San Diego News Update – June 28: Poway Fraud, Encinitas e-bike, Coronado Richard Bailey, SANDAG

We have lots of San Diego topics on the table including a federal fraud case in Poway, winners and losers in CA budget, the future of Coronado mayor Richard Bailey, Jim Desmond and Congestion Pricing on Freeways, and much more.

It’s Wednesday June 28, 2023. Here’s what John Riley thinks:

Poway Social Security Fraud

A Poway man defrauded the Social Security system and the VA system of over $830,000 over 3 decades as he schemed to collect using his dead mother’s name. WTF? Crazy story. Social Security will not be solvent starting in 2034. Poway seems to be in the news for all of the wrong reasons.

Gavin Newsom’s CA Budget – Winners & Losers (housing, climate, auto dealers, education)

California had to spend less than they wanted due to the pending deficit. The CA budget is loaded with examples of winners and losers. Isn’t that what government policies always do? Some win at the expense of others.  Some lose, so others can win. What ever happened to free trade and win-win outcomes?

Tragic Teen e-Bike Death in Encinitas Collision

While we mourn the loss of a young man in an e-bike accident, we look more broadly at the innovation in the e-bike market. Could this be a solution to help cities transition from suburban to urban? Do we have enough bike lanes?

Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey is Running for County Board of Supervisors

Maybe you have seen Richard Bailey’s social media and direct mail messages. He has a lot to say about “The San Diego Comeback”. Why is a mayor of little ol’ Coronado commenting about issues beyond his city? Because he is running for office!  Plus we discuss some proposed tax increases under consideration.

Jim Desmond and SANDAG Congestion Freeway Tax

They are already planning to charge a per-mile tax for road usage. It’s not a bad idea, but it will be difficult to implement fairly. Now San Diego is considering a Congestion Tax for freeway usage to subsidize mass transit. What’s going on here? This is a tax on the many to benefit the few. Mass transit ridership is in decline, so why are we subsidizing it?

Paloma Aguirre, Imperial Beach, and the Problem of Tijuana Sewage

Seems this sewage problem in the South Bay has going on for decades, yet they still can’t fix it. Now the County Board of Supervisors has declared a state of emergency. San Diego congressional delegates are pushing President Biden to solve the problem. Meanwhile some beaches in Imperial Beach have been closed for a year and a half.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria: Corporate Welfare vs Road Repair

Todd Gloria flip flopped. City officials and business leaders lobbied for San Diego to host a design event. Todd Gloria vowed to ensure it was privately funded. Now he is singing a different tune. He wants to use taxpayer dollars to subsidize corporations in town in order to generate more tax revenue. Should the city be run as a business? Should those resources instead be used to repair roads?

San Diego Community Forum

We discuss San Diego homelessness, eminent domain, Poway’s Billion Dollar Bond, Steve Garvey as a California Senator, and this kerfuffle over Democrat vs Democratic.

#SanDiego #homelessness #homeless #ranchobernardo #republicans #democrats #Poway #SteveGarvey #Westwood #richardbailey #coronado #encinitas #ebikes #toddgloria #jimdesmond #sandag #congestiontax #tijuana #sewege #imperialbeach #socialsecurity #babyformula #tariffs #education

JRP0324

Relevant Links:

A Poway man’s mother died in 1990. He accepted $830K of benefits in her name for 32 years.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/courts/story/2023-06-27/poway-social-security-fraud-mother-guilty

Winners and losers in the California budget deal

https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2023/06/california-budget-winners-losers/

San Diego County leaders call on Biden to fix Tijuana sewage crisis

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/environment/story/2023-06-27/san-diego-county-supervisors-emergency-tijuana-sewage

Politics Report: GOP Rivals Scuffle for Supervisor Race

.css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}