San Diego, CA

The Mayor Is Still Saying He Increased Shelter Capacity by 70 percent. He Still Hasn’t

Published

1 year ago

October 23, 2024

The Mayor Is Still Saying He Increased Shelter Capacity by 70 percent. He Still Hasn’t

As a central component of his re-election campaign, Mayor Todd Gloria continues to claim he’s increased homeless shelter capacity by 70 percent.

That claim is no more true now than it was in June 2023, when Voice of San Diego first fact checked it.

From the airwaves to his November ballot statement, Gloria is pushing the 70 percent figure as a key reason voters should re-elect him.

In one ad, a narrator ticks off several accomplishments. She tells voters Gloria has “increased shelter for the homeless by 70 percent!”

An independent expenditure group supporting Gloria called San Diegans for Fairness has also been pushing the claim.

Here’s how Gloria’s team does the math: They pick a convenient starting point where the number of beds was unusually low due to the pandemic.

Before the pandemic, and before Gloria took office, the city had 1,409 shelter beds.

Gloria’s team doesn’t use that number. They use a date in April 2021, about three months after Gloria took office.

Up until then, the city had been using the convention center as a shelter, because of the pandemic. But just before April 1, 2021, the convention center closed. Other shelters within the city were operating at lower capacity due to Covid restrictions.

So on April 1, 2021, there were only 1,071 beds available.

Today, there are roughly 1,856, according to the mayor’s campaign staff.

The math works like this: Between April 2021 – when the number was significantly restricted by the pandemic – and now, city homeless shelter capacity increased by roughly 73 percent.

But the city wasn’t providing 1,071 beds before Gloria took office. It was providing around 1,400. That math works out to a roughly 32 percent increase.

That’s not a small increase. But it doesn’t come close to the 70 percent Gloria is claiming.

I asked Gloria about the math at a press conference on Wednesday. He stuck to his administration’s interpretation of the numbers.

“In April of 2021 we had a very small number of beds,” he said. “We don’t have that anymore.”

Since Gloria’s 32 percent increase on shelter capacity, progress has actually stalled.

During the last 16 months, the city has only increased the net number of shelter beds by 51.

In January, at his State of the City speech, Gloria said he wanted the city to deliver 1,000 new shelter beds by early 2025.

That’s not looking likely. It would mean increasing overall shelter capacity to roughly 2,800 in the next few months.

The mayor had hoped to purchase a warehouse at Kettner Boulevard and Vine Street that could be converted to shelter for more than a thousand people, but that plan is now in limbo.

It’s possible the city will tally a net loss of beds by early 2025.

The city is set to lose 614 beds at two large shelters operated by Father Joe’s Villages by the end of the year – and Gloria has known this was coming for months. City officials are now trying to come up with solutions to address the closures.

Meanwhile, Gloria’s administration has come up with alternative options. He has opened safe parking lots, where people can sleep in their cars, and safe camping sites, where people can sleep in a tent.

“We can parse on the numbers,” Gloria said. “We worked aggressively over lots of concerns and complaints and feedback to get this done,” he said, referring to shelter expansion.

Lisa Halverstadt contributed to this report.

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San Diego, CA

Padres notebook: Using or losing ABS challenges, Griffin Canning update

Published

7 hours ago

April 1, 2026

Press Room

Padres notebook: Using or losing ABS challenges, Griffin Canning update

Use ’em or lose ’em.

That’s not exactly an emerging strategy for the new Automated Ball-Strike system, but it’s a guideline that the Padres are wrapping their heads around as they continue to get a feel for how to deploy challenges for this new strike zone.

“I’d like to see us finish the game with no challenges left,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said, “or at least challenge a little bit more.”

Entering Tuesday, the Padres were 2-for-3 challenging calls on offense and 3-for-5 challenging calls while in the field (all by catchers). While those numbers are especially conservative on offense — only one team has fewer offensive challenges — the whole idea is to save challenges for moments that can impact a game.

Such a moment arrived in the top of the ninth inning on Monday after Jake Cronenworth’s leadoff walk, but Fernando Tatis Jr. did not challenge the called strike on a 2-1 slider that appeared to land above the zone as reflected in MLB’s Gameday app.

The pitch didn’t end or extend an at-bat, but counts clearly matter to hitters. This year alone, hitters in a 3-1 count have a 1.518 OPS and hitters in a 2-2 count have a .442 OPS.

Tatis foul tipped the next pitch — a slider on the outside corner — into the catcher’s glove for a strikeout. Two batters later, Jackson Merrill homered to cut the Giants’ lead to 3-2, which ended up being the final score.

“I’m sure there were other pitches we could challenge, too,” Stammen said a day later. “But just like thinking (Tatis) specifically, one of our best hitters, arguably our best hitter, in a ninth-inning game where it doesn’t matter if you don’t get to keep the challenge for tomorrow, maybe it’s something that we can have a conversation about.”

Probably a lot of conversations.

After all, Stammen lamented that 30 games in spring training is hardly enough time for hitters to know all the ins and outs and do’s and don’ts and percentages. Ideally, the Padres want to make sure they have a challenge in the bag for Mason Miller in the ninth inning, but the most impactful moment of a game often arrives before the final inning.

The Padres have a color-coded sheet in the dugout similar to NFL coaches’ go-for-2 sheets, but it’s still a lot for a hitter to grasp in the moment of a heated at-bat, as Tatis was in the ninth inning against Giants closer Ryan Walker.

“There’s also a piece of these guys taking an at bat and not wanting some external circumstances to be thinking about, like, should I challenge this pitch or not?” Stammen said. “It’s more like, ‘I’m going to get a hit. I got to figure out a way to get on base.’ You’re battling those two like personas in their head. You want a clear mind, simple thoughts, but then we’re also asking them like, ‘No, you need to know the strike zone. No, you got a challenge too, and you got to do it immediately.’

“So there’s a give and a take with that.”

Notable

RHP Griffin Canning (Achilles) threw three innings (about 50 pitches) in a simulated game on Monday in a workout at low Single-A Lake Elsinore. Canning had been scheduled to pitch this week in Tacoma for Triple-A El Paso, but inclement weather forced the shift to Lake Elsinore. His next appearance will be a rehab start on Saturday for Double-A San Antonio in Tulsa. “I feel like I just have to build up at this point,” Canning said. “I’m feeling pretty ready to go. … I think I’m probably further ahead than maybe what they first expected before I signed. Everything’s been going well.”

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San Diego, CA

LAFC, Nashville & San Diego: What makes the unbeatens so dangerous? | MLSSoccer.com

Published

19 hours ago

March 31, 2026

Press Room

LAFC, Nashville & San Diego: What makes the unbeatens so dangerous? | MLSSoccer.com

And then there were three.

After the first five matchdays of the MLS season, only a trio of teams remain undefeated: LAFC, Nashville SC and San Diego FC.

What’s gone right for those three clubs so far in 2026? Let’s dig in.

Biggest strength: Defensive excellence

Still yet to concede a goal in MLS play, LAFC have set the MLS record for consecutive shutout minutes to begin a season. Their tally already sits at 450 minutes, and it may not stop there.

Even with a managerial shift from Steve Cherundolo to Marc Dos Santos, defensive attention remains a priority for LAFC.

With a top-10 defense based on expected goals allowed and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris having saved the second-most goals above expected so far this year, as per American Soccer Analysis, the Black & Gold are impressively stingy.

Most underrated part: Squad depth

LAFC’s roster is impressively deep, even as Dos Santos rolls out consistent lineups across league play and Concacaf Champions Cup matches. For example, Son Heung-Min and Denis Bouanga have started all nine of LAFC’s fixtures so far this season.

Offseason signing Amin Boudri has impressed in his substitute appearances, while Ryan Hollingshead and Nathan Ordaz are overqualified backups at both ends of the field. We haven’t even seen Jacob Shaffelburg play yet as he recovers from injury, and David Martínez looks to have leveled up around the goal.

Deep and talented with roster flexibility for the summer window, LAFC are downright scary.

From a tactical standpoint, Dos Santos has altered some of the positioning in and out of possession. Eddie Segura has become the starting left back in a 4-4-2 defensive shape who shifts into a left-sided center back role in a 3-2-5 attacking shape. Many of the same principles have carried over from the Cherundolo era, however.

From a personnel standpoint, perhaps the biggest newcomer is midfielder Stephen Eustáquio. Currently recovering from an injury, the Porto loanee showed flashes of elite distribution early in the year. If the Canadian international is healthy, he’s transformative for LAFC’s attacking setup.

Their weakness: Balancing attack and defense

Outside of their season-opening, 3-0 win against Inter Miami CF, LAFC’s attack has been relatively muted this season – despite having Son and Bouanga up top. According to American Soccer Analysis, LAFC have yet to post more than 1.3 expected goals in any of the four matches that followed their victory over Miami.

Whether it’s a byproduct of tired legs balancing two competitions, a relatively conservative starting lineup, or underdeveloped patterns in the final third, there’s work to be done.

Biggest strength: A filthy-good right wing

A wing driven by Andy Najar can get you pretty darn far. But a wing driven by Najar and newcomer Cristian Espinoza? That can do some scary stuff to opposing defenses.

Between those two best-in-class creators, Patrick Yazbek drifting forward out of central midfield, and Hany Mukhtar being his typically excellent self, few teams can match the amount of attacking verve Nashville boast on that side.

With clever overloads and well-timed off-ball movement, the early returns on this Nashville team are very, very promising.

Most underrated part: Athleticism

In Yazbek, Nashville have one of MLS’s absolute best ground-covering midfielders. Similar things can be said of his partner in the double pivot, Eddi Tagseth.

With those two patrolling the midfield while center backs Jeisson Palacios and Maxwell Woledzi shut down opposing attacks with their strength and speed, Nashville have enough grit to go toe-to-toe with anyone in the region.

Toss in a trio of Designated Players committed to defending, and you have an extremely well-rounded team.

Espinoza’s presence, mostly.

It didn’t take much imagination to picture the Argentine fitting snugly into B.J. Callaghan’s tactical approach – and that’s exactly what’s happened. Espinoza is sixth among wingers in MLS this season in expected goals plus expected assists, according to American Soccer Analysis. His connection with Najar on the right side and his distribution into Mukhtar and Sam Surridge has left nothing to be desired.

The former San Jose Earthquakes standout elevated an already dangerous Nashville team into something more, and even has helped Surridge contend for the Golden Boot presented by Audi with a league-best seven goals.

Their weakness: Left-sided attacking

For as dominant as Nashville’s right side is, I’m not sold by whatever combination of Alex Muyl, Warren Madrigal, Daniel Lovitz and Reed Baker-Whiting suit up on the left. There’s less reliable attacking threat between those players, though Madrigal could turn out to be something of a difference-maker.

If I’m a team with Nashville coming up on my schedule, I’m doing everything I can to make their left side beat me.

Biggest strength: Scoring goals

Inside the league’s top five in goals scored and top 10 for expected goals, San Diego’s chief asset is clear: they can create chances and put the ball into the back of the net against anybody.

For those who watched San Diego and Anders Dreyer during their expansion season, that should come as no surprise.

Now, with ample roster continuity and the same buildup-heavy tactical principles, this year’s squad looks every bit as dangerous going forward as they did in 2025.

Most underrated part: Off-ball movement

Many sing the praises of San Diego’s patient possession approach, one that featured a historic number of passes played inside their own third last year. With ambitious, clever passers at just about every spot on the field, it’s easy to be captivated by how San Diego move the ball. But to ignore how they move off the ball is a mistake.

Smart, well-drilled patterns define some of the sophomore outfit’s movement, while spatial awareness and organization by defensive midfielder Jeppe Tverskov governs parts of the rest. It’s magical to watch, and it sets San Diego FC apart.

At a macro level, not a whole lot. San Diego have shown the same stylistic approach and have retained much of the same talent that made them one of the league’s best teams in 2025.

But at a micro level, some of the personnel are different. Namely, Chucky Lozano hasn’t made one of the team’s matchday squads this season after conflict dating back to last fall. In his absence, Amahl Pellegrino has continued eating up minutes on the left wing.

Further upfield, a healthy Marcus Ingvartsen has produced in the early stages of this new season. The veteran striker already has five non-penalty goal contributions. Ingvartsen’s return gives San Diego tactical flexibility that they lacked last year.

Their weakness: Conceding chances

So far this year, San Diego have played a little fast and loose with the defensive side of the game. With a style that demands short passes close to their own goal and a high defensive line at times, a bit of early-season sloppiness has resulted in a healthy share of chances conceded.

With five goals allowed in their last two games and having given up more xG than all but eight teams in the league, as per American Soccer Analysis, there’s work to be done when it comes to cleaning things up in the back.

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San Diego, CA

Small earthquake shakes North County

Published

1 day ago

March 31, 2026

Press Room

Some people living in remote North County may have felt shaking from an earthquake on Monday afternoon.

The epicenter of the 3.1 temblor that hit at 3:51 p.m. was a little under 2 miles from Lake Henshaw, according to officials with the United States Geological Survey.

Lake Henshaw is about 25 miles east of Valley Center and near Highway 76, which is often traveled by people headed north to Palomar Mountain.

Representatives of Cal Fire and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office said the agencies had received no reports of any problems caused by the temblor.

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