Despite San Diego’s abundant marine life, the region’s commercial fishing industry is in decline. 

In 2020, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography started an apprentice program to help reverse the trend — but the program has had mixed results, reports Deborah Brennan at our partner CalMatters.  

Globalization is partly to blame for the busted economics of San Diego’s fishing industry. Higher wages and stricter regulations in the U.S. mean that fish caught in other countries are often cheaper. A 2016 report found that just 10 percent of seafood consumed in San Diego is caught locally. 

Wages have plummeted for U.S. fishing captains and their crews in the last decade. A deckhand in San Diego can expect to earn between $15,000 and $50,000 per year. 

The apprentice program doesn’t just teach people to fish, but to navigate, repair engines and even business skills. It hasn’t been without success — despite a Covid hiatus. Of 11 graduates, 6 are still fishing. But some of the captains who said the program was necessary have also been reluctant to mentor apprentices. 

Peter Brownell used to be research director for San Diego’s Center for Policy Initiatives. He studied, incidentally, poverty. Wanting to transition away from a desk job, he entered the program and is now scratching out an existence on the water. 

“If you’re entirely reliant on commercial fishing for all your economic needs, that’s a hard puzzle to put all the pieces together to make that work consistently year after year,” he said. 

Read the full story here. 

Council Considers Junk Fee Ordinance

The San Diego City Council heard details of a proposed “junk fee” ordinance that would cap extra fees for renters and require landlords to disclose fees before a lease is signed.

The proposal, introduced by Councilmembers Sean Elo-Rivera and Henry Foster, would cap fees at no more than five percent of the price of rent. It would also prohibit things like charges for basic building operating expenses, such as pest control. 

“What I’ve heard is a general consensus around the transparency components and agreement that people should know what they’re going to be asked to pay,” said Elo-Rivera during a hearing on the fee Tuesday. “They should know that at the beginning of their search and before they sign a lease, not after.” 

The Council only heard details on the new proposal. It did not vote on the ordinance.

AI-Powered Humanoid Robots Take Over the Web

It’s always strange when a story you write starts spreading. This week, I’ve been watching it happen with a story we published about a local charter network that spent $500,000 on two ChatGPT-powered humanoid robots. 

I wasn’t shocked the story struck a nerve. It had a built-in, WTF factor that seemed guaranteed to draw eyeballs. But more importantly, it comes at a moment when people across the world are grappling with what it means to live alongside technology. It’s playing out in skirmishes over edtech, battles over data centers, and now the question of humanoid robots in the classroom.

The story has moved from the new media food chain. First came news aggregators like the New York Post, then aggregation scavengers you’ve never heard of, and now even AI aggregators, which create something akin to news hot dogs — if hot dogs used an excessive amount of subheads and bullet points.

Underneath that hollow feeding frenzy, though, are real, local news organizations. The reporters and editors report on the communities you love, because they love them too. If you haven’t already, you should consider supporting this one.

Rabbitholed

University Heights’ neon street sign — with its iconic trolley car logo — is set to go dark. 

Locals were warned recently that city workers plan to turn off the 30-year-old sign due to wear and tear. Burned-out neon had already left some portions of the sign nonfunctioning.

Members of the University Heights Community Association say the city’s to blame. They allege city officials have drained funds from the neighborhood’s Maintenance Assessment District, which would normally pay for repairs. Now, they’re pressuring the city to pony up for fixes.

But behind the faulty neon is the fascinating, 130-year-plus origin of the sign’s trolley logo. It commemorates a time before the city was carved up by freeways — and instead had a thriving network of streetcars extending from Ocean Beach to La Jolla and Chula Vista. Many of those cars were repaired at a warehouse located at the site of Trolley Barn Park, hence the name – and the sign.

The streetcar network had plenty of ups and downs, like when John Spreckles, the richest man in San Diego at the time and owner of the network, ordered his workers to secretly dig up the tracks under the cover of night due to a dispute with city officials. Here’s an interesting story about how the actual streetcars evolved over the years. 

The system ultimately went defunct in 1949.

What’s your take? Do you wish the city still had an urban streetcar system?

In Other News

• Two San Marcos residents say their homeowners association is violating their rights to fly American flags outside their home. But legal experts say people do have the right to fly their flags even in homes subject to rules by homeowners associations. (inewsource)
• Longer meetings are coming to San Diego City Hall. As part of a new set of policies to boost public participation, city officials will allow group presentations during online meetings. (Union-Tribune)
• Speaking of City Hall, the San Diego City Council will soon create an affordable housing preservation fund backed by $8.5 million. Along with other funding sources, the fund will work to preserve affordable housing. (KPBS)
• The former news director of KPBS, Terrence Shepherd, is suing the outlet, alleging he was wrongfully terminated after recommending a reporter be fired because they’d “staged a protest scene” during a television shot. Exactly what Shepherd’s claim of a “staged protest” entails isn’t entirely clear. A spokesperson for KPBS declined to comment on the situation. (Current)

The Morning Report was written by Jakob McWhinney, Mariana Martínez Barba and Will Huntsberry. It was edited by Will Huntsberry. 

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OPINION: Alaska’s LNG future requires creative thinking

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, July 1, 2026

Many Alaskans have grown increasingly skeptical that the proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline is not moving forward because of its escalating cost. Early estimates placed the project near $44 billion; more recent figures — though unofficial — suggest costs approaching $60 billion or more. When projects reach this scale, uncertainty alone can stall even the most ambitious development plans.

That uncertainty is reflected in the caution shown by Alaskan major energy companies such as Exxon, ConocoPhillips, and BP. Their hesitation is not surprising: projects of this magnitude carry significant capital exposure, and investors require a clear path to profitability before committing. In practical terms, that means LNG prices would need to be high enough to recover costs and provide returns, even in a global market where competing supply — including underdeveloped reserves in Russia and elsewhere — continues to exist.

This cost pressure is also evident in current negotiations with prospective project partners. Currently, one example is Glenfarne, which has reportedly emphasized that state corporate taxes would need to be waived as part of any development agreement. While tax incentives are common in large infrastructure deals, the scale of the requested waiver raises legitimate questions about long-term public benefit and fiscal sustainability.

Alaska has faced similar debates before. During the Trans-Alaska Pipeline negotiations, tax structures were part of the broader discussion, but they were not treated as a condition that undermined the project’s feasibility. More recently, companies such as Hilcorp — now a major operator in Cook Inlet following acquisitions from BP — have benefited from favorable operating conditions, as a sub chapter S Corp, and therefore tax exempt.

Yet declining natural gas production in Cook Inlet has already raised concerns about long-term energy security for the Anchorage region, underscoring the need for new reliable supply sources. The central question is: if a project is only viable with extensive tax waivers and escalating public concessions, does it truly serve Alaska’s long-term economic interests? The state relies heavily on a limited set of revenue streams to fund education, transportation, and public services, including the Alaska Highway System. At the same time, Permanent Fund Dividend levels have become increasingly constrained. Against that backdrop, LNG development is often presented as one of the few significant new revenue opportunities on the horizon.

However, waiving broad categories of taxation for a single project could set a dangerous precedent with long-term consequences. Alaska must balance the need to attract investment with the responsibility to maintain a stable and equitable revenue base.

Infrastructure costs are only part of the challenge. Alaska’s unique land ownership structure — where the federal government controls roughly two-thirds of land within the state — adds complexity to large-scale development. This makes innovative approaches to transportation and energy export even more important.

It has been suggested that the proposed LNG line from the North Slope to Kenai be built in two phases. The first would be to build the line to initially serve the Fairbanks and Anchorage metro areas. Later, the final section, including the export dock, would be constructed on the Kenai. The drawback with this approach is the first section would not distribute enough LNG to cover operating costs or debt reduction.

An interesting group that continues to research the Arctic proposal of LNG by ice-breaking tanker to Asia is Oilak, associated with Lloyd Energy Company, with estimates of nearly 40% cost savings in transportation by the Arctic tanker route suggested.

Ice-breaking LNG tanker technology is already in use in Arctic regions, including Russia. Similar approaches could allow North Slope gas to reach Asian markets more directly. This would involve specialized loading facilities and seasonal shipping strategies designed around Arctic conditions.

During the 1967-68 period I worked in state government and during that time, we maintained a State office in Tokyo, Japan. The purpose was to promote Alaska resource potential to the Asian countries. This resulted in stimulating Alaska’s timber and fisheries industry, resulting in pulp mills in Sitka and sawmills in Ketchikan, Wrangell, Haines and Metlakatla, as well as several fish processing plants throughout Alaska.

I believe there is an opportunity to consider international equity partnerships in any LNG proposal. Countries such as Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Taiwan, as well as other major LNG importers, could potentially participate as investors in infrastructure development in exchange for long term supply agreements. Similar models have been used in Alaska’s resource history, including earlier investment in timber, pulp and sawmills and fisheries operations across Alaska. Our state’s presence in Tokyo, as I’ve indicated, helped facilitate trade relations and market development.

These kinds of partnerships are not without complexity, but they reflect a broader truth: large-scale resource development increasingly requires creative financing structures and shared risk models.

Ultimately, the most expensive component of any LNG strategy is not just production, it is transportation to market. Whether through pipelines, rail systems, or Arctic shipping corridors, the chosen infrastructure path will determine the project’s viability more than resource availability itself.

Alaska should be cautious about allowing enthusiasm for a single project structure to override broader fiscal considerations. The goal should not be development at any cost, but development that strengthens the state’s long-term economic foundation. I believe if consideration of the potential of the Alaska Arctic tanker route were given genuine support by our governor and the legislature, the Arctic route would advance far beyond the current debate over foreign tax forgiveness. The state would generate greater revenue from the cost savings on transportation alone. Let’s take a look at how they are doing it from the Russian Arctic.

Frank Murkowski is a former U.S. senator and Alaska governor.

MARANA, AZ (AZFamily) — Proposals for data centers and ICE detention facilities in Marana are dividing neighbors and turning some against their local leaders.

These are two issues that some Republicans and Democrats are finding themselves agreeing on, as people try to take charge of who and what ends up in their communities.

“Well, first I think everyone on our city council needs to be replaced. What they are doing to Marana and surrounding areas is destroying our future and our kids’ futures,” a Marana resident said.

A recent proposal by the Department of Homeland Security would create an ICE detention center about 3 miles from the community center.

The property proposed for the ICE facility was a minimum-security prison with a capacity of about 500 people. The release said that renovations will increase capacity to 775, but could expand to over 1,300.

DHS officials say the facility would include more exam rooms, a dental area, and other features.

Arizona’s Family asked DHS for some clarification on those numbers and details. DHS released a statement saying, “ICE does not discuss individual pre-decisional conversations, but when a new facility contract is finalized, information will be available on ICE.gov.”

Data center concerns

Meanwhile, a rezoning application for a data center surfaced on the Town of Marana’s website last week.

It’s the second potential data center in the area and has people itching to get to public comment to voice their concerns.

“The detention center- we don’t need that here; no one wants that here. The data center- I mean, we already don’t have water and it’s awful; we don’t need another data center. Look at the ones across the country and what they’re doing,” the Marana resident we spoke with said.

Marana Town Manager Terry Rozema said nothing is set in stone.

“There’s so many factors that could come into considering whether or not something is beneficial to a community,” Rozema said.

Supporters of these projects said they will create jobs.

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