The Cannabis Equity Program Got Smoked

There was always a theory that if we were going to legalize cannabis, the people who used to get in trouble for selling it should get a chance to sell it again. The city of San Diego secured a grant to give people like that a leg up. But now it looks like they'll have to send the grant money back.…

Things That Used to Be Things

It was a big week for things that used to be things. The Republican Party of San Diego County, once a local political juggernaut, lost its chairwoman after an internal battle over Carl DeMaio, who is running for state Assembly against Andrew Hayes. Despite DeMaio’s efforts to drag a Democrat to t…

Caught in the Navy Machine

Tiara Gray was bright. She was artsy, well-written — an old soul in a young body, people said. She was from the Appalachian region of Maryland, a small place with few prospects for what many consider "good careers." Gray scored high on an aptitude test that caught the attention of the U.S. Navy. …

Old School Problems

For a long time, Voice has followed the tale of school in Logan Heights. The school has changed names and faces in recent years. It’s got an impressive new building. It used to be called Logan Memorial Prep, now it’s Logan Memorial Educational Campus. Logan Memorial has served generations of resi…

The Taxes That Define Us

Three propositions on the November ballot could change everything across the state of California. This week, we discuss three props that are having direct conversations with each other. They're all about taxes — and how hard it should be for voters to pass them. The outcome of these props also imp…

The Midway 'Subsidy,' Explained

This week, the San Diego City Council voted to explore the creation of a special tax district. Some called it "a major subsidy" to a large-scale project that would redevelop Sports Arena and the surrounding area. This special tax district could generate extra funds to make the big project possible…

Primary Election Juice

The March Primary seemed like a boring lemon but we’re going to squeeze some juice out of it. The VOSD Podcast is not the place for your Biden-Trump angst or opinions of how "feisty" the State of the Union was. This is the place for commentary on the city attorney "vibes vote," and to drill down C…

The Race for Second Place

Gird your loins! It's Primary time.  This week, on the last podcast before the March 5 election, we run through the ballot — from U.S. Senate to City Council. The electorate seems unenthused. Politico reports this election is on track for record-low turnout. And it kind of makes sense. California…

Lost Trust

Last week, senior investigative reporter Will Huntsberry reported that some residents in southeastern San Diego have lost trust in local government. Staff at the San Diego mayor’s office called that reporting “dangerous.”  This week, we discuss the original story, how residents felt about the cit…

2024 Mailer Season is Here

It’s Mailer Season! And we are reaching novel levels of creativity. This week, we perform high-level media criticism — LOL — on recent political mailers and materials that employed new, subversive strategies. From County Supervisor to the San Diego Mayor's race, we have a new evolution of local p…