San Diego City Council rejects Power San Diego’s ballot measure

Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Wednesday, June 12th.

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San Diegans won’t be deciding whether to replace SD-G-AND-E with a nonprofit municipal electric utility.

More on what happened when the city council heard the proposed ballot measure, next. But first... let’s do the headlines….

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The number of home sales in the county are on the rise.

According to the Greater San Diego Association of Realtors, single-family home sales last month increased by just over 4-percent, and condo and townhome sales jumped more than 7-percent, compared to April.

There are also more options for people in the market for a new home.

Compared to this time last year, the supply of homes is more than 50-percent higher.

Although the number of houses selling increased, the median price of sold homes didn't change much from April to May.

The price of a single-family home last month was nearly 1-point-1-million-dollars.

And the median price of condos and townhomes was 685-thousand-dollars.

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Gas prices in the county have been dropping for almost a month.

The average price of a gallon of regular gas dropped to 4-dollars-and-88 cents this week.

The price has dropped 38-cents over the past 29 days, and is nearly five cents cheaper than this time last year.

Triple-A experts say one of the reasons for the drop in gas prices is less demand, with fewer people hitting the road.

Other factors include more fuel-efficient and electric cars on the road, the season, and a strong supply.

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There’s less than a week left for county residents and businesses to file and pay their 20-23 federal taxes.

San Diegans now have until Monday (June 17) to do so.

The I-R-S extended the deadline to offer relief to areas affected by January’s storms… including our county.

The original tax filing deadline was April 15th.

You can visit I-R-S-dot-gov-slash-extensions for more information.

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

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San Diego voters will not decide whether to replace SD-G-AND-E with a nonprofit, municipal electric utility this November.

Reporter Katie Anastas shares what happened when the proposed ballot measure came before the city council this week.

San Diego City Council members unanimously rejected Power San Diego’s ballot measure on Monday. It would have authorized the city to purchase and operate SDG&E’s electric distribution system. Council president pro tem Joe LaCava says he wants to see the full results of the city’s municipalization study before deciding whether to send a measure to voters. JOE LACAVA, COUNCIL PRESIDENT PRO TEM Making a change now, without the adequate assurance of feasibility, financial stability, and both the promise and the ability to deliver better service and cheaper rates is a disservice to San Diegans. The city says phase two of the study will look into how a public power utility would operate and more detailed cost estimates. Power San Diego campaign chair Bill Powers says the outcome of the City Council’s vote wasn’t a surprise. But he says they’ll continue to promote municipalization as an option for San Diego. Katie Anastas, KPBS News.

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North County is thriving, but still has critical issues to address.

That’s the message county supervisor Jim Desmond gave yesterday (Tuesday) in his state of North County address.

Reporter Tania Thorne was there, and gives us a recap.

During his State of North County Address, County supervisor Jim Desmond highlighted the growth in the region’s agricultural industries and tourism. San Diego agriculture provides over 16,000 jobs and they have an economic impact of nearly $3 billion a year. tourism and hospitality, I'm pleased to say, is up 15% in North County. But he says some of the issues San Diego’s northern region faces are homelessness, the need for housing and transportation. Desmond says North County is in a mental health crisis. He supports purchasing a property in Vista where the county would expand psychiatric resources. And it's something that we desperately need. We don't have enough of these facilities and hopefully we can get past homelessness and get people into the help they need. Desmond will represent District 5 until 2026 when he terms out. TT KPBS News. 

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It’s a summer of enrichment for more than 24-thousand students in the San Diego Unified School District.

Education reporter M.G. Perez tells us they go back to campus today (Wednesday) to… level up.

“Sometimes you have to be a little bit naughty…(song ends) Children singing with the Trinity Theatre Company….one of 50- San Diego non-profits that are partnered with San Diego Unified and the San Diego Foundation to enrich the lives of children who need it most this summer. For the next nine weeks…elementary and middle school students across the district will learn how to play an instrument…or a sport…there are science classes and field trips, too. priority enrollment given to children from low-income families, foster youth, unhoused kids, and students with special needs. Trinity Theatre Artistic Director Sean Paul Boyd is ready to support all of them. Sean Paul Boyd/Artistic Director, Trinity Theatre Company “Instead of saying we’re going to work against this…we’re going to work with it…we want that unique difference to be part of our storytelling.” Funding is provided by the district, community partners, and remaining federal COVID money. MGP KPBS News.

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It’s that time of year again… the San Diego County Fair is now open.

Here are some things you should know before planning your day at the fair.

The theme this year is “Let’s Go Retro.”

I’m sure we’ll see some fun outfits to match the groovy theme!

It’ll be open Wednesday through Sunday.

According to the fair’s website, the busiest days are anticipated to be the weekend of June 29th and 30th, and on Saturday, July 6th.

Fair admission for children under five is free everyday, and kids 12 and younger can get in free on Fridays.

Ticket prices for everyone else range from 13 to 25 dollars.

The last day of the fair is July 7th.

For more information and a schedule of all the events happening at the fair, visit sd-fair-dot-com.

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That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. Join us again tomorrow for the day’s top stories. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great Wednesday.