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Episode 6 We're going to go back about 18 years — roughly when the region's newest voters were being born. In this episode of SD101, we'll guide you through the scandals that shaped San Diego, explain how the region's leadership shifted from predominantly Republican to Democrat and share tales of those who have risen to power and shaped the region. This episode features VOSD's Scott Lewis, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher and San Diego City Councilman Chris Cate. Learn more at sd101.org Support the project at vosd.org/give See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane Crotty, a lead researcher at the La Jolla Institute of Immunology, has helped us out here on the VOSD Podcast throughout the pandemic. He laid out the science of COVID vaccines when they were new. He explained the Delta variant as it swept the country. And this week, he’s back in an interview with Scott Lewis to talk about Omicron — the latest variant that demonstrates, as Crotty put it, “this virus is more clever than most anyone expected.” The interview starts around minute 33 of the podcast.  Also: The hunt for San Diego Unified's next superintendent. And a court ruling puts the Midway area's future in jeopardy. Support VOSD — and this podcast — today! Give at vosd.org/podcast2021 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Buckle up and grab a snack. We're hitting the road. This week, hosts Scott Lewis, Andrew Keatts and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña are taking you on a drive through the week's local news. We start at the bathroom shortage the city says it'll fix by putting one within five minutes of anyone downtown. Then, we're on the roads of SANDAG and some major hiccups the transportation agency is having to finalize its plan by year's end. And finally, we arrive at the the San Diego City Council chambers, where this week, Councilmember Jen Campbell was replaced as president by Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You’ve probably noticed that San Diego is a really expensive place to live. The city has a large homeless population, the cost of rent eats away our paychecks, and for most people, buying a home is out of reach. For years, we’ve been hearing about the housing crisis in San Diego and throughout the state of California. But how has it gotten so bad? In the latest episode of our San Diego 101 series, we're going to explain how we got here — and how a long legacy of racist housing policies made the crisis worse for communities of color. Plus, we're going to build some affordable housing right here in the podcast. Learn more at sd101.org See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last year, Voice of San Diego sued the County of San Diego to get death records for local residents who died directly or indirectly from COVID-19. A few months ago, we won. Since then, a team of reporters has blazed through thousands of these records to assemble the data and reveal trends — to show the true impact of COVID, how our region works for different populations and who was most affected by the pandemic. Reporter Will Huntsberry joins the show this week to share the insights. Also: Scott on football drama and Andrea on sidewalk vendors.  Join us! Our year-end fundraising campaign is on now. If you support the show now, your gift will be matched. Head to: vosd.org/podcast2021 We appreciate all our listeners and supporters.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on a special Friendsgiving edition of the show, hosts Scott Lewis, Andrew Keatts and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña are joined by local journalists Alain Stephens and Cristina Kim to talk about happy holiday things like bathrooms, racist deeds and guns. Happy Thanksgiving! Follow Cristina @Cristinakim830 Follow Alain @AlainStephens Support the show at vosd.org/give See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we jump into the fray of redistricting and discuss how new changes in the city’s population affect how people are represented in politics. Plus: Palm trees, a park tax and a new trolley line. Support this podcast by sharing it with a friend! Send them to vosd.org/pod Or tag us on social media @voiceofsandiego See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 4 Local government can get complicated. But there's one major distinction you need to understand in order to follow it all: the difference between the city government and the county government. In this episode, we spoke with a few government experts to help us understand what the city does, what the county does, who the representatives are for each — and what you need to know to make it work for you. Let's roll some School House Rock music! Learn more at vosd.org/sd101 Support the SD101 project at vosd.org/give See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria released a draft of the city’s updated Climate Action Plan — with an ambitious new target of net zero emissions by 2035.  This week, we look back at the previous Climate Action Plan, which didn’t do all it set out to do. And now, even if the city does everything outlined in its new, super ambitious plan, it still falls short of its own goal. Plus: Public comments and their place in democracy. And the Great Resignation hits San Diego schools and parks. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

San Diego’s Air Pollution Control District is forcing industries to reduce cancer risk in San Diego. There was a major change this week in how many canceer-causing toxins local industries were allowed to spew in the air. We sat down with environment reporter MacKenzie Elmer to talk about what goes into these standards, what local industries had to do to alert residents of the risks and what changes are coming.  And a San Diego-based nonprofit Saved in America says they save people from human trafficking. But do they? Follow all our big stories and investigations with our newsletters: vosd.org/newsletters See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 3 Throughout San Diego – and across the country – there are lots of meetings happening, in which communities are talking about how they can maximize the power of their vote by creating new maps. This is because every 10 years all sorts of political entities from cities to school districts to state legislatures go through a process called redistricting. In this episode of San Diego 101, we're going to explain how this process works, who's drawing the maps, and how normal people get sucked into the process to harness political power. Learn more at vosd.org/sd101 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

San Diego Rep. Scott Peters is in front of an enormous choice. It's one that could sway one of the most consequential legislative dramas in decades that includes tax credits, child care and education, climate change and — importantly — pharmaceuticals. This week on the show, we wonder: What is the point of Peters? This choice could determine that. Plus: St. Louis got a billion dollars when it lost its football team. What did San Diego get?! And we look ahead to 2022 ballot measures starting to take shape. Check out all our newsletters at vosd.org/newsletters See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This year, we dedicated our annual local news summit to: law and justice. Politifest 2021 happened this week and it was full of great, though sometimes difficult, conversations about surveillance, criminal sentencing, the trauma of incarceration and more. This week, we're giving you the short and sweet summaries of a few panels. And we'll discuss some of the most crucial moments that spotlight how directly law enforcement can shape society. Plus: A local labor leader got money he wasn't supposed to and the CDC and New York Times are wrong about San Diego's vaccination rates. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 2 of VOSD's new series Warning: This episode mentions suicide and contains graphic descriptions of killings by police officers. In light of several highly-publicized killings by police officers in recent years, more and more people have started demanding change to how law enforcement do their job and how they interact with society. Cops have the ability and authority to take life. So, who keeps them accountable? We'll explain that and what you need to know now about the state of law enforcement and police reform. Learn more at sd101.org Support SD101 at vosd.org/give See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Four years ago, former mayor Kevin Faulconer signed a lease for the city to take over a warehouse in Kearny Mesa where crews could repair fire trucks. No fire trucks have been repaired there ever. And now, the city wants to spend $15 million to rebuild the facility it may never own. This week, we discuss all we know that's gone wrong so far. Plus: Redistricting drama is heating up. One commissioner resigned abruptly this week as the once-a-decade process to draw political maps is upon us. Register for Politifest at vosd.org/politifest Hang out with your new favorite podcast at vosd.org/101podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There was a major development this week in one of the most dramatic stories VOSD has followed the last couple years. Say it with me: 101 Ash St. On Tuesday, VOSD’s Lisa Halverstadt broke the news that district attorney investigators were raiding the offices of Hughes Marino, Cisterra Development and the home of Jason Hughes. Halverstadt joins the podcast to recap all the steps that led us to this week — and where things may go next. Plus: San Diego City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera’s quest to kill the People’s Ordinance.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're excited to share our newest show we think you'll really like: San Diego 101. We adapted our popular video series by the same name for podcast feeds. These stories are all new and each episode is made to teach something new about how the San Diego region works. Episode 1. Your Role In Local Government Subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts: vosd.org/101podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, VOSD's Adriana Heldiz saw a large-scale operation by the city of San Diego to clean a homeless camp that had been growing for months in the Midway District; it recently grew so large it was spilling into the street, according to the city. Staff loaded tents and tons of belongings into a trash truck to try and sort out the area. Officers offered shelter to the people living there and cited those who rejected the offers. It put a spotlight on a lot of the issues at play for one of the region's biggest problems: homelessness. This week, we talk with Heldiz and VOSD's Lisa Halverstadt about what's going on with homelessness right now. Plus: The video that got Mayor Todd Gloria in trouble this week. Subscribe to our new San Diego 101 podcast! The trailer is out now. Subscribe to "San Diego 101" wherever you listen. And tell your friends. vosd.org/101podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's expensive to live in San Diego. You know this already. But it's about to get worse. As housing prices balloon, another basic need is getting costly: water. This week, we reported that the San Diego County Water Authority predicts the cost of water could swell up to 10 percent starting in 2023. Scott and Andy review everything you need to know about San Diego water and these rate hikes. And in the second half of the show, the latest San Diego Housing Commission drama and why it matters for the local housing crisis. Sign up our upcoming events (Cannabis Equity and Politifest) at vosd.org/events Check out San Diego 101: How We Get Our Water vosd.org/sd101 Support VOSD and our future at vosd.org/give See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Buckle up, folks. There's another major revelation in the 101 Ash St. saga this week. (That segment starts around minute 30 in the episode if you're antsy.) It turns out the city's real estate adviser, Jason Hughes, got paid about $9.5 million dollars (as a volunteer) for the deals he facilitated. The scoop this week by VOSD's Lisa Halverstadt was that Hughes made an agreement with Cisterra Development (the city's eventual landlord) to earn a profit off the deals or be held financially accountable if they fell apart. Also this week: Some cops refuse to get vaccinated. A vaccine expert gets real about the Delta variant. And a local hotelier makes a splash at the Elizabeth Holmes trial. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.