Next week, County Supervisor Joel Anderson will ask colleagues to support his request for the results of recent county-funded polling.
As our Lisa Halverstadt revealed, the county has spent tens of thousands of dollars poll-testing potential ballot measures, including a county governance reform measure that voters will consider in November and tax hike options.
Board members, including Anderson, said they weren’t aware of the polls until Voice of San Diego’s reporting.
Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer played a role in all three polls. Her office secured an up to $250,000 contract with a polling consultant. A third poll was approved by a county board subcommittee also co-chaired by Vice Chair Monica Montgomery Steppe. The subcommittee directs an up to $320,000 contract to explore potential revenue measures.
Anderson wants the polling consultants to present their findings to the board on Sept. 1. He argues that his Democratic colleagues need to be more transparent.
“They’re so deep in the forest of secrecy they can’t see that they’re withholding information from their colleagues and the public,” he said.
The other side: Lawson-Remer’s office has previously defended the polling, citing existing county guidelines meant to facilitate public feedback. Her team said the polls conducted under her office’s contract were posted on her supervisor website.
San Diego Unified’s Enrollment Bump Could Be Mirage
Students leaving school for the day at Correia Middle School in Point Loma on Sept. 18, 2023. / Photo by Ariana Drehsler
Over the past weeks a data point has been ricocheting around local news outlets: San Diego Unified enrolled 3,033 new students over summer, doubling its goal of enrolling 1,309 new students.
As district spokesperson James Canning wrote in a press release, the goal “held special significance” because that was how many students the district lost between 2024 and 2025.
But it may still not be enough to overcome the creeping enrollment decline that’s swept over districts across California.That’s because the declines are driven by big trends largely out of the control of individual districts, like declining birth rates and rising costs of living chasing families from expensive metros like San Diego.
In San Diego Unified alone, enrollment has shrunk for 10 of the last 11 years. Overall, the district has 15,000 fewer students than it did in 2014.
Not a complete picture: Importantly, the stats don’t include how many students the district lost, either to graduation or to transfers.There was also no data on what grades these new students were in.
For example, last year, San Diego Unified enrolled 4,821 students in its transitional kindergarten program. If all of these students that enrolled in June and July were four-year-olds signing up for TK (which, admittedly, is unlikely) that would actually amount to a significant decrease.
San Diego Unified officials aren’t entirely hiding the ball. In the email, Canning noted it wouldn’t be clear if the district had grown until enrollment numbers are finalized in October.
Rep. Peters: USS Abraham Lincoln Reports ‘Incredibly Concerning’
Sailors and Marines line the deck of aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) as it deploys from San Diego, Jan. 3, 2021. (K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune via AP, File)
The Pacific-based aircraft carrier USS George Washington has begun heading toward the Middle East as reports have emerged of mental health and supply issues aboard the long-deployed USS Abraham Lincoln.
The Lincoln has been supporting the U.S. war against Iran, and its deployment has included a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 240 days.
Military Times spoke with families who reported that sailors have tried to go overboard. Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao hosted a town hall meeting in Coronado with more than 200 military family members. At another meeting, family members raised concerns about sailors’ mental health, Military Times reported.
Several Democratic lawmakers are pressing for accountability from the Pentagon over conditions aboard the carrier, which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said were “completely misrepresented.”
Rep. Scott Peters wrote on X that the reports were incredibly concerning. He said his office is keeping a close eye on the conditions of those onboard.
“Military families in San Diego deserve real answers about what’s going on, and our servicemembers deserve to be treated with dignity, not pushed past their breaking point,” Peters wrote on X.
(Konstantin Toropin with the Associated Press contributed to this section.)
Read more here.
South County Report: The Contests for Power in South Bay
National City Councilmember Marcus Bush during a City Council on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. / Vito Di Stefano for Voice of San Diego
Several last minute surprises may shake up races in South County come this November.
The big news: National City Mayor Ron Morrison is retiring after it was expected he’d run for a fifth term. Our Jim Hinch breaks down the new race – a standoff between two Democrats (and former allies).
In Chula Vista, Republican mayoral incumbent John McCann remains a frontrunner but the role of labor unions, who’ve recently been playing an active role in city politics, in the November election remains uncertain.
In Imperial Beach, a last minute bid for mayor and a last minute city councilmember’s announcement not to seek re-election has thrown one of the more expectedly stable races in South County for a loop.
Read the South County Report here.
File photo of San Diego City Hall. / Photo by Brittany Cruz-Fejeran
Loyal readers of Voice of San Diego are almost certain to be aware of Education reporter Jakob McWhinney’s well-documented disgust with San Diego’s city flag. Back in 2024, he wrote a plea to San Diegans to take seriously the prospect of updating our old and ugly flag. It’s safe to say it didn’t get much traction.
Every now and then, though, some enterprising designer cooks up a new flag. It’s always exciting, even if they don’t always look great. Most recently, a social media user posted proposed designs for a whole slew of Southern California cities, including a bunch in our region.
San Diego’s could still use some more work, but the ones for Chula Vista, El Centro, Poway and Solana Beach look pretty darn good.
What do you think?
In Other News
San Diego County staff will ask the board to finalize new rules and a process for making county-funded polling public. If approved on Tuesday, county lawyers would need to sign off on poll language and contracts and offices that conduct polls would share them with the county clerk to be posted publicly.
The city of San Diego is funding an additional 160 shelter beds for unhoused women and children. (KPBS)
Mold found in classrooms at Del Sur Elementary in Poway is delaying the start of class until at least next week. (NBC San Diego)
Most economists say it’s not worth the multimillion price tag to move the trolley tracks in La Mesa that have long hindered customers’ ability to reach local businesses. (Union-Tribune)
Lifeguards rescued another injured Sunset Cliffs jumper on Sunday. The San Diego Police Department has issued 20 citations and 300 warnings to cliff divers this summer. This is the third reported injury in the last two weeks. (Union-Tribune)
The man accused of kicking the sea lion at La Jolla Cove in a video that went viral has pleaded guilty. (CBS San Diego)
The Morning Report was written by Jakob McWhinney and Fiona Bork. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña.
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