By Megan Burks
What Do You Envision for San Diego?
Our Greater San Diego Vision has been ramping up efforts to get San Diegans talking about their collective future. What do we want to see here in 50 years?
The initiative, launched by the San Diego Foundation, included a series of workshops this week in which residents became novice planners, choosing where housing, transportation and job centers should go.
City Heights resident Brandi Marcoe was at one of the workshops.
“I’d like to see people work closer to where they live, and live closer to where they work. So they have more time to do things they enjoy doing,” she says in a KPBS article on the event.
KPBS Midday Edition host Maureen Cavanaugh and Our Greater San Diego Vision’s Peter MacCracken and Xavier Lenyoun took calls Tuesday from San Diegans hoping to see new trolley lines, job growth, even new restrooms in Ocean Beach.
This wide array of interests will inform an online survey open to all San Diegans in November. Participants will be asked to prioritize how San Diego should grow. The research will culminate with a 2012 report the San Diego Foundation says will be acted on by its organization and other planning agencies.
The survey is scheduled to open Nov. 1. Keep an eye out on your social network feeds for a link. You can also visit the initiative’s website, ourgreatersandiegovision.org.
Follow Our Greater San Diego Vision @OurSDVision.
At Politifest, Any Idea Will Do
Saturday’s Politifest stands to be the rowdy baby brother of Our Greater San Diego Vision.
Speak City Heights partner voiceofsandiego.org is asking San Diegans to offer up their ideas for the city’s future—any idea will do. The concepts will then go head-to-head in a friendly idea tournament.
Don’t expect a formal survey to follow, but do expect a bounce house and beer garden. The event is aimed at making politics and civic engagement fun and welcoming.
“Whether it’s about Balboa Park, or city pensions, or medical marijuana, let’s disagree thoughtfully, under the sun, in a beautiful grassy area,” wrote organizer Scott Lewis. “Let’s set a new San Diego tradition so that, in September 2012, when politics is at its feverish peak, we can get together again in a warm, respectful setting.”
The event, scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 2640 Historic Decatur Rd., will also feature a mayoral debate. We’ll be there, will you?
Follow voiceofsandiego.org’s community contributors @fixsd.
New Census Numbers Show Climbing Poverty Rates
A fun-spirited discussion about the future couldn’t have come at a better time. Americans are in the doldrums with their economy, and new U.S. Census numbers painted an even more depressing picture this week.
The poverty rate jumped a full percentage point in 2010, with about 1-in-6 living at the poverty line. More than 20,000 additional San Diego households began collecting food stamps in 2010. And new data shows that 1-in-4 Californians are without health insurance, one of the highest rates in the nation. The rate is even higher among City Heights children.
KPBS Midday Edition explored what this means for San Diego Tuesday.
Follow the United Nations’ global partnership to end extreme poverty, Millennium Promise, @promise.
Leaky Faucet Decision Is Good News for Asthma Sufferers
The City Council voted this week to expand San Diego’s code regulating faucet and pipe leaks. Homeowners must now fix leaks within 72 hours or face fees.
The decision, aimed at conserving water, brought a reminder that property owners must repair leaks within 72 hours under the state’s health and safety code. The reminder could be ammunition for City Heights residents dealing with negligent landlords.
Many renters in the neighborhood have long struggled with substandard housing. Leaks there often lead to mold, which can trigger asthma.
Get dockets and minutes from City Council meetings as they become available @SDCityClerk.
Were You ‘Totally Unprepared’ For the Blackout?
Speak City Heights partner KPBS and the American Red Cross will be handing out a limited number of free emergency kits from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at 3950 Calle Fortunada in Kearny Mesa. The event is part of an awareness campaign called “Totally Unprepared.”
Follow the California Emergency Management Agency @calema.