KPBS Midday Edition

Citing Financial Crisis Caused By COVID-19 Del Mar Fairgrounds Cuts Majority Of Its Staff

By Maureen Cavanaugh / KPBS Midday Edition Co-Host, Brooke Ruth / Senior Producer of Audio News

Published October 29, 2020 at 8:11 AM PDT

This story was published more than 4 years ago.

Officials with the Del Mar Fairgrounds say the venue is struggling to survive after months of lost revenue due to COVID-19. The Fairgrounds income is down nearly 90%after the closure of the San Diego County Fair last summer and other revenue-generating events. In the latest cost-cutting move, the fairgrounds reduced its staff by nearly 60% this month from over 150 employees to 62 with many of the remaining staff in maintenance and security positions.

Officials with the Del Mar Fairgrounds said the venue is struggling to survive after months of lost revenue due to COVID-19.

The fairgrounds' revenue is down nearly 90% after the cancellation of the San Diego County fair last summer and other revenue-generating events, according to reporting by The San Diego Union-Tribune. In the latest cost-cutting move, the fairgrounds reduced its staff this month from over 150 employees to 62.

Meanwhile, the city of Del Mar is hoping to negotiate for a section of the state-owned fairgrounds to build at least 51 affordable housing units.

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San Diego Union-Tribune reporter Phil Diehl has covered the impacts of the pandemic on the fairgrounds and the latest effort to build housing on the property and joins Midday Edition on Wednesday to discuss the latest.

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Maureen Cavanaugh

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Maureen Cavanaugh has been a familiar voice for KPBS listeners for more than 15 years, serving in a variety of capacities including announcer, host, and producer. As host of KPBS Midday Edition, Maureen has interviewed a wide range of notables, such as comedienne Sandra Bernhardt, actor John Lequizamo, author Chuck Palahniuk, composer Marvin Hamlisch, artist Robert Irwin, and designer Zandra Rhodes. But of all the interviews Maureen has conducted, her most special was with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Before joining KPBS in 1997, she worked as a news anchor for KSDO and KOGO News Radio in San Diego. While working for commercial radio stations in San Diego and in Salt Lake City, Utah, Maureen reported on both hard news and lifestyle features. Maureen has received three "Golden Mike" awards from the Radio and TV News Association of Southern California for economic reporting and breaking news. She has also received a "Best of Show" and “Best Radio Newscast” awards from the San Diego Press Club and the "Flo" Award from Public Radio Program Directors Association for Best Public Radio Announcer in a large market. Maureen is a native of Queens, New York, but after more than 20 years in San Diego she feels she qualifies as a real Southern Californian.

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Brooke Ruth

Brooke Ruth is the senior producer of Audio News. She previously served as a producer for "KPBS Midday Edition" and a web producer. Before joining KPBS, Brooke was a web editor for four newspapers and a local television station. She began her career in news at the Imperial Valley Press. She has also been part of the web teams at the Napa Valley Register, North County Times, and U-T San Diego. While pursuing her undergraduate degree at UCLA in psychology, she worked on the student newspaper, the Daily Bruin.

See stories by Brooke Ruth