Today’s newsletter is presented by Kaiser Permanente.
Good morning, San Diego ☀️
Here’s what we have for you today:
- With winter-blend gasoline now available, gas prices around the county have dropped for nine straight days.
- Assembly Bill 2020, which takes effect next year, is expected to prevent foreclosures for affordable housing units.
- A San Diego man was sentenced to 12 years in prison for his part in a scheme to extort immigrant families for money.
Jennifer Vigil
News editor
Top story
Tragedy in San Carlos: A community struggles with pain and grief after the deaths of the Voight family
When calamity strikes a neighborhood, you often hear one of two responses.
People focus on the perpetrator and say, “He was very quiet. He never talked to anyone,” or they point out how often the police had been to the home and how many disturbances they’d heard or witnessed.
That was not the case in San Carlos where Dave Voight shot his wife and daughter in their home last month, then turned the gun on himself.
The community loved Dave and Amy and their daughter, Mya, 13. So did our contributor Karen Pearlman, one of their neighbors. And a Times of San Diego editor, Dorian Hargrove, didn’t know the parents, but his young son went to school with their daughter.
Karen and Dorian, like many in San Carlos, whether they had met the Voights or not, still are processing something that, as Dorian wrote, “no neighborhood or community should ever experience.”
Karen has an extra terrible burden to bear, which she explains, while also sharing far sweeter memories, of the trampoline Dave put together for her, the gluten-free treats Amy baked and how her dog comforted Mya in a time of need.
The pain from the shootings has radiated out from Boulder Lake Avenue to Pershing Middle School, through the rest of San Carlos and out to the greater Navy community with which Dave and Amy were so connected.
Karen and Dorian are journalists, yes, but in this case they are community members first, and they wanted to share how they are grappling with their pain and confusion since the Voights’ deaths.
As Karen wrote simply, “This is how I remember them.” Her reflections brought me to tears more than once and helped me to see past the tragedy to the real people she knew and loved. Perhaps her memories will do the same for you.
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Stories you should know about
☔️ Rachel-related rainfall expected to continue into Sunday: The National Weather Service forecast “moderate to heavy rain” through Sunday afternoon.
🛎️ Where did San Diego County’s roadside motor lodges go?: A city directory can tell you where a motel stood. A postcard can show you what it looked like. A photograph can put it back on the street for a moment. The harder question is what happened afterward.
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:
🗑️ County releases data on San Diego trash fee error that overcharged residents $11.8 million. Read it here.
🎸 Review: Jack White delivers master class in shredding at The Sound, worthy of his legendary status. Read it here.
☀️ Intense heat wave coincides with Climate Week. Advocates call the timing evidence of ‘what we are honestly facing.’ Read it here.