Former Grand Jury Members to Review How S.D. Responds to Reports

By Alison St John / Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published February 25, 2008 at 9:29 AM PST

This story was published more than 16 years ago.

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders has appointed seven former grand jury members to review how the city implements recommendations made in grand jury reports. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.

The grand jury produced 16 reports last year -- five about the city. They recommended the city manage real estate assets more efficiently, end abuse of free Qualcomm tickets, and develop a plan for water desalination.

Till now, there has been little formal follow up to see how the city responded to the reports.

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Walter Hofmann says he’s put in years of work on grand juries only to see the reports often ignored. He’s agreed to serve on the new review board.

Hofmann: To see then six months or nine months later, what has happened to those recommendations and how have they been implemented -- it’s the continuity that this will ensure.

Hofmann says continuity is important because each new grand jury tackles fresh topics and has no mandate to follow up on the previous grand jury recommendations. The city has agreed to convene the review board for 2 years to see how it works.

Alison St John, KPBS News.

Alison St John

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Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.