Today’s newsletter is presented by Kaiser Permanente.

Good morning, San Diego ☀️

Here’s what we have for you today:

  • The state of California has invested $35 million into grants designed to help “at-risk” workers understand their rights.
  • Public comment is now open on the court-ordered release of two men convicted of “lewd and lascivious acts” against children.
  • Some much-needed weather relief: next week temperatures around San Diego will be cooler and drier.

Jennifer Vigil

News editor

Top story

There’s a good chance this year’s El Niño will break records. We’re about to find out what that means.

Let’s add to the list of possible El Niño concerns. Heavy rain. Coastal flooding and erosion. And the state of our reservoirs too (!?!).

Yep, but how about we step back for a second.

If you’re like me, when you hear the term El Niño, you think rain. One storm after another. Like, wet, wet – do I even have galoshes? – so wet.

But meteorologists think differently. El Niños, for instance, don’t always result in particularly wet winters.

The government’s Climate Prediction Center this week placed the chances of a very strong El Niño event in the coming season at more than 90%. Another prediction: there’s a 75% chance this El Niño will be stronger than others going back roughly 75 years.

So public officials, who often get a bad rap about their preparedness, are preparing like heck for this El Niño, wet or no. Yes, that’s where the reservoirs come in.

Two San Diego dams have weathered many an El Niño storm, but they are aging and as contributor Thomas Murphy writes, they’ve never “faced a major El Niño season under their current operating restrictions.” He’ll explain what that means and the steps the city is taking to manage water levels ahead of any major rain.

We’ve all been complaining about the heat this week. But on the flip side, there’s a distinct possibility we could start seeing the effects of El Niño as soon as the end of this month.

Will we be facing down another extreme so soon? The answer could be just a couple weeks away.

Times of San Diego thanks our corporate sponsors. Find out more about sponsorships and advertising opportunities here.

Stories you should know about

🎾 San Diego-trained Marcel Latak wins U.S. Open Juniors singles final: Latak became the first American boy since 2015 to win the Juniors title. The last American junior to win was San Diego-native Taylor Fritz.

🩺 ‘It’s Triage’: California’s next governor will face destabilizing surge in uninsured: By 2030, the number of uninsured Californians under 65 is expected to nearly double from 2.4 million to 4.6 million.

🍩 No seed oils and only organic ingredients at Sourpuss Donuts: Classically trained chef Renee Fox wants to change how you look at healthy food with her new café in Mission Beach.

🎓 Suddenly, community colleges are against proposals to let them offer more bachelor’s degrees: Their opposition comes as two bills passed the state legislature, including one from San Diego Assemblyman David Alvarez, that also impose accountability metrics on when the schools can institute the programs.

Times of San Diego thanks our corporate sponsors. Find out more about sponsorships and advertising opportunities here.

In case you missed it…

Weekdays get busy—we know. And with so much from Times of San Diego, good stories can slip by. Here are a few worth your time:

🚍 New transit program to ‘freeze past prices’ for some low-income riders despite fare increase. Read it here.

🏗️ Housing groups sue SANDAG for blocking development near Oceanside, Solana Beach train stations. Read it here.

⚓️ Experts: Extended USS Abraham Lincoln deployment exposed lack of Iran War endgame. Read it here.

🎶 Concert giant Live Nation has set its sights on downtown. What that means for live music in San Diego. Read it here.

🎸 After decades on stage, PiL frontman John Lydon hasn’t mellowed a bit. He talks about why. Read it here.