Today’s newsletter is presented by Best of La Jolla.
Good morning, San Diego ☀️
Here’s what we have for you today:
- Haven’t turned in your ballot yet? Check out our voter guide.
- San Diego’s wine country is bringing its bounty to Mission Beach this Thursday for a walk-around tasting.
- And shoutout to reader Joseph Mantione, who was first to guess Stingaree District as the answer to yesterday’s Step Back in Time question. Read more about the photo here.
Tessa Balc
Audience engagement producer
Top story
‘One Battle After Another’ filmed in San Diego and won multiple Oscars. The mayor’s budget cuts the staffer who helped bring it here.
Cuts in the Mayor’s budget have raised alarm from many, in part due to the scale and reach of some of these positions, grants and programs that the city is looking to reduce.
But our lead story today is about a specific, overlooked reduction in the budget that film production professionals are saying that will put the film industry’s future in San Diego on unsteady grounds. And this is less than a year after the city celebrated its role in the Oscar-winning film “One Battle After Another.”
The combination of exorbitant rates to film in Los Angeles and a state tax credit that incentivizes productions to film outside of the production hub have given San Diego a chance to compete. But taking advantage of that opportunity has fallen on one city employee. It’s his job to make it possible for productions to film here on their fast-paced timelines. That position is eliminated in the mayor’s proposed budget.
Those in the industry say losing that position would mean productions likely won’t have a direct line to the city and won’t be guaranteed their permits on time. If that’s the case, productions will take their business elsewhere.
That could starve the economy from millions of dollars brought here from those productions. Multiple location managers told me that, despite blockbusters garnering a majority of the headlines, commercials that operate on extremely tight timelines generate a big chunk of change for the local industry, from the caterers they hire, to the hotels they book and the San Diegans they employ.
Times of San Diego thanks our corporate sponsors. Find out more about sponsorships and advertising opportunities here.
Stories you should know about
🗳️ Your last-minute voter guide to the June 2 election. It’s a sparse ballot by recent California standards, but we’re less than a week away from pivotal primaries for three City Council seats, and CA-48, one of the highest profile congressional races in the country.
🎶 Mariachi metal to jazz to San Diego indie-pop sensations: Foxtide, Deke Dickerson and Metalachi highlight this week’s live music lineup.
🤖 High Tech High’s Holy Cows robotics team wins global robotics championship in Houston: The San Diego-based team bested more than 600 teams from around the world.
🥊 UFC GYM in Point Loma undergoes a major transformation: With an $800,000-plus renovation of its 34,000-square-foot club, the facility has expanded training areas, new equipment and an enhanced recovery center.
🚨 A 19-year-old was stabbed to death in a Point Loma parking lot early Tuesday: Authorities have arrested his brother in connection with the killing.
🦻 Opinion: Parents of deaf children need more from California than free diapers
What else we’re reading
🏡 The owner of Escondido’s ‘Trump House’ has died from injuries suffered in the assault in front of his home. Authorities have yet to disclose the cause of the attack. (Union-Tribune)
🏭 The remaining evacuation order for 16,000 residents in Garden Grove was lifted Tuesday Night after being initially prompted by fears around an unstable chemical tank. (NBC News)
Times of San Diego thanks our corporate sponsors. Find out more about sponsorships and advertising opportunities here.
Mid-Week News Quiz
Have you kept up with Times of San Diego this week? Let’s see!
⚾️ A judge ruled Fernando Tatis Jr.’s contract with a talent prospect agency that recruited him at 18 years old stands, after a bid to unwind the agreement. How much did the Padres star owe the agency at the time of his lawsuit?
A) 3.2 million
B) 3.8 million
C) 4.15 million
D) 4.3 million
Reply first with the correct answer to earn a shoutout in tomorrow’s newsletter.