Impact of San Diego’s sales tax ballot measure

Good Morning, I’m John Carroll….it’s Wednesday, August 21st.

How much would an extra 1-cent in sales tax help San Diego’s financial health? More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….

San Diego County home prices continue to hover around the 1-million dollar figure.

According to the California Association of Realtors monthly report, the median price was 1.02 million dollars in July.

That’s a decrease of about 30-thousand dollars from the prior month.

The association says there could be more softening in the months ahead.

San Diego’s median price is in stark contrast to neighboring Imperial County, where the median home price is a reported 385-thousand dollars.

Rural east county is the first to take advantage of a new fire protection effort.

The California Wildfire Mitigation Program is now operating in Dulzura – a small community south of Jamul, along the 94.The program utilizes Cal Fire to clear trees and brush to create defensible space around homes.

The cost is free in most cases.

You can learn more about the application process at san-diego-county-dot-gov.

Drug busts are common at border crossings, but the method in recent days is getting attention.

Customs and Border Protection reports more than 5-million dollars worth of methamphetamine was found disguised as watermelons at the Otay Mesa crossing last Friday.

Earlier this month, federal officials seized more than 600 pounds of meth hidden inside a shipment of celery, also at Otay Mesa.

Customs and Border Protection says those drugs were worth an estimated 755-thousand dollars.

Arrests were made in both cases and were part of a larger federal operation targeting fentanyl smuggling.

From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now.Stay with me for more of the local news you need.

Voters in San Diego this November will be deciding whether to increase the city's sales tax.

Metro reporter Andrew Bowen says a new report shows how much the measure would raise.

AB: San Diego's Independent Budget Analyst found Measure E, the proposed one-cent sales tax increase, would generate between 360 million and 400 million dollars in its first year.

The money would go into the city's general fund, which supports core services like police and fire protection, infrastructure repair, parks and libraries.

The new revenue would wipe out the city's chronic budget deficits and turn them into surpluses.

San Diego's current sales tax rate is 7.75% — among the lowest in California. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news.

President Joe Biden took an emotional bow and handed off the political baton to Vice-President Kamala Harris on the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago Monday.

Harris will formally accept the democratic nomination for president Thursday.

Before the convention started, KPBS’s Amita Sharma talked to three of the more than two dozen delegates from San Diego County.

We spoke about her conversation with the delegates.                                                       

Amita, welcome.

Q. President Biden began Monday, with what promises to be a series of farewells, as he winds down his 40 plus years in politics. How do the delegates you spoke with view Biden?

A: “I just didn't feel that Biden was going to be able to win, and I just was hoping that he would step down. And just the energy each day, I think also seeing Kamala Harris out there, showing how competent she is, how smart she is, how energetic she is. And really, after the last few weeks, it just sunk in that this is going to be our first woman president. It's just so exciting. “

Q. Amita, we keep hearing how the vibe has changed within the Democratic Party and especially among voters. Is the excitement strictly because of the contrast in energy level between Biden and Harris?

A: “I think that is why this campaign has caught fire so quickly is because it's giving something to the American people that even we didn't realize we needed so badly. There were some calls from certain corners of political discourse that we need to get back to that hopeful or joyful sense of belonging, that thing. But I think on this national stage now, the moment is here, and we finally realized it.”

Q. Let’s talk about the issues. You spoke with three local Democratic delegates. What do they want to hear from Vice President Harris this week?

A: “As someone who is a young person living in San Diego, I know all too well about the crisis we've had with affordable housing. To hear from Vice President Harris, both about her story and her parents' story, about how long it took them to save her down payment. I feel like she really understands where folks like myself are coming from, and this shows that she has concrete plans to help us get further in fixing that problem. So I'm excited about it.”

John: Amita, thank you.

Coming up.... details on a chance to weigh in on how San Diego is dealing with bike lanes and other improvements for cyclists.

We’ll have that story and more, just after the break.

The city of San Diego wants feedback on its bicycling infrastructure as it updates its bicycle master plan.

Reporter Katie Anastas visited one intersection in Hillcrest where cyclists see strengths and room for improvement.

It’s a little before noon on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Washington Street. Jeremy Bloom, with the advocacy group Circulate San Diego, says there are several good things happening on Fifth.

“We have a protected bike lane here, it’s separated by concrete, it’s really protected for cyclists, they feel safe.”

That stops once cyclists turn onto Washington. Bloom points to where the green-painted bike lane comes to an end partway down the block.

“It just turns, and it ends, and you’re literally put right in the center of traffic.”

Jennifer Heffernan bikes from Hillcrest to Kensington most days for work. She says this isn’t the only place where bike lanes end.

“There are just little connections I’ve noticed, especially around like the freeway entrances, where there’s no, the bike lanes disappear, and it’s very frightening to try and get across.” 

The City of San Diego is inviting the community to give feedback on interactive maps and surveys through Sept. 10. They say they’ll use them to shape the new Bicycle Master Plan, which helps them prioritize future projects as they seek funding.

Katie Anastas, KPBS News. 

Apple TV Plus launches the fourth season of its streaming series “Slow Horses” next Wednesday.

Arts reporter Beth Accomando has this review of the latest adaptation of Mick Herron's spy novel series known as ‘slough house.’

Everyone probably knows Bond, James Bond. But do you know Lamb, Jackson Lamb – the boozing, farting veteran of the Cold War that oversees a dysfunctional team of MI5 agents known as the slow horses.

CLIP: “Jackson Lamb, you're in charge of the Rejects?... They don't like being called that… What do you call them?... The Rejects.” 

Lamb is played to weary, cynical perfection by Gary Oldman.

“Lamb is just flat-lined. The die is cast. Lamb hasn't changed very much, and he isn't going to change.”

Oldman returns as Lamb for the tense and twisty fourth season of Slow Horses, adapted from Mick Herron’s book “Spook Street,” which uncovers messy secrets as well as revealing a very different side of espionage than you would see in an Ian Fleming  novel.

“Mick has turned it on its head and gives you characters that are like you, that are relatable.”

CLIP: “You're being hurtful about my appearance. I might have to call HR.”

Slow Horses Season 4 does not disappoint.

Beth Accomando, KPBS News. 

You can catch special coverage of the Democratic National Convention this evening on KPBS-FM and special coverage by PBS on television. You can also find a link to the livestream at KPBS-dot-org.

Tonight’s headline speaker will be democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz.

That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. I’m John Carroll. Thanks for listening and have a great day.