An Apprentice Program for Commercial Fishing

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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