Aimee Faucett on Leadership, What People Don't See, and Why San Diego’s Housing Crisis is So Hard to Solve

Aimee Faucett has spent her career in the room where decisions get made. From City Hall to the Chamber of Commerce—and now as CEO of the San Diego County Building Industry Association—she’s built a reputation as someone who doesn’t just understand how things work in San Diego, but how to actually …

Deacon Jim Vargas on Homelessness, Hope, and the Human Beings Behind the Crisis

Deacon Jim Vargas, CEO of Father Joe’s Villages, joins Dear San Diego for a powerful conversation about homelessness, housing, behavioral health, and what it really takes to move people from the streets to stability. But this episode goes beyond policy and systems. Deacon Jim shares his journey fr…

Little League & Travel Baseball: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

In this new episode of Dear San Diego, Tony and Elizabeth sit down with their twins Alex and Nicky, who are 12, to talk about baseball — not just the stats and scores, but the lessons the game teaches. As a former Division I athlete and CEO of a large nonprofit, Elizabeth knows athletes at every l…

Family, Leadership, and San Diego’s Talent Challenge - Mark Cafferty

In this episode of Dear San Diego, Tony and Juan sit down with the CEO of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation - Mark Cafferty, to talk about family, leadership, boxing, and the challenges facing San Diego’s economy. From his Boston upbringing shaped by strong role models to rais…

Focused on Helping Others - John Van Cleef

A revered and longtime North County neighbor, the Community Resource Center (CRC) provides meals and other services to senior citizens, low-income families, and others who need a helping hand. But its downtown Encinitas location has attracted critics recently because of expansion plans on the covet…

San Diego Unified is Getting Into the Housing Business

San Diego Unified School Trustee Shana Hazan sits down with Tony and a very special guest co-host, Tony’s wife Elizabeth Fitzsimons, to discuss what’s happening locally with the state’s second largest school district, and why it’s getting into the housing business and what that is expected to look …

Youth Baseball Parents: Stop Talking!

As little league seasons kick off across San Diego we take a deep dive into youth baseball with three guests who are as committed as anyone to the sport: Jeff Rosa,Joe Lewis  and Chad Starkey. Our guests shared essential advice for parents, coaches, and players, on handling  nerves, failure, car ri…

Creating Beauty from Devastation, Mariah Dawn on her new book, Dragon In You: A Memoir

Unable to catch her breath because of PTSD – brought on by years of abuse and trauma she suffered at the hands of her husband – Mariah Dawn sat down and tried something new. She opened a Word document and started writing. She noticed right away that she felt better. The writing was a release. It wa…

Election Special 2024 - Chris Cadelago

POLITICO’s Chris Cadelago joined Tony and Juan for a special 2024 Election Episode of Dear San Diego. Chris provided really smart takes on local, state, and national races, and shared some behind-the-scenes info, too. Chris covered the Trump White House and the Biden White House. He is currently wo…

Padres Uniforms and Persuadable Voters: The Art of Polling with John Nienstedt

The Padres sensed they had a problem. So they called John Nienstedt, who helped them figure out they should switch to brown jerseys. John brought in models who wore different jerseys to a series of focus groups. Each participant in the room was armed with a dial that they cranked one way for approv…