Connect with us

San Diego, CA

San Diego’s stormwater system needs major work. Are voters willing to pay for it?

Published

on

San Diego’s stormwater system needs major work. Are voters willing to pay for it?


San Diego City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera announced plans Wednesday to ask voters for more revenue to fund stormwater infrastructure and disaster recovery efforts.

The announcement at a meeting of the council’s Rules Committee came nine days after a heavy storm overwhelmed the city’s stormwater channels and caused flash flooding on freeways and in neighborhoods including Southcrest, Mountain View and Encanto.

San Diego officials have long been aware of the deep backlog of repairs to stormwater infrastructure. A report released in January found the city would need an additional $1.6 billion to fully fund all its stormwater needs. That deficit has more than doubled in the past five years and is now larger than the unfunded needs of the city’s roads, streetlights and sidewalks combined.

“Today, I can think of no more pressing need than stormwater infrastructure and disaster recovery,” Elo-Rivera said. “Those storms will keep coming, and the climate won’t stop changing, while we get bogged down by politics and bureaucracy. The time for action is now.”

Advertisement

Elo-Rivera’s office said he is still developing the details of his proposal, such as what the city would tax and by how much. But it would likely need the approval of six city councilmembers to be placed on the November ballot.

The threshold of approval that the measure would need from voters is still unclear. For decades, California law has required a two-thirds majority for voters to approve local taxes dedicated to a specific purpose.

But a statewide proposition set for the Nov. 5 general election would lower that threshold to 55% if the taxes would fund affordable housing or public infrastructure. The proposition states that if it’s approved, the lower threshold would also apply to local tax measures that appear on the same Nov. 5 ballot.

Whether the inclusion of “disaster recovery” in a local stormwater tax measure would count as public infrastructure is unclear.

In February 2022, San Diego’s Stormwater Department released the results of polling to test the viability of a local tax measure to fund stormwater infrastructure. The poll asked voters whether they would support a tax of 4 cents, 4.5 cents or 5 cents per square foot of a property’s impermeable surface. That would scale the tax to how much stormwater runs off a property, while exempting gardens or yards where water can be absorbed by the earth.

Advertisement

All three tax options won support from more than 55% of voters, even when respondents were fed critical statements about the measure. The two-thirds threshold was cleared only after voters were read favorable statements, and even then, two-thirds support was within the margin of error.

When asked what priorities were most important to them, 87% of respondents said protecting the local supply of clean drinking water was either important or very important. Only 66% said the same for maintaining stormwater channels or preventing flooding.

At least one other local tax measure will be on the Nov. 5 ballot: a countywide half-cent sales tax increase to fund transportation infrastructure. That measure qualified for the ballot via a signature gathering campaign, meaning it needs only a simple majority to pass.

Councilmember Raul Campillo is also seeking to ask voters for a sales tax increase that would boost the city’s general fund and help overcome its chronic budget deficits. Such a tax measure would need only a simple majority to pass because the funds would not be dedicated to a specific purpose.

Advertisement



Source link

San Diego, CA

Game 21: San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Angels

Published

on

Game 21: San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Angels


San Diego Padres (14-7) at Los Angeles Angels (11-11), April 19, 2026, 1:07 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Angel Stadium – Anaheim, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

Advertisement



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

San Diego, CA

Solans, Luna, Guilavogui help RSL beat slumping San Diego, extend unbeaten streak to 6 games :: WRALSportsFan.com

Published

on

Solans, Luna, Guilavogui help RSL beat slumping San Diego, extend unbeaten streak to 6 games :: WRALSportsFan.com


— SANDY, Utah (AP) — Sergi Solans had two goals and an assist, Diego Luna added a goal and two assists, and Real Salt Lake beat San Diego FC 4-2 on Saturday night to extend its unbeaten streak to six games.

Morgan Guilavogui scored his first goal in MLS and had an assist for Real Salt Lake (5-1-1). The 28-year-old designated player has five goal contributions in his first six career games.

RSL hasn’t lost since a 1-0 defeat at Vancouver in the season opener.

Advertisement

San Diego (3-3-2) has lost three in a row and is winless in five straight.

Luna opened the scoring in the fifth minute when he re-directed a misplayed pass by Duran Ferree, San Diego’s 19-year-old goalkeeper, into the net.

Moments later, Solans headed home a perfectly-placed cross played by Luna from outside the right corner of the 18-yard box to the back post to make it 2-0. Solans, a 23-year-old forward, flicked a header from the center of the area inside the right post and past the outstretched arm of Ferree to make it 3-1 in the 37th minute.

Guilavogui slammed home a first-touch shot to give RSL a three-goal lead in the 45th.

Marcus Ingvartsen scored a goal in the 14th minute and Anders Dreyer converted from the penalty spot in the 66th for San Diego.

Advertisement

Ingvartsen has five goals and an assist this season and has 10 goal contributions (seven goals, three assists) in 16 career MLS appearances.

Rafael Cabral had three saves for RSL.

Ferree finished with five saves.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

San Diego, CA

How San Diego Has Quietly Emerged as One of America’s Great Dining Destinations

Published

on

How San Diego Has Quietly Emerged as One of America’s Great Dining Destinations


When John Resnick opened Campfire on a quaint little street in Carlsbad, Calif., in 2016, some locals weren’t sure what to think. The coastal enclave wasn’t exactly awash in innovative, chef-driven establishments, so it was a shock to see the dining room consistently full. Early on, one woman wondered aloud to Resnick, “Where did all these people come from?”

It’s a moment he remembers vividly. “I was struck by her statement, because I think she was surprised that so many other people in Carlsbad were there,” Resnick says. 

The rest of the culinary world would take some time to catch up to what was happening. In 2019, when Michelin expanded to rate restaurants throughout all of California—not just the San Francisco area—Addison was the only one in San Diego to earn a star. But since emerging from the pandemic, the region’s food scene has grown dramatically. Driven by outstanding farms, ingredients, a bumper crop of talented chefs, and a G.D.P. approximately the size of New Zealand or Greece, San Diego County has become one of America’s most underrated dining destinations.

Campfire’s octopus, chorizo, and celery-root entrée.

Advertisement

Gage Forster

Perhaps no single restaurant is a better emblem for this shift than chef William Bradley’s Addison, which opened in 2006. After landing his first star, Bradley knew he wanted more. To get them, he transformed his French-leaning fare to serve what he calls California Gastronomy, which combines the cultures of SoCal with impeccable ingredients and wildly impressive techniques, prizing flavor over flair. Michelin responded, awarding Addison a second star in 2022, and making it the first Southern California three-star restaurant just a year later. The accolade has created a halo effect, attracting culinary tourists from around the world.

Berry beet tartlets at San Diego’s three-star stalwart Addison.

Berry beet tartlets at San Diego’s three-star stalwart Addison.

Eric Wolfinger

“Earning three stars forces the global dining community to pay attention to a place that may not have been on their radar before,” says chef Eric Bost, a partner in Resnick’s four Carlsbad establishments. 

Advertisement

Resnick recruited Bost, who spent time at award-winning outposts of Restaurant Guy Savoy, to run Jeune et Jolie, which he led to a star in 2021. They’ve since taken over an old boogie-board factory down the street and converted it to an all-day restaurant and bakery, Wildland. The space also hosts an exquisite tasting-counter experience called Lilo, which was given a Michelin star mere months after opening in April 2025. And as Resnick and Bost grew their successful Carlsbad operation, chef Roberto Alcocer earned a Michelin star for his Mexican fine-dining spot Valle in nearby Oceanside.

The stylish tasting counter at Michelin one-star Lilo in Carlsbad.

The stylish tasting counter at Michelin one-star Lilo in Carlsbad.

Kimberly Motos

About 25 miles to the south, another affluent coastal community is going through its own culinary glow up. In La Jolla, chef Tara Monsod and the hospitality group Puffer Malarkey Collective opened the stylish French steakhouse Le Coq. Chef Erik Anderson, formerly of Michelin two-star Coi, is preparing to launch Roseacre. And last year, Per Se alums Elijah Arizmendi and Brian Hung left New York to open the elegant tasting-menu restaurant Lucien, lured by the ingredients they’d get to serve. “A major reason we chose San Diego is the quality and diversity of the produce,” Arizmendi explains. “San Diego County has more small farms than anywhere else in the U.S., and its many microclimates allow farmers to grow an incredible range of ingredients year-round.”

Wildland’s spicy Italian sandwich.

Wildland’s spicy Italian sandwich.

Advertisement

Gage Forster

Chef Travis Swikard has also been a tireless advocate for the region’s ingredients since he returned to San Diego, his hometown, and opened Mediterranean-influenced Callie in 2021. There’s no sophomore slump with his latest effort, the French Riviera–inspired Fleurette in La Jolla, where he’s serving his take on classics like leeks vinaigrette and his San Diego “Bouillabaisse” with local red sheepshead fish and spiny lobster. Its food is bright, produce-driven, and attentive in execution, while the dining room maintains a relaxed and unpretentious style of service. And Swikard sees that approach cohering into a regional style with a strong network of professionals behind it.

“It’s really nice that we are developing our own identity, not trying to be like L.A. or any other market, just highlighting what’s great about the San Diego lifestyle and ingredients,” he says. “Similar to New York, a chef community is starting to develop where chefs are supporting each other. There is a true sense of pride to be cooking here.”

Top: In La Jolla, Lucien serves ocean whitefish with tomatoes turned into concasse, sabayon, and other expressions.





Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending