Today’s newsletter is presented by Kaiser Permanente.
Good morning, San Diego ☀️
Here’s what we have for you today:
- Pride is here: Check put our guide to unofficial Pride events, our profile on Pride’s new executive director and all the rest of our coverage of one of San Diego’s biggest weekends.
- Check in with us this afternoon for our day-of coverage of the parade and the rest of the weekend festivities.
Andrew Keatts
General manager and editor
Top story
The goal – ‘zero days of beach closure’ from Tijuana River sewage. Experts ponder if it’s possible to get there
Gov. Gavin Newsom last month announced $46 million in state funding to address the Tijuana sewage crisis, the latest in a long line of funding announcements, agreement signings and infrastructure upgrades for a public health failure that is is not slowing down.
During a recent UCSD-hosted expert discussion, former Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina offered a clear measure of success: not incremental improvements, but zero days of beach closures.
“Everybody talks about this problem, but nobody has a solution,” said Tijuana Verde director Hernando Durán Cabrera said, as our Tommy Murphy reports.
He argued it’s possible to fix the problem without fully rebuilding Tijuana’s patchy sewage system, and instead focusing on key pumps and treatment stations that determine if any sewage reaches the U.S. side of the border.
That sort of planning is hard, he said, when Tijuana has gone through 15 wastewater management directors in 12 years.
Durán Cabrera and Kenia Zamarripa, a San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce vice president, both agreed the problem is a bigger priority for the cross-border megaregion now than any time recently.
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Stories you should know about
🏗️ San Diego leaders chipped in on the biggest bipartisan housing package passed by Congress in decades: But experts say the new federal law won’t have much impact on the city of San Diego.
🚊 Fare increase on the way for bus, trolley riders after SANDAG vote: A standard one-way trip on MTS will rise from $2.50 to $3
🚽 California has so far dodged the parasite causing an explosive diarrhea outbreak elsewhere in the nation: That’s a good thing to dodge, in my opinion.
🌭 Street vendors are back out in force after courts restricted how the city can enforce its ordinance regulating them: “No vending zones in the Gaslamp and at local beaches are filled again, now that the city can’t impound vending carts.
🐦 County animal service workers rescued more than 820 birds from a Valley Center property Thursday: That’s a whole lot of birds.
🏙️ Opinion: Does San Diego have the defining traits of a city of the future?
What else we’re reading
🚗 Just in time for Comic-Con, San Diego is now restricting Uber and Lyft to designated locations around Gaslamp, aiming to ease congestion. (Axios San Diego)
🏄 A tropical storm off the Baja coast could send massive storm surf to San Diego beaches this weekend. (Union-Tribune)
Times of San Diego thanks our corporate sponsors. Find out more about sponsorships and advertising opportunities here.
What to do this weekend
Need weekend plans? We’ve got you. ⭐ = free
🇵🇭 Filipino American Friendship Festival (Today, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.) ⭐️
☀️ Imperial Beach Sun & Sea Festival (Today, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.) ⭐️
🎶 ManVanFam FEST, The Holding Company (Today, 3 p.m.–11 p.m.)
⚽️ French Market Open-Air World Cup Watch Party (Sunday, 11 a.m.–3 p.m.) ⭐️