been negatively impacted. So, after thoughtful consideration and multiple assurances from state and local elected leaders, public safety agencies and with support from our incredible artist community, we have decided to go ahead with the Grammy telecast and some select events. Grammy Week 2025 will not just be about honoring music, it will be about using the power of music to help rebuild, uplift and support those in need.”
That is admirable, certainly. And the Recording Academy has — through its MusiCares charity organization — raised more than $100 million to provide assistance to musicians and other music-industry workers facing financial, medical and personal hardships, including addiction recovery and disaster relief.
This year’s all-star MusiCares fundraising concert on Friday, Jan. 31, at the Los Angeles Convention Center will salute the band the Grateful Dead. It, too, is being revamped with the goal of raising even more money for fire victims.
The Recording Academy and MusiCares have thus far raised and pledged more than $2 million in emergency aid to members of the music community affected by the wildfires, following the launch of the organizations’ Los Angeles Fire Relief Effort to Support Music Professionals.
But the academy appears to be stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to this year’s Grammy Awards. And the decision to adapt what it calls a “condensed” schedule of 2025 Grammy week events came a day after — not before — Spotify, Billboard magazine and such major record companies as Sony, Universal, BMG and Warner Music Group all announced they were canceling their annual Grammy week events out of deference for the victims of the wildfires.
One of the first companies to cancel its 2025 Grammy party was Milk & Honey Management, which has offices in Los Angeles, Nashville, New York, Dallas, London and Sydney.
“It would be tone deaf to celebrate and I hope all other companies will follow suit,” said Milk & Honey Founder/President Lucas Keller in an Instagram post.
It’s important to note that Keller was referring to Grammy parties being “tone deaf,” not the Grammy telecast itself. But the bigger issue comes down to a simple — and, apparently, complex — matter of timing.
This month has seen the announcement of the 2025 Oscars nominees pushed back several times until today, while the Oscars telecast is still set to take place as scheduled — more than a month from now — on March 2. Other annual Hollywood events celebrating the film industry have been postponed “until further notice,” or canceled altogether, along with some film and TV premieres. But the Grammy Awards are not being pushed back.
Beyoncé prays ‘for healing’
On Jan. 13, Beyoncé — who this year has a field-leading 11 Grammy nominations — announced her foundation’s donation of $2.5 million to the LA Fire Relief Fund. She also postponed a major announcement that had been scheduled for the same day (most likely regarding a new concert tour in support of her groundbreaking “Cowboy Carter” album).
In a statement on social media, Beyoncé attributed her postponement to the “devastation caused by the ongoing wildfires around areas of Los Angeles. I continue to pray for healing and rebuilding for the families suffering from trauma and loss. We are so blessed to have brave first responders who continue to work tirelessly to protect the Los Angeles community.”
In an Instagram post on Jan. 16, Swift announced she had made donations to 10 fire relief organizations, including MusiCares and Habitat for Humanity.
“The fires in California have devastated so many families, and it’s been heartbreaking to see these stories unfold. So much suffering, loss, and destruction,” Swift wrote in a post on Instagram. “These are the organizations I’ve donated to. If you feel compelled or able to donate, please do.”
Also on Jan. 16, Canadian pop star The Weeknd postponed the release of his new album and canceled his planned Jan. 25 concert at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The stadium is now being used as a home base for temporarily housing and feeding more than 3,000 first responders that have been battling the nearby Eaton fire.
On Jan. 18, The Weeknd donated $1 million to fire relief charities. “My focus remains on supporting the recovery of these communities and aiding its incredible people as they rebuild,” he said in a statement on social media.
The Recording Academy’s focus is clearly much the same in its pivot to making next weekend’s Grammy events fundraising-driven, rather than just the usual festive celebration. But would it have been more prudent to postpone the telecast by at least a few weeks?
That is precisely what the academy has done twice before.
In 2021, the COVID pandemic led to the telecast being moved from January to March, when it was held without an audience. In 2022, a surge in COVID Omicron variant cases saw that year’s telecast postponed from Jan. 31 at Crypto.com Arena (formerly known as Staples Center) in Los Angeles to April 3 at MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas. That was also where the 2022 edition of MusiCares, which feted Joni Mitchell, was held.
“We have a Plan (A) and a Plan B, for January,” Grammy honcho Mason said in a Union-Tribune interview in November 2021. Two months later, in January 2022, he announced that the telecast was being postponed until that April and moved to Las Vegas.
The ratings for the 2022 Grammys telecast were up 2.1 percent over the ratings for the 2021 telecast, which saw Beyoncé and Swift both make history with their respective wins.
The 2021 iteration was, as I noted in my review, “the first edition of the Grammys to take place without an audience, apart from the honorees who performed and applauded each other. It was also the first to be held in and around the 720,000-square-foot Los Angeles Convention Center — standing in for the adjacent Staples Center, the usual site for the 3-1/2-hour awards marathon — and the first where nearly all but a few awards were presented outdoors on one of the center’s balcony.”
Clearly, the academy knows how to pivot in trying circumstances. It did the same in 2020, when — only 10 days before the Grammys telecast — the academy weathered a firestorm of controversy over the sudden ouster of Mason’s predecessor, Deborah Dugan, amid charges of corruption, discrimination and sexual assault. Alicia Keys did a commendable job of deftly hosting the 2020 telecast, which took place the same day that Los Angeles basketball legend Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash.
Costly litigation ensued, although apart from receiving bad press, the fallout was felt largely within the academy, not as it is this year with the numbing loss of life, property and livelihoods across the greater Los Angeles area.
Of course, the Grammys telecast and livestream go out to a national and international viewing audience that numbers in the tens of millions, not just to Los Angeles residents. And the fact that so many Los Angelenos are in dire need, both in and outside of the music industry, bolsters the case for holding the Grammys and MusiCares to raise money to help those in need.
In any year, the telecast and MusiCares provide employment for hundreds of stagehands, audio and lighting technicians, TV production crews, managers, publicists, ushers, security guards, caterers and others who need a paycheck more than ever before. This also holds true for the employees at nearby hotels where out-of-town Grammy attendees will be staying, as well as for limo, taxi, Uber and Lyft drivers, restaurant workers, and others whose livelihoods stem in large part from tourism.
Hope and harmony
Music, at its best, can uplift and unify. It can lift spirits and provide hope and harmony in times of tragedy and need. It can simultaneously entertain, enlighten and bring attention to worthy causes. It can provide a few hours of escape, if not relief, when we are reeling from soul-sapping events.
But is it insensitive, if not tone-deaf, to hold the usually star-studded Grammy Awards so soon after the horrific fires that have displaced tens of thousands of people — fires that, as of this writing, 10 days before the Grammy telecast, are still burning?
What tone will returning host Trevor Noah, who was only announced Tuesday and is himself a Best Comedy Album nominee this year, strike?
How will the performers — none of whom were announced before the midday Thursday deadline for this article — strike a tone that is suitably sensitive and serious at an event that is typically upbeat and glitzy?
How many attendees from other cities and states will feel comfortable if claiming the hotel rooms they reserved means the ouster of displaced Los Angeles residents, who are unable to return to their homes, or have no homes to return to?
It is also unclear whether the delay in announcing any performers so close to the telecast suggests a reluctance to appear on the part of Swift and Beyoncé, this year’s two most prominent nominees, or any other top contenders. The absence of these two megastars — who for the first time since 2010 are vying against each other for the Album of the Year award — could impact viewership.
Nearly every question posed leads to more questions. None of them are easily answered.
The bottom line, then, may be whether the credibility of the Grammy Awards and its ability to raise money for fire victims is helped, or hindered, by going ahead as scheduled on Feb. 2. Here’s hoping it’s the former.
The 67th annual Grammy Awards
Hosted by: Trevor Noah
Featuring performances by: No performers were announced prior to the midday Thursday deadline for this article.
When: 5 p.m. next Sunday, Feb. 2, on KFMB Channel 8, Paramount+ and Showtime
2025 Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony
Featuring: No performers or hosts were announced prior to the midday Thursday deadline for this article.
When: 12:30 p.m. next Sunday, Feb. 2. on grammy.com and the Grammy YouTube channel
Originally Published:
San Diego, CA
Automated license plate readers and public surveillance cameras are coming to Imperial Beach
The city of Imperial Beach will soon install four Automated License Plate Readers and two additional “public safety cameras” in hopes of improving public safety.
On June 3, Imperial Beach city councilmembers voted to enter into an agreement with the San Diego Sheriff’s Office to place four license plate readers manufactured by surveillance giant Flock Safety at four proposed intersections, and they will also install two cameras in the city to monitor for criminal behavior.
The cameras, part of a two-month pilot program, seek to improve public safety in the South Bay coastal town.
The four proposed locations for the license plate cameras are Imperial Beach Boulevard and 13th Street, Palm Avenue and 13th Street, 13th Street and Elm and 9th Street and Elm Ave.
The proposed locations for the public cameras are on the median of Palm Avenue and 8th Street, Palm Avenue and Seacoast Drive and Imperial Beach Boulevard and Seacoast Drive.
For the license plate readers, city staff said they have proven their usefulness in cities and unincorporated areas throughout San Diego County for years.
“[License Plate Reader] technology has contributed to multiple arrests, including identifying suspects’ vehicles involved in retail thefts, gas station thefts, and vehicle burglaries. [License Plate Readers] have also assisted in identifying a suspect vehicle in an international hit-and-run homicide in Lemon Grove and a vehicle involved in a [pellet] gun case in Encinitas,” reads the city’s staff report to the city council.
City staff said the Sheriff’s Office recommends a total of eight license plate readers, but the city opted for four.
“This is a pilot program. We have to consider the trade-off of privacy for security,” said public speaker Vivian Dunbar. “People have been falsely arrested and falsely identified through the use of these cameras.”
Imperial Beach Mayor Pro-Tem Jack Fisher said that while he understands the privacy concerns, the benefits outweigh any negatives. “This is one of those programs where IB is not leading the charge. A few weeks back, everyone was aware of the tragedy that happened at the Islamic Center of San Diego and the license plate readers were key in tracking those individuals down. It’s good for us to do our part.”
Added Fisher, “The era of big brother has passed, if you have a cell phone, you know there is already tracking.”
The council unanimously voted in favor of the pilot program.
Utility man Samad Taylor was selected to the Major League roster from Triple-A El Paso in a corresponding move.
Tuesday night was a tale of two parties. Two election night parties.
At Liberty Station’s Stone Brewing, a small coterie of Democratic elected officials and functionaries and a larger coterie of news media shuffled around trying to make sense of the lackluster returns trickling in.
Meanwhile, at downtown’s US Grant Hotel, a much more spirited collection of Republican operatives and supporters laughed and drank in a blindingly-lit convention room, backed by a pianist’s rendition of “Billie Jean.”
The takeaway seemed clear: this was a not-so-great night for San Diego’s Democratic in-group. Chula Vista’s Republican mayor had a huge lead over his Democratic opponent. A tax on second homes lagged behind in the vote count. And several Republicans seemed to make it out of crowded primary fields in local races.
Hell, even if it was only a just-OK night for Republicans – that still seemed worth celebrating to them.
Normally we now get long stretches of days, even weeks of fingernail-biting anticipation as the county so slowly tallies the rest of the votes. But there doesn’t appear to be many close races to watch this time around. There are a couple. We start at the top:
It’s Becerra vs. Hilton
As of 11 p.m., with more than 50 percent of votes counted, it appeared that a Republican and Democrat — rather than two Democrats — would make it through to the general election. Steve Hilton and Xavier Becerra led the race, with billionaire Tom Steyer on the outside looking in. The New York Times has a nice tracker here.
Empty Homes Tax Goes Down
Measure A presented a simple choice. What do voters in the city of San Diego have more disdain for – people with enough money to own a second home they leave empty, or new taxes? Turns out, it’s additional taxes. For now, at least.
Championed by Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera, Measure A would have placed a tax on homes left vacant for more than half of the year. It was pitched as a way to both raise badly needed revenue for the city and, potentially, make available badly-needed housing.
As of Tuesday evening, the measure’s prospects looked grim, with about 58 percent of voters casting a ‘No’ vote. It will become the second citywide tax increase rejected by voters in as many years. Despite the poor showing, intern Naomi Granata found the pitch resonated with some voters in North Park.
San Diego County Assessor-Recorder-Clerk Jordan Marks was one of a number of local electeds who came out in opposition of the tax. He said the city’s housing problems couldn’t be solved by what he called “bad taxes.”
“This result reflects that Sean Elo-Rivera and the City Council have lost the trust of the public and that voters are reading the fine print,” Marks said.
Elo-Rivera said it wasn’t looking good, but he was hopeful the picture would improve. Ultimately, he thought the money spent opposing the tax — and the distorted message he felt it sent — was too big to overcome.
“There was an enormous amount of money spent, and not just money spent, but money spent to trick voters into thinking that something was going to impact them that wasn’t,” Elo-Rivera said.
No Ammar
Republican County Supervisor Jim Desmond led the way in the 48th Congressional District on Tuesday night.
What we were waiting for is the candidate who would go with him to the runoff. It will attract a ton of national attention and money. It was one of the seats made more competitive by Democrats in the special redistricting vote last year.
San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert and Ammar Campa-Najjar, squared off for a chance to wrest the seat out of longtime Republican control. With 53 percent reporting, von Wilpert held a commanding lead over Campa-Najjar. The councilmember will advance to face Desmond in November.
On the ground in the district, reporter Tigist Layne found that the national politics that led to the redistricting fight were also front and center on voters’ minds as they headed into vote.
Bailey vs. Crosby in Coastal Council District
Former Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey and Deputy City Attorney Nicole Crosby will advance to the November election in District 2 of the San Diego City Council.
Bailey, a Republican-turned-Independent, seemed destined to finish in the top two after he attracted significant attention on social media. The race for the second spot was more uncertain. Josh Coyne, like Crosby, attracted significant Democratic support. And Mandy Havlik — a more development-resistant candidate — also had strong grassroots support in Point Loma.
Our new intern Fiona Bork talked to voters in District 2, which covers the city’s southern coastline, who said that affordability was the most important issue. Exactly how that explained their electoral choices differed by a lot. One voter said Coyne’s market-driven approach to building more housing appealed to him. Another liked Havlik’s approach to limiting vacation rentals. A third voted for Bailey because she wanted less development and more public transit. It seems unlikely that Bailey, who is fiscally conservative, would support massively expanding public transit options. Read the full story here.
City Council District 4: The race for southeastern San Diego’s council district featured three candidates: incumbent Henry Foster, Martha Abraham and Johnny Lee Dang.
Abraham was highly critical of Foster in her campaign and that seemed to resonate well with voters. At the latest count, she led Foster by several hundred votes.
Foster has many supporters in the district, but the city’s handling of catastrophic flooding in January 2024 — among other issues — has led to massive distrust of City Hall.
Council District 6: Incumbent Kent Lee had one prominent opponent, Mark Powell, who is a former member of the County Board of Education. They will both make the runoff but Lee got 55 percent of the vote in early counting.
City Council District 8: San Ysidro School Board Member Antonio Martinez and current District 8 chief of staff, Gerardo Ramirez, lead in this race — which was crowded with Democrats. Venus Molina, who serves as the chief of staff to Councilmember Jennifer Campbell, trailed closely behind in third place. This is one of the races close enough to change as the registrar continues counting votes. Molina’s count improved slightly as the night went on.
Our South County reporter, Jim Hinch, spoke with voters outside the Otay Mesa/Nestor Branch Library. One voter told Hinch she voted for Molina because she liked that she is local and a single mother. Read the full story here.
Election Watch Party Bonus: Ramirez’ supporters and family gathered at the Landing Strip, a bar and restaurant at Brown Field Municipal Airport, to watch results roll in. They broke out into applause when results showed him coming in second.
“For some of the folks it might seem like ‘hey man’ you’re second place, but we’re in there. This is a huge, wonderful sign,” said Ramirez.
DeMaio’s Gonna Gloat
Two local elections were something of a proxy battle between two warring factions of the Republican Party. Assemblymember Carl DeMaio’s team won, again. Every time local Republican leaders unite to oppose him or the people he supports, DeMaio wins. This time it was about two races: the one to replace County Supervisor Jim Desmond and the one to replace State Sen. Brian Jones.
In the county supervisor race: San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones left no doubt she would make it to the runoff. The only remaining question is who will face her — Vista Mayor John Franklin or Kyle Krahel, the former chair of the Democratic Party. After the first votes were counted, Krahel held a slight advantage with 20 percent of the vote compared to Franklin’s 19 percent. DeMaio went all in for Jones and she led the field with more than 41 percent of the vote.
In the state Senate race: As expected, former San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott made the runoff for the state Senate District 40 seat. She got nearly 45 percent of the votes counted so far. The real question was who would go with her. That Republican battle between Kristie Bruce-Lane and San Marcos City Councilmember Ed Musgrove seems to have also gone DeMaio’s way with Bruce-Lane holding a 4.7-percentage-point advantage over Musgrove.
That’s not enough of a gap to call the race but it’s significant.
Teachers Union Pushed Barrera to Runoff in Statewide Race
The race for State Superintendent of Public Instruction became something of a flex test for the state’s largest teachers union. Could the California Teachers Association almost singlehandedly lift a relatively unknown San Diego board member over a bevvy of better financed, higher profile candidates? Yup. Easily.
Fueled by nearly $5 million in spending from the state’s largest teachers union, longtime San Diego Unified Trustee and labor-darling Richard Barrera sailed to a convincing second place finish in the race for state supe. In his nearly two decades as the power behind the throne of the second largest district in the state, Barrera has engineered a progressive labor friendly transformation that the union hopes can be taken statewide.
He will now face off against Republican Chino Valley Trustee Sonja Shaw in November.
Brews and News + Your Chance to Win Padres Tickets
Meet our team and get an election debrief at our Brews & News Live Podcast at Soda Bar on Thursday, June 11. We will be joined by San Diego City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera. Get your tickets here and you’ll be automatically entered to win two tickets to a Padres game. Winners will be announced at the event.
Obligatory note: No purchase or payment of any kind is necessary to enter or win the Brews and News Live Podcast Giveaway. A ticket purchase or donation will not increase chances of winning. All applicable federal, state, local and municipal laws, rules, and regulations apply. Void where prohibited by law.
In Other News
- Opinion: A retired lifeguard finds irony in SDG&E’s stance on residents putting solar panels on their balconies. The company once argued against rooftop solar because it was unfair to renters, but now, he writes, “a low-cost system allows most of those same people access to solar, but SDG&E seeks to deny them as well.” (ICYMI: Our MacKenzie Elmer wrote that plugging in such a device could put her at risk of getting her power cut.)
- San Diego County officials warned South Bay residents to limit their exposure to the outdoors after a broken pipe spilled millions of gallons of sewage into the Tijuana River. (Union-Tribune)
- NBC 7 reports that a judge ruled that the city of San Diego illegally collected parking ticket late fees for three years.
- About that cross-border tunnel: The U.S. Attorney’s office says a recently discovered, massive tunnel stretching from Tijuana to Otay Mesa leads to a fake store in the southern San Diego neighborhood. Four people have been charged in connection with drug trafficking linked to the tunnel.
The Morning Report was written by Jakob McWhinney, Mariana Martínez Barba and Will Huntsberry. It was edited by Will Huntsberry, Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña and Scott Lewis.
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